Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every story has its beginning. Most are simpler than others, but start off just the same. And how they progress will determine the fate that is given to it. For this story, it will not only determine which direction the multiverse goes, but exactly who and what will be affected by it. Not long ago, a trio of rather brave and fearless teenage girls have discovered a music box containing the power to travel through worlds.

Throughout the course of their journey, the girls face many challenges and choices. And have endured the most daring hardships, but in the end, they saved by their world and Amphibia from total destruction, with the help of the mighty Amphibians. Their greatest challenge, was to defeat Amphibia's most ruthless King Andrias, and his master. The Core. A sleepless intelligence with unwonted secrets, along with the secret ability to cheat death.

While their war started on Amphibia, the real battle was fought on the frontiers of Los Angeles. And it would take all three of these girls, as well as their friends and allies to finally put an end to the remorseless king and his master. Using the very gems that would grant them the power to fulfill their destinies.

Fighting together as one, good triumphed over evil, and a friendship was once again restored. And the evil king and his infinite reign finally came to an end. Thus bringing their grand adventure to a close. However, little did the girls themselves know, that while their journey was finally over, their story has merely just begun.

For as they sought out to rebuild their lives, as well as embrace the changes that lay before them, other powers will be at work  under their noses. Bringing forth an extraordinary turn of events that not even they would see coming. And it will be through these unfortunate turn of events that will truly test them in ways nobody could ever imagine.

And it will only a matter of time. Before the sun sets and the tides turn, and the world is engulfed in the flames of destiny. And their actions truly determine the fate of all, in this new Age of Dragons.

FBI Base- 500 miles from Los Angeles, Two Months after LA Incident

It was a really quiet afternoon in this dry outpost set up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Used as an observation center by agent Mr. X, after successfully discovering the unexpected arrival of the Plantars, this was one facility that held so many secrets. Unfortunately, those secrets were all but lost after the previous robot invasion that occurred seven months ago. An invasion that destroyed any sort of evidence that the agent would need to boost his career and possible safeguard mankind's first line of defense against whatever forces may threaten the security of America.

However, there was no need for such a course of action now that the country was secure with the help of Anne and her friends. And considering Mr. X's own role in aiding them in their fight against the aliens, he was already promoted by his boss. Taking a much more exquisite position while also backing up the children so that the agency doesn't take them in for questioning. So in the end, it was a win on both ends. Now his charge is to monitor what ever technology the invaders left behind in his facility for future study. As well as monitoring any other unusual activities that may occur yet again.

An easy task one could say.

Within the confines of his facility, there was a large control room. One of which he used as his personal headquarters. Accompanying him was his most valued assistant, Jenny. Who had been with him from the beginning of the whole charade, and was the most loyal to him. Alongside her was longtime curator at the Museum of Natural History, Dr. Jan, and her newly found apprentice Terri. Whom were both offered positions under his wing as a reward for their efforts to battle the aliens during the invasion. And neither could refuse. To work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation was a great honor for the two scientists.

And it provided them a chance to further work on their studies of cryptids and inter dimensional travel without being laughed at or ignored by the government. Plus, Terri's expertise in inter dimensional activities made her a valuable asset for the government. So there was no refusing her or Jan. Considering how different things were now that the possibilities of other dimensions were out to the public. Something that not even the President of the United States could handle. Though for the last few week since the kids return have been real quiet. Which meant more time for small talk. At least to past the time.

"So, having any plans for the weekend my fellow employees?" Mr. X asked, with a little charisma in the tone of his voice.

"Ah, not much," Dr. Jan answered bluntly. "Tomorrow's field trip day at the museum and I have to be there extra early to get the exhibits ready for display."

"I've gotta few errands to run for this weekend," Terri added. "Then I'm probably gonna be at home experimenting some more."

"Hmm," Mr X grunted. Expecting something exciting and feeling somewhat disappointed. "What about you Jenny?"

"I have to deal with my husband," she answered. "Gotta give him as much attention as possible or he'll lose it."

"You're married?" Terri asked, out of curiosity.

"Yeah, and let me tell you, it's not easy," Jenny explained. "Have to constantly hear him complaining about work and how our kids are lazy and ungrateful."

"That's awful," Dr. Jan commented.

"I know, but I still love him."

"Well for one I would never let my husband talk to me with that kind of attitude," said Dr. Jan. "In my household, we treat our family with respect."

"Well then, is it okay if we traded places?" Jenny asked sarcastically.

The three girls and Mr X chuckled in Jenny's sarcastic her sense of humor very amusing. By the time they all settled, Mr X decided it was time to call it a day. Taking a coat that was hanging near the door but glancing back at his co-workers before departure.

"Well, I hope you all enjoy your long weekends," said Mr X. "You've all done a great job these past few weeks."

"Thanks boss," Terri asked. "Much appreciated."

"Please, call me X," Mr X shot back respectfully. "I call my boss that."

Terri gave a heartwarming smile in return. And to think that a few months ago this guy would be the very person she would try to avoid. Now she's working right underneath him. Who would've thought of that. By then the three women waved a goodbye to their boss before watching him head home. However, before he could even turn the door nob that lead out of the room, there was a large beeping sound that went off on the big screen. Acting quickly, Terri accessed the computer connected to the screen to see what was setting the alarm off.

Once she accessed the main frame and went to the file consisting of several cameras, her eyes widened upon seeing what the issue is. The fbi agent noticed how fairly alarmed his co-worker was and rushed to her side to find out what the situation was.

"What is it Terri?" Mr X asked.

"Well, I don't wanna say its really bad but...," Terri paused. "...it's pretty bad. We just lost two of our inter-dimensional motion sensors."

Everyone in the room let out a gasp upon hearing such news.

"That can't be good," Dr. Jan commented.

"And what's worse is that the motion sensors we've place before are going off on a major scale," Terri explained further. "Something big is coming to Earth. And its coming fast."

Now this could be a problem. Its been three months since the incident where aliens from another dimension tried to take over the world. Many lives were lost that day, and the last thing they need is another repeat of that day.

"Is it the same invaders from Amphibia?" he questioned.

"Hard do say, but after what Anne had told me, the device they used to get back to Earth was destroyed," Terri answered thoroughly. "So it has to be something else."

Just hearing her explain all that sent a shiver down the fbi agent's spine. It would've been much easier if it was the Amphibians, but now they have an entirely potential new enemy to deal with. Now coming from a guy whom has dealt with extraterrestrials before, it shouldn't be that hard to catch whoever is coming to Earth. But at the same time he did not wish to start a panic, even after what happened in Los Angeles.

"How long do we have?" he asked further.

The blue haired scientist did not answer right away, considering that predicting such an outcome would be extremely hard. Even for one as bright-minded as her.

"Well, that's just it," she said. "The time of the arrival, along with the exact locations from which the arrival would take place is uncertain. So it can happen at any time. But I think I can hypothesis that the arrival can be expected as soon as next week."

Well that was a relief. Even though they would have a few days, that was still enough time for them to mobilize.

"Good, I'll get word to my boss," Mr X stated. "He should be able to get this to the President."

"Okay, but what happens if he doesn't?" asked Dr. Jan.

Mr X gave a long pause. Resorting to staring at the screen instead. He then pondered of the endless possibilities that may happen in the future to come. Whoever these invaders were, whoever these people who would seek to come to Earth for good or evil purposes, he hoped that they could be dealt with without causing a major disaster as the ones they have endured with their last invaders. For the sake of not just the United States, but for all of mankind as well.

"Then God help us all."

Elsewhere, Another Dimension

The sky grew long as the sun hits its highest point. The ocean waves glimmered through the light, and a herd of dolphins were spotted jumping in and out of the water. The air was calm and filled with a light breeze. Flocks of seagulls and pelicans flew in many splintered groups. Traveling south on their usual migration routes. Taking in the view of the vast seas as they continued peacefully towards the horizon.

And from the horizon's edge, a large sea stack formation rested in the middle of the endless ocean. The vertical rock columns were spread out in different directions. Making a perfect resting spot for any passing bird looking for a place to rest. And underneath these steep forms of land, a massive coral reef laid just underneath the water's surface. Ornamented with colors ranging from blue, purple, red, and even golden brown. Coming from all shapes and sizes with enough vegetation that expands for miles. Within this infinite, yet majestic ecosystem, large schools of fish swam harmoniously within the confines of the reef itself.

They went by the thousands. Traveling aimlessly without any real sense of direction. Feasting on whatever plankton or invertebrates they can catch with their mouths. With many species and breeds coexisting with one another. Ranging as far as salmon, tuna, brown trout, sea bass, Atlantic cod, mackerel, sturgeon, and ice-tailed pike. There were also smaller fish like minnows and perch, but they traveled in smaller groups. And were more distant from the rest of the other fish.

But even so, they were still able to call this large ecosystem their home. Mainly because there were no real natural predators whom would venture to this area. Not yet, anyway. And the reef was so large that they didn't even bother checking for any carnivores. However, that would turn out to be very short lived. For as the many shoals of salmon and trout continued to swim along without a single care in the world, they did not seem to notice, that they were all being watched.

For above the surface of the water, a slender black silhouette watched over the reef from on top of the nearest sea stack. Observing the shoal's movements with extreme caution. Its hide was covered with black charcoal scales that covered his body from the tip of his tail to the top of his head. His wings extended far out for at least 20 feet. Which were now closed tight and folded from each sides of its body. Under those wings were another set of smaller flaps that open and close when gliding.

And at the end of its tail, stood to fins, one grown natural, and the other prosthetic. From its back, is a set of spines that run down from its head and tail. Under it were a set of four legs, all laid low to the ground, touching the earth's surface with extremely light weight. And on the back of its head, four ear-like antennas lay back. Listening to even the smallest sound that comes across it. And in the front of its face, two emerald eyes with black slits in the middle rested on the sight of the fish bellow and watched carefully.

Normally people would mistaken this unique creature for a winged cat or an overgrown lizard. But truthfully, it was neither. And around these parts of the world, creatures like this would be described with one name. A name that would strike terror into the hearts of even the bravest of humans.

Dragons

A race of reptilian beasts of unwonted destruction. Once feared and respected throughout the entire world. Known for their tenacious tempers and abilities to set entire settlements on fire. though circumstances would have these majestic creatures fleeing back to their ancestral home of the Hidden World, leaving no trace for anyone to remember them by. Rendering them as nothing more than a bunch of folktales.

Not much was known about dragonkind. But of all the many different species of dragons that have come into existence, this one in particular, had a reputation that would far exceed that of the average dragon. The stories that were told about this magnificent beast would be told from generations. The people who spoke of them named the creature as the legendary, Night Fury.

The rarest of the dragon species and probably the last of its kind. Who was originally known for bringing fear throughout the night sky. In the first instance, the dragon had no other name. He was only called by the name that his human partner gave him when he was a young adult. And yet, the humans that he once lived with for almost nine years called him by one name. "Toothless." For he would sometimes appear to have no teeth when smiling.

Though despite the name, his demeanor and ferocity is far greater. Through the stories, it was said that he battled a huge dragon that was dubbed the alpha in single combat and defeated it. And with it, the last domain of his ancestors occupied with dragons was his by right. And from that day forward, he was proclaimed King of the Hidden World and ruler to all dragons in its domain. Though with that honor, it came with huge responsibilities. One of which he had to fulfill if he was to ensure the survival of his race. And today, he has a problem.

Apparently the dragons haven't been receiving any food for months. And with the disappearance of fish that probably started from the borders of the hidden world, there was almost no hope for the dragons to survive without food. So, he searched through the seas in hopes of finding more fish closest to home with extreme haste, knowing that his kind mainly relied on fish as a primary food source. Using his acute senses, he picked the trail of fresh salmon that led him to this reef. Which was further to the east just off the borders of the Archipelago. Well out of range of viking territory.

And as luck would have it, fate had presented Toothless with a mighty gift. All of the fish his kind could ever eat. Though before he could celebrate, he was challenged with finding a way to get a these different amounts of fish back to the hidden world. For this task would require the strength of numbers and a full-proof plan. Thankfully for the King of Dragons, years worth of being around his best viking friend has taught him a few things about strategy. And being a dragon of extremely high intelligence, he was able to come up with both.

Those who accompanied him had their own parts to play. And his involved the Night Fury currently watching over the schools just north of the reef. Though as his eyes continued to remained focused on the herd bellow, his left ear antenna twitched, indicating that someone was right behind him. When he turned his head back, his left eye was met with the sight of two other dragons.

The first dragon took a bipedal appearance. Almost bird-like. Possessing mottled, dark shaded wings with forelimbs, and expanded to at least 53 feet in the air. It had small yet keen eyes that equipped with poor binocular vision. In the front of those eyes is its curved nasal horn, which is often used as a defense mechanism; its lower jaw is shorter and wider than its upper, giving the dragon a large overbite. The color of the dragon's body consisted of mainly blue. With shades of yellow, purpler, and red spots covering a majority of its head and its skull was a crown of spikes. Coating the tail is a series of poisonous spines which can be fired at an opponent with deadly accuracy. Humans used to call it the Deadly Nadder. Known for being the quickest and lightest dragon of its species. Equipped the the hottest fire in the known world.

And behind it was a dragon that took more of a resemblance of a bat. Possessing a long, snakelike neck and tail, with claw-tipped wings on the edges of its sprawled wings. On the top of its head stood a pair of large shiny grayish-black horns that curve slightly outwards on the edge. Covering the dragon's hide were bright reddish-orange scales with darker spots scattered around. Its underside is a light tan, and he has yellowish-orange eyes that were too used for binocular vision. The dragon was dubbed as the Monstrous Nightmare. Being well known for its unique ability to set its entire body on fire if cornered.

There were four others, consisting of a Gronckle, Hideous Zippleback, Razorwhip, and Thunderdrum. All of which had their own unique features and skills. And were considered to be extremely powerful and dangerous in their own ways. But were also considered to be extremely loyal to their king. Few of which the Night Fury trusted with his life and would count on them for anything. However, they were currently nowhere to be seen or heard of at the moment. But for good reason. Upon noticing the alpha gleaming at them the two dragons jumped back. Being startled by the insuring silence, but then collected themselves after remembering why they were there.

'We're in position, Toothless,' The Nadder chirped.

'Good work," the Night Fury acknowledged. 'It's almost high tide.'

He then turned back to the the roaming fish and continued to watch. The two other dragons taking positions one either sides of the King of Dragons before setting their eyes on the shoals as well.

'We should attack now," the Nightmare snarled. 'Give them everything we have!'

'Not yet, Hookfang,'Toothless refuted, referring to the name Nightmare. 'We have to wait for Thornado to let us know he's ready first.'

'Well can he hurry up already?!' Hookfang whined. 'I've been dying for some action!'

'You've been saying that since we left home,' the Nadder argued. 'Can't you hold it together for a little while longer?'

'Hey, you try to keep your inner warrior in and see how it feels, Stormfly,' the nightmare shot back.

'Quiet!' Toothless barked. 'Both of you! I need to be focused!'

'Tell that to this overgrown firepit!" Stormfly chattered. 'He's obviously the one being all riled up!'

Hearing that made Hookfang almost set his whole hide ablaze from aggression, when Toothless stopped him with his left wing. Bringing him back down to the ground before bringing his attention back to the ongoing scene.

'You see that right there?' The Night Fury questioned.

Hookfang wanted to reply but was too focused on seeing what was going on at the edge of the reef. From what he and his fellow dragons observed, they saw a huge blue dragon flying up to the air on the other side of the fields. As they observed, the large dragon, who was presumed to be Thornado, was circling near the edge of the reef well out of range of the fishes' prying eyes. From underwater, he shot a small sonic blast up into the sky. High enough for the fish to not even notice before flying back down to the ground. Indicating that he was ready.

'Alright, that's our cue,' Toothless warbled. 'Stormfly, you join up with Windshear on the left flank. Try to keep any stranglers from leaving the pods. With any luck, Meatlug, Bard and Belch will be doing the same on the other side.'

'On it,' Stormfly cawed before heading to the sea stack on the farthest left side of the reef. Where another dragon was waiting for her.

As soon as the Nadder was out of sight, Toothless turned his attention to the dragon on his other side.

'Hookfang, you're with me,' he yelped. 'We'll drive them out into the open sea and lead them towards home. With any luck, we'll be over with this quickly and be back before we even know it.'

"Finally some action," Hookfang grinned.

By then the Night Fury turned back towards the shoal. With dog-like smell, he sniffed through the clean air. Giving into the fresh smell of food. Food that could prove well for him and his subjects. Perfect. Now all he and his comrades had to do was stick to the plan. And with Thor's guidance, they'll go to sleep tonight with full bellies.

'Let's go,' he growled.

As quiet as a mouse, and as fast as an eagle, he and his Nightmare companion flew from one sea stack to another. Closing the gap between them and the fish bellow. Since fish are very sensitive to sound, it was imperative that they moved quietly. Even the faintest sound could set the entire shoal off. And they needed to time this just right. From the edge of the sea stack that they just landed on, Toothless used his binocular vision to survey the area one last time before putting his plan into motion. From what he observed, he saw Stormfly and Windshear perched on top of a sea stack to the south. And Meatlug, and Barf and Belch on another sea stack on Toothless's right side just as he ordered. Looking back to the east, he could see the far edge of the reef where Thornado was getting ready to do his part of the plan.

As he began to process the areas surrounding them and the shoals, he was able to process the last of his plan. So far there were only two main exits that lead out of the reef. Both of which lead straight into the open ocean. The one that Thornado was blocking was the one to the east. And for good reason. The silence of the area was more oppressive as the divine winds blew calmly through the day. The ocean waters were calm and not making to much noise. Which was perfect for an ambush.

'Now, Toothless?' Hookfang questioned out of anticipation.

Though before he could answer, Toothless raised his wing in front of the Nightmare's face. Urging his fierce compadre to give it a few more seconds. After taking one last look at his surroundings, and conforming everyone's current positions, he turned back to his fiery friend and gave him a nod. Granting him permission to do what he does best. And with a smirk, Hookfang did exactly that. With five thousand pounds of raw dragon muscle, the Monstrous Nightmare sets himself aflame before hovering over the sea stack. And at amiss, he unleashed a roar that shook the very foundation of the island itself, before sending a stream of fire straight into the water.

Instantly setting off the shoals of fish and causing them to swim towards the exit on the east side. Though predictably, the Night Fury could see that it wasn't such a good idea when an echoing roar was heard in that direction. Next thing they knew, the fish made a direct beeline straight for the exit on the other side of the reef. By the time they reached for the open sea, the three dragon teams broke from their positions and intercepted the fleeing fish.

Toothless took the lead first. Picking up the pace with Hookfang right behind him as he watched the fish swim across the vast oceans. He flapped his wings hard, making every wing beat count for this mission. And for each flap, meant a good chance of gaining more ground. And with his automatic tail fin, he can cover a distance that is far greater than that of the cheetah itself. As he continued his to fly across the middle of the shoal, the other dragons split into two groups. Moving to the opposite sides of the shoal in a synchronized fashion. The Night Fury looked underneath him and saw Thornado continuously pushing the schools with his sonic blasts.

When he turned back he noticed some of the fish trying to break off from the group. Attempting to flee from the opposite sides of the ocean. While others tried escaping by jumping out of the water. But before they could succeed, that was when they made their move. With extreme precision, Toothless called to the other dragons before turning back towards the water. Then he lowered himself to merely inches away from the water's edge before initiating the next phase of his plan.

He hissed at the fish attempting to jump out of the water. Driving them back to the sea and with their fellow fish friends. Then he moves alongside the shoal. Continuously hissing at the fish in each and every corner. Then he pushed deeper through the ranks of the group even more while snarling and baring his teeth at them. All in content of keeping them in the water as the dragons continue their drive. Hookfang did the same, only this time directly firing at the water to give the fish more of a reason not to attempt to jump out again.

On the other ends of the shoals, the other dragons followed suit. With Stormfly and Windshear covering the left side and Meatlug and Bard and Belch covering the right. Going as far as firing lava blasts, shooting out venomous spine shots and setting off gaseous flames to make sure no stranglers broke from the group. And none of the fish could swim downward due to the sudden appearance of a group of Seashocker dragons. Whose electrical currents kept the fish from swimming to the bottom of the ocean.

As they continued west, the dragons chased and hurried their prey on a massive scale. Causing a lot of panic and introducing mayhem among their ranks. Instilling fear in the small hearts of the fish, which was keen for this mission. Fear will most likely benefit the dragons in the long run. And Toothless will need to exploit it if this was gonna be successful. Though to the Night Fury's luck this genuinely seemed like the case. For beyond the horizon his eagle eyes came across a massive caldera. Which was the direct entrance to the Hidden World. And was only half a mile away from where they were currently at.

'We're almost home guys!" he barked to the others. 'Keep pushing!"

And with that, the dragons doubled their efforts. With the King of Dragons himself now resorting to firing plasma blasts amongst the ranks of the shoal. Getting the fish to pick up the pace as they swam their way to certain doom. It did not take long for the other dragons to do the same. Discharging twice as many blasts and streams of flame then they did the moment the mission started.

And it was here that the fish started to realize exactly what they were walking into. But it was too late for them to do anything at this point. For at this point they were already approaching the caldera. And from that point on the dragons ceased fire. Pulling back from the water's edge and hovering just above the great waterfall.

Then like a makeshift waterfall, the large shoals of fish fell straight into the caldera. Delivering mountains of food for Toothless's subjects in the Hidden World. Which will last for an entire decade if he was not mistaken. Satisfied with the success of the mission, Toothless turns back to the other dragons and lets out a roar.

'Good work everyone,' he congratulated. 'You all did well today.'

The dragons in return called back to the Night Fury in appreciation of their efforts. Along with thanking their leader such his most gracious complements. As they began to slowly wrap up the mission, Toothless took a good view of the Hidden World. Reminiscing his most recent accomplishments as King of the Hidden World. It's been a while since he had to leave his human friend Hiccup behind. Two years to be exact. And already so much has passed since then. He had built a new life for his friends and subjects. A life of peace and plenty. Sure it was not easy, and it definitely took some time to adjust. But he pulled it off all the same. From battling dragon killers, fighting diseases, even giving various dragons their own places in the Hidden World to call home.

Though his thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a certain Deadly Nadder called to him.

'Toothless, look out!' Stormfly roared.

Upon hearing his friend, the Night Fury turned his head to see a boulder coming straight his way. Instinctively the black dragon rolled midair and dodged the boulder before it could even touch a single scale. When he rebounded Hookfang was the first to respond as to where the boulder came from.

'It's coming from the east!' the Monstrous Nightmare howled.

He watched as his fellow dragon motions his right wing to an object just outside of the Toothless took a closer look, he saw that there was a band of small human ships that were sailing at the edge of the Hidden World. Coming from the direction from where they just herded the schools of fish. And from the looks of things, there were about twelve of them. They were spread out and in a tight formation. At first Toothless was taken aback by the presence of humans near the borders of the Hidden World.

For it has been a long time since humans have ever tried to journey to the Hidden World. Especially since no humans know about its location. And those that have are long dead. Hence why no humans ever come near it. So there had to be an explanation as to why there are humans so close to their ancestral home. And let alone, what business they would have being out here. Where there is no land from miles around. Unless they turned back of course.

Initially the Night Fury mistook them as trade ships, probably dumping boulders into the ocean. But from what he could tell, some of these ships were a bit familiar. As he took a closer look, the Night Fury saw that the sails on the ships adorned a large red crest in the shape of a fist. And there was only one tribe of humans that he knew by heart that adorned that symbol.

Dragon Hunters.

A viking tribe whom they've been enemies with for as long as the King of Dragons could remember. And have hunted and killed more dragons than anyone in the Barbaric Archipelago. And the fact that they have somehow found out about the Hidden World suggests that they wish to continue capturing and enslaving of his entire species.

Which angered Toothless to the bone. So many dragons have suffered at the hands of these barbarians. So much innocent blood spilled. And for what? So that these humans can pleasure themselves by killing his kind for sport? And since they could not live without their eternal desires to kill his people, now they seek to find and destroy his entire kingdom?

No! This was something that he could not allow. Not while he still held breathe. Their voyage ends today.

As Toothless surveyed the fleet from a distance, he spotted a man armed with a bow and arrow staring right at him. From what he was wearing, the Night Fury assumed that he was their leader. For he his armor adorned a red color, and his helmet was more in the shape of a viking. With two dragon horns on both ends. And from the facial expression that was shown, he did not look happy. No, in fact, it seemed that his intentions were to eradicate everything that he laid his eyes upon. Even the caldera itself.

But Toothless will not allow that to happen. By any means necessary. And if taking him and his troops out will ensure the survival of his species, as well as saving his home, then so be it. He quickly calls to the other dragons. Rallying them all to his side just above the caldera.

'Stormfly, Hookfang, Windshear, you're with me!' he barks. 'Barf, Belch, Meatlug and Thornado, take out the ships on both flanks. We'll take them out at the center.'

"On it!" Barf and Belch warbled.

'Yes boss,' Meatlug followed up.

'This is gonna be fun!' Hookfang added.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, Toothless started off with a slow approach by descending from the skies. With Stormfly, Hookfang and Windshear not far from him. They slowly flew ahead of the small ships, and pretended that they were just lone dragons wandering in the area. It usually works for some human travelers. Who rarely see them as a threat to their cargo.

But for these guys, their reactions were quite different from what he anticipated. Instead of passing by, they retaliated by loading catapults and arming themselves with long range weapons. Though the Alpha dragon was unfazed by their reactions. Seeing how dragon hunters always shoot first and ask questions later. A very predicable response. As the hunters continued to gear up, readying for battle, Toothless suddenly give out a roar. And as quick as a lightning bolt, the four dragons made their move. The Night Fury strikes first, firing a plasma blast at the nearest ballista before the hunter arming it could fire.

The enemy retaliates by sending a volley of arrows at the sky. In which the dragons dodge with extreme precision. For they knew that the hunters coaxed their arrows with dragon root. And would have deadly consequences should one of them be hit by one. Once the volley was over, Stormfly flings her tail and spikes hit the decks of the nearest ship. Scattering the men on deck. The four of them split up shortly after that. Taking on each ship as the enemy hunters press their attack. They fired catapults that almost cut Toothless down to size, but he was luckily able to avoid them at the right moment..

Using the sky as a vantage point, the Night Fury turns back and delivers a dive bomb attack that drills a massive hole in the hull of the hunters' ship. Causing it to be disabled and sink to the bottom of the ocean. With its crew still aboard it. Which enrages the lead hunter. He then shouted and barked orders at his men. Doubling their efforts to take the dragons down whatever it takes. And since then, the tide slowly started to shift in their favor. Or at least is slowly started to.

And Toothless started to notice this when the dragons that he split off were getting into some serious trouble. Hookfang was the first to be shot down and was cornered by several dragon hunters. Ready to be netted and caged in the lower decks. But before that could happen, Stormfly landed on the deck and started slashing her tail at the men. Pushing them back before helping the Monstrous Nightmare back on his feet and take to the skies.

'I owe you one,' the nightmare warbled cockily.

'Don't mention it Fire Pit,' Stormfly huffed.

By then the two dragons about and continued their assault. One the other side Meatlug and Thornado were busy taking down the lower hulls of the ships on the right flanks. Meatlug had almost been dragged on deck by the hunters' grappling hooks but was narrowly rescued by Barf and Belch. With the Hideous Zippleback setting an explosion so big that it literally rattles the sky. Along with that, the hunters and the farthest ship attempted to bring Winshear down using a launcher.

But the sleek Razorwhip dodges the attack and returns fire with a blue fireball. Blowing a hole into the mast of the ship and watching it tumble across the deck. She then follows that up by skimming her tail across the wood of the ship. And began to watch it break apart like a cardboard box before seeing the ship sink to the depths.

Of course that would be enough to take out two ships, which leaves eight more to go. Bringing much satisfaction to the Night Fury as he continued his aerial attack on the lead ship. But before he could even enact it, Toothless saw a boulder coming straight at him. He tried to dodge it, but it was too late. The boulder hits him directly at the face. Knocking him senseless as he starts to fall to the earth. He lands on the main ship and the men boarding it proceed to tie him up.

The lead dragon hunter gets a good look at him with a sadistic smile. Then he tells his men to put the Night Fury in a cage where he belongs. Once inside the cage, the leader unsheathed a mighty sword and raised it high. Intending to take the Night Fury's life right then and there.

"This is the day we get rid of your filth, once and for all," he said.

But before the hunters could do so, a magnesium blast combined with a stream of kerosene gel were shot and hits two of the dragon killers that were tying up the King of Dragons. As Toothless starts to regain his senses, the first thing that he saw was Stormfly and Hookfang landing on the deck and attacking the other hunters. Firing streams of flames in a circle formation. Acting as a barrier while Windshear cuts the sails with her sharp tail. The lead hunter hid behind his fellow hunters to prevent himself from getting burned to a crisp as more and more hunters came out from the lower deck.

On the ship, the Deadly Nadder and Monstrous Nightmare engaged some of the crew members that breached the barrier and swept them across the deck. With Stormfly ramming one hunter with her huge head, and Hookfang grabbing another hunter by his jaws before tossing him around like a rag doll and throwing him over board. But by the time he could turn to his Nadder partner to brag about it, she spots a man charging straight at him from behind. Though before anything could be done, Toothless fires a plasma blast from inside the cage. Hitting the guy straight in the face before Hookfang could be given a chance to react.

Shortly after that though, the Monstrous Nightmare gleefully shoves the hunter into the ocean to join his fellow comrades at the bottom of the sea. Once the deck was clear, both dragons helped their alpha out of the cage that he was unfortunately put in. To which Toothless returned by thanking them for the assistance.

'Thanks for having my back guys,' Toothless croons. 'That was too close.'

Though they seemed grateful, the Night Fury noticed Stormfly shooting a look at him. A look that screams 'You almost got yourself killed again'. To which Toothless looked down in guilt. Knowing one of his closest friends was right. But despite the situation, the Deadly Nadder relented. Taking into consideration that Toothless was the Alpha after all.

'Hey, your safe,' Stormfly implies. 'That's all that matters.'

And it was here that Toothless looked back up and smiled. Stormfly has always been a good friend to him. Even during his time with Hiccup.

'Okay, if you two are gonna have one of these cringy touching moments, then I think I'm gonna hurl,' Hookfang warbled with disgust.

Upon hearing that Stormfly smacks Hookfang across the face with her tail. The Monstrous Nightmare growls in response to it but neglects to take any sort of action. Giving Stormfly the opportunity to scold him.

'Shut up Hookfang!' Stormfly growled. 'You're so annoying!'

'What?!" Hookfang retaliates. 'I'm just being honest!'

It didn't take them long to start bickering again. To which made Toothless chuckle. These two always had a habit of going at each other's throats. Something that the King of Dragons himself was use to by now. But before they could go any further, the took the precaution of breaking it up.

'Alright guys,' Toothless barked. 'Let's round this up so we can go back home.'

By then the three dragons turned towards the edge of the ship and prepared to take off. When a familiar voice stopped them before doing so.

"Where to you think you're going?!"

Upon hearing it the dragons turned around to stand face to face with the lead hunter. Who was armed with a crossbow, pointed directly at the Night Fury. Yet before he could pull the trigger, he was quickly disarmed by a spike from Stormfly. Though despite being unarmed, the dragon hunter didn't seem to be done with them.

"You think this is over?!" the hunter claims. "No! This is far from over! You are vermin! Pests that need to be destroyed! You may defeat me and my men today, but we will never stop. Never rest. We will hunt you down until every single one of your kind is-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Toothless fires a plasma blast straight to the face and knocks him out cold. Having heard enough of the human's annoying rant. After that, he turned back to the other two dragons. Motioning his head towards the unconscious hunter. By then Stormfly and Hookfang looked at each other before going straight to work. With the Monstrous Nightmare opening up the cage from whence Toothless was in about ten seconds ago and the Nadder tossing the lead dragon hunter inside it. With the leader subdued the Night Fury could safely say that the battle was theirs.

For as he looked to the other ships he saw that the other dragons were making quick work with them. Sending a majority of them to the bottom of the ocean with only two other ships falling back. Sailing back east and away from the Hidden World.

'That takes care of that,' Toothless grunts. 'Let's go home.'

With the viking forces defeated, the dragons began to clear out from the sinking ships and take to the skies. But just before they could even make for a caldera, Toothless makes a U-turn and flies back towards the dragon hunter's ship. And as punishment for crossing their borders with ill intent, the Night Fury barrel rolls and fires multiple plasma blasts right into the ship hull. Sinking it and leaving the hunters stranded in the ocean. Including the lead hunter himself, who was still trapped in the cage.

"Damn you!" the hunter yelled. "Damn you all to the ends of the Earth!"

Toothless snickered a bit before joining the others. On the trip Toothless reflected on the events that have unfolded today. From redirecting fish into the Hidden World, to taking on a full scale invasion, so much has already happened. Though the more that he reflected, the more he thought about the dragon hunter leader. The disgust and anger that he saw in his eyes and the relentless ambition that carried with him pondered at the Night Fury's thoughts.

And it did him no better when he thought of the dragon killer's remarks about the Alpha dragon and his race as a whole. The grudge that the human still carried towards him and his kind, even after they disappeared. It angered the Night Fury knowing that humans still carried their immense hatred for him. But it also disappointed him too. What happened to the human race? Why are they always like this? So vile and hateful lashing out at everything and everyone. There use to be beauty within humanity. A beauty that was filled with honor and respect.

But now they seemed to put creatures like dragons down more than ever. Going so low as to going to the edge of the world, risking their lives so that they could annihilate his own. And it's gone too far now. Like as if dragons are now the enemy and not themselves. This was not the human race. It couldn't be. Because if it was, then they now have no honor. That now they accept dragons as thieves and murderers when they also know that there is more to them than they think.

Then again, that was the very reason why they left the human world to hide in their own. Since a majority of humans are incapable of compassion and friendship, and resort to acts of violence, even on each other. And it was more pitiful knowing that many have not changed since then. That they are not willing to accept such changes that they will destroy everything in their path so that nothing does change.

However, despite the fact that humans were so incapable of change, it heartened Toothless knowing that there are some humans that are capable of changing. Who are wiling to do more for the people around them, regardless to what anyone says about them. But even then the Night Fury was aware that good humans are hard to come by. Because even when there are good humans out there, they are always ousted by the bad ones. Either made as outcasts left to fend for themselves, or a hunted and slaughtered like animals just for committing a good act.

At that moment, Toothless thought about his time with his human partner Hiccup. How he would do anything to defend his kind, and would see what a dragon truly is. He really missed him. Missed him ever since the day he left him for the Hidden World. And sure, he has his mate by his side so that he would never be alone, but it wasn't enough. He was about the only human friend that he ever had in his entire life. And now he's gone.

And made him more sad that he may never meet another human like Hiccup ever again. Nor would he ever meet another human that is as compassionate, caring, and selfless as he was. Who would do anything and risk everything, not for themselves, but for those around them. Including him.

Upon approaching the Hidden World, the Night Fury began to wonder if there were any other humans out there that are as compassionate, caring, and selfless as Hiccup. That he would one day find another human that would accept him and his kind for who they were. Not as the world saw them as. And perhaps determine if humanity is capable of changing their ways. Along with finding out if there was any hope that both species can once again coexist with one another. So that he and his kind can return to the world in peace, as Hiccup once said.

Chapter Text

Fate.

Destiny.

The events leading up to both.

These are such peculiar concepts that go beyond humanity's understanding. The ability to choose has been the foundation of humankind since the dawn of time. And it has groomed many individuals into being the people they were born to be. If one were to choose to work hard, save up money and help those in need of it, they end up living a good life. If one were to lie and cheat at the top of the food chain, they inevitably would get caught and suffer the consequences. Naturally, paying for their mistakes and lose everything they've built for themselves.

And they have guided many people to find their place in the world. Whether it would be a construction worker, a server, or even the CEO of a very successful company, most people are already born into theirs, some people discover theirs, and some make a place for themselves. Making tough decisions ultimately end with them sacrificing a part of themselves to survive and thrive.

The world changes around those people. And their places are eventually turned to dust, bringing many back to those same questions in their darkest hours. Ultimately it causes some to fall victim to conspiracy theories and falsehoods in the media and use those theories as excuses for their downfall. Holding onto the past until it eventually rips them apart, rendering them of any form of sanity and causing them to descend slowly into a state of depression and madness.

Though for others, they learn to embrace the changes in their lives and start anew, discovering a new purpose for themselves and regaining their place in the world. And strive to find inner peace within their lives and flourish through hard work and dedication. And in Los Angeles, this was the average citizen as they went through constant changes every so often. They were going about their days making good and bad choices, determining where they fit in this just society.

Of course, the odds are some are still looking for their place. Who still question where they fit in the world or who they are. This simple fact couldn't be more true for a young thirteen-year-old Taiwanese-American girl with a green barrette on the side of her head. Who was in the middle of the hallways of her school, attending to her locker.

She wore a grey-blue colored hoodie with a small 'SJMS' emblem stitched across the chest, with a bigger one on her back. Along with that, she also wore a short green skirt and a pair of brown school shoes. Apart from that, her skin was slightly darker, and she had a green barrette on the side of her head.

To everyone who knew her, the girl went by Marcy Wu. However, her friends call her Marce or Mar-Mar for short. He was known for her geeky yet resourceful personality. She is always willing to learn new things and do tons of research. At the school she now attends, St. James Middle, she was said to be above the ordinary intelligence of the average kid. The only real exception is gym class because she continuously reads during class. She also was known to be very clumsy at times. She has a record of tripping over herself numerous times and falling into a trash can from here and there.

Though what made her special was her expansive imagination. Mostly involving fantasy books and video games, from which she considered her 'comfort zones. Though the thing is, they are called comfort zones for a reason. The world was already cold and harsh. And stuff like fantasy books and video games was that they were warm and soft. Above all, they were well-calculated distractions. Distractions helped shield one's innocence from the horrors of the real world.

Of course, Marcy understood one could never indeed run and hide away from it forever. She knew this as she stared into her locker, putting the notebooks from her previous class inside it while looking at a small picture of her and her two other girls, who were somewhere else at the moment. After taking a good look at the photo, the Taiwanese-American girl sighed and closed the locker door. Shortly after that, the school bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch. Her stomach ached as her legs began to move on autopilot, constantly weaving through the bustling crowd of her fellow students at Saint James Middle School.

She couldn't stop thinking about the countless homework assignments she would later need to complete. Despite being an A-student, Marcy was amazed by how she could keep up with it. The school's relentless grading system had stressed her out, and the expectations her parents set from the beginning. She wished the day was over so she could go back home and play with her switch.

Once she stepped into the cafeteria, she saw it was packed with many bodies. Many from which she was familiar. As she grabbed a tray and got in the lunch line, her sight was set on two girls sitting at an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria, revealing her two best friends, Sasha Waybright and Anne Boonchuy. And the weight of the pressures of life had dissolved instantly.

Throughout the portion of the line, a thousand things ran through the mind of the Taiwanese-American girl as her gaze was firmly locked onto the two girls as they gossiped about frog knows what. The mere images of Sasha's tall, muscular form and Anne's small yet adorable figure gave a warm yet fuzzy feeling inside Marcy's heart. These were the friends she would do anything for, and in return, they would do anything for her.

There was no one she would not trust or count on more than them. And she knew it. But before she could give the matter any further thought, t, a pair of fingers snapped before her face, causing the girl to slightly shaking her head. When she looked up, she saw the cafeteria cook raise an eyebrow before nodding for her to move.

"Hate to break it to you, kid," he said sternly. "But you're holding up the line!"

"Oh, sorry," she said instinctively.

Without further delay, she grabbed her tray and went off so the next person would get their share.

Then she rushed off to the tables, closely dodging a couple in the way. Afterward, she went to the table where her two friends were sitting. And to her amazement, she was met with delighted smiles the moment they saw her coming. However, her much-needed gratification was shattered when her eyes failed to see the inconvenient apple cord on the floor, causing her to trip on herself for the five hundredth time. The tray of food flew high up in the air yet was miraculously caught by a pair of pale hands.

While another pair caught Marcy before her head could make contact with the ground.

"Easy there, Mar-Mar," she reassured her friend.

Afterward, the Thai girl helped and guided her to the table where they both sat. She was then met with the second pair of eyes from across the table,

who seemed amused with the situation.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder whether or not you tripped yourself out of the womb when you were, Marce," Sasha teased with a chuckle before sitting the tray in front of her. "No offense intended, of course."

In return, Marcy rolled her eyes while battling the redness in her cheeks. Rubbing her head to hide the awkwardness marked all across her face.

"None taken, Sashi," she replied. "Just got caught off guard, that's all."

"Well, it's a new record, too," Sasha said. "That was the longest time you've gone since you last tripped."

"I'll say, the last time we saw you fall on yourself was last week," Anne added. "I forgot, was it during art class?"

"Did you guys seriously have to keep count?" Marcy questioned.

"Don't we always?" Sasha asked again.

The Taiwanese-American girl thought about it for a moment before considering that her blonde-haired friend had a point.

"Fair point," she stated with a shrug.

Marcy returned her gaze to her tray and food and was about to take her first bite when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her in a loving embrace. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Anne coddling her as if she were a giant fluffy teddy bear. At the same time, earning an envious stare from the girl across from them.

"Oh, come on, Anne," Sasha sneered. "Do you really have to do that in front of me?"

"Hey, Sash, it's my turn to be on Marcy duty today," Anne retorted. "So don't judge me!"

"Yeah, really not fond of you calling it that," Marcy derided with a sigh. "Especially when I'm literally right here!"

Though to her dismay, the A-student was met with two matching grins, which started to devise on her best friends' faces. And they began to form a look that Marcy knew all too well.

"Oh no," she groaned. "I know that look, you guys. Please don't!"

On top of that, Anne Boonchuy, in all her beautiful, distracting glory, started giggling as she eyeballed Sasha. Who also started laughing at what was about to come next.

"Or, we could always call it-," she started.

"Please don't!" Marcy scorned, covering her ears as they carried on.

"-the grand guarding of-," Sasha picked up.

"Don't say it, please," Marcy practically begged.

"QUEEN REGINA!" they both exclaimed in unison.

Afterward, they both burst into heavy laughter as Marcy's cheeks brightened even more. Earning a long, agonizing groan from their Taiwanese-American friend before she buried her head against the table and she hid her own embarrassment.

"I hate you!" she scoffed spitefully. "You guys are so mean!"

"Ah, come on, Mar-Mar," Anne reassured. "We're just playing around."

"Yeah, there's no shame in making jokes about our Queen," Sasha added with a snicker.

"I'm gonna find another music box and warp you both in it," Marcy joked. "And if I become a princess in that world, my first decree will be to gag you guys up and throw you in the desert."

Sasha chuckled. Apparently, she found Marcy wallowing in her misery very amusing.

"Aw, Marce," she said while taking a sip of her own drink. "We all know you love us too much to do that."

The A-student perked her head back up when the "L" word entered her brain cells, which earned another giggle from her messy-haired friend.

"I don't know, Sasha," Anne redacted, rubbing Marcy's shoulders to keep her relaxed. "Her Highness seems pretty serious. And treason is a serious crime. One that's punishable by death."

In response, Sasha released an exaggerated gasp before leaning against the counter and grasping one of her hands with her own while giving her pleading eyes.

"Please, your Royal Majesty," she begged. "Please, have mercy on this poor soul."

Marcy giggled. She found it cute whenever Sasha begged. Or couldn't stand the sight of her groveling. But either way, she won her over. She took a moment to clear her voice before finally speaking.

"Fine, you're off the hook," she said before she started eating. " But next time, I won't be so merciful."

"Oh, thank you, Queen Marcy!" Sasha exclaimed. "Frog bless your soul."

This earned yet another chuckle from her and Anne as she quickly finished her meal, fighting the urge to blush again when Sasha joined in with the laughter.

Along that, a warm feeling came across Marcy's chest. A sense that brought about a familiar emotion. One that brought her joy and comfort. And would shield her from what the real world had to offer her. But then she frowned mentally. She knew this wouldn't last forever. And it was only a matter of time before this warm feeling inside of her would finally end. And soon, she would need to find out where she belonged in the world.

It has been two months since she, Sasha, and Anne left Amphibia. The adventures that they had and the hardships that they've heard about felt like a distant memory. When she first returned to her parent's house, she was afraid they would be mad at her for running off. But to her surprise, they weren't. Instead, they were relieved that their daughter was finally safe. Giving her a warm embrace and serving her a hot meal at best.

As it turned out, ever since she went missing, they've been completely heartbroken. And, as soon as they got her back, they treated her much more fairly than before. But despite the heartwarming reunion, nothing changed regarding moving out of California. Which Marcy had finally embraced since returning from the frog world.

However, to Marcy's surprise, they have decided to postpone the moving day to the end of the school year. They acted hastily when rushing to move without considering their daughter's feelings. Plus, moving in the middle of the school year would mean that Marcy would have to repeat the eighth grade again and further compromise her education. Not only that, but it was also unhealthy to pull her away from the only two friends she had ever had since she was really young so early. So there was some logic to it.

And Marcy was able to accept these terms. Seeing it as a way to spend as much time with her friends before moving away while embracing whatever changes lay before her. And in return, they accepted this as well.

Coming to an agreement to set up scheduled meetings. With a minimum of three days a week. Which would typically involve a sleepover or a shopping spree at the mall. Beyond that, they would do their best to branch out and do other things.

Yet even after everything that happened two months ago, life hasn't been the kindest to the three girls. The amount of catching up they had to do with the many months of going missing from school greatly affected them. Especially Sasha, who hated math with every inch of her body.

However, regardless of the work they had to endure, each experienced significant changes in their lives. Sasha was the first who had changed the most out of them. Going from the manipulative control freak, she used to be to a more caring, emotionally aware person who will always be there whenever Marcy and Anne need to be. Of course, the cheerleader's old snark wasn't completely gone, but it was less so than it was before.

Then there was Anne, who was probably the most grown-up? Since Amphibia, she learned never to slack off when it came to what she needed to get done and finally own up to her own responsibilities. Not only that, but she was now more confident in making her own choices and having more control over her life now that she was considered a hero in not one but two worlds. Which was something no one she ever knew would pull off. Save for both Sasha and Marcy.

As for Marcy herself, while she had learned to be more open-minded with Anne and Sasha's feelings and had grown past many of her codependency issues, she was still the massive nerd they considered her to always be. To which there was no shame since it was her passion. And she would still go on for hours about her favorite book or video game if one of them gave her a chance.

Despite this, however, Marcy still felt...a bit off. Of course, she had already come to terms with the fact that she would eventually leave her friends behind, let alone embrace the fact that Amphibia was now in the past. But some of her still wished that she would return to how things were back in the frog world. At least before everything went wrong.

She would lie to herself if she said she didn't have a great time there. Remembering how happy she was when she was up on that stage in Wartwood, singing 'No Big Deal' with her two best friends. Or more explicitly, during her time as a respected ranger in Newtopia. Fighting pirates with Yunnan, attending parties with Lady Olivia or reading with King Andrias in the library. It was there that she was at her most robust state of being.

It was there that she grew to be a more confident person. No more was she that clumsy, klutzy Marcy that everyone would belittle her for. But now that they were back here, that confidence had been all but history. Bringing her back to the socially-awkward dork that she had once been. Yet it was a revelation that had made peace in the long run, more or less.

However, this did not come with significant side effects. Despite the good times she had in Amphibia, the trauma that she endured under the control of that monstrous being known as The Core, and her actions that would start all of it, to begin with, have left an ever-lasting effect on the poor girl. There were days when she could hear its voice. Whispering to her like a lover or a jailer. But she would not listen to it. Not after everything she and her friends had gone through to free her from its influence.

"Hey, I know that look, Mar-Mar. What's wrong?" Anne asked, bringing the half-Asian girl out of her trance.

The former ranger didn't answer at first. Coughing a bit while finding a voice in the expression of the two girls sitting across from her.

"It's nothing," she responded. "Sorry. I blanked out for a sec."

The two other girls looked at each other for a moment. Contemplating whether or not their friend was telling them the truth. Though it wouldn't be the first time.

"Are you sure, Marce?" Sasha questioned. Leaning against the table. "You've been awfully quiet these past few weeks."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you this out of it since you turned down that one guy in our English class," Anne added. "Granted, he was a creep, but you get the point."

"I'm fine, girls, really," Marcy reassured, though she wasn't being sincere in her answer.

"I've been overworked these past few days, that's all. You both know how the teachers can sometimes be."

Anne knew there was more to it than what Marcy was implying. But respected her sense of privacy and decided not to press any further out of fear of making her best friend uncomfortable. Yet it unsettled the Taiwanese girl's fact that she couldn't open up to her friends. She swore to them she wouldn't keep any more secrets from them.

"Though, now that I think about it," she admitted. "I've been so caught up in the studies that I haven't done anything different lately."

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked, now genuinely curious."

"I don't know, it just seems like every day, I'm just doing the same old thing," Marcy explained. "Sleep, eat, go to school, do homework, repeat. It's like I'm some sort of robot programmed to do a certain thing every day. And it's getting really bland and meaningless if you ask me."

This made Anne and Sasha genuinely puzzled. Since it was most unusual for a girl like Marcy, who was constantly doing something.

"Don't you have that big chess match in a few days?" Anne claimed.

"They postponed it for another month."

"What about that big convention you were talking about last week," Sasha added.

"It got canceled last minute due to 'safety' concerns."

"Art project?"

"Finished and presented yesterday."

"That game I bought you that one time after I broke your phone charger?"

"Played through it three times and finished it two days ago," Marcy answered, earning a blush from Sasha because of the admission.

With every offered activity they brought up that they knew she was best interested in, Marcy quickly gave an answer. It was cute that her two best friends named all of her interests that they'd generally expect her to do, despite ignoring them for most of their friendship. But if their goal was to help her branch out and ease the quietness, then they'd be disappointed.

Two weeks after returning to Amphibia, Anne took the precaution of joining a science club, which asked that she meet at least three days a week. In addition of having to attend science fairs that occur every two months. As for Sasha, she re-assumed her role as captain of the school's cheerleading team. And since basketball season was around the corner, she would be constantly busy. Then there was Marcy, who was correct about her previous statements. And with every new opportunity to branch out, Marcy grew bored of it instantly.

Leaving her to this endless cycle of both school and homework. Though it warmed her heart to see her friends try to help her out.

"I see what your problem is," Sasha said.

"Should I go to law school?" Marcy asked randomly.

"No! Anything but that," the blonde girl quickly redacted. "What I meant to say is that you need to break out of that boring routine."

"Really? How?"

At that moment, the former warrior queen stood up, taking a deep breath before unleashing a mother load of good advice.

"It's simple," she started off. "Throw out the old act. Get out there, and who knows what you're gonna do. Make it up as you go along."

"Hmm?"

"You know, make it fresh."

"Fresh, huh," Marcy stated, slightly confused. "I think I can do fresh."

"Trust me, Mar-Mar," Sasha assured. "It works for me all the time."

"Only cause you were the one who used to make all the decisions," Marcy added.

"Still work, though, didn't it?"

Marcy sipped her juice with content, considering making things 'fresh', though she had yet to learn how that worked or if she was any good at it.

"You know what, Sasha," Anne stated. "You make an excellent point."

"I do?" the blonde girl asked, feeling surprised and baffled at the same time.

"She does?" Marcy backed up.

"Now hear me out,' Anne said, inching closer to Marcy so that she could have her undivided attention. "You're a very good person. You are smart and kind and can quickly get out of tough situations. But you're not the best when it comes to talking to people. You need a change in enviromnent. That way you can meet people who have the same interests as you. That's how I got into the science club.

For a moment, a part of Marcy felt slightly self-conscious about Anne's compliments, and another part of her was still confused about what her messy-haired friend was trying to tell her.

"I'll tell you what, Mar-Mar," Anne proposed. "Maggie hosting a party tonight to celebrate her 13th birthday. Every kid in the school's gonna be there. Why don't we all go there, tonight? We can hang out, have some fun, tell silly jokes, and who knows, maybe you'll find somone to relate to. Does that sound fair?

Although Marcy was still trying to recover from Anne's enticing compliments, she found her proposal most intriguing. While she wasn't very fond of going to crowded places or events, ecpecially parties, the thought of as much time with her friends as possible while also having her be the main focus of it was something that Marcy had always wanted in the past. This time, this would be her friend's idea instead of hers.

"Hmm," she said, slightly biting her lip. Though the bell rang the moment she was about to answer. Marking the end of the lunch period. "I'll give it some thought, girls. My parents expect me to be home as soon as school ends. But I'll consider it."

She then grabbed her bag and prepared to leave for her next class. Though, before she could take off, a hand grasped her own. When she spun around, she saw it was Anne's. And tried her very best to fight the red-hot blush on her cheeks.

"Good," the messy hair girl said. "But know, you don't have to pressure yourself into deciding. Whatever you decide, know that we'll always support you."

Marcy, in response, smiled while squeezing her hand simultaneously.

"Duly noted," she replied. "See you guys after school?"

"Yup," Sasha said as the three girls gave a friendly embrace. "Till we meet again, Queen Regina."

Marcy groaned and rolled her eyes at the very mention of that nickname. Earning a small giggle from the two girls.

"You know we're just gonna keep calling you that like every other time," Sasha added, earning a frown from Marcy. "So, you might as well get used to it."

"I might as well find myself a new pair of best friends while I'm at it, then," Marcy joked.

The three girls then shared one more laugh before giving each other one last embrace before taking off to their respective classes. Marcy looked back at the risk of being late for her next class and gave them a small wave. Then she turned back towards the cafeteria exit, heading to her last period of the school day.

Five Minutes Later

Marcy didn't take long to find her way to the class she was supposed to be in. Nor did it take her long to take her seat, which was directly in the middle of the classroom. With two seats to her left and two other seats to her right. It wasn't a huge classroom, but it was big enough to hold at least twenty students. All of them were chatting amongst themselves, waiting for the school bell to ring so that class could begin.

To pass the time, Marcy took out her journal, one she'd always kept since she was younger, and quickly started jotting down a few notes. As she did, she looked up to see the teacher on the whiteboard, drawing up today's lecture. The man appeared to be a middle-aged man with blonde hair, brown eyes, a short beard, and wore a pair of glasses. Which was a typical look for the average history teacher. And he went by the name Martin Patterson.

If there was one class that Marcy had a personal liking toward out of all the other classes in the school, it was probably her history class. Primarily because the teacher was just so darn cool, at least to all the students at the school. It was said that every other teacher in the school either hated teaching over there or was so by the book that their teachings nearly bored the students.

But he was neither. Instead of that, he loved it. And the content of he taught his class was something that didn't go by the book. Instead of going through the usual stuff about histories like the American Revolution or the Fall of the Roman Empire, he taught exciting novel stories. Ranging from the Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter and His Dark Materials. But the one he taught the most, at least from what Marcy could recount, was A Song of Ice and Fire.

Which was considered to be one of the most famous novel series to date. And was also one of Marcy's favorite novels.

Considering that it had everything from epic strategic battles, excessive drama, and, most importantly, magical fantasy creatures that would send shivers down one's spleen. Some things that definitely spoke to her. Oh, and the fact that he let's everyone watch movies on Fridays. When the school bell rang, everyone took their seats and waited for the class teacher to start the lecture.

"Good afternoon, everyone," the teacher greeted. "I trust you all had a pleasant lunch break."

"Yes, Mr. Patterson," all the students said in unison.

"That's great to hear," he said warmly. "Now, let's begin, shall we. Take out your copies of 'Fire and Blood.' And turn to page 134."

And with that, they all took their own versions of the class topic out, including Marcy, who was in perfect condition. When she opened it up, she looked at the page from which she was instructed to turn. Though the whole book was flawlessly annotated, she did in advance to be further ahead.

"Alright, now will someone refresh our memories on what we last read from yesterday?" Mr. Patterson asked the class.

Now, if one were to ask Marcy to do something like this in front of the entire school, they'd be kidding themselves. For she tended to have a habit of being socially awkward. This was typical for a person who sometimes has trouble looking people in the eye.

Yet before she could get ahead of herself, one of the other students valiantly took it upon themselves to start off. Which was a student who went by the name of Alejandro.

"Aegon and his army prepared to set sail to Westeros after Argilac, the Arrogant of Storm's End, sent his the hands of his envoy back to him in Dragonstone," he explained. "Saying, 'These are the only hands you will receive.' Before that, he sent ravens to all of the Lords of the Seven kingdoms. Carrying the exact same message."

"Thank you, Alejandro," said Mr. Patterson. "And do you remember what Aegon's message was to all of the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms?"

"He said, 'From this day forth, there would only be one king in Westeros," the boy explained further. "Those who would bend the knee to Aegon of House Targaryen would be allowed to keep their lands and titles. But those who took up arms against him would be thrown down humbled and destroyed.'"

After that, the teacher stood up. Looking at the whiteboard before looking back at his students.

"Yes, and it would be here that he starts his conquest," he said. "His first strike was at Harrenhal, which was ruled by King Harren of House Hoare. At the same time, his hand Orys Baratheon fought King Argilac on the hills outside Storm's End. "

The history teacher took a moment to draw the exact locations from which he spoke. Marking both locations with black and yellow. Black for Harrenhal and yellow for Storm's End.

"Now, for a man with only a handful of soldiers, and few lords supporting his cause, you'd think that this would be a losing fight; wouldn't you agree, Gwen?"

The girl he was referring to wasn't even paying attention and was too busy playing with her hair. And only picked up the wind of this the moment she realized the teacher was calling her name.

"Umm, yes! Definitely, sir!" she guessed. "It definitely was!"

In return, the teacher dismissed her optimism with a nod before pressing on.

"It was a complicated situation for the young conqueror at that time," he explained. "After all, both kingdoms had larger armies, ships, castles, and thousands of years of rule. Harrenhal was considered to be the most impregnable house in all seven kingdoms. And Argilac's host outnumbered Orys's three to one. And rumors were spread that House Gardener of the Reach and House Lannister of the Rock had joined forces to fight the would-be Conqueror. Which was never happened in a thousand years. "

Marcy was busy doodling on scratch paper as the teacher continued the lecture, marking both the Westerlands and the Reach on the whiteboard with red and orange. Drawing a makeshift version of a butterfly on a grassy field. While reading through the pages at the same time.

Though many would consider this distracting, this was a way for Marcy to pass the time while also considering it a personal hobby. However, after an hour and Marcy continued to draw, she noticed that a picture in the corner she had drawn was in the shape of a lidless eye. Followed by several other eyes surrounding it. Until they were surrounded by a large circle with antlers covering the edges. Almost looking too similar to...

'No!' she whispered to herself. 'Not again!'

In an instant, Marcy erased the drawing and turned her gaze back to her book. Yet what came next sent a cool chill up her spine. For in the abstract silence of the classroom, a tiny whisper was heard from the back of her head. Causing Marcy to drop her pencil and freeze for a moment. For it was all too familiar to the girl. Half a second later, another one was heard. And another, and another. Until she finally realized who the culprit of the voices was.

From which would be from the echoing remnants of The Core. Or at least from what she interpreted. She had that thing inside her head long enough to notice its voice. She did her best to shrug them off, but with each passing second, the voices started getting louder and louder. Until finally, it was loud enough for her not to be ignored any further.

"Why do you keep resisting?" it spoke more clearly than ever. "Choosing to live this primitive life when you could live in paradise?"

Marcy fought with every nerve in her body to ignore the voice. Trying to think of other things to distract her. But it became too evident that the voice was not going away soon.

"You can keep trying to deny the truth, but it changes nothing," it continued. "You will always be that weak, pathetic little creature we used when we took you as our host."

At that moment, Marcy closed her eyes. She covered her face with her hands to hide her tears so that no one saw.

"Leave me alone," she whimpered, barely hearing the sound of her voice. 'Get out of my head!'

"You will never escape us," the Core goaded. "We will always be here. Now, and always!"

The Taiwanese girl wanted nothing more than to shout at the voice. Telling it to leave her be and that she never wanted to see or hear it again. But deep down, she knew that it was right. At least about the part where it would always haunt her. A piece of the Core still lived in her, even in death.

And she would never truly be rid of the damnable thing, no matter how many times she wanted to. And knowing this made Marcy slowly break into tears. To the point where some dropped onto her paper. Despite her misfortune, the teen girl's mental breakdown would not go unnoticed.

"Marcy?" a voice asked her. When she looked up, she noticed the teacher standing over her. Looking slightly concerned for her. "Is everything alright?"

She looked around to see that everyone was staring at her. Making her extremely embarrassed. Though some of the students didn't mind it, she could hear snickering from behind her, coming from two girls sitting two seats to her left.

"Um, yes sir," she answered quickly. Trying to relapse before anyone could ask. "Just dozed off for a bit. You were saying?"

At first glance she could tell that the teacher wasn't too happy with her half-truth answer. But she could also tell he understood that it was none of her business. And instead went right back to the topic.

"When both kings Loren Lannister and Mern Gardner met Aegon's forces at Goldengrove," he spoke. "How would you describe the Conqueror's response?"

Now, if he had asked her this at any other time, she would've answered the question immediately. But here she was, caught off guard. Too busy doodling and hiding her tears than paying attention to the lecture. The last thing that she remembered reading about was the Burning of Harrenhal.

"Well, you see, sir... Aegon's..." she stuttered. Finding it difficult to put it into words. "The Conqueror...he set up..."

Before she could continue, she heard a voice cut her off from behind her.

"Dork's too busy with her doodles; she can barely even speak English," she heard. When she turned, she saw that one of the girls, presumably the one she had heard snickering from before staring right at her with a sinister grin across her face. She had long black hair, wore earrings, a half-cut t-shirt with the school logo at the center, and wore a pair of sandals. And had the snobby and spoiled demeanor that would make most girls shiver in fear. "Bet she's too dumb even to answer a simple question. Like all you freaks do."

The girl's venom struck through Marcy like a dagger to the heart. She was used to being made fun of by the other kids. Heck, she even made it to be a hobby. But that right there made her heart stop. The amount of disrespect this girl had was unwavering, even in her most vulnerable state. Luckily for her, the teacher did not seem to take this very well.

"Oh, is that right?" Mr. Patterson challenged, moving past Marcy and standing over the other girl. "Then how would you describe it, Ms. Tracy Chandler? Since your so eager to respond while another student is speaking?!"

Despite the teacher's shift in demeanor, the other student remained unfazed. And instead had a headstrong posture. Looking all high and mighty, with the confidence of a bald eagle.

"It's simple," she answered. "Aegon met with the two kings with a million men. With lots of swords and lots of horses. He led the charge with white and shiny armor when the battle started. The battle lasted for hours. With Aegon slaying dozens of men with his mighty sword. Until both kings turned and ran back to the castled, they came from."

Now, many teachers would pat her on the back for her straightforward answer. But there was only one problem.

Her statement was completely inaccurate.

From what Marcy could recall, both Loren and Mern outnumbered the Targaryen force ten to one. And it was Lord Jon of House Mooton who led the charge, not Aegon. And their mounted knights smashed through the center before he could even enter the fight. And when he did join the battle, he certainly did not ride any horse that day.

And it was now that she began to realize this as the smirking brat painted her nails, which was a further sign of disrespect. Not that she seemed to care. However, this presented Marcy with an opportunity, which could tip the balance of power in her favor. For if there was anything that she was good at, it was being very knowledgeable about this subject. And she would be damned if someone else twisted it into their inaccurate versions. She wouldn't have it.

"It was a glorious day for Aegon, with his white armor and handsome face," Tracy pondered. "And he returned to his castle with-"

"Mr. Patterson," Marcy interrupted, looking straight at Tracy before returning her gaze to the teacher. "It wasn't just Aegon who participated in the Field of Fire. It was also his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys. And it wasn't their men or horses that gave them victory. It was also their dragons. "

The entirety of the class froze with Marcy's analysis. Yet the straight A-student seemed to need more time to be done with her take on the lecture.

"Visenya rode Vhagar, whose fire could melt through armor," Marcy continued. "Rhaeneys rode atop Meraxes, whose jaws were big enough to swallow three horses. But the greatest of them all was Balerion the Black Dread, with fire dark as night and whose wings were so huge that entire towns were covered in shadow when he flew overhead. And he was ridden by King Aegon himself."

"When Loren and Miren's knights cut off the center of Aegon's flanks, he unleashed all his dragons, not on the soldiers, but on the fields around them. More than four thousand men died that day. Ten thousand more returned home burned and scarred for life. Earning its name 'The Field of Fire.' "

When she was about, the whole finished class stared in awe, Heather looking baffled by the Taiwanese girl's interruption with her friend's mouth agape. As for the teacher, he was entirely moved by her answer. Never had he seen this type of performance in all his life. And the fact she was able to lay out the details specifically made him very impressed.

"Very well said, Marcy," he praised. "At least one person in this classroom has taste in knowledge. One like some of you kids, who'd rather waste their time taking selfies and braiding their hair than learning."

All of the students gasped at his remark. His foul words felt like a punch to the gut for Tracy, whose pride was more wounded than a pigeon on an electric wire. And Marcy could tell by the redness in the cool girl's cheeks that she was livid.

"No offense Mr.," she retaliated. "But why are you even bothering to teach us this garbage in the first place? Shouldn't you be teaching us stuff that ACTUALLY happened? Like George Washington and the Queen of England?"

Marcy heard a few oohs and aahs from the other students. But the teacher remained casual in his expression. She could hear a chuckle escape the history instructor's lips. Almost as if he was more intrigued by her outburst rather than insulted.

"Because it all boils down to the same thing," he answered. "All those important figures you see in the history books, Washington, Columbus, Stalin, Hitler, do you know what they all have in common?"

No one answered. Yet the teacher did not expect anyone to I've one.

"They can be anything anyone would want them to be," he continued. "Hitler can be a tyrant to some people and a hero to others. George Washington can be seen as an honorable man who fights for his country but can be portrayed as a cowardly traitor that turned his back on his forefathers."

"The thirst for absolute power," he implored. "The desire to dominate, use whatever resources they have, whether dragons and machines or nuclear bombs. The need to bend others to their will is essential. And has been a crucial part of our history. One that built the world that we now live in."

He finally wrapped up his monolog by staring straight at Tracy. Looking her dead in the eye without giving a second thought.

"That is why I teach what I teach," he confirmed. "To teach all of you the true meaning of human nature. Cause if we don't mind our histories, then it will do the same to us as it did to them. But who am I to say? I'm just a history teacher. The decisions are entirely up to you. I only advise that you all choose carefully."

Shortly after that, the school bell rang. Signally the end of the day. And already, most students had grabbed their bags and started heading for the door.

"And that is all for today's lesson, students," he finalized. "Don't forget to review four, five, and six."

Marcy was one of the few people that were the last to start packing. Before she could finish, she was roughly shoved by Tracy, squeezing her way through the rows, which caused Marcy to drop her bag, journal, and her books. She was forced to pick them up as Heather sneered on her way out.

Of course, it wasn't always like this. Tracy had only just arrived at the school a couple months ago. Joining at the beginning of the semester for some weird reason. Though it didn't take her long to climb up the social hierarchy in the school. Making her the second most popular girl, right underneath Sasha.

Still, Marcy couldn't help but think about her witty remark during the class. How she knew more about the lecture than her supposed adversary. It felt pretty satisfying at the time. But at the same time, she figured she would have something for her later. Knowing that girl's ego and pride reminded her of Sasha before Amphibia.

As she continued picking up her items and stuffing them in her bag, she was about to pick up her book when another hand grabbed it. Revealing to be the teacher's hand himself.

"Let me help you with that," he offered kindly.

"Thank you," she replied.

By then, he handed her book and helped zip her bag up. But before she could leave, he stopped her out of curiosity.

"Are you sure you're doing alright, Marcy?" he asked. "This is the third breakdown you've had this week. I've never seen you like this."

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Patterson, I've just been stressed out these last couple of months," she answered, trying to ease the tension. "All this homework and catching up since-"

"-Since the day you and your friends went missing?"

Her eyes widened. She was not very comfortable with anyone mentioning what happened that day. Especially now after everything she had been through. What her friends had been through. What she had put her friends through. It was just something that she was susceptible to. Yet she knew she had to play it off, or she'll never hear the end of it.

"Yeah," she said, giving a half smile. "Something like that."

In response, Mr. Patterson sighed before pulling out a pen and a yellow sticky mark. She briefly watched him write down his phone number before handing it to her.

"Well, if you ever need anything," he told her. "Whether it's for school, homework, or just to chat. Please, feel free to call me or drop by my office. My door is always open."

Marcy looked up at the teacher to see him smiling down at her. She could tell that he knew she was going through a hard time. And quite frankly, she was. But it was nice that he was offering her his support like this. None of the teachers of this school had the courtesy of providing such aid.

"Um, thanks," she acknowledged. "I'll be sure to keep this in mind."

"Of course," Mr. Patterson responded. "Now, I'm sure your friends are waiting for you. Run along."

And with that, Marcy started to head toward the door. But before she could finally exit the classroom, the teacher made one last remark to her on the way out.

"And good work today Marcy," he told her. "You're still my best student."

As she finally left the class, this put a smile on the Taiwanese girl's face. Heading off to go to her locker and regroup with Sasha and Anne.

Two Minutes Later

Marcy didn't take long to find her way to her locker. Which was in the middle of the hallway, two isles away from Sasha and Anne's. Though it disheartened her that her locker was so far away from Anne and Sasha's, she didn't make too much of a big deal about it. After all, it has always been like this since she first applied to this school.

When she opened her locker, she saw that all her books and items were neatly stashed. When she opened her locker, she saw that all her books and items were neatly stashed. Then as quickly as she could, she swapped her books with her notes and stuffed all her homework papers into her bag. Though as she rummaged through all her stuff, she managed to notice that she kept a whole lot of old binders inside. Perhaps way too many.

Yet it didn't surprise her, considering her preference to bring as many binders and notebooks to school as possible. It didn't take her too long to finish up, ending with tugging out her own journal with a satisfied expression, then shoving it in her bag before looking at the mirror on the door of her locker. Which had a little picture of her and her friends from a couple years back.

She took a moment to admire it. Taking back to all the fun times she had with them. She knew sooner or later that, she would have to let go of it. It was bound to be inevitable. Though she couldn't help but think about what the future would hold for her once it was done. But that was a topic for another day. Now she just had to go find them.

Yet unfortunately for her, as she continued to stare into the mirror, looking at her self-image, she noticed three familiar girls approaching her from behind. And they weren't Sasha and Anne. Instead, it was that insufferable Tracy accompanied by her friends Courtney (who sat next to her in class) and Gwen tailing from behind.

"Well, if it isn't our favorite dork," she mocked. Trying to get a rise out of the valedictorian geek. "You managed to put on an impressive show during class. Not that it did anything to help me if I'm being honest."

But Marcy knew better. And instead squinted suspiciously through the mirror before turning back to her locker. She learned the hard way that others would do anything to put her down. And even though she was not up to hearing her banter, she figured that if she let her talk, Tracy would get bored and leave. Though to her dismay, it didn't seem like she was going away any time soon.

"What do you want, Tracy?!" she questioned.

"Oh, don't be like that, Wu," Tracy dismissed, trying to put on fake personnel. "The way I see it, we're considered besties."

"Yeah, well, you sure didn't seem like it when you called me a freak," Marcy dismissed, zipping up her bag in the process. "Besides, I already have two besties."

"Oh yeah, and who's that?" Tracy pressed on. "I doubt any person in this stupid school would be done enough to be friends with you."

Marcy froze at that moment. The girl's words to her stung like venom, yet at the same time, it almost made her laugh. Knowing too well who her friends were.

"That's...really none of your business," Marcy then finalized before closing her locker and spinning to face the spoiled snob. "And even if I didn't have any friends, I sure wouldn't want to be friends or besties with the likes of you."

Tracy's eyes widened at Marcy's remark. Behind her, she could hear her own friends Courtney and Gwen, struggling to hide their chuckles. Though were quick to silence themselves when the spoiled girl glared at them from the corner of her eye. From the looks of things Tracy did not appreciate any of this. Nor did she appreciate the amount of disrespect Marcy was giving her. Yet when she looked back she saw that Marcy was already walking away.

Now in a situation like this, anyone with any semblance of common sense would let this go and carry on with her day. But Tracy was not like most people. Instead, a stunt like this further wounded her pride, which she takes very seriously. And any person who disrespected her like this would threaten her ego, especially a nerd like Marcy. No. She would not allow it.

And before Marcy could be given a chance to leave her sight, Tracy grabbed the base of the Taiwanese girl's backpack and pulled her backward.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Marcy yelled.

"Teaching you a lesson on manners!" Tracy answered back.

Before Marcy could strike back, the brunette teen placed her free hand on Marcy's chest and pushed her up against the wall. She tried to push back and free herself, but Tracy grabbed her risked and firmly pinned them against the locker behind her. Having her completely cornered and immobilized.

"Listen here, little miss know it all!" she exclaimed. "There's a natural order of things. Where I am at the top, and you are at the bottom!"

There was nothing Marcy could really do at that moment. Since she was cornered against the wall with the other girls standing beside Tracy so that no one could see them. Making her feel virtually powerless. But she did not break. If there was one thing she learned back in Amphibia, she had faced worse things than this.

"You and your kind are nothing but the dirt that people like me tread on!" Tracy continued to mock. "And you need to be put in your place! Starting now!"

She then raised her right-hand high. Ready to bring it down on Marcy as hard and fast as she imagined. In return, Marcy closed her eyes and whimpered. Silently praying that someone would notice and come to her rescue. Before her cute, cheeky face could meet Tracy's firm hand, her prayer was answered.

"HEY!" a voice called from a distance.

The four girls turned to their right to see an enraged Anne Boonchuy marching at them. With Sasha hastily tailing her from behind. From afar, Marcy could see the fire in Anne's eyes. And it didn't take long for the other three girls to notice either. Upon her approach, Courtney and Gwen backed away. Taking their chances and not risking provoking the Thai girl's wrath.

Tracy, on the other hand, stood her ground. Feeling more baffled than intimidated. Her friends tried to urge her to let go by pulling at her shoulder, but the snooty girl's pride kept her from doing so. Instead, shrugging them off arrogantly, and turned back to face Anne as she charged at her with murderous intent.

"Take your flipping hands off her!" Anne declared.

"Oh yeah?" Tracy challenged. Trying to call her bluff. "Or what? Are you gonna tell the teacher about me? Or call the school principal and-"

Before she could finish her taunt, Tracy felt a dusk of wind rush up and a pair of hands wrapping around the base of her neck before she could even blink. Forcing her to let go of Marcy, who slumped down against the wall, and attempt to try to pry off Anne's hands with her own. In that moment Marcy watched as the spoiled teenager started gagging and choking. Forcing her to let go of Marcy, who slumped down against the wall and attempted to try to pry off Anne's hands with her own. At that moment, Marcy watched as the spoiled teenager started gagging and choking. Her face turning slightly red as Anne clenched her hands tighter.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" she warned the snobby girl. "Do you hear me!"

"Anne, that's enough!" Sasha stated, trying to ease her off. "Let her go!"

"But she hurt my friend!" Anne rebuked. "She needs to-"

"I said let her go, " Sasha said again, this time more clearly. "Now!"

In return, Anne stared back at Tracy with daggers in her eyes. Though she was not as aggressive as Sasha, Anne took a high offense regarding her friends being picked on. Especially one of her closest friends. Marcy knew this all too well since they both had their fair share of being picked on. Yet it only took her a few seconds to finally realize what she was doing. And eventually retracted her grip on Tracy's neck.

The girl collapsed on her knees, coughing from the seconds of having her throat grappled. Anne took a few steps, allowing the girl to catch her breath while barely grasping the sheer thought of what she just did. But before she could go any further, Sasha lightly grabbed her shoulder to get her attention.

"Go check on Mar-Mar," she instructed. "She needs us."

Anne had to process this for a moment before eventually nodding her head.

"Yes, yes, definitely," she replied.

She then went over to Marcy, who was still shriveled up against the wall watching the scene unfold. Tracy took this as an opportunity to slip away as the two girls focused their attention on their half-Asian friend. Before she could even move an inch, she was unfortunately stopped when Sasha grabbed her hand. Before blocking her way with her body.

"Don't think that you're off the hook either, Tracy!" said Sasha, looking her directly in the eye.

"You can't do this to me!" Tracy retaliated, looking all butt hurt. "My father-"

"-is a valuable contributor to our squad's fundraiser," Sasha cuts off. "From which I am happy to have his support. For both of your sake, I hope you stay on our team..Pull a stunt like this again, and you won't! Got it?!"

At that moment, Tracy had no other words. The nerve these girls had to even lay a finger on her was unbearable. Heck, there would be no way she would allow this to slide. But in the end, Sasha was right. And there was nothing she could do about it because Waybright was the most popular girl in the school. Making her second-best. And she knew that if anyone crossed her, they would soon regret that.

She looked back to the other two girls, both giving her scornful looks. And then looked in different directions to see the other students just standing there in reverence to Sasha. And she could not do or say anything to have anyone back her up. Leaving the snobby brat on her own. Humiliated in front of her friends and the other bystanders that came to watch the scene, Tracy scampered off.

Not bothering to give Marcy a second glance on her way down the hall. Her friends followed behind her. Reluctant to say anything to cheer her up. But before she went any further she spun back around, determined to give out the last word.

"This isn't over, Waybright," she swore. "This isn't over by a long shot!"

After that, she was gone, vanished without a trace. The other bystanders followed suit shortly after. Knowing that there was no point in staying since the drama had finally been brought to rest. With that matter settled, both girls turned their attention to their downed friend. Who seemed highly relieved that her valiant saviors came to her rescue.

"You okay, Mar-Mar?" Sasha asked, kneeling on Marcy's right side and rubbing the side of her head.

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" Anne added. "If she even laid a scratch on you, I'm gonna-"

"It's okay, girls. I'm fine," Marcy assured. "I'm just glad you guys are here."

This put a smile on their faces. Yet Sasha's quickly redacted and turned into a slight frown.

"We can't keep doing this, Marce," Sasha stated. "You need to learn to stick up for yourself."

"I know, Sasha, I know," the Taiwanese girl defended. "And I did! Literally, I was seconds from walking away!"

"Then what went wrong?"

"I don't know! Maybe I just-"

"Marce, if you let her push you around like that, she'll have your way with you," Anne added, backing Sasha's claim. "That's how you get stepped on!"

"You don't think I know that?"

"Of course, we know you do, but you have to do this, or you'll-"

"I KNOW!"

Marcy, finally at her breaking point, poured out her heart and spirit into that one statement. Causing both girls to briefly pause, with their eyes widened and their pupils looking like small dots. Both felt extremely mesmerized by Marcy's sudden outburst. And she started to notice this herself. She then took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Before sighing, "I know."

There the two girls just stood there. When it became abundantly clear that they weren't going to keep rambling, the nerdy chest master inhaled, looking up at her best friends before continuing.

"I know you guys are trying to help me," she said, nearly at the edge of breaking into tears. "And I'm trying to handle things on my own...but I'm not as strong or as confident as you two."

The two girls just stood there. Looking at the ground before looking at each other. They knew she was right. Being the third wheel of the group and being the most socially awkward of the trio, it was hard to imagine Marcy being as bold and as confident as both Anne and Sasha. Heck, that was a part of the reason she ended up dragging them to Amphibia in the first place. And that was a pretty big deal to them. Still, that didn't mean that they still cared about her. And wanted what was best for her, all things considered.

She was still their friend. Their best friend. And friends always have each other's backs. No matter how close they are or how far they get.

They looked up at their friend and smiled. Anne gently caressed the side of Marcy's hair with her fingers.

"We know you are," the Thai girl admitted. "But know that we're still gonna help you. No matter what."

"Even if we have to fight every kid in this school if it ever comes down to it," Sasha included. "But hopefully, that day will never come."

Marcy, in response, smiled a little. She can always count on them for emotional support. Even when she's at her lowest point. They shared a brief embrace before Sasha took a peek at her watch.

"We should probably get going," she said. "It's already past five minutes."

"Agreed," both Anne and Marcy said in unison.

Then as quickly as they could, Anne and Sasha helped Marcy up and starting heading towards the exit of the school. Where they would soon be met with the fresh scent of after school freedom.

Outside

At the front of the school, the girls had a spare moment to chat amongst themselves before hitting the road

on their bikes. It mostly had to deal with some boy staring at Anne during her biology class and Sasha having to put up with her obnoxious math teacher. Halfway into the conversation, Marcy remembered something Anne and Sasha had said they would do for her.

"So, are we still doing that thing tonight?" Marcy asked, grabbing the girls' attention.

"What thing?" Anne questioned.

"You know, that thing you mentioned at lunch," Marcy briefly reminded. "About taking me to the mall and finding a new hobby?"

At first, the two girls didn't know what the geeky teenager was referring to, but it finally hit them.

"Oh yeah," Anne recalled. "Yes! We're definitely doing that tonight."

"Cool, when should I be ready?"

"I'll drop by at Anne's first and then pick you up at your place," Sasha said. "I'd say you should be ready to go around...5 to 6 ish?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Alright, well, I'm gonna head home and take a shower," Sasha stated, untying her bicycle and hopping on top. "Hopefully, nobody holds me up on the way back."

"Okay, see you then Waybright!"

"By Sashi!"

After that both girls gleefully watched Sahsa take off. Heading due south towards home. Anne was about to follow suit when she stopped and looked to Marcy.

"You sure you don't want a ride Mar-Mar?"

The Thai girl knew very well that Marcy didn't take a bike to school. Nor did she take the bus either. Marcy knew that the bus would take too long to pick her up. Even on days when she needed to get to school early. It kinda made Anne feel bad for Marcy, but it seemed that the Taiwanese girl didn't mind it. Her house wasn't that far from the school. 'And she would get more out of walking than taking the bus. So it was no big deal, really.

"I'm good, Anna-Banana," she replied. "But maybe next time."

"Okay, well, Sasha and I will let you know when we'll be picking you up. Mark my words Wu, tonight's gonna be epic!"

"Can't wait."

"But until then, I humbly bid you farewell, my Queen," Anne smirked.

This made Marcy chuckle in embarrassment as she watched her best friend take off. The sun was close to the setting as she witnessed her other comfort zone vanish before her very eyes. And that gentle smile that crossed her face slowly faded into a slight frown. To think she was in a similar situation back in Amphibia. And she would have to relive that for a second time. No matter how many times she tries to hide it.

It was only a matter of time before she had to let her go. To let Sasha go. To let all the happy memories she had with them go. And start anew at whatever place Marcy ends up moving to. Though for now, she can only cherish her time with them while she still can. It's all she can do now.

But in the end, it would all be worth it to her. Because there was nothing in the world that could take her friendship with them away from her. Not time or distance. Yet as she thought about it, she had no idea what the future had in store for her. It could involve her being alone most of her life. But that was a topic for another time. And now would be the time she went home.

And with that, she started heading in the direction that would lead away from the school. However, despite the change she was going through, nothing would prepare her for what was bound to happen, as a very peculiar event was about to unfold elsewhere, far from her reach.

FBI Base, 5:00 p.m

It would be chaos if one could describe the exact condition in the very heart of the fortress from which Mr. X and his assistants resided. Complete and utter chaos as men ran aimlessly all over the place. Each was tasked with their assignments, whether relaying intel to their superiors or guarding the base's most vital artifacts.

It was pretty much all hands on deck at this point. Furthermore, it seemed to take a much more enormous toll on the agent and his colleagues than everyone else. If Dr. Terri's theories were correct, they could have a massive invasion from inter-dimensional beings on their hands. Moreover, if they did not know any better, the last invaders would have almost destroyed the entire city of Los Angeles if it was not for the valiant efforts of Anne and her friends.

To have another one on their hands would mean disaster for the country. Not to mention the amount of fear and paranoia that's spreading from here to D.C. The mere fact that beings from other worlds are more potent than humanity's strongest country has done a good number of citizens who believe in the safety and security of the United States.

However, considering Andrias was defeated almost two months ago, some of that paranoia was to rest. Nevertheless, that does not mean that they should not take their chances with this next incoming threat. Not while Mr. X was still working and breathing. It has been a couple of days since their sensors went missing, and they already had the base on high alert. Within the first couple of hours, it became all hands on deck.

As for his colleagues, they had begun to work tirelessly. They were trying to pinpoint the exact location from where these invaders would appear, or if they would appear at all, which put much stress on poor Terri to get her calculations and hypothesis correct without any validation errors. However, it was a task that she dedicated herself to seeing through her success, whatever the outcome. At least for the sake of their world.

On the other hand, Jenny was in charge of informing their superiors about their discovery. From which he responded with proficient expediency. Telling the agent's assistant about his arrival within the next couple of days and giving them little time to prepare their case.

"How are you holding up, Terri?" X asked, feeling some concern over his co-worker.

"Going as fast as I can, sir," she responded quickly, not taking her eyes off the screen she was working with. "But as it turns out, these calculations are much harder to analyze than I anticipated."

"Well, take as much time as you can," he reassures. "We may be in a bit of a hurry, but if we do not get this right, there will be a good chance that Washington will not believe us."

"Will not believe us?" Terri laughed. "They believed you when the amphibians invaded. Furthermore, the calculations have been anything but incorrect."

"Which is why we need to get this right," X reminded. "Otherwise, they will dismiss us and bury our evidence in the archives."

"I know, I know," Terri defuses. "But still, it is hard to pinpoint the exact locations under such stress."

"Again, which means there is no need to rush," X reassures again, this time more fluently. "I have faith that we will get the coordinates before-"

Suddenly, he was interrupted when Jenny came bursting through the door. As urgent as the men running all over the place.

"He is here," she stated.

"Already?" X questioned, looking just as shocked as his assistant. "Were were supposed to be expecting him tomorrow."

"He took a chopper," Jenny answered. "Seemed pretty eager to get here as fast as he could."

This sudden news left Mr. X in a trance. They were nowhere near ready to show their boss their findings. Nevertheless, what other choice did he have now than to show them what they would find? After all, he did call him for this. Moreover, if Terri was right, then there should be no reason for him to doubt the effectiveness of her research. All he can do now is in the hands of faith. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Send him through," he spoke in confidence.

Furthermore, with haste, Jenny returned to the door and let Mr. X's superior inside. Who was a tall, middle-aged man with gray hair and wore a blue tuxedo. Accompanying him were two other men with black tuxedos and worse sunglasses. Upon entering the room, Mr. X stood up to confront his boss. Who looked just as severe and straightforward compared to the last time he saw him.

"What is the situation, Mr. X?" he questioned, dispensing any pleasantries Mr. X was thinking of applying.

"Sir, we have just picked up something massive on our motion sensors, indicating that something is coming to Earth through inter-dimensional travel," Mr. X explained. "My assistant here theorizes that these extraterrestrials will arrive somewhere in America. Most likely in the same area where the Amphibians arrived."

"And you are certain about this?" the superior asked.

"Explicitly, sir," Terri backed up. "I lost two of my sensors specifically designed to detect such anomalies. Moreover, the other sensors have been going off the charts since then. If my theories are correct, then they should be"

"Washington does not care about feelings!" the superior inserted harshly. "We need the exact location from which these extraterrestrials may be landing. Alternatively, if there are even any at all."

Terri paused for a moment. She was disheartened by being rudely interrupted during her explanation. However, rather than testing the agent's patience, she carries on.

"Well, as I said," she continued, bringing up the monitor on the screen. "If I am right, the exact location where these terrestrials should arrive is everywhere from here..."

She scrolls her mouse to the places she had marked on her computer beforehand as part of her calculations.

-to here."

As the four people in the room stood at the monitor, much turmoil ran through the superior agent's mind. It took them months to figure the amphibians out. Moreover, they did not know how powerful they were until the invasion. However, here, they were going into the unknown. Completely unaware of what exactly it was that was coming or if it was coming. However, something in his head told him that the assistant was telling the truth. Despite him, they almost wanted to deny it.

"And you are sure they are coming?" he questioned one last time.

"Trust me," she said honestly. "They are coming. Furthermore, they should be here within the next few days. So whatever you are thinking of doing, do it fast."

The room went silent for a moment. If Mr. X's boss did not have any fears for the future before, he certainly does now. However, despite the certainty of the situation, they were in a much more difficult spot, considering they had no idea what they were up against. Which meant that whatever was coming may be worse than the amphibians.

"All right, we need to get this to President," he said calmly. "But until we find out what we are dealing with, I am issuing a high alert for law enforcement."

"Sir?" Mr. X said, looking somewhat confused.

"And I expect you three in Washington to report your findings to the White House as soon as," the superior added. "

"If what you say is true, then the President will want to hear it."

This new intel made X and his assistants drop their jaws. Few have ever been honored to step foot in the White House to meet the President of the United States. Moreover, fewer have ever had the opportunity to have a conversation with them. Particularly anything important. For Mr. X, it was like meeting our heroes. For Terri, it was something she would never have imagined doing.

"In the meantime," the superior concluded, heading towards the exit with haste. "I am leaving General Jack Hoffman in charge of handling the reports in your absence.

"Hoffman, sir?" Mr. X queries out of curiosity. "I don't think I've ever heard of him."

"He just got promoted to chief last year," the superior explained. "Heck, he was even rewarded with a medal of honor for his efforts in some battle in Afghanistan. "

Mr. X felt puzzled by his boss's description of the guy. He had never heard of a soldier getting promoted to general in a short period. If that were the case, he would've had to do some heroic deeds. When he looked at Jenny and Terri in question, they shrugged, unaware of what the agent was implying.

"He and his army boys have been experimenting a little over the past few months," his boss continued. "Poured most of the city's funding into a project to solve all our problems. He said that it would' Bring the ultimate change in America forever.'"

For a moment, there was a long sullen silence. Everyone judges whether or not the people in the room should take this man's words seriously. Even the superior agent himself cringed as he spoke the words.

"What do you think, sir?" Terri asked.

The superior sighed.

"If I'm gonna be honest, I think it's just another excuse for him not to pay his taxes," he put. "But I can assure you that he'll get the job done. There's no other man I would not trust with this task except for him."

Mr. X seemed skeptical of this 'Police Chief,' given it is not much about him. However, he trusted his boss enough to believe that the man he suggested was dependable for this line of work.

"Well, if you think this man is up for the job," he puts. "Who am I to argue."

"Thank you, X," the superior acknowledge. "Now, if you will all excuse me, I have a flight to catch. See you guys in Washington."

He then exits the room with his bodyguards in tow. The agent and his two assistants were relieved that this unexpected visit went well. Terri was somewhat impressed that X's boss believed in her discovery. Since she already knew how incompetent most government officials are these days.

However, now was not the time to gloat about their much-needed victory. Moreover, this was indeed a dire situation we were all about to face. Furthermore, if Mr. X cannot convince the President of their findings, it is game over for them. And perhaps the future of this country and the entire world as well.

"So, what do we do now?" she turns to X, questioning their next move.

"Now, we pack our things," he speaks accordingly, with a small quantity of excitement on his face. "We are going to Washington."

Chapter Text

The Hidden World. A land filled with mystery and adventure. It's known for its majestic beauty and colorful lights, filled with corals and fungous caverns that cover the entire terrain. This monstrous connection of grottoes and caves was to be the ancestral home for all dragons. But it is also home for all present-day dragons that still live under Odin's name. Some say that it was only a myth, but others think otherwise.

Hookfang, Toothless, and Stormfly flew across the fantastic caverns covered in colorful pillars from the area's top to glossy bottomless pits below. Then they passed through a flock of Fireworm dragons that glowed in the dark as bright as daylight. They flew more profoundly into the caves and came across a vast part of the Hidden World, one that took the shape of a giant white crystal covering the caverns' holes. And at its center, thousands of dragons flew around the terrain. Many species, some small and others large, came across some taking care of their babies and saw others just relaxing on some rocks., which is known as the Citadel of the Hidden World, where a considerable portion of the dragons would be and where daily routines for dragons would take place.

But all paid attention when they saw the alpha making his way across the Citadel. And when he was close, they all bowed their heads down to the coming king. As the new King of Dragons, he would be given tremendous honor and respect from the other dragons.

They saw him as an actual dragon and a just ruler of their mighty kingdom. As for the Night Fury, he typically wouldn't boast about his past achievements. But he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride from within himself. Being an alpha was great, but at the same time, he didn't need all of this credit. For he was no different from the other dragons and was as much like his subjects then what they would deem him as.

The only exception was having to bare the significant responsibilities and expectations, which were keen on the survival of their race. And after today's expedition, everyone in the Hidden World will have enough food to last for an entire century, which should keep the other carnivorous dragons, like the changewings and deathsongs, from eating other dragons.

As the three dragons continued across the cavern and landed on the coral platforms below, they saw dragons walking in different directions. Many were minding their own business.

Enjoying whatever the Hidden World had to offer them. Whether it was fresh mineral deposits for the gronckles or the vast rivers and lakes in which the scauldrons could swim. As the three dragons neared their destination, Hookfang looked up at his leader. A slight bit of jealousy crossed the nightmare's face. Not that the night fury paid any mind to it.

'Man, you're one lucky dragon to be an alpha, Toothless,' he said. 'You get all of this. And for what, defeating a tyrant alpha who would use us against our will.'

Toothless blushed a little bit. The night fury could feel the envy within his friend, but at the same time, he knew Hookfang didn't mean it. He was being his usual competitive self as usual. They both had that in common, at the least.

'Oh come on, don't do me like that, Hookfang,' he retracted. 'Just because I defeated the last alpha doesn't mean I'm a god. I'm just like everyone else.'

'True,' Stormfly commented from behind. 'But at least look at what you did over these past few years. It may not look like much, but you've given us hope by bringing us here. Before the Hidden World, many of us didn't know where we would go ever since that evil human and his pack of poison-driven maniacs drove us from our old home. But because of you, we're all here now. And because of you, we survived.'

Toothless took a moment before speaking. The night fury did the dragons from destruction. It was his job to do it. He didn't want hundreds of other dragons to be like him. The last of their species and hunted to extinction. It's not a game that nobody would like to play.

'You're right," he sighed. 'I guess I can take a little bit of credit.'

Before they could revert to their moment of long sullen silence, a thought came across the alpha's mind.

'Well, if I'm not mistaken,' the night fury stated, looking back to his nadder friend. 'Wasn't you who found out where I was when I ran off with Luna?'

'Not exactly how I remember it," Stormfly answered. 'But yes.'

'Then technically," Toothless added. "It was you who found the hidden world. Meaning, all this is kinda because of you.'

The preening sharp class dragon squinted her eyes while locking them onto her king. She then looked down to the coral rocks beneath her, taking much consideration to his statement. And to be quite frank, he did have a point. All the other dragons found out about this place because she could ask Toothless down when he went missing, which didn't take much effort if she'd asked.

'You know, I never thought of it like that,' she said, probably giving it too much thought. 'But if that's how you view it, my king, then I'm honored.'

'Oh, come on, she gets credit, but not me?!" Hookfang blasted, still filled with envy. 'I don't mean to offend anyone, but this kinda sucks.'

'Are you seriously saying this right now?" the deadly nadder questioned, taking offense to Hookfang's reprehending comments.

'I'm just stating the facts,' Hookfang defended. 'It's not my fault most of us are so fierce and charming.'

'I'll tell you what, Hookfang,' Toothless called out, tempting to humor his hotheaded friend. 'When the day comes, and I somehow manage to take a nose-dive, feel free to take my place. Does that sound fair?'

'Hah, and be left to deal with all this?' the monstrous nightmare withdrew. 'Sorry, but no thanks!'

'Exactly!'

Then the two dragons sped off. They were leaving their fire-breathing friend exceptionally puzzled. But after a moment brushed it off before catching up to them. By the time they reached the other side of king island, the three dragons had continued their way across the cavern until they landed on the coral platforms just below them. On foot, they came across many dragons walking around in different directions.

Many of them were minding their own business, and others were doing a little bit of work. There wasn't much work that dragons had to do. But simple things had to be done to ensure that nothing terrible went around. Some jobs were as simple as lighting hot springs to fertilize eggs. And others were occasionally on night patrols and hunting for food. But all were plain and simple to do.

As the three dragons continued to traverse the vast coral regions of their home, they came across a few hot springs, where a few familiar dragons were sighted relaxing in many of those hot springs. To be exact, one dragon, a Razorwhip, managed to spot them and quickly rushed to greet them.

Toothless was the first to notice and rushed over to greet the dragon with a nuzzle.

'Hey, Windshear,'' he addressed the dragon with excitement. 'How are you holding up?'

'Just fine, my lordship," the female razorwhip replied. 'Just had a rundown with some dragons earlier. But it's nothing that you have to be concerned about.'

'Oh, sorry to hear about that,' Toothless acknowledged. 'I trust these interlopers have learned a thing or two about trying their luck with a dragon as fearless yourself. Knowing how strong and skillful you are.'

'You know me too well, your majesty,' Windshear smiled. 'They were quick to back out without a second thought.'

'Well, it's good to hear that you are alright. There's no one I can-'

The moment was suddenly interrupted when Toothless heard a loud cry in the air to his left.

'TOOTHLESS!'

He turns around and sees another dragon running straight at him. And before he could respond, the dragon tackled him to the ground and embraced him with a tight hug. The dragon appeared to be a female due to the high voice that he heard. Plus, no other male dragon would catch him off guard like that. Especially this one seemed to be a Gronckle by the way she hugged him, which felt like the weight of a Catastrophic Quaken was crushing him.

'Oh, Toothless!' she exclaimed in excitement. 'It's great to see you back so early.'

'I was only out for five minutes Meatlug," Toothless croaked in agony.

'It felt like forever!' Meatlug shot back, hugging him tighter this time. 'But it's great that you're back now!'

'Yeah, well,' he said, taking a deep, exasperated breath. 'It's great to see you too, Meatlug. Can you please get off me so I can catch my breath!'

She paused for a bit before she realized that she was crushing him with her weight and quickly gave him some space. Once he gets some air, he finally turns to Meatlug.

'Sorry about that,' she apologizes. 'But it's just that you're not here more often. And you spend all your time up there.'

'Well, he said, dismissing her lack of sensitivity. 'I'm here now, Meatlug. And I guess in the nick of time too. How's everything going for you and your family?'

'Same as always. Besides all the mouths I have to feed, they're alright. Everything's at a standstill as usual.'

'Great to hear. Keep up the good work.'

'TOOTHLESS!'

The night fury quickly turns around and sees two familiar dragons approaching him from behind and in the air. One was to be a Thunderdrum, and the other was a Hideous Zippleback. They seemed to be expecting him from the look on their faces.

'Thank the All-father, you're back,' said the Rumblehorn. 'There's been an incident at the caverns' crystal boundaries.'

'What happened this time?' The night fury asked. Looking directly at the zippleback from behind. 'Were these two at it again?'

'Everything was going smoothly over there. Until SOMEBODY started blasting all the crystals from above when they were

specifically told NOT to!'

The thunderdrum then motioned a wing over to the zippleback pair. And the two seemed to be in a bit of trouble.

'I didn't do it,' said the left head. 'Belch did it.'

'No,' said the right head. 'Barf did it first!'

'Did not!'

'Did too!''

Did not!'

'Did too!'

'DID NOT!'

'Alright, I get it!' Toothless stopped them before the zippleback could go any further. 'You both did it! As you always do.'

'Though, to be honest, it wouldn't be the first time,' Stormfly added in the background. 'No surprise there.'

Then the night fury turned back to the thunderdrum and said, 'Don't worry, Thornado. I'll send a team of dragons to clean that up.'

'And what about these two troublemakers?' Thornado questioned. 'What do you suppose that I do with them?'

'Leave them be, for now,' he answered. 'I'll deal with them later.'

'As you wish, my king.'

Then, Thornado respectfully bows his head before flying off. Once he was gone, Toothless looked back at Barf and Belch and motioned them to leave. Once they were gone as well, he spotted another dragon approaching him. This one was a Triple Stryke, by the looks of its body.

'My lord,' the triple stryke greeted his highness. 'We just got word that the magma pits in the southern caverns have ceased to produce lava. What should we do?'

'What?" Toothless exclaimed, feeling shocked about this news. 'This has never happened before. Are you sure the dragons who told you this spoke true?'

'Yes, my king,' the dragon answered. 'I even went down there to see it for myself. They did not exaggerate.'

The night fury had to pause to think about the situation. He was not kidding when he said that this had never happened before. But luckily, it was a problem that could be easy to fix. Or at least it was easier than that whispering death attack he did not wish to bring up.

'Alright then,' he said, trying to stay calm. 'Sleuther, round up all of our best fire-breathers and have them reheat the fire chambers bellow the magma pits. If there's any luck, the chambers should be back to normal before the entire Hidden World suffers an ultimate freeze.'

'I'll have them ready asap, sir.'

'Good, now see to it that it's taken care of,' Toothless reaffirmed. 'And let's pray that it goes smoothly.'

And with that, Sleuther flew off to meet with the dragons. Toothless thought he was done, but he saw another dragon approaching him from his rear. It was a Terrible Terror due to its size. It flew down and perched on his paw. Which he gracefully put up for it to land.

'My king,' it said. 'I have a message from the Green Death. He says he won't come down until you give him his demands.'

'Oh...not this again!' Toothless groaned. 'Tell that overgrown fire pit that I'll only give him his request of fifty embryos if he comes out of that wretched hole of his and meets with me himself. I don't want him making a fuss about things again. Especially around this particular time.'

'You got it, sir.'

Then the Terrible Terror broke from Toothless's paw and started flying off. But before he was out of sight, the night fury stopped him dead in his tracks.

'And don't forget Sharpshooter,' he proclaimed. 'These orders are coming from the King of Dragons. Make sure that he's aware of this.'

'Yes, boss,' said Sharpshooter. 'I'll let him know as soon as I get there.'

After that, the tiny terror flies away to meet with his acquaintance. Once the dragon disappeared, Toothless turned back to the nadder and nightmare, who were surprisingly still behind him despite everything they had just witnessed. And they were more impressed that they didn't up and flew off. But even so, they had a front-row seat of what it meant to be him. Cause whether they agreed or not, ruling a kingdom was hard, even for a dragon-like himself.

'Still think you have what it takes to be me, Hookfang?' Toothless asked sarcastically.

'Hey, I never said I did," the nightmare brushed off. 'I only said it would've been great to have the cool titles.'

'Well, duties and titles are two different things. But please, feel free to take my place.'

'And like I mentioned earlier,' Hookfang reminded. 'That stuff's not for me.'

Toothless responded with a playful scoff before looking toward the hot springs. There was a long, sullen silence until Stormfly dared to break it by speaking up.

'Let me ask you something, Toothless," she spoke confidently. 'Do you ever feel like stepping down? Letting someone else take over your place?"

'Sometimes," he answered. "But this is my responsibility. I've had that honor since I challenged the last; if not me, who else would want to lead an entire world of dragons? Surely no one would be up for that task.'

'Except for Hookfang, of course,' Stormfly commented. 'He's been after you from the moment you first told him what to do.'

'And still am!' Hookfang added. 'Don't you forget it!'

'Well, you ain't exactly a charmer from what I remember,' Stormfly protested. 'Remember when you lost your flame and went to get cured by the Fireworm Queen?'

'Hey!' Hookfang shot back. 'That was only because my rider kept pushing me endlessly.'

'Yeah, and then you wouldn't stop throwing him off your back the next morning. Meatlug and I spent that whole day trying to finish him out of the sea.'

'To be fair, he had it coming. As much as I loved the guy, he'd never given me the respect I deserved.'

'And you think you were any better?' Stormfly questioned. 'As far as I can see, you both were just as stubborn.'

'Yeah, that's what it takes to be a true warrior. Nothing gets around this guy.'

'Except that female, you found in the woods that one time on the Edge."

'What?!'

'Oh yeah,' Toothless recalled the event too well. 'Didn't you throw an entire tantrum just to get Snotlout to open the gate?'

'What, no! I-'

'Actually, he ended up staying in one of the pens in the stables for a whole night.'

'That's not what-'

'And then he burned his way out and flew off to be with his lady friend for a whole day.'

'What is that he said before he took off?'

'Guys, please don't-"

'Don't worry, my sweet princess,' Stormfly began to mock. 'I'm coming to save you!'

'And surely it's not a solid 'just doing it to get a hot date' thing,' Toothless added.

'Oh shut up, you guys!'

Afterward, the two dragons laughed—much to the nightmare's dismay. But after a few seconds, the monstrous nightmare joined with laughter, knowing they were messing around.

'Ah, those were some good times,' Hookfang stated.

Yeah, they sure were,' Toothless reaffirmed.

Though as the dragons stood there, one dragon, in particular, was flying to them with utmost urgency. As Toothless lifted his head to see who it was, he noticed that it was a dragon that looked similar to him, but this time with a white-colored hide. A light fury, to be exact.

'My king!' it said, landing swiftly and taking a moment to catch its breath. 'My king...you have to..'

'Slow down,' Toothless reassured. 'What's going on?'

After a moment, the light fury looked up at the alpha with an excited yet concerned expression.

'It's the queen,' it told him. 'She about to...you have to come quickly."

At first, Toothless did not know what the light fury was referring to in such a manner. But the minute he started using his head, it didn't take him long to figure it out. At that moment, the night fury's heart sank to the bottom of his chest and almost shot out the other end.

His entire body felt like dropping to the floor. And every nerve in his body almost wanted to fall apart right then. He felt like he wanted to say something but was entirely speechless. Until he finally had the resolve to speak. Only to mutter the exact words,

'Oh my, Thor!"

And like a cannonball, the king of dragons took flight and flew off.

Heading into the breeding grounds and leaving Stormfly and Hookfang dumbfounded.

'What's up with that?' Hookfang questioned.

'I guess we're about to find out,' Stormfly answered.

And with that, the two dragons, and the light fury messenger, took flight and followed an urgent Toothless, who was so much in a hurry to witness the very thing that was taking place in the breeding grounds. One of which the night fury had long waited for since coming to the Hidden World.

Six minutes later

Toothless had never been this excited in his entire life. He soared through the caverns and dove into the caves that lead to the breeding grounds. But the catch was that he was so excited that he was going too fast, almost to the point where he almost flew into a pair of nadders crossing. Yet he was quick enough to avoid bumping into them. And had only just heard a series of caws from the nadders, telling him to watch where he was going, yet the night fury was too focused on getting as quickly to the breeding grounds as he could.

If memory served him correctly, it had been two years since he and his flock left the Viking. And ever since then, Toothless had gotten close to his dear and loving mate, Luna. Almost to the point where they had been engaging in various activities away from the flock, which took nearly a year for the other dragons to get used to, especially the smirking comments usually coming from Hookfang and Barf and Belch afterward. Unsurprisingly, she was with a child over the last couple of weeks. And now, if the messenger was right, he was about to meet his first children in the form of eggs. From which the night fury had waited so long.

He flew through the corridor and landed on the coral platform that lay directly before the entrance of the breeding grounds. He saw a large group of other dragons huddling around a particular dragon. One, in particular, was standing just outside the crowd and overlooking them with its tremendous height. From what Toothless could tell, it was a stormcutter. A familiar one too. When it turned its owl-like head to the side and spotted him, it dropped its guard and rushed over to greet the king of dragons.

'You are just in time, you majesty,' it stated with immense confidence. 'Luna just started her labors.'

'Thanks, Cloudjumper, ' Toothless acknowledged the proud dragon. 'I'll take it from here.'

He then rushed into the crowd and made his way to the scene. Even though this crowd was considerable, Toothless could easily weave through the packed bodies. Yet he still could not spot his mate, even at a distance. He looked to see if there was any form of opening. And as luck would have it, he saw a little space he could squeeze into without being crushed. Filled with pride and more excitement, he took that chance. He weaved through the countless bodies watching the scenery until he finally came to the front.

Once there, he stood in shock as he watched the love of his life, Luna, the light fury, hover over a freshly made next.

'Toothless,' she proclaimed, struggling to keep calm. 'I'm so glad you're here!'

'It's okay, my love,' Toothless said, slowly approaching his mate. 'I'm here now.'

Shortly after, Toothless heard several other dragons approaching the scene from behind him. Presumably, his friends were too rushing through the crowd before coming to the front.

'Oh, so this is what this whole thing is about,' Hookfang stated, finally coming to a realization. 'How did I miss this?'

'You didn't, Hookfang,' Windshear answered briefly. 'Toothless mentioned it in a meeting a few months ago. Said everyone was to leave Luna be while she went through the process.'

'Huh, why don't I remember that?'

'Because you were too busy staring at a fireworm while Toothless talked,' Stormfly responded blatantly.

'Oh...right.'

By then, the two were briefly pushed to the side by an incoming Barf and Belch. Eager to see what the commotion was about, the number of dragons present.

'What did we miss?' Barf asked. Followed up by Belch questioning, 'Are we too late?'

'Just in time,' Hookfang responded. 'And I guess from the looks of it; it's not gonna be pretty.'

'How many do you think she's gonna have?" Belch questioned.

'Ten crystals says four,' Barf wagered.

'Fifteen says two,' Belch followed up.

'I'll take those bets!' Hookfang barged in. 'My count's on three.'

'Oh yeah, and what's on the line for you?' Belch questioned, feeling somewhat baffled yet intrigued by the nightmare's proposal.

'My secret sunbathing place,' Hookfang answered. 'Normally, I wouldn't tell anyone about this, but I'm not worried since I'll be the one to win it.'

'Oh, you're on, Fangster!'

'Shhh!' Meatlug whispered as she squeezed through the two heads. 'It's starting!'

And as luck would have it, the female gronckle's statement couldn't ever have been more right. As the crowd inched closer to the couple, Toothless went to his mate's side. His wings and legs lowered to the ground. Within a matter of seconds, Luna started to growl. The light fury's faint pants and growls reached Toothless's ears like dusk of wind.

The night fury tempted him to step in and help her, but Cloudjumper came up behind and stopped him. Hovering a wing over the alpha, he returned by shooting a glance at the enormous dragon.

'Let her do this, my king,' he urged the night fury. 'It'll pay off in the end. I promise.'

'But, she's in pain,' the night fury protested. 'What if she...what if I need to.'

'And that's normal. That's Luna's body getting ready to lay the eggs. Trust me on this. And more importantly, trust Luna in this.'

In return, Toothless looked down. Unsure of how to take this. But Cloudjumper was one for good judgment. And he trusted him. Especially when it comes to something as important as this; having said that, he turned back to his wife and held her right paw. The female fury dragon panted and closed her eyes from all the pain.

'How are you holding up?' Toothless asked.

'Fine,' she answered quickly. 'It just hurts.'

'I know, sweety,' Toothless did his best to assure her. 'But it's going to be okay. I promise.'

He looked into her eyes. And in exchange, she did the same. He could see the pain in her pupils. The insufferable agony that she was going through was something Toothless could not bare to witness. But at the same time, as he continued to look into her eyes, he saw the promise of life in her.

The promise of bringing their offspring into this world. Offspring that they could call their own. For so long, Toothless had had a chance to continue his bloodline and save the fury race with his loving mate beside him. And now they were about to see it come to fruition. So in their hearts, despite all the pain Luna felt, it would be worth it in the end.

By then, Luna gave her beloved mate a nod before gathering up whatever strength she had and pushing as hard as she could. A series of groans and growls shortly followed. And before he knew it, the first egg started poking out of the cloaca, causing Luna to lock her paw around Toothless's and squeeze it.

Toothless would've instinctively pulled out, but knowing how much his mate needed him, he stopped himself before he could do so. Half a second later, the egg plopped out and dropped onto the nest.

'Great job, my queen,' Cloudjumper said in the background. 'Now, don't forget to breathe.'

'You hear that my love,' Toothless reaffirmed. 'You're doing great.'

She would've been comforted by her mate's kind words, but Luna was far from done. She took a few more breaths and then pushed for a second time. Slowly making its way further and further out of her vent. Although it did slip back for a second, Luna took more breaths and kept pushing. She then let out a final snarl before finally pushing the egg out. Hearing yet another plopping sound as it touched the soft confines of the nest.

'Excellent job, sweety,' Toothless said softly.

'It's not over yet, my love,' Luna prompted. 'I feel one more coming.'

'Okay, keep doing what you're doing. There's no rush.'

With two eggs already out, Luna felt she would have an easier time with the third and hopefully last egg. It still caused a lot of pain for her, but with Toothless by her side, she would have an easier time getting through it. All the other dragons stood and witnessed this extraordinary event take place.

And finally, with one final push, Luna gave all her strength as the third and final egg left her body, plopping onto the nest with the other two eggs. Shortly after that, the light fury unleashed a roar in agony that rang across every corner of the Hidden World. One of which the other dragons had to cover their ears to avoid going deaf—even Toothless himself.

Half a heartbeat later, everything went completely silent and then was still. A moment after that, Luna was given a moment to recuperate before returning to the nest to inspect the eggs.

'Okay,' the light fury said, taking a deep breath in relief. 'That's all of them.'

By then, the other dragons roared as one—everyone celebrating this special moment with all kinds of howls and cries. And Toothless just stood there. The night fury was too shocked in his thoughts about what he had just witnessed. Feeling fatigued by the process, the queen of dragons began to lie down around the nest, with Toothless joining her. When she looked up at him, she saw that he had the biggest smile. And it brought joy to her as well.

'You did fantastic, sweety,' Toothless told his mate. 'How do they look?'

'See for yourself,' was all that she could say.

She purred a bit before looking straight down at her paws and revealing a much bigger prize that would make his day. He looked at what was inside of them, and what he saw was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen all day, for there were three eggs that the light fury was holding in her grasp.

Each one had patterns of black and white. And no one was ever happier than the alpha was. Toothless took one of them and carefully examined it. It seemed to be a boy inside. But he was not sure. He takes a look at another and sees that it is a girl. And the last one was a girl who seemed to have a different pattern than the others.

He chirped happily. Looking down at his wife and cuddled her even more than he had ever done. A small tear ran down his face. A tear of joy, to be exact. He had waited a long time for this moment. And now, to finally witness it, he could not properly comprehend it. However, the moment was almost interrupted when the night fury realized that the crowd was still there.

'Can you guys give us a minute alone, please?' He requested.

'As you wish, my king,' Cloudjumper proclaimed before ushering the dragons out of the area.

And like a flock of birds, the dragons began to clear out. Even the night fury's most trusted friends. Not that any of them minded. Because this was an extraordinary moment for the two, and he was the alpha too. So apparently, they had to do as he commanded. A few of them had matters to attend to in their absence. However, some were more urgent than others.

'Well, guess that means I win the bet,' Hookfang boasted. 'I'll wait for you guys to pay up in my den.'

The hideous zippleback rolled their eyes in response.

'You're no fun, Hookfang!' Belch insulted. Followed by Barf saying, 'Not fun at all.'

Two hours later

Later that day, Toothless spent the rest of his time on the giant crystal that overlooked the beating heart of the Hidden World. For a moment, the night fury felt pride in all he accomplished. With the fish redirected into their world and the dragon hunter scum driven out of their borders, the dragons can finally return to the relative peace they so gracefully longed for after so many winters of endless conflict. And with the new clutch of eggs his mistress had delivered, Toothless can ultimately further his line and preserve his legacy.

That was far more than what the night fury could ever ask. The continuation of his species and lineage truly brought happiness to the king of dragons, even if his children weren't considered pure-blooded night furies. Still, the alpha felt something was missing—a void of emptiness that could not be re-filled to his extent. He didn't know what it was. But he knew he could never get over it in the long run.

'Hey,'' a chirp called out from behind him. When he looked behind his shoulder, his eyes came into contact with his old friend Stormfly, who had the decency to get the night fury's attention rather than sneak up on him. 'Mind if I join you?'

'Of course," Toothless permitted. "How can I say no to my oldest friend.'

'I'm flattered,' the Nadder commented. Then she went up to the alpha's left side before sitting beside him. The two dragons looked over the edge of the crystal. Watching other dragons flying about before, finally, the parrot-like creature decided to break the silence. 'First clutch?'

Toothless smiled. Knowing how many Stormfly bared many children in the past was something he was not exactly new to the subject. But it also brought him joy that she could relate to him in that perspective.

'Yeah,' he admitted. The dragon paused before continuing to speak his mind. 'It just makes me think how far we've come, Stormfly. '

'Well, it seems long ago,' Stormfly agreed. 'It does seem like long ago.'

The dragons chuckled shortly after. But immediately, the night fury frowned mentally. There was something deep down inside the night fury that made him believe that despite the many things he had done, all was not truly well for him. That there was still something that he could not take his mind off. No matter how many times he wished, he would forget it. However, it did not go unnoticed, as Stormfly finally took notice. And it didn't take her long to figure out what it was.

'Do you still think about them?" she asked. 'About him specifically?"

'Humans?' Toothless reiterated. Naturally, he took a moment before he could answer it. Sensing that it was something his friend was referring to in such a manner. He looked down, contemplating the question that the nadder had asked. And in return, gave her a genuinely honest answer. 'Sometimes.'

And to be quite frank, it was the truth. There are plenty of times he thought about humans.

'Many of us didn't know them as you did,' Stormfly confessed. 'Myself included.'

Stormfly paused for a second. Before continuing.

'At first, I only saw their bad side...' Suddenly a tiny tear shed in nadder's eye as she recalled her times in the arena. 'But then you showed me that there is a good side to humans.'

'Good, bad...doesn't matter anymore," the night fury admitted. 'They could never get past their ambitions...And it causes them to destroy each other.'

'Hiccup wasn't like that,' Stormfly. 'And neither was his people.'

'But look what happened to him as a result?!' Toothless reaffirmed. 'He almost lost everything because of the ambitions of others. He paid for their mistakes.'

'That may be so,' Stomfly pressed on. 'But we both know he strived to bring real change for our races. You know this as much as I do.'

'I know,' Toothless agreed. Yet there was a small part of doubt within the back of the night fury's head that said otherwise. 'And part of me wants to believe that too. But I don't see how things will get better with humans if they're constantly fighting each other.'

'Dragons fight too, you know," Stormfly implied.

'But we're family Stormfly,' Toothless reiterated. 'There's a difference. Plus, I'm the alpha. So whether other dragons agree, they'll do as I say.'

This statement made Stormfly pause for a bit. A small part of the deadly nadder wanted to press the argument, yet Stormfly couldn't help but agree with Toothless. She also considered that, as king of all dragons, every dragon in the known world had to listen to the night fury. And despite the many differences they had, they're all pretty much like family.

'Fair point.'

With that said, some of Toothless wished he could still be with Hiccup. To soar in the clouds with his best friend atop his back, laughing and cheering as they flew through the night sky or exploring the unknown and going to long lengths, just like in the good old days. If Toothless had any regrets in his past life, his friendship with Hiccup would not be one of them. And even though they were not together at present, he always knew that he would have a place in his heart. And there was no doubt in his mind that the Viking lad would feel the same way.

'I do miss him, though,' Toothless admitted. 'He was a good man. He fought for everything he stood for. He wasn't like all the others.'

'Yeah,' Stormfly concurred. 'You don't see that in humans now these days, do you?'

Now that Toothless thought about it, the night fury began to wonder what Hiccup was doing. If he was having the same thoughts as him or if he was going through something similar to what Toothless is going through now.

'Hey, do you ever wonder what they're all doing back in New Berk?" he asked his companion.

'Not a clue,' Stormfly answered. 'But if I were to take a wild guess, Hiccup's probably somewhere in his hut writing his book somewhere, while Astrid is too busy hurling axes in trees.'

'Probably,' Toothless chuckled. 'Hey, remember when Hiccup and Astrid would take us to all those sandy beaches? And Hiccup would get all dorky with Astrid and get hit in the ribcage every time he wrestled with her?'

'Oh yeah,' Stormfly recollected. 'And if I remember correctly, one of those times, you were messing around with his leg.'

'Yeah, well, you did not get better when you pitched right in,' Toothless shot back. 'It was still a fun time, though.'

'Yeah, and then we raced back to Berk shortly after.'

'Who was the one who won again?'

'Me.'

'What? No way!"

"Yes, way! Astrid even boasted about it afterward.'

'Well, even if you did, it was still only by a tad.'

'Still counts.'

The night fury then responded by shoving Stormfly with his paw. They then wrested each other until they almost fell off the crystal. After that, the two dragons burst into laughter, which lasted for about nine seconds before finally coming to a standstill. Half a heartbeat later, they turned to the overlook again. A million things ran through the minds of the two dragons.

'Yeah, those were the good old days,' Stormfly sighed.

'They were, indeed,' Toothless agreed. 'But now, we must look out for our own. I'm sure Hiccup and his friends have the same amount of problems as we do now.'

'Fair enough.'

By then, Toothless was about to fly off to handle whatever tasks he had next to complete. When suddenly, a sharp cry sounded off in the air.

'Toothless!'

When they turned around, they saw a familiar nightmare approaching the giant crystal with a sense of urgency.

'What's up, Hookfang?' Toothless questioned.

In return, Hookfang quickly landed on the crystal before speaking his mind.

'It's the Heartstone!' he exclaimed. 'There's something down there in the crystal caverns you have to see! But you have to come quickly.'

And from there, Hookfang took to the skies and made his way to the entrance of the crystal caverns. And he didn't look back once. He was leaving both the night fury and deadly nadder puzzled. Of course, Toothless did not know why Hookfang was so excited about it, but he could take a wild guess and say it was essential.

"Well," Stormfly said as she got back up. " We better get going."

And with that, he takes to the skies with the other dragon at his back. Utterly unaware that these next few hours could be what leads the king of dragons to his destiny.

Ten Minutes Later

Not many dragons knew much about the mysteries that lurked in the crystal caverns of the Hidden World, mainly because no other dragon cared to go in them except for the few dragons who had an insatiable hunger for crystals. But one thing that was of great importance to the dragons in these caverns, considered very sacred, was what lay at the center of it all.

Which took the form of a large, orange crystal, standing tall from underneath the ground like the great World Tree that Vikings refer to in stories, and is probably a giant crystal in the Hidden World. If there was one thing that all the dragons agreed on, whether they were a fire-breather, water spouter, or even a dragon killer, it was that nobody messed with this crystal. It was well-known by its given name: the Heartstone.

For it was the very life force of the Hidden World itself. An ultimate source of light and power. Heck, it is also responsible for the glimmering white glow that lights up the giant crystal at King's Island. And without it, every dragon in the Hidden World would be condemned to endless darkness, which would be a problem even for a dragon such as Toothless, who was well known for seeing in the dark.

But today, there seemed to be a problem with it. Or at least that's what Hookfang heavily implied to the King of Dragons. He did not know what it was, but he knew they'd be in big trouble if the Heartstone had been tampered with by anyone foolish enough to do so.

Upon landing in the chamber where the Heartstone resided, Toothless was met with four other dragons waiting for his approach. On the ground, the night fury looked to Hookfang, hoping to receive an explanation for the urgency.

'Alright, what seems to be the emergency?' Toothless questioned.

'Well, it's a bit of a long story,' Hookfang stated, taking a deep breath as if he was about to tell one. 'So, me, Barf, and Belch were down here to collect crystals they promised me after losing a bet-'

'You don't have to mention that!" the zippleback explained.

'-Anyway, we were down here, you know, collecting crystals. And I see this weird glow coming from the Heartstone. At first, I didn't give it any thought. I was even about to turn tail and leave with Barf and Belch. But after taking a closer look-"

'Get to the point, Hookfang,' Toothless groaned impatiently.

"Oh, sorry," the nightmare apologized. Hookfang then motioned a wing to the Hearthstone. 'I found this.'

When the night fury turned back to the Heartstone, he saw the most peculiar thing he could ever imagine. As it turned out, while the Heartstone itself was glowing, it looked like something was glowing from the inside. Or at least, a bright, colorful light shined at the crystal's center. The night fury moved slightly forward to take a closer look.

And though it may not seem unusual to some, the odd thing about this glow was it glowed with multiple colors. Three, to be exact. With those colors taking the form of purple, yellow, and red. A sight that piqued the alpha's interest to a significant standard, more so compared to the other dragons.

'Okay, that is kinda unusual,' Toothless admitted. 'You guys seeing this too?'

'Yeah,' Windshear was the first to answer.

'Yes, boss,' Meatlug followed up.

'Very peculiar, indeed,' Thornado added.

The night fury squinted his eyes, using his binocular vision to see past the light. And to his surprise, he saw what was causing the illuminating lights. For as it would seem, there was something inside the crystal. It was a small artificial item, to be exact. He had no idea what it was or how it ended up inside the Heartstone. But to the alpha's optimism, there was only one way to find out.

'Stormfly, see if you can chip the ice a bit.'

'On it,' Stormfly acknowledged. Before she could do so, the night fury stopped her briefly.

'Don't give it too much,' Toothless warned. 'Just enough to get whatever is in it out of there.'

And with that, the deadly nadder fired a small magnesium blast at the light, only applying a quarter of her usual fire. To her credit, it was wise for Toothless to warn her first. It was considering that nadders had the hottest fire in the known dragon world. Two and a half a second later, Stormfly ceased fire, creating a small hole within the crystal. Afterward, Toothless turned his attention to Hookfang. Assuming he was probably thinking what he was thinking.

'Alright, Hookfang, since you were the first of us to find this thing,' Toothless stated. 'I'll give you the honor of pulling it out and claiming the discovery.'

'Really,' the monstrous nightmare said before retrieving the said item. 'Sweet.'

Before long, the object hidden in the crystal soon ended up in the nightmare's jaws. Which he brought to the group, preening like a dog who had just dug up his old bone. Only to drop it in front of the other dragons, who did not hesitate to hover over the mysterious item. Toothless, in particular, was more interested in it than the others. As he bent down to inspect it further, he saw that the thing was a golden talisman covered in markings that he had never seen before. At the center of the amulet, there were three small gems inscribed onto the item. With the same three colors, he saw before. Red, yellow, and purple.

'What is this?' he wondered to himself in awe. 'And what is it doing in my domain?'

He slightly moved it with his right paw, revealing that the item had a second layer underneath it. Before he could show the second layer, the night fury heard a faint chattering sound, followed by a low-pitched growl. One that the King of Dragons knew all too well. Seconds later, there was a shift in the wind, and Toothless could hear something closing in from behind him. Which could mean only one thing: they were not alone.

Suddenly, Toothless looked above his shoulder to see a shadowy figure descending toward him from above. From which the night fury responded by leaping backward. Seconds after that, roars sounded off from all sides of the cavern. And from it, a swarm of dragons descended, ambushing the group before they could have the chance to retaliate. There were six of them, to be exact. All ranged from a thunderclaw, a singetail, a changewing, a snafflefang, a timberjack, and a flightmare. And then there was the dragon in the middle, who had yet to reveal itself.

'We're under attack!' Stormfly declared. 'Protect the king!'

And with that, the group rushed off to meet the other dragons. They hoped to meet the attacking dragons head-on before they could obtain the advantage, bombarding them with fire attacks to force them back. Stormfly went first, shooting venomous spikes at the approaching thunderclaw. Who in return fired its green blast, shattering the points with a single blow.

Hookfang went next, setting his entire body aflame before sending a fiery windblast to slow the singetail down. In return, the singetail dodged the blast and retaliated with a fireball from its tail, which forced Hookfang to escape and return fire with a kerosene blast. The battle continued to rage as Meatlug effortlessly tail-whipped the changewing and snafflefang. Sending them crashing to the ground before Barf and Belch followed up with gas, sparking an attack that created a large explosion.

Windshear and Thornado resorted to combining their firepower against the timberjack, gleefully sending the giant sharp, class dragon on the run. But they were ultimately shocked when they saw it double back—slicing through the crystals from above them and causing them to fall. They were lucky enough to dodge them to avoid getting smashed by the crystals.

Despite the good fight the group was putting up; the invaders seemed to be much more clever than the group could anticipate. They were resorting to hit-and-run attacks, shooting back and dodging simultaneously. Though the fight continued to escalate, Toothless stood face to face with the mysterious dragon that attempted to strike him from above.

As it stepped further into the light, it was a deathgripper, one that adorned black markings over a solid red foundation around its body, coupled with bright yellow eyes. To many, this dragon would be just like any ordinary deathgripper. Yet Toothless had been around this one long enough to know that this was no ordinary deathgripper.

Those who journeyed beyond the Blistering Badlands just outside the Archipelago would know this dragon's tenacity very well. And till this day is considered to be one of the most feared dragons in the known world. Right below him, of course.

'Good to see you 'your highness,' the deathgripper taunted. 'You're looking well in this fine evening.'

'Glaivedriver,' Toothless snarled. 'I thought I smelled something on my way down here. Never figured that it would have your stench written all over it.'

'I figured that mysterious light would you down here,' the deathgripper, now dubbed 'Glaivedriver, ' proclaimed. 'And now it's finally time to settle the order of things once and for all.'

By then, the two dragons began to circle each other. The night fury's back glowed a sapphire blue, and breathing growls came from his slightly parted jaws. And at the same time, the red markings that covered the deathgripper's body started glowing brightly.

'You're not challenging me again," Toothless questioned, a hint of sarcasm escaping his jaws. "Are you?

'Well, look on the bright side, Toothless,' Glaivedriver started. 'After I defeat you and take over as alpha, you'll have so much time to spend with your lady-mate while I feast on your dead and rotting corpse.'

This statement made Toothless's blood run cold. Nobody insulted his mate and lived to tell about it. That was unless he allowed them to. It was not the first time Glaivedriver deliberately insulted him and his family. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time he attempted to take his position as alpha for himself.

'Before I put you in the ground, let me ask you?' Toothless implied. 'Why do you even want to become the alpha, anyway?'

At that moment, the deathgripper decided to humor the night fury.

'In two years of peace, what have you accomplished?' Glaivedriver asked rhetorically. 'A land of dragons who dream of nothing more. We used to be gods. We used to bask in the glory of destroying human villages as they trembled before us. It is up there where we truly belong. But now, we sit and hide while they steal what is rightfully ours. You've ruled long enough. It's my turn now!'

'And you think killing me is what will solve this?' Toothless questioned. 'You're either brave or stupid. Though there's no surprise in that.'

'And you will lead us to our inevitable doom!" Glaivedriver shot back, now foaming at the mouth. 'Our race stands toward extinction as we remain in this squalor, and what do you do? Preach about peace! Well, now the time for peace is over!'

'Not while I still draw breath. And you, Glaivediver, I will show you where you belong.'

"And where is that?" Glaivedriver asked mockingly. 'Your majesty.'

'Beneath my heel!'

Glaivedriver then responded with a challenging roar. He was flaring his wings out in the process. Toothless retaliates with his cry before charging forth and meeting his foe head-on. Half a heartbeat later, the two dragons crashed into each other. Through contact, they stand on their hind legs, knowing how lethal the deathgripper's pincer-like claws were; toothless wraps his paws around his opponent's neck—forcing him into a bear hug.

But considering that Glaivedriver was twice the Night Fury's weight, he used his superior strength to pin Toothless to the ground on his right side. He then attempted to jab the alpha with his venomous tail, but as thrown off balance the moment, Toothless kicked his hindlegs. Only to press on by ramming the dragon killer's chest, locking his jaws onto his dominant pincer while simultaneously clutching the side of the dragon's body with his right paw. He was close to snapping it when Glaivedriver pushed him off with his other pincer. The night fury backed up a couple of feet to catch his breath. And in doing so, he saw a glimpse of Hookfang flying above him as the singetail was chasing her.

Afterward, he shook his head before turning back to his adversary, smirking at him mocking yet sinisterly. He gave out another battle cry before charging forth, leaping to the deathgripper's chest to try and tip him over from underneath. Yet Glaivedriver rears up and uses his bare strength to force the night fury down again. Despite the tremendous pressure, Toothless was able to uplift his power with his wings, and further lunged at the dragon eater.

Who then attempted to end the fight with his venomous tail once again. Only to meet the jaws of the night fury when he brought it down. The deathgripper yelped in response before vaguely yanking his tail upward to pull it out. Yet the night fury remained persistent. His vice-like jaws locked onto the tip of his seat, not letting go under any circumstance. Then out of sheer desperation, Glaivedriver charges forth and rams the night fury's head. Finally, forcing Toothless to let go as he stood on his hind legs.

There, the deathgripper attempts to throw Toothless off balance again by targeting his legs, only for Toothless to grab his back with his forearms and steer him off. He sends the dragon killer tumbling toward the Heartstone, smashing head-first into it. The impact caused a light tremor in the caverns, thus bringing down an avalanche of crystals.

Stormfly, the first to see the falling crystals from above her, quickly took evasive actions, dodging and weaving through the falling crystals. And also even blasting through one in the process. By then, she was able to come out of that unscathed. However, others weren't so fortunate. Such as the Thunderclaw she had been battling for the past few minutes. As it turned out, when she looked down, she saw that the thunderclaw had been struck by one of the crystals, therefore grounding it temporarily. Yet it was a win for her anyway, no matter how small the price for victory was.

On the ground, Toothless can spot his nadder friend from a distance and briefly gives her a nod before watching her join the others. He then turned back to his rebel adversary, watching him slowly recover from the impact. By the time Glaivedriver could rise to his feet, Toothless roared in unison. Raising his head high with his wings extended out in dominance. This mockery merely inflamed the deathgripper, causing the dragon eater to growl profusely at the night fury. It was bad enough that he spent a long time planning this ambush, but it further wounded his pride, knowing he was losing to the alpha again.

He spent most of his life fighting his way to the top. He built an entire reputation based on the utter brutality he inflicts on most dragons. And there was no end to his creativity regarding the kill. They didn't call him the 'Dragon Killer' for nothing. And now all that work and credibility was about to be on the line if he did not defeat the king of dragons. He had already lost to him in his previous battles. And to lose this one will mean the end of his violent career. He will not let that happen. At the same time, he did not know that Toothless also had his fair share of battles and did not intend to go down that easy or at all.

The night fury closed in on his enemy to finish him off. He knew that if he continued to allow him to recuperate further, the balance of power would shift in his favor. And the fact that he wasn't ready to submit now meant there was only one option for the Night Fury. He crouched down, readying himself to take a giant leap. He expected to tackle the rebel and pin him down to the ground so he could force him to yield.

But to his surprise, upon leaping further and sailing toward his downed opponent, the king of dragons was met with two deadly swipes to the face by Glaivedriver's pincers. The deathgripper drew blood from each strike, and the night fury reeled back. This moment allowed the dragon killer to make his move as he lunged and tackled Toothless. In which the night fury yelped in surprise before he to the ground.

By then, the deathgripper had the alpha pinned down and started pounding at the side of his head. But at amiss, the night fury fights back with a clap to the side of Glaivedriver's head with his claws. He then uses that opportunity to flop the dragon eater onto his back and is tempted to crush his skill with his right paw. But deathgripper blocks the attempt and places his massive pincer on the night fury's neck. Then uses his strength to throw the dragon king back to the ground, bringing Toothless back to square one. With his advantage back in place, Glaivedriver grabbed Toothless by his neck with his jaws and dragged him up a bit to mobilize him.

After that, he lifted his massive pincers to stab the night fury and end this fight. Unfortunately, his efforts remained futile as the dragon alpha maneuvered his head to the left. He barely avoided being stabbed before following up by firing a plasma blast to the deathgripper's face. The distraction allows Toothless to lift himself back up, but he is briefly brought back to the ground by Glaivedriver's quick and decisive blows to the face.

After three more strikes, Glaivdriver resorts to sinking his teeth into the night fury's neck. He intended to suffocate the dragon king. Toothless responded with a cry of agony before taking his right paw and grabbing the side of Glaivedriver's face. After another struggling moment, Toothless manages to drag his claws across the deathgripper's left eye before pushing him off with his hind legs.

Once off, Toothless stiffly picked himself back up and watched his opponent do the same thing. They glared at each other with exhaustion when they both managed to stand on all four legs. It seemed like a stalemate. Both dragons panted from all that fighting and seemed pretty tired to keep pushing. But they knew they had to push on. Cause, in the end, there could only be one alpha. And both were in no shape to back down. Not even the slightest.

'Yield, Night Fury!' Glaivedriver demanded.

'Funny, cause a night fury never yields,' Toothless shoots back. 'As far as you're concerned, I'd rather die!'

'Terms...accepted.'

And with that, the fight continued. As the deathgripper jumps into the air and comes back down, pincers are always raised and ready for the kill. Though, yet again misses as the night fury leaps to his left side, followed by Toothless pouncing at Glaivedriver's side and biting down at his neck. He then used his sheer strength to bring his opponent down while he locked his maw onto the dragon killer's neck. He then growls as he tightens his grip on the deathgripper, causing him to shriek in anger before getting back up. Yet, in this position, Toothless was the one in control.

He swings his adversary to the side, repeatedly driving him down to the ground. But before he could, Glaivedriver rears up and breaks the night fury's hold on him. And in return, he snaps back and brings his venomous tail down in another failed attempt to strike the dragon king. In response, Toothless jumps back and snarls a bit before staggering again. By looking at things, the night fury seemed to be fatiguing hard. But still, he would not back down. This moment was in the very heat of battle. And he would decide to settle this right here and right now. So there was no point in giving up.

The night fury starts to show this as he slams his body into the deathgrippers. In which the dragon killer nibbled a bit at the alpha's right leg before shoving him back to the side. Only for Toothless to stand straight up and ram the side of his chest, nearly throwing Glaivedriver off balance. Yet Glaivedriver retaliates by grabbing hold of the night fury's neck, as he did to him earlier, and flings it across his shoulder, thus sending Toothless tumbling in the direction of the Heartstone until he came to a stop.

And this time, Glaivedriver flared his wings out in dominance. Intending to mock the night fury as he mocked him before. Though despite the pain, Toothless still managed to pick himself back up. But his persistence would not allow him to give into submission. He will continue to fight even if it costs him his life. That was his promise.

'There's nowhere left for you to run, Toothless,' Glaivedriver continued to mock. 'So yield, and I'll make sure you die swiftly.'

The night fury lifted his head, looking somewhat unimpressed.

'Is that all you got?' he questioned sarcastically. 'And here I thought Hookfang was the one with the loudmouth.'

'Death it is then,' Glaivedriver stated with an evil grin. 'Oh, how I'm going to enjoy this.'

And with that, the dragon killer charged forth more. Ready to strike down his enemy for the last and final time. Toothless, in response, braced to continue the fight and hopefully not die in the process. Though unfortunately for both of them, that moment never came. As the deathgripper was nearly inches from cutting down the king of dragons, a plasma blast was struck from the side, sending him rolling off to the right.

When Toothless looked up, his eyes caught the sight of his beloved mate, who had surprisingly brought back up with her. For he spotted four other dragons tailing her from behind. As the other dragons continued to fend off the invaders, the rebel dragons were under heavy fire with aerial dragon flame provided by both Skullcrusher and Grump, the Hotburple. As Barf and Belch struggled with the rogue timberjack, Cloudjumper grabbed the rebel dragon by its back, flinging it across the chasm. And shortly after that, the rebels were soon on the run. However, the most loyal stayed behind to protect their leader, who was, at the very moment, out of commission.

With the ambushers routed rather quickly, Luna proceeded to check up on her husband. Who, while not heavily injured, was seriously wounded. Before she could reach him, Glaivedriver attempted to lunge at her with murderous intent. Only Toothless returned fire with a plasma blast, thus sending him back to the ground. Shortly after that, Luna quickly rushed to her mate's side.

'Sweetheart, what are you doing here?' he questioned.

'Saving you from being torn to shreds,' she answered before tending to his wounds. 'Are you hurt, my love?'

'I'm fine,' Toothless replied. 'But it's you I'm more worried about. Glaivedriver almost got you.'

'Well, you didn't have to,' Luna shot back. 'I was about to handle him myself.'

'No, you weren't,' Toothless retracted. 'I have to protect you. That's why I do this.'

'Well, who's gonna protect you,' Luna questioned further, feeling somewhat upset. 'You can't do all of this by yourself.'

'It can't be with you,' Toothless responded. 'You mean too much to me.'

'And what about our kids? Is that how you're going to treat them, too?'

'I want our kids to be safe. And I also want them to be with their mother and father too. But I can't do that if you keep risking your life for me.'

'Seriously, Toothless, what's the worse thing that could happen to me.'

'Lots of things. They might trip on a rock, get burned by other dragons, or even light themselves on fire. And what then?'

Oh, come on, Toothless. You don't know that!"

"I know plenty of other things. You want me to name them too?!"

Luna then shot him the meanest glare after he said that. She raised her head above his and bared her teeth at him with vicious intent. And at that moment, Toothless was utterly in shock. He had to back down, for females were not ones to play around with, especially when you test their patience, and not even an alpha can resist the power of an ill-tempered mate. He bent down and slowly looked back up at her. He could still feel the anger in the expression on her face, making Toothless more guilty than before.

'I'm sorry, he said apologetically. 'I guess I'm just overprotective sometimes.'

She eased his anger and nuzzled him in the face a little. She didn't mean to shoot out in anger like that. Because Toothless was always respectful to her, he seemed to judge her in some ways.

'It's alright,' she said softly. 'We always get that feeling sometimes. But you don't have to do everything yourself. You have to have faith in those you care about and learn to trust them. Or you'll lose them in the long run. I don't want that for you. Or out children.'

Then, he looked back up at her and locked eyes. They stared for a moment before Toothless finally spoke.

'You're right,' he admitted. 'I'll be better at it.'

In return, Luna smiled. That was all she wanted to hear.

'I know you will,' she acknowledged, briefly nudging his snout with hers. 'Now let's go home.'

They were about to take off when Toothless suddenly remembered the elephant in the room. Who attempted to crawl away while they had their little conversation. Before Toothless could confront the rebel leader, he was met up by Stormfly and Hookfang, whom he was amazed to find alive and healthy.

'Let's the last of them, boss,' Stormfly reported. 'The rebels have either retreated or surrendered. We won't be hearing back from them anytime soon.'

'Good work, you guys,' Toothless complimented. 'I see you guys had some fun along the way.'

'It was awesome!' Hookfang proclaimed. 'You should've seen me out there kicking some rebel tail.'

'We all were Hookfang,' Stormfly briefly mentioned before turning back to Toothless. 'So what now?'

'I'll have to send tracking dragons to find the remaining ambushers and find out where they're hiding. Either than that, there's only one thing left to do.'

And with that, he turned his attention back to the crawling Glaivedriver. But before he could get that far, the night fury caught up to him, pressing his foot on the deathgripper's chest and standing tall.

'Your turn, Glaivedriver,' he proclaimed. His back was glowing the same sapphire blue from before. 'Yield!'

'You think this is the end, night fury,' Glaiverdiver said, coughing up blood. 'No! This is only the beginning! A new era of change is coming, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!'

'Oh yeah, and how do we know when this 'New Era' will come?' Hookfang asked from behind.

The deathgripper then responded with a chuckle.

'You will see soon enough!'

Ignoring that last bit, Toothless opened his mouth and was about to lay the final blast to this rebel dragon. Yet before he could do so, a faint sound caused his right ear to twitch. And before he knew it, a whistling came from behind them. When Toothless turned around, he finally realized his mistake. As he was too focused on the battle, he never realized that the talisman's second layer was somehow open. It must have been during their scuffle. But it was too late when he realized what would go down.

'Take cover!'

Before he could have a chance to reach for it, an air-ripping screech filled the area, and the fabric of reality was torn open in front of the talisman. And at amiss, a yellow maw came out of it and began sucking everything and everyone around it inside. Horrified, the dragons tried to break off and fly away from the enormous vortex. But for most, their efforts became futile. Some managed to make it to safety; most were not so lucky. And one by one, many dragons were sucked into the vortex.

Those included Windshear, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, and even Thornado. Hookfang latched onto one of the crystals, but it cracked and sucked him. Stormfly, one of the fastest dragons beside Toothless, could not avoid the vortex. As for Glaivedriver, he allowed himself to be carried into the portal, letting out a long menacing laugh as the strange maw took him in.

As for the two furies, Luna had managed to make it to safety yet was forced to watch her mate, who was still struggling to outfly the vortex. However, she was fortunate to grab hold of him while hanging onto the nearest crystal.

'I got you, honey!' she exclaimed, trying her best to hold on tightly. 'Just hang on!'

Though she held onto her mate so tightly, she caught a glimpse of him as he fought to keep himself from being sucked in, seeing that they were slit-like and filled with fear. Not just for himself but for her too. And it only took her a matter of seconds to realize how this would end. However, she would not allow it. She cared too much for him to see it end like this.

But as for Toothless, he knew what was at stake. And he would not lose his mate again. He has already lost one great thing in his life. He was not going to lose the other.

'I'm sorry,' he said, slowly slipping from her grasp.

'What? No!" she denied. 'Please, don't!'

'Tell our children that I love them.'

And with that, the night fury's paw slipped from her claws. And she could do nothing but watch as her soul mate disappeared into the vortex before her very eyes, with the talisman vanishing with him. Never to be seen again.

Inside the portal, Toothless screeched in silent agony within the vortex as the very magic of it consumed his body, making him feel like he was being torn apart into small particles. He struggled against the magic's energy as much as he could. But eventually, the king of dragons capitulated to it, and everything went completely black. And then he saw nothing but darkness moments later. The last thing he felt was the warm comforts of the Hidden World. Before feeling nothing at all shortly after.

Chapter Text

Los Angeles, 4:30 pm

It was late in the evening as Marcy continued to write in her journal, which was like the one thing that gave her comfort that was not Sasha and Anne. Her latest topic was all the igneous lore of her favorite game, 'Vagabondia Chronicles.' A game she considered to be the most fantastic JRPG of all time. The game's features had everything she ever loved, from brave knights to swirling magic, the fearsome beasts, to an evil overlord planning to conquer the universe with their undead horde.

She wrote about how much she loved the world it created: detailed and complex, full of mystery and intrigue, terrifying yet beautiful. And she especially loved the protagonists: three fierce, loyal, determined young warriors, each having strengths and weaknesses in their unique ways, yet still lovable and relatable. And the best part is that she would be free to choose which direction her characters go and determine what type of destiny each of them meets by the time it's over.

Plus, despite the many troubles and hardships the protagonists face in their endless adventures, not once have they fallen into the trope of threatening their friendship with some contrived fight over a boring, cut-and-paste drama that puts them in harm's way. Instead, the game takes the opposite direction, bridging the lines between good and evil, testing their knowledge, and honing their skills against the unknown. Allowing growth and development as the game progresses.

Most of all, they focused on each other and their friendship, defending one another from the horrors unleashed by the evil overlord.

Even risking their own lives for one another and constantly rebounding when all seems lost. And their destinies would end with them standing together and victorious before it is over. Maybe it was just Marcy projecting a little, but every time they fought side-by-side, bandaged each other's wounds, or teased and poked fun at one another, she saw in their friendship what she had with her two friends Sasha and Anne.

Seeing how close she was to them, even before her time in Amphibia. It was like the three of them were destined to be together forever. However, fate had other plans and changed everything. Was it her fault that they were there in the first place? Yes. But in the end, it only strengthened their friendship in many ways she could imagine—something she wanted with all her heart.

However, that was now part of history. And all Marcy could do now was hope for the best, no matter how crazy or cruel the world was. A world that she needed to be more confident to face. Though speaking of being ready, the alarm from her phone unexpectedly went off, signaling that it was time for her to prepare for the big party her friends promised to take her to. One of which she was no doubt expected to mingle with other strangers. Oh, the fun they'll have.

"Gotta pick out what to wear first," she said. "Let's see..."

She opened her closet door and started digging through the massive pile of clothes she had inside. Only to find many school uniforms that she had worn in the last week. Though she figured that since there was no dress code, there was no need to rush. Though she kept digging through the rummage that infested her closet, she finally found the ideal outfit that would fit well for her at the party.

It was nothing too serious, nor was it too fancy. It was a denim jacket with two pins on the left side of the jacket collar, along with a white t-shirt with the symbol of the Taiwanese girl's favorite college adorned in the front to go underneath it, a pair of green pants, and brown converse sneakers. It was a simple outfit, but no doubt it was one she could see herself wearing at this party.

"Perfect."

Afterward, she took the outfit out of the closet and shut the door to close it. But before she could, she caught a glimpse of something still inside. She opened it a bit to take a peak, revealing her old ranger outfit and satchel. From which was neatly stashed in the back corner of the closet, having gone untouched for months. She took a moment to admire her old suit and smiled as she reflected on all her good times with it. The memories the priceless attire carried and all the magic that came with it were unforgettable to the Asian girl.

And even though it happened a while ago, it felt like yesterday to her.

But that was all in the past. And no matter how much Marcy wanted to go back and revel in all the happy moments she had in Amphibia with her friends; she had now accepted that there was no going back. Still, though, there were times when she wished she could go back and start over. And not have to deal with all the stress and homework that keeps bombarding her every chance it gets. Before she could further bask in happy memories, she snapped and realized she was on borrowed time. She finally shut the closet door and sauntered to the bathroom to get ready.

After about five minutes of cleaning herself up and putting on her outfit, Marcy was almost prepared to take off. The only thing she needed to do was make sure that she looked good. Or at least look more appealing to other people, especially around kids that go to her school. She brushed a small strand of her hair back, staring at herself in the bathroom miCore'sShe took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling drastically. As excited as she was for this party, she couldn't begin to comprehend the anxiety that sizzled in her chest.

As far as she was concerned, she was not ready for this.

More accurately, she was not ready for what she was about to put herself into while attending this party. The thought of being around a crowd of people, one of which she would have to mingle with, without looking wholly dorky and awkward, sent shivers down to the bone, which was not something new to the Taiwanese nerd. She had already told Anne she had trouble looking people in the eye. But that was only half of the issue regarding her socially awkward personnel. The other half was a lot more complicated to explain.

She smoothed her hair out for the third time, mentally chastising herself afterward. She didn't wonder why she was trying so hard to make herself so well-groomed for something that was going to be so casual. Heck, it wasn't going to be that big deal. Maybe it was her fear of what Anne and Sasha would think of her when she stepped out of the house. Sasha, in particular, did have a habit of nitpicking her and Anne's outfits whenever they wore somethCorestupid or too out-of-date. And this was their idea, after all. The least she could do was look more presentable for them.

This is so stupid.

She should grab her phone and tell her friends to go without her and be done with it. Sure they'd be disappointed, but they already made it clear that they didn't want her to do anything that she wasn't 100% sure she wanted to do. Plus, they had years of experience talking to people and making good conversation. As for her, she only had what seemed to be months in Amphibia, making friends with Maggie and Lady Olivia and even King Andrias himself. But alas, that was in Amphibia, not Earth. And people here were not as friendly and generous as the latter. Then again, only three of her few friends were her actual friends, and they didn't end up stabbing her in the back.

However, she was still knowledgeable regarding socializing. Marcy had been well-known to be a quick learner. Her experience with the Barbari-Ants had been proof, but the stakes felt much higher than the other times. Even the first temple in Amphibia was not this stressful and unsettling. But at the same time, she also hadn't felt so excited, knowing her friends would be there, laughing and partying along sider her. Now that she thought about it, that is, undoubtedly, what she wanted 100%—more than anything in the world. And if she said no to that, she'd no doubt come to regret it later.

Yet still, the anxiety that quelled her nerves gave her mixed feelings about this. One of which only escalated her dilemma even further.

'Oh, just do it,' Marcy told herself. 'For them. It won't be perfect, but it doesn't have to be. Just go out there and be yourself.'

She then silenced her thoughts by continuing to smooth out her jacket before staring into the mirror. As she did, she began to commend herself for a bit. She never considered herself super attractive in terms of her body image. But just looking into the mirror, she couldn't help but admit that she looked good. Aside from the outfit alone, she looked astonishing with her curved hips and pinchable cheeks. One of which Anne no doubt gushed over silently. Along with her short beautiful locks that were that glistened in the reflection of the mirror.

She even wondered what Anne and Sasha would think if they saw her like this. However, she recalled how gorgeous Sasha looked over the past couple of weeks, with her muscular arms and six-pack that she never really talked about. But it's also what she liked about her too. Her form alone was much more appealing to her. The same went with Anne, too, with her messy hair and skinny legs. However, she'll never admit it to them.

It only made her smile, giving her a semblance of confidence in her appearance alone. As she stared into her reflection, a faint image crossed her mind. One of which showed four spikes surrounding her head. Yet when she blinked, it was gone. The Taiwanese girl rubbed her eyes and squinted at the mirror again. This time, seeing it again, a third glowing eye appeared at the center of her four heads. She blinked again, this time seeing another look appear. And then, another appeared. And another, and another. Until it became more evident to her than ever before, and before she knew it, Marcy was left staring at an image of herself through the mirror that she wished she'd forget.

An image that would take the form by which she became the Core's vessel and nearly killed her friends. Or as it called itself, 'Darcy.'

She slowly backed away from the image. Releasing a small gasp as she saw the image smile menacingly at her. The next thing she knew, she heard the walls of the bathroom start to the creek. And the lights began to flicker. Like in those horror movies she used to watch with Anne and Sasha whenever they had sleepovers, and it was Sasha's turn to pick a movie. And then, out of nowhere, Marcy felt a sharp jolt run across her mind. She winced in pain as she grabbed the side of her head with her hand.

Shortly after that, she could hear the voices in her head starting to whisper and constantly gnawing at the back of her head, scolding her and saying mean things to her. And before long, she could hear her screams. Screams of the very agony she had endured on that day. The day from which she had been scarred for life. She then took both of her hands and covered her ears with them in an attempt to drown them out. But to her misfortune, it was no use. And the voices just started getting louder and louder.

She looked at her reflection one last time, still revealing Darcy smiling at her. Before moving its lips in a chilling yet terrifying manner.

"You cannot hide from us forever," it spoke from the mirror. "Accept your destiny!"

Marcy panicked. Yelping, she rushed out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut, causing a loud smacking sound before pressing back against it. The nerdy teenager then took a few deep and valid breaths before deciding it was best that she get going. And luckily for her, this would genuinely be the case. Cause at that moment, she heard a loud honking sound from outside her house. She quickly rushed to the window and opened it, only to see Anne and Sasha waiting for her in what turned out to be Anne's parent's car. Right on time, like Sasha said they would be.

"Mars, you coming or what?!" Sasha shouted from outside the back window.

"Be right there, girls!" the Taiwanese girl answered.

Shortly after that, she closed the window and rushed out of her room to meet with her best friends. As quick as a cheetah and as swift as an eagle, she descended the stairs and was just about to open the front door. Yet before she could lay a finger on the nob, she was stopped by a seemingly familiar voice.

"Woah, now, young lady," someone said from behind her. When she spun around, she came face to face with her father, who was seemingly expecting her. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Oh, hey, dad," she nervously greeted. "I was just about to go out with my friends."

"This late in the evening?" he questioned further.

"It's for a party," she backed up profusely. "But don't worry, it's for a birthday from one of the kids in my classroom."

Her father, a tall, middle-aged Chinese man, approached his daughter in a severe and inspecting manner. The expression on his face was incalculable to Marcy's eyes, making the more minor, half-Asain girl more nervous than before. However, it didn't help when he squinted his eyes.

"Did you do these dishes?" he asked.

"Yes, dad."

"Homework?"

"Just finished it a couple of hours ago."

"Brushed your teeth to avoid bad breath?"

"When do I ever not do that?"

"U have your cellphone with you in case you get lost?"

"Always."

"And pepper spray in case you get attacked?"

"Dad, I'm not going to a bar."

With each question, Marcy gave her father her most honest opinion. However, the expression on his face remained unchanged. She has been with her family long enough to know how strict her father was regarding taking care of her. Let alone teaching her how to take care of herself. But after seeing the truth in his daughter's eyes, he relented. And instead, he resorted to giving her a smile before letting out a sigh.

"Sorry, honey," he spoke softly. "I just want you to be careful."

"I'll be fine, dad," Marcy reassured. "Now, I have to go before I'm late."

She reached the door for a second time. But she was again stopped when her father gently grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to look back.

"Marcy, are you listening to me?" he implied. "Accidents can happen. You could easily get hurt-"

"Hurt or stepped on, or even get lost," Marcy impersonated as if she knew what he was about to say before he said it.

"And remember," her father began to remind her. "I want you to stay in touch with us."

"-at all times," she impersonated again, this time more sarcastically. "I know. And if I see any strangers, I don't talk to them. And once it's over, come straight home. Okay, okay, can I go now? Please?"

She then put on her most enormous puppy dog face. And in return, she got a chuckle from her old man, amused by her playful expression.

"Very funny," he commented.

By then, her mother, a tanned, middle-aged Taiwanese woman, came up from the kitchen and joined up with her dad.

"Mind your father, Marcy," she told her beloved child.

Only for Marcy to reply, "Yes, mom."

"But most of all, call us if you need anything," her dad further reminded her. "Even if it's just to say hi."

"Of course," Marcy once again reassured. "Now I have to go. You know how I am about being late."

"That we do," her mother stated before opening the door. "Now go out and have fun."

"Thanks, guys," Marcy stated as she hugged her parents. "You guys are the best."

And with that, she rushed out of the door and ran to the car, but not before being stopped for the third time.

"Marcy," her dad called.

Looking back, she saw him giving her the most genuine and sincere expression she could ever imagine. And the same goes for her mother too. They were giving her that 'watching their kid go away to college' vibe. Though she figured it was for a good reason.

"We love you," he told her honestly. "You know."

"We always have," her mother added. "And we always will."

Hearing those words filled Marcy's heart with butterflies. Before Amphibia, she didn't have the best relationship with her parents. There were times when she fought with them and argued for the prettiest things. And it would always end horribly for her. It was why she came up with that crazy idea to take the music box.

But deep down, she always questioned whether they truly loved her. She always figured that her father put all those expectations for her in terms of school so he could transform her into this perfect student. More importantly, she thought he never truly cared about her self-interests and instead wanted what was best for her.

Her mother was no different in terms of expectations. Heck, she remembered one time when she was little that she would have her dress up like a doctor and go around the house taking their temperatures. It sounded fun at first but became seriously annoying as she grew older.

The Taiwanese girl always wondered if her parents loved her for who she was instead of what they wanted her to be. But just hearing that, that single 'I love you, laid all those questions to rest. She couldn't help but smile, shedding a tear before running back to the front porch to hug them.

"I love you guys too."

In return, her parents hugged her tightly for what felt like minutes. But before the moment could continue, they released her from their touching embrace and looked to the car in front of their lawn before considering it was time for her to go.

"Alright, now go have fun," her father told her, ushering her to run along.

And with that, Marcy finally took off. She ran to the car in front, where the left rear window was rolled up, revealing the other two girls waiting patiently for her. Anne was wearing her usual outfit: a white t-shirt with pink sleeves and an orange flame symbol on the front, light blue jean shorts, white socks with pink colors at the bottom, and a pair of purple and white sneakers. As for Sasha, she wore a light-red jacket, a white t-shirt with a patch of her two heron swords adorned the front, a short pink skirt, and her usual pair of Mary Jane shoes she wears to school.

Though she was glad to see them, Marcy couldn't help but think she had overdressed, considering how casual her two best friends looked. Then again, she didn't try that hard.

"Well, wasn't that something, Wu," Sasha complimented in a sarcastic tone. "Nice jacket, by the way."

"Oh, that?" Marcy inquired. "It was nothing."

"I don't know, Mar-Mar," Anne added. "I think that was pretty sweet."

"Ah, thank you, guys," Marcy expressed.

"Sure, but can we put a lid on it," Sasha said, almost running out of patients. "We're already ten minutes behind."

"Oh, sorry."

Then, Marcy opened the door and got in the car. In the front, she saw both Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, Anne's parents, further implying that Anne somehow talked her parents into taking them. Before she could get in, she turned back to her parents and waved.

"I'll text you guys when I get back!" she told her parents.

Her parents nodded before watching their only daughter leave while entrusting that her friends would keep her safe.

After that, Marcy got in, squeezing in the back with her friends. With Anne in the middle and Sasha on the other side of the car.

"Why hello there," Mrs. Boonchuy greeted. "You must be Anne's other friend."

Marcy quivered. Chuckling nervously after realizing this is the first time she's met Anne's mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Boonchuy," she addressed tentatively. "I'm Marcy."

"Oh, we know who you are," Mr. Boonchuy responded. "Anne has told us a lot about you."

Hearing this made Marcy laugh anxiously for a second time. It was no secret that Anne's parents knew about her and Sasha. Both the good and the bad. However, it was still much to take in seeing them in person.

"She did?" she asked.

"All the time," Mr. Boonchuy replied. "She even told us how adorable you look when you sleep."

"Dad!" Anne butted in, with cheeks glowing as bright as a strawberry. "Can we not talk about that here?!"

"Oh, relax; I'm just playing, honey," he reassured. "Now, are we all ready to go?"

"Yes, dad, can we please just go already?!"

The parents looked at each other, giving each other raised eyebrows before shrugging it off. Anne's father then started up the engine and drove off. All the girls, including Marcy herself, look forward to having the time of their lives.

Ten Minutes Later

Maggie's house was not far from her own. Maybe a couple blocks away from where Anne lived. Sasha had already briefed Anne's parents on the directions before picking up Marcy, though it took them longer to get ready than expected. Anne said it was because her dad spent ten minutes trying to start the car's engine. Throughout most of the trip, they listened to Anne's parents talking about their lives and work. Though her father probably got too into-depth with his.

"So then, I take the tank," he explained, probably referring to the online gaming that he talked to Anne so much about. "Fly it up to the General's palace, and I'm all like, 'Boom! You looking for this?'"

There was a moment of silence shortly after. As if the three girls were expecting him to go further into depth with the story and were surprised when he stopped.

"That's it?" Sasha asked. "That's the whole story."

"Pretty much," he answered. "You like it?"

"Oh, yes, that's a pretty good story," the blonde teenager answered. But not before muttering, "For three years olds maybe."

"Hey now," Anne's mother scolded. "We don't insult each other in the car."

"Oh, sorry, Ms. Boonchuy," Sasha quickly retracted.

That being said, the older woman couldn't help but emphasize Sasha's muttering insult. And she was taking into consideration that it was true.

"Though I do agree," she added. "Husband, I will never understand you and your online gaming."

"But you still love me for it," Mr. Boonchiy joked. "Don't you?"

Ms. Boonchuy blushed, knowing that it was also true.

"That I do."

Meanwhile, Marcy couldn't help but squeeze her hands together between her knees, knowing that if she didn't, she would've tried to smooth out her shirt again. Yet it only resulted in her fidgeting attentively. As far as her anxiety went, the Taiwanese teenager found it staggering. It was mainly because she was close to her best friend, but it was still out of anticipation of what may go down at this party—knowing how unpredictable the outcome may be. However, much to her dismay, this display of uneasiness had not gone unnoticed.

"Is everything okay with you back there?" Mrs. Boonchuy asked, having spotted Marcy fidgeting from the corner of her eye. "You seem very anxious tonight."

"Oh, sorry," Marcy apologized. "I'm just nervous. That's all."

"Is it about this party we keep hearing about so much?" the taller woman questioned further.

"Yeah, or something like that?" she answered, her hands shaking tensely. "It's the first time in a while since I've ever been to a party."

"I know the feeling," Mrs. Boonchuy emphasized. "When I was about your age, I used to go to parties all the time. And this was after I moved from Thailand. There was this one guy in our school who offered free drinks but would only allow his friends to come over. And so-"

"Oh, I remember this party," Mr. Bonchuy cut in. "It was when we-"

"Don't interrupt!" Ms. Boonchuy shot back, silencing the other parent before he could spoil the fun. "Anyway, one of the friends was supposed to bring brie. But instead of that, he brought the whole school! Isn't that crazy?"

"Yeah, you were wearing that cute dress, and all the boys had their eyes on you," Mr. Boonchuy commented. "Heck, I remember a few trying to hit you."

"If I remember correctly, you were one of those boys."

"Yup, and I don't regret it one bit."

That whole time Anne tried so hard not to cringe as her face pinkened with embarrassment again. At the same time, Sasha silently snickered at her in the background.

"This is a normal feeling," Ms. Boonchuy reassured the younger nerd. "It'll work out in the end, sweety. Trust me when I say this."

"Yeah, sure, you'll have that occasional party crasher," Mr. Boonchuy added. "But it's nothing to worry about. The trick is to approach it slowly and steadily. Like how I'm easily turning the steering wheel, and-"

"WATCH OUT!"

Anne's mother briefly had to yank the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting a passing car. They heard a honk and the person screaming at them from a distance. Afterward, Anne and her mother gave him a scornful look. From which he responded with an innocent smile.

"Oops, my bad," he chuckled nervously.

Ms. Boonchuy groaned, which was followed by a facepalm.

"This is why I don't let you drive!" she scolded.

"You rarely let me drive, honey," he shoots back.

"That's because you drive like an old man!"

"I do not!"

"Oh yeah, then what was that back there?!"

"That was me trying to."

"Hey, I'd hate to bring down the room or the, ya know, outside..." Sasha cut in, hoping to de-escalate the argument before they risk crashing into another vehicle again. "But I think we're here."

Their voices were as muted as ever in the night as the group finally pulled up at Maggie's house. The street they were across from was already backed with cars, and Marcy could see several kids hanging out by the entrance. From looking at it alone, there was no doubt within any of the girls' minds that this was going to be an insanely loud party currently raging between the four walls of that four-story house.

The lights behind the curtains of the windows were flashing different colors. And the brick walls surrounding the house were visibly shaking with all the thumping music that echoes into the street and could be heard from miles. Marcy wouldn't be surprised if Maggie got a series of noise complaints from her neighbors in the future.

The nerdy teenager watched as Anne's father shifted the car into park, then looked over and beamed at her, Anne and Sasha, gushing with toothy grins.

"Okay now," Mrs. Boonchuy said. "Have fun, you three."

"Text us when you want us to pick you up, Anne," Mr. Boonchuy added.

"Okay, thanks, guys," Anne said as she began shoving Sasha out of the car, with Marcy getting out from the other side. "Love you, too. Bye!"

Afterward, she shut the door to her car and rushed Marcy and Sasha to the house as quickly as possible, leaving her parents somewhat confused.

"She'll be fine," Mr. Boonchuy said. "Now, let's start this-"

Mrs. Boonchuy put her hand on top of his. Stopping her partner before he could start the car.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" she said, shaking her head. "This time, I'm driving!"

Meanwhile, the three girls vacantly made their way to the house; Marcy had been contemplating all the ways this may go sideways. Sure, she had already thought about this before she stepped out of the house, but now that she was here, it made her even more anxious.

For starters, there seemed to be a whole lot of people. And this is just from the outside. She would only dread to think about how many are inside. It made her feel that pretentious spike of anxiety crawls up from behind her eyes. However, it didn't help when she thought of the possibility that she would be there, which was the last person she wanted to see here.

It was bad enough that she would pin her against the wall of her locker and nearly humiliate her during class; she dreaded thinking about what she would do to her if she saw her at the party. That would be the last thing she would want. However, before she could further drown in a puddle of her solicitude, she felt a gentle tug on her free arm. She turned to see that it was Anne tugging at her.

"Doing alright, Mar-Mar?" she asked. "You're quiet."

"Oh, hehe," she chuckled with angst. "Like I said earlier...Just a little nervous."

"It'll be fine, Marce," Sasha reassured, propping up from Marcy's left. "I promise."

"I know, it's just..." the Taiwanese girl paused midway. She was looking at her two best friends before pinning her eyes to the ground. "Thanks for doing this with me, you guys. I don't know if I would do this without you."

In return, Anne and Sasha smiled. They knew what kind of difficulty Marcy had with it came down to this sort of stuff. But in the end, they would always have her back. No matter what.

"Of course," Sasha replied, followed by a wink. "We'd do anything for our Queen."

The two girls were then caught in a snickering spree as Marcy buried her face in her hands. Her face lit up as she heard a groan leave the back of her throat. She was still not over the nickname her best friends had given her. And quite frankly, neither were they.

"It'll be great Mar-Mar. You gotta go in there," Anne followed up. "And be yourself. And things will work out. Besides, what could go wrong with someone's 13th birthday party?"

That being said, a booming sound came from one of the windows, followed by someone opening it to unveil smoke from the inside. When the dust cleared, the person who of which had opened it was revealed to be a Caucasian girl with ginger hair, which was braided into pigtails, freckles plastered all over her cheeks, and a gap in her top teeth. This was topped with a backward-facing purple baseball cap covering her head.

It was revealed to be hers, indeed, Maggie, who was now seen coughing from all the smoke before turning her attention back inside.

"Dammnit, Molly!" she shouted. "What did I tell you about using firecrackers inside?!"

There seemed to be an inaudible apology coming from inside. She responded with an exhausted groan before leaning up against the window. The three girls looked at each other in confusion. Not sure what to make of any of this. Before they could second-guess themselves, Maggie turned her gaze to the front yard. Spotting them in the process and had the biggest smile on her face.

"You guys came!" she exclaimed, with the excitement in her expression visibly evident.

"Sure, did we come at a bad time?" Anne asked, seeing the stress in her body language.

"No, you're just in time," Maggie reassured. "Don't go anywhere! I'm coming down!"

She then quickly closed the window. She nearly bumped her head before rushing out of the room to what they assumed would be the front door. Marcy looked at Anne, unsure of what was going on, only to receive a shrug from her before the three girls decided to go along with it and proceed toward the front door.

Upon approach, they passed a group of boys hanging out on the front porch. One of which eyed Sasha hungrily before the blonde girl glared at him in return. Anne was close to ringing the doorbell when the door suddenly flung open, followed by an enthusiastic Maggie leaping forward and wrapping her arms around Anne with a vice-like grip of a hug.

"I'm so glad you guys came!" she said, tightening her grip on the Thai girl.

"Uh, yeah, me too, Maggie..." Anne replied, finding it hard to inhale oxygen with her iron grip. "Now, if I can just...breathe.."

"Oh, sorry," Maggie said, finally releasing her grip on the other girl and planting her feet back on the floor. "I just didn't know if you would show up."

"Well, we're here now. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

"It's exhausting..." Maggie responded with a groan. "My little brother got word that I was throwing a party and decided to invite some of his friends. For the last hour, he's been driving me completely insane—they're acting like mental cases. I don't know whose worse. Them or the others. At least with the others, you can kick them out if they start breaking stuff. But, one wrong move and that little twirp will rat me out to my parents! Who will probably ground me for a week if they see the house like this? "

This entire rant left the three girls wide-eyed and shocked. Mainly from the perspective of listening to what Maggie has to deal with. The amount of pressure she's under in terms of managing the party, along with having to deal with her younger sibling. From what they could tell was already a handful for the poor girl. Not to mention all the other people he may have invited along the way.

"Woah, that seems like a lot," Anne commented, looking down on Maggie with pity. "Do your parents even know that you're throwing a party?"

"Yeah, they know," Maggie answered. "They gave me the green light after I got my grades up last week. They figured I was 'responsible' enough to manage things while they went on their weekly trip to San Francisco. I have to make sure nobody breaks anything."

"I feel ya' Maggie," Anne related. "Can't imagine what it must feel like to come home and see your family portrait all mashed up and turned to woodchips."

"I know," Maggie sighed. "But at least now you guys are here. I've waited so long for this."

"Me too," Anne then gestured over to her two friends. "Now, you remember my friends, Sasha and Marcy, right?"

Marcy nervously waved hello while Sasha put up a peace sign.

"Oh yeah," Maggie said, turning to Sasha first. "It's good to see you, Sash."

"You too, Margo," Sasha replied, coming up to shake her hand.

"Hey, wasn't it almost a year ago that you threatened not to invite me to your house party?" Maggie recalled.

"Oh...heh, you remember that?" Sasha chuckled, feeling uncomfortable that Maggie had to bring that subject up.

"Yeah, what was it that you said?" Maggie continued to recollect before she began to resight what the blonde teen had said to her that day. "It'll be really sad when the whole class is enjoying the pool without you."

Sasha couldn't help but cringe. It was bad enough that the caucasian girl had to remind her of that specific day that changed her and her friends' lives forever, but to be reminded of the person she was before didn't sit well with her. And it didn't help her even further when she found the irony in all of this, from once being the girl who invited everyone to her supposed house party to now being the one to be invited to an actual house party.

"Yeesh..." she said, slinking down to her shoulders and feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry about that...We're not all proud of the things we did back then."

Though to her surprise, Maggie agreed.

"Same," she told the blonde girl. "But that's all behind us past now."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Shortly after that, Maggie smiled before turning her attention to Marcy, who slowly felt her muscles swell with tension.

"Oh, I remember you," she told the Taiwanese teen. "You're that girl who hacked the P.A. system that one time. That was pretty rad, dude."

Marcy responded with a laugh. Feeling her anxiety spike a thousand percent.

"Well, it wasn't that hard, actually," she admitted. "I'll be sure to lay out the details if you want."

"Maybe next time," Maggie declined respectfully. "But for now, come on in! I have so much to show you!"

The trio then watched the overly excited girl skip inside, motioning them to enter. When they stepped into the walls of Maggie's house, they could hear the intense sound of the music from inside, blasting at total volume. And the house's atmosphere was swarmed with overwhelming, young teenage exuberance.

They weaved through the countless party guests, who were seemingly everywhere. The walls were decorated with streamers, and there were glowing lights on every corner of the main floor of the house. When they reached the living room, it was complete chaos, as Marcy had suspected.

The main base of the living room had a dance floor, from which it was lit up at the bottom. At the center was a sizeable digital setup, the source of all the music. Vince, the school's guitarist, is the D.J. To the right of them, there was a door that led to the backyard. From this, the girls could spot a pool where most of the guests were seen around.

Among the guests, the girls could see a few familiar faces. Through the enormous crowds, there was Gabby, Cheyenne, and even the two noisy gossip bloggers, Desi and Rico, who Anne caught from the corner of her eye taking pictures of them. Only to glare at them and watch them scurry off out of fear of being seen.

There was also a concession stand, a snack bar, and large flat screen tv, where a group of kids was seen playing Smash Bros. Heck, as much as Sasha didn't want to admit it, she would safely say that she was impressed with Maggie's party design. She did a much better job at decorating than she ever did. It almost made the blonde teenager envy her.

"Wow, how did you even manage to set all this up, Maggie?" Waybright asked.

"Eh, my parents helped me out before they left," the ginger replied. "I was lucky enough even to afford all this stuff."

"We should hang out more often," Sasha added.

"Yeah, but that'll be for another time."

Maggie rushed to the stereo speakers, quickly grabbed a microphone, and pulled the three girls up so everyone could see them.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" she spoke through the mic. Everyone in the house immediately stopped what they were doing and gave the party girl her undivided attention. "I want to take a moment to welcome a special guest for tonight's party. Now, you all remember that crazy incident a couple of months ago, right?"

The crowd instantly answers her with a series of 'yesses' and 'yeah.'

"Well, guessed who just showed up in town?" she implied. "Coming in from West L.A., please give a special welcome to the hero who kicked all those aliens' butts and sent them back to outer space, yours truly, Anne Boobchuy!"

The crowd went exceptionally silent to the point where the music stopped playing. Maggie looked over, seeing the disappointed scowl on Anne's face. Sasha and Marcy followed her. She felt slightly puzzled until she finally got the memo. And let out a slight gasp in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry," she retorted, slightly blushing. "I meant to say, please give a round of applause to Anne Boonchuy."

The crowd then roared with cheers and applause, giving the Thai girl a more subtle but warm welcome. She was never one to be applauded for anything in her past life. But here, this was something else.

"And I also want to give a special shoutout to her best friends, Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu," she added. "Who, I believe, had done their parts in kicking those nasty aliens' butts."

The crowd screamed with more cheers for the second time in a row. They were leaving the three girls wholly mesmerized. Especially Marcy, who was the reason those aliens came to Earth. But it was still a lot to take in, considering how badly she wanted to be noticed by the people around her, even her friends.

"And as a special thank you for all their hard work and sacrifice," Maggie added for the third time. "Next few root beers are on the house!"

For the third time now, the crowd shrieked with excitement. This time revolved around the news of free drinks than the three heroes as the music resumed its usual blasting, followed by Maggie going off the join the party. They usually would feel disappointed in that title, but that didn't matter to them. Cause now, it was party time. Sasha was the first to jump in as she went to the concession stand to get a drink. Probably taking advantage of the fact that Maggie had just said the following few drinks were free. Before she could take the opportunity to scatter just as Waybright did, Anne caught Marcy fidgeting from the corner of her eye.

The Taiwanese girl was still feeling pretty nervous about this whole thing.

"Okay...this is...a lot, " Marcy admitted unwillingly. "Maybe I should have-"

"Marcy," Anne stopped her. She took a few steps toward the nerdy teen and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Don't overthink this. Just go and have some fun."

"But, what if-"

She was cut off when Anne wrapped her arm around her shoulder before gesturing to the crowd.

"You see all these people?" she asked her rhetorically. "They all love us. Or rather, they love me for all that we've done in Amphibia. I'm sure someone there will be glad to hang out with you. And who knows, maybe they'll lend you in on a few things they do in their spare time. Maybe even invite you in."

"I guess that makes sense," said Marcy, having thought of her best friend's words of wisdom. "But-"

"But you'll never know unless you go out there and offer yourself to them," Anne added. "And it all starts with taking the first step. Sound good?"

At first, Anne's comment sent Marcy to utter silence for another few seconds. But as usual, her messy-haired Thai best friend was right. She would never have had a chance to meet a new friend if she had just stood there looking like a bustling idiot. Nor would she ever have any hope of branching out if she didn't start talking to other people.

And this was a party, for Frog's sake. A birthday party at that. So what better way to enjoy this different scenery than to spend the remainder of the day partying like there was no tomorrow?

"Well, I don't have much to lose," Marcy shrugged.

"That's the spirit!" Anne hollered before immediately turning to the snack bar. "Now, who's hogging all the ice cream?!"

Later...

They didn't know how long it had been since their arrival at the rocking, red-bricked, and well-decorated house that was Maggie's humble abode. But already, the girls had been having the time of their lives as the party had well and truly settled into full swing.

The music had been pumping loud as usual, and the levels of party craziness were at maximum volume. As she took the dance floor, Sasha was the first to dive headfirst into the fun-filled party animal mess. Marcy had managed to slip her way into playing Smash Bros on the flat screen tv. And during that time, she had bested several other gamers in a seven-round winning streak. And then there was Anne, who had gotten into a deep conversation with Maggie, Gabby, Cheynne, and a few others.

Most of what they talked about were about her adventures back in Amphibia. Or more specifically, on that particular day when the invasion kicked in.

"So I'm there, starring King Andrias down," she says, with the others listening closely. "Ready for the battle of the ages. I step up to make the first move, and what does he do?"

"He starts monologuing?" Maggie guessed.

"He starts monologuing!" Anne exclaimed. "He starts like this prepared speech about how inferior I am to him. About how inevitable my defeat is. About how our world will soon be his! Yada, yada, yada."

This got a chuckle out of the other girls.

"So he goes on, yammering?" Gabby added, taking a sip from the drink she had in her hand.

"Yammering nonstop!" Anne answered after downing her fifth root beer. "This guy has me up for a fight, and he won't shut up! Like, come on, dude! You're either going to fight me or not?!"

"Damn girl," Cheynne butted in. "And I thought Tracy was the one with a big mouth."

"Yeah, well, at least she didn't have to dodge a hundred missiles shooting your way," Anne bolstered. "Nor did she have to fight an entire moon."

"You fought a moon, too?!" Gabby exclaimed, practically spitting out her drink.

"Yeah, you guys should've seen me," Anne gloated. "Marcy and Sasha were there too. There were lights, fire, and a great deal of exploding things. I think I died at one point...but I don't remember."

"Girl, it must be amazing to be you right now," Cheyenne complimented. "Hearing everything you did, makes us girls wish we were just like you."

"Eh, I wouldn't overthink about it," Anne dismissed. "I'm still human like everyone else."

"But you've done some awesome things," Maggie tried to press. "It's not every day you get to go to some faraway land and fight tyrannical aliens."

"That's only cause I was the only one capable of doing it," Anne defended. "But trust me, ladies, I'm just like everyone else. Watch."

She then took a mega cup filled with fruit punch and chugged it down, not stopping for a second before smacking it back down to the table with a loud clang, followed by a loud burp that left the girls somewhat impressed.

"See?!" she implied, thus proving her point.

Though to her amiss, Anne had been filled with so much pride within herself that she had barely caught a glimpse of Sasha wobbly approaching her. With a half-empty root beer can in one hand and another unopened can in another. And also had a party strapped on the top of her head. It turns out the blondie has had too much to drink. Or maybe it was the ice cream. She couldn't be entirely sure about it.

"Hey Anne," she chirped as she stumbly sat next to her best friend. "I got you another root beer."

The Thai girl, in response, just stared at her. She was looking somewhat confused.

"You okay, Sasha?" she asked.

"Never better," Waybright answered before handing her the drink. You going to take it or what?"

Instead, Anne stood there. Unsure of whether or not to take the drink. The other girls observed, taking in the excitement of what the Boonchuy would do. Anne had always put a limit on herself when drinking anything involving sugar.

"I don't know, Sash," she hesitated. "I already had a bunch of drinks before."

"Oh, come on, Anne," Sasha complained. "What's one more drink gonna do to you?"

"Just from looking at you, I think I have an idea," Anne said.

"Well, isn't a girl's duty to drink at someone else's party?"

"Yeah, but you seem like you-"

"Hey, girls, Sasha said, turning her attention to the other girls at the counter. "Wanna know a secret about Anne?"

"Umm, I don't like where this is going, Sashi," Anne replied, feeling nervous as she sweated profusely.

"Did you guys know Anne used to have this weird frog dance when we were stranded in Amphibia," Sasha confessed? "She didn't tell Marcy and me about it, but it didn't take me long to figure it out."

"Did she now?" Maggie questioned, looking at the Thai Boonchuy with an intrigued smile. The Thai girl blushed for the fifth time.

"Yeah, it goes a little like this-"

She gets up to mimic the dance when Anne jumps in to stop her—grabbing her by both hands before she can be given the opportunity.

"Okay, that's enough!" Anne exclaimed, hoping Sasha would drop it before she could be further embarrassed.

At the same time, Anne had been so focused on keeping Sasha from telling one of her most personal secrets that she didn't see a pair of twins appear from behind her, giving her a frightful scare when she turned around and noticed them. The first one seemed to be a boy with light orange hair poling out the edge of his green hat. He also wore a moss green jacket and a pair of black shorts.

The one to the boy's right was a girl with light skin and ginger hair tied in a ponytail with a blue scrunchie and a yellow bow on top of her head. She wore a pink collar shirt that matched her pink skirt and boots well.

"Oh my gosh!" the boy exclaimed. "It's the Anne Boonchuy!"

"We're your biggest fans," the girl followed up, with the biggest grin smeared all over her face.

Anne stared at the feeling, puzzled. Though similarly, as Anne looked the twins up and down, she started to notice that there was something familiar about them. Way too familiar. Like if she had seen them before but couldn't remember. Which almost gave her deja vu in a sense.

"Okayyyyy," she started. "Wait, do I know you guys?"

"Oh, sorry, we're new to L.A.," the boy said. "My name's Twig, and this is my sister Molly."

"We've seen a lot of footage of you fighting those bad aliens," the girl dubbed 'Molly' added. "You're like some local superhero. Except cooler."

"Well, that sorta makes sense," Anne replied. Still not sure what to make of this.

"Hey, is it okay if we get a picture with you?" the boy, now dubbed 'Twig,' asked, pulling out his cellphone.

Anne hesitated momentarily, looking back at Sasha's rather woozy form. She knew very well that she would open her mouth when she turned her around on her best friend. That's just how Sasha was sometimes. Then again, if all she had to do was take a selfie with these two fans of hers. Then what was the worst that could happen?

"Why not," she replied.

The twins squealed in excitement. However, Twig seemed more enthused by this.

"Thank you so much!" Twig said."This means so much to us. Or rather me anyway."

"Sure, dude," Anne responded.

The fraternal twins positioned themselves on opposite sides of Anne. Each smiling and holding out peace signs as Twig held out his cell phone.

"Okay, everyone, say Thai girls rule and Aliens Suck!' Anne declared.

"Thai girls rule, and Aliens Suck!" both twins shouted.

The light of the phone lit up, and the screenshot was taken. Twig flipped the phone over to reveal the picture. From which was taken flawlessly. As the three teenagers peered over the electronic device, Anne started to smell something that seemed to be either cooking or burning.

"Hey, does anybody else smell that, or is it just-?"

Then suddenly, Anne looked up to spot a firecracker planted on the top of her messy hair. And before she could do anything, it set off.

Pop.

A tiny explosion was triggered. And all the Boonchuy girl could do was scream. When the dust cleared, her face burned, and her hair was messier than it already had been. Half a heartbeat later, Molly, the twin girl, collapsed to her knees, howling deliriously. Anne's eyes started twitching as she finally realized what had just happened. As it turned out, the girl had been the culprit behind this little stunt.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed, unable to control her devious pleasure. "You should see the look on your face!"

At the same time, the twin girl had seconds before another familiar ginger took notice.

"Dammit, Molly!" Maggie scowled. "What did I say about playing with firecrackers in the house?!"

"I'm sorry, Maggie," she apologized unceremoniously. "I just couldn't resist."

Anne responded with a groan. Her face went from charred black to hot red. She was frantically about to smack the ever-living Frog out of the younger girl. However, she was deprived of doing so when she was so rudely interrupted by a familiar blonde girl.

"Hey, did you guys also know that we used to roleplay whenever we played that weird game Marcy would force us in?" Sasha butted in. Not the best time in Anne's case. "What was it called? Creatures and Caverns?"

"Not now, Sasha," Anne quickly dismissed, still eyeballing Molly with murderous intent. "I don't think this is the best time for"

"Yeah, it was," Sahsa answered. "We used to have these awesome roleplays. I was always the hero, and Anne was my sidekick. Marcy always played the princess that always needed saving. We had soo much fun. Hey, what did we call ourselves?"

"Sasha, can't you see that I'm a little-"

"Oh, now I remember," Waybright kept pressing on. "I was Captain Warhammer! And you were Lieutenant Heartstrong. Heck, I think I had a hat similar to this one."

She pointed at the party hat on top of her heart to prove her point.

"You know what, that's what I am," Sasha suggested. "For now on, y'all can just call me Captain Warhammer."

At this point, Anne was already having enough of Sasha's rambling. She knew that the blondie couldn't be serious about this. But she was too fed up with this farce even to think straight. And all she could think of now was getting Sasha away from these people before she could embarrass her even further.

"You know what, I think you've had too much to drink," she finally put her foot down. She grabbed Sasha's hand and tried to usher her to the nearest bathroom. "Why don't we just get you to..."

"Don't you get it?!" Sasha exclaimed, ripping her arm out of Anne's grasp. "You see the hat?! I am Captain Warhammer!"

The blonde laughed hysterically, which was amusing to the other girls. The twins were somewhat confused by the situation. Though, Molly seemed to be enjoying herself as she watched the scene. And as for Anne, she stood there, expressionless. She was about to reconsider rushing Sasha to the bathroom and taking Sasha home. But instead, she gave in and bowed to the inevitable.

"You know what, screw it," Anne shrugged before taking the unopened root beer can from Sasha's. She was surprised that she was still holding it. "Might as well put more liquid in our bodies before I die from a stroke."

"That's the first thing you said all night that wasn't frogging nerdy!" Sasha exclaimed before dropping headfirst onto the table.

Meanwhile, Marcy had gotten off the big screen to relieve herself. So far, the Taiwanese teenager was having a fun time. Playing Smash bros and occasionally jump in with some card games. The only catch was that she didn't meet anyone personally. The other gamers were usually brief during the matches, and most stormed out in disappointment at losing to her, which was so much for being socially interactive.

Another positive aspect was that she didn't have any episodes most of her time at the party. And not once did she hear the voices inside her head whisper to her, which was a big deal to the young girl considering that it was her main goal to relax and have fun.

Though as she exited the bathroom, she was so fixated on smoothing out her jacket that she didn't see a person waiting for her to her right. And was alarmed the moment said person said,

"Sup."

This caused Marcy to yelp back as she tripped over herself and landed facefirst into the solid ground. The intruder backed away and covered her mouth, surprised by the sudden action.

"Oh, oops," the person said as she jumped in to help the Asian teen. "Sorry about that; I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," Marcy reassured.

When she looked up, she was met by the interloper, who turned out to be a girl that was just about her age. She wore a dark purple hoodie with pink drawstrings with lighter purple stripes over a pink shirt underneath the hoodie. Her right wrist was adorned with a blue bead bracelet, and a rubber band covered her left. Underneath her hoodie was a purple plaid skirt with a black belt covering it with a silver buckle at the center. She also wore a pair of black high-top shoes. And had two band-aids strapped on her left leg, possibly from a recent injury.

The girl suddenly lifted her hoodie to reveal her face. This showed that her right eye was hidden by her pinkish-white hair, with her left eye having an eyeliner underneath it, almost giving a goth-like impression.

"Say, you're that girl from history class," she said, giving full recognition from the other girl. "The one who told off Tracy about Aegon, right?"

Marcy laughed. Her anxiety is already spiking up.

"Yeah, that's me," she declared, giving an uneasy smile.

The other girl started to notice her tension. And could see that she was making her uncomfortable. At the same time, though, Marcy could see the other girl's expression change. And instead of taking a step back to give the Taiwanese teen some space. And perhaps make her more comfortable.

"Sorry, let's start over," she said, holding her hand out. "I'm Haddie."

The nerdy female hesitated but then accepted, considering that this could be her only chance to meet someone new the entire night.

"Marcy."

The two girls then shook hands. Before the other girl, now dubbed 'Haddie,' leaned against the wall. Marcy did the same thing on the other side, trying her best not to look awkward.

"So..." Haddie started. "Is it true what you said about Aegon having three dragons?"

Marcy's eyes perked up. That's the first time anyone has asked her about anything school related. Moreover, it was more of a surprise for anyone to ask her about her interests.

"Uh, sort of," she replied. "While he had three dragons, his two sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya, were the ones who rode them."

"Oh, got it," Haddie said with a pause. She seemed slightly disappointed but then looked back at Marcy, more curiously this time. "Do you also happen to know if he had any others?"

"Are you kidding?" Marcy replied, her geek mode turned on with this question. "I've read every single novel of A Song of Ice and Fire five times. And let me tell you, there's more to where it came from."

"Really?" Haddie canvassed, feeling intrigued. "How many?"

"Well, Aegon started with three dragons," Marcy explained. "But there were so many after he took the Seven Kingdoms. And we're talking, like, 20 dragons."

"There was Caraxes, who was considered the Blood Wyrm, and then there was Meleys, the swiftest dragon right next to Vhagar. And then there are others like Vermithor, Silverwing, Dreamfyre, Sheapstealer, Quicksilver, and many more. Aegon also had many eggs incubating underneath his home island of Dragonstone."

Which dragon that Marcy named, Haddie, started getting giddier and giddier, taking in the information with a surprisingly good interest. And she was exceptionally intrigued by how Marcy described them. Hearing names such as Seasmoke, Caraxes, and Sunfyre almost made the goth girl faint.

Though it didn't take that long for Marcy to notice, she briefly stopped when she saw the girl zoning out during her short but brief explanation of the forming of the Dragonpit.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

In an instant, Haddie snapped back into reality. And she had just taken notice that she had been staring for too long.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "I have this huge fascination for dragons. I don't know what it is about them, but they're cool. Their body structures, colorful patterns, how they fly swiftly in the sky, and how they roast their victims alive and turn their bodies into cinder and ashes."

Marcy cringed at that last part. Which made the goth girl blush in embarrassment.

"Anyway, I'm kinda new to this school and don't have that many friends with similar interests as me," Haddie confessed. "I've been looking for anyone at school with similar interests, but they're too busy talking about boys or how pretty their hair is. Which is so overrated if you ask me."

For the first time all night, Marcy was impressed. For most of her life in L.A., she only had two friends, and neither had the same interests. And now, she could see without a shadow of a doubt that she had finally met someone she was in common with. Let alone, that said, someone with a particular obsession with dragons.

"Wow, no one's ever been interested in what I do," she said. "They usually get bummed out and leave."

"Girl, I'm heading towards you," Haddie replied. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm feeling like a beautiful friendship is about to start," Marcy replied, simultaneously feeling something familiar about it.

In return, Haddie smiled. And so did Marcy. And for once in a long time, the nerdy teen had been pleased. She had waited all night to talk to someone other than Anne and Sasha. Was it scary? Yes. Did she almost not want to do it? Yes. Did she trip on herself and almost make herself feel awkward doing it? Yes. But here she was, about to have another friend outside her current friend group. One of which she can safely talk about her interests without being ignored.

By then, the two girls went back downstairs where the main party was. Unknowing to them, a familiar group of girls just up the stairs took notice of the Taiwanese girl's presence—one of which their leader had a devious score to settle with her and her friends. And had already formulated the perfect plan to do so.

As they descended the stairs, Marcy finally took this time to converse. This time is asking a question that Haddie would no doubt answer.

"So, tell me more about this fascination for dragons," Marcy inquired. "You seem so enthused as I am about them."

"I love them," Haddie answered. "They're so amazing to look at. Sure, they can sometimes be intimidating and sweet and gentle."

"Huh, since when has there ever been a dragon that's been kind or gentle?" Marcy questioned.

"All the time," Haddie replied. "Everyone says that they're evil and associated with the Devil. But I don't think that's true. And they're highly misunderstood creatures."

"Fair point," Marcy agreed. "I do admit, though, they are mighty."

"Sure, dragons are creatures of fire, after all," Haddie said, followed by a sigh. "Kinda makes me wish I had one of my own. And then everyone will stop making fun of me for a change."

"Really?" the Taiwanese girl asked.

"Yeah, sometimes I picture myself with an actual dragon," the goth girl admitted. "And what it would feel like to be with it. Soaring in the clouds on top of its back and roasting your enemies with it. Nobody would mess with you then."

For what was like the second time, Marcy cringed at the whole 'roasting your enemies' comment. But then her expression changed from slightly disturbed to slightly intrigued. Now that she thought about it, she never really imagined dragons being around, especially in real life. She was no stranger to the fact that dragons exist in entertainment and mythology.

Then again, if alien frogs could exist, along with a magic box that could teleport people to other worlds, there was also that possibility.

"Huh, never thought of it like that before," she wondered. "Seeing a real-life dragon. I mean, I've read stories about them. But I never would've thought if they could exist. "

"Yeah, me neither," Haddied followed up. "But unfortunately, they don't. And even if they did, we'd probably destroy them."

"You think so?"

"No doubt, we humans have a killer mindset. Whatever we can't control, we end up wiping off the face of the Earth. Either that or nasty billionaires exploit them to make themselves even richer."

Haddie then let out another sigh.

"It's still a shame, though," she added. "Having a dragon would be awesome."

"As someone who goes hard with her interests, I relate," Marcy added. "But, wouldn't there still be a chance for both species to cooperate peacefully if given a chance?"

"Maybe," Haddie answered. "But that's one chance out of a million. And that's also if you can persuade the dragon not to kill you when it looks at you."

"Yeah, well, if I ever met one in real life," Marcy said, looking at an optimistic perspective. "I'd give it all the love and affection it deserves. I'll even give it a belly rub to show how appreciated it is."

"Hah," Haddie laughed. "I'd pay good money to see that."

The two turned the corner and went straight for the snack bar, eager to get drinks. As she approached the bar, she noticed Anne and Sasha sitting at the counter. A series of empty root beer cans were scattered all over the place. Anne spotted her while talking with the other girls and waved. From which Marcy responded with a wave of her own.

She turned to the bar and saw that Haddie had already gotten them two cups of fruit punch. She then handed one over to Marcy, who so heartily accepted. They were about to head for the flat screen when someone turned up the moment they spun around, which was revealed to be no other than Tracy and her posse, which consisted of five other girls.

"Well, well, well, the snobby girl declared. "Look who it is. It's the teacher's pet."

At first glance, Marcy's heart sunk to her abdomen. If she recalled correctly, she had hoped that Tracy would not be here before she even stepped foot in this house. She was already having so much fun. And the last thing she needed was Tracy ruining it with whatever schemes she had going on.

"Uh," she said with a laugh. "Hey, Tracy. Didn't expect to see you hear tonight."

"Likewise, Wu," Tracy said bluntly. She then turned her gaze to Haddie, who was also nervous about the spoiled teen's presence. "Who's your friend?"

The goth girl gulped before speaking.

"Haddie."

Tracy, in response, smirked.

"Looks like that makes two dorks we've run into tonight," she said, looking back at her posse. "Wouldn't you agree, girls?"

The Taiwanese nerd could her murmurs and silent nods coming from the girls behind Tracy. Afterward, she let out a sigh. She was not doing this with Tracy. Not tonight, and indeed not here. She had already been through too much to deal with whatever treacherous schemes she had in mind. Or if she even had any.

"Listen, Tracy," she started. "About earlier today, I-"

"Oh, there's no need to apologize," Tracy cut off. "I should be the one to say sorry. It was unfair for me to treat you the way I did. Even if I was right in the end."

Marcy cringed. She knew that Tracy was not one to be trusted, even when it came to telling the truth. Her fake apologies were not new to the witty teenager. She had already known many people online who were good at lying.

"I'll tell you what; why don't we start over?" Tracy proposed. "Let's be friends. For real this time."

"Yeah, best friends even," Courtney added from behind.

Of course, Marcy would've been comforted with the idea of making new friends. That was if she didn't already know that Tracy was up to something. Despite having known her for a couple of months, she could already tell how devious and deceitful the snobby teen could be. She had a clever way of manipulating people into doing what she wanted. And these included methods without being aggressive about it.

Heck, she even had some experiences with it in the past herself. She and Sasha alike. So it was natural for her not to trust other girls' judgment. But at the same time, if there was any way she could convince Tracy to put aside her past deeds and strive to be a better friend, then that was something she could not say no to.

"I don't know, Tracy," she hesitated. "I'm kinda a little busy with-"

"Come on, friend," Tracy cut off for the second time, grabbing Marcy's hand instantly. "Why don't we hit the dance floor?"

She then pulled the dorky teen toward the dance floor though Marcy remained hesitant.

"But, what about my-?"

"I'll hold that," Gwen interrupted, grabbing the fruit punch Marcy had in her hand.

As Tracy started dragging Marcy over to the dance floor, Haddie attempted to follow her. Unfortunately for the goth girl, she was cut off by two of Tracy's friends, who were in her way. She tried to go around them, but they followed her every move. Thus preventing her from catching up to Marcy, who, at this rate, was on her own.

When they first reached the edge of the dance floor, the snobby teenager was busy weaving through the crowd while still holding onto Marcy's hand. At the same time, the Taiwanese teenager was already anxious about this. As it turned out, Tracy had a knack for being unpredictable. Nobody knew her intentions or her motives with other people who crossed her. And that's what made her dangerous and more distrustful.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked when she turned to look back at Marcy.

"Yeah," Gwen said from behind her. "We're just having fun."

Marcy didn't answer. As much as she wanted to believe the other girls, there was no way she was convinced that they were up to any good. But then again, the only thing keeping her from pulling out now would be Tracy's vice-like grip on her hand. From which, she had to admit, was pretty intense.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Anne and Sasha were nearby. But her view was blocked by the other two girls, which was a significant inconvenience. Meanwhile, Haddie made many more attempts to reach her but was still cut off by Tracy's friends. And could only do nothing but watch the scene unfold.

When they reached the center of the dance floor, Tracy briefly let go of Marcy's hand. And instead held out another to stop her from doing anything impulsive.

"Stay put, now," she told her before looking up at the D.J.

In an instant, the music was cut off, and Vince was forced to step down by another D.J. momentarily, who had tanned skin and astonishingly beautiful hair. The house went quiet in seconds, and the new D.J. gleefully took out a microphone while looking at the two girls in front of him.

"Alright, everyone," he announced. "The next song is dedicated to the infamous Marcy Wu, the local teacher's pet."

At that point, the D.J. flicked a switch, and all the lights went out. Save for a singular, white-shaped circle that hovered above the Taiwanese girl's head. Half a heartbeat later, Marcy's entire form shook. The pupils in her eyes shrank until they looked like tiny marbles. At this very moment, she finally realized what Tracy's game was.

It was a trap.

And she walked right into it without even noticing it. Before she could even move, the music started playing again. This time it was much louder, and it was to a song that she knew Tracy had picked beforehand. Which turned out to be dubbed 'Wipe out' by the Surfaris. At the same time, other kids started entering the dance floor from all sides.

Marcy's anxiety continued to spike as they closed in on her. They were surrounding her on all fronts, with no hopes of escape. As the Taiwanese girl continuously looked over her shoulder, the other kids began to taunt her. Coming up from behind her and giving her a little shove. Many called her names and said things like,

'Go home, freak!'

'Loser'

'Go back to where you came from!'

All of which was now starting to scare Marcy. She felt like a small puppy cornered by a pack of pit bulls, with the other kids laughing at her and continuing to call her names. And what made things worse, she saw one girl videotaping the whole thing. All the while, Tracy stood before the crowd, taking great pleasure in the scenery.

"She's like a baby!" one girl called.

"You gonna cry, baby!" another one cried.

At this point, Marcy was on the verge of freaking out. She was surrounded by people that now tended to harm her, and Anne and Sasha were still nowhere to be found. She was exposed and vulnerable. She covered her ears to drown the mean comments out, but to no avail. And her mind was going in circles on what to do until she did the one thing she could only think of doing.

"Anne!" she called out. "Sasha! Help!"

Meanwhile, Anne continued to mingle with the other kids sitting at the table when a familiar voice reached the Thai girl's ears. In an instant, she turned her head toward the dance floor to take notice of the scene, with Haddie rushing over to the D.J. to attempt to stop the music immediately.

"Sasha," she said, shoving her blonde friend to get her up. "Sasha, wake up!"

"W-what?" Sasha clumsily uttered, taking a second to register exactly what was happening.

"Look."

Sasha lifted her head and was instantly alert. Her eyes widened in shock to see most guests surrounding the dance floor. And was more shocked to see Marcy at the center of it.

"Oh no," she said, frantically looking at Anne.

Half a second after that, both girls jumped from their seats and quickly made their way to the scene, leaving the other girls slightly confused before following suit after getting a glimpse of what was happening. As they ran to the dance floor, the two girls stood in their way. Similar to how they stood in Maggie's way just a couple of minutes ago.

"Dude, get out of the way!" Anne urged as she tried to get past them.

Though the other girls said otherwise.

"Sorry, you can't come here!" one of them declared.

Anne scoffed. There was no way these two nosey bottom feeders would stand between her and her best friend. She then tried getting past them again but was blocked for a second time.

"Didn't you hear her?" the second girl questioned. "You can come here. Its off-"

"Move!" Sasha pressed on.

Being the more ill-tempered girl, Sasha chose a more straightforward way and shoved the two girls backward and out of the way. Anne was tempted to question her method but was more focused on helping her nerd friend to even think about it. They pushed their way through the crowd.

They were trying their best to get to Marcy. But at this rate, there were so many guests that it made it harder for them to reach her. Though what was worse, some of the kids purposefully squeezed into each other to prevent them from getting closer. Yet that didn't stop the two friends from getting to their third.

"Marcy!" Anne called out in an attempt to get her attention.

As Marcy was continuously getting bombarded with hate comments and relentless name calls, voices from her two best friends reached her from a distance. There was so much noise going off that she couldn't tell where they were. She kept spinning around, trying to see if she could find Anne and Sasha. And to her luck, she was able to spot them heading her way.

"Sasha! Anne!" she shouted, waving her arms up so they could see her.

"Marcy!" they both shouted back.

Meanwhile, Haddie managed to get through the crowd on the other side and quickly rushed to the D.J. to get him to turn off the music. Though to her dismay, he already had a pair of headphones attached to his ears. Which did not make things any better for the goth girl or anyone trying to stop this.

"Hey!" she called out. "Turn it off!"

"I can't hear you, dude," was his only reply.

She turned back to the crowd to see Marcy trying to call her friends, who were trying their best to reach her. At the same time, she noticed Tracy whispering to another girl, who then ran off to who knows where which could only mean one thing. She planned something more terrifying and was about to put it into motion.

She turned back to the D.J., yanking his headphones out so he could hear her loudly and clearly.

"Turn it off, dammit!" she screamed.

This time, the guy listens to her.

"If you say so."

Though, the moment he turned it off without a clear warning, a creaking sound came from the ceiling. And before anyone could even guess what it was, Marcy was suddenly bathed in what seemed to be the last fruit punch. And in addition to that, two girls turned up from opposite sides of Marcy and flung two more cans of fruit punch at her, causing the poor girl to slip and trip on herself.

There were a couple of 'ohs' going around before the whole house quieted for a second time. Marcy, who was now on the floor, lay there, breathing heavily—trying to register what in the absolute Frog just happened to her. Anne and Sasha, who had just gotten through the crowd to witness what went down, stood there, expressionless. All the while, Tracy walked up to her from the crowd and stood her over.

"Looks like you just got Wu-ed, freak!" Tracy declared.

From there on, the Taiwanese girl was met with roars of laughter, followed by the number of screenshots taken by her posse.

"Bet you didn't see this coming, dummy," she mocked. "So sad."

Despite all the shock, Marcy struggled to climb up to her hands and knees. Looking at the ground as the laughter continued to increase. After a moment, she sat up, looking at her completely stained hands. It had already become evident to the Taiwanese girl that her outfit had been ruined. And there was nothing she could do about it.

And it had also been evident to her that her dignity was ruined. As well as her confidence. All that build-up, all those talks she had with Anne and Sasha about relaxing and having fun, had been put to the torch before her own eyes. But worse was that she could already see what the next few weeks would be like for her.

She can already see everybody laughing at her at school the next day. She'll be the laughingstock of talk for who knows how long. And Tracy, she'll never let her hear the end of it. She'll use this to make her feel even more miserable than she had already been.

And speaking of Tracy, she felt a finger touch her chin and lift her head, forcing her to look up at the culprit behind this absurdity. Who in return looked at her with mocking eyes.

"You're mine now, freak!" she declared. Marcy, in return, glared at her, silently cursing the other girl for doing this to her. Tracy scoffed. "What are you going to do? Are you going to cry? Or call your friends again for help?

She then turned to the direction Anne and Sasha were watching this, knowing they would witness this.

"Go ahead, she then challenged. "Call to them. Call on your knights with shiny armor to your rescue!"

As she looked past Tracy, she spotted Sasha and Anne, who were just as shocked as she was about the situation. She could see the looks on their faces. Anne was devastated. At the same time, Sasha was shattered beyond belief. She didn't want them to see her like this. So broken, so fragile, so weak. But Tracy offered them no choice. And they both were without words.

She looked over to Haddie, who, too, was in shock. And she looked around to see everyone continuously laughing at her. Calling her 'freak' and 'nerd.' It was almost unbearable. She could feel the tears running down her eyes and hitting the ground. She looked up for a second time to see Anne slowly approaching her, eyeing Tracy simultaneously.

"M-Marcy," was the only thing that came out of Anne's mouth.

Humiliated in front of her friends, she does the only sensible thing she can think of doing right now.

Marcy runs.

Out of the living room, out of the house, and out into the street. She ran and did not look back until she disappeared into the darkness. Anne attempted to chase her, but by the time she could make it outside, she was gone. And could only make one last desperate call to her best friend.

"Marcy!"

At the same time, Tracy followed her out the door and watched her leave. She was aiming to mock her further to fulfill her sadistic pleasure.

"That's right, girl, you better run!" she shouted. "And don't ever come back! Freak!"

Her venomous words reached the ears of both her and Sasha. When Anne turned around, she saw that Sasha was fuming with fire. And as for the blonde girl, she could feel nothing but rage fueling inside her body. Witnessing one of her best friends be humiliated by her rival right in front of her eyes was pretty damning.

And the fire was so bright that she could no longer take it. As Tracy took one last evil smirk at the dark end of the street, she turned back inside to continue with the party. Only to find a raging Sasha storming toward her and reeled back her fist.

Pow!

Sasha brought her fist back and landed it square in Tracy's face, striking her in the nose. The spoiled brat froze, holding a finger out to feel blood coming out underneath until it became very evident to both girls that Sasha had just broken her nose.

"Dammit, Sasha!' the snobby bully responded. "I'm shooting a nose spray ad tomorrow!"

The blonde girl responded with another punch. Letting out a shriek as she tackled Tracy off the porch and onto the front yard. The two girls rolled for a bit before they came to a screeching halt, with Sasha on top of the other girl as she started punching her with more strikes.

"I'm gonna kill you!" she shouts.

Strike after strike, Sasha aimed to give her the rightful beating she deserved. Anne finally turned back to get a glimpse of the scuffle and was the first to act, briefly rushing to the two girls to ease Sasha off the other girl.

"Sasha, no!" she cried, grabbing one of her arms to pull her off.

Instead, Sasha shrugged Anne off her and continued to lay blows on Tracy. After three more blows to the face, she wrapped her muscular hands around the spoiled bully's throat. She was tempted to strangle the entitled brat until her face turned purple. Other members of her posse tried to rush in and aid her but were stopped by Maggie and Cheynne, who were trying to give Anne some space as she attempted to defuse the scuffle.

For a second time, Anne rushed in to try to break up the fight. And for the second time, Sasha refused to back down as she tightened her hold on Tracy's neck. Desperate, Anne attempt to calm Sasha down by grabbing her face and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"Sasha, please!" she pleaded. "You don't want to do this!"

Yet these pleas and cries for mercy ran on deaf ears to the blonde cheerleader. And instead, she reverted her attention onto Tracy and continued to strangle her. Though as their scuffle continued, a bright light started coming into view. And the only one who seemed to notice it was Gabby.

"What's that?" she questioned.

This caused Sasha to let go of Tracy and look up to Anne finally. Who then started to notice the bright light and looked her right. As Sasha followed suit, Gabby's thoughts became more evident. And a bright light was revealed west of them, peering more into the direction of the city.

As seconds passed, the light began to glow brighter and brighter, almost to the point where Sasha and Anne had to cover their eyes. Along with everyone in the house. As the light began to illuminate further, the street wires and every single morning on the block started to flicker on and off. Most began to crack, while others turned off completely.

Finally, at the apex of the irradiation, the light started to die. Until it eventually disappeared. Half a heartbeat later, a massive electromagnetic pulse was triggered. From which sent a shockwave that went on for miles. And everything in the city was automatically shut off, bringing the entire city of Los Angeles to a blackout that lasted for ten seconds.

Though within those ten seconds, no one had any idea that things were about to change for better or worse. And it is from those ten seconds that fate will finally do its part. And begin the ultimate test to determine the future for all.

Chapter Text

Unknown Dimension, Nightime

Unknown Dimension, Nighttime

Darkness. Nothing but the cold, unwelcoming, blackened night. That was the last thing Toothless saw before blacking out. His eyes started wincing as Toothless began to regain consciousness. His head slowly started to hurt, aching like bruises flowing through his mind. It was probably the most painful headache Toothless had ever witnessed in all his years of living. Maybe even worse than what he had experienced after defeating the Red Death.

His senses started to come back to him. And the memories of the portal returned to him. He winced a little bit more before shooting his eyes out. Seeing the dark sky that cast over the warbled a bit before shooting up to all fours. He looked around and started to notice something completely off.

He was not in the Hidden World.

Instead, he found himself in between what seemed to be a narrow corridor. Or at least that's what it looked like to the night fury. And there was no natural light source in any part of the pathway. However, Toothless considered himself lucky that he could see in the dark.

When he looked up, Toothless saw that the walls which covered both sides of the passage reached up to twenty feet tall. From which were decorated with strange markings that he had never seen before. Shortly after, the dragon alpha observed his surroundings and began noticing that the alleyway was covered with smashed-up items and broken pieces of glass. Some of which were still very unknown to the king of dragons.

The night fury then sniffed, detecting a strange odor in an instant. He followed the trail until it led him to a large metal container. The container was adorned at the center with a mark, 'Waste Management.' Upon looking at the strange text, Toothless tilted his head, wondering what it meant. He pressed his nose inside the container and sniffed again, only to reel back and cringe. Finally, figuring out what the text meant, for it inside was revealed to be a pile of actual waste.

Toothless had seen that the waste was wrapped in dozens of black bags with a material he was unfamiliar with. Half a second later, a squeaking sound came from the dumpster. To which was revealed to be a tiny mouse. The night fury growled, watching it jump out of the bag and scurry off to his right.

However, when Toothless looked up after watching the small creature disappear, he saw a light source at the end of the corridor. He looked behind his shoulder and saw a brick wall covering up one end of the alleyway, which could only mean that there was only one way out of this passageway. His instincts urged the night fury to take the path, but at the same did, he did not trust it. There was no doubt in the alpha's mind that he was in a new world. And for all he knew, an unspeakable danger could lurk ahead of him.

To ensure, Toothless let out an echoed roar, unleashing his signature echolocation call. After a second, his left ear perked up to detect the sound bouncing back to him. And so far, nothing from that sound presented to him as a danger on the other side, which meant it was safe. Still, the night fury remained hesitant. In the long run, the possibilities of running into trouble were still unknown to him.

But at that moment, Toothless realized he didn't have any options. Plus, he would have no hope of finding the others or a way back home if he just stood there in this alleyway and did nothing. Looking both ways, the night fury moved cautiously, with each step being light and calculated to avoid stepping on the glass. The light on the other end started glowing brighter upon continuing his approach. Yet it wasn't enough to stop Toothless from going any further.

Finally, after a few more steps, he reached the end of the corridor. Only to be greeted by light glowing so bright he had to shield his face with a wing. There, the dragon king gave himself a few seconds to adjust his eyes before removing it. Only for his jaw to drop at what he saw next. For it was the most peculiar thing he had ever seen in all his years of living.

As he looked up, Toothless found himself standing before what would seem to be a large settlement—covered with mountain-sized buildings that stretched for miles. Each has its own set of lights that light the world bright as day. When he looked around, he saw more lights glowing, only this time smaller, and was attached to what he pictured to be tall metal poles. And before him, he could see giant metal monstrosities strolling down some carved road in a straight line.

The night fury was struck with awe in his new surroundings. He had never seen anything like it. Not even back in his home world. Though it also filled his mind with so many questions, with few answers to them. What is this place? Who made all this? Are all those metal beasts real? All of which plagued the thoughts of the king of dragons.

He let out a silent warble before turning to his left and started walking down what would seem to be a passageway that led deeper into this monstrous settlement. As he walked, Toothless had his eyes glued to the glowing buildings. He was still feeling mesmerized by the glimmering lights. As he kept walking, the ground began to feel softer and softer. And half a heartbeat later, he stopped, feeling something very peculiar from underneath him.

When he looked down, he noticed something very odd underneath his paw. As he lifted to look, he saw that a sizeable star-shaped symbol was marked on the ground. From which had a hard surface to it. Toothless narrowed his eyes, looking further into the star-shaped image. And noticed that there was another symbol at the center of it, which he had no idea what it stood for. And was adorned with yet another text at the top that said, 'Winnie the Pooh.' The night fury tilted his head for a second time, wondering what it meant.

This was all very new to him. He looked at unknown symbols in a strange world, in an undisclosed settlement. And had no idea if this should mean anything to him. Instead, it made him more curious. Perhaps, even more intrigued to learn more about it, or who it was behind the creation of the buildings or the symbol he was currently looking at.

Until it was covered with vomit, or, more specifically, the symbol was suddenly splattered by vomit that flashed before Toothless's eyes. The action caused the night fury to jump back, yelping in fright as he looked to see the perpetrator was. Though he looked slightly to his left, his expression dropped when he finally saw to whom the spew belonged.

To which resembled a familiar bipedal creature that Toothless had not for quite some time.

It was a human.

Or, more accurately, it was a human that wore strange clothes and had strange markings on his entire face. He watched as it finished spewing whatever it had in its stomach before falling flat on its face on top of the symbol. And at an instant, Toothless had been driven into a panic, knowing pretty well that the sight of humans was not always a good sign.

He started backing up, only to step on something with his back paw, only to look and see another human on the floor, as still as a corpse. Frightened, the night fury withdrew from the scene, a million things going through the back of his head. What are humans doing here? Are they the ones behind this?

While Toothless wasn't entirely new to the sight of humans, his experience with them had taught him a great deal about keeping his distance from them. And if there was anything he learned in his past life, it was that humans didn't take kindly to members of his species. Or any in that type of manner.

Fearing that he had overstayed his welcome, Toothless aimed to retreat into the passageway from whence he came, only to bump into something from behind him again. Though this time, when he turned around, he saw that it was another human. Only that this one was wearing what strikes to be a costume, with blue hair and a highly decorated face, he almost thought its nose was red. And from the look on its face, it was not happy.

"Hey, this is my territory, snitch!" it shouted, looking straight at the dragon with red eyes. "So take your stinking costume and get the flip off my corner!"

The human then shoved Toothless in the shoulder with both hands. The night fury retaliated with a back wing across the human's face, sending it flying a couple of yards before coming to a screeching halt. No way was he going to be pushed around by some human, especially when he was in a different world. And if this world belonged to them, he would ensure that no one would harm him or his friends.

The dragon king let out a growl as he stalked the fallen human, who slowly began to pick himself back up. He looked up to meet the night fury's gaze and glared at him. Toothless struck at the human as a warning, but instead, it would appear that he had only set the human off. Half a heartbeat after that, the human climbed back up to his feet and pulled out what would appear to be a small portable knife.

"Alright, snitch!" he growled. "You wanna dance?! Let's dance!"

Toothless responded with a growl. He could sense the human's strong will. But little did he know that he was dealing with a night fury of all creatures—the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself. And the most feared and respected dragon of all their race. Neither human nor dragon dared to challenge him unless he allowed it. However, this act of aggression was unprecedented to the dragon.

Most humans would usually quake in terror at his presence. With many others turning tail and running the moment they first lay eyes on members of his species. And even then, many humans where he came from knew better than to try their luck with a dragon as deadly as himself. Instead, this human looked like it was ready to fight him to the death. He didn't know if it was acting out of bravery or stupidity.

However, he could tell that the human was not like himself since he could see the human slowly wobbly in his stance. But it didn't matter to the night fury. Because, like all living creatures, both humans and dragons alike, they can easily be subjected to fear. And who was better at inflicting it than him? The man started shaking as the dragon alpha moved closer to the human male. He remained unsure if this was the best course of action before cursing himself and doing it anyway. At first instinct, the human moved first, charging at the dragon at full speed, bringing up the knife in an attempt to go for his throat.

Yet before he could even reach the beast, Toothless opened his mouth and fired a plasma blast, hitting the knife's blade and causing it to bounce out of the human's hand. A second later, Toothless pounced on top of the human after he let his guard down. The two skidded across the paved ground until they came to a stop. Toothless was on top of the man, growling menacingly as the human below him started quivering in fear.

A vast but predictable sight, especially from a human of all creatures. The night fury could see the terror in his eyes as he stood over the man. What was once filled with frustration and anger was replaced with ultimate fright. Toothless began to snarl at the man, showing his dagger-like teeth simultaneously. The man, quaking with agony, now started to plead for his life.

"No, please, let me go!" he begged. "I have a family! I have six kids!"

Toothless, in response, unleashed a thundering roar, letting the man know loud and clear who he was dealing with. And the man covered his face with his arm, fearing his life being taken from him before his own eyes. Though before that could be the case, Toothless relented. And instead stared at him with that devilish expression smeared all over his face.

In return, Toothless just saw how pathetic the man was. Even in another dimension, it would appear that humans have not changed. Their still their old and violent selves, as they have always been. Instead of feeling hatred for the man, he couldn't help but pity him. Just looking at him, he could tell that he was miserable. And had never experienced what it meant to be alive. Though, if what he said was true about his family, he would feel much more sorry for them if that was their father.

Toothless had remained undecided on what to do with the human. But before he could make a proper decision, a voice from a distance caught his attention.

"What is that thing?"

His ears perked up, and when the night fury looked to his left, he spotted something that would bring him more trouble than he already had.

More humans.

Great. Just great. This was precisely what Toothless needed as of right now. Just more of a reason to run into trouble without even having to do much. It had already taken the first two humans for the night fury to figure that he was in another human world. But it didn't help that there were more of them as of present and here. And what made things worse, he turned the corner to see more humans gathering around where he and the man were—only stopping a few yards from keeping their distance.

By then, Toothless lifted his paw and backed up while focusing on the growing crowd. The man that he stood over saw this chance and bolted. Hightailing across the corridor, calling for help. Meanwhile, the ensuring humans started to get closer and closer to him. Many of which held out tiny metal devices that were still new to the king of dragons.

As the number of humans increased, Toothless started to get agitated. He was in an unknown, alien environment filled with humans, one of which showed little to no fear at one point and had no way of getting back home. However, it didn't make any things better when little lights began to flash before him. Some of which started to dazzle him temporarily. At one point, one flash blinds him so severely that it reduces him to letting out a warning roar.

This caused the crowd to jump back a bit. Some of which screamed a bit. While others instantly took off, not willing to take their chances. Seeing that he had some leverage, Toothless spun around and roared again, causing the crowd behind him to jump back. Afterward, he turned around and screeched again, flailing his tail around. And then he did it again, and again, and again until the group got to a far enough distance away from the dragon alpha.

He was relieved that his strategy of holding back the crowd was finally working, but something was wrong. For starters, a majority of the group had refused to leave. And had taken a particular interest in observing the night fury. Though the only thing it did was stress him out even further. He could blast them all to oblivion but figured it would only cause more trouble. Plus, no one in the group seemed to have any weapons attached to them. So there was no real reason to open fire at innocent humans.

But suddenly, as Toothless continuously turned his head to face all sides, he noticed one human male in a unique uniform of black and blue colors making his way through the crowd. While also instructing the bystanders to clear the area. Naturally, Toothless would consider this a good thing, but deep down, he had a bad feeling about this. One of which could not be suitable for him.

"Everybody get out the way, please," the man said as he made his way through the crowd. "Get out of the way!"

As the man made it to the front of the crowd, there was still one younger human who had bravely managed to approach the night fury with his device in front of him. Flashing a bright light in the dragon's eyes, thus temporarily blinding him for a second time. Though the human remained satisfied, it only further enraged Toothless. Who then swiped a paw at the younger human, causing him to jump back and trip on himself in fright, thus landing on his backside as Toothless bellowed at him in anger.

This sort of action forced the man in the uniform to act quickly. He rushed to the downed man, taking note of the giant charcoal beast that stood before him.

"Sir," the man in black and blue instructed. "Step away from the animal!"

In an instant, the younger human turned heel and fled, disappearing into the crowd and leaving the man with the dragon. At first glance, Toothless didn't trust this human. He didn't trust any who were present here. And he had already been as stressed as he was now.

Instinctively the night fury growled, warning the man not to come any closer. And even though the man did not show it, Toothless could see the fear in his eyes as he gazed upon the black dread. He could tell this was his first time seeing a night fury. He probably figured this was all their first time seeing a dragon in general. The shocked looks and surprised faces of the humans around Toothless were enough to sell the thought that they had never seen dragons before.

But at the same time, that mattered little to the dragon alpha. Even though he knew this was their first time, this would probably mean that this may be their last time, knowing their destructive nature. And he was not planning on dying this day. Or any day, for that matter.

As the man approached him, Toothless cautiously took a couple of steps back, widening the distance between him and the man while standing his ground simultaneously. When he thought he had gotten too close, the night fury flared his wings, letting out another roar to tell the man that he was far enough.

This had proven to be a big mistake for the king of dragons. As soon as he flared out his wings, the man pulled out what turned out to be a small weapon and pointed it at Toothless, which caused the night fury to widen his eyes in alarm.

"You stay right where you are!" the man demanded. "Do not move!"

Yet Toothless instead responded with a snarl, baring his fangs as his eyes were fixated on the weapon that the man held out in his hands. To his mind, the weapon was smaller than a crossbow. But Toothless did not doubt that it was just as deadly as one. Instead of retaliating, the night fury continued to back up, snarling at the man in the uniform and watching his every move. Situations like this were always unpredictable to the dragon king. For he never knew the outcome of these types of circumstances.

Still, he wouldn't take his chances with the man. Even if he had a weapon pointed at him, there was no guarantee that the man would not use it if he backed down now. And there was no guarantee that the man would let him walk out of this alive. As Toothless continued to step backward, he opened up his maw with a bright purple glow illuminating from inside.

"Freeze!"

Instead, the dragon refused to cooperate as his mouth continued to glow. With a high-pitched sound raising, the man in the uniform slowly squeezed the weapon's trigger without firing. The night fury was nearly on the edge of striking when his left ear perked up, apparently catching the sound of a loud blaring approaching him from his blind side.

When Toothless turned his head to his left, his eyes widened as his gaze caught the sight of a metal beast charging at him at full speed, which was seconds away from hitting the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. And perhaps bring an end to his short but glorious reign. However, Toothless did not give it the opportunity as he re-opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful plasma blast.

Boom!

The explosive charge hit solely at the center of the metallic beast, setting off an energetic eruption in the night fury's wake. The power of the blast sent the metal creature sailing over his head. Toothless then saw land on the other side of him, watching it come into contact with three other small metal creatures. Thus hearing loud crashes and hammers, along with the collision of metal. A second after that, they became still. Though to his satisfaction, the night fury was surprised when he saw humans crawling out of those metal beasts.

Some of which were bruised and scarred beyond belief. One of them didn't even move at all. Darker news still came to the night fury, for as he turned his head back, he saw the crowd finally scatter, screaming and running away from the scene. And in their wake, eight more metal beasts rushed to his position. All were adorned with black and white markings, with a sizeable weird-shaped device strapped onto the top of the beasts. Which produced a loud wailing sound that nearly made the dragon's ears explode.

The metal beasts positioned themselves around the king of dragons, surrounding him on all sides. Shortly after, several humans came out of the sides of the beasts, pointing much more effective and nastier weapons than the original man solely at him, which caused Toothless to panic even further. As the armed humans started barking orders at each other, Toothless let out a screech in defense, causing the men to flinch, yet did not move an inch.

This was not good for the night fury. He was now outnumbered and surrounded by humans pointing lethal weapons at him that he did not know. And those humans continued to close in on him, like a pack of wolves encircling a lone sheep. He did not know what to do. His instincts told him to take flight, but he knew that if he tried to make sudden moves, he would die in a heartbeat. He let out another warning roar, trying to cause panic in the surrounding men. But they were pretty locked into their positions even to consider retreating.

Then suddenly, a bright circular light shined upon the night fury, causing him to shield his eyes with his wing. When he uncovered it, he looked up, only to see a giant flying metal creature hovering several feet above him—putting a couple of yards to avoid hovering directly above the dragon. In an instant, Toothless dropped his guard. He looked in briefly, tilting his head as he curiously wondered how a metal beast could achieve flight. He could tell that it wasn't a dragon. Nor did it resemble anything type of bird he had ever seen. It almost looked unnatural in his eyes.

Though as the dragon alpha continued to stare up into the night sky, his gaze fixated on the weird flying object, his focus was brought back to him when he heard a clanking sound. He turned his attention back to the humans surrounding him, noticing two humans flinging a pair of canisters to his position. When he looked down, he saw that the canisters were leaking gas. The night fury sniffed it, only to pull back when he realized the gas was poisonous.

Two more were dropped in, covering his flanks. Within a few seconds, the gas started spraying all around him until the dragon king started having difficulty breathing. And as the gas continued to spread, the smoke began to increase. Half a heartbeat later, the smoke had covered the dragon's shadow, only revealing his dark, gloomy form.

Also, two more were thrown, making it much harder for Toothless to breathe as he began to choke on them. They heard the dragon let out one last roar before hearing a thudding sound ring within the smoke. From which they would've considered being the sound of the night fury collapsing. Naturally, the humans considered this a victory, as cheers were heard from the crowd in the background. Though this did not mean that they wouldn't take caution, as the leader of the uniformed men sent two others to check out the smoke to be safe. And even though this would generally be the case, humans have betrayed a fatal flaw. One of which gave the dragon king an unprecedented advantage.

They could not see him through the smoke.

Or rather, the smoke was so thick that it became complicated for them to see him through the gas. Not even the light from the metal beast could reveal his presence. And as a bonus, Toothless's dense black coat made it easier for him to camouflage. Not to mention, Toothless prided himself on a dragon that was very good at being practically invisible. And what better way to be hidden was through a large puff of smoke?

The two men edged closer to the smoke, still weary over their foreign victim. One of the men was shaking, while the other kept his finger at the trigger of his weapon. Then, a whistling sound went off without warning, and a plasma blast shot right between them. Passing the two men and hitting right in the middle of the two metal beasts behind them caused an explosion that sent four of the humans nearest them flying.

Another blast followed shortly, this time in the direction of the humans behind Toothless. Thus causing another explosion and sending both men and beasts flying as well. The two men in front turned back to fire their weapons; the night fury took this opportunity to strike.

Thus leaping out of the smoke and at the two men, ramming one with his head and tail-whipping the other with his tail. To which knocked over a couple of humans to his left side. Though when he spun around to his right, the night fury saw four more humans locked onto him with their weapons. And had just heard their leader give the order.

"Open fire!"

Though before they could be given a chance to do so, Toothless quickly opened his mouth and shot another plasma blast, causing yet another explosion and sending the humans flying backward. But not before one of the men fired their weapons at him. Thus striking the night fury in his right forearm before he could be given a chance to block it. Toothless let out a roar in agony as he tripped over himself and fell on his right side.

Half a heartbeat later, the king of dragons climbed back on top of his feet. When he looked at his forearm, he was nearly devastated. There was no permanent damage, but he saw a large hole that penetrated his scales. Blood dripped from the edge of it. A second after that, his entire forearm went numb, leaving the night fury to limp on three legs instead of four.

As far as he was concerned, these projectiles were unlike anything he'd ever seen. For starters, they were swift. Maybe even faster than any crossbow bolt he had ever dodged back in the Archipelago. And while they didn't inflict too much damage, they felt extremely painful. What hurts the most was the burning sensation he started to sense from those wounds, which caused the night fury to howl in agony.

Seeing that the dragon had let his guard down, the human that shot at the night fury reloaded his weapon and fired again. This time, Toothless jumped back with the first shot being fired. At the same time, the moment he dodged the projectile, the dragon king watched it sail behind him and hit the metal beast in his place. There, Toothless began to notice that while the shell did a number on him, it did little to graze the metal beast, only giving it a scratch in its wake.

The night fury looked back to his wounded paw, then back at the metal beast and the human with the weapon. A second later, it finally hit him; if it could do some damage to him but inflict minimal on the medallic creature, then maybe he could use this to his advantage. Toothless leaped over to the metal beast when the other humans reloaded their weapons.

He hopped to the other side to shield himself from the upcoming fire. As he crouched over the giant hunk of metal, the night fury was relieved to find the bullets hitting the metal instead of him. But he was not out of this mess just yet. While the humans continued to fire, the flying metal beast started making its way to him, shining that bright light above the dragon king.

There, Toothless looked up to see a tiny human appearing from the side of the creature, pulling out a weapon and aiming at the night fury from above. The dragon released a yelp as the human fired a shot at him, barely managing to graze his prosthetic tailfin. He paused for a second, registering how lucky he was that it barely scraped the tailfin, before turning back to the flying metal creature growling viciously. To target the tailfin was to target the dragon king's only chance of escape. Let alone his only means of flying as a whole.

The man on the side of the beast was preparing to fire a second round when a familiar purple glow started to form inside Toothless's mouth. And before long, the dragon fired another plasma blast, not at the man himself, but on the metal beast's tail. Or at least, that was what he perceived, considering how it could keep the beast in midflight.

Upon contact, the beast's tail exploded, causing the metal creature to spiral out of control. He watched it spin a couple of times before heading to his right and crashing into the humans that were firing upon him from before. The collision caused chaos as the flying medal beast swept from three other metal ones before smashing into a building to the night fury's right. This triggered a massive explosion that even Toothless flew backward from the ignition.

Half a heartbeat later, there was complete silence. For the second time in a row, Toothless picked himself back up. He shook off the dust that clustered his hide before checking his surroundings. The night fury had landed on top of a nearby metal creature, who did not seem to move. Looking over his shoulder, he saw nothing but fire and ruin in his wake. The corridor from which the humans previously were was filled with batches of fire. Burned-up medal beasts, from which the men in the uniforms arrived, were burnt to cinder from the explosion. And the remains of the flying beast were seen, pinned up against a chunk of the building.

Before him, Toothless could see many humans scattered across the corridor. Many of them bore scars too severe for him even to comprehend. Some didn't move at all. The crowd that witnessed the scene unfold was put into chaos. Many of them fled the stage with the triggering explosions. While a brave few stayed and continued to watch.

Toothless could hear their screams and cries. Many of them ran and fled with freight while others howled in suffering. Many men in black and blue who had survived looked up at him and saw only horror. But that mattered little to the king of dragons. For he had other problems to deal with at present. Some of which were brought to his attention at this very moment. As he continued staring at the ruins he had created, a series of loud wailing noises sounded behind him.

When Toothless looked back, he saw a series of more medal beasts approaching him from the other end of the corridor, along with another flying beast directly in tow, which could only mean one thing.

More human reinforcements.

Which was not a good sign for the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. He had already found himself vastly outnumbered by these humans. And just from that encounter alone, he could not afford another confrontation with these humans. Not with the kind of weapons they had on them.

Toothless would've been okay with taking on humans on any other day. But now, he knew it would mean certain death if he did. He had to get out of here. And he had to do it now. That being said, he turned back to the street and prepared to take off. Before he did, he looked down at his fight forearm, still taking note of the new hole that adorned the center of it. The night fury remained unsure if he could fly with only three limbs intact.

Of course, it was a pretty small wound, be he had to remember that not many dragons can fly while possessing injuries, especially if they were on the wings and tails. However, as he looked back at the approaching humans, who were getting excessively closer, he considered taking his chances anyway. Looking at the path ahead, Toothless spread out his wings, his paw nearly slipping off the edge of the metal beast. Then, he launched himself into the air, only getting five feet forward before landing back on the ground.

He jumped up a second time, flapping his wings to stay in mid-air. Half a heartbeat later, he shot up to the sky, putting as much distance between him and the ground as he could. While Toothless was pleased to be able to fly once more, his sole focus was to get as far away from this place as possible. He had already made a mess of things, and he hardly doubted that the humans would not forgive him for already shedding blood in their settlement. They'd surely call for his head after this.

As he fled the settlement, Toothless began to wonder if the others were in this same world, the same as him. He did recall seeing Stormfly and Hookfang being sucked into the portal before he did. He also saw a couple of others being sucked into that damned vortex. He also wondered if the talisman that contained the vortex was here too.

Well, whatever it was, he'll find it. And his friends also. And after he does, he'll find the one responsible for all this and perhaps get to the bottom. That is, if he had any chance of getting back home. And he will, for the sake of himself and his friend. Still, his mind kept gnawing at how this could all happen. How would traveling even be considered a possibility, and how he had anything to do with it? Though more specifically, why him? Why choose him, and deprive the night fury of being together with his family?

However, Toothless's thoughts and questions were interrupted when he heard a humming sound coming from behind him. When the night fury looked behind his shoulder, he yelped as he saw three flying metal beasts tailing him from his flanks. Unlike the one he shot down earlier, these beasts seemed much more prominent. And they were armed to the teeth with mechanized weapons he had never seen before. And before he knew it, the one in front started launching a ballista of tiny projectiles at him.

Yet Toothless was quick to dodge them and engage in evasive maneuvers. From this, the medal beasts continued to chase, thus engaging in a high-tail pursuit. Toothless immediately banked right toward one end of the corridor and turned left into another. He was using his lightning speed to try to lose his pursuers. Yet the humans in the metal beasts were so focused on chasing him that they made it imperative not to lose him.

He turned into another passageway and attempted to fly upward into the sky. Although, as soon as the night fury did so, he could hear the creatures are firing again. Yet when he looked over his shoulder, he saw they launched a different type of projectile. One that was much bigger than the smaller ones and looked just as deadly. And there were two of them being thrown directly at him. With a yelp, Toothless barrel rolled and flew back into the corridor, missing the projectiles by mere inches, before briefly watching them colliding into a large building in his stead.

The dragon alpha could hear massive explosions going off from behind him. But he did not stop to look back once he noticed the flying medal beasts continuing their pursuit of him. The king of dragons went down the corridor before turning right into the next. He could barely miss a barrage of tiny projectiles fired from behind him. He turned into another passageway a second later and flew as fast as possible.

Yet with each turn, it was almost like he was flying circles all over the settlement, like a boar and a pack of changewings in an open field. With the chase being endless at this point. And the buildings of this encampment seemed to be endless. It would almost be impossible for the night fury to shake these guys. But despite the disadvantage, this also brought a whole new opportunity, which gave Toothless an idea.

He banked right into another corridor, disappearing entirely into the buildings as soon as the humans turned the corner. They flew down the passageway, wondering where their target went. Only to come to a complete stop when they encountered a hole in one of the nearby buildings. When they looked into it, they saw it had been destroyed, with the echoing calls of the night fury being heard inside it.

With nowhere else to go, it would seem that the humans had Toothless cornered. The three beasts positioned themselves right in front of the entrance to the hole. Thus cutting the dragon king off from his only escape route. And then, with great determination, the beasts had everything they had at the spot: small and big projectiles.

As they bombarded the hole with heavy fire, they could hear the roars and howls of the dragon ringing from inside. The groans of agony filled the air with the continuous assault. The onslaught lasted for mere seconds, and when it was done, the echoing cries of the night fury finally ceased. Thus, ending the reign, and life, of the king of dragons.

Or did it?

As the men inside, the metal creatures began to revel in their triumph, the deception was finally revealed. A black shadow began to cast on the building behind the humans, thus giving away the night fury's actual position and unveiling his most devious idea.

It was a trap. And the humans had just fallen into it. Before they even realized it, Toothless made his move, firing a plasma blast at the metal beast to the right, hitting it by the back, and sending it toward the wall. Thus creating an explosion before turning to the next and firing another plasma blast, hitting the next chopper and sending it tumbling to the ground.

The last one was lucky enough to bug out as the other two went down, yet Toothless gave chase. Not willing to risk it doubling back and coming for another run. He chased the remaining metal beast down the corridor as it turned from one passageway to another.

For a moment, the night fury tempted to catch up to the metal machine, but this one proved more elusive than all the others, which began to frustrate the dragon to the bone. This ended up making Toothless work much harder to bring it down. At the same time, this presented another idea for the night fury as he continued his chase. One that may not need much work.

The pursuit lasted another minute as the man began to lose hope that he would never be able to lose the pursuing dragon behind him. At one point, he considered turning back around and fighting. Suppose it meant ending this goose chase so he could go back home. But after a final turn to the right, the remaining metal creature shook him off. The human inside sighed in relief. Thankful that he had finally lost his attacker.

However, this small moment of solace was short-lived when a high-pitched whistle shook the very foundations of the settlement. And before the man could second guess where it was coming from, Toothless flew up from underneath him. And fired a plasma blast right underneath the metal beast.

Thus cleaving the metallic creature from the underside and shooting up into the sky. Once he got far enough distance, Toothless watched the torn pieces of the metal creature descend back into the settlement, where it landed in one of the buildings and caused yet another explosion.

Afterward, Toothless found himself hovering over the vast settlement. Consistently flapping his wings to help him stay afloat. With the danger finally over, the night fury took a moment to register what he had just experienced—almost questioning why he constantly gets himself into these situations. Many of which nearly gets him killed. But on the bright side, he was finally out of danger.

He looked over to his wounded arm, still seeing markings scarred from both ends. The pain had gone away during his pursuit of the flying metal creatures, but the wound didn't seem to heal fast enough. Though instead of worrying about it, Toothless shrugged. He'll heal over time. He always does.

As the night fury looked down onto the settlement, he could see bits of it were still on fire. With many loud wailing sounds similar to the ones he heard during his encounter with the humans in the uniforms going off in multiple areas. He couldn't help but feel bad, hearing all the screams and cries below, and saw the fires and damaged buildings, many of which probably had humans in them.

But at the same time, it also mattered very little to him. He couldn't help these people even if he wanted to. Plus, it probably wouldn't do any good if he tried. Some of them wanted to kill him within the last couple of minutes. That alone should mean that they couldn't be reasoned with.

What mattered most to the king of dragons was finding his friends and s making sure they were okay. They were out here in this new world, probably alone, scared, and confused, just as he is now. And that was precisely what he was going to do, starting now. Toothless looked back at the settlement before turning tail and flying north. For which he believed to be the first direction to begin his search.

However, before Toothless could even be given a chance to fly off, a loud booming sound was underneath him. And before he knew it, the night fury felt something hard strike him from the chest area, which created a small explosion upon impact. He did not know what it was, but it felt like being with by the blast of a screaming death, combined with the power of a Shellfire. Shortly after, the dragon king found himself unable to move as he spiraled out of control mid-air.

His forearms and wings went numb, and the night fury slowly began to lose consciousness as he turned to his side and descended rapidly into the earth below. And all that was heard from him following that was one last painful roar before coming into contact with the ground. Half a heartbeat later, he saw nothing but black. And then, everything was still, leaving Toothless to feel complete, utter darkness.

Somewhere Above the Midwestern United States, 11:30 p.m., 2 Hours after the Blackout.

The flight from L.A. to D.C. was much longer than Dr. Terri had initially thought. Though in some odd way, she found that to be a good thing. Unlike most plane rides, she, Jenny, and Mr. X had to take a more specialized plane, which consisted of expensive military hardware. One of which Terri had never seen in all her years as a scientist.

The only downside was that there was no customary seating, meaning they had to sit alongside the plane on the metal rail seats. And it was only reserved for the three of them, meaning it was peaceful and boring. Luckily, they were allowed to bring their electronic devices to cope with the boredom. Plus, the plane had free access to Wifi. So that was a bonus.

Though the mere thought of going to the White House, one of which few ever get to go to in an entire lifetime, made Terri's spine rattle. And to think that only a couple of months ago, she was helping a family of alien-like frog people trying to get back home. As if things weren't getting weirder with her life already.

And because of this, she couldn't stop straightening out her jacket. Or at least the one she wore to the plane ride. She also couldn't stop checking her phone for the time being. Consistently checking to see what time they would get there. And she was silently praying that they would get there sooner. She also developed a habit of not staying still. Three times she counted herself occasionally getting up and pacing all over the plane.

At the same time, it also made her very nervous. To be in the White House was a great honor, which meant that she would have to be presentable to impress the president. As well as the vice president and all the other cabinet members she would have to meet with to confirm her theories and calculations, consisting of the next portal anomaly. And the possibility of another alien encounter, which may lead to another alien invasion, if she suspected these aliens of being unfriendly.

It was all driving her almost insane. Unfortunately for her, though, this didn't go unnoticed by the other two agents that accompanied her.

"You doing alright, Terri?" Mr. X asked.

She looks up to see X and Jerry staring at her, looking somewhat concerned. In return, she chuckles and smiles anxiously. Her cheeks reddened with slight embarrassment.

"Sorry," she replied. "I'm just a little nervous."

"I've been there, sister," X responded, trying to emphasize her tension. "The first time I was at the White House, I was so nervous that I had to get up to go to the bathroom every so often. And I was only there for a couple of hours."

Terri gasped.

"You've been to the White House before?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, a couple of times, actually," X answered disappointedly. "If I'm gonna be real, though, it's not as hyped up as everyone says it is."

The blue-haired scientist raises an eyebrow. Because X was an agent of the Fbi, it didn't surprise her to hear X talk about his experience with the White House. She didn't expect it to be so dull from his point of view. She figured he would've liked being in an environment that was just straight business and no slacking. But then again, this was his own experience, and Terri had yet to have hers.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure, you get a grand tour of the Rose Garden," X explained. "And a first-class picture of the oval office. But in the end, it's all overrated. I've seen houses way grander than the White House."

"Oh," Terri's reaction was. "I never thought of it like that."

"Well, I guess the only exciting thing about it is the free snacks," X added, taking in what could probably be the only positive aspect of his previous experience. "Just don't let the President catch you."

"Hmm," Terri nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

She then turned her gaze back to her phone. While also giving X's words some clear thought. Despite her history with him, which mainly involved hiding from him and his federation, Terri had always seen X as honest. And the man was entirely responsible for her being allowed to work with him and the Fbi. And has treated her well ever since. So in a sense, she trusted him even as he told her that the most fabulous house in the United States was overrated.

As she continued to scroll through her electronic device, she looked up at the top of the screen and noticed that she had gotten an email from a news app she had downloaded forever ago. This caused her to raise an eyebrow since the notification seemed urgent. Terri hesitated for a second but then shrugged after figuring she'd had nothing better to do.

However, the moment she opened the app, Terri let out an appalling gasp at what she saw. Almost to the point where she nearly dropped her phone.

"Uh, guys," she called out. "You might wanna see this?"

Upon hearing the scientists, the two agents quickly rushed to her. X immediately felt a sense of urgency in the scientist's mind.

"What is it?" X questioned.

"Remember what I said about that huge anomaly coming?" she asked rhetorically. "Well, as it turns out, there was a large electromagnetic pulse at the center of L.A. no less than an hour ago. The entire city was in a Blackout for only a few seconds."

The two agents were both surprised and confused. However, X's secondary agent seemed more concerned that it was already happening when Terri explained to the Director that they had a few days beforehand.

"But that's impossible," Jenny commented. "We were just there."

"That's because it's already happening," Terri explained. "Here, take a look."

She flipped her phone so that it was facing the two agents. The second agent gasped when she saw that Terri was right. The screen showed a large energy signature forming at the city's center. And a second later, they saw the pulse level of the entire town ranging from the Griffith Observatory to the Santa Monica Peer.

It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Or at least, had not seen since the invasion of the Amphibians. However, it didn't help that they already knew this was about to happen. Thus giving them little to no time to prepare.

"Dear lord," Jerry whispered.

"And it gets worse there," Terri added before flipping the screen again to show more news. "This was taken only a couple of minutes ago."

When they looked, the two agents saw images and video footage of what appeared to be what came after the Blackout. Most of it came from chopper surveillance, civilian recordings, etc. It was all blurry, and they could barely see what was being shown. Though as the footage started to clear up, they saw what turned out to be giant lizard-like beings roaming about. And they witnessed many civilians screaming and running in terror while law enforcement engaged them in combat.

And this was happening in multiple places in Los Angeles. Each area has its reports on the sightings of these beings. Many of them possessed enormous wings. With a few having relatively slender, serpentine bodies. Except for two, one is extraordinarily plump and another extremely flat. But then there was footage of something they were not expecting. Many of these beings were seen breathing fire.

And they did so in a manner they had never seen before. One shot a gaseous substance first before igniting it with a spark. Another had its entire body coaxed with fire. Several others shot small bursts of fire, which produced explosive results.

"Wait," X said, taking a short pause before squinting his eyes. "What are they?"

"I don't know," Jerry answered. "But they seem to have a striking resemblance to..."

She paused halfway; her eyes widened when she finally realized what these creatures reminded her of. Intake X and Terri to figure it out also caused the scientist to gasp slightly, with the FBI agent furrowing his eyebrows. They took one last look at the footage. And slowly began to notice the similarities while denying that this was real. Unfortunately for them, the footage was authentic in their eyes. And the creatures the reports were wearing were just as accurate as they could imagine. And if the resemblances were precise, then that would mean these creatures had a similitude to a beast that would have once been considered a myth. From this, the three could only think of one that would best explain precisely what these creatures were. And what it was that they represented.

"Dragons."

Chapter Text

The silence was all that could be heard at the Wu residence. And Mr. Wu was seen pacing across the living room for what seemed to be for the past thirty minutes. Usually, he would have other things to do in his time, but he had been so wrapped up in a troubling subject. The subject revolved around his daughter. It had already been a few hours since she left for the party, and he couldn't stop thinking about her the whole time.

Or rather, he couldn't stop thinking about whether or not his only child was safe because he had just got her back. He knew he wasn't always on good terms with Marcy. But in the months since she has finally returned home, he has tried to be better in terms of having more faith in her. And to trust her to make her own decisions, regardless of the consequences. She was old enough to make her own decisions despite being only 13 years old. And she has proven to be very independent with the many trips she made to the library or walking from school to home by herself.

Then again, on top of all that, this little semblance of doubt crawled in the back of his head. Maybe it was his overprotective instincts kicking in. After all, raising a teenager can be a handful from time to time, especially after your child runs away after a few unfortunate circumstances. That's the basic cons for any parent when their children reach that certain age. Even if they did everything in their power to ensure they had never gone through that moment. It was just something he had no control over, no matter how hard he tried to contain it. And it was all just a sign that Marcy was getting older. She was not that little girl he had nurtured a lifetime ago and was in the process of being an independent woman. Well, she still may have a few more years to go to be considered an independent woman, but regardless, she was still growing up.

Yet even then, he still had that feeling in his head that something was wrong without him knowing it. And that perhaps he should probably do something to make sure his daughter is okay. But at the same time, that would mean he would betray her trust. Something he and his wife had sworn that they would not do the moment their little girl came back to their doorstep. He declared he had to do it to keep his daughter safe and happy. It was the only way he would keep his relationship with her intact. Despite the many conflicts he had with her in the past.

But even after all that, his paternal instincts would not go away. Thus making the man of the house entirely and utterly restless as he continuously checked his phone to see if Marcy would finally give him the green light. However, this display of uneasy behavior didn't go unnoticed. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his wife observing the scene from the living room couch.

"You okay, honey?" she asked her betrothed.

"Yeah," he answered with a sigh. "I'm just worried about Marcy."

"I'm sure she's fine," she reassured.

"I know, I know," he tempted to sway. However, he didn't seem very convinced. "I just have this feeling like if something bad were to happen to her."

"Like what?" Mrs. Wu asked curiously.

"Like, what if her phone dies, what if she gets kidnapped, or what if she needs us?"

"Oh, relax," Mrs. Wu tried to reassure. "She's probably having the time of her life."

"How would we know?" Mr. Wu questioned rhetorically. "She never comes around anymore. And when she does, she's always rushing off with her friend to who knows where."

This left the Taiwanese woman confused.

"What are you saying?" she questioned.

"I'm saying, how do we know if they're right for us," he answered. "Or for her?"

"Us?"

"You know what I mean," he ranted, going more into depth with a specific pair of girls considered their daughter's only friends. "She's always getting into trouble with them. That Waybright girl is impulsive and reckless, and that Boonchuy girl is just as bad. I'm going to say it; I don't trust them."

"Whoah, slow down, Warden," Mrs. Wu commented. "She's not on lockdown. And besides, they're her friends. She trusts them. And they're also the only kids she ever has."

"But what about this party? He then questioned. "How do we know that they're keeping her safe there?"

"I'm sure it's just where the kids hang out," she attempted to soothe again. Yet the man of the house remained unconvinced.

"No, no, it's a gateway hangout," he denied. "First it's this, then she's piercing her nose, and then next thing you know, she's gonna get addicted to..."

Mrs. Wu got up from the couch. She cut him off midway before he could finish his sentence.

"Honey, you're overreacting," she chuckled. "She's not going to be your little girl forever. Someday, we'll have to cut our apron string and let her stretch her wings. And just...let her be who she is."

Mr. Wu responded with a sigh, knowing that his wife was right. He watched as she approached him, softly grabbing his hands and bringing them to her own. He then looked into her eyes through his huge glasses, seeing her pupils gleaming into his own. Afterward, he looked down to the floor, giving in to his wife's words.

"I know," he sighed. "That's what worries me."

The two parents then looked over to a family photo, which was sitting on a small desk across from where Mr. Wu stood. They were with their little girl in the picture, celebrating her 13th birthday. Their eyes were fixated on their only child as they stared into it. She was so pure and innocent. And they'd never seen her so happy. Then again, why wouldn't she be? It was her birthday. And birthdays were meant to be unique, especially for her.

In the two months, they had her back, Marcy had been more open to them about her problems. And in return, they both have been better at listening to her and understanding her needs and concerns. They've done their best to be more open-minded about what Marcy needed, and Marcy understood the situation that would require the action of moving, which will happen inevitably.

At the same time, though, they've both started noticing something wrong with their daughter. Something that she would refuse to tell them, despite their many pleas. It was so bad that they would have nights where they both barged into her room after hearing her screaming in the middle of the night. Or when she would have panic attacks at dinner.

At one point, Mr. Wu considered calling a psychiatrist to figure out what was going on but refused when he realized, one: how expensive it would be the hire a psychiatrist, and two: that it was best that some things just be left unspoken. But even then, they could tell that Marcy wasn't herself lately. And there were times when Mr. Wu blamed himself because of it. Yet that didn't stop him or his wife from trying to help her in whatever way they could.

"I hope we're doing the right thing with this move," Mr. Wu commented. "Especially after everything that's happened."

"Me too, honey," Mrs. Wu added, leaning against the crook of her husband's neck while eyeballing the picture. "Me too."

However, the moment was rudely interrupted when the lights went off. Thus rendering the house into complete and utter darkness. Ten seconds later, the lights went back on, and a series of sirens went off outside. And two parents stood there in the living room, slightly worried expressions smeared all over their faces.

"We should probably go check on her," Mr. Wu suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Probably."

Marcy didn't know how long she ran for. Nor did she ever stop to think. All she could think of now was running away and not looking back. She wanted to run for as long and as far as she could. It was the only thing that would deprive her of the heart-wrenching shame cast upon her. The humiliation she had endured back at the party was insufferable. She had been bullied before, but nothing could ever surpass this. This will probably go down in the history books as the worst kind of bullying she had ever been through in her life. And she had fought everything from giant bug monsters to killer robots and an entire moon.

Tracy might have played her card too well if she aimed to try to break the Taiwanese girl. But she didn't want to think about her right now. She tried to get as far away from that lying-heartless witch as possible. She wanted to get away from all this. The bullying, the stress, the relentless work, and the expectations that she is practically forced to uphold. She wanted to escape it all.

She practically wished she was back in Amphibia at this point because it was the only place where she could be herself without judgment, without being called mean things like freak and nerd. But of course, she couldn't do that. Amphibia was history, and she couldn't do anything to go back to it. Thus forcing her to deal with the real world. It was an outright shame, though. Cause she had been looking forward to this night for a while. Since Anne put the idea in her head, to begin with. She thought tonight would be one of the bests nights she could ever have. And for the first half, it was. She had already made a new friend and was having a good time. But as usual, life had to rear its ugly head and slap her in the face.

However, as she continued running down the street, she didn't seem to notice the street lights going off suddenly. Thus, rendering the entire block to absolute darkness. Yet that didn't stop her as she kept going. She was refusing to stop even to take a quick break. Only a few seconds later, the lights turned back on when she was spooked. And by that point, Marcy panicked and tripped over herself, sending her body rolling until she came to a screeching halt, landing solely on her face as she clumsily tripped over.

Marcy groaned as she slowly picked herself up, and she got up to her hands and knees before staring at the ground. Even though she couldn't see through the dark, she got a glimpse of herself through a puddle that was conspicuously right in front of her. She could see her ruined image, her hair all messy, and her face covered in fruit punch. She looked hideous. And that's a lot coming from a girl that never really paid much attention to how she looked. She could see that she was still soaking wet, her outfit still ruined, and the only positive thing would be that her phone didn't get soaked like the rest of her.

However, as she continued to stare into her reflection mopingly, she saw a familiar image. One of which she had hoped not to see for the duration of the night.

It was Darcy.

The same spiked-headed, ten-eyed abomination that still haunted her revealed itself through the reflection with a creepy yet sinister smile. With all of its eyes fixated solely on the only girl on the block. Like many things, the sight of this damnable monster surprised Marcy to the point where she leaped back, letting out a squeak as she slid back a few feet before jumping up on her two legs.

As she took a couple of steps back, to her dismay, she saw the reflective image rise up from underneath the puddle before facing her like some haunted ghost. What was more disturbing was that when it did move, it did so in a creepy, unorthodox manner. That almost reminded her of that weird creature in War of the Warlocks. But only taller and a lot more pleasant to look at.

It was nerve-wracking to witness, especially since she remembered being inside that monster's head. Or, instead, it was inside hers.

"Why do you keep fighting it, child?" it asked her. "You know it's only going to get worse."

Its daunting voice slithered through Marcy's ears like a serpent. Yet even though she was practically wetting herself, she tried to stand her ground, telling herself that this wasn't real. It was a figment of her imagination, trying to haunt her for mistakes she had already made. If only it were ever true.

"Go away!" Marcy demanded. "You're not real!"

"Oh, but I most passionately disagree," the imposter, Darcy, spoke. "I am very real. And I must say, that was an astonishing performance at the party."

Marcy shuddered. It was bad enough that she had to deal with the humiliation of the party scene but to be mocked by her nightmares made things worse.

"Like how you froze when all those people picked on you," Darcy taunted, trying to get a rise out of her. "And how you let them call you names. What were they again?"

"Leave," Marcy demanded for a second time. "Now."

"Freak, nerd, dummy," the Core listed. "It's all just child's play."

The Taiwanese girl covered her ears. She was attempting to shut out the Core's disgusting bigotry toward her. But even then, she wasn't able to escape its taunting.

"Stop it!" she implored. "Stop it right now!"

"But you know what the best part about it was?" Darcy asked rhetorically yet again. "The best part was when your friends stood helplessly as you.."

"SHUT UP!"

That scream was enough to do her in. Shortly after that, Marcy collapsed on her knees. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, her break became more irregular, and a soft whimpering was faintly heard. She was practically breaking at this point and could say nothing more. As she continuously started panting, with her eyes glued to the ground, she could hear the footsteps of that abomination approaching her.

She heard the imposter chuckle before its ghastly hand touched the bottom of her chin before lifting her head so she could face it.

"You can keep denying it all you want," Darcy taunted. "But in the end, it changes nothing."

Marcy looked to the ground. She was still refusing to listen to the ghost that still haunted her. Yet to her dismay, the shadow did not seem to care.

"You are still that worthless runt we took under our care so long ago," the Core continued. "You are nothing without us! And your friends don't care about you anymore. They practically enjoyed watching you suffer."

She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to consider the words coming out of that terrible creature's phantom mouth. But no matter how often she tried to ignore it, it came to no avail.

"And no matter how many times you want to run from it, there's one truth you will never escape," it carried on, its venomous breath touching her skin. "You cannot change. In time, you will always be what you've always feared would happen. You will always be; alone."

That final word. That last syllable that left the Core's mouth and slithered its way into Marcy's ear rang like a gong. And before she knew it, Darcy was gone, vanished before her very eyes before she could even have a second glance. Half a heartbeat later, everything was quiet. And Marcy was left as the Core said she would be: alone.

In the dark, with only one street light shining above her head. Without a single sound being made or heard for miles. She stared back into the puddle before her and began to weep. Small tears ran down her cheeks again, dropping into the pool like raindrops and a drizzling day. The Taiwanese girl found it hard to breathe and started to sniffle. Until finally, she broke down into a sob.

The Taiwanese girl covered her face with her hands as she felt her body nearly collapse. And all the negativity in the world had crashed upon her like a meteor. She felt terrible about herself. She had to deal with the Core's constant bolstering for two months, and it finally got through to her. Even on Earth, the pain she had received from it was everlasting. And she would never forget the day it decided to torture her in that chair and fill her head with lies. Never to leave her be to live her own life and make her own choices.

Though what was worse about it was not because of Darcy's constant torment but because of how right it was about her. Or at least about how pathetic and worthless she was. She looked like a joke at that party. And all it took was one humiliating stunt pulled by her school rival. It was something to be pathetic about. Not that it wasn't her fault.

Of course, none of the other stuff it spoke of was true. She knew very well that her friends cared about her. Heck, Anne practically died for her at some point. Though technically, she did the same. And she was very well aware of the bond that they shared. It was something she was most proud of in her lifetime. But what broke her the most was that Darcy was right about one thing.

She was going to be alone.

The moving away bit would suffice. Whether she was ready for it or not, Marcy knew she would have to leave the only two people she ever cared about. And she had already come to terms with it. But after this, she now felt more unprepared than ever. Not because she cared too much about Sasha and Anne but because she knew that other people like Tracy would be out there. And Tracy had already destroyed whatever confidence she was building up at that party.

And now she had felt more unprepared than ever before. At that moment, it made her feel worthless and contemptible. She thought she would live alone her entire life because everyone would see her as a good-for-nothing geek. And that the world would shun because of that simple fact. Though what made it worse was the mere thought that she would never make another friend out of fear that they would humiliate her as Tracy did. She knew there were people like her here. There are people like her everywhere. And she would have no one to protect her because she would be alone without her friends. And this, she could never escape. She knew it too well.

It was so bad it made her want to weep harder than she already had.

However, as she sat on her knees, hands over her eyes, she heard something. From which almost sounded like a considerable booming noise exploding from above. Following that was a high-pitched sound, a feral roar howling through the wind. When she looked up toward the sky, she saw a faint yet unclear image descending from the Earth.

The young Taiwanese girl watched as the unknown image plummeted north of where she was. As she turned her view in that direction, Marcy continued to witness it fall until it came in contact. It was creating a rattling sound that shook the ground for a bit.

Once the ground stopped shaking, Marcy was left puzzled. A bit of confusion crossed her mind about what she had just witnessed.

"What was that?" Marcy asked herself.

She spent the next few seconds trying to think of answers. Everything ranging from meteorites to falling helicopters to crashing airplanes, etc. She thought of more, but there were so many possibilities. Every single one of them refers to something falling out of the sky. It could be the only logical explanation for this. But many didn't fit into what she saw. For it was way too small for any of what she thought of.

Envy slowly plagued her current thoughts, and she, unfortunately, could not think of anything else. Or at least any other explanation that could be the result of this. And at that point, she could only guess that she had to assume that it was something new and out of the ordinary. But then that could only mean one thing. If it was something new, could it have come from somewhere other than Earth?

Amphibia perhaps? No. That couldn't be true. The Calamity Box was destroyed when they left the frog world for good. And that was the only device she knew that granted people the ability to travel through worlds. Maybe there was another one? And she didn't know it? She couldn't entirely be sure.

At that moment, she had only two options for what to do next. One, she turns back and goes home, possibly having her parents and friends see her like this. Or two, she could go to the crash sight and investigate the scene for herself. Both had two different outcomes. One had to deal with the embarrassment of having her parents see her all messy and mortified. And the other was having the risk of unveiling a discovery and risking the chance of sudden death.

A more intelligent person would've picked the option where they walked away and went home. It was an easier choice, after all. But the more Marcy thought about it, the more she wanted to know. That inquisitive side of hearing had nearly taken over her entire body. Plus, she couldn't go back home like this. She didn't know what her parents would do if they saw her.

They'd probably ground her for all she knew. She didn't want that, especially after everything she'd been through. Then again, it would be worse if she didn't return, considering the last time she left them and didn't come back. But either than that, the more she thought it through, the more she had this feeling of just going out there and dealing with whatever it was that was out there.

This feeling turned into ambition, which soaked her desire to take action. And considering she didn't have anything else, it was worth the risk. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then went straight to the direction where the object had landed. Ready to face whatever it was that was there. And no matter what the stakes were, she was determined to face the dangers that lay ahead. And hoped to see through it till the end.

Before taking off, Marcy looked back to the street, wondering if she shouldn't at least wait until Anne and Sasha came to find her and accompany her on this. But she quickly decided against this, not wanting to risk them dragging her back home or reminding her of the party's events.

Plus, she didn't want to risk putting them in danger. Not like she did with Amphibia. And besides, she had to prove to herself that she didn't need their help. She was a big girl and had faced far worse. Again, Anne had already talked to her earlier about building confidence, which she had utterly lacked.

And what better way to build confidence than to make a discovery? Let alone discover it yourself. So she had to do this alone, for their sake and her own. So Marcy, without thinking about it, had started her journey toward the site of whatever had crashed from up there, which she figured was 2 to 3 miles away from where she was.

For half an hour, she traversed the street that led up to the crash site, which to her surprise, was not far from where she lived. She figured her house was probably right around the corner from here. As she moved on, Marcy continued to ponder the numerous possibilities of what she may find. Let alone what to do after she sees it. That is, if she even lived to tell about it in the long run.

She didn't have either Sasha or Anne to back her up; without any weapons, she would be alone and defenseless. Then again, Anne always considered herself the girl who could quickly escape situations. From which she did fancy herself to be a quick study. Someone good at improvising whenever things get tough, something her mom taught her. She'll probably have to thank her if she survives before this is over.

As Marcy continued to move, the path to the crash site led her to the edge of what she could see as the entrance of a junkyard, which had two barb-wired fences for wide open doors. Inside it, there was a foggy mist that pretty much covered up the place's interior. It almost reminded her of that weird, creepy, and haunted horror movie sense that gave her Saw and Friday the 13th vibes.

Marcy shuddered at the very sight of it. But because she felt she had to do this, the Taiwanese teenager struggled to get herself to stop the shuddering. By the time she did, she had attempted to put a confident look on her face, convincing herself that she had to do this. Yes, the thought of encountering something possibly dangerous inside. But she reminded herself that if she was ever going to get any confidence in the eyes of her friends, her parents, and that heartless snake Tracy, she had to start by overcoming things like this.

Even though many would say this would be an extreme start. But if this ever turned out to be what she thought it would be, Marcy knew it would be worth it. She just wished she didn't have to do it alone. And with that, she took another deep breath before heading straight into the junkyard, unaware of the dangers lurking within it.

As she continued to make her way across the scrapyard, Marcy's eyes darted around and around, despite not being able to see very well through the fog. Her biggest pet peeve was being jump scared without even knowing it, especially in dark and creepy places. It almost reminded her of that scene in War of the Warlocks, where the main character gets attacked by that considerable spider, which was surprisingly disturbing.

The deeper and deeper she went into the barren ruins of the junkyard, the more nervous she grew. Not enough to turn back, but edgy enough to make Marcy anxious. In retrospect, this may not have been the best idea she had thought. Yet there was no turning back now, despite how unsettling it was starting to get.

Though what made it more unsettling was how quiet the place turned out. The only thing that she could hear as of now was her footsteps. Why was that? She couldn't entirely be sure. But for whatever reason, the quiet didn't help Marcy's nervousness. And the growing darkness didn't necessarily help the situation either, for the further and further, she went in, the darker her surroundings started to get.

But she continued to will herself on through the bowels of the ruined scrapyard. The hope of discovery is still held in the back of her head. Though as she did, she began to lose track of how long she was in there. Most likely, 5 to 10 minutes. To make herself feel better about this, she pulled out her phone, which had still been untouched, and turned on her flashlight. And in an instant, she could see the path ahead, which revealed the center of the junkyard.

To her surprise, Marcy was standing before a large scrap pile with trash and broken cars scattered across it. The mound itself was around eight feet tall. And the moonlight began to reveal itself, filtering through the broken glass and breathing a silver beam that lit the top of the pile, where a small gleaming object was covered in the center of the stack, unmoving and untouched.

As the Taiwanese girl stared at the massive heap of discarded stuff, with the glinting object at the top of it all, she started to have a bad feeling about it. The same feeling she had when she and Anne went inside that creepy crypt back in Newtopia. Yet she was still intrigued by the sudden thought that she may have found whatever it was that she saw the crash from the sky. After all, it seemed like this was the place, considering the estimated time she calculated and the length from which it descended. Plus, this was as far as she could go since this was at the center of the junkyard.

The only downside was that the glimmering object was buried in scrap, making it harder for Marcy to see it in this light. Thus leaving her to make the ultimate yet risky choice. She would have to get closer. That is if she wanted a better view of the object, which would be at the top of the pile. Though if she did that, she'd further the risk of getting jumped or scared the living daylight out of whatever was up there.

She gulped. The feeling of doubt crossed her mind before she cautiously moved forward. Her breath frosted in the cold night air as she continued to traverse the yard and inch closer to the scrap pile. With every step she took, her instincts screamed at her to turn back while she could. But Marcy's curiosity and ambition trumped her instincts, thus causing her to wander even closer.

The darkness continued to cloud her vision, but the light from her phone and the moonlight was enough for her to see where she was going. By the time she reached the bottom of the pile, she had started climbing up the discarded materials. Her vision was solely focused on the glowing object that was atop the eight feet tall scrap pile. Since she began to her approach, it hadn't moved. Nor did the light reveal what exactly was up there.

By the time she was near the top, Marcy had stopped short upon coming close to the glimmering object poking out in the middle of the mound. Marcy tilted her head; her curiosities continued to spike as she loomed over the thing. She bent down and carefully picked it up, revealing something she had never seen before in her entire life.

It was a scale.

Or rather, a piece of it. One half of it was cracked, while the other was still in a pile. Instantly, Marcy brought up the scale to the light on her phone to get a better look at it. As she examined it, she saw that the scale was all black with bits of gray in the middle. When she brought up a finger to it, she felt the surface of the scale, which was a combination of rough and smooth. And it didn't match any scale of any reptile she had ever seen. Very interesting.

But then there was the bigger question. If this didn't match the scale of any lizard or snake, then what exactly was it that it originated from? Marcy thought about it for a moment before returning to the scrap pile. Her gaze was deeming at the black object that remained hidden from her. She then thought of the best course of action to take next.

She would either dig through the scrap pile and see what else she could find or head home and come back to look through it another day. And it didn't take her long to come to a decision.

"Maybe you shouldn't push your luck, Marce," she told herself. "I'll just have to come back in the morning."

And with that, Marcy started to turn around and descend the pile. Yet the Taiwanese girl was stopped only seconds after that when she heard the sound of what turned out to be a low growl. She looked around for the source of the growling when it came again all of a sudden. Followed by another, and another, and another. Until it became sure to her that she was not alone. Marcy gasped as she looked in the direction she thought she had heard it come from, which turned out to be in the order where she came in from. Her heart suddenly froze over in hear as she saw two red, demon-like eyes appear out of the darkness of the junkyard, along with two sets of razor-sharp canine teeth.

Then, Marcy's eyes widened when she saw a large Doberman pinscher dog appear out of the fog. Its mouth drooled with saliva as the canine snarled at the teenage girl with vicious intent. Her vision darted to the sides as she saw two more dogs spawning out of the mist. To the left was a rottweiler, and to the right was a french bulldog. Five more appeared, coming from all directions except behind the pile. Many took the form of mixed breeds and mutts.

There were ten of them in total. And all of them were roused, angry, and ravenous. Then it became evident to Marcy that she had not come across just any pack but a particular one she was all too familiar with. It was a pack that was common around this side of the city.

It was a pack of Junkyard dogs.

While not as aggressive as the average stray dog, these dogs were highly territorial. They were known for attacking humans and other animals and chasing them out of various junkyards across the country. She learned this the hard way when she stumbled upon a puppy that belonged to a pack of angry junkyard dogs and almost bit her when she followed it home a couple of months back. Her parents grounded her for a month as a result of that. And that was after she had to go through an entire week of seeing a therapist.

While normally, junkyard dogs would normally run at the sight of humans in pairs or groups, this pack seemed to be extra aggressive, which probably meant that they were extraterritorial. And because she was alone, she wasn't surprised that they would reveal themselves at this present moment. Though she was much more afraid of the fact that she stumbled into their help, which by the looks of things, they were not very happy about.

The pack started to encircle and surround their helpless prey. Four other dogs covered all escape routes, cutting off Marcy's chance to flee. Yet despite the circumstances, she was in, Marcy's first impulse was to find anything she could use to defend herself against the ensnaring dogs. She looked around the pile and spotted a metal pipe long enough for her to use as a weapon.

The Taiwanese girl picked up and turned back toward the junkyard dogs. As they continued to bare down on her, the Doberman began his approach much sooner than all the others. From the looks of it, the other dogs were looking back and forth between her and the Doberman.

Though Marcy didn't have time to think about it, she guessed that the Doberman was the pack's alpha. And then it hit her; if she could have her way with him, he and the other dogs may leave her alone. Determine, she swung the pipe at the approaching dog. The alpha canine jumps back at the first strike but keeps his stance and returns with a snarl.

"Back!" she shouted. "Back up!"

As the girl continuously swung the pipe, the other dogs started barking. The agitation started slowly spreading, causing the dogs to tighten the circle further, with the alpha getting dangerously close to biting range. As Marcy glared at the alpha, she could see the gnarly expression on its face. He was a bold one. She would have to put a lot of effort into getting back off.

The Taiwanese teenager swung again and again. Both times the Doberman dodged. When she brought the pipe up again to strike, she was surprised when the dog grabbed it with its vice-like jaws, growling as it held on tightly. Marcy tried to yank it out of its mouth, but it wouldn't budge. Finally, the Doberman jerks his head back, snatches the pipe out of Marcy's head, and throws it over his shoulder. Before turning back to the nerdy teen and snarling yet again.

Marcy began to panic when she lost the only thing she could use. Slowly backing up against the scrap pile, the dogs closed in on her. They were barking and snarling, with the alpha inching ever so closely. She tried to put up as much distance from her and the dogs as she could, but there was nowhere else to go.

As she took the fourth step, she felt herself trip against a part of the pile and hit the ground on her backside with a thud. Yet the dogs kept coming regardless. The Taiwanese girl tried crawling backward to keep her distance but went to a short stop when she felt her back against a broken car behind her. Her fear escalated when the Doberman began to loom over her, raising its head high above while growling with murderous intentions.

Its low-humming snarl sent an unspeakable chill up the girl's spine. And it was there that she knew that death was inevitable at this point, considering that she had lost her only weapon and was vastly outnumbered. So even if she managed to fend off the alpha, the rest of the pack was still there, making it impossible for her to fend off all at once. Weeping, Marcy could only close her eyes, tears pouring out as she silently prayed her death would be swift through the jaws of this vicious canine.

However, to her surprise, yet again, it never came. For it had seemed fate had other plans in store. Before the alpha dog could be given a chance to deliver the final strike, it paused. The alpha canine lifted its head and began to sniff the air. The other dogs shortly followed. Marcy opened her eyes, looking puzzled at the startled mongrels.

Half a heartbeat later, the alpha dog looked up. And then started to back away from the downed girl. His ears were pinned behind his head, and she could hear the hound whining. As he withdrew at a reasonable distance, Marcy slowly rose to her feet. With a raised eyebrow in confusion. As far as she was concerned, the Doberman seemed terrified. Or at least that's what it looked like as she watched him change his view from her to behind her. She looked behind her shoulder and only saw nothing but the top of the scrap pile.

It became abundantly clear to her that the alpha dog was afraid of something. Not of her, of course. But of something else, which bewildered her even further when she wondered what it was. Since the dog wasn't looking at her, maybe it was afraid of something that was close by. She couldn't say for sure.

Shortly after, the Doberman turned and fled back into the darkness, whining as he disappeared with his tail between his legs. The other junkyard dogs followed as soon as their alpha disappeared. Their howls and whines could be heard in the wind, and then they went straight into complete silence seconds later.

By the time they were gone, Marcy had stood there, looking more puzzled than ever. She did not know what made the dogs so edgy and tense, but she was at least grateful that the alpha didn't seize his chance to end her life.

"Huh," she thought. "What's up with that?"

However, a second later, Marcy found her answer when the ground beneath her started to rumble. And judging where it was coming from, the Taiwanese girl could guess it was coming from behind her. Out of fear, she spun around, barely able to catch a glimpse of an alarming image that rattled her entire skeleton. For starters, the scrap pile began to move upward. It was sending enormous amounts of scrap and junk sliding down the bank.

After that, Marcy gasped as she caught a glimpse of a head coming out from within the pile. Then her eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of their sockets as she saw two emerald eyes staring directly at her, followed by a reptilian growl. Seconds later, she felt the pile around the head move until two massive wings emerged from underneath. Propelling chunks of scrap all over, Marcy had to shield herself with her arm.

As the dust began to clear, the Taiwanese girl turned her gaze back only to find herself standing before a massive beast. Who began to raise itself above the ground. At first, she mistook the creature for a giant bat. But it turned out to be much worse than that. As the beast continued to unveil itself, Marcy noticed that it had a thick scaley hide, black as night, along with a long tail, four limbs, and two large wings, from which she had already caught a glimpse.

It almost reminded her of a scaly salamander. But as she began to notice the horn-like protrusions twitching atop the creature's curved head and snout, which started to exhale a frosty breath from its mouth, Marcy began to realize what exactly this creature was.

It wasn't a large bat or a giant salamander. And as the beast began to lift its head to let out a mighty roar, only one thing came to Marcy's mind.

It was a dragon.

Chapter Text

A swarm of thoughts ran through Marcy's intellectual mind as the beast stood on top of the pile of junk in all its strength and glory. Many of those thoughts consisted of many emotions. Disbelief, confusion, and alarm warred at the forefront while the rest struggled to compensate for the impossible sight before her.

A dragon.

A froggin' dragon.

As far as the girl was concerned, dragons weren't supposed even to exist. She thought they were mere stories that were shared by people all over the world. Some mean to spread great wisdom, while others bring fear and darkness. But to stand before one such as the one in front of her took a massive tole for the chest master.

The pale moonlight revealed more details of the dragon's physical features than Marcy had already known. Aside from the prominent black scales and large wings that could cover the moon with its shadow, the teenage girl started to notice that the beast that stood before had striking resemblances to a large cat, mixed with a bit of salamander and a hint of a bat to go with it.

Just gazing upon this ungodly creature sent mixed emotions through Marcy's brain. On the one hand, she felt mesmerized by setting her sights on the magnificent beast. The fact alone that she was standing before a living, breathing dragon was nothing short but breathtaking for the teen girl. It was just so darn awesome to experience. And she hadn't had this kind of experience since finding Frobo in Wartwood. Never in her life did she want to start fangirling more than right now.

But on the other hand, she felt terrified. To her understanding, dragons were powerful creatures. And were significantly associated with being masters of fire. They also had a fierce reputation for being dangerous and unpredictable, like most animals seen today. And will strike anyone who provokes them without them even knowing it. But besides all that, what struck her the most was how menacing the dragon looked. She could tell this creature could eat her whole in only a few bites. And it could give an adult grizzly bear nightmares for a week.

Just thinking about the many ways it could destroy her, Marcy was left shaking like a leaf, and her terror was extreme. But with that terror also came curiosity. It is very unusual for such a creature to appear in an era such as the 21st century. Not to mention, the myths of dragons date as far back as the medieval era, with no objective evidence of their involvement in anything historians have described. This begs the question,

'What is a dragon even doing here? Let alone where did it come from?'

Before she could further give her questions any line of thought, the dragon began to stir and regain consciousness. The creature turned its head to the right and shook, likely to remove the grogginess from the back of its mind. Before she could go further into giving her answers any line of thought, Marcy stood frozen, her hands fidgeting, and a cold chill came up from her spine as the dragon let out a huge groan, rubbing one of its paws across its face as it suffered an obnoxious headache.

Luckily for the teenage girl, the dragon didn't seem to notice that she was even there. And was instead focused on the flesh wound at the center of its right forearm. She watched as it licked its wound with its tongue. It reminded her of a cat whenever it grooms itself. It was cute. But that feeling was quickly replaced when she realized that even though it may seem appealing, the beast was still pretty dangerous from her perspective.

Coming back to her senses, the young girl slowly started backing away from the disoriented beast. Taking careful steps backward in hopes of not drawing the creature's attention. However, that plan didn't exactly work out for her when...

Snap!

Marcy's eyes widened as she quickly looked down to see she had stepped on a glass bottle. When she looked back up, one of the ear appendages twitched. Shortly after that, the dragon jolted its head up, its eyes widened and on alert. Half a heartbeat later, a deep growl escaped the creature's throat, along with a high-pitch whistling sound. The dragon then leaped up in the air and shot a fireball in the direction of the said disturbance. The blast was sent across the junkyard until it collided with another scrap pile, thus causing an echoing explosion.

When the dust cleared, the dragon growled again and looked in that direction, only to see nothing—just the emptiness of the junkyard with a slightly warm breeze and the sound of scrap touching the ground midair. Though to the dragon's bewilderment, Marcy was seen hiding behind an abandoned car nearly two feet from the pile of junk. She was lucky enough to get to it before the beast could spot her. That being said, Marcy was practically mortified at the sight of the shot made.

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming. Behind the broken vehicle, she could hear the dragon sniffing from the other side. The next thing she heard was breathing. Like the sounds of the footsteps, it was soft, but there were the faintest hints of a growl. From what she could listen to, it drew closer to the car. Or at least it seemed like that. Quivering in terror, Marcy timidly looked through the vehicle's window, catching a glimpse of the beast a foot from where it originally was, with its nose buried in the ground, continuously sniffing as it inched its way to the left side.

As it continued to stalk towards the nearside, Marcy moved to her right, silently sneaking to the back of the vehicle. Once back there, she shrunk down and hid just above the offside back window of the car, with the dragon still sniffing on the other side. Every inch of the former chief ranger's body wanted to give in, but Marcy was too brilliant for that. And she knew that she would be dead if she faltered hear now. She looked slightly towards the edge to see if it was still there but pulled back when the dragon lifted its head. The black antennas that the chess master hypothesized to be ear flaps perked up. Listening to even the slightest sound, though coming short a second later.

As Marcy felt the beast's presence faltering, she looked to the edge of the car's front side. Only to catch sight of the dragon's tail slithering to the other side. Marcy slowly rose to ensure the creature was gone, only to drop back down upon hearing a thudding sound from the top of the car. And to her dismay, Marcy was left in an unsettling position: The dragon was on top of the vehicle.

Looking onward with its head right above the spot she was hiding. All it took was one fatal mistake for her position to be given away. But to the teen's luck, the window on the near side front door of the car was wide open. She quietly snuck into the window of the window without the dragon noticing her, taking shelter in the back seat. At the same time, she could see the dragon's heavy breathing from up top. From the other side of the back seat, Marcy looked through the opened window and could see the tip of the dragon's head looking downward, sniffing profoundly from the edge.

Shortly after, the teen girl heard an echoing roar from on top of the vehicle, prompting her to cover her ears. A second later, the roaring stopped, and Marcy could remove her hands from her ears. By then, the dragon let out a low growl before jumping off the car. With its back facing the window seat of the vehicle, Marcy quietly crawled up to the other side and peeked through the window. She watched through the glass as the dragon continued sniffing the ground while rolling up the window in case the dragon spotted her. There she studied the creature's every move, noticing that it was bleeding from dozens of minor wounds.
Along with that, the dragon was limping on the forearm with the hole in the middle. Which probably meant that the beast was weakened from a previous fight. It only worsened her situation, knowing that if the animal were wounded, it would probably be just as dangerous, if not more.

Half a heartbeat later, another roar was issued. Though when Marcy looked, she witnessed one of the most extraordinary things occur before her very eyes. From outside, she saw a purple aura leave the dragon's mouth and head straight into the direction of the pile, from whence it spawned while bouncing off to other trends surrounding the area. Seconds after that, the aura bounced back into the dragon's path and returned to the beast, who lifted one of its ear appendages. Instantly, the dragon released yet another growl before slowly making its way to the right.

Marcy bit her tongue, resisting the urge to fangirl at the incredible sight of what appeared to be the dragon possessing some form of echolocation. And from a dragon of all creatures. This opened a new wave of questions of possibilities. Some of which made her more eager to observe and study her curiosity. However, it was most unfortunate for her when the teenage geek realized she didn't have her journal on her. She probably would've written all this down, given a chance.

However, before she could be allowed to silently come up with more theories about the dragon's formal abilities, there was a frequent vibration buzzing from the back of her pocket. And following that was a sound that almost made Marcy want to gouge her eyes out.

Ring ring!

The ringer from her phone went off, playing the usual K-pop song she had set as her ringtone. A piece of music that she, Anne, and Sasha, played that one time when she rigged the PA system at school. Though, to the girl's dismay, as the ringtone played, the dragon spun its head around and bared its teeth. As it was silently growling at the disturbance, Marcy scrambled in the car seat to try to find her phone. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket, fumbling with it for a few seconds in panic before pulling the screen up.

Consequently, Marcy brought it up to see that her parents were trying to call her before pressing the decline button as fast as she could. Not that she wouldn't answer them anyway, but now wasn't the best time, considering she was currently occupied with trying to avoid being roasted alive by a fire-breathing dragon.

And speaking of which, after she turned her ringer off, a cold chill ran down the Taiwanese girl's spine as she suddenly saw the shadow of the creature inching closer and closer to the car from outside—followed by a nasty snarl that could be heard from the other side of the door. In quick thinking, Marcy sank below the car door, burying her legs beneath the car seat so the dragon wouldn't see her.

From the rearview mirror, Marcy could see the dragon outside the car, its paws propped up against the window, sniffing and growling, looking into the car's interior with murderous intent. As the young girl concealed herself from the dragon's prying eyes, sweat glands began to form on her forehead as she once again covered her mouth with both arms to keep her silence her ridged breathing.

The teen geek could hear the beast's growls shift into a long, raw, guttural snarl as it slightly opened up its maw, showing all of the perky white teeth that covered every corner of the dragon's mouth. As it lowered its head toward the window's glass, Marcy shut her eyes and whimpered. She could hear the dragon's hot breath press against the pane and its claws, scratching the metal exterior of the car door.

With each passing second, the snarling got louder and louder until it became permanently stuck in the girl's mind. Even though she wasn't sure of it, if the dragon noticed her at that moment, she would surely die. And just the mere thought of that sent tears down the girl's eyes. She had nearly died once in her lifetime and certainly didn't want to die a second time. She had so much to live for and accomplish; she had just gotten her friends back in and started living an everyday life for the last two months. Surely this can't be the end, could it?

Yet before she could contemplate the news headlines that would probably tell about her unfortunate demise, the moment was cut short when the dragon removed its snout from the glass and dropped back on all fours. And seconds after that, Marcy could hear the snarling fade further and further away until it became silent.

Thenceforth, she could hear the dragon's footprints distance themselves from the car until it finally became quiet a second later. From there, Marcy sat in the car for a few more seconds before slowly looking through the window to see if the dragon was gone. And to her luck, there was no sign of the dragon going onward. Marcy looked around to ensure it was safe before slowly climbing out of the car.

By the time she was out, Marcy had taken a few steps forward in the direction she had suspected the dragon had gone. She Taiwanese girl darted her eyes in different directions, ensuring she wasn't second-guessing herself. After completing a 180, she turned back to the rusty old car that was her hideaway. By then, it had become blatantly apparent to the teenage geek that it was gone. And for the first time in her life, Marcy was glad she was alone.

"Phew," she said with a sigh. "That was close."

At first, this would genuinely be the case. Yet before Marcy could be given a chance to take a moment to celebrate the fact she had just evaded sudden death for the fifth time in her life, her thoughts had betrayed her when a sharp hiss was heard from behind her. And at that moment, Marcy was frozen in fear, for she had finally realized her mistake. One that may cost the Taiwanese geek her own life.

The dragon doubled back.

As quickly as she could, Marcy spun around, only to practically wet herself when she came face to face with the beast himself, who was standing over a pile of broken-down cars that towered over her. She watched as the creature opened its maw, from which a familiar purple glow formed, along with a high-pitched sound. And before long, a fireball was shot out of the dragon's mouth and straight in the girl's direction.

Before that, Marcy instinctively leaped out of the fireball's direction and to her left. Thus barely missing the blast by inches before it struck the car from whence she hid, causing a massive explosion. By the time the dust began to clear, only one thing had come to the teen girl's mind. One that made her spur into action; simultaneously, the dragon decided to leap from the pile and slowly advance toward her.

Run.

Marcy instantly shot up from the ground and bolted down the scrap pile, thus forcing herself not to look back as she heard a dreadful bark ring behind her. She first found herself squeezing through a stack of tires and jumping backward as the dragon plunged through it, snapping at the Asian girl before she turned back and sprinted off again. Her light-footed feel propelled her as fast as she could without taking a moment's notice. The cold wind made her eyes blurry with liquid, though she found it helpful for her overstimulating lungs. She always fancied herself for being athletic to some degree. But that was to be tested as she continued to make her way across the junkyard.

Behind her, Marcy could hear metal clanging noisily, along with a roar echoing intensely from a relatively small distance. She spared a slight glance from behind to reveal a terrifying sight. That which is the dragon climbing the pile of broken down cars that surrounded the bowels of the junkyard and racing toward her. She watched it viciously scrabble across the broken pieces of debris, leaping from car to car like a leopard in the jungle and using the height advantage to gain more ground. Though to her surprise, the dragon seemed to be a lot slower in its pacing due to its injured forearm. Yet it was still fast enough to catch up to her.

She gasped as she saw the dragon leap down from the cars and straight at her with its maw wide open. The Taiwanese girl leaned left, barely missing the dragon's jaws before veering off in that direction. Using the junk piles as cover, Marcy weaved her way through the junkyard, hoping that the garbage all around her would be able to slow the dragon's advance. Though dismayed, she could hear the dragon pushing through the junk and briefly biting down a tire to grab her before moving its way through two broken buses.

Shortly after, Marcy slid underneath a broken car and jumped from the other side, the dragon attempted to go underneath it, but its head got stuck. This unfortunate circumstance from the beast allowed Marcy to gain more ground. Though unfortunately for her, the moment she started making a break for the exit, she found herself tripping over a stone in the environment, which sent her tumbling to the ground, and rolling for a few yards before ultimately coming to a short stop just outside the mouth of a wooden pile surrounded by broken down furniture.

Half a second later, Marcy found herself scrambling inside when she saw the dragon charge the pile, teeth, and claws bared. Her breaths were quick and heavy as the beast shoved his head into the mouth of the wooden bank, snapping its two jaws rapidly and swiping away the chunks of broken furniture that blocked its way. Marcy continued to distance herself by backing further into it, which resulted in the dragon changing positions by shoving his left forearm into the pile.

The creature's claw was nearly inches from her face when she decided to pull up—backing more profoundly into the confines of the pile before the beast could be given a chance to grab her. Though she retreated to her left, the dragon withdrew its head and went around, finding a small gap where Marcy had hidden and stuck its head through it. Unfortunately for the beast, the hole was too tiny and surrounded by broken furniture. But even that wasn't enough to stop the dragon as it pulled its head back again and dug through the rubble with its paws.

Once the hole was big enough, the creature stuck its head back in, still insanely eager to catch the prey before it. Finally, while Marcy was profusely backing up, the beast could lock its vice-like jaws around the teenage girl's left foot. The girl screamed in agony as she felt hundreds of pounds of pressure close down around her leg. It wasn't enough to snap the bone hole, but it was undoubtedly excruciating.

She frantically kicks the dragon's head with her free leg to free her foot. But it came no avail as the dragon tightened its grip and started dragging her out of the pile. Marcy resisted the urge to scream again as she grabbed the nearest wooden leg to keep herself from being dragged out and killed. Yanking her foot out did nothing to loosen its grip, so she desperately opted to take a rapid yet risky move. She takes her foot back and slams it directly into the dragon's left eye.

The beast shrieked in pain and finally let go of her leg, pulling its head back and clutching its hurt eye with its forearms. Seizing the moment, Marcy rushes out of the pile and breaks for it, heading as far away from the disoriented creature as she can. Unknowing to her, however, the dragon shook its head and focused back on the fleeing girl. Adrenaline clouded Marcy's vision, limiting her from any real sense of direction. She didn't know where or if she was going the right way, but one thing became clear. She needed to escape, and soon.

Yet this became very short-lived as another high-pitched sound was heard behind her, followed by a shot fired directly in her path. Marcy yelped as she came to a shortstop, only inches away from the explosion. She attempted to take the way to her right that led deeper into the junkyard but was cut off by another blast. Then she tried to double back and go the way she came from, only to be greeted by a thousand pounds baring down upon her as the dragon pounced at her.

The creature took her to the ground with its strength and power, pinning her to the ground with its forearms. Marcy desperately tries to make an effort to lift its paws off but is unable to do so because of the dragon's sheer size. With the teen girl wholly immobilized, the dragon tries to go for her face to finish her off. Instinctively, Marcy shoves her arms up and places her hands on both sides of her head. But the dragon was much stronger than her and threw away her hands with its free forearm. Then it raised its head high, intending to end her quickly instead as its maw started to glow a bright purple. Before it could enact the final blow, Marcy spotted a glass bottle to her left.

She quickly grabs it with her right hand, knowing that this is a moment of life and death, and swings it across the dragon's face, shattering the glass of it upon impact and causing the dragon to fire to its right instead. With the dragon disoriented for a second time, Marcy picks herself up and makes another run for it. She darts her head toward her surroundings to see if she can find the nearest exit. But it was without any success.

To her luck, however, the Taiwanese girl was able to spot a wired fence surrounded by barbed-wired barricades that led outside the junkyard. She rushed to it, hoping to escape what would be considered this awful nightmare. But before she could be given a chance to be home free, she caught the sound of another blast from behind her. And before she knew it, another explosion was set behind her, sending the girl flying a couple of yards.

By the time she returned to earth, she had landed roughly, with her face hitting the hard ground, and found herself rolling for a few more yards before coming to a screeching halt. The teen geek felt every muscle in her body tense, and parts of her clothing started to sizzle. Her head started to feel woozy, and she could barely move. It was probably the most pain she had ever felt since Amphibia. After a few more seconds, Marcy slowly picked herself up. She only had a few more seconds to regain her senses before her eyes caught a glimpse of the dragon slowly approaching her.

As it continued its advance, the full height of the dragon's appearance came into view. Claws of black steel. Scales as black as night. Eyes glowing green. Teeth filed into pairs of razor-sharp fangs, with a gnarly growl escaping from the tips of its lips. Marcy had briefly gotten up to her feet when the dragon's maw glowed again. Knowing what would come after, Marcy braced herself to be blasted to oblivion.

The moment never came.

Instead, the glow within the dragon's maw evaporated. The dragon responded by shaking its head and trying again, but nothing came out. Then the creature's eyes widened in shock. One of which puzzled the Asian geek. Though now that she thought about it, she counted the dragon firing projectiles six times again. And it was a bit of a surprise to her that it would stop now. However, this could only mean one thing if this was genuinely the case.

'It can run out of shots?' she wondered to herself.

In theory, this could be a logical solution. Though to her knowledge, dragons were supposed to have an infinite supply of power when it came to their fire. But the fact that it couldn't now gave her a modicum of relief. However, this didn't mean that the dragon was relatively harmless. For as the beast began to realize its peril, it turned back to her, snarling and making its approach. Marcy looked around, seeing if there was any other way out of this, but was still at odds. Even if she escaped this beast's clutches, it would still hunt her down. No matter where she went or no matter how fast she ran. She had to settle this, here and now, while she still could.

However, as she looked back, she noticed something behind her. The wired barricades separated her from outside the junkyard. She looked at it and then back at the dragon. Then suddenly, an idea popped into her head. The Taiwanese girl started backing up slowly. The dragon mimicked her movements in response, stalking her like a lioness on the prowl as she continued back toward the barricade. With each step she took, the beast continued creeping on her, sniffing, savoring the scent of the meal to come.

By then, Marcy was mere inches before the barricade when she suddenly stopped, to which the dragons also stopped. There, she stared down the black beast, not showing any sign of fear or intimidation. The dragon noticed this and started to get more agitated. Its wings tightened, and the cat-like pupils in the dragon's eyes started getting smaller and smaller. Marcy wasn't easily deterred by the angry snarl the beast threw at her; instead, she glared down the ungodly creature and too bared her teeth to taunt it.

The beast didn't take this lightly and dug its paws into the earth, wriggling its shoulders before giving another snarl. Though Marcy held her ground, not daring to move another inch. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon charged. A thousand pounds of raw reptilian muscle stampeded her way at full speed. But instead of running, Marcy closed her eyes, waiting patiently for the dragon to get closer. The black reptilian creature took one last leap before pouncing her way. It would've caught her shortly after when at the last minute, Marcy reopened her eyes and leaped directly underneath the dragon. Missing her by nearly inches, the dragon sailed from her and landed straight into the fence, where the creature found itself trapped within the barricades and entangled by the barbed wires surrounding them.

Half a second later, Marcy rushed to the fence, jumped over the dragon's head, and sailed over to the other side. As soon as she touched the ground, Marcy made a break for the opening that led away from the junkyard. And as she did before, she did not look back for a second. Not even to the creature as it started struggling against the wires. All she thought about was getting as far away from that hellish place as possible.

However, after getting to a safe distance, the Taiwanese girl stopped, being drawn to the dragon's painful cries from behind her. When she looked back, Marcy saw a very gruesome image. The creature that had pursued her had trapped its body entwined with the sharp wires, which had pierced beneath its scales and into its flesh. Its wings and tail were also tangled, preventing the beast from any means of escape. It screamed and thrashed about as wildly as possible, releasing high-pitched roars in agony. At one point, she almost thought she saw blood being drawn. Along with fresh wounds being made and replacing old ones. And then it became evident to the girl that it was effectively trapped beneath the barricade.

Though to make things worse, as soon as she looked back into the clearing, she could see the pack of junkyard dogs approaching the downed creature, being drawn by the scent of blood from the beast's wounds. At first sight, the alpha Doberman started to enclose the dragon, seeing a massive opportunity since it wasn't going anywhere. The dragon attempted to get up and defend itself, yet as it tried, the wires got tighter and thus grounded the dragon even further. By then, the dogs began to encircle the creature, with the Doberman sending in beta members to try to pick at the beast from its unguarded side. The dragon wanted to swat it away with its claws, but it only tightened the wires more and caused further pain. Then it became clear to the teen girl what may come next: the dogs would eventually eat the dragon alive.

Hearing the notion from the back of her head made the girl sick. But at the same time, her instincts told her to run while she still had her chance. Marcy turned her head uncomfortably toward the direction of home. She could take her chances and leave. It was a logical solution. The thing did try to kill her after all. And besides, this was only the natural order of things. Who was she to intervene in such things? The dogs would also do more mercy for it than she ever could. She's the reason the creature was stuck in the fence, to begin with.

Yet, at the same time, a little feeling inside Marcy told her that something was wrong about leaving the creature like this. To freeze and die alone, surrounded by scavengers looking to feast on its corpse, trapped with no means of hope or escape. And alas, at that very moment, Marcy faced a difficult choice. She could either walk away and go home to her parents and friends. Perhaps live to see her next birthday. Or she could go back, save the dragon, and even risk life and death. The decision was seemingly impossible for her to make. On one end, she could be at home, with her family, in her nice warm bed, sleeping the night and pretending none of this ever happened. On the other hand, she could probably face a quick and painless death. Who knows, maybe it wouldn't come to that.

Though the dilemma within her brain cells continued, she heard another roar in agony from the beast and looked back to the fence. As she observed the scene, she looked at the downed dragon and how scared it was as the dogs closed in on it. Then she saw the beast look up at her, or at least in the direction of where she was, before turning back to the dogs. She noticed a pleading in its eyes as a cry for mercy. Or better yet, a call for help.

And at that moment, Marcy had felt a familiar sensation swell in her muscles. Something she knew all too well. And thus, a familiar feeling awakened inside her. One she knew all too well. Along with that, she began to develop a sense of deja vu. Especially when a distant memory, one of which she thought she had buried long ago, returned to the recess of her mind.

For a moment, she saw herself down there, in the dragon's position. Trapped, surrounded, and undoubtedly about to endure tremendous torture at the hands of its enemies. Following that were the screams of her torment echoing through the hall on that gloomy day. The day of which she had become a puppet to a monstrous tyrant.

She briefly had to look away to numb herself to the pain she had experienced. Only to look back again upon hearing another roar, looking back to the fear and despair smeared all over the dragon's face. It turned into panic when a rottweiler clamped its jaws onto the base of the dragon's tail, causing it to screech again. Hearing the call made her rigid. But then it made her realize that the creature's peril was not entirely different from hers. And if she left now, she would condemn this beast to endless suffering because of her inability to act.

No. Marcy will not allow it. Sure, it did try to kill her for the past few minutes, but she was not going to let this poor creature endure a terrible fate. Nor would she be able to hear its agonizing screams go unanswered. She wasn't that type of person. She was better than that. She could save it now and thus prevent this grim fate. It wasn't too late. And if it meant risking life and death, then so be it. That being said, there was only one problem.

That being said, there was... a relatively small complication. There were at least a dozen dogs down there, and there was only one of her. She couldn't fight them all by herself, and she highly doubted that the dragon would be of any assistance to her being trapped beneath the wires. She looked down, feeling another dilemma creep underneath the very cells of her brain. Then, her eyes fell upon a nearby broken-down tennis ball machine, conveniently a few feet from her on the outskirts of the junkyard. She took a good look at it before looking back to the dogs. A second later, an idea popped into the back of her head. If it worked, then perhaps there may be a chance.

Marcy turned back around and raced back to the fence. Determined to set things right, no matter the cost. She picked up a baseball bat and a few other items along the way. Meanwhile, the rottweiler's teeth were still locked onto the dragon's tail when the scaly lizard flickered it off, thus sending it back to its pack. But with one dog repelled, three more came in its place. Ravenous, they were inching closer and closer to the wounded animal. Who continued to struggle through the barbed wires. However, it seemed to get more painful with more pressure applied to the barricade.

Many of them started barking through the cold night while the alpha stood at the front, waiting patiently for the dragon to weaken before it could make the finishing blow. As the black beast continued snapping at the aggressive canines, the betas were sent retreating to their leader's side. But refused to leave the area and instead continued their advance. The Doberman, cold and calculated as it was, began to notice a chink in the unguarded wires, one of which the dragon could not defend. If it could attack there, the dragon was finished.

Though it may not seem like it, the look on the dog's face suggested it would have much enjoyment for what it was about to do. And considering its status and ego, this would be a good prize. It crouched low, preparing itself to enact the final blow. Yet before it could be given that chance, a shadowy figure landed in front of the cornered beast with a great thud. The moonlight began to glow in the night, thus revealing the teen girl it had encountered minutes ago. Furious at the disruption, the alpha dog turned its sights to her, snarling and drooling from the mouth, with all the other dogs barking in the background. Wrapped tightly in both hands, Marcy held the baseball she had picked up at the ready. Her eyes narrowed, and her grip tightened as she stared into the hot-red eyes of the alpha junkyard mongrel.

At the height of the full moon, the Taiwanese girl looked back, noticing the expression on the dragon's face, which was a mixture of shock and awe. It was made clear that it was not expecting this. In return, she smiled at the creature before glaring at the angry dogs. The Doberman growled profusely, apparently not taking the thought of an intruder standing between it and its prey very well. Yet Marcy did not falter; instead, she locked her stance and stood fast. The dogs responded by crouching low, preparing to charge. They would have this chance for their next meal, human or not. And they would have it now.

As the pack began to close in on her, Marcy slowly removed her right hand and brought it down to her back pocket. Before the dogs could make a single move, the Taiwanese girl brought her free hand out of her pocket and held it high, revealing a small tennis ball in the center of her palm.

"Who wants the ball?!" she yelled.

The mood of the dogs suddenly shifted from greedy and impatient to eager and excited as Marcy held the tennis ball high above her head. Even the alpha itself became enthused at the sight of the green ball. They bounded around and jumped up, typical dog behavior. Many even wagged their tails. Marcy waved it around, psyching up the pack with the small object. For a moment, Marcy thought that it was pretty cute. Seeing the dogs jump up and down in anticipation of the ball. It reminded her of the puppies she had babysat a couple of months back. Though it was only to get their attention, the next part came shortly after.

"You guys want it?" she asked again, throwing her arm up. "Then go get it!"

She then hurled her arm back and threw the ball over the heads of the pack. And then, like crows to a fresh carcass, the dogs scattered in the opposite direction, bolting after the ball as it landed somewhere in the junkyard far away from the fence. As soon as they disappeared, the nerd gave a little smirk. Despite being very aggressive and territorial, a dog is still a dog. And like all dogs, they were always easily distracted.

Perfect.

With the dogs currently occupied, Marcy turned back to the dragon. She didn't estimate how long it would take for the dogs to realize their fool's errand finally, so she had to do this quickly. She assessed the damage, carefully examining the cords and wires that covered the dragon's body. It was pretty bad, but there were some parts of it that she could handle with no problem. She just needed something to cut the wires.

As she looked around to see if she could find something to use, the dragon became relatively quiet, resorting to studying Marcy's every move as she moved around to the dragon's left side. Finally, her eyes came across a switchblade, which was conveniently right before the confines of the barricade, and she gently grabbed it—briefly clicking it open before turning back to the wires.

Though at first glance at the blade, the dragon snarled. Which caused Marcy to jump back a bit. The beast seemingly did not take the sight of a lethal weapon likely. And while it was still trapped, the creature proved to be just as intimidating to the mixed nerd. But despite the dragon's guard being up, Marcy did not back down. Instead, she came before the trapped beast, setting the bat she had in her dominant hand aside and lowering it to make herself look less threatening. She also reduced the switchblade in addition to dropping the baseball bat.

"It's okay," she reassured with an exhale. "I'm going to get you out of here. But you have to stay still!"

She didn't know if the dragon could understand what she was saying, yet it didn't matter to her. Because one way or another, she was helping this creature, whether it understood her or not. Though the more she thought about it, the more she pitied the beast for not being able to speak English, let alone any form of language. That being repeated, Marcy slowly moved in to cut the first wire above the creature's shoulder, gently bringing the knife alongside the wire and carefully bringing it to the sharp end of the switchblade.

She was seconds away from cutting the wire when the creature lunged its head forth, revealing its prickly teeth and releasing another growl as a warning. Thus sending Marcy back for a second time. But the consequence was the wires tied between its wings and back legs tightening even further, causing the creature to roar in agony. The distraction allowed Marcy to jump back in and cut the wire. A rough but good start. In total, there were eight wires wrapped tightly all over the creature. But she needed to cut through the four long ones to free the dragon. Those were the toughest to deal with and covered most of the beast's body, including its chest, wings, and tail. But they should do the trick if done correctly.

She reached over to the other side to free the dragon's tail, yet as the creature craned its head back to see her coming up on its backside, the dragon snapped at her, forcing her back again. However, it did the dragon no good since it couldn't reach her from behind while coiled underneath the wires. Thus giving her more accessible access to the cables entwined around its tail. With precision, Marcy was able to cut the wires with the switchblade. But even as she did, the dragon did not seem very happy with the girl being too close to that spot, specifically around the two tail fins tied around the wire.

And before she could move onto the two wires looped around its wings, the black beast lifted its tail and smacked her in the face, sending Marcy flying a couple of yards till she hit the ground face first with a thud. The Taiwanese girl groaned, feeling like she got hit by Grime's Warhammer before picking herself back up. Only to see the dragon releasing a warning roar directly at her. Marcy clenched her fists and growled. She was trying to help this creature, which is how it repays her. Why must this be a struggle?

As she got up on her feet and marched back to the trapped beast, the Taiwanese teenager stopped briefly at the sound of barking dogs. And looked over her shoulder in a mixture of horror and dread. Guess the pack finally figured it out after all. Though it means it won't be long before they start doubling back.

Knowing she was running out of time, Marcy turned back to the dragon and continued advancing. The dragon responded with a snap, but it winced in pain as the wires tightened yet again. Thus inflicting more pain on the poor creature than before. By then, Marcy knelt before the dragon, looking it directly in the eye. The mythical creature responded by locking eyes with her in return while growling viciously and sending another chilling roar as a warning. Yet once again, Marcy did not relent.

"Look, neither of us can make it out of this alone!" she exclaimed, releasing her frustrations. "And I want to get out of here just as much as you do!"

The expression on the dragon's face suddenly dropped. And the growled stopped shortly after. She did not know what it meant, but from the look on its face, she could tell the dragon did not expect her to speak to it in such a manner. The further silence urged Marcy to press on.

"You don't have to like me," she continued. "But if you want to get out of this, you'll have to trust me. Just a little bit, okay?!"

The dragon did not reply. Instead, it stood there, still trapped beneath the coils, looking somewhat puzzled at her. It was a tricky thing to say. The creature had zero reasons to trust her, especially after it had tried to kill her for the past few minutes. And it has more of a basis to distrust her since she was kind of the reason it was in this mess. Yet it continued to stare at her, the guarded yet expressionless face still plastered, as if it was debating whether or not it should trust her.

Yet the creature's inaction caused her to act quickly. And she resumed her mission to cut the remaining wires around its wings. This time, however, she got little resistance from the dragon itself. Perhaps it was a sign, an omen to the creature considering her words? She couldn't say so. But that being said, Marcy didn't want to push her luck either. Because despite her nobility, the dragon still had its eyes on her. Watching her every move as she cut the two wires trapping the creature's wings. It took her a moment to miss the first one and even longer to cut the second one. Yet she was able to do it as fast as she could.

Finally, she returned to the front to free the wire surrounding the dragon's chest and forearms. The only problem with that was she had to be careful. It was a long strand, connecting with all the others. If not done correctly, it may simultaneously release them and coil back violently, thus wounding the dragon even further. She needed to find a shorter strand or an angle that could be more manageable to cut through. She looked around the coils, seeing if she could find one that could be easier to cut. After a moment of looking, she spotted one. A large knot was revealed from the wire connected to the rest of them. If she could carefully cut it, then the dragon would be home free.

But before she could cut through it, the dragon growled again. Snapping at her before the knife's edge could even touch the knot. The girl groaned. She thought she had made it clear with this thing. Why couldn't it just accept her help? When Marcy looked up, she noticed the usual ill-tempered, hostile expression splattered all over its face. Though to her surprise, its eyes were not fixated on her. Then suddenly, there was a shift in the wind from behind the girl. Marcy quickly spun around, only for her heart to sink from her chest to her stomach as her eyes caught the sight of a rottweiler charging full speed at her.

Instinctively, Marcy grabbed the bat she had set in the dirt with her right hand, swung it across her backside, and hit the dog's face with it. The mongrel yelped as it was sent a few yards to her right, crashing into a pile of garbage. A second later, two more dogs approached from a distance, barking with murderous intent. The Taiwanese geek responded with another swing, sending the first dog backward and another, which sent the other dog rolling back to the right side.

Though to her dismay, she looked up and saw the entire pack bearing down on her from where they came from, with the alpha Doberman hanging above the ridge. She could tell it wasn't happy with being played for a fool like the way she did. And the pack didn't seem very pleased with the neat little trick she pulled off either. One way or another, she was going to have to fight them. At least long enough to free the dragon. And it wasn't going to be pretty.

Marcy had never been one for close combat back in Amphibia. That was Anne and Sasha's style. Yet since leaving the frog world, they gave her a few lessons in their spare time. And she had some experience fighting pirates with General Yunan. So it wasn't new to her. Though what she lacked in brute strength and skill, Marcy did make up for with intellect and resourcefulness. She always prided herself in using her environment to her advantage. And luckily for her, there was enough terrain to exploit in her favor. As the approaching pack closed in on her, Marcy briefly kicked up a nearby metal scrap to shield herself from a charging bulldog. Then she followed that up by kicking some dirt up, blinding three other dogs, and stopping them dead in their tracks.

Marcy stomped on a long plank with a smirk, hitting one of the dogs from the bottom of its snout. Shortly after, she spots a small crate filled with empty soda cans and kicks it at the other two dogs. Additionally, watching it hit underneath the canines' legs and trip over themselves. Though in amiss to that, one of the dogs, particularly a German Shepard, managed to scramble back onto its feet and rush at the young girl. Who in return greeted the side of its face with her bat. Though for each dog she fought off, three more kept coming. But despite Marcy's disadvantage, she was lucky they weren't attacking her all at once. They only came in smaller numbers, up to 2 to 3 members at a time.

She noticed that most of the pack was held in reserve while a few dogs were attacking. They were waiting under the command of their alpha. Who slowly made its way down the ridge as more and more dogs pressed on. After batting away the tenth dog, she looked back to the dragon, who was continuously struggling to free itself from the wires. And for a moment, it seemed to be working. But that final knot was holding the dragon's upper body and limbs down. Half a second later, Marcy was forced to turn back when a mutt charged her from the front. She could barely stop the mongrel from biting her face off by shielding herself with the bat's base. The dog locks its jaws around, bringing them two into a stalemate. Deadlocked, Marcy struggled as the dog continued to bite down profusely with its canine teeth, growling as its fangs sank deeper. The Taiwanese girl was almost brought to the ground by the dog's weight.

Yet Marcy used her momentum to shove the dog backward and yank the bat out of its jaws before smacking the mongrel with it. Thus sending it back with the rest of the pack. After that, the young girl turned back to the wires and went to cut the last knot. She figured it was probably time to finish what she started before the pack could overrun her. She took the switchblade with her free hand and started cutting away when the dragon, who had been watching her this whole time, sent another warning roar. However, it wasn't directed at her.

Half a heartbeat later, Marcy felt a sharp pain around her right calf muscle, which caused her to shriek in agony. Looking back, she saw another mutt locking its jaws around her leg. Following that was another dog, who pounced on her from her back and bit into her right shoulder, which caused her more pain than before. Marcy screamed again as she felt its razor fang pierce into her flesh. The dog's total weight almost brought the Taiwanese girl to the ground, bringing her to one knee and inches from the dirt below. Her pain was immeasurable, with both dogs biting her from her shoulder and leg.

Despite that, she figured the dragon fretted no better than she did as it struggled against the barbed wires. Thus tightening the remaining wires even further. With two dogs holding her down, Marcy looked up, eyeballing the last remaining knot that kept the wires together and the dragon trapped. She could also hear the sound of more barks from behind her. It indicated that the rest of the pack wasn't far behind. And she knew if they joined in, she would be finished.

In quick thinking, Marcy took the switchblade from her free hand and stabbed the dog on her shoulder in the top of its snout, causing it to whimper and let go. Before being given a chance to withdraw, Marcy grapples its jaws with both hands and brings it over her shoulder. The Taiwanese girl then cries out as she brings the mongrel down and sends it crashing into the barbed wires. Thus breaking it with a single blow while also injuring the dog. Yet, in the process of severing the knot, one of the wires pulled back in her direction and smacked her straight in the face.

The young girl shrieked again as the wire scrapped the skin from her left cheek, leaving a brutal scar. Yet adrenaline forced her to deal with the pain as she felt her calf still being bitten down by the other mutt. She exerted herself into picking up her back and smacking the dog in the face to get it to let go. When it did, the mongrel jumped back and bit down on her left foot, where Marcy was tempted to violently beat the dog in the front with it until it finally let go and scampered off.

As soon as it did, Marcy had little time to react when the alpha Doberman charged her, sailing forth and pouncing her to the ground, and went straight for her head. The young girl placed her hands around the dog's upper body as it savagely snapped at her face. At the same time, she felt two more dogs biting her legs, which caused her to scream again. She did her best to hold the alpha back, but it was much stronger than her on the ground. And the added tension of the other dogs biting her legs, much of her strength and focus was starting to fade away. And by then, the pack was driven into a frenzy.

They do not turn back and will press on till the end. This means that the moment she weakens, they will kill her. Though before they could be given that chance, there was a brief sound of wires moving. And before long, the dragon lunges out of the barricade and snatches the Doberman by the neck midair while landing on the other side. The other dogs that grappled her legs pulled back. The creature takes a few steps to its right as the pack begins to distance itself from it and Marcy. Who lifted her head and chest to watch the scene unfold. The mutt struggled against its jaws, whining like a newborn pup, as the dragon locked its jaws around its neck.

The pack was forced to watch as it shook its leader like a rag doll, crushing its windpipe with its vice-like teeth while bashing its body repeatedly against the ground. It was a violent scene to watch. Marcy couldn't help but let out a small gasp at what she saw. As the black beast beat the dog to near death, the loud screeches of the alpha slowly began to drown out. And then, a heartbeat after that, the lead dog gave out one last painful whelp before its neck finally snapped, paralyzing the alpha Doberman instantly. Though the blow did not kill the dog, Marcy detested that it would take a while to recover fully.

Driven by an inconceivable rage, the dragon threw the dog's body toward the pack, earning a few yelps as they leaped back from the sudden action. The dragon panted before baring its teeth at the other dogs, trembling and whining. The defeat of their leader has now left the other dogs completely helpless. And now, all they could do was whimper and plead in hopes that the creature may let them live.

Growing rather impatient, the dragon snarls again before unleashing a deafening roar in a display of superiority, which makes Marcy cover her ears and whimper. As for the pack itself, they all scrambled into the coming night, disappearing into the confines of the junkyard without a single trace. Satisfied with the outcome and the current threat being eliminated, the dragon lets out a huff, steam coming out from its nostrils like a bull.

Marcy almost felt safe once the feral pack was gone. For a moment, she couldn't believe that she had managed to pull that off. Not only did she save a beast that had tried to kill her for the past hour, but she also fought an army of dogs on her own and managed not to get killed in the process. It, indeed, was a lot to take in. But any celebratory feeling she had shattered once the dragon turned its attention toward her.

Its cat-like eyes fixated on her wounded and grounded form. Her panic at that moment came full circle once the dragon started slowly approaching her, growling and snarling intentionally. She tried to crawl back to keep enough distance between herself and the dragon, but she stopped when she felt pinned up against an old tire.

She couldn't help but gulp. Her eyes widened as she stared at the beast, which was bleeding and covered with many scars. It was hard to tell what it was thinking as it blinked at her. But if Marcy were to take a guess, she could tell that this was the moment the dragon would decide whether it should kill her or not. She silently prayed that it would choose the latter, considering that she had just saved its life.

A second later, Marcy got her answer as the dragon opened its maw, and the familiar purple glow appeared from the back of its throat, followed by the high-pitched whistling and echoing roar. It became evident to the girl at this point that the dragon's mind did not change. And that it was sticking to the intent of finishing what it started. Though as morbid as that sounded, Marcy wasn't angry about it...she knew what she got herself into when jumping back in to save it, knowing how it would end.

At least she could do one good thing before she died. As the dragon prepared to finish her off, Marcy closed her eyes, trembling and grabbing her shoulders with both hands as she scrunched up against the tire. Tears began to swell down her eyes as the Taiwanese girl started to whimper. For a moment, it seemed like her whole life was flashing before her eyes, from when she first met Anne at that beach when she was little to when they and Sasha went to Amphibia and had those amazing adventures.

With all those special memories in her heart, Marcy continued to weep as she waited for the end. However, it wasn't death that she feared. It was that she may never get to see her friends ever again after everything she had been through. The good, the bad, the terrifying. All the lessons she learned, and the changes she made, would all come to an end. And they wouldn't be around this time. Heck, she reckoned they didn't even know where she was. It would be as she had always feared it would be. She would be alone.

And knowing this simple fact made Marcy weep even harder. The knowledge that she would die alone, without anyone knowing, devastated her. But at this point, there was nothing she could do to change this outcome. The dragon's mind has already been made up. And there was no means of escape. Plus, she spent her whole life running from her problems, and she wasn't running from this either. So what was the point? All she could do now was wait and hope that the beast would make her death swift and painless.

Or did it? Seconds passed as Marcy waited for the sweet release of death to claim her. Yet to her surprise, nothing happened. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she knew it was too long for the creature to do what it had intended. A few more seconds passed, and sooner than later, the high-pitched sound began to fade. And she could hear the beast's stance shift. Yet she refused to open her eyes, knowing that her fate had already been sealed.

The next thing she knew, Marcy heard footsteps approaching her, causing the poor girl to shiver and scrunch up even more. Perhaps the dragon wanted a close-up look at her before she died? She couldn't be sure, but she knew there was no escaping this. Not even the slightest. Half a heartbeat later, she could feel the beast's hot breath touch her bare skin, sending a cool chill up her spine. But then, something happened that she did not expect. As she waited for death to take her to the afterlife, she felt something wet and smooth touch the surface of her cheek. Particularly across the scar, she received from being whiplashed by the barbed wire.

This act caused Marcy to open her eyes, seeing that the creature was inches away from her face. The Taiwanese girl's body trembled slightly at the sight of the dragon being an eye's distance away from her. But after a moment passed, Marcy noticed something about the dragon she didn't see before. For starters, the expression on the dragon's face changed. Its eyes were more rounded instead of cat-like. And it looked her up and down in a more...curious and concerning manner. As if it was troubled by her well-being. Yet she was unable to understand it.

Though it was extremely nerve-wracking, Marcy found herself, surprisingly, easing the tensions in her muscles as she looked up at the creature. As she held the dragon's gaze, many questions ran through the back of her head. By then, the beast began to take a whiff of the girl while humming inquisitively shortly after.

There was something about the look on the creature's face that she couldn't quite put together herself. Of course, she couldn't tell what the beast was thinking, so there was that. Though the dragon's facial expression continued to soften, Marcy began to detest that it wouldn't kill her. Though if that was the case, why? Was this an acceptance of her aid? Of coming back to save its life despite the fact, it tried to take her? Maybe this was the case.

Yet her brain started to feel fuzzy as she began to think of these questions. Thus causing her to blink furiously. Half a heartbeat later, a rumbling sound was heard from a distance. And before long, the dragon turned its shoulder and looked up. Marcy did the same a second after, seeing a helicopter approaching the yard with a massive searchlight from several leagues away. The young teenager turned her gaze back to the dragon, who returned shortly after.

The dragon locked eyes with her for a moment before slowly pulling back. It shared a glance at Marcy before it nimbly bounded back into the darkness of the junkyard like a tremendous winged cat and disappeared before her very eyes. Once it had been made clear that she was alone again, Marcy sat on the ground and blinked. She stayed there for a few seconds before she figured it was time for her to leave. The young girl cautiously got up to her feet, grasping that she was still alive. And then, slowly but surely, she turned to the broken-down fence that led to the street and started making her way home.

Along the way, Marcy had so many questions. Why didn't the dragon kill me? What was it doing here? Where did it come from? What's the deal with the tailfin? And if dragons exist, does that mean unicorns and Frankenstein exist too? However, as soon as that question came to mind, the nerdy female shivered as she realized that she didn't even think about that.

She got up a couple of leagues down the street before collapsing. Exhausted from all the energy she had just burned out and the stress she had been put under. The last thing she remembered was the headlight flashing her way, along with a few occasional voices rushing to her side. And the last thing she saw was the faces of Anne and Sasha, shaking her and calling her name, followed by her parents frantically picking her up before everything became utterly black.

Chapter Text

Marcy didn't remember what had happened after she collapsed in the street. Save for the occasional shouts and constant babbling. She remembered slipping in and out of consciousness. Faint and blurry images of her moving from place to place, though she couldn't specify exactly where. Then came the blackness that clouded her mind and seemed to have lasted for days. Pretty soon, the dark and empty world void that covered the world of unconsciousness began to fade away. One of the first things that came into mind was not where she was or if she made it back home, but rather the feeling of being sluggish. She knew that the events that had unfolded before had drained her of any form of energy she had left. Her entire body felt like it had been removed from its life force, rendering the poor girl's perception of things. Even her bones started to ache from being so worn out. Her eyes couldn't see anything but absolute darkness.

Then suddenly, a few images flashed in her vision, burning her brain like a hot iron. The Taiwanese girl could see glimpses of pictures that haunted her subconscious at that moment. Concepts relating to the events that happened the night before. She could see her friends laughing and having a good time at the party. Then she saw Tracy and all the other kids bullying her and dumping fruit punch all over her head. She could see the lying witch herself, finger beneath the nerd's chin and openly mocking her.

Before long, the images started to get more recent. Showcasing her running down the street, humiliated from her torment at the party. She saw an object fall from the sky and crash to the earth, and then she noticed an image of the pack of junkyard dogs closing in on her. Then finally, the last picture that appeared before her subconscious was the horrifying sight of the black dragon. Standing in the moonlight with its head high, wings expanded as it unleashed a vicious roar before firing a fire blast straight at her and sending the young girl back into the waking world.

Marcy's eyes snapped open, and her upper body jolted forward, yelling out as she felt a chill shoot up her spine. Her breathing was sharp and ragged. And her first impulse was to find out where she was. To her surprise, Marcy found herself in her bedroom. She was tucked in her bed and found a few bandages wrapped around her shoulder, right arm, and left leg. She could also tell by the light shining through the window of her room that it was at the brink of dusk. Meaning she had been out for quite some time. There was a second of long sullen silence when all of a sudden, she heard:

"Marcy!" a few voices cried.

She turned her head to see her two best friends, her parents, and a few other familiar faces in her bedroom with her; all spread out. They were barely taking notice of her waking up. At first impulse, Anne and Sasha rushed to her side. Anne climbed around Marcy's bed and against the wall, brushing the fringe from her face. Sasha came up from the ledge and enveloped both hands around her waist. They wrapped their arms around the more petite girl and cradled her like a baby from both sides of her bed. The soothing touches of her girls were enough to put Marcy at ease, and the fear in her eyes slowly faded.

"It's okay, Mar-Mar," Anne said softly, interlocking with the geeky girl's dominant hand. "You're safe now."

As her senses started to return to her, Marcy reached up and reached out to the two girls, bringing them in a tight hug. Tears already began to swell up in Marcy's eyes, and she was thrown into a complete sob. It broke her heart to have her friends see her like this, looking all broken and frail, but it also comforted her with the knowledge that they were here. Unfortunately for her, the moment was suddenly cut off when her parents approached her behind the girls. Anne and Sasha unwrapped their arms around the Taiwanese geek respectfully to give them room.

Had they not been there, Marcy would've frantically tugged at their arms back like a helpless toddler. However, she was more focused on determining whether or not her father would be mad at her for what happened last night. He clasped her free hand and held it tight, trying to soothe his daughter while her mother smoothed down the back of her messy hair. It was not what she expected, but she welcomed it, considering that this was extremely rare. She could only remember when she didn't have to deal with them scolding her when she returned from Amphibia.

"How are you feeling, honey?" her mother asked softly.

Marcy didn't answer at first, feeling a headache coming around. She winced as she grabbed the side of her head from the migraine. She let it pass for a few seconds before finally giving herself a chance to answer the question.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Peachy, I guess."

Afterward, Marcy coughed from how sore her throat was. The room almost panicked when a familiar face rushed over and offered the poor girl a half-full glass of water. When Marcy looked up to see who it was, she was surprised to know that it was Haddie. And this time without her hoodie up, thus revealing her pink locks and gothic face.

"Here," the goth girl said softly, handing it over to the other girl.

"Thanks," Marcy replied before sipping it down.

Haddie nodded respectfully in response before retreating to the safety of the group. It was very odd to accept something from someone she had only met in one day. But regardless of that, she was very grateful. Haddie was about the only friend she had ever made during that party. And was the only person who seemed to have similar interests as her.

"What happened?" she asked the group.

"You don't remember?" her father questioned, feeling somewhat curious.

At that moment, Marcy guessed that she had to recount everything that had happened to her last night. She attempted to recall everything she could remember from that night, yet her vision was still blurry, and it was hard for her to think straight. On the other hand, the group was patient enough to wait for her to regain her thoughts before hearing her out.

"I was at the party," she started. "And then... I'm, I'm not sure."

She winced a bit when she decided to sit up. However, her father was kind enough to help her up.

"We were having fun...and then Tracy and her posse.." she paused for a bit. "They surrounded me, called me names, then dumped fruit punch all over me."

She could hear her father's breathing stiffening. And her mother let out a small gasp. It was hard for a parent to listen to their children being humiliated by other children at a social gatherings, especially at parties. And it was much harder considering that they had just got their daughter back after she went missing for half a year.

"I was so sad...," she continued. "And then I was angry...and then scared."

Anne and Sasha lowered their heads in shame. She knew that it was all true. She felt terrible for them, considering that it wasn't their fault. Yet there wasn't much she could speak on their behalf since she was in on it too.

"I remember...running?" she recollected. "And then there was this blackout...I tried to get back home, but it was dark...And there were these dogs. Stray dogs. They tried to jump me, but I ran as fast as possible...Some got me...but I got away."

By then, the mood started to shift in the room after hearing the words' dogs' and 'jump.' The teens in the room began to get more curious about it, considering they never knew precisely where Marcy went, and her parents started to feel tenser. For a moment, Marcy thought of her unexpected encounter with the mysterious dragon and if she should tell them about it. Naturally, she decided to leave that part out, fearing that if she did tell them about it, then they would all probably panic.

"And then I ran into you guys...," she pressed on, though she started to get lost in her memories. "And then I blacked out...but that had to be a dream."

As the mood shifted again, Marcy turned to see her dad eyeballing her. The expression on his face started to get stern than before. The girl gulped silently. The last thing she wanted was for her father to scream at her in front of her friends.

"Marcy," her father began. "You had been missing for more than a few hours last night. We've searched everywhere for you, but we couldn't find you. I even called your cellphone, don't you remember that?"

She did recall her phone going off the night before. But it was definitely for a good reason.

"I don't know..." she found it hard to answer him with the pressure being forced upon her. "But all I remember is that it was dark...and I couldn't..."

"Marcy, I-" her father stopped himself the moment his voice was raised. Already he could see tears running down her eyes, and her mother gave him a scolding look. Mr. Wu caved in, taking a deep breath before speaking in a more, calmer manner, just as he did before. "We almost lost you again, honey. We need to make sure that you're always okay. And that means you have to pick up when we call you. Do you understand?"

Marcy nodded, knowing her father would get angry if she didn't say anything. Eventually, he warmed up to her, moving closer to her wrist and giving her a gentle kiss—a reminder that he still loved and cared about her.

"Thank you," he said softly. "We've already called your school's principal, and she's agreed to give you some time off. So you don't have to worry about going to school today."

"The doctors said that your wounds aren't severe," her mother added. "And that you should be better as of tomorrow."

Marcy smiled. She was grateful that she hadn't suffered any permanent damage from last night.

"Well, that's good to hear," she commented.

"But don't think that it means you're off the hook, young lady," Mr. Wu reaffirmed. "You still need to rest. Doctor's orders. The nurse has recommended that you stay until the end of the day before you can be relieved."

This earned a chuckle from the young geeky thirteen-year-old. Her father had always been a straightforward person.

"Yes, dad," she teased.

"We can cover what you miss in school in the meantime," Anne offered. "School hasn't started yet. So..."

"I appreciate it, Anne," Marcy acknowledged with a smile. "Really."

"If it's okay with you, I can cover all your dorky chest games," Sasha volunteered, though there was a semblance of dislike toward it. "Text me what to do, and I'll see if I'm good at it."

"And I can also help catch you up with Mr. Patterson," Haddie said from behind Anne. "If you're okay with that."

Marcy looked up and smiled. At least she had friends to count on, both old and new.

"I'd like that very much," she replied sweetly. "Thank you. All of you."

The group smiled in return. Some may not know it, but Marcy was highly grateful for them to be there to support her. Even after everything she had been through.

"We just hope that you get well soon," Maggie added, though it surprised the noirette girl to see her.

As the group smiled down at the Taiwanese teenager, Marcy started to notice that Anne and Sasha were feeling much more uneasy than before. Though it may not seem like it, Marcy felt they blamed themselves for what happened last night. And that they were starting to feel guilty about it. She could see it in their eyes. And how they constantly looked from her to the floor with sad, frowning expressions. When they looked up again, she locked eyes with them. Her face silently told them that she was aware of their uneasiness. And finally, the two girls looked at each other and decided to face with guilt. Alone with the one whom they've failed to protect.

"Mr. Wu, Mrs. Wu, can we get a minute alone with her, please?" Anne asked.

"Just for a few minutes," Sasha added.

At first, her father protested the idea, but the look on her mother's face was enough for him to think otherwise. Instead, he gave them a nod, rubbing the base of Marcy's wrist one last time before letting go. Next thing the noirette dork knew, everyone started clearing out faster than she could even blink. Even the nurse was bound to give the three girls some privacy before she could be given a chance to step into the room. Once they were alone, Anne took the time to sit on the other side of the bed. The Thai teenager gently took Marcy's hand and intertwined her fingers with her own. Sasha did the same with her other hand. Gently wrapping her fingers around them and firmly grasping with her muscles.

For a moment, there was nothing but a long sullen silence. Neither of the three girls has the wit, heart, or strength to speak up. Finally, after what seemed to be two-long-minutes, Anne decided that it was best that she break the silence before the three of them went crazy.

"Listen...Mar-Mar," Anne started. "About last night...at the party.."

Marcy could feel the tears coming down from her best friend's eyes. And watched them stream down from her left arm and connect with her own. She could also feel the same for Sasha, though it was more controlled than Anne. Still, she couldn't help but feel the guilt and sorrowful looks on their faces. Even though they never intended for any of this to happen.

"Anne, no," she tried to dismiss. "It wasn't your fault. I wanted to do it too."

"But if we'd been more careful with you," Sasha lightly sobbed, a strain in her voice developed through each word that came out of her mouth. "Or if we'd been by your side...then maybe..."

"Guys, it's " Marcy raised their hands and gently squeezed them to reassure them. "It's okay...I'm just glad that you guys are here."

Those words were the nail to the coffin for her best friends. For a moment after that, both girls burst into tears. And instantly, they wrapped their arms around the more petite girl. Marcy felt a few tears coming up from her smooth cheeks, but she focused more on comforting her guilt-driven friends than satisfying her personal needs. She always had put their needs above hers, except maybe back in Amphibia, but still, nonetheless.

"We're so sorry, Mar-Mar!" Anne practically squealed.

"We promise never to leave you like that again!" Sasha added, with both tears and snot running down her face.

As the two girls practically covered their friend's bed in snot and tears, Marcy didn't say anything. Instead, she was more focused on breathing. As well as basking in the presence of her two girlfriends. Along with the knowledge that they were here, with her, chasing away the fear and pain she had been forced to endure throughout that dreadful night. And the thought of the mysterious dragon lingered for a little bit before fading like a distant memory.

Washington D.C

Terri's first impression when landing in D.C. was how crazy everything seemed. For starters, just like back in their base in California, men and women were seen running all over the place. Most with mountains of paperwork in their hands, while others ran so fast that she could barely even get a glimpse of where they were going. To some degree, she felt terrible for some of the people she passed by. From the looks of some of them, they seemed to have been working tirelessly since the anomaly hit. And it's only been half of a day. As if her life since joining the Fbi hadn't been stressful enough.

Upon landing, she, X, and Jenny were sent not to the White House but to the Pentagon, which was two miles from the White House. There they were instructed to wait outside a room which led into the central control room. And this was after taking an elevator that took them several floors down, which was quite surprising to Terri, considering how massive it was inside. It almost made her wonder how many rooms there were. And more importantly, how many people worked here?

Yet, despite her first impression, she was amazed to see that Mr. X and Jenny weren't surprised. Though she figured that them being FBI agents in general, along with having to deal with other matters considering the safety of this country, would probably suffice. They waited for what seemed to be almost an hour now. And there was still no response from the people on the other side of the door.

During that time, they waited on a bench just outside. The Fbi director stepped out to use the restroom for a few minutes and hadn't returned. The three agents resorted to using their cell phones to pass the time. But it was so long that Terri started to grow bored again. Thus forcing her to make conversation with her colleagues.

"You know," Terri started. "There's a bunch of stuff about recent developments in technology by Rakke Corp. I don't know what it is, but everyone's going nuts about it online."

This brought the attention of both FBI agents. However, they seemed to be unfazed at the same time. Jenny shook her head in doubt.

"I'd have to see it to believe it. Right now, I think social media's more focused on gossiping about that singer...who was it...Becka Sugar and Anthony West the other day," Jenny commented. "It's a real shame."

"Weren't they considered high school sweethearts at one point?" Mr. X asked curiously.

"I wouldn't know," Jenny answered bluntly. "I'm not much of a fan of that stuff."

"I think I knew Becka when she came down to L.A. last year for Christmas," Terri added. "But I didn't get to know her personally."

"Huh," Mr. X replied, feeling puzzled. "What was she like?"

"Again, I didn't spend enough time with her to get to know her personally," Terri answered. "But she sang in the most beautiful voice. And brought so much joy to so many children. I think everyone on the block wanted to kiss her that night."

Mr. X chuckled. The agent seemed to be amused with the blue-haired doctor's story.

"That would've been something to watch," he commented.

Terri raised an eyebrow. But before she could comment, the Fbi director came back. Fashionably late, he was, but nobody seemed to care. The moment he decided to take a seat was when the door to the central control room finally opened. From which an assistant came out, sweating profusely from the urgency of the situation.

"Sir, they're ready for you," the assistant said.

By then, they all rose from their seats. Terri was the most pleased of the group after many hours of waiting.

"It's about time," she muttered to herself.

Once they were inside, it was a complete madhouse. There was a round table from which the executive board sat, arguing and coming up with different strategies. The President, a tall caucasian man with glossy black hair and wore glasses, was at the right end of the table, taking this whole thing in. His head was down, with his dominant hand covering his mopy face. He looked like he didn't want to be here as his board continued arguing about what they should do.

Terri would lie to herself if she didn't admit her disappointment. Here she was, at the beating heart of the United States of America, in the same room as the most influential figures in the government, who are now acting like children fighting over who gets first picking for opening presents on Christmas.

"Sir, we need to declare a national emergency!" one of the board members threw in.

"We need to overthrow these creatures and install our government within them!" another suggested.

"I say we blast 'em will all our nukes!"

"If we do that, our country will only have two weeks before crumbling!" one argued.

"Well, if we don't do something and these alien foreigners walk into a populated area, there will be a major catastrophe!"

"We need to get our top scientific minds on this," another suggested, though they could only guess who. "Get India on the line!"

"We should give these things a green card and make them proud to be Americans."

And the arguments went on and on. And the President just stood there looking completely hopeless. And if Terri was being completely honest with herself, she couldn't blame him. These people were practically idiots in her eyes. However, it was just a real shame, given her expectations. However, the President seemed relieved when he saw them alongside the FBI director entering the room.

"Mr. President," the director greeted.

"Thank you guys for coming," the President replied. "We've already just begun."

"Before we start, these are my colleagues," the director added, gesturing to his three companions. "Mr. X, Mrs. Jenny, and Dr. Terri."

The President moved quickly to shake each of their hands. This time Terri felt an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It must be from all the nervousness that clouded her body.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she formally greeted.

"No, please, it's all mine," the President responded. "I'm glad we have valuable experts in the room to help us with...whatever this is."

This brought a small smile to Terri's face. To be acknowledged by the President of the United States as a valuable expert, considering her background, has brought some form of importance to her. Mr. X, on the other hand, wasn't fazed. And shrugged the compliment off. Probably from being called that numerous times in the past. But she decided not to question him about it.

"Mr. President," he greeted bluntly.

"X," the President greeted back. "Now, please, take a seat. We have a lot to discuss."

With the pleasantries out of the way, the President ushered them to a couple of empty seats on both sides from where he sat. Terri and Jenny were the ones who took the two open seats, while X and the Director stood to the side—neglecting to sit and instead watching as the President worked his magic.

"Alright, now that we're all here," the President started. "Let's begin. Secretary Ross, can you please start us off."

With a nod, the Secretary stood up and pulled out a small remote. From there, he pointed the remote to the enormous screen just across from where the President and the rest of the cabinet were sitting, where a vast projection was lit up, showing footage of some of the events that had happened the following night. Including the power surge to the entire city of L.A. going dark and a few images of the attacks that have been reported following the wave.

"At exactly 9:30 p.m. last night," the Secretary of Defense started. "An energy surge knocked out power across the entire west coast. Several reports of unidentified creatures have run rampant an hour later across Los Angeles. What do we know so far?"

"Well, our first instinct was that it was an EMP," the cabinet member furthest from the President reported, presumably the Secretary of Homeland Security. "But an electromagnetic pulse doesn't have that kind of power."

"The next thing we thought was that it could be a prelude to a larger attack from our enemies," another member to the right of the President added.

"But then those creatures showed up out of nowhere," the Secretary of Homeland Security barged in.

"They're unlike anything we've ever seen before," the Chief of Staff commented.

"What are they exactly?" a member to the furthest left asked.

"I've said it before, and I'll repeat it," a member in the middle right suggested. "They're aliens!"

"What?"

"You've heard me," he reinstated proudly.

"What makes you think they're aliens?" the member across from him questioned.

"Well, look at them," he said, pointing to the screen. "They're foreign, not from this planet, and they don't match any species of any animal ever documented."

"But they breathe fire."

"Then they're fire-breathing aliens."

Terri cringed. The arrogance of that man gave her an unsettling feeling. It almost made her glad that she didn't have to work with him.

"Even if they were, how could we know for sure?"

Before the debate could continue, the President was forced to butt in.

"Well, looks like we're good at finding out what they aren't," the President said in a sarcastic tone. "Luckily, I've brought a few experts who could offer some light on the subject."

He then gestured to the two FBI agents and the doctor at his sides. They both rose from their seats and stood so everyone could see them. Terri gulped nervously, considering that she didn't do so well with multiple eyes staring at her. But she remained confident enough to prevent herself from looking awkward in front of the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want you all to meet FBI agent, Mr. X," the President introduced, from which X gave a respectful nod. "And his co-worker Dr. Terri."

She waved nervously to the group. However, they were more focused on X than her. Yet she didn't mind. It just meant less pressure for her to deal with.

"X and his team have been working on investigating inter-dimensional activities in the last few years," the President explained. "They've been working tirelessly on uncovering the secrets of time traveling and unidentified creatures. And from what I have been told, Terri here has predicted when the surge would happen. And may provide us with some insight as to what we are dealing with. Is that right?"

There were a few gasps among the group and a couple of chatters among the board members upon mentioning her name. Already she could feel her nerves skyrocket. Yet before she could panic, a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned her gaze to see that it was X's, reassuring her that she's got this. By then, the scientist had regained her posture and stepped forward.

"Yes, it is true," she said, loud and clear. "I have predicted the exact time and location of this event. And as a matter of fact, I might have an idea of what we're dealing with."

She then went to the front of the screen, respectfully yanking the remote out of Secretary Ross's hands. He wasn't very pleased with it, but she didn't care. She was now in the zone. She had been building up to this, and there was no going back. By the time she got a good view, she had clicked the remote and showcased one of the attacks that night. It was the most viewed by far. And was more transparent to see than all the others.

"During our uncomfortable ride to the Pentagon," she started, pulling the footage up to fullscreen so everyone could see. "I looked at the footage of one of the attacks. And this was two hours after it took place."

The footage showed a very intriguing scene in which a person was taping with a camera and was running through a street when he pans the camera toward the sky. In which a black shadow passed by, with what turned out to be three choppers in high pursuit of it. They watched as the footage showed the choppers firing missiles at the creature before it barrel-rolled and dodged them. The rockets hit what turned out to be the Wilshire Grand Center, presumably the tallest building in the entire city.

Screams were heard in the background as the missiles exploded upon contact, thus causing the building to topple down and create a hurricane of dust. To which reached the person with the camera, who ran for his life. And then it went stat. Before that, though, Terri re-winded the footage back to the shadow passing by and paused. She zoomed in on the footage to reveal the bottom of the creature, which took the form of a massive bat with scales.

"And after doing five minutes of research," she continued. "I noticed that the image was this creature has a striking resemblance to one that is well-known in our history."

She then pulled up another image from the internet. Thus, revealing a similar creature, this time with red and yellow markings but taking the form of a large wyvern. One that took the form of a creature straight out of a European myth. She pulled the image up right next to the footage and made a side comparison of the two. From there, everyone in the room could see that the two images were...somewhat familiar.

"And what are you getting at, with all this?" the arrogant member questioned.

Terri flinched but then set her focus back on the task at hand.

"There's only one creature that we know of that would have an identical resemblance to the one you see before you," she answered, turning back to the board.

It took the board to see the similarities. And it hit them shortly after that.

"Could it be?" Secretary Ross questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen," Terri confirmed proudly. "Before you " is a creature many generations have told since the Medieval Era. An animal that has been accounted for by every culture and folklore that we know of thus far. A beast is well known for shooting fire and burning places to the ground. We got ourselves a case of a considerable discovery once thought to be just a legend. We have...dragons. "

There was a moment of silence in the room. One was to be expected, considering the reality of the situation. And then they did something that Terri did not expect to happen. Even the President himself did not expect it.

They all laughed.

Every bloody person in the room, save for their colleagues, the director, and the President, burst into laughter. The scientist found it rather insulting, considering her seriousness with all of this. It was no laughing matter since people were falling prey to what could be seen as such creatures. Once the laughing died, the arrogant board member had the gull to try to wrap this up.

"Okay, I think it's a little late for storytime, babe," he mocked. "Why don't we cut to the part where you say what they are."

"First of all, I'm not your babe!" Terri shot back. "Second of all, what I'm telling you is true. Dragons have been known to"

"It's absurd!" he rudely cut off. "Dragons don't exist. And that's a fact."

"The facts are in front of you!" Terri lashed out, slightly losing her temper in the process. "My research is 100% accurate. And I'm not a person who makes stuff up."

"Yeah, well, my gut tells me you are," he lashed back. "Now cut the stories and show us some real evidence."

"I agree with him," the Secretary of Homeland Security added. "There's no evidence to suggest that these creatures come from some fairy tales. Are you sure this is even accurate?"

Terri did not have it. The nerve these men had done not only laugh at her for bringing valuable information to the table but to disrespect her and discredit her work openly. That will not stand for her. She looked toward X and Jenny to back her up but decided against it. She was old enough to handle herself. Heck, she built an entire portal, for frog's sake. She can take this.

"With all respect Secretary," she said coldly. "I am sure that this is accurate."

"And with all due respect to you, doctor," Secretary Ross butted in. "But bringing false information into a disclosed area is a federal defense. And can fine you with 25 years in jail time."

"What?" Terri scoffed. "What I'm telling you is the truth. And hundreds of people in Los Angeles will die if we don't do something about it!"

Before the Secretary could argue with her any further, the doors outside the control room burst open. From which was followed by a deep and manly voice.

"The doctor is right!" he shouted.

Every in the room turned to the door to see the newcomer, who was revealed to be a tall fifty-year-old man with brown hair, dark eyes, a bald spot at the top of his head, and possessed a muscular form. He wore a standard, green military uniform, toppled with a medal of honor that hung on the left side of his chest. And he also wore a pair of glasses. Thus making him look more intimidating from a distance. Though what struck Terri the most about this guy was the stern demeanor he had painted all over his face. Well, and that he was probably the tallest man in the room. Maybe even more elevated than X.

Accompanying him were two other soldiers who each had a pair of rifles strapped onto their backs. As the man entered the room, the soldiers stood at the sides of the entrance. They were as still, as statues, as she could put it. As the man made his way toward the table, the President shook his hand.

"General," the President greeted. "It's quite a surprise. We weren't expecting you till tomorrow."

"Took a chopper," the General replied. "Much faster than going by car."

Everybody in the room looked to the Commander-in-Chief, expecting some introductions to be put in order.

"Oh, for those of you that don't know," the President started, fumbling with his words as he spoke. "This is General Hoffman. He was recently promoted for his efforts in battle."

"To which I am very proud of," the General added. "That being said, everything the scientist has said about this threat so far is true."

For some reason, Terri felt a shiver down her spine as the General talked. There was just something about him that was very...off. She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't sure if she liked it. However, despite the tension in her muscles and nervous system, it did comfort her that the intimidating 50-year-old man was taking her side and not bashing her like everyone else. Still, she couldn't help but shudder at his very presence.

"There's only one creature capable of spitting fire," he continued. "And they're as fearsome and unpredictable as they can get. I should know; I've had an unpleasant experience with one of those things myself. And I would've put it down if it hadn't scurried off and torched my choppers in the aftermath."

Everyone in the room gasped. Though the arrogant board member still scoffed. His self-pride was unwavering at this point.

"Okay, even if we could say that these creatures are actual 'dragons,'" he admitted, with a hint of doubt in that last word. "Why should we be afraid of them? We can blast them to oblivion."

Terri probably would've lashed out at him for his stubbornness, but before she could even move her lips and speak a syllable, the general beat her to him first. Though not in the way she was expecting. Instead of him raising his voice or outright telling him to shut up, the General slowly moved towards him. Until he was merely inches away from where he was sitting. Then, without warning, he slams his arms on the table, causing it to shake a bit. At the same time, he got up in the board member's face, making him shiver for a bit.

"Listen here, you overgrown weasel! Keep in mind that I lost a lot of men trying to fend one of them things off," he whispered sternly. "Let alone watch as millions of U.S. dollars are blown out of Uncle Sam's arse. So while sitting in your comfortable chair, think of all the lives at stake before you make presumptions about what are 'fairy' tales and reality. Be mindful of that, nerd!"

The board member nodded in response, earning a satisfied smirk from the General. Though to rub it in, the General went to the back of his chair and yanked his underpants from behind the board member, to which the man responded with an unsettling yelp. Everyone in the room cringed as the General pulled back harder. Even Terri herself, whose face began to scrunch up at sight. Although she liked the idea of stubborn people getting put in their place, she couldn't stand the form of brutality that the General was inflicting. It almost took her back to when she used to get wedgied by bullies when she was little for being a nerd herself.

It was a very unpleasant experience. After a few seconds, he let go of the board member's underpants, watching him briefly squeal like a pig afterward. While trying to relieve himself of the pain from being wedgied, the General turned back to the President.

"I'm not gonna lie, Mr. President," he said, looking the Commander-In-Chief directly in the eyes. "We're heading into dark times. The odds look like they're against us. And if we don't do something about these creatures, they won't stop with California. They'll hit all sorts of cities across the U.S., And we're talking Texas, Florida, Minnesota, and even D.C. itself."

The General turned on a projection of the entire map of the U.S. to prove his point. The President looked on with frightening horror as the forecast showed multiple landmarks with fire marks. Suggesting what the outcome would look like if he chose to do nothing.

"But that is why we need to send in everything we have," he suggested. "We need a hail mary path. We need raw power. We need to unload every ounce of weaponry and firepower in our arsenal. Expect the nukes. And blow these creatures straight to kingdom come. If you do that, Mr. President, I can assure you America will be secure. And all of its citizens with it. So what do you say? Do you have what it takes to save this country from the monsters that seek to destroy it? Do you have what it takes to be a patriot and save many lives? Do you have what it takes to be a natural-born leader, from which you were always chosen and meant to be?"

Now, at this rate, everybody in the room would've agreed. And it was pretty reasonable. Destroy the enemy before it destroys us mentality was rather logical. A few people in the room had other thoughts regarding this course. And Mr. X was one of those.

"Wo,wo,wo,wo,wo,wo,wo,wo," he said, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "I hate to rain in on your red, white, and blue parade, Mr. Sunshine, but that is NOT how this works!"

The General then turned his hardened gaze toward the bald agent. Who countered with a glare of his own. Like the other guy, the General slowly made his way toward X. His death glare still fixated on him. Though to his credit, Mr. X did not back down. Instead, he hardened his glare as he stared at the hulking General. By then, he was already standing over him, though X refused to relent by any circumstance.

"Do you have a better idea then, baldy?!" he questioned, his hot breath touching the edge of X's skin.

"Um, as a matter of fact, I do!" X answered coldly. "Have you ever heard of the expression: 'Catch and release?'

"That's a cheap trick nerds use to violently subdue their prey and inflict their experiments before releasing them back to the wild."

"Then you know why we do that," X countered for a second time. "We're not animals. We don't just look at a meal and gorge ourselves without considering what we put in our mouths."

From how he looked at him, Terri knew that the General didn't like what Mr. X suggested. And regrettably, neither did he. This was probably not going to end well.

"Instead of wiping them into another chapter in history," Mr. X implied. "We should capture these creatures and study them. We don't know where they came from or how many of them there are. We should detain them and find out exactly why they're here and what they plan on doing."

"Why do that when you can eliminate them upfront?" General Hoffman shot. "It's much easier and more effective at saving lives."

"Of course, you would," Mr. X mocked. "That's all you army brats ever do. You shoot first and then ask questions later."

"You know, I like to think of myself as a guy who looks at the simpler things," the General replied. "Like who I must destroy to keep this country safe."

"Oh, and how's that working for you, huh?" X taunted. "With all those wars in Afganastan, it must be very stressful for you."

"That's enough, X!" the Fbi Director attempted to intervene.

Though his words ran on empty ears as the bald agent stared down the older General.

"You're one to talk," Hoffman shot back. "Or has that 'Hollywood stunt gone wrong' finally turned up to bite you in the arse? And yes...I know all about it. That was no stunt. It was just another one of your federal bureaucratic fakeouts! No wonder the FBI's been failing so hard."

X was on the verge of exploding before the President intervened again.

"Enough!" he shouted. Fortunately, they both had the decency to stand down when he raised his voice. A second later, the President took a deep breath before deciding. "As much as I don't want to admit it, X has a point. It's better to understand your enemy better rather than outright destroy them. On that note, I won't count on lives being lost. If these creatures are threatening the lives of many, then I won't stand idly by and see this country fall to ruin. I'm issuing a capture-kill order, with capture being the top priority. In addition, send a message to the Governor and issue a curfew to be safe. And LAPD, FBI, and National Guard patrol every city corner. Smoke these things out, and deal with them if necessary. Finally, unless there's no other option, I want them alive. Please bring them to a secret lair and study what you can about them. Maybe there'll be some secrets that we can learn from them. Is that clear?"

Although he disapproved of this course of action, the General was most pleased to hear the decision of the police and army to be involved with this. Despite the many protests for not killing these things, Mr. X was somewhat satisfied with the order. Still, it was something that everyone could agree on to an extent. Eventually, everyone in the room gave a nod of approval. And the matter was finally settled.

"Good," the President adjured. "Now let's get to it, people. We have a lot of work to do."

By then, everyone got up and started heading out of the room. Before that, the director pulled Mr. X. to the side and away from where Terri could hear them. He could see the director scolding X for his outburst from a distance. However, he seemed to be taking it well. While that was happening, the scientist caught a glimpse of the General waiting outside the door, talking to the two soldiers who had accompanied him.

She could see him whispering to his guys about something. Something she wasn't quite sure about. On top of all that, she started to develop this weird feeling about this guy. A feeling that mostly had to deal with distrust and concern. Along with the other feeling that he was up to something, she was intrigued to know what it was. That being said, her preemptive staring hadn't gone unnoticed. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jenny from behind her. The unexpected welcome almost startled her had she not kept her gaze fixed on the General.

"What are you thinking?" Jenny asked curiously.

"I don't know," Terri answered. "But something tells me that we might see that guy again."

Half a second later, both women could hear X coming towards them. Shortly after he joined them, the General disappeared into the hall. With his men along with him.

"So what now?" the scientist asked.

"We're needed back at base," he answered. "Boss wants us to dig up everything we can about these things and see where exactly they are."

"Great, more traveling," Terri sassed. She could tell Mr. X had already picked up her sarcasm.

"Oh, come on," he replied. "Aren't you used to it at this point?"

The three agents shared a laugh before deciding to head back home. This was indeed a dire situation that they were about to face. Even though it may not seem like it, much blood would be shed before this was over. And not even the cunning wits of the Federal Bureau of Investigation nor the strength of the National Guard would be enough to render it from being inevitable. Fate still has many parts to play in these dark and grim hours. And nothing in the world can stop it from coming to fruition.

Elsewhere, Nightime

The sun started to set in the bowels of the junkyard from which Toothless resided. The esteemed king of dragons lay on top of a pile of junk, presumably the one he had awoken from upon crashing here. It wasn't very much, but it will have to do since the night fury didn't have any real options. He was settled on his right side; his tail curled up in a ball, and his wings folded up and hovering over his legs. His breathing was steady but staggering at the same time. Every bone in his body ached, his brain felt fried, and all the muscles were as hot as a baby fireworm. Initially, e couldn't stop thinking about how much pain he was in.

Sitting in this waste of a yard, these last few hours had probably been his life's worst few hours. Ever since the events of last night, ever since his encounter with these humans on that night, Toothless had developed a variety of new scars and injuries. Some still cause him pain even after a long period. Others scarred him for what he presumed to be for life. In the last couple of hours, he woke up and couldn't feel his left wing. And couldn't handle it ever since. It could be broken for all he knew. Yet he couldn't be sure. Then there were the many scars he bared from head to tail after being entangled by that weird metal stuff.

Toothless wasn't sure what it was, but one thing he knew for sure was never to get trapped underneath it again. It was as light as gronckle iron and sharp as a razorwhip's tail. He could still feel its tightening sting coiled around his forearms and wings. The first thing that came into his mind after the whole event was the fear of predators being drawn from all the blood from his wounds. But luckily for him, the pack of dogs didn't try to attack him ever since he subdued their leader. So at least, he had some form of peace. And for a dragon such as himself, he heals pretty fast. So it shouldn't take him too long to recover.

But aside from that, Toothless just felt dreadful. Not just physically but emotionally as well. The outer rim of his eyes started to redden, and tears ran down his eyes. Ever since he first appeared in this new and treacherous world, he had felt pain and misery. The pain is drawn from the number of times humans shot at him and from being entangled by that metal substance. Yet even then, it wasn't just the pain that forced his tears, nor the frustration of coming into conflict with a new type of humans that were much more advanced than he was initially used to.

It was also backed up by how Toothless felt so...alone. In a strange, foreign world, with no sign of his friends or any other dragons and no means of returning home. He wasn't even sure if they were even alive at all. But what hurt the night fury the most was that he might never see his mate again. Let alone his children, who were still eggs at this point. And he may never see them hatch into baby night lights. Babies that he would've considered to be his own. That fact alone had the dragon alpha devastated. It made him wish he never went into that cave with the Heartstone and that he hadn't gone there per Hookfang's request.

He was happy before all this unfolded. He had a home, a family, and an entire kingdom of dragons who loved and respected him. But now it's all gone and taken from him before his eyes. And leaving him here, where he had nothing. This was a nightmare he couldn't wake from. And the scariest part about it was that he had no idea where he was or even if there was any hope for him to survive. Sooner or later, the humans will find him, and there won't be any chance of escape when they do. And he doubted any lakes or ponds in the area had any fish for him to keep him alive. But besides the painful injuries he was forced to endure or the fact that there may be no chance of him returning home, one thing that ran through the dragon's mind, which stood out the most to him, was the human female that saved his life. And more specifically: why didn't he kill her when he had the chance?

He had her in his grasp and couldn't end her right then and there. He could've stopped her from alerting other humans to his whereabouts and perhaps kept this place, along with his presence, a secret. Yet he chose to let her live. Why?

For a while, Toothless pondered at the thought. His ever-growing confusion ran more profound than he had initially anticipated, coming up with any answer that could explain his apparent show of mercy. At first, he thought it was just for the sake of it, but he was more intelligent than that. He knew he couldn't risk her telling anyone about his existence. Then he thought it was because she saved his life by sparing her that he would consider his debt to her to be paid. But even then, he didn't owe her anything, to begin with, considering his intent from the start. Then he thought it was a show of honor, but even an honorable dragon-like himself knew the consequences to follow. The list went on and on, all with the same answer.

Even he wasn't sure about it. But as the night fury continued contemplating his decision, his mind returned to the image of the girl, who had cowered before him in the act of mercy. All he could remember was how fragile she looked. He had never seen a human who seemed so weak...so frail. And the look in her eyes when she gazed up at him...the regret and sorrow that came with it... he couldn't help but feel bad.

It became apparent to the alpha dragon that this human had stared at the face of death before. Though at that moment, she just felt so...hopeless. That despite her deeds, there was just nothing she could do. And he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had made many hard choices in his life. But one choice that he rarely made...was the choice between life and death. Who was he to decide if she should live or die? After all, in his lifetime, he learned that many deserved death and some deserved life. And was it right for him to give her the option of whether to end her entire existence or not?

No. That wasn't his decision to make. Whatever the reason was. Nor will it ever be. Perhaps he may never know the reason why he spared her. But he did know this much: it was not for him to decide who lives and dies. No matter how justified his reasons could be. That being said, the consequences of his mercy could either mean his salvation or his downfall. Whatever it was, the decision was still the same. He let her live. And that he just hoped that he had made the right choice.

Time passed by quickly. And darkness began to take its fold. As Toothless continued to slumber underneath the mountain of scrap, he glanced over to see that his wounds were starting to heal. A good start. His wing was still severely damaged, but he hoped it would recover eventually. Sooner or later, the pain that enveloped his muscles started to fade. And the night fury started regaining some of his strength.

His thoughts still began to wander around the subject of the human girl to the point where he started to develop a fragment of curiosity, particularly about her superior intelligence. In all his years of being around humans, there was only one human that he knew of that was as strategic and as cunning as that human. And that happened to be his best friend. Much about her reminded the dragon of him, and he had only met her for a single night.

Still, that didn't mean that he could trust her. She was still a human and probably a dangerous one too. And because of his act of mercy, she knows where he is. Who knows what she could do next? And the way he had it figured, even in a different world, humans haven't changed. They're the still rampaging warmongers they've always been, who shoot first and ask questions later. So the worse was yet to come. He just had to be ready whenever that time should come.

Another minute passed by when all of a sudden, there was a sharpness in the wind. One of which made his right ear twitch. At first instinct, the dragon's eyes shot open. And he lifted his head toward the direction of the disturbance. Though by the time his eyesight could catch wind of whatever it was, he was displeased to see that there was nothing. However, he was about to lower his head back when, from the corner of his eye, he caught wind of something. A small blue light glowed from several yards away. He squinted his eyes to narrow his vision and saw that the light source was underneath a large hunk of metal. It burned for a few seconds before fading away.

A part of Toothless wanted to lay back down and pretend he didn't see that. But instead, his curious nature started to take form. And his urge to investigate got the better of him in the long run. To the point where he needed to check it out. Therefore, the night fury rose from the ground with extreme caution, gathering enough strength to lift his body. He felt sore from all the injuries but could still pull it off. After that, he slowly made his way down the pile and toward the direction where he spotted the strange light. With every step he took towards it, the night fury sniffed around the area to ensure no one else was around. And so far, there were no familiar scents that would suggest so.

Growing up in a world where only the strongest survive, Toothless learned to trust his instincts. To rely upon all his senses to keep himself self-aware of his surroundings. But there was something different about this. As he drew ever closer to it, he developed a weird feeling. He wasn't sure what it was, but he wasn't used to it. And it was through neither instinct nor thought. This was something else.

He was only a few feet from the hunk of metal when suddenly, he stopped. He was dead in his tracks. Atop the metal, Toothless could see a strange figure, slumbering with its back turned towards him. The night fury narrowed his eyes and slightly tilted his head, using his eagle vision to get a better look. He could see a small patch of fur illuminating the back of its body. To which was covered in scales. A weird combination it was. And through the darkness, he could see that the hide of the figure was blue. And it wasn't exactly human, either.

Before he knew it, the figure began to rise from the hunk of metal, revealing a creature twice his size. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but it became more apparent once it turned its head toward the alpha dragon to face him. Next thing the night fury knew, he was shocked to stand in the presence of what seemed to be:

Another dragon.

Usually, Toothless would jump for joy at other dragons' sight. But surprisingly, he found something off about this one. For starters, it wasn't like any other dragons he had ever seen. It was, instead...unique. For it seemed to be more serpent than a dragon. It had a long, spindly body, no wings, possessed a pair of short dorsal fins on its back, and was coated with white-bluish-violet hair that was wrapped around her neck like a mane. With a small tuff at the end of its long tail.

As the head of the dragon became more visible, Toothless started to see that the dragon was a female with two intricately dark blue horns with swirls on top of her head, coupled with a short snout. Though what stood out the most to the night fury was its big purple eyes. From which glowed in the moonlight and stared directly at him. He felt its gaze pierce through the very depths of his soul. As if it was speaking to him without saying a single word.

There was another shift in the wind as the other she-dragon rose its head. It was instantly towering over the king of dragons by a few inches. Yet despite the majesty of this creature, Toothless was still on edge. Primarily through the way it was eyeballing him, locking its purple pupils onto his own. His heart began to beat rapidly through his chest, and his facial expression dropped. Half a second later, the foreign dragon started to glow.

And this time, it was the familiar glow he had seen a few minutes ago. Thus, making the other dragon look twice as prominent as he thought. Following that, the serpent-like creature took a step forward. A gust of wind followed shortly after. Toothless quickly jumped backward in fright, a sharp growl escaping his lips following that. A purple glow developed from the back of his throat as the night fury prepared a plasma blast. Yet he neglected to open his mouth if the dragon meant him no hard. As the dragon king continued to take steps backward, the serpent creature's glow started to get brighter. Eventually, Toothless had to shield himself with his right wing to prevent himself from being blinded. However, this proved to be a fatal mistake for the night fury. Because in doing so, he couldn't see the broken bottle scattered to his right.

By then, Toothless was unfortunate enough to step on it with his right back leg. Thus causing the night fury to jump and shriek in agony. Half a heartbeat later, the glow started to dim and eventually faded. And when the king of dragons turned back to the hunk of metal, the other dragon vanished without a trace. He looked back at the broken glass and then at the hunk of metal from which the serpent she-dragon resided, feeling somewhat confused. One minute he was staring into the eyes of another dragon, and the next, it was gone. As if she disappeared into a puff of smoke or if the night fury was hallucinating it all along. He couldn't say for sure.

And so, Toothless stood there, looking utterly puzzled. A moment passed before Toothless started thinking of heading back to the pile from which he slumbered. Before departing, the night fury looked back at the hunk of metal, still feeling puzzled, before deciding to sleep it off. So many things had happened in the last couple of hours, and already he started to feel more confused than ever. Unfortunately for the king of dragons, it was apparent to him that this was just the beginning. And that he was probably not going to sleep well tonight.

Chapter Text

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. A wave of curiosity filled 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. Like, it's bad enough that you couldn't do the one thing I tell you to do but to steal outright 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 that 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 your 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. Before she could keep it out of her grubby hands, Tracy beat her to the punch. 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 do have to be at the Thai Temple tomorrow. I promised my mom I'd help with something over there."

"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 couldn't 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 shows 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 try to become friends with it."

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 alone 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.

Chapter Text

Saturday. Always the best day of the week, besides Fridays, of course. It is a nice power-down day after a long week of school and work. Under normal circumstances, Marcy would take days like this to spend quality time with her two best friends. However, on this particular day, Marcy had something else in mind. And it was the first thing that came to her as soon as she awoke to the gentle rays of the morning sunlight, casting a warm glow on the posters adorning the walls of her room.

Her eyes flickered open, greeted by the soft hues of dawn seeping through the curtains. Her heart pounded in her chest, a potent blend of excitement and trepidation coursing through her veins. Today was the day she had painstakingly prepared for the secret mission she deemed her top priority: Seeing the beast lurking in the old junkyard.

Quietly, Marcy slipped into a pair of sturdy red and white sneakers and donned her casual outfit of a green hoodie and blue skinny jeans. She carefully packed her backpack with essential supplies, including her journal, switchblade, extra sweater, drawing utensils, and a bag of dumplings she had not eaten the other day. Before long, she finally zipped up her backpack in no time, her hands trembling with anticipation.

It occurred to the weeaboo teen that she had spent almost the entire night preemptively planning the day and how she would handle this second chance encounter, let alone what to tell her parents so she wouldn't draw any unnecessary suspicion. Granted, Marcy silently admitted that she was nervous because the creature tried to kill her during her last encounter. But simultaneously, she remained confident it wouldn't come to that.

As she quietly slid out of bed, her mind buzzed with endless possibilities and the weight of risks on her young shoulders if not handled correctly, especially since she would take this particular endeavor by herself, without Anne and Sasha to back her up if things went hairy all of a sudden. But she remembered that they had their plans for the day. And the Taiwanese geek intellectual geek couldn't wait for them to finish up. She has to handle this task alone.

Downstairs in the cozy kitchen, the aroma of freshly brewed tea wafted through the air. Thus, signaling to Marcy that her parents were already awake. As she predicted, both of them were downstairs at the breakfast table, engrossed in their morning rituals as usual. As she made her way downstairs, her backpack slung over her shoulder, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for keeping her plans hidden from them. It is not normal for Marcy to keep things from them or her friends, especially when she supposedly puts her life on the line.

But at the same time, the Taiwanese nerd figured she'd be no better if she told her parents she was about to go on a dangerous undertaking involving a vicious fire-breathing dragon. They'd probably never let her leave the house again, for all she knew. And even then, they'd put a tracking implant on her if they knew. It was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Not yet, anyway.

She tried to appear casual, masking her excitement beneath a veneer of calm. But her miraculous appearance does not go unnoticed by her lounging parents.

"Morning, kiddo," her father greets, glancing up from the table. "Where are you heading off to so early in the morning?"

This sudden shift caused Marcy to stop dead and draw her mother's attention from the kitchen counter. Yet the nerdy tween did not panic the slightest and anticipated her response.

"Hey, Mom, hey, Dad," she greeted them with a smile, her voice conveying nervousness. "

Her mom's eyes flickered with concern as she glanced at Marcy's loaded backpack.

"It's quite early for a walk, dear," she remarked, her voice laced with worry. "Is everything alright? You seem to be a little... preoccupied."

Marcy's heart skipped a beat, her fingers twisting the straps of her backpack. But the Taiwanese girl swiftly composed herself, determined not to let her parents suspect her true intentions. She knew she had to tread carefully, remembering what she had spent the whole night planning.

Everything's fine, Mom," she replied, her tone attempting to sound reassuring. "I've just been restless the last few days and thought a stroll would help clear my mind."

Her father lowered his newspaper, studying Marcy intently. She could already tell he knew something was off about her, especially since her nervousness started to show.

"Restless, you say?" he inquired, his voice tinged with curiosity. "Is there something bothering you, Marcy? We're always here to listen and support you."

Marcy's grip on her backpack tightened, a surge of conflicting emotions flooding her. She appreciated her parents' concern, yet she was fully aware of the greater risk she would take if she revealed the details of her intended mission. And after what she had experienced in her last encounter, Marcy could not take the initial risk of getting them involved without putting them in harm's way. It was just too much.

However, if she weren't careful, Marcy would also risk fracturing her relationship with them, especially if they were to see through her fabrications. She took a deep breath, mustering her resolve.

"I don't know, Dad," she spoke honestly. "After the party, I haven't been myself lately. But I'll be fine. I will walk around the neighborhood to clear my head for a bit. I'll be back before you even know it."

Marcy started to bite her lip nervously, knowing that the last part of her statement was a lie. She silently prayed to the Mother of Olms that they'd buy it. The two parents glanced at each other, looking slightly puzzled. An internal debate was formulating in the back of their minds, deciding whether or not they should let their kid go out alone as any parent would naturally.

"I guess a little walk around the neighborhood wouldn't hurt," her mother stated, slightly squinting her eyes. "We've only got a few more months left before the move. Wouldn't you agree, honey?"

"Can't see why not," her father acknowledged, returning his attention to his little girl. "And you have been working hard lately with school. Must be a lot going on for you."

The nerdy fangirl continued to bite her lip anxiously, still feeling a bit nervous. Though relieved that her parents were starting to take the bait, she was not out of the woods yet. She still needed the green light to take off, which seemed easier said than done. Silence hung heavy in the room as the parents exchanged uncertain glances. They understood the depth of Marcy's conviction, the unwavering spirit in her voice. With a final nod, her father's voice blended acceptance and concern.

"Alright, Marcy. We trust you," he caves in. "But please, promise us one thing – be safe, and be smart. We don't want to lose you again."

And like a happy little fangirl, Marcy's smile began to light up. She then hugged her beloved father, with the former holding her close. It was still hard to believe that her parents had this much faith in her after everything she had done. It's almost like a dream to her. Yet, their trust and support infused her with the strength she needed. Though for now, she must focus on the task at hand. And before long, she released after a brief moment before she could push her luck.

"Thank you, Dad," she said, her voice softening. "I'll keep that in mind."

Then as quickly as she could, she raced out of the door. Thus, slightly looking back at her parents before taking off. Even though she was excited about this mission, some of her felt regret for not being completely honest with them about her true intentions. But at the same time, Marcy remained confident that her efforts would pay off in the end.

As Marcy stepped outside, the cool morning breeze greeted her, whispering adventure secrets in her ears. She tenaciously took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp air, steeling herself for the journey ahead. The former ranger knew the risk of this endeavor but was willing to wager everything for the knowledge that Marcy may inquire from it. And is more than willing to take this task on alone if she has to.

And as she made her way down the sidewalk toward the supposed junkyard, Marcy prayed for the strength she would need to see this mission through for the sake of her friends, family, and everyone else.

The Abandoned Junkyard, noon...

Back in the heart of the deserted junkyard, the once mighty king of dragons rested on what could be seen as his future grave. The pile of junk from which he wallowed in his despair, still grasping the fact that he had lost everything. His home, friends, and kingdom were taken from him in the blink of an eye. And without a means of returning, it all seemed hopeless to the night fury.

Yet despite the dire situation, Toothless tried hard to find a positive to all of this. After all, he is still alive, and his scars and wounds have almost fully healed. For all he was concerned, it could be worse. But it did not help the endearing hunger he supported, insulting his despair. For just as he lay in this heap of metal scraps, he also hadn't eaten in days. As he hadn't left the spot, he was lying around, let alone the junkyard himself. Out of fear that the humans would find and kill him.

For all, he knew at the moment, the night fury had no idea what to do or when his next meal would come. Everything seemed so...unfamiliar to him. He had only been here for a few days, and everything felt so hostile and frightening to the alpha, as if it was meant to go wrong all along.

On top of all that, a dozen things flew through the dragon's intelligent mind. Thoughts relating to the foreign dragon he had caught sight of the other day or the human girl he had inadvertently spared. Though he did not want to admit it, for a while, the night fury began to wonder about that girl. Mostly about what she was doing at this present moment. Or if she remembered anything from their last eventful encounter. Or if he would ever see her again.

All of which began to overload his senses with questions that could not be answered. Or maybe it was the hunger talking to him, begging him to fetch something to fill his hollow and empty stomach. If only it were that simple, though, since there was no fish in the area. Not even in the revolting puddles that infested this wasteland.

But through this moment of dullness, the night fury's eyes suddenly shot out as he began to detect a sudden disturbance from nearby. His ears began to perk up the moment he scrambled to his feet. At this moment, he knew all wasn't right in the area. He has company.

The night fury looked around several times before sniffing the air, tempted to catch the intruder's scent to determine if it was familiar to him. After glancing about, he turns his attention to the bottom of the scrap pile. Thus, overlooking the entirety of the junkyard itself. He stepped and raised his head, practically standing on his hind legs, to get a better view. At first, he spotted nothing.

The dragon alpha sniffed again, ensuring his senses did not betray him. He looked to his right and saw a small rat crawling out of the pile before scurrying off. Which made Toothless snort, thus deeming it not a threat to him. But as he looked beyond the horizon, beyond the edge of the junkyard that led into the outside world and beyond, the night fury's eyes shifted from average to threatened-like for what his gaze had come to see from a distance.

It was the human girl.

She was just by the two gates beyond the entrance of the junkyard. And from the looks of it, she seemed well equipped, as if she came here with the full intent of meeting him. With his keen eyesight, Toothless could see that the girl had a bag strapped on her back and was wearing a different set of clothes. And she was pacing at the edge of the junkyard, internally conflicted with her thoughts.

He could kill her. If he wanted to, he could do it. Just because he did not have the strength to do it the first time does not mean he cannot do it the second time. But something inside him hissed and snapped at the idea, as though telling him that it didn't seem like the right thing to do. Instead, it was replaced by a peculiar curiosity. One of which would suggest that he'd go down there.

Since she was back, he could learn more about her. It had become clear that something seemed different about this human and could not be explained. The opportunity was out in the open. And what did he have left to lose, other than his dignity? At least, that was what his brain was suggesting. Yet his instincts snapped at him again, returning him to the thought of killing her. Thus bringing the king of dragons into his internal conflict.

He bared his teeth and snarled with an agitated grunt, causing Toothless to shake his head to clear out the stressful debate that would give the night fury a migraine. As the night fury continued to look on, he noticed that the girl had stopped her pacing, and from the looks of it, she took a deep breath and mumbled a few things he could not understand from where he was standing before setting off into the junkyard from which he resided.

Ultimately, Toothless went with the former decision, letting his curiosities get the better of him. After all, he had no other options before him. Yet despite his decision, the night fury had to exercise caution. He still wasn't sure if he could trust her. That one wrong move could spell trouble for him, should it be a trap. Only a fool would wish to enter an area occupied by one of the most dangerous dragons in his time alone. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time for the esteemed dragon king.

And so, he finally set off, silently climbing down the pile to confront the mysterious girl to learn her true intentions.

Meanwhile...

Half an hour after leaving her home's confines, Marcy stood at the edge of the barbed-wired fence that led straight into the junkyard. One of which she knew very well was now being occupied by a fire-breathing dragon, who would not hesitate to kill her if it had the chance. Of course, the only thing stopping her from going inside to confront the beast was an immediate dilemma she could not stop thinking about.

"Okay, Marce," she said aloud. "You can do this. Just go in there and confidently introduce yourself, like you always do. How hard can that be?"

She takes a step forward but quickly retracts it. Her mind circled with thoughts of what may happen in the outcome, thus causing her to pace back and forth.

"What if he doesn't like me?" she asked. "Or what if he doesn't like the snacks I packed? Or what if he waits for his chance to pounce at me when I least expect it?"

The constant hesitation causes her to groan in frustration, clasping her hands onto her face and sinking to her knees. She was so unsure if this was right that it drove her crazy. On the one hand, she wanted to help this dragon, feeling the compassion and need to do something no matter how dangerous or threatening it seemed. On the other hand, she thought this was a terrible idea, eventually ending with her getting herself killed. It was a big deal considering everything she had been through that night with it.

Naturally, Marcy wasn't one for confrontations, especially the life-changing, emotionally challenging ones, which had a genuine chance of going sideways if done wrong. Before she could debate further, she felt a vibrating motion from her back pocket, signaling that the former chief ranger had gotten a text.

When she pulled it out, she saw it was Anne, asking her if she felt any better after yesterday. If she could recollect, Marcy told her and Sasha that she would be in the library, which would typically be the case. At that moment, she wanted to come clean and reveal her true intent to her best friend. That Marcy was about to come face to face with one of the creatures on the news. But simultaneously, she knew that her Thai friend would go straight into panic mode if she did.

Plus, she has her plans for today. She didn't have time for her. Nor did Sasha, who is at the mall, if she can remember correctly. On top of that, Marcy's gut told her she had to do this alone. Since she was the only one who encountered the beast alone. So by pure definition, it was her responsibility to do so. Finally, Marcy clicked the message icon and wrote, "I'm doing better, Anna-banana. Talk to you soon. xoxoxo."

Shortly after, Marcy hesitated briefly, wondering if this was the right call. But before long, she then sent it with the click of a button and left it at that. Subsequently, the Taiwanese girl stared at the already-sent text message for a bit before looking toward the junkyard.

"But I have to do this," she said to herself. "I have to know."

She squinted again, feeling the hesitation within her rising for the millionth time today. A slight feeling in her thought that she should have come clean, but she knew that there was no turning back by now. She was doing this. Whether she was prepared or not, she was going to do this. And whatever happens, fate will decide whatever kind of outcome she deserves for her conviction and curiosity.

"This is Not going to be easy, Marce," she doubted, taking a deep breath before facing the junkyard entrance. "But I've gotta try."

And with that, Marcy marched into the lion's den. Thus, she is still determining whether or not she will come out of this whole endeavor dead or alive. As she cautiously ventured through the maze of discarded scrap in the deserted junkyard, her heart was pounding with conviction and determination.

The rusted metal structures and discarded debris created a maze of forgotten treasures that Marcy could recall almost too well. The wind whistled through the labyrinth, carrying whispers of hidden secrets. Part of her was expecting the pack of junkyard dogs who nearly killed her the last time she was here to show up.

But she was willing to wager that it would not be the case. As memory serves, the dragon crippled their leader, thus proving to be the dominant figure in this rusted waste. And even if they were around, the fire-breathing dragon alone would force them back into hiding. That alone would guarantee no chance of a second encounter with them, not that she wanted one anyway.

Finally, Marcy started moving across the opening and into the clearing. Her green backpack was strapped across her slim back, covering the base of her jacket.

Despite the danger, Marcy neglected to take any weapon with her, fearing that she would anger the dragon. Thus provoking the creature into attacking her and ripping the girl apart. Which she hoped would likely never come. She looked in every direction of the junkyard, hoping to find her target. Yet there was no sign of it. Not a footprint or a mark for her to see. She was slowly starting to get nervous. Because sure, she saved the dragon's life with that cave-in, but she did not know what its reaction would be like if it saw her again. Especially if she was the last person, it wanted to see.

If her calculations were correct, this place would be considered the creature's new territory. And she was walking straight into it, which would be regarded as trespassing. And if she remembered anything from Biology class, it was that animals are most aggressive regarding trespassers, especially if one of those animals turned out to be a terrifying fire-breathing dragon.

And who knows what else that thing was capable of. So Marcy had to stay on high alert. She looked at a broken-down bus to her right and saw a squirrel crawling out from within. Then she looked to her left and saw a few small mice disappearing in the cracks of an old shed. Something didn't feel right, for the air was more relaxed than usual. And she has yet to hear a single sound besides flies buzzing from a distance and a lizard crawling between a worn-out tire. Thus rendering the atmosphere of the area into absolute silence.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

The former ranger's blood began to run cold. Sweat glands formed on the top of her forehead. And little sparks raced up and down her spine through the tension in the environment. Something was off. She could feel it. Why has the creature yet to show itself? She would've expected it to at some point. Or at least that was what she had anticipated. But now, there was nothing but empty silence, which was most unusual, even for her.

Then suddenly, she heard a crunch just to her left and turned her head. Yet, she saw nothing. Half a heartbeat later, she heard a rustling sound from her right. But as she turned to look, she saw nothing yet again. Now she started to get nervous. Her heart raced a bit, and her mind was filled with caution. Shortly after that, she could hear several other sounds. Too quick and too fast for her to track. And then it finally occurred to her what was happening. Thus confirming what she already knew.

She was being watched. No, scratch that. She was being hunted.

The dragon knew she was here. She could tell through the sudden suspense. And the fact that she couldn't see or hear it gives the creature an advantage. And it was here that Marcy started to regret not asking Sasha and Anne to accompany her for this. Knowing she could rely on her friends to watch her back. Though now that she thought about it, she didn't ask them to come because she had to do it alone.

Marcy is a big girl. She can handle herself, just like back in Amphibia. And it would mean putting their lives in danger as much as hers. Which was something she did not intend to do again. So friends or not, she had to do this even if it meant putting her life in the paws of an ancient mythical beast.

She looked around for the source of the sounds when it suddenly came again—moving faster than she could ever anticipate. And the only thing she could hear was clanking metal and shattering glass. Her hands were shaking, and her blood started pumping. She was beginning to get anxious and knew the creature would jump out of nowhere and strike her down without seeing it coming. She looked around for the source of the sounds when suddenly it came again—this time coming from behind her. Marcy gasped as she looked in the direction it came from.

Next thing she knew, Marcy heard another noise coming from the back of a tipped-over broken car. The girl heard more sounds on the other side as she looked on, suggesting the creature was behind it. Instinctively, Marcy moved closer to the wrecked piece of metal. She was hoping to catch the dragon asleep.

Her entire body began to tremble as she waited for the creature to reveal itself finally. She thought of every possible outcome. One of which would result in her meeting a gruesome end at the jaws of this beast. Though she prayed to herself that this wouldn't be the case. Yet as she continued to contemplate with herself, there was a movement within the car.

Then suddenly, something sprung out of the broken window, revealing itself as a pair of two small dogs. Marcy, ready to bolt at first sight of danger, had been taken aback at the company. Only to be taken more aback when she saw the two dogs run past her and hurry off to who knows where. Never to be seen again.

A few seconds passed, and then Marcy breathed relief, her body and nerves at ease, knowing she wasn't ripped to shreds.

"That was a close one," she said to herself.

However, half a second later, a loud thud came from behind the teenage girl. Startled, Marcy let out a yelp, spun around as fast as she could, and was instantly met with a large shadow, blacker than any passing cloud she had ever seen. And to amiss, the mysterious dragon she had come for stood before the geeky teenager, obtrusively perched atop the broken-down vehicle. Its head crouched low, spines bristled in pairs, and dark wings spread outwards in a flagrant display of intimidation. And its two intelligent cat-like pupils were locked onto her, with a demeanor that would scare the living daylight out of King Andrias Leviathan himself.

Though it made her spine crawl even more as the dragon let out a warning roar, it nearly deafened her ears with its echoing screech. At that moment, Marcy did not dare to move another muscle, for she feared that doing so would probably set the beast off. Making even the faintest sound would make things worse. Her body and mind went rigid, partly in awe and partly in fear. Seeing the dragon in person for a second time caused her to shudder just looking at it. And remember what happened during their last encounter and what the creature was truly capable of making her blood run colder. She almost didn't know what to do.

Her first inclination was to stay calm. For if there was anything she knew about animals, dragon or not, they could smell fear. And fear would lead people to become that animal's dinner, which she did not intend to happen today. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Remembering that the beast would know she was scared if she didn't. Which she was with all her heart. But she kept her compulsion intact to avoid panicking. A heartbeat after that, she reopened her eyes. The dragon still perched on top of the vehicle. And with a boost of confidence, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Oh, hey," she said with a chuckle. "Remember me?"

The dragon responded with a snarl while keeping its gaze locked onto the petite ranger. Its death glare pierced through every inch of her soul. Ely remembers her. The beast's hesitation allowed the former ranger to back up slowly, hoping to put up some distance without provoking it. And then, Marcy began to wonder why the dragon hadn't attacked her yet. Or at least made its move, considering the position it was in.

'Maybe it's trying to figure me out?' she wondered. 'To find out my deal? Or why I'm here?'

She couldn't say for sure. But before she could second guess herself, the dragon looked back at her, probably to make sure she came alone, before climbing down from the broken car. The nerdy student then watched as it inched its way toward her. It was growling like a hungry lioness. And with each step it took were a few steps she took back as she continuously distanced herself from the dreaded beast as it closed in on her.

Yet despite the tension, Marcy dared not to turn her back on it. Thus keeping her body interlocked in the direction of the creature. And despite how terrifying the beast turned out to be, Marcy stood firm. Her hands extended as she attempted to ensure she wasn't a threat.

"Yeah...about last night... I think we've got off to a bad start," she said in a soothing, convincing voice. "My name's Marcy...what's yours?"

Yet, despite the assurance, the dragon didn't seem to buy it. Instead, take small, calculated steps toward the ranger. Thus, letting out a low hiss in a warning. The dragon became increasingly impatient as Marcy widened the gap between her and the beast. Resorting it to let out a low-yet mighty roar made Marcy shudder deeply.

Even though fear was taking control of her emotions, she had to keep calm. If the creature wanted her dead, it would've done her in by now. Yet this was all moot if she did not figure out why the dragon was so hostile. The dragon could easily overpower her if it wanted to. And from what she had experienced, the beast proved frightening enough to render her harmless.

After a long pause, Marcy was surprised to see the black silhouette move to its right. Attentively glaring at the young female as it started circling her. Its eyes were fixated, watching her every move. Though the two continued to circle each other, one thing came to the back of the young girl's mind. She came here unarmed and defenseless, yet the dragon remained hostile.

Why was that? Animal instincts and territoriality aside, the dragon should have no real reason to fear her. It could end her life with a single blast. So why has it yet to drop its guard? Then as she looked into its poison green eyes, she could tell there was a deep mistrust in its sights. A distrust that became all too clear for the former ranger.

And it was here that she remembered how hostile the people of Wartwood were towards her back in Amphibia. It was uneasy for them to trust her since they considered her an 'outsider.' But then she remembered all the noble things she did for them. And in time, they grew to accept her like they accepted Anne. And that was after she almost sunk their town.

The more she thought about it, the clearer she became. Thus, Marcy started taking a different approach, exercising caution as she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves before slowly approaching the beast. Yet the moment she stepped forward, the dragon's growl deepened. Its tail swayed restlessly amidst the clutter. Its sharp teeth were bared, an air of caution and hostility surrounding it. The beast was making it clear that it did not want her near it, within an arm's length approximate. But regardless, Marcy did not relent.

Instead, Marcy stood her ground, her eyes meeting the dragon's fiery gaze. Only to retract when the creature hardened its stare, its growl getting more intense.

"Yeah...I get that a lot," she confessed, her eyes pinned to the ground before slightly looking back up. "First impressions and all."

She then continued to close the gap between her and the dragon. And in response, the beast's fiery eyes narrowed, its expression one of skepticism and mistrust as it released yet another warning, stirring up hot air and saliva around Marcy. She shielded her face with her hands, her heart pounding in the wake of the creature's fury, but the Taiwanese geek refused to back down nor lose her nerve. An action that surprised the blackened beast to an extent.

"Listen, I-"

Next thing she knew, Marcy let out a yelp as her foot hit a wooden plank, causing the teen girl to lose footing and accidentally trip over herself. She was clumsily landing face-first on the floor. Before that, the dragon jumped back. Startled by the sudden move and afterward releasing another roar. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon shook its head, looking puzzled, before cautiously approaching the downed girl. The black dread grumbled before sniffing the top of her head.

For a moment, Marcy lay there, too embarrassed to get back up. Luckily, no one was around to witness it except the dragon. She couldn't help but feel somewhat humiliated, knowing she'd potentially die tripping over herself, being the clumsy, klutzy Marcy everyone knew her to be, as she always was anyway. Though as she pathetically lifted her head, Marcy gasped in shock when she, unfortunately, found herself too close to the beast. She held her breath as the dragon lowered its muzzle to sniff. Even on all fours, the dragon stood at least half her height, at least from her current position. The thirteen-year-old could feel its hot breath touch the fabric of her skin as the dragon continued to sniff her.

Yet what shocked the girl more was not that it was inches away from her face, but that its facial expression was...surprisingly dropped—taking the more pupil-rounded form in its eyes. Even though its guard was still up, its posture suggested that it didn't have the same amount of aggression as it did a few seconds ago. And judging from the look in those eyes, the dragon appeared more...curious, if nothing less. And the weird thing about this was that Marcy felt the same way. At least in terms of how close it was to her, she hadn't blown her face off.

Out of instinct, the young girl tilted her head to her left. For which the creature did the same. Then she tilted her head to the right, only for the dragon to follow suit. At this point, Marcy started to develop a weird feeling. She couldn't precisely explain what it was, but all she knew was that there was something..very odd about this. Perhaps it was her curiosity picking at the back of her head. But that was just a theory.

After what seemed to be a minute of just staring into the depths of each other's souls, Marcy gulped nervously before giving a small toothy smile—laughing nervously as she locked eyes with the dragon yet again. This was getting awkward.

"Hehe, sorry," she apologized. "Got a case of the old' clumsy, klutzy, jelly legs."

The dragon did not respond at first. But then let out a snort in a manner of amusement. She then proceeded to pick herself up back to her feet. The dragon cautiously backed up a few steps to give the girl some space as she brushed off the dirt from her jeans. By the time she cleared any other dust particles that festered her clothes, she had looked up to see that the dragon's posture had not changed. Its guard was still up and started to growl with caution again. However, on the bright side, the beast was less tense than it was a few minutes ago, which means that the creature was less weary of her than before—an apparent good start.

Even though the beast did not fully trust her, this was a good start. But she figured she might as well get to the point before aggravating it further. However, the minute she takes the first step forward, the dragon snarls, returning to being on the defensive.

"It's okay," she reassured, throwing her arms up and stepping back. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I know you're scared, and I would be too if I were you."

A long pause came shortly after, yet the mood of the beast did not seem to change. Marcy wasn't sure if the dragon could understand what she was saying but was willing to wager that it got the memo. The former ranger closed her eyes and took another deep breath. And it was here that she began to reopen them and follow up with a question she had been willing to ask for a while.

"But can you at least give me a chance?"

In return, the dragon regarded Marcy with skepticism and curiosity, with its ancient eyes searching her soul. Though it became unclear, the weeaboo nerd could see signs that the dragon could sense the innate sincerity within her, for its gaze began to soften a bit, though its stance remained staggered. It emitted a rumbling purr, a sign of contemplation.

Perhaps the creature detected the moral conviction that she carried with her. That she was indeed telling the truth from its perspective. Yet it did not mean it fully trusted her, as it had no real reason to. For the moment, Marcy could see the internal conflict building up with the beast that stood before her. Sensing an opportunity the prove she could be trusted, Marcy slowly reached for her backpack, sliding the straps of her school pack from both sides of her shoulders.

She swiftly swung it around and put the bag in front of her, with the dragon closely watching the girl.

"I'll even lighten the mood," she said as she zipped open her bag. "I've got something for you."

As her hands disappeared into the leather pack, the dragon narrowed its eyes again. Thus, anticipating what the young introvert could be hiding.

However, its perception was abruptly thwarted once she revealed a small dumpling. Which slightly piqued the beast's interest. For upon catching the scent of the dumpling, the dragon's eyes widened a bit. Though it initially puzzled the creature, the smell made the dragon lick its chops. It was as the chess master suspected. Even though it may be hostile, the beast could not resist an easy meal, especially if it came from a stranger like herself. This fact alone brought a sense of confidence to the teenage girl.

"Consider it a little peace offering after last time," she implied with a smile. "I hope you like it."

Marcy promptly sunk to her knees and pulled her backpack closer to her right side. Bringing out the dumpling she had in her hand before, she offered it to the dragon. The black beast, in response, darted its eyes to the ground. It grumbled as it sniffed the ground before fixing its eyes on her. The dragon sniffed the air for several heartbeats before deciding to approach her.

As it came up from the teenage girl's left side, Marcy fought every urge not to jolt back, knowing how unpredictable the beast still was. Though the dragon's movements were still guarded, its posture did not suggest the same amount of aggression as before, which was still a good sign. When the black creature approached closer and closer, Marcy started to get nervous, for the dragon's movements began to become more subtle than before. And its eyes were even more striking this close-up with a strange shade of green with flecks of gold encircling its pupils like a ring, which somehow enhanced the striking resemblance of her reflection staring back at her.

She had to turn her gaze away just because of it. She was resorting to glancing in other directions, feeling rather exposed under its penetrating stare, as if the beast delved deep into her own eyes and unveiled the thoughts hidden from within. Thus, piercing into the various depths of her soul with just one look. A heartbeat later, the dragon was at arm's length from where she was kneeling again—leaving just a good enough distance between the two.

Then, slowly but surely, the creature's nose inched its way closer to the palm of Marcy's dominant hand. Half a heartbeat later, its mouth began to open, revealing a broad, forked tongue, pink gums, and zero teeth to the geeky teenager's revelation. There wasn't a single tooth to be seen within its inner mouth. And it puzzled her just looking at it.

"Huh, toothless..." she muttered to herself. "That can't be right. I could've sworn you had-"

Without warning, two white rows of fangs retracted through the pink gums, and Marcy forcibly let out a yelp as the dragon snatched the dumpling out of her hands and drew its head back. The Taiwanese teenager watched the creature snap the tiny morsel into two bites before swallowing it whole. And it then licked its chops afterward, looking pleased with the small meal.

"-teeth."

Unfortunately, Marcy didn't have enough time to register what she had just witnessed when the dragon suddenly refocused on her again. The next thing the dorky thirteen-year-old knew, it started sniffing her again. This time, on the other hand, the creature stuck its nostrils at her right arm. Thus, prompting Marcy to jump to her feet. The dragon then lowered its head to her lower abdomen, sniffling at the side of her skirt.

The former ranger giggled as she felt the tip of the dragon's nose press up against her hip, a low rumbling sound escaping its throat. The black creature continued to sniff her body, going from her hip and back. And for some weird reason, Marcy couldn't stop giggling. It could have to deal with how ticklish she was in that area. It wouldn't be the first time she had that experience, especially with Anne and Sasha.

As the dragon came around with its face poking at her lower body, Marcy turned to face the creature as it kept circling her—eventually, the black beast to a whiff of her chest before nudging it with its head. The girl laughed in amusement before she watched the dragon pull back and shake its head before the creature staggered its feet. She could tell by how it licked its upper lip that it hungered for more.

"Wow, you're an eager one, aren't you?" she complimented. "Well, luckily for you, I packed extra."

She returned to her backpack and pulled out the bag containing the rest of the dumplings. Marcy silently hoped that it would be enough. Before her arrival, she stopped by a local cafe fifteen minutes away from home and used the lunch money she had yesterday to order more, just in case.

Yet before she could even open it, the dragon yanked it out of her hands and trotted off. Therefore, earning a distorted laugh from the teen nerd. She watched it get a few feet away before setting it down, briefly tearing the bottom of the bag open with its teeth and thus causing the rest to fall on the dry dirt. Yet the creature did not seem to care, for it smiled with delight before picking up a dumpling with its jaws and tossing the small delectable into its mouth.

The young girl watched it chew on the small dumpling, grinning with satisfaction before swallowing it and burying its head in the basket. Marcy stood there as the dragon continued to gorge itself with dumplings, looking stunned. Her eyes widened, and her hands started fidgeting. And on top of that, a familiar feeling surged through her body. One that brought about her geeky, fangirling side of her.

It ran through her bloodstream like wildfire. And almost acted like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. Until, finally, she couldn't help herself.

"Oh. My. GOSHH!" she exploded.

The right ear of the dragon twitched, but it neglected to lift its head from the bag. It was more focused on the delicious dumplings. In light of this, Marcy began to pace around, going on a complete geek fest about the whole situation with nobody around to stop her.

"I'm standing in front of a live dragon," the weeaboo nerd said aloud as she started pacing back and forth. "A FLIPPIN DRAGON! I mean, I should already know this by now. It's standing right in front of me. But it's just a lot to take in! Maybe I should write this down."

As she entered her bag to grab her journal, the dragon subtly lifted one eye to see her scribbling in her book. She was unaware, but the dragon found her energetic nature slightly amusing before returning to the dumplings it had previously gorged on.

"I have so many questions!" she continued, despite the beast not paying attention. "Where did you come from? What kind of fire do you breathe?

She then turned her attention to the dragon's tail, which was out in the open closest to her. As Marcy squinted her eyes, she noticed something different about it. For there were two fins at the edge, one was attached to the rest of its body. But the other, on the other hand, was somewhat artificial and instead connected to a peculiar piece outfitted with gears and gadgets specifically designed to mimic the other one's movements. The strange assortment of the tail and its unique design could do nothing but stimulate Marcy's interest even further.

"Wow, is that a prosthetic tailfin?" she questioned further, only to run hollow on the dragon's ears. "Who made it? Did something happen to you? Where's the original piece? Can I have one?"

The more questions she asked, the closer Marcy found herself inching toward it. Out of instinct, Marcy extended her dominant hand, determined to see if it was real or if her eyes were deceiving her.

Then, as suddenly as a thunderbolt, the dragon jerks its head back and defensively snaps at the young teen. The creature followed it up by B=briefly yanking its tail back and aggressively narrowing its eyes. Thus once again, baring out its teeth and growling. Marcy responded by jolting back and throwing her hands up.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "Too much?"

In return, the beast turned his attention to his tail, giving a distinct glance before returning to the weeaboo geek. The creature huffed at her before turning back, curling its tail out of the young girl's reach. It was clear that the beast had some emotional attachment to its tailfin. And it was also clear that it did not appreciate her abruptly going out of her way to touch it without its consent.

"Oh, gotcha, little too personal," Marcy retracted. "Boundaries, Marcy."

Things started to get awkward from there. Seconds have stretched into timeless moments and a silent conversation of trust and yearning between them. Or at least for Marcy and her subconscious. Part of her was questioning where she should go from here. She was starting to run out of options.

This whole endeavor of winning the beast's approval was just another puzzle to solve. She just needed to figure out how to do so without getting obliterated. However, the moment she tries to get closer to the dragon again, the creature brings its head back out and delivers another warning roar. This time is flaring its wings out in an intimidation display. The young girl's pulse quickened as she stumbled back, barely making an effort not to trip over herself. A second later, the beast huffed for a second time before returning to its meal.

It soon became clear to the young nerd that the dragon was not interested in her—given the amount of silence it was giving her. And because the dragon won't let her near it within a three-foot radius, Marcy concluded that the best course of action for her would be to leave. And seeing that she was now at an impasse with her goal of winning the creature's approval, the Taiwanese girl had no choice but to bow to the inevitable.

"Okay, I guess...I'm not needed here anymore," she says, still unsure of herself. "So...I should probably go."

And with that, Marcy slowly began to take her leave, turning toward the exit to leave the dragon to eat in peace. Half a foot away, Marcy stopped, feeling a small tear develop from her eyes. Part of her hoped that this would be a good experience. That she could have a chance to learn more about this creature without facing any form of judgment or malice.

But instead, she ends up embarrassing herself yet again to the point where even the creature grows bored of her. Then again, another part of her seemed grateful that she could walk out in one piece. Still, the providential luck she had gained couldn't remedy her mortification.

'This was a stupid idea.' she told herself. 'I never should've come back.'

Doubt and disappointment began consuming her, and her humiliation was practically revolting. However, before she could consider herself home-free, she felt a sudden smack against the back of her head.

"Ow, what-"

When she jolted back around, Marcy looked down to see a dumpling before her. The Taiwanese geek slowly bent down and picked it up with two hands. Then she looked back to suddenly lock eyes with the dragon, whose expressions were softer. With clarity, the winged beast released a low warble before its cat-like pupils motioned from her to the dumpling in her hands before returning to the rest.

This sudden action left Marcy puzzled. For the millionth time today, a flood of questions began to formulate in her head. All of which revolved around the dragon's intentions with that particular gesture. Could it be a sign? Could it be the dragon giving her something on the way out? Or could it be something more intimate?

Whatever it was, Marcy didn't dare to question it, instead returning to her spot beforehand. Instinctively she sank to her knees and began eating alongside the dragon. She found it odd that she was currently sharing a meal with a fire-breathing reptile, but considering this was the farthest she had ever gotten, there was no need to push her luck.

Regardless, it was instead a tiny victory for her. She had finally made a breakthrough—a small step towards building trust with the dragon. But to keep it, she must let this play out and see where it takes her. As Anne taught her back in Amphibia, this will take time. Patience is a virtue that Marcy is still learning, but she is familiar with it enough to know that she will need it if she is going to see this through.

Minutes passed as the human and beast sat in the dirt in complete silence. Occasionally the dragon threw her a dumpling or two after finishing the one she already had. And as per usual, the former ranger was flustered with the same questions she had been asking. It was difficult to predict what was happening in the dragon's head. But was not willing to bet on anything that could spoil all the fun.

Though on a theoretical scale, the young Asian geek wagered that it could be an excuse to prevent her from leaving.

"You know, normally, we're supposed to eat these with chopsticks," Marcy commented.

The dragon responded by lifting its head to lock its eyes on hers. A brief wave of curiosity engulfed its rather dog-like pupils now. To emphasize its innate curiosity, the creature tilted its head slightly to the right, to which Marcy eagerly indulged the creature's interests with a brief explanation.

"Right," she said, slightly fumbling with her wording. "It's almost like eating with utensils, but you use two wooden sticks instead of actual forks. I can show you the next time I come around if you want."

In response, the dragon warbled. The Chess master wasn't sure what the dragon was thinking, considering the lifeless look in its two oval eyes, which only stared at her. Though unsure, Marcy took it as a cue that the creature was interested, at the very least.

As she locked onto the creature's eyes again, Marcy noticed a familiar feeling illuminating the dragon's pupils. Was it a sense of attachment? Or sentimentality? It was still unclear from the looks of things. But as she continued to ponder its never-ending gaze, she began to see something much bigger than that.

And it was here that she realized that beyond its natural ferocity, the dragon was trapped in a lonely existence, surrounded by a fortress of discarded trash, who did not want to be alone. Or at least that was what she figured hypothetically. Since it became clear that it didn't want her to leave yet, it was a feeling that Marcy was no stranger to. Empathy swelled within her, urging her to find a way to break through its defenses, which gave her an idea.

"Oh, I just thought of something!" Marcy exclaimed before shooting up to her feet. "Wait right there!"

The energetic teenager sprinted off into the rusted junkyard, rummaging through the wastes, collecting small scraps of metal and pieces of junk. She meticulously arranged them in seconds, creating a makeshift offering—a small necklace to symbolize fortune and goodwill.

Then as quickly as she departed, Marcy came speeding back, practically driving the dragon around on all fours before coming to a screeching halt.

"A little gift for our new visitor," she declared before gently placing it on the ground and sliding it toward the dragon. "What do you think?"

The black dragon tilted its head for the third time in a row, its gaze shifting between Marcy and the offerings. Intrigue mingled with caution as it approached, delicately inspecting the items before it. Marcy held her breath, her heart pounding as she bit her finger in anticipation.

With a sudden movement, the dragon inquisitively nudged the metal antique. As it seemed like it was taking it, Marcy sighed in relief and closed her eyes. It appeared that the creature was starting to like her small gift. That was until the former ranger heard a crunching sound, to which she reopened her eyes to see the dragon biting at her little masterpiece.

Marcy gasped as she watched the dragon brazenly tear at her gift like another dumpling. It was supposed to be a symbol of good fortune, yet the beast treated it like it was a chew toy. And it drove Marcy mad.

"Noooo, you silly creature!" she said abruptly. "You're not supposed to eat it!"

She then moved in to yank the trinket out of its mouth before the dragon could destroy it. Regrettably, the black silhouette took the other end of the ornament with its vice-like jaws. Neither of them refused to let go. Thus forcing them into an excellent old fashion tug-of-war. The Taiwanese girl leaned back, shouting, "Give it! Give it!" Yet the dragon's iron grip remained firm as a soft growl expelled from the creature's throat.

It was almost like fighting a dog over a blanket in a game of tug-of-war. Though the further they fought over it, the further Marcy leaned back with the dragon tightening its vice-like grip. Finally, when Marcy had tipped back far enough to the point where she was about to trip over herself, the dragon suddenly jerked its head around. And suddenly...

Pop.

The necklace snaps in half, and Marcy flies back a few feet. Only to land on her backside as pieces of the trinket she made scattered across the ground. Bewildered, the Taiwanese nerd looked up to see a portion of the antique in the dragon's mouth before it spits it out. And then the most unusual thing happened, which put Marcy in a further shock.

It started laughing.

Or at least that's what she interpreted as the dragon releasing a series of vocal cues similar to laughter. However, that wasn't the part that shocked her. What surprised the young girl the most wasn't the fact that it was laughing. But that it was explicitly laughing at her. As if it found her rather embarrassing attempt to pry a trinket she just made out of his mouth and failing miserably, resulting in her immediate anguish, to be rather humorous.

Then it became clear to the dragon planned this all along. To gain some sick satisfaction out of it and succeed. Thus leaving her face burning with embarrassment for not seeing it beforehand. That being said, Marcy, in return, laughed alongside the dragon. Who knew a creature of this size and ferocity would have a crude sense of humor? It was simply fascinating to her. She'll have to take note of this later.

As the laughter began to cease, Marcy let out a sigh. And for what felt like the 5th time in a row, she found her gaze unexpectedly meeting that of the beasts', who sat up on its hind legs. Feeling a sense of awkwardness build up from the silence, Marcy could do nothing but put up the cutest smile she could muster.

Regarding the gesture, the dragon squinted its eyes for a second. Then suddenly, to Marcy's surprise, the black creature began to open the corners of its mouth slowly. Only the catch was that its teeth were retracted, showing only the gummy parts of its mouth like before. Thus revealing a relatively toothless smile. It was rather cute by Marcy's standard.

Perhaps too cute. Hesitantly, Marcy got up to her feet. A rather ominous feeling started to develop in the young girl's nerves. Out of instinct, she extended her hand to touch and pet the creature's snout. However, before she could get her hopes up, the dragon's eyes suddenly became fixated on her hand, and the gummy smile from which the dragon had been putting off faded.

Half a heartbeat later, the dragon's teeth retracted as it growled in disgust. And with the blink of an eye, the dragon turned heel and flew off to the other side of the junkyard. Thus leaving Marcy distraught and somewhat confused. Nonetheless, it was a good start. She needs to play the long game. But who knows how long that's going to take?

Though she stood there, with the cold wind breezing past her hair, only one thought came into Marcy's mind.

'What in frog's name did I just get myself into?'

Elsewhere... 5:00 p.m

Anne had a rather average day so far despite it being on the weekend. The kind of day where she was focused on living her life responsibly without the fear of getting shot at, blown up, or swallowed hole by a giant monster. And one of those responsibilities involved helping at her family's restaurant: Thai Go.

While not particularly the most famous restaurant in all of Los Angeles, it was considered one of the most well-known Thai places in the Thai community. And is viewed as the envy of all Thai restaurants this side of LA, for it was also best known for its 'secret recipes' that only the Boonchuy family knows about, with the only exception being Ned, their new delivery man. For a while, Anne was pretty used to it. As a more responsible version of her former self, she considered it a habit. Heck, she would even get free samples from her parents from time to time during break hours. And that was after a hard day's work.

However, there was...one small downside to all of this as far as Anne was concerned, especially on a day like this. For on this particular day, the restaurant was super busy. Typically it would always be active on the weekends, but this was a new dynamic type. And it started smoothly at first.

But once word got around about the famous Anne Boonchuy, savior of Amphibia and Earth, helping out, the restaurant became packed with customers. Almost too many to count at this point. And half of them were people she had never seen before and came with the sole intent of taking selfies and autographs with her. Many didn't even reach for the food. It was very unsettling.

It also meant that Anne had to work twice as hard to keep everything together. That meant taking orders, bussing tables, and occasionally cleaning garbage. And she had to do all of this with a clear head, with just as much determination as she did fighting monsters with Sprig back in Amphibia. Yet like most people, it's hard to keep up with the pressure under the heat of chaos. And there wasn't any doubt that the rest of today would be a test of her skills, and she was determined to assist her parents in managing their beloved establishment flawlessly without cracking under pressure.

And the lunch rush had started to engulf Anne as she weaved through the crowded tables, plates balanced precariously in her hands. The scents of lemongrass and chili filled the air, intermingling with the cacophony of voices and clattering dishes. Anxiety coiled in her stomach, but she pressed on, determined to assist her parents in managing the bustling family restaurant. Amidst the chaos, Anne's father emerged from the kitchen, his face etched with concern.

"Take a moment to breathe, Anne," he advised his voice a steady anchor amidst the storm. "You've got this."

"Sorry, Dad," Anne apologized. Almost out of breath. "I just didn't expect so many people."

"We know Anne," her mother chimed in from behind. "But you've got this. Just remember what we've taught you and stay focused."

Anne nodded, her gaze fixed on her parents. Their confidence in her abilities ignited a flicker of determination within her. She took a deep breath, her mind set on the goal she had set for the day — to ensure every customer left the restaurant with a smile and maintain her record of zero spills in one night. So to speak.

As the first wave of orders flooded in, the atmosphere in the restaurant became electric. The cacophony of clattering plates, sizzling pans, and urgent calls from Ned filled the air. Anne felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins as she moved swiftly from one station to another, trying her best to keep up with the relentless demands of the diners without losing her insanity.

However, the pressure intensified with each passing minute. The sheer volume of tasks overwhelmed the Thai girl, and doubt crept into Anne's mind. Was she capable of handling the bustling restaurant on such a busy day? Self-doubt threatened to overshadow her confidence, but she pushed those thoughts aside, reminding herself of her parents' belief in her abilities. After all, she was the one who defeated King Andrias after all. What did she have to worry about?

Yet, despite her growing confidence amid the orchestrated chaos and the immense energy that began to cloud her concentration, disaster struck at the worst time. It started when her hands began to tremble. This was due to the messy-haired girl's attempts to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, her mind racing to remember each customer's specific requests—a big mistake on her behalf.

The pressure was suffocating, leaving her overwhelmed and unsure of her abilities. The weight of responsibility pressed against her chest, making each breath challenging. Then it happened—a momentary lapse that ruined her composure. As she was busy squeezing past her father with two orders, who was busy working on the stove, Anne accidentally bumped into him just as she was on her way out, and caused her father to lose his grip on the pot of scalding soup. Thus causing it to slip from his grasp and splattO.W. across his daughter's arm.

"OW! MOTHER OF ALL FROG!" she shouted.

Pain seared through her, an intense burn threatening to dull her spirit. The world around her seemed to fade as the searing heat consumed her thoughts. But that wasn't even the worse part about it. The worst part was that amidst her terrible accident, it appeared outside the kitchen door and in the restaurant for everyone to see.

Time seemed to have frozen as the customers' heads swiveled in her direction. Anne's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes from the added pain of boiling water sizzling in her flesh. Sooner or later, she began to panic. The stress finally caught up to her. Her mother, ever watchful, instinctively rushed her back into the kitchen. At the same time, she assured the customers that everything was alright. In the back, her mom set Anne down on the floor, where her father rushed over to check on her after quickly cleaning up the supposed mess.

"Are you okay, Anne?" her mother asked, examining her tentatively. "Where does it hurt?"

"It's not just that," Anne said, with tears swelling in her eyes. "I messed up. I went too early, and I messed up in front of everybody. And now my arm looks like complete swamp gas."

"Hey honey," Mr. Boonchuy said smoothly, taking the palm of her hand and rubbing it against his own. "Mistakes are okay. That's just part of life. You know this."

"But how can you do this with so many people?" she questioned further, adding a sliver of doubt. "Or know when you've reached your limits."

The two parents paused in response. It was a relatively good question. But no doubt, their experience in this line of work alone would be enough to answer it properly.

"We don't, Anne," Mrs. Boonchuy explained. "But we know that having faith in yourself and the people around you will always help pick you back up. It's just what it means to be a Boonchuy."

As usual, the Thai girl knew all too well that her mother was right, from which she nodded gratefully, her mother's words continuing to act like a lifeline amidst the sea of self-doubt. Wiping away her tears, she resolved not to let this setback define her. And in return, her parents smiled, just as grateful for continuing to be enduring examples of encouragement that they have always been to their child.

After a brief silence, the Boonchuys suddenly returned to reality and decided not to keep the customers waiting.

"Here, why don't you take a break," Mrs. Boonchuy suggested. "We can manage from here."

"Yeah, take this too," Mr. Boonchuy implored, holding out a piece of cloth for Anne to take. "It should help with your arm."

"Are you sure, guys?" Anne questioned. "I'm a little better now."

"Your safety is just as important, Anne Savisa Boonchuy," Mrs. Boonchuy said, firmly pointing a finger. "Everything else can wait."

Anne opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Yet again, Anne had detested that her mother was right for what was the millionth time now.

"Fair point," she acknowledged, wrapping the bandage around her arm. "In that case, I'll be in the back if you need me."

Though before she could take her leave, her mother gave Anne one last thing to do, which involved a large trash bag containing disposable items.

"Oh, before you go, take this while you're at it," Mrs. Boonchuy assigned with a smile.

Thus, making Anne chuckle in amusement. Boonchuys had a very long history of being irritatingly smug toward everything. Even Anne herself was one on most occasions. It was in her blood. And she couldn't get enough of it from her mother.

"Yes, mom."

From there, Anne opened the door to the side of the restaurant, where there was a small alleyway with a garbage bin just across. Before she could put the lump of trash into the container, Anne stopped and sat in front of the door to patch up her wound. To her credit, it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. However, it did leave a rather nasty mark on her. It'll take a week for it to fade away.

When she was done patching it up, the Thai teen checked her phone to see if any of her friends had texted her. The first thing that came to mind was the bombardment of text messages from Sasha. Many were screenshots of clothes she had stumbled upon at the mall with Maggie and Gabby in the background. One of which the blonde commander wore while looking superimposing. A rather typical thing for Sasha to do.

"Hah, cute," she said to herself.

She then texted and responded with 'lol,' before scrolling down again. However, she stopped as her eyes met on the icon above Marcy, her other best friend. She remembered texting her around noon, asking if she was okay. Only to see now that she had responded. With a bunch of x's and o's.

And it was here that Anne began to wonder about Marcy. More specifically, about what she was currently doing now. Anne remembered Marcy mentioned being at the public library, which would be rather obvious, but Anne would know that Marcy wouldn't stay there for long if Anne knew her best friend well. She was willing to wager she'd be at home playing Vagiabondia Chronicles or setting up a game of Creatures and Caverns for her and Sasha to play for hours.

However, it was unfortunate that she couldn't hang with her and Sasha, despite the irony of her personality. Yet for all it was worth, Anen couldn't blame her. After everything that had happened in the past three days, it must be tough for Marcy to recover from it all. And yet, now that she thought about it, Anne began to wonder if there was anything more she could do for her.

The Thai hero learned back in Amphibia that they were stranded there in the first place because she and Sasha didn't spend much time with her. Not only that, but they ignored her needs and interests too. Sure, she and Sasha had done better since returning home, but sometimes...Anne wondered if she could do more as any true friend would.

But that will have to be for another time, for she had other matters to attend to. One involved properly disposing of a certain obstruction that almost slipped her mind. Which she decided to get as she got up and grabbed the trash bag. Thus carrying it with her left arm and opening the top of the trash bin so she can throw it in.

However, the moment she dumped the bag into the bin, something precarious caught Anne's eye. On the top of the lid was a small but rather colorful piece that she hadn't recognized. Carefully, the Thai teen reached over and picked it up with her dominant hand. Only to bring it closer to inspect it further.

As she observed, Anne noticed that it was some form of a spike, with one end coated blue and the other yellow. The Boonchuy girl was vaguely puzzled, as she had never seen anything like it. And this was coming from a girl who has fought monsters, aliens, robots, etc. But in the end, Anne just shrugged it off.

'Must be some weird toy some kids brought or something.'

And with that, the Thai girl shut the door behind her as she returned inside. Completely unaware of the danger that is beginning to stoke along the fringes of the restaurant. For rom here, a pair of small chickens landed on top of the trash bin, and up on the rooftops, a lengthy shadow grew from the darkness. Thus revealing a bipedal assassin with a rather voracious appetite.

Chapter Text

Stormfly was beyond ravenous.

And that was tipping the iceberg of how she was feeling now. It has been a few days since she first warped into the heavily infested world, apparently teamed with new hostile humans armed to the teeth with weapons the Nadder had never seen before. The space she spawned from was rough and rugged, turning out to be a deserted building crawling with old clay bricks and spiderwebs. From then on, she had been scouring the corners of this landing, trying to find and locate her king and brethren while staying clear of these ruthless beings. Only to come up with no success so far. And what is worse, Stormfly had not eaten since then. Constantly on the move, the relatively precise deadly nadder hadn't stopped to find something to eat. Though in her defense, Stormfly was curious if there was anything to eat to her liking. Everything about this land seemed different.

Hostile.

Alien, if not.

But regardless of that, she had to stay focused. Her mission assumed top priority, no matter how hungry she felt. However, there was a downside to it. Stormfly couldn't ignore the feeling forever, no matter how determined she was to find the others. And for a while, it started to gnaw at her. Like an unrelenting itch on her backside just waiting to be scratched. It was only a matter of time before she would succumb to its irresistible influence.

Then, finally, after going days without eating, she lost it. And now, she was desperate to eat something. She didn't care what it was or where it came from. She just had to eat, and soon. But yet again, there was also another downside to this. Being in uncharted territory made it twice as hard for her to find some food. The deadly nadder wasn't even sure if this world had any fish. Or chicken, for that matter. One of which sounded good right now. She searched and searched and still found nothing. And now it had gotten to the point where Stormfly felt she would faint.

Finally, after a long search, Stormfly had gotten a whiff of something promising. Something she was all too familiar with. Using her tracker class sense of smell, she followed the scent under the detection of the humans. And while scouring the rooftops of this foreign human city, the deadly nadder had stumbled upon a rather strange contraption. One of which she knew was holding something. Though the persistent dragon couldn't determine what she was looking at. It was dark, and the light illuminating from the strange poles surrounding the city didn't help her line of sight.

But as she moved in to take a closer look, Stormfly's eyes widened with awe, as she had found not just what she was looking for but what she had hoped to see for so long.

Chickens!

Lots and lots of chickens!

There were about twenty of them in this single cage. All in different colors and sizes. To a single nadder, this single cage could provide more than anyone could ever eat. Stormfly hoped for a much more significant outcome, but at this point, she was so hungry she didn't even want to consider a better alternative. As she drew closer to the cage, the vain dragon started salivating, licking her chops in great anticipation. Stormfly hunched down, being as quiet as she could so the chickens didn't startle awake.

Then, she lunged into the pen in a flash, not caring about the wired fence that shielded the chickens from her vigorous appearance. The sudden strike sent them into a spiral. Some loud cries and clucks sprung from inside the cage. And the chickens jumped out of their nests and towards the exit. Only to be cornered by the hunger-filled spikey dragon. Crazed by the scent of fresh bird meat, Stormfly has her pick of prey, not even bothering to take her time. And by one, she snatched the rather helpless birds and mercilessly devoured them, basking in the satisfying taste of chicken blood while reminding herself of why it was her favorite meal.

Though unaware, Stormfly could barely spot some chickens slipping from her clutches and making a break for it outside the pen. Caught up in a feeding frenzy, the spikey dragon pursued them. In addition to filling her needed-to-be-filled belly, Stormfly thought it wise to leave no evidence she was here, even if it was unlikely. She chased them across the rooftops, snatching a couple in the process. However, two were getting farther than most. After gobbling up three more chickens, Stormfly caught a glimpse of two approaching the roof's edge. To slow their escape, Stormfly unlodged a flurry of poisonous spikes, piercing through one chicken but missing another, and hit a wall just behind it. Only for one to bounce off and drop to below it.

On better terms, Stormfly would have thought to be careful about unleashing her spikes, but hunger triumphed over her wits. And instinct began to take form. She snatched the struck chicken, gorging on its feather hide as it screamed in her mouth. Once done, she turned to the other chicken, who'd already reached the roof's edge, and jumped down. Blinded by hunger, Stormfly raced after it. She slowed before making it to the roof's edge. Upon looking down, she saw the chicken on top of what seemed to be a waste container. Not wanting to let it escape, the spikey dragon jumped down and right off the top of the chicken. The last thing it saw was a pair of two enormous jaws closing in on it, with a crunching sound being heard afterward.

The warm taste of blood goaded the elusive nadder as her hunger was now satisfied. However, in the vitality of her frenzy, Stormfly was so with filling her belly she could not hear a cracking sound coming from behind her. In the second it took for her to realize it, the deadly nadder cocked her head to the left, only to come into contact with a human girl who seemingly had a large bag in one hand. The human didn't notice her at first since her eyes were pinned to the ground. But the moment she looked up, she froze in place. Instinctively, Stormfly whipped around and bared her teeth at the interloper, giving off a chilling growl in her wake. They stared at each other for half a second before the girl seemingly dropped her bag. And after another moment of silence, only one thing came out of the girl's mouth.

"Nope."

Half a second later, the girl returned inside and shut the door. While Stormfly stood there, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

Five minutes earlier...

It was now closing hour at the restaurant, and Anne could already see many customers were departing. Despite the incident that happened earlier, Anne was able to recover from it and resume work with her family. Like most days, today was a smashing success for the Boonchuys. Having made as much business as they have been doing these last few months, Thai Go was about to enter a new golden age of astonishing acquisition. There was no doubt that the Boonchuy would now be doing great business in the years to come, thus leaving a legacy that could last for generations.

And nobody was happier than Anne Boonchuy, who was partially responsible for its success. Her recent contributions to the restaurant, along with her newly acquired status as Los Angeles's most esteemed savior, have boosted the ratings of this fine establishment. And she felt proud to do her was indeed a sign that she had come a long way from what she was before Amphibia. The person who would slack off in school and skip classes, the person who would get into all sorts of mischief with her friends Sasha and Marcy, some of which she would take the blame for—the type of person who took the most accessible routes in life instead of focusing on her self-worth. It was a genuinely endearing accomplishment.

She still has a long life ahead, with many trials and errors. However, it would be worth noting that the future Thai goddess would spend that time making the most of it. And if helping her family achieve greatness through their esteemed restaurant was the way to go, then that was what she would do. Because that was the type of person, she had turned into. But today's job was now done, which meant she would have to look forward to it simultaneously. And if it meant finishing up by helping her parents clean up, then so be it.

Anne was left to put the chairs up as her parents bid guests farewell. Ned was with her, helping out as well. Often, she heard him talk about his food truck but was too focused to pay attention to his story in perfect detail. Instead, Anne was more concentrated on how Marcy and Sasha were doing. She knows Sasha's probably having a blast, considering her track record for shopping sprees. Who knows how many pairs of Crocs Sasha would have by the end of the week? If she knew her well enough, she should have ten by the start of next week. And that would only be the tip of the iceberg, considering the thousands of other pictures she received all day. But simultaneously, the Thai hero couldn't help but think about Marcy. The poor girl didn't seem to be doing well the last time she saw her. However, considering what happened this past week, she couldn't blame her. It's not easy for anyone to go through public humiliation like Marcy did. And that's one of her best friends, which made her feel much worse.

And it didn't make her feel any less that she was partially responsible for it, too, mainly because it was her idea to bring her to that party. Thus leading up to what happened later on. But to be fair, she had no idea any of what happened was going to happen. Especially since she only partially considers Tracy's schemes, nor was half of the school with her on it. And Marcy was having a good time, too. It was one of those moments where the Thai hero thought everything would've gone smoothly had it gone differently. Still, it didn't seem like the guilt would go away soon. Instead, it began to eat at her, insisting that she should've done more for her friend. That she wasn't there when she needed her. Just like in Amphibia.

"Is everything alright, Anne?"

The very sound of her mother's voice brought Anne out of her supposed trace. The act alone caused her to whip around and take in the sight of her mom with a look of concern written all over her face. Ned was alongside her, just as concerned. She'd been thinking for a lot longer than she intended.

"Oh, sorry, Mom," she tried to brush off with a smile. "Just got a little distracted."

Despite the plausible excuse, her mother was not convinced. Not even in the slightest. Her mother looked over her shoulder toward Ned and gestured to the door outside, indicating for him to give them a minute alone. The food truck driver understandably gave them a nod before heading out, probably to help finish up closing.

"Is something bothering you, Anne?" her mother asked again, more sternly this time.

"Seriously, Mom, everything's fine," Anne tries to deny. "Just lost my train of thought."

Her mother was still unconvinced. Thus prompting her to place her hands on her hips and squint. As if she already knew that her daughter was hiding something. Anne was making it way too obvious at this point. Knowing that resistance is pointless, Anne bows to the inevitable.

"Alright, fine, everything's not alright!" she admitted. "Happy now?"

"I'll be happy once you tell me what's on your mind," her mother replied.

Up to this point, Anne lets out a sigh. It was apparent that she was going to have to give her mother an answer. One of the many things she learned over the past year was to trust her family with certain things, especially if one in particular was very sensitive and personal to her.

"I'm just worried about my friend, Marcy," she confessed, and her mom tilted her head in confusion.

"You mean that nice one we picked up a few days ago who's supposedly a nerd?" her mom asked, thus making Anne blush in embarrassment.'

"Yup, that's the one," she conceded. Overall, she took another deep breath, trying to compose herself. "Did I ever tell you what happened to her at that party?"

"I don't think so," her mother answered, furrowing an eyebrow in curiosity.

Anne hesitated for a second. She wondered if she should be telling her mother this kind of thing, considering how sensitive and emotional it was. But simultaneously, she knew it was best to get it off her chest anyway. It was just a tricky thing to admit, even to her mother.

"When we got there, it seemed to be going pretty well," she explained, rubbing her back as she talked. "We were dancing, playing video games, making new friends. And Marcy...she was having so much fun."

Anne paused. It was tough for her to recall the memories of that night. The very images were permanently scarred in her skull. From the party to the video, the look on Marcy's face, and the picture of when she found her in the middle of the road. The scarred, bloody image that she couldn't get out of her head.

"And then that prissy, snobby, two-face despot Tracy had to be such a buzzkill and ruin everything!" Anne exclaimed. "She crashes the party, humiliates my friend, and then has the gall to post a video of it online."

Her mom stood there in silence, taking all of this in. Yet Anne could see the mortified look in her eyes.

"Then, Marcy ran off," she continued. "I wouldn't blame her for doing that...but when we found her...I don't know what happened, but...let's say it was that bad. Like, we had to rush her to the hospital badly. And she hasn't been the same since."

Anne's mother looked beyond horrified as to what she had heard. She had her fair share of bullying in the past; discrimination kind of runs in the family. But it couldn't possibly top whatever trauma her daughter had just described to her. However this 'Tracy' character was, she seemed to be such a monster from what she could tell.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Anne," she said sympathetically.

"But the worst part about it was that I couldn't do anything to help her," Anne confessed further, clenching her fist in anger. Tears started to develop in the corner of her eyes. And her mother began to take notice, thus causing her to be concerned. "She's my best friend. And I should've done something. I should've been there for her, maybe even stood up for her. I should've just-"

Her mother cuts her off by her shoulders and hugs her tightly. The sudden action surprises Anne for a second, but she gradually settles in and returns an embrace, knowing she is in safe hands.

"Anne, there is nothing you could've done to prevent that from happening," she tells her only child. "Stuff like this happens all the time. And it is not exactly in your control. Just like your accident today."

"I know that," Anne acknowledged, though her guilt still outweighed the sentiment. "So why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad, angry..and hurt...how can I make this go away? How can I make it better for Marcy and me."

"You can't, Anne," her mother says in a smooth, calming voice, tenderly rubbing her back to ease the tension in her daughter's shoulders. "Whatever your friend is going through now is up to her to get past. And you can't change that. But the least you can do is be there when she needs you. Just like how we were there for you when you needed us today."

Anne looked up in response, finding truth and solace in her mother's eyes. It was still hard for her to believe there was a bright side to all of this. But her mom did make a compelling case; she'll give her that.

"It'll work out in the end, Anne," her mother continued. "It just takes time."

Anne grinned at the thought. Every conversation with her mother in the past few years has always been the little pick-me-up thing she's always needed. It's what's been keeping her going thus far. Even in her darkest hours after returning briefly from Amphibia. Before charging back head-first into the war that saved both their worlds. She repaid her mom's terms of endearment by tightening her grip.

"Thanks, mom," she said.

"Glad to help," her mom replied. "Though I'm still surprised at how far you've grown."

There was a brief silence until her mother took the opportunity to speak up.

"Speaking of which, do you mind taking these out in the back?" she asked, referring to a pair of trashbags she had just pulled out from the back of her hand.

Anne rolled her eyes in response yet smirked playfully.

"Yes, Mom," she said with a long, sarcastic groan as if to communicate how exhausted she was on a somewhat optimistic scale. "But these are the last ones for the night, right?"

And with that, she took the bag in her hands and made it to the back. However, not before she heard her mom say, "Oh, and don't forget to lock the door behind you."

Shortly after, Anne strolled down to the back to dispose of the bags while her mother conversed with her father about business-related stuff. Along the way, she took her mother's words to heart. Though the guilt remained, her mom's words of wisdom were enough to remedy it. She would need to hold up her end to keep it that way. Perhaps think of something she could do with Marcy to make up for that day. But that's another topic for another day.

As the average teen approached the door, Anne felt a ringing buzz from her left pocket to where she kept her phone. When she picked it out, she was greeted with yet another sophisticated photo from Sasha, showing off five pairs of Crocs she was no doubt planning on buying. It only brought a slight smirk on Anne's face in response.

"Called it," she muttered.

Afterward, she sent a laughing emoji before closing her screen and putting her phone back in her pocket. Half a heartbeat later, she turned the doorknob that led out to the trash bin outside. However, as soon as the door was flung open, Anne was suddenly greeted with something she was NOT expecting. As she looked up from having her eyes locked onto her phone for too long, she was greeted by an enormous figure that stood in the narrow alleyway that was supposed to be where the trash bin was. Thus leaving her to freeze in place right on the spot.

At first, she mistook it for a giant crane or one of those big herons she was forced to battle with back in Amphibia. But as the figure panned further into the light, the features of the interloper had become much more apparent. As far as the Thai teenager could understand, the being before her possessed a bipedal physic, almost resembling a dinosaur. Its body was vivid and striking, with blue and yellow stripes and a light beige underbelly. At the back of what turned out to be the creature's head, Anne could spot a crown of spikes, almost curved inward like a paper mache crown.

Along the sides of the mysterious vagabond were two mottled wings folded like a makeshift paper airplane. And there appeared to be a long, slender tail sticking out from the end of the figure, with curved spikes coated at every corner. But that was merely the body of which she had seen. As soon as it turned its ghastly head slightly to face her, the Boonchuy girl was horrified to see a large, parrot-like skull adorned with a curved nasal horn and a small, yellow eye with a black, lizard-like pupil staring right into her own. Though worst of all, it was equipped with an uneven set of jaws, filled with razor-sharp teeth smeared with blood and feathers.

After connecting the dots and using her head, it became more apparent what Anne was looking at. And right about now, it was not looking good for her. But worse, the irony in her statement the other day would now bite back at her. For before her was one thing she had least expected to run into in the last few days. As far as she understood, one that was rumored to cause massive destruction within the last 48 hours and one that was entirely new to this world. Thus, one word came into mind for the messy-haired Thai hero.

Dragon!

A mother-flipping dragon!

With that thought in mind, Anne held her breath, hoping the creature wouldn't immediately notice her. But alas, the feeling remained short-lived, as the animal turned its body and bared its uneven set of fangs at the teen hero. Thus giving off an unsettling snarl that sent a cold shiver down Anne's spleen. For a brief moment, they toggled each other, locking eyes in what seemed to be a staring contest. In that particular sense, a thousand questions began to run through the back of Anne's mind. How did it get here? Why is it in the back of my parent's restaurant? Why is there blood covered in its mouth? Do I smell chicken?

All the while, the dragon itself waited. To what end, Anne was not entirely sure of. Maybe to give her a false sense of security or something. Yet, instinct began to run through Anne's nerves before either one could move. Thus increasing her heart rate and staggering her breathing. Eventually, as night's cold breeze began to pierce her skin like a white-hot knife, Anne formally came to a decision that could be summed up with a single word.

"Nope."

With that, she turned back around and closed the door, briefly locking it before leaning against it and breathing heavily. From there on, Anne didn't know what to do. She was so busy trying to grasp the situation while acting upon an instinct that she didn't know what to do next. Her blood ran cold, and her nerves were still on edge. Usually, she'd be more self-aware in handling these sorts of things, but this was a complete unknown to her. And considering the fact she hasn't faced a particular situation like this since Amphibia, one could say that she's a little rusty when it comes to this.

She looked ahead, seeing her mom and dad still discussing business-related stuff. But she had no idea how to relay this to them, especially given that a giant bird-like dragon parked at the back of their restaurant. Maybe if she waited a bit, the dragon would eventually lose interest and fly away. But apparently, that was driven out of proportion, as she felt what turned out to be the creature breathing from the other side of the door, which could only mean one thing.

It wasn't leaving.

And worse, it seemed that it was getting closer and closer to the door, indicating its interest in the place. Eventually, she turned back to the direction of her family, still not sure of what to make of all this. It was rather evident that Anne was in unchartered territory. Since she went two whole months without having to deal with robots or monsters or power-hungry tyrants. But eventually, Anne concluded that she had to do something instead of sitting and waiting.

It was clear that this creature had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. And should it find another way, perhaps even take the front entrance, then who knows what could happen next. More importantly, it could mean big trouble for her, her family, and any lingering customers who had overstayed their welcome. Though if that were the case, she'd have to be discrete about it. The last thing they needed was another panic. It reminded her of years ago when an army of rats entered the kitchen and nearly threatened to shut down the restaurant. It nearly drove her mother insane. She couldn't risk that happening again, even if this were a prehistoric pest she was dealing with.

So, she took a deep breath, composing herself as she had done in the past, and went straight into the restaurant without delay. It seemed almost empty to her luck, with a few stragglers already flying out the door—a good sign. The last thing they needed was a potentially dangerous monster harming innocent people in their restaurant. When she looked around to find her mother, Anne was relieved to see her at the cashier's desk, counting the money they'd managed to make thus far. Her father was with her as well. So, there was no need to be discrete.

"Hey, mom," she started. "I think we might have a problem. Like, a serious problem."

"Anne, what's going on?" her mother questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"I don't know," Anne answered, on the verge of panicking. "I just saw something outside that didn't look right."

Her mother was confused.

"Well, what was it?" she asked.

"That's the thing, Mom, I don't exactly know how to describe it, but-"

She turned around to see if anyone was still lingering in the restaurant one last time, spotting now but them as a result. While that was a good sign, it did not quell her mom losing her patience.

"Okay, Anne, you're scaring me. What is it that's outside?"

Finally, the messy-haired girl gave her an answer. Though in the form of Pig Latin.

"Ooklay in the ackbay," she whispered, gesturing in the back.

On the other hand, her mom didn't get the memo.

"What?"

"Look in the back!"

Her mom looked over her shoulder, seeing nothing as a result.

"What back?" she asked again, thus prompting Anne to turn back around. "Anne, what is going on?"

"Mom, please try to understand," Anne reinforces, looking back toward the door. "There's a"

Suddenly, a loud thudding noise immediately got the Boonchuy's attention. Shortly after, there was another one, which came from directly above the restaurant. They all looked to see dust falling from the ceiling above. Half a heartbeat later, a tremendous thudding sound came just outside the front entrance to the restaurant. Thus prompting Anne to instinctively grab her parents' hands and yank them toward the cashier stand to hide under. When Anne's gaze fixated on the front door, she saw nothing at first. Eventually, a giant nostril appeared at the center, releasing a puff of smoke.

Thus signifying that the beast was still outside and hadn't left like she hoped it would. Half a second later, a sizeable familiar eye peered as the creature looked from outside. It was emitting an audible hissing sound as it held on its gaze. Half a heartbeat later, it turned its head so the tip of its nose was facing the door, thus releasing another puff of smoke while hissing simultaneously and giving the Boonchuys a frightful scare.

"Honey, please tell me you locked the door," her mom said to her loving husband.

"Um, last time I checked, it was your turn to lock up after closing hour," Mr. Boonchuy shot back, much to his wife's annoyance.

"Ugh, never mind," she exclaimed with a facepalm. She then turns to Anne, who just returned after peaking again. "Are you sure the back door's secure?"

"Yes," Anne replied, though she remained unsure. "Unless it figures out how to open doors. But I doubt it. If I learned anything back in Amphibia, you see that creatures of any kind are virtually stupid."

This is a bold statement made by the clever Thai girl. But to her horror, a shaking sound came from the restaurant's front entrance. As she slowly peaked up from their spot behind the cashier's desk, her eyes about to bulge out of their sockets, Anne soon realized that she had just eaten her own words, for it was here that the knob slowly began to turn. Though it was rather shifty, the knob twitched until; finally, there was a sudden popping noise, signaling to the Boonchuy residents that the door was now open. All the while, Anne stood there, watching tentatively as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, coming to one ultimate conclusion.

It could open doors?

This varied notion threw Anne in a trance, knowing there'd be nothing to barricade the restaurant from this beast. At the same time, she could hear the door starting to creak as the dragon began pushing its head against it. Though it was relatively light, the dragon nudged it again, only to get the same result. It was only the third time that the dragon forcefully pushed the door open. Therefore, flooding the restaurant with the cold breeze of the outside world, the seemingly colorful creature stood at the doorway, drawing itself to its full height while looking around the emptiness of their beloved restaurant.

Until now, Anne sat there, hidden behind the cashier's desk, still grasping how wrong she was. However, as she looked to her left, her predicament didn't go away, as her mother gave her a side-eye glance.

"Virtually stupid, huh?" her mother commented sarcastically.

"Okay, I may have misjudged myself," Anne unwilliingfully admitted.

She peeked over again and started to notice that the dragon hadn't necessarily spotted them yet. Nor did it seem

Instead, it only seemed to sniff around, almost as if it was more interested in the place than anything else. That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. If what she saw about these creatures on the news was correct, they found themselves in a pickle.

"What is that thing?" her mom asked, keeping her voice low so the creature couldn't hear them.

"I don't know," Anne replied. "But if I were to take a guess, I think that's one of those dragons that appeared out of nowhere."

"You mean from the news?" her father inquired. "I thought that was just propaganda."

Both ladies raised an eyebrow in question, causing Mr. Boonchuy to blush in embarrassment.

"Sorry, been rereading too many online blogs," he confessed before briefly changing the subject. "So, what do we do now?"

It was a tough call, considering all their weapons were back home. However, Anne did recall leaving her tennis racket in the back, right next to the kitchen. However, there was a fifty-fifty chance that it wasn't since she didn't exactly remember whether or not she brought her tennis racket to the restaurant. But simultaneously, she was willing to wager that it was there. Hopefully.

Yet the only problem was getting back there without being spotted. However, as the Thai hero peeped again from her spot, she saw that the dragon was busy sniffing around. Half a second later, it stepped into the restaurant, slowly making its way toward the nearest stacked tables and chairs to the right of the restaurant. Thus leaving the entrance wide open for the taking and giving them a chance at escape.

From that point, it seemed doable. And if all else fails, if she were right about her tennis racket being in the back, then at least she would have something to defend herself with. And even if it wasn't, there's still a likely chance they could use something back there as a weapon. But they couldn't go all at once. They would need to split off to cover more ground to pull this off, giving her an idea.

"Dad, see if you can find anything in the back that we can use as a weapon," Anne directed. "Mom and I will sneak out and call for help."

"Are you sure?" her father asked, unsure about this plan. " It seems pretty risky."

"Anne's right," her mother emphasized. "It's the only way we can get past whatever that thing is."

"But, what if-"

"It'll be fine, honey," her mom reassures. "We've fought much worse than this. Remember when we fought that robot a few months back?"

"Yeah, but that was-"

"No different from this," she continued to reassure. "You just have to keep a calm mind."

Despite her optimism, Mr. Boonchuy remained unsure about this but trusted his wife and daughter enough to go along with it nonetheless.

"Okay," he finally conceded. "But be careful. Both of you."

"Are you kidding? What would you do without me?" her mother joked before turning back to her daughter. She waited for her cue as Anne peered for the fourth time. It was here that she saw the dragon was busy sniffing the unstacked table from the center of the restaurant. And it was here that she formulated a straightforward approach.

'Get in, use the tables as cover, get out. It should be simple.' That said, the two ladies went first, snaking across the desk and over to the tables from the near side of the restaurant. The dragon slowly approached from the other side as they carefully crawled alongside the wall tables. Though it made Anne slightly concerned that the creature was getting closer and closer, the stacked tables could cover them from its prying eyes. That was a promising sign so far. Yet there was still a lot of ground to cover and probably not enough time if they didn't hurry.

The young Thai teen shuddered as her gaze caught the sight of the dragon's foot, equipped with four razor-sharp talons. They were probably capable of splitting a person's stomach open should it be given a chance. But it won't come to that, not to her or her family. Anne looked over her shoulder as she began to pass the creature to see that her father hadn't moved an inch since they split up. For a moment, she wondered why he hadn't taken his chance yet but then realized that the dragon could still spot him. He probably needs to find an opening. However, as the dragon turned its head toward the mini-fridge near the back, her father took it as a distraction and slowly snuck inside. Thus giving 25 points to Team Boonchuy.

Then suddenly, the bipedal reptile swung its long tail, knocking a couple of chairs and cutting Anne from her mother. As a result, both ladies scattered, Anne going toward a table on the other side of the restaurant while her mother hid behind the nearest one to the right. Once hidden, Anne looked back to see that the dragon didn't notice the commotion and was fixated on the mini-fridge instead. She watched as it eyed the frozen juice inside, tilting its head in curiosity. It almost reminded her of her cat Domino whenever she'd take him to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and he'd stare at all the fish. It was somewhat wholesome to watch.

However, her moment of amusement was suddenly interrupted when she heard a loud clanging sound coming from the other side of the restaurant, specifically where her mother was hiding. She looked to see that a metal spoon had dropped right where she was hiding. Therefore, it caused Anne to gasp lightly as the dragon turned its head from the mini-fridge towards that specific direction. As Anne would've suspected, the bipedal creature started making its way toward it to investigate and put her mother at risk of being seen.

Anne tried to wave to her mother from her spot, urging her to break for it. But she refused, probably believing that if she did, she'd give herself away to the creature before Anne could think of any other alternative. The dragon was already at the other side of the table, barely a hair's length away from her mother, who was on the other side. There, the beast eyed the metal spoon that lay on the floor—briefly licking the metal surface of it and sniffing it simultaneously.

As for her mother, Anne could do nothing but watch as her mother sat there. She held her breath to avoid alerting the bird-like beast. As it inched closer and closer to the other side, the smell of blood started to become more frequent, and thus, little drops of it began to drip on the floor from the creature's greasy maw. Anne's mom grabbed hold of the legs of a chair sticking out. Ready to fight for her life if it ever came to it. But to her luck, it never came.

Instead, before it could turn the corner, the dragon was drawn to a loud clicking sound from the back. When Anne looked to see the cause of it, she was relieved to know that it was her father. Who found something in the back and had something else in mind. Unexpectedly, the smell of fresh meat started filling the restaurant—a scent that drew the dragon's attention instantly. Anne watched the creature briefly lick its jaws before moving toward the back.

At the same time, she watched her father back further into the curtains, most likely hiding in the kitchen before the dragon could spot him. Before long, the dragon was already at the back, though it stopped momentarily when it came across the curtain. It briefly sniffed the beads that made up the string door before nudging it with the tip of its muzzle. The curious yet playful demeanor seemingly plagued its entire face. The Thai hero then watched as it stuck its head halfway through the curtains before shaking them off out of irritation.

Nonetheless, the smell of meat drew its attention back, causing it to stick back to the beaded curtains. This time, its entire body passed them until it appeared on the other side. Though it was hard to tell from this angle, Anne could see the dragon sniffing again, probably following the scent of delectable meat for its taste. She watched it turn the corner, facing the direction in which the fridge would be. Thus, she concluded that her father opened it up as a distraction. Clever move!

Suddenly, there was a loud screech from the other side of the curtains and a brief sound of banging metal, followed by ripping plastic and crunching flesh. This means that the dragon has taken the bait. Feeling safe, Anne and her mom drop their cover, regrouping at the front entrance while anxiously awaiting her father's reappearance. And within a short time, he emerged from underneath the curtains while the dragon continued its supposed feast. And surprisingly, he had Anne's tennis racket in his hand as a bonus.

"Come on," her mother urged quietly. "Let's go while it's distracted."

With that, Mr. Boonchuy started slowly making his way to the entrance. While all seemed well, Anne suddenly realized a possible fire-breathing dragon would still be in the restaurant.

"But what about the restaurant?" she questioned, just realizing

"We'll worry about that later. Right now, we have to call the police."

"You think they can take on that?"

"Maybe, but we must ensure it doesn't get out until then. So that means-"

A small victory was suddenly short-lived in a flash when a specific food truck driver came bursting into the restaurant without warning.

"Hey, Mrs. B!" he declared, unaware of how loud he was being. "Just got back with your latest orders. Should I have ready to go, or?"

"Ned, what are you doing?!" her mother immediately scolded in a muffled tone.

"What do you mean, 'what am I going?'" he asked in confusion. "I'm telling you that I did as you-"

Anne covered his mouth with her hand as quickly as she could before gesturing to the back, only for the entire room to go silent as a reptilian head peered from the other side of the curtains. Nearly halfway to the entrance, Mr. Boonchuy froze on the spot as he could hear heavy breathing coming from behind him while his family looked on in absolute horror. For a brief but subtle moment, there was silence before it was. Interrupted by a bloodcurdling screech, the dragon burst out of the curtains and charged straight for Anne's father, who had already made a break for the door as quickly as he could.

Luckily for him, the dragon managed to trip over a set of tables in its approach. Thus buying him a few more seconds. Still, the dragon remained persistent as it scrambled back to its feet and continued its pursuit.

"Come on, come on!" Anne yelled. "Hurry!"

Unknowing to the Boonchuy family, the quills amongst the dragon's tail began to uncoil. Before Mr. Boonchuy could reach the door, the dragon flings its tail above its head, thus sending a small spike that pierced his ankle. The sheer impact of the spike caused Anne's father to cry out in pain as he tripped across the ground, dropping Anne's tennis racket while grabbing onto his struck leg. Anne and her mother rushed over to help him, grabbing him by both his hands before he was unexpectedly dragged backward by the dragon, which locked its jaws onto his injured leg while yanking the downed man from his family's arms and pulling him back into the restaurant with him crying out for help.

"ANNE! OUM! HELP!"

"DAD!" Anne cried out.

"BEE!" her mother added.

Anne's mother rushed in first while Anne hung back for a bit to pick up her tennis racket. Her father continuously screamed in agony as he felt his leg being pierced by the dragon's teeth like a hot knife through butter. Finally, when far back enough, the dragon let go of its hold on him and planted one of its large feet onto his chest. The sheer weight of the dragon began to crush him as the creature looked him straight in the eye, with its bloody maw illuminating from the light above.

Yet, as quick as a flash, the dragon was met with a chair to the side of its head as Anne's mom came crashing down. Therefore causing the dragon to stumble for a bit. She swung the chair again, but the dragon regained its ground and jumped back. Being on the offensive, Mrs. Boonchuy tries another swing for a third time, only to miss and dodge the dragon's snapping jaws by only a hair. The dragon then flares its wings out, making itself look better in a show of dominance.

However, to its obliviousness, the dragon failed to see Mr. Boonchuy limpingly climb up to his feet and grab yet another chair. While Oum distracted the dragon, Bee snuck up from behind the beast and smacked the chair from its rear. While feasible, it didn't affect the dragon, who shrugged it off before striking him across the face with its tail, sending Bee flying across the restaurant. Enraged, Oum lifted the chair for another round, only to be stolen as her daughter rams the dragon's side. Thus, it tumbled toward the restaurant's offside and crashed into another tableset.

While the beast recovered, Oum looked at her daughter, who seemed already fired up and ready. She was prepared to continue the offensive with the chair in her hand when Anne's words suddenly stopped her.

"Go get Dad!" Anne commanded. "I'll handle this."

"But-"

"GO!"

Though hesitant, Mrs. Boonchuy was drawn to the waning cries of her husband, who was in great pain from what she could see. She looks one last time at her daughter before backing off, dropping the chair she had in her hand before rushing to her wounded spouse. Anne watched with a smile as her mother dragged her father outside toward safety before turning her gaze back to her opponent.

When she was finally alone with the beast, Anne waited for the creature to scramble back to its feet. She gripped her tennis racket with both hands as the dragon locked eyes with her and delivered a fierce roar. Yet despite its innate ferocity, Anne did not flinch for a second, for she was all too familiar with the field of battle. She's fought a whole lot for as long as she could remember. And she had managed to come out most, if not all, of them.

This will be no different. Yet as she looked into its eyes, she could sense the lustful sensation in its nerved that clearly stated what kind of mood the dragon was in. Most of it was hunger, but it was also anger. This is the type of anger common in most beasts that are provoked. The rage that a friend has when they find out that another friend they specifically trusted has been lying to their face for a while. The anger that control freaks express when they don't get their way. And, more importantly, the anger that power-hungry tyrants have when rebels threaten their authority.

Yet, with that anger, it lacked purpose. The purpose that gives people a reason to fight and die for. A purpose in which Anne has to protect her family. The purpose that this creature no doubt completely lacks. And that's what will make her the winning victor of this fight. She was sure of that.

"If you think I'm just gonna sit around while you hurt my family," she declared with absolute authority. "Then you've got another thing coming!"

The dragon glared at the teen hero, not being amused even the slightest. Instead, a bright orange glow illuminated from the dragon's maw, and in a flash, the dragon shot a bright stream of fire straight at the Boonchuy girl. However, in an instant, Anne steps to the right, dodging the bright flame lodged at her and piercing the table behind her instead. Instantly, the dragon was taken aback, almost immediately drawing a smirk across the Thai teen's lips.

The dragon responded with a glare before uncoiling its tail again. Anne moved before it could be given time to lodge any darts. She first pivots back toward the left side, dodging any darts. Then delivers a battle cry before charging straight at the bipedal creature. To respond, the dragon released yet another flame, which Anne gracefully dodged the attack before batting away another set of darts.

With both sets of attacks already exhausted, Anne goes for the kill as she leaps from a clear desk, descending upon the dragon with a battle cry as she raises her tennis racket above the air. Yet, to her surprise, instead of smacking the dragon's face with said tennis racket, the dragon responds by spinning around and striking the Thai hero's abdomen with the tip of its tail.

Earning a painful cry, she is sent flying across the back of the restaurant until her back hits the wall hard. Startled by the sudden action, Anne slowly picked herself up. She moaned in agony as she felt like a wrecking ball just hit her. All the while, the dragon stared her down before chirping in some sick form of amusement as it watched her buzzingly climb back to her feet. This vexed Anne to the nerve. It was one thing for someone to belittle her for her mistakes, but it was another for them to tease her in the middle of a fight. She already has Sasha for that.

"Alright, she said as she gripped the tilt of her tennis racket, trying to keep her composure. "No more messing around."

This time, she rushed straight for the dragon, getting straight to the point. Yet before she could move, the dragon almost seemingly leaped to the other side. Then she pushes for a strike, only to miss by a mere inch. Only to miss again for a second strike. And then misses yet another swing as the dragon looks unimpressed. It was almost as if the creature was screaming the words: Slow. Sloppy. Sad. While rubbing her misfires in her face.

Finally, Anne goes for another overhead strike, only to be countered as the dragon blocks the attack with the tip of its tail. Anne strained as her racket was locked against the dragon's tail. Before she was eventually pushed back, the dragon lifted its tail, uncoiling while flaring out its wings in another show of dominance. Finally, after being fed up with this whole charade, Anne changes tactics as she spins back around and rips a piece of clothing right underneath the dragon. Thus causing it to trip on itself before Anne formally ends things as she leaps into the air again and goes for the kill.

Ultimately, Anne is robbed of that outcome for a second time as she feels the tip of the dragon's tail wraps around her neck. Therefore stopping her from her attack run. As Anne struggles under its grasp, the dragon brings her to practically eye level. The beast stared at her while not being amused for a second time. Half a second later, the eye in which the creature was looking was looking at her squinted hatefully. And before long, Anne felt herself being thrown into the air. The dragon lets go of her neck and instead latches onto her right leg before briefly slamming her across one of the tables. Anne grunted as she felt herself dragged across the tables like a rag.

Only to be flung across the restaurant again while the dragon flapped its wings. After hitting another tabletop hard, Anne was barely given enough time to dodge as the dragon dove down at her like a hawk. The beast narrowly missed her by an inch as she leaped onto another table. Only for that table to tip over to the side and send her rolling. Half a heartbeat later, Anne saw the plateau glow a hot orange before splitting in two, as the dragon's eyes also began to glow. The dragon swung its tail there, and Anne could barely parry it with her tennis racket.

Yet after another strike, the dragon staggers back and nearly lodges a dart between her eyes. An act that almost shakes Anne to the bone, given how many times she has brushed off death in the past. However, this was too close to call. Yet, in her puzzling conundrum, Anne failed to see the dragon coiling its tail around her again, only to be swung around and slammed against the ground. Thrice it pounded her against the marble floors of the restaurant. Only to stop briefly to look at her before beating her a fourth time and sending her skidding face-first toward the back of the restaurant.

For a moment, Anne just lay there on the floor, whining in agony as her relentless torment never came to an end. There was a part of her that silently wished that the creature to end her life. However, she contracted that predicament after realizing this was merely Tuesday compared to how worse she had it back in Amphibia. That being said, it still didn't mean that the beating she was taking didn't hurt. Pretty soon, she started to hear footsteps from behind her. As she slowly began to pick up her already weakening body, she was mortified to see the dragon approaching her, most likely to finish her off.

Yet before it could step further, the dragon was stopped when an antique was thrown at its face. When Anne turned the corner to see who the perpetrator was, she was relieved to see her mother charging at full force with a sledgehammer held high above her head, intending to crush the dragon's skull with it.

"Hey!" her mother roared. "Leave my daughter alone!"

And like a freight train, Mrs. Boonchuy swung the sledgehammer yet missed the dragon's head by nearly an inch as it jumped backward. She took another wing, only for the dragon to turn its body and tailwhip the Thai mother across the restaurant, sending her crashing into the wall behind. Shortly after, the bipedal creature snickers before uncoiling its tail and shooting several spikes straight at her. Though, to her surprise, none of the darts directly pierced her. Instead, it pinned her arms and legs against the wall, virtually immobilizing her. Seeing that Mrs. Boonchuy was trapped, Ned rushed in from outside his restaurant, brandishing a spatula he obtained from his food truck.

"Don't you touch Mrs. B." Ned proclaimed with a war cry.

To his dismay, the food truck driver was deplorably pushed back outside by the dragon's left wing, which sent him crashing out and hitting his truck hard. With Anne still recovering from her beating and Ned currently incapacitated, the dragon fixated its gaze on Mrs. Boonchuy, who strained as she tried to get herself loose from the spines that were trapping her against the wall. Meanwhile, Anne slowly managed to pick herself up, only to watch in horror as the creature closed in on her parent figure. Thus stopping nearly inches before her, with its snout almost touching the tip of her face.

"Mom, NO!" she yelled.

Yet her cries came to no avail as the dragon opened its maw, seemingly unleashing a hell-ish roar that would make an ordinary person deaf. Anne quickly searched the room for something she could use as a weapon. But came up empty in the end. And it was here that she truly began to panic, fearing the idea that she was about to watch her mother die. It almost made her wish she had her calamity powers again. What would she give to have that kind of power right now? The things she would do to this creature with that power.

However, as she searched, Anne turned her head toward the direction of the beaded curtains, noticing that there was yet another opened door right next to the fridge. One that leads to the freezer in the back. As it turned out, that fridge wasn't the only thing she opened. After a clean second, she returned to the dragon, which expanded its maw wider, almost enough to fit her mother's entire head in.

And in this sense, she started to experience a little deja vu. And, like a flickering light bulb, an idea came into mind—an old yet practical vision, which may be her mother's saving grace and, inconspicuously, the last option she had left. With a deep breath, she stopped her foot forward, seemingly to get the dragon's attention.

"HEY! Turkey legs!"

Instantly, the dragon halted whatever it was doing and turned its head to face her. The beast growled at the sight of the Thai hero, yet it did little to phase her. Instead, it only prompted her to stagger her foot and give off a confident smirk.

"Check this out," Anne said.

And like clockwork, Anne initially clenches her fist and crouches low to the ground. Instinct begins to take its toll as she hears a familiar rhythm in the room around her. Thus starting up an ancient tradition that has lasted for generations. One that was said to both entice and disorient. And one of the first few things Anne had picked up in her first few months in Amphibia. And one that she honors at the highest level to this very day.

The Plantar Family Frog Dance!

Therefore, she starts it off by shaking her backside upward and around before flailing her arms around like a frog, followed by wattling in place with her hands at her hips like a chicken. Enthralled by the sudden random motions, the dragon turns away from Mrs. Boonchuy and walks toward Anne's position, watching her movements tentatively. With the beast currently distracted, Ned, after regaining consciousness, rushed over to free his boss. Once free, the two observe from the restaurant's corner as Anne works her magic.

While the dance continued, Anne could hear the familiar voice of Sprig, taking her back to her first dance. The memories of her best friend's words began to burn in her mind, giving her a familiar sensation. Thus increasing the Thai teen's confidence as she flails her arms about for a second time.

"I am the leaves," she chanted. "I am the morning dew."

She then drops down on all four in a peculiar fashion before shouting in a bold proclamation:

"I am...The Hunter!"

Then, in a daring streak, Anne drops the deck and starts flopping against the tile floor like a fish before jumping up backward, hopping forward, and then tapping her cheekbones like in the dance. She follows it up with a bit of shimmy before banging her head against the counter like a woodpecker. All the while, the dragon watched, having stopped at the center of the restaurant, and Anne continued to flail her arms around. For a brief moment, the dragon tilted its head in confusion, unsure what to make of the whole thing.

The bipedal creature seemed to be tracking her movements with its eyes as Anne continued to sway her arms and upper torso back and forth. In curiosity, the dragon failed to notice Anne slowly backing up toward the curtains, being too focused on the Thai hero's quite peculiar movements. Then suddenly, Anne drops again, only this time, she goes right back up, bringing up her right foot and kicking up a cluster of utensils that were dropped on the floor. She glimpsed briefly as the forks were smacked across the dragon's face, startling it.

In retaliation, the beast uncoils its tail and sends a stream of spikes headed toward Anne. An action she did not expect to happen, yet she was able to dodge them by ducking her head simultaneously. The dragon followed up by firing a stream of fire her way, only for Anne to dip again, dabbing flawlessly. Frustrated by the infuriating antic, the colorful beast charges forth, intending to crush Anne's skull for her impudence. Yet, to its dismay, the creature unsuccessfully misses, as Anne drops down yet again, slitting both her legs while the dragon sails dead ahead.

Half a second later, there was a series of crashes as the beast slipped on one of the plastic meat stacks that so happened to have dropped on the floor before the opened fridge. This caused the creature to lose its balance before slipping into the door that led into the freezer and tripping over a shelf from the inside. At the same time, Anne rushes to the back at the first crashing sound, making it to the door before the dragon can recover.

By the time she reached it, the dragon had barely regained its footing, slipping a couple of times before heading straight to the door. Anne used all her strength to shut the door, fighting the creature's raw power as it rammed the door with its head to get out. Luckily for the Thai hero, her training back in Amphibia pays off, as she pushes backward against the dragon's weight, eventually sealing it in the freezer from the inside out. With a loud bang, the door snaps shut, and Anne abruptly turns the lock that kept the door shut. Shortly after, Anne leans up against the door, panting. She briefly felt the doors banging loudly as the dragon tried to bust out to no avail.

For a moment, Anne began to gripe about what just happened. She had only seconds to process it before it finally kicked in. And she only had one thing to say about it.

"I did it," she whispered at first. But then it started to hit her. "I did it!"

With another whoop, she jumped up and down like a five-year-old who had just won a game of tick-tack-toe. All while the banging continued from within the freezer. Yet Anne could care less, considering her victory,

"Whoo-hoo! I did it!" she chanted, then pointed at the freezer, which kept a live dragon inside. "Danced in your face, you reptilian twirp!"

In the excitement, Anne's gloating was suddenly cut off when she heard the curtains being moved. Only to be relieved to see her mom outside, apparently unharmed.

"Anne!" her mother exclaimed before rushing to hug her daughter. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Anne brushed off. "A little rusty, but I'm fine. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine now," she commented. "Now that you're safe."

Anne smiled warmly before hugging her mom for a second time. By the time she let go, there was a brief silence, almost to the point where it was getting awkward.

"So that was that frog dance you told me so much, huh?" she inquired. "Pretty impressive."

"Yeah, I had to do a little improv at that last part, though, not gonna lie," Anne confessed. "That thing was a lot smarter than I thought."

"Well, either way, Anne, I'm proud of you," her mother commented.

However, before they could celebrate, there was a brief silence in the room as the smell of flames filled the air. Soon, it turned to a silent horror as Anne guessed where it was coming from. The Thai Hero reluctantly turned her head toward the already locked freezer. Only to see a bright orange light illuminate from the lock itself. Seconds rolled by, and the lock started to get brighter and brighter. Finally, the hinge that kept the door shut started to peel off. This causes Anne to utter a straightforward thing in her mind:

'Oh no!'

A moment later, the door busted open, and the dragon charged straight at the Thai woman, jaws wide open. Instinctively, Anne pushed her mother out of the way before finding her chest being rammed by the creature's head. However, in the process, the dragon trips over itself, sending Anne to the right and hitting her head against the back door. At the same time, the dragon tumbles into the kitchen with its tail grazing the stove in the process. A second later, the dragon was met with a stack of six bottles that dropped off the shelves above it, each hitting it directly atop its gigantic head before the entire stand came down on it afterward.

Dazed from the sudden attack, it took Anne a moment to regain consciousness. Anne squinted as she shook her to clear her vision, only to come across something devastating. Not only were the stove knobs turned on, but there also seemed to be a hole in one of the gas tanks. Thus causing steam and gas to spew outward and into the kitchen. And with the firebreathing dragon in mind, it could only mean one thing:

"IT'S GONNA BLOW!" Anne yelled.

Having that in mind, the Savior of Amphibia scrambles on her feet before making a direct B-line for the curtains. On the other side, she noticed her mom had gotten up after she shoved her, only to grab her arm as she went straight for the exit. While this was happening, the dragon finally regained its footing and growled, only to be drawn to the whistling sound from the stove. The bipedal creature closed up at the edge, briefly sniffing the gas before its eyes narrowed in alarm.

Half a heartbeat later, the dragon bolts towards the curtains and heads straight for the front of the restaurant where Anne and her mother had already arrived. Once they made it outside, both women found Ned and her father beside the food truck, supposedly waiting for them. Yet Anne wasn't given the chance to speak, for as quickly as she had gotten out, she yanked both of their hands before fleeing into the street. Behind them, the dragon had barely reached the front window when a tremendous explosion was triggered in its wake. Thus expanding from the kitchen up to the restaurant and beyond.

The creature leaped straight into the window, shattering the glass against its thick head and bumping into the side of the food truck, shifting it out into the street. At the same time, the explosion had an enormous effect on the Boonchuy family, as they were sent flying in the middle of the road from a shockwave produced by said explosion. Anne practically felt her stomach crawl up to her throat as the effects of the shockwave started to weigh in.

A moment later, she found enough strength to pick herself back up. She coughed for a bit, having breathed into the smoke that infected the air. Only to take in devastation, as her gaze was fixed upon what seemed to be the Thai Go restaurant, up in flames. At that moment, it finally dawned on her that her family's restaurant, which had been around since her parents first moved here from Thailand, was gone. At first, Anne wanted to deny it. Heck, that restaurant has been in her family's life for decades. There's no way it would go down like this. But sadly, the cold, hard truth started to take form. And there was nothing she could do to change that.

The food truck driver, on the other hand, sought otherwise.

"Oh, it doesn't look that bad," Ned said, trying to find a bright side. "At least some of it can be saved."

However, upon saying that, another explosion went off, practically collapsing the restaurant's roof.

"Or not."

To make things worse, another explosion was emitted, sending parts flying toward the Thai sign, evidently taking it down. Thus marking the permanent end of the most famous Thai restaurant in the city. Her mother collapsed as soon as her parents saw their burning business. Tears streamed from her arms, and she was thrown into a great sob. Anne's father, who limped his way to her mother's side, was also devastated by the destruction of their prized possession, sat right beside his distraught wife, holding her tight in his arms.

However, the family was given little time to mourn as the sound of metal moving came from their right, where the food truck had been parked. There, from the ashes of a crumbling empire, a phoenix rose in its place. At to amiss, the dragon picked itself up from the dirt. The creature shook the earth off its scaly hide as Anne's mother began seething in rage. Soon, anger began to take its toll on her as she picked up a metal pole and charged straight at the disoriented dragon. Only to be held back by her father despite his injured leg.

"Oum! NO!" her father yelled.

Mr. Boonchuy did his best to hold her back as she started flailing around, hellbent on avenging her family business. Yet it did little to remedy the situation as the dragon turned its attention toward them. Anne's instincts started coming full circle again as the bipedal monster moved slowly toward them. Hence, the Thai hero gripped her tennis racket, which miraculously survived the explosion, before standing before her family. Thus creating a wedge between them and the beast.

As the creature continued its approach, its eyes fixed solely upon the messy-haired teenager, who bravely stood her ground. Ned and her father were too busy holding her mother back, who was still flailing about, as the dragon reached eye level with their hero daughter. There, girl and beast stood among the roaring fires that incinerated whatever was left of the restaurant. And as the stare-down commenced, Anne looked at the creature in perfect detail.

Its eyes narrowed with a frightening haze that would even scare the most formidable toad soldier. Teeth, still bared, with a gnarly growl escaping from its lips. Anne looked into the slit pupils and saw the great terror that it possessed. It was as if a devil had just crawled out from the depths of whatever hell it came from. Yet, despite the fear it was giving off, Anne did not back down. Instead, she was determined to defend her family, regardless of the loss of their restaurant.

At the same time, she would be lying to herself if she denied how much fear she felt in her gut at this very moment. The fear of the creature's intentions, considering how intelligent and unpredictable it has turned out to be thus far. She fears what will happen to her family next, should it decide to stay even longer. The fear of what will happen to her in this moment if it chooses to kill her right here and now. Nonetheless, she did not cower or beg for any mercy.

Instead, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, leaving the outcome in the hands of fate. If her time was now, then so be it. At least she will fight and die defending her family, as she always would. Because that was the type of person she was. And that was who she will always be. A moment later, she could hear the beast rearing its head as if preparing to finish her off. And it was here that Anne began to wait until the time was finally right. Hopefully, she'll find her friends in the next life.

It never came to that.

Instead, the dragon unleashes a ringing bellow upon the Thai hero's face. A roar that would eventually be heard from a mile away. She felt the creature's screech's full power, almost peeling the flesh from her skin. And if she didn't lose her hearing after this, she'd probably will later. She did not know how long it lasted, though it felt like it went on for hours. Maybe even longer, give or take. The dragon stopped a second or two later, taking its maw from her face. By then, Anne had opened her eyes, seeing the expression on the creature's face hadn't changed.

Nonetheless, she could see a glimpse of hesitation in the creature's eyes, as if it was unsure of what it had just done, what had just happened, or what it should do now. But whether or not the feeling was mutual was a whole other predicament. Yet it did little to sway her opinions about it, nor did it change her stance on the beast that destroyed her family's business, let alone their legacy.

However, before anything else can be done, the dragon turns away from Anne before stopping off, whipping its tail in the process. Here, the Thai hero watched as it started running up the street, flapping its swings lightly and propelling itself into the air. A second later, the dragon flares its talons out as it lands on the side of Ned's food truck, instantly using its weight and momentum to tip it over, much to Ned's dismay. Shortly after, the dragon thrusts itself into the air and ascends into the night sky, disappearing under the moonlight as police sirens can be heard from afar.

As the distance image of the dragon faded, Anne stood there with a determined yet hateful glare smeared across her face. And it was here that she began to realize who her new enemy was and what she now had to do since it had threatened her family and lived to tell about it. She did not know what this thing was, nor where it came from, but one thing that she did know was this: Not only did this thing shatter the peace, but it also started a war with a hero of Amphibia and a future god.

Chapter Text

The night was dark and full of terrors.

The likes of which began to infest the smoggy skies of L.A. The only thing that lit up this wave of darkness was a single helicopter, shining a beaming light over the night sky. Two men were seen flying the aircraft, one piloting the aerial vehicle and one on the side, equipped with a long-ranged sniper rifle.

The light it was pointed to was on a particular terror, which took the form of a dark creature with enormous wings. But not even the brightness of the lights was enough to reveal exactly what the animal was. They were too brightly lit and scattered to reveal the creature's innate appearance.  There were some notable features, yet they still needed to be made out. Therefore, it leaves the beast to be unknown to the naked eye.

However, the beast was moving quickly, zipping past the busy rush-hour traffic streets from above without anyone noticing, moving faster than anything they'd ever seen. However, in hindsight, they have been chasing it for several hours. Ever since morning, to be exact. And the creature was now starting to get tired and weary. Perhaps even already showing signs of giving in. Thus setting up an opportunity to bring this never-ending chase to a final close. That is if they can find the right angle to do so.

"Keep it steady," said the sniper.

As the pilot hovered over the joystick to keep the chopper balanced in the sky, the sniper reloaded his rifle and looked through the scope. With a deep breath, he focused his aim through the telescopic sight and set his eye on the unknown beast. Then, in one split second, the gunman held his breath before pulling the trigger, releasing a powerful shot with precise accuracy.

But to the sniper's dismay, the bullet failed to hit the dragon and pierced a street light a few yards to the dragon's right instead. Thus causing the mysterious creature to bank left into another street and away from their line of sight.

"Dang it, Larry!" the sniper shouted. "I said keep it steady!"

"Sorry," the pilot apologized. "But it's too windy out here. We're going to have to call it off!"

"Not yet," the sniper protested. "We're so close! We can't give up now!"

With that, the gunman looked out and downward toward the streets, seeing no sign of the unknown beast. The pilot seemed not to like the idea of searching again but also understood his colleague's desperation. They have been chasing this thing for so long; to give up now would mean condemning many innocent people to whatever horrors this thing had in store. If it had any, for all they knew. It was better to deal with this now than let it drag on for the rest of the night.

"Alright, one more check around the perimeter," the pilot caves in, yet warns. "But I'm not gonna lie, we're gonna run out of fuel soon."

And with that, they banked left into the direction they last saw the beast turn to. Unknowing to them, the creature's path would eventually lead straight into the direction of the Willow Brooke Mall, where a terrible storm would brew for the residents occupying the giant structure.

Yet also unknowing to the lone chopper, the two men were unaware of a second unknown terror lurking in the shadows from an abandoned building just below them, which also had its sights on the Willow Brooke Mall. Its serpent-like eyes narrowed with a vigorous appetite before taking off, silently reaching the structure with ferocious intent.

Elsewhere 7:00 p.m.

Sasha was having a blast at the Willow Brooke Mall. Despite Marcy and Anne not being with her at this time, it was easy to say that the cheerleading warrior was having the time of her life on her latest shopping spree. Accompanying her were Maggie and Gabby, who were having just as much fun as she was. For three hours straight, they went from every store on the block, looking for the fanciest set of clothes they could get their hands on. That is, without going over her usual budget to prevent herself from bankrupting her parents, even though they are still divorced.

However, while she was enjoying her time out, something was off. Like, something was missing about this. Perhaps it had to deal with the absence of her two best friends. Maggie and Gabby were fun to hang out with, but it didn't feel the same as when she went with Anne and Marcy, considering they did everything together. And she would've liked it better if they were here with her. It just wasn't the same without them.

She used to have so much fun with them, especially in the days before Amphibia. She remembered it all too well, from the moments when she and Anne would go, playing fifty million rounds on the fusion dance game in the arcade and getting the highest, to the times when they'd go from store after store to find the cutest outfits for Marcy. Or the time she and Anne would go around various back alleys tagging their names with graffiti. So many adventures they had together. That was definitely what old Sasha would have wanted. But alas, she was not old Sasha. That part of her was long gone.

Not only that but if there was one thing she learned in Amphibia, it was that she had to respect their boundaries, especially Anne's. Though admittingly, that was one thing her old self would not appreciate, considering how much of a control freak she was. But that was now behind the warrior queen. And now she was a different person. Not allowing the past to define who she was. And she had all of this in mind as the former first lieutenant sat in a chair in a beauty salon getting a makeover, with a few dozen bags filled with clothes and accessories set to the side where the warrior queen could see them as she shared one of the many adventures she had back in Amphibia her colleagues.

"So I pick off the hammer, drop at the lords' feet, and go, 'Boom! You looking for this?!'" she explained, thus earning a gasp of awe from her peers.

"Omg, did you say that?" Gabby asked in between laughs.

"No," Sasha then admitted, but not before the expression on her face turned from deadpan serious to all cute and innocent as she put up the most adorable smile across the corners of her list. "But that's what it felt like."

A moment of silence came about as the other two ginger girls shared a look before another wave of laughter abrupted, much to Sasha's confusion.

"What?" she said, tilting her head slightly to the left. "Isn't that like a genuinely cool thing to say?"

"Since when has that ever been the case?" Maggie challenged.

"I don't know," the warrior queen answered, trying to shed some optimism on the subject. "Usually kills in those 80s action movies. And besides,"

"No offense, Sasha," Maggie interrupted, feeling the need to stop the blonde teen before she could proceed. "But those movies, to me, are very overkill."

Sasha then gasps in shock before covering her mouth in the most dramatic way possible.

"Maggie, I'm offended," she said sarcastically. "Those movies were fly as heck."

"Please," the ginger scoffed. "It's just a bunch of good-looking people doing dumb things while stuff explodes."

"Oh? Well, it's not like today's movies do the same thing." Sasha quickly pointed out. "Except with stupid people doing dumber things with bigger explosions while trying to rehash old stuff simultaneously because they ran out of ideas."

There was another protracted, sullen silence before the group abrupted into extreme laughter. In light of the moment, Maggie threw her arms up in defeat, knowing that her blonde colleague had an excellent point.

"Touche, Waybright," she conceded. "Touche."Their moment was suddenly interrupted by a pack of angry moms hounding a mall cop for some weird reason. The very image of the women surrounding the officer and constantly yelling at his face was enough to kill the vibe for the three girls in an instant. Even Sasha herself was rather disgusted just looking at the middle-aged moms harassing the poor dude. She was starting to feel bad for the guy, especially if he had to deal with this daily. It must feel exhausting having to listen to so many complaints at once.

"Ugh, don't they have anything better to do?!" the warrior queen complained.

"Yeah, dude, this is like seriously killing the vibe right now," Maggie commented.

"What do you think it's about this time?" Gabby questioned in curiosity.

"My money's on the price tags in 'Old Maybe' being too high," Maggie wagered.

"Or better yet," Sasha butted in. "Maybe some ruffian made a heap of trouble, their 'little angels.'"

And just like that, the mood was set back on as the three girls sniggered at Sasha's comment. It was a neat old trick Sasha had learned in the day—just a little something to bring back the vibe when things went south. To her credit, the warrior queen used it pretty well whenever something went wrong around Anne and Marcy. Of course, that was when they had been manipulating them. But that was all in the past now, even if that was precisely what she did to them. However, the more she thought about it, the more Sasha felt the need to change the subject. She was not willing to risk reliving the memories of how much of a two-faced bully she was to her best friends. Then again, there was one topic in particular that crossed her mind. One that was worth mentioning, at the very least.

"Speaking of angels, how are things with your brother?" Sasha asked, trying to chime in on the small talk. "You've mentioned yesterday that he was still a little menace."

"Ugh, don't even get me started on that little twirp," Maggie groaned; the very thought of her little sibling made her skin crawl. "Don't get me wrong, I still love my little brother. But I can't stand him sometimes. There are times when he makes me want to strangle him with my bare hands. "

"That bad, huh?" Sasha inquired. "Is that what having a younger sibling is like?"

"Sure, if you can even call it that," Maggie replied. "I had to pay him 50 bucks to keep him from telling my parents I'm out."

Both girls perked up at the sudden notion while Maggie gasped at realizing what had just come out of her mouth.

"Wait...your parents don't know you're out shopping with us?"

In an instant, Maggie's face went red, with another long pause following shortly after. And briefly, Sasha could see the embarrassment on the ginger girl's face as guilt became more noticeable. It almost made her smirk in amusement for a second.

"Well..." Maggie began to stutter. "Not yet...but I was going to tell them anyway."

"And when were you going to do that?" Sasha questioned further, trying to challenge her ginger friend to give her a straight answer.

Yet, in light of the warrior queen's question, Maggie couldn't think of an answer for her. Thus, her face became brighter and brighter, and the added pressure only caused her to panic even more.

"That's beside the point!" the redhead scorned, trying to brush the embarrassment plastered around her cheeks. "The fact is he's still a chattering little gremlin, and no matter what I do or say, he still gets on my nerves!"

"Okay then, whatever you say," Sasha teased.

"And don't get me started on all the clothes he made me clean," Maggie added. "Have you ever smelled a boy's dirty socks before? Well, let me tell you, it WASN "T PLEASANT!"

"Alright, alright, chill. I was kidding," Sasha defused quickly. "Geeze, I guess I just hit a nerve."

"You know," Gabby recoiled for a second. "This reminds me of when Peruvia called Randy suspicious on Suspicion Island."

Maggie instantly perked up upon hearing those words and gasped at the mention of Suspicion Island, immediately forgetting what she was saying about her little brother just seconds ago.

"Wait, you watch Suspicion Island too?" she asked rhetorically. "That's like my favorite show."

Gabby gasped in return, instantaneously being stoked by the thought of the other girl watching the show just like her.

"Omg, it's my favorite show, too," she replied with a little giggle. "Did you hear that they might bring Vivica back?"

"No way!" Maggie refuted in denial. "But Vivica died last season."

"Oh, we both know that doesn't matter on this show," Gabby responded, with both girls giggling shortly after.

Sasha would've chimed in but felt a cold chill shoot down her spine at the mention of Suspicion Island. Unlike her colleagues, the warrior queen wasn't a massive fan of the show. She felt it was overrated, with many scenes being overkilled and predictable. It was a tough egg on her despite it being Anne's favorite show for some weird reason. However, despite her opinion of the show, Sasha didn't mind listening to the two gingers gossip about it.

"Okay, so hot take," Gabby retracted. "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"

"Gabs, it's called Suspicion Island for a reason," Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's suspicious."

"Yeah, but I mean, who, in your opinion, is the most suspicious?" Gabby rephrased. "Like, who do you think stands out the most? I've got my money on Chad. "

For a moment, Maggie thought of the question until it finally hit her.

"Oh, right," she said before touching the base of her chin to think. "I say, Peruvia."

"WHAT?!" Gabby exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "Why her?"

"Why not her?" Maggie retorted. "She's always the one accusing Randy of being suspicious. And every time someone else did, she denied it. Isn't that a little obvious?"

"It can't be her, dude," the other ginger denied. "It's gotta be Chad. He's been, like, super creepy the entire show. Wasn't there a part last season when he mentioned how those dinosaurs were clones of his dead brother?"

"That's exactly why it can't be him," Maggie countered, rolling her eyes. "It would make it too obvious and ruin the show. And besides, I think he was bluffing the whole time."

"But what would he gain from bluffing?" Gabby challenged sincerely. "He seemed pretty honest about it in my eyes."

"Oh, come on," Maggie refuted. "Since when have people made Dino clone versions of their relatives?"

"Well, isn't that what the show's about? If you think about it, nothing in the show makes sense?"

"Sure, but that still doesn't change the fact that it couldn't be him. At least with Peruvia, you can see she isn't being too subtle. "

"Pointing fingers at everyone else isn't being subtle," Gabby added, shaking her head stubbornly. "And her claims aren't even legit either."

"Well, it's much better than confusing a bunch of dinosaurs as your dead brother."

The two teens were about to continue their argument before they suddenly went all silent. Then, in a relatively swift motion, both girls turned their attention to Sasha, who was still listening to the ongoing conversation. Shortly after, an evil smirk came across the two of them before they turned back to the blonde warrior girl in question.

"How about you, Sasha?" Maggie asked. "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"

Naturally, the warrior girl did not answer them right at the get-go, having to think long and hard. However, in light of her hesitation, Sasha was no fool. Despite not being a fan of the show, that didn't mean she wasn't current on it either. The only reason she'd even entertain such trash T.V. was to spend all night gossiping about it with Anne and Marcy, which she admitted were pretty fun.

"If I'm gonna be honest right now," she started, asking for a moment to bring up the suspense. "I think it's Randy."

This earned a gasp of betrayal from both girls, who probably hoped she'd back either of them up. In response to this apparent betrayal, Sasha smirked in amusement, knowing she had the girls fooled with her third opinion.

"Really?!" Maggie exclaimed. "How?"

"Like, serious," Gabby added. "It can't be him!"

"Come on, girls, if you think about it," the blonde warrior explained. "The man's been accused three times by Peruvia, and not once has he ever denied it."

As predicted, there was another long pause as both girls thought about Sasha's logical explanation. And the lack of any further response only emphasized how right the warrior queen was.

"Well, can't argue with that logic," Maggie conceived.

"It's that simple; even Grime thought he was suspicious," Sasha admitted. "And they didn't even have T.V. in Amphibia."

"Then what did you end up doing half the time there?" Gabby questioned.

"Eh, not much, really," the battle queen shrugged. "I made a vlog about it a few months back, but I'm not proud."

"Oh, I think I saw a video about that," Maggie mentioned. "Didn't you say something about a dope life as some army lieutenant?

"Yup. That's the one."

"Do you ever look back at it?" Gabby asked again, "Wishing you could relive all of that?"

"Nope," Sasha denied instantly. "But I did have my entourage, so it wasn't all bad."

This earned a chuckle from the other two girls. Despite their overall amusement, the thought of being reminded of how Sasha used to be sent a shiver down her spine and, nevertheless, started to annoy the battle queen. However, their ignorance of the matter didn't help her case either.

"Man, you must've been having the time of your life there, weren't you, Sasha?" Maggie commented insensitively. "It's a shame we weren't there to see it though."

"Eh, I don't think you would've liked it," the battle queen retracted.

"What makes you think that?" Gabby asked curiously.

"Well, unless you're okay with dodging giant monsters trying to kill you 24/7, topped off with joining a band of bloodthirsty toad soldiers in a campaign to ravage an entire valley, ultimately leading to a confrontation with your best friend, who you've been lying to and manipulating for years, only to for her to choose her friends over you after seeing how toxic you've been to her and then deam them better off without you and allow yourself to pummel off the side of a crumbling tower to your very possible death-"

Sasha paused for a second, taking a deep breath before finishing up. The battle queen did her best not to break down at the physical and emotional trauma she had to go through in her time as first lieutenant and how she nearly lost Anne and Marcy because of her vanity and arrogance. The type of trauma where she had almost lost the only two people she had ever cared about, all for selfish reasons while also essentially getting herself killed along the way.

"Then, by all means," the warrior queen finished. "But just so you guys know, I told ya so."

Dead silence filled the beauty salon as the two girls stared at the warrior queen, mouths practically agape. Even the stylists were quite surprised by Sasha's words, having stopped what they were doing while they listened. However, they resumed quickly after realizing they were about to lose concentration.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass on that one hard, Sash," Maggie replied, feeling guilty.

"It must've been hard for you," Gabby tried to sympathize. "Wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but that's all in the past, girls," Sasha began to reassure. "That part of me is long gone...I hope."

Afterward, both gingers looked at each other and laughed it off, in which Sasha joined them shortly after indiscriminately. The battle queen figured they understood where she came from despite their naivety of her experience and that this was merely a distraction to forget about, which she was all too grateful for. Still, the memories were far from gone, and Sasha could not simply forget about her old life. Nevertheless, they were only remnants of her past life and nothing more. And the battle queen can only move on from it, which she still intended to do.

By then, the trio spent the next few minutes gossiping before the stylists finally finished, and they all left satisfied with their new looks, except for Maggie, who didn't like the color of her nails. But was willing to roll with it anyway for the sake of not having to do it all over again and having to pay extra and waste more of their time. However, the same couldn't be said for the warrior queen, who was pleased that her stylist could get her makeover style right, which was impossible to do the last time she was here.

Overall, it ended well. After paying the stylists what they were owed, the three girls grabbed their stuff and strolled out of the salon, feeling like they had just done a hard day's work. However, that was more said than done in Sasha's mind since Anne would know much more about a hard day's work than she ever would. But it was still a pretty good day so that she couldn't complain.

As the trio veered to the left from the saloon and headed straight down the aisle, they came across an intersection that connected the closest exit on the second floor to an escalator that led directly toward the rest of the mall. From there, they decided to take a short break after walking for a long time while carrying many bags of clothes.

"So girls," Sasha proclaimed with a deep breath. "What should we do next?"

"I actually gotta head home now, Sasha," Gabby mentioned with a frown. "It's almost past curfew."

"Yeah, I gotta bounce too, sadly," Maggie confessed. "Gotta get back before my brother rats me out."

"Still haven't told your parents yet, huh?"

As unfortunate as it seemed, Sasha looked at her phone and saw it was almost closing hour. So understandably, she could see why they needed to call it quits now. Plus, there was no point in going on anyway since they'd been to every store in the mall. To continue would mean pushing it a little bit.

"Well, the mall's about to close soon," the warrior queen mentioned. "I guess we should start calling it a day."

"We should do this again sometime, Sash," Maggie commented.

"Yeah, you're so fun to hang out with," Gabby added exhilaratingly.

"Thanks, guys," Sasha replied with a smile. "You guys aren't so bad yourselves. I don't know why we don't hang out more often."

"So, can we come to your next cheerleading practice?" Maggie questioned.

"We'll see. Remember, I'm not team captain anymore."

There was yet another moment of silence when the ginger realized what Sasha meant. And considering they all knew who the new captain was, who currently turned out to be the meanest kid in school, it nearly ruined the vibe.

"Oh...right."

"Don't sweat it, Margo," the battle queen reassured. "I might not be team captain, but I'm still part of the cheerleading squad. And that will never change no matter what Tracy says or does."

"Well, you know what, you're a captain in my eyes, Sasha Waybright," Gabby proclaimed confidently. "Regardless of whatever that spoiled rich girl says."

"I appreciate that, girls," Sahsa said with thanks. "I wouldn't want anyone else along for the ride."

And with that, the three girls shared another laugh before heading towards the door. Thus presumably marking the end of today's shopping spree. However, before they could even think about making their way out, there was a chilling echo of screams from the other side of the mall. It was then followed by the sound of a large explosion that nearly shook the ground. This caused the three girls to stumble a bit, to which Gabby tripped over herself, followed by Maggie, who dropped the bags she was carrying. Once the ground stopped shaking, the warrior queen dropped her shopping bags and rushed to the railing overlooking the mall.

From up there, she caught a glimpse of the commotion below. She saw people running and screaming in multiple directions, anywhere away from whatever came from the mall entrance on the other side of Kiosk Alley. As Sasha narrowed her vision, she was surprised to see a large gray puff of smoke rising from the doors. Which only meant that they were blasted open. A moment too soon, there was a dark, shadowy figure within the confines of the smoke. It was too gloomy for Sasha to get an actual visual, but it was visible enough for her to make out, at the least.

A long barbed tail snaked about almost a heartbeat later before whipping as quickly as a tornado and clearing away the smoke. Thus, Sasha gasped as the figure entered the light, revealing a large, silver creature with substantial, sharp wings. From what the former first lieutenant had seen, the creature's hide was adorned with shiny metallic scales, covered from nose to tail. Its four legs were also backed with two black talons covering each foot. And finally, the centerpiece of the creature was a long snout with a long, tapered horn at the tip of its crocodilian head. Then, two emerald eyes appeared, glowing through the mist, with what seemed to be long black eyelashes flickered a bit.

The creature growled intensively before unleashing an echoing roar, announcing its arrival. From there on out, the mall erupted in chaos as the dragon descended towards a fountain a few yards from the entrance. Distressed by all the noise and screaming, the beast turned to its right and roared aggressively at a few pedestrians closest to it, with the former scattering without hesitation.

People trembled at its wake, which was much to say considering it was merely as big as a horse. Yet that didn't mean it wasn't as dangerous as Sasha could see. Even the angry moms, who would generally be a pest to anyone messing with their kids, quivered at the sheer power of the dragon's roar before scattering off, clutching their babies to their breasts along the way. But not before the beast snapped its jaws at one of them, nearly biting her head off, had she hesitated for even a second, followed by yet another roar as they fled. As it made its way down Kiosk Alley, the beast stopped by one of the free sample stands, eyeballing one of the posters with the word 'Free!' written all over it.

This revealed that the creature was dangerous, which wasn't surprising to the battle queen, considering how it just smashed through the front doors like glass. Nevertheless, it was something the blonde warrior had never seen before. And that was saying a lot, considering how she faced many more giant monsters back in Amphibia. She remembered Marcy mentioning the random appearances of these mysterious creatures, but she needed to find out if the nerd was telling the truth. Then again, nine times out of 10, Marcy was right in the long run. So kudos to her. However, as she continued to observe the beast's not-too-subtle rampage, the two gingers behind her were whipped up into a frenzy.

"What the heck is that?!" Gabby exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Maggie responded. "But I don't think we should stay around to find out?"

"What do we do, Sash?"

And like a lit-up firecracker, the battle queen's instincts started to kick in. Her first impulse was to get her friends out of the building as quickly as possible. This took the form of her completing 180 and pointing to the nearest exit.

"Get to the door!" she commanded. "Now!"

And like clockwork, the three girls made a b-line straight for the doors, with Sasha leading them. A couple of yards from the exit, the battle queen looked behind her shoulder to see mobs of people bolting for the exit. Most likely in a panic because of the mysterious creature. At that point, Sasha knew they were better off opening the doors so people could get out rather than risk being trampled by thousands. So she turned back to the other two girls, who had successfully made it to the exit.

"Quick, open the doors!" she shouted.

"What?!" Maggie protested in uncertainty. "Are you sure about this?"

"Just do it!"

Then, just as the former first lieutenant had hoped, Maggie and Gabby wisely began to open the doors. Half a second later, Sasha came out just in time, taking shelter behind Maggie while helping her open the door. And like sheep in pen, many people stormed out, screaming and shouting. They began running in multiple directions, with a few nearly tripping over one another due to the commotion. And after a few more seconds, the crowd started getting smaller and smaller until it seemed like everyone was finally out.

The three girls sighed in relief, grateful not to have been trampled while trying to escape. Yet before Sasha could take the opportunity to leave, she heard a sudden scream echo across the mall. Despite her friends' protests, Sasha rushed back into the mall. Back to the place she had just been five seconds ago, only to gasp in horror as she took witness to a rather gruesome scene. From which she did not expect to see at the very least.

As it turned out, the dragon had set its sights on the mall's officer, brave enough to face the terrible beast, brandishing his taser gun. Of course, that was before she took off to open the doors. Unfortunately for the cop, Sasha saw that his left leg was now in the jaws of the silver metallic beast who clamped down hard with pressure equivalent to that of a crocodile. She could hear the man howling in agony from atop the second floor, along with what supposedly happened to be the sounds of teeth piercing through flesh. It made the battle queen shiver just hearing the man's screams from afar.

That was until the cop shoved the taser into the dragon's right eye. Thus causing it to shriek while loosening its grip on the man's leg. Ultimately, this leads to the creature letting go and reaching over to its now wounded eye. Yet, even as the man began to crawl away from the disoriented beast, the dragon shook it off before zooming in on the man dangerously. The blonde girl watched as it opened its mouth, with saliva drooling from the corners of its silver lips. And she didn't need to be a genius to know what comes after. To that end, old Sasha would've left him to rot and save herself. Let alone even bother to care about his life, to begin with. After all, he was a stranger to her, hardly knowing his name.

But alas, she wasn't old Sasha.

And there was no way in Grime's name that she would let an innocent person suffer such a tragic fate as to be obliterated by a raging, bloodthirsty monster. Not only that, but she sure would not let said beast waltz in and wreck shop on her world without getting an earful. She already had foreign aliens trying to destroy her home, something she was partially responsible for. And she wasn't going to let it happen a second time. The battle queen would make sure about that.

"You guys go on ahead," she tells the others, in which they turn to her in surprise and shock.

"Sash, what are you-"

"Call the cops as soon as you're out," Sasha added. "I'll try to see if I can keep whatever that thing is busy till then."

"Are you crazy?!" Maggie proclaimed. "It's way too dangerous."

"Yeah," Gabby added on. "That thing will kill you!"

The blonde warrior responded with a chuckle. "You guys who you're talking about. This is literally what I do daily."

In that instant, both ginger girls froze. She made an excellent point because the girl in question took on an entire alien invasion.

"That makes a lot of sense now," Gabby admitted.

"Just trust me on this, girls," Sasha reassured. "I'll be back before you even know it. Just make sure the cops come through that door when they get here."

Maggie wanted to say something in protest to this, but at this point, there was no use trying to talk Sasha out of this any further. If there was anything the ginger knew in all her middle school years, it was that when Sasha set her eyes on something, she saw through it to the end, no matter the cost. And besides, it wouldn't be the first time she's seen the blonde cheerleader fight. And she can hold her own in one. Knowing this caused Maggie to sigh in concession.

"Okay," she expressed, with a sliver of doubt. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I'm Sasha Waybright," the battle queen replied with a laugh. "I don't give up. No matter what."

This made Maggie snicker, considering how she heard that before. Regardless, she looked back at Gabby before returning to Sasha with a nod before both girls made a b-line for the exit, vanishing out the doors without a trace. Once out of sight, Sasha turned back toward Kiosk Alley, seeing the dragon looming over the wounded mall cop. To her surprise, the dragon hadn't killed him yet. Instead, it continued to stand over the man as he clung onto his mangled leg, which was still bleeding from the looks of it.

At that moment, the battle queen wondered why it hadn't finished him yet. Perhaps it was biding its time, savoring the meal to come. Or maybe it was for some other twisted reason, one that involved an insidious sense of pleasure it gained from the man's suffering, which would be just plain cruel in her eyes. And the blonde warrior was no stranger to such cruelty, especially since she took part in inflicting it herself back in Amphibia. Nonetheless, whatever the reason, she wouldn't allow it to happen. She had yet to say anything about it.

With her newfound purpose clear and her mind in a current state of peace, Sasha turned to the bags she had in place to the side. The battle queen rummaged through them quickly before pulling out a pair of makeshift swords, which closely resembled the two swords she left behind in Amphibia. Initially, she bought them as antiques for her room back at home—a little something to remind her of the old days she had back when she was with Grime. But now, instead of simply tokens of memorabilia, Sasha has a more practical use for them, for she would need something to carry if she was going to see this through.

Upon grabbing the makeshift blades, Sasha could hear the screams of the mall cop as the dragon lunged forth in a second round. The officer could barely defend himself by lodging the taser between his jaws. And even though it narrowly saved him from death, the creature was much more persistent and yanked the taser out of its mouth and threw it to the side. With nowhere else to go, it seemed to be the end for the mall cop, who began to quiver in fear, and the dragon prepared for the final lunge.

At this moment, Sasha slid down the escalator and flung one of her swords in their general direction midway, stopping the beast dead in its tracks before it could finish the officer.

"Hey!" she called out. "Tinhead!"

Startled by the sudden callout, the dragon jerked its head to the left and set its eyes on the blonde-haired warrior, who had jumped halfway through the escalator and conveniently somersaulted at the bottom with her second remaining sword in her hands.

"How about you pick on someone your own size!"

As expected, the dragon has given the battle queen its undivided attention as it shifted its body weight to face her. In light of the moment, Sasha saw the officer practically tearing up in relief before watching him crawl to safety. That sheer act of courage merely boosted the battle queen's confidence as she fixated her gaze on the silver beast, staggering her sword in her fighting stance. However, despite the initial challenge, the dragon did not seem intimidated by the former first lieutenant's hollow threats.

Instead, it stepped forward, extending its metallic wings from its sides, and issued a warning roar toward the blonde warrior. The raw power of the dragon's shriek sent a shiver down the battle queen's spine. Yet Sasha did not waiver. Ideally, she stood her ground and firmly gripped her sword with both her hands.

Then, as any other warrior would do in a duel, she sidestepped to her right, trying to flank the silver creature. However, the dragon itself never took its eyes off its new adversary. The blonde warrior watched as the metallic monstrosity flew its barbed-like tail around, startlingly cracking it like a whip. While also flaring its wings in a show of dominance. Yet its threats did nothing to sway the battle queen so easily. And instead, she sneered at the beast with a glare, utterly insulting its rather pathetic display.

Sasha was stopped briefly before reaching the dragon's flank as the creature thundered toward her. Thus bellowing out a screech with a violent means to tear its enemy apart. But Sasha, in return, reacted with lightning speed as she swiftly dodged the dragon's initial attack. She then followed that up by grabbing the metallic creature's horn and swinging across its narrow head. All while striking its nose with a single swish of her sword.

However, to Sasha's surprise, the strike had no physical effect on the dragon's hide. But it did temporarily daze the dragon long enough for her to land a second attack, which she took full advantage of as she sleeked underneath the dragon's head and climbed up into the silver beast's back. She hangs on with both her legs, locking them around the dragon's neck while slashing its head from behind. Yet with each gash, the warrior queen failed to make a dent in its armor, which only frustrated Sasha more as she tried to find an opening.

The metallic creature lets out a shriek of pain in response to the human girl hacking at the back of its head. It twisted and turned its body, bucking wildly like a bull in an arena at its best attempts at throwing its opponent off its back. Yet something needed to be fixed thus far. Because despite its efforts, Sasha remained latched onto the creature's back. Therefore, resorting, it took flight as it flapped its wings and hovered a few feet above the ground. Yet it still shook wildly, trying to throw her off to no avail.

As Sasha hung on for dear life, the persistent teen noticed that minor dents lined up from the dragon's neck, looking like some metal playing. A possible chink in the beast's armor, waiting to be exploited. The battle queen lets go of the dragon's neck with her hand and starts jabbing her sword into the dents as much as possible. Though it was a tough shell to crack, considering it was made of solid metal. But even then, she only increased her assault more and more, hoping to cause as much pain to the beast as possible and create an opening.

And in that, her persistence paid off as a small hole was finally made within the dragon's metal plating. Thus causing a huge chunk of the dragon's metallic scales to fly right off and expose a relatively soft and fleshy bit underneath its scales. Then, she grunts as she raises her sword with both hands, aiming to drive it into the exposed plating. Enraged by the sudden action, the dragon snaked its tail from below and grabbed the battle queen by her left ankle before she could enact the killing blow. Therefore, she seizes the opportunity to take advantage as it tightens its grip on her leg. Then, with a sudden snarl, the metal beast yanks its talk downward, dragging the persistent human off its back.

Then, it flings the blonde warrior before slamming her violently against the ground, with Sasha crying out in agony after being smacked against the hard floor face first. Then, out of spite, the dragon lifts her into the air again with its tail before swinging her across and smashing her head into an art installation, particularly one showcasing a cactus man. And for its píece de resistance, the dragon spins around twice, taking the battle queen with it by her ankle, before hurling Sasha into the air and down the aisle, hearing Sasha scream in shock midflight in the process.

As for the blonde warrior, instinct forced her to brace herself as she collided with one of the free stands down Kiosk Alley. Though rough, the collision slowed the battle queen's fall and caused her to land on her side and roll down the aisle. She got up to ten feet before adrenaline forced her back up onto her feet, where she drove her sword into the ground to slow her down. She got to twenty more feet before coming to a screeching halt.

Almost instantly, Sasha dropped to one knee as her whole body ached. Even though she had suffered worse hits, this was a bit much. Thus, it was clear to the blonde warrior that she had been out of action for a while. Not that she needed to be anyway. Yet the persistent teen managed to pick herself back up, briefly shaking off the dust on her clothes. At one point, she felt something wet on her left elbow. When she looked at her hand, the blonde warrior was shocked to see a drop of her blood soaking the palm of her hand. For which she then clenched tightly in anger.

"Oh, it's on!" she said aloud, pounding her fist on the tile floor beneath her.

Half a second later, Sasha yanks the sword out of the ground and staggers into a fighting stance. She then looked to the other side of the aisle, catching a glimpse of the silver dragon landing right between two stands. Its spikey wings flared like a hawk before the dragon shrieked a war cry toward its esteemed battle-worn opponent. Sasha glared in response before tightening her grip on her sword, unambiguously accepting the creature's challenge.

It was apparent to the battle queen that the beast was more dangerous than she had anticipated, making it an adversary on a level she had never seen before. But that did not mean that she was going to back down now. She would meet it like she met half her enemies back in Amphibia: fighting to the bitter end with no regrets.

Afterward, the dragon uttered another battle roar before charging full speed at the battle queen, who did the same thing with her sword in hand. Halfway across the aisle, Sasha jumps on top of one of the stands before leaping into the air. In anticipation of this move, the dragon lunged upward towards its opponent, jaws extended and maw wide open, hoping to crush the yellow-haired teen in between its jaws easily. Instead, Sasha spun around vertically before bringing her sword down on the top of the creature's head. This sent it crashing to the ground, with the warrior queen landing simultaneously.

Then, as the dragon got up, Sasha swung her sword around, aiming to take its left eye out. Yet before she could, the silver creature grabbed hold of the blade before it could connect to its face, evidently lifting it. The metallic monster smirked in response to this, only for the determined cheerleader to land a punch to the creature's right eye. Thus causing it to drop the sword and shake its head in irritation. With her adversary dazed, Sasha grabbed the dragon by its horn and swung her sword in an uppercut by the chin. This move sent the dragon into a temporary frenzy as it lunged forth and threw all its weight on the teen to throw her off balance.

But as it did, Sasha countered by shielding herself with her sword as the dragon's jaws clamped down on it. There, she planted her feet on the ground and fought with all her strength to keep the beast from toppling her over, knowing she'd be vulnerable. Unfortunately for her, she found her feet sliding across the tile floor as the beast continued to push its upper body. But even then, Sasha held her ground until she came to a screeching halt after getting at least seven feet. Half a heartbeat later, the battle queen rears her head back before ramming it straight into the right side of the dragon's face.

This caused the dragon to stumble back and fall backward with a moaning roar in response to the blow. As for the blonde warrior, Sasha wobbled for a bit, having nearly suffered a minor concussion from headbutting what felt like solid metal. Probably not as bright of an idea as she thought in her head. However, as the dragon slowly recovered from said blow, it set its eyes on what turned out to be a camera set for a photo shoot. In doing so, it glanced back at Sasha, still dazed from the blow herself, before taking full advantage of the situation.

In quick thinking, the silver dragon grabs the camera with its long tail and swings it across the blonde warrior's head, bashing her in the side of her face and making her stumble back, only for the beast to follow up with another swing that sent her back a couple of yards and crash into the floor once again. On the ground, Sasha slowly climbed up to her hands and knees, shaking her head to try to rid herself of the dizziness. At the same time, she heard the dragon snaking its way to her, ready for more. Sasha had to hand it to the beast; that was a clever move. One that the blonde warrior was impressed with herself.

The battle queen briefly glanced back and saw it's now glowing blue and white maw. And she didn't have to be a genius to know what comes after. It was a dragon, after all. And yet, as she stood up on one knee again, her eyes came across two twenty-pound dumbells from a stand she hadn't recognized. Thus giving her an idea of her own.

"Alright," Sasha complimented silently while attaching her sword to the sheath attached to her waist. "Now, let's see how you handle this!"

Then suddenly, as quickly as a flash, Sasha grabbed both dumbells and turned to face the dragon, who had charged fully again for the third time in a row. The battle queen met it head-on, lending two hook strikes that caught the beast off guard. Shortly after that, Sasha held the dumbells to the sides and, like using cymbals in band class, slammed them on both sides of the creature's face so hard that she almost broke its facial structure. And because they were twenty pounds each, it had to have hurt badly. That would've been equivalent to a toad soldier taking two small sledgehammers straight to the face.

The sudden blow made the metallic creature jump out angrily, followed by a raging roar as it attempted another bite attack. Instead, it was met with a side-kick to the left side of its face, causing it to stumble away and crash into a stand like before, inevitably breaking it to pieces upon impact. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon rears its head back up, grabbing a wooden stick and snapping it in half like eggs in its jaws out of pure rage. Though, to its surprise, in the dragon's squalor, Sasha managed to grab the beast by the right side of its neck, placing it in a headlock. The silver reptile struggled against her grasp, trying to yank its head out of her arms. Yet it came with no success under Sasha's iron grip.

Hence, with all her strength, the battle queen picks the dragon up and brings it up overhead before slamming it into the ground, with its back crashing into the tile floor. A second later, she lifted the downed reptile back up and hit it back into the foundation for a second time. And then, finally, Sasha swings the silver beast into the air three times before throwing it across the aisle with a yell. And as she watched the dragon soar into the air, the blonde warrior couldn't help but admire herself for that. Usually, it would be considered child's play back on Amphibia; Sasha couldn't believe she could still lift a creature half her size, let alone throw it.

Surprisingly, however, the dragon managed to land on its feet for once and not crash on its face upon impact. But to that end, it became clear to Sasha that it was starting to get angry. As she staggered for what seemed to be the third time now, the silver creature aggressively slammed its tail to the ground. Thus weaving into its charging stance. And even from a distance, Sasha could see the dragon's eye glow vividly with hot red, a crude indicator of its fury.

The silver-winged reptile unleashes an ear-piercing shriek before rushing toward the battle queen with murderous intent. Instinctively, Sasha drops a dumbbell while clinging onto one with her other right hand. A millisecond later, she staggers yet again as the dragon comes at her with the force of a freight train. Then, with precise timing, Sasha sidesteps to the right, nearly missing the dragon's gaping maw by almost an inch, before grabbing a hold of the beast's neck with her free hand. And like clockwork, Sasha swoops onto the creature's back, still holding the dumbbell.

For what turned out to be the second time in a row, the dragon took flight across the mall, desperately trying to throw the blonde warrior off its back once again. Yet again, Sasha remained persistent and surprisingly had other plans as she continued to hang on. While the dragon flails around, she grabs the remaining dumbbell with both hands, holding them high above her head. Then, with a battle cry, the battle queen violently brings the dumbbell down and slams it on the dragon's head. Thus earning a screech in agony from the beast below her. Still, the metallic creature managed to stay above ground as it doubled its efforts. It even went as far as barrel-rolling across the mall in close quarters.

And even then, Sasha pressed on, slamming the piece of equipment down on the dragon's head for a second time. Then, for a third time, and another, and another. And with each hit, the dragon grew more disoriented. At one point, it tried snatching her from underneath it with its tail, but it became hard to concentrate each time Sasha pounded it in the head with the dumbbell. And because of this, the dragon started losing control midflight. At this point, the human girl and dragon found themselves stumbling in the air, barely clinging above ground.

Then, as Sasha pounded the dragon for what turned out to be the fifteenth time, the blonde warrior stopped short as she looked up, only to see that they were about to crash into the mall's second floor. Half a second later, Sasha ducked her head down and braced herself as they came speeding in, with the dragon smashing right through the glass and sending the battle queen flying right off. However, unlike the last time she was slung into the air, Sasha was now ready for it. And like an elite gymnast, the battle queen stuck a perfect landing, only sliding a few inches across the tile before coming to a precise stop.

And when the smoke cleared, only Sasha was left standing. When she glanced back around, the blonde warrior smirked vigorously as her gaze was met by the half-beaten silver dragon, who was pretty shaken up from the crash landing. The battle queen noticed that the dragon's silver hide was now covered in shards of glass. And it was bleeding in small areas, especially around the shoulder and lower back. As for the creature's face, tiny bits of teeth were missing from the dragon's mouth, indicating that it was severely wounded.

As for Sasha, she started feeling pretty confident just by looking at the fallen creature. Not just by the fact that she managed to defeat such a creature but also by proving that such creatures weren't invincible. So far, she's only heard rumors online about them. And from what she's heard, these so-called 'dragons' were quite a handful in Downtown L.A. But as she now stood there, looming over such a terrifying monster, she wondered if these things were not as tough as the internet cracked them up to be.

At the same time, though, Sasha was forgiving, and she firmly believed in giving people second chances, even if they didn't deserve it. While the dragon had caused a lot of damage to this place and hurt many people, one thing she could give the creature credit for was that it had fought honorably. And to that end, she considered it worthwhile to reason with the creature. That was if there were even the slightest chance the dragon would listen to reason.

She slowly moved towards the downed creature, keeping on her guard in case the silver monstrosity tried anything. As the blonde warrior approached the injured dragon, it slowly lifted its body, shaking off the shards of glass on its hide before eyeballing her. As a response, Sasha drew her sword and pointed it straight at the beast. The sword's edge was nearly a few inches to its face, and the dragon growled menacingly as the battle queen puffed out her chest. Thus stamping her authority over the injured creature. And it was here where she began to make her statement.

"I don't know who you are or where you came from," she declared with integrity. "But you've overstayed your welcome here. Normally, I finish you right here and now, but I'm not that kind of person anymore. So I'll give you this one chance to leave. Do that, and I won't pursue you. Refuse, and I'll have to put you down. It's your choice."

She half expected the creature to heed her warning and hightail out of the mall. It would've been a more reasonable choice. To run and live another day. But instead, it cursed her with yet another bone-chilling roar. Thus offering Sasha no choice but to eradicate it before it could harm anyone else. Though, she silently considered its defiance in the face of death admirable.

"So be it."

However, before she could finish the job, Sasha's warrior senses picked up something from her blindside. Thus catching her completely off guard. Then, without warning, something sprung out from the shadows and went straight for Sasha. The blonde cheerleader was given only a moment's notice before being met with two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Luckily for her, Sasha's warrior instincts allowed her to anticipate the attack before the beast could be given a chance to strike.

However, in light of her well-timed dodge, the warrior queen failed to precede another incoming attack, with the mysterious creature charging her full force. Its sheer weight knocked both her and itself off the second floor. The battle queen smacked it right in the eye during freefall before landing hard on the tile ground below. Luckily for the blonde warrior, Sasha was atop the beast's underbelly, thus making her fall far less painful.

Upon impact, the former first lieutenant rolled off a few inches before scrambling back to her feet and charging. The blonde warrior yelled a battle cry as she met the beast head-on, who surprisingly recovered quickly from the fall despite the height. She swung her sword into the air, aiming for the new contender's underbelly, only for the blade of her sword to be snatched into the attacker's jaws. They wrestled each other, with Sasha fighting to free her weapon from the interloper's grip.

Then, on an unexpected turn of events, the mysterious aggressor lifts her off the ground and slams her back into the floor before flinging her across the hall for the second time today. She got up to fifteen yards before coming to a screeching halt, crashing into a pyramid installation with a giant eyeball at the center of it. Sasha groaned in agony as a painful rush crawled up her spine. She was having a rough night, yet adrenaline forced her back onto her feet, prompting the battle queen to grab her sword and scheme the aisle in search of her attacker.

Only for the blonde warrior to come gasping silently as the interloper revealed itself; thus, it took the form of what seemed to be a mini serpent-like wyvern, striking bright reddish-orange scales with black stripes scattered around its body. Therefore, it brought the form of a reptilian tiger due to its similar pattern, save for the underbelly, which had a light tan. The creature adorned two shiny black horns curved slightly outward and a long snake-like tail that swayed back and forth with anticipation. And to top it all off, two yellowish-orange eyes stared right into her own, with a wicked smile crossing the intruder's face, giving off a rather sinister vibe in its wake.

To further emphasize this predicament, the one in front of her lifted its claw-tipped wings high above its body before unleashing a mighty roar of its own in a declaration to everyone in the mall. Thus, it became clear to the battle queen that she was dealing with not one dragon but two dragons.

Two!

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" she complained, ending off a bitter whine.

When the dragon was finished, another roar came from right behind it. The serpent creature looked over to its shoulder, only to set its eyes on the silver creature from behind, who was still above the second floor, looking seemingly surprised, if not stunned, at the newcomer's presence. The orange wyvern responded with a call before turning its gaze back to the battle queen, snorting ferociously.

Sasha responded with a glare, frustrated with dealing with two of these monstrosities instead of just one. It took her almost, if not all, of her strength to take the first one down. But now she has to deal with a second, too. And this one was a lot bigger and meaner than the last, which wasn't a good sign. Yet even then, the blonde warrior was not going to back down. Not while she still had a lot more fight left within her. And if she could take one of these beasts, she had no doubt she would do so again with a second one.

The blonde warrior boldly holds her sword out, staggering in her usual sword-fighting stance. Then, with another battle cry, Sasha charged forth, hoping to strike the first blow on her hideous adversary. The dragon responded with its roar of fury before charging back, with its mouth opened wide enough to swallow her hole. To Sasha's luck, she did manage to get the first strike, slashing her sword across the dragon's lower jaw. Though it didn't do much harm, the blow sent the wyvern staggering back a bit, almost caught off guard by the unexpected strike.

Distracted, the battle queen takes the opportunity to land another attack, slashing upward and down the creature's snout before landing another blow from below the dragon's chin. By then, the beast tries to throw in its attack, only to be met with yet another upward swing. Therefore, throwing it more and more off balance only fueled the former first lieutenant's confidence since the dragon hadn't laid a fang or talon on her. Hence, Sasha throws a heavy attack as she jumps into the air and bares down upon the dragon to split its face in half.

Yet despite her best attempts, the red-like wyvern manages to catch the blade between its jaws. Therefore stopping the blonde warrior dead in her tracks. She struggled to free her sword from the dragon's grip, wrestling with its iron maw. However, just before she could free her sword, Sasha heard a quick:

SNAP!

And the next thing she knew, the blade of her sword was severed in half, leaving her with only the hilt in her grasp. The shocked teenager then watched as the dragon yanked the sword out of her hands and tossed the blade away, disappearing into the aisle almost instantly. Half a second later, Sahsa turned back around, only to see the dragon spin around and tail-whip the battle queen so hard that she was sent flying across the aisle for what now turned out to be a third time.

Unlike previous times, however, Sasha didn't hit anything or stick a landing. Instead, she hit the ground rough and was sent rolling across the tile floors, stopping short after getting at least twenty feet. Shortly after, Sasha groaned in agony from the pain, questioning how she got herself into this mess. Every muscle in her body started screaming at her not to return it. Yet the seasoned warrior wouldn't allow herself to give up, especially as she heard what seemed to be the dragon chuckling mockingly while giving off the same frog-eating grin as before.

That sort of move made Sasha's blood boil, to be mocked openly by some foreign lizard. The likes of which would cause her such pain, even if she's only fought it for a short amount of time. And even then, the battle queen was not going to let herself be misled by some creature with a cocky attitude. Let alone two of them. She made a personal note of this as she pounded the ground for what was considered to be the second time. As she looked up, Sasha noticed the now recovered metallic dragon hovering behind the tiger-stripped one. It chirped to it several times before flying across the aisle in the opposite direction.

While the grizzled blonde warrior was busy picking herself back up, the serpent wyvern took the opportunity to turn around and bolt across the hall. Sasha could barely stand straight as the creature began to put as much distance between it and her as possible. In response to this unprecedented course of action, Sasha gave chase, trying to catch up to the beast before it or its buddy had any time to; before she could have the chance to do so, the serpent turned the corner to another aisle of the mall. And by the time she got to the corner, the battle queen was baffled to notice that her opponent was gone, vanished without a trace.

But despite the sudden disappearance, Sasha knew it could not have gotten far and thus cautiously started moving down the street. The battle queen had her eyes peeled on every corner, simultaneously listening to every sound that passed through her. At the same time, she kept a watchful eye out for her second sword, which Sasha couldn't recall where it went after she threw it in her earlier fight with the other dragon. It was at this moment that the blonde warrior realized just how vulnerable she currently was because she was a sitting duck. And it didn't help even more when she discovered the beast could strike any moment. Yet the question still pondered at her:

"Where are you?" she questioned silently.

Her instincts told her that the dragon was still around here somewhere. But she still couldn't see or hear any movements of the beast. Nor did she find any trace it may have left behind either. The blonde warrior thought about the notion that it may have already left. After all, it had no other reason to stay after it saved its buddy. Then again, the only possible reason it stayed was because of her for whatever reason. She wasn't entirely sure what that reason would be, but that only prompted her to be highly alert as a safeguard.

As she moved further into the hall, the battle queen noticed scratches and marks on the floor. Finally, signs of the dragon she could track down for once. Then, like a game reserve hunter, she followed the trail across the hall, going quite far in the due process. She had to admit, it was a pretty big mall. But it also made her increasingly nervous since her adversary could show up anytime. Still, she persisted in following the trail while maintaining her guard. Suddenly, Sasha stopped short in the middle of the aisle between two stores, with an art installation consisting of two pink dice in the middle, where the trail ended, surprisingly. She looked around to see if there were other markings where the track would've picked up but saw nothing in return.

'It couldn't have just ended like this,' she pondered. She then looked up after hearing something suspicious. It first played as some rumbling in the ground, almost like a mini-earthquake. Then, half a heartbeat later, without even a single warning, the glass of the store's front wall to her right burst outward. And with it, the serpent-wyvern sprang out with a surprise attack. It pounced the blonde warrior, locking both claws onto her shoulders and shoving her between the art installation behind her.

Sasha retaliated with an uppercut punch to the dragon's chin, releasing its hold on her. Then, she followed that up with another point with her right fist, sending the beast staggering it. And then, to add on, Sasha pressed her attack with yet another combo attack. Only this time, the dragon ducked its head and dodged her attack. This forced the blonde warrior to connect her fist hard to the dice installation to her right, which felt like punching through solid metal.

'Ow!'

She grabbed her wrist, feeling a sting of pain jolt up her fingers. Sasha tried shaking it off, but it felt like her hand just went completely numb. Yet, despite her distraction, Sasha failed to notice the dragon advance on her, catching the battle queen off guard. The tiger-stripped creature grabbed her by her shoulders with its claws before shoving her into the store's glass window it came out of. Sasha cried out in agony as she felt sharp glass pierce her face upon contact.

Half a heartbeat later, the dragon spun around and smashed her through the art installation. Thus breaking the structure apart as it pressed further into it. And then went as far as pushing the former first lieutenant into the store right behind her, crashing into the glass without a second thought. Yet simultaneously, the crash's impact sent both of them tumbling slightly and sending Sasha rolling for the fourth time today. However, unlike the last time, she was able to roll back onto her feet while clutching the side of her chest from all the pain. Luckily for the battle queen, there hadn't seemed to be any shattered pieces of glass or cuts that would've been life-threatening to her.

But Sasha would lie to herself if she didn't admit how much pain she was after all that. Still, persistence trumped whatever urges she had to give in, and she considered herself pretty resilient for her size. Hence, the battle queen started to recover relatively quickly before, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the dragon opening its maw with something glowing a hot orange in the center of it. The next thing she knew, Sasha saw a stream of orange fire spray from the dragon's mouth. Upon instinct, the blonde warrior jumps to her left, nearly dodging the flame by an inch as it hits a part of the wall in the store.

For a moment, Sasha observed the flame, noticing how it stuck to the wall, almost resembling some form of gel, while the fire burned through anything it touched. In the wake of her curiosity, the serpent-dragon charged forth, grabbing her left shoulder in its jaws. The blonde warrior tried loosening its grip by punching the side of its face, but it wouldn't let up. Suddenly, the dragon lifted her into the air before slamming her back down and throwing her outside the store, where she landed roughly against one of the dice from the broken installation.

Adrenaline forced Sasha back up on her feet before she was met again with jaws clamping down on her right shoulder. She tried to free herself from its grasp but was unsuccessful. With each passing second, the battle queen felt herself getting weaker. Her inner strength began to wane as the dragon tightened its grip. The scent of fresh blood started to reek, thus causing the dragon to smirk once again as it began to sense it.

Hence, at this moment, Sasha started to get pretty angry. And it was on a level she had not experienced in a long time, almost going as far back as when Grime lost his arm all those months ago. She could feel every inch of her body fuming with rage. Her fury gradually built up like a ticking bomb, waiting to go off at any moment.

Until finally, she exploded.

Thus, Sasha screamed as she slammed her fist into the dragon's right eye. The beast released a startled screech, immediately dropping the and staggered backward. Half a second later, the former first lieutenant let out another cry before charging at the dazed dragon, shoving its massive head into the ground before pounding it in the face. Shortly after that, she let go of the dragon's face before delivering a roundhouse kick to the dragon's chin. Hence forcing it backward for once.

The battle queen panted slightly as the serpent-wyvern shook its head. Before delivering an enraged roar, indicating how irritated it was getting. But Sasha didn't care. It had already set her off with its latest shenanigans. Why should it be angry? Therefore, Sasha released her battle roar in defiance of the tiger-stripped dragon. She was almost mocking its pathetic attempt at showing its fury. The dragon was somewhat thrown off by the teen's little stunt, almost looking offended at her show of dissent.

Yet, simultaneously, the creature took it as a challenge. For this reason, the beast glared at the more miniature human, considering her act of resistance unacceptable before charging forth. Sasha followed suit and resumed the fight shortly afterward. The serpent-wyvern makes the first move, lunging at her full speed with its mouth wide open, as it did many times. But unfortunately, it was missed, with Sasha remembering its previous attacks and side steps to the left. She dodged several times before jumping and clubbing her fists on the dragon's head. Even though she was half the dragon's size, Sasha was still firm enough to enact a blow like this with her bare hands.

Yet even then, she was barely making a dent. Without an actual weapon, there wasn't much the blonde warrior could do in light of her immense strength. However, to the battle queen's luck, she saw a familiar sight behind the dragon. She briefly squinted before perking up after revealing what it was.

Her second sword.

From which was pierced through an avocado installation and was only a few yards from where she was, almost making her within reach. She looked over to see the beast already dazed and used the opportunity to retrieve her prized weapon. The beast did lash its tail at her midway, which caused Sasha to duck down and slide past the serpentine appendage. Once she got back up to her feet, Sasha briefly rushed to the installation, tugging at the sword's hit until the blade came out with a single swish. Thus giving the battle queen the advantage that she so desperately needed.

'Now this is more like it,' she thought to herself.

At that time, the dragon shook its head again before getting back up and charging at the former first lieutenant, snapping its jaws again in hopes of catching her. But Sasha dodged the attack before slashing the side of its face with her secondary weapon, which only managed to leave a long scratch at the tip of its muzzle. Though it wasn't entirely lethal, it was progress, considering she could hardly get a good hit in these last few minutes. Still, the blonde warrior needed to do more for her sake.

The serpent wyvern retaliated with yet another snap, only for Sasha to counter it with two more slashes to the face before spin-kicking its outer lip. The blow causes the beast to stumble back, but not before it shoots a spewing flame at the former soldier. Nevertheless, Sasha rolls to her right in response before rushing in to press her advantage. The black and orange striped dragon spews another stream to stop her in her tracks, only for the battle queen to slide down yet again before jumping up and performing a midair vertical swing so fast that the beast couldn't react in time as Sasha delivered a gashing blow in between the creature's snout.

The bombshell strike temporarily dazes the beast long enough for Sasha to deliver her attack phase. Hence, she follows up her strike by rolling to the left side before jumping up the art installation stationed there and providing a side-kick to the dragon's left side, which causes it to stumble backward. And it was here that the tables began to turn as Sasha continued to press the attack by landing three more strikes to the dragon's face with her steel weapon.

Then, she takes the hilt of the sword and violently slices it across the left of the beast's face. After that, she tossed the blade into her right hand before slashing it across the bottom of the dragon's chin, leaving a large gash underneath the beast's mouth for everyone to see. Lastly, she jumped into the air and slammed her left heel right into the top of the dragon's muzzle so hard that it quickly brought the creature's head to the ground.

Shortly after the end of her attack phase, Sasha took a moment to catch her breath, with a smile of relief creeping up across her face. Hence, the blonde warrior regained some of the confidence she lost after her scuffle with the first dragon. Though she had to work twice as hard for this, she managed to land some pretty good hits on the beast—many of which would send a heron running. But even then, her victory was short-lived when the serpent wyvern gradually picked itself up. Then, the once smile of relief that had begun to build up turned into a glare in disbelief as the beast stood face-to-face with its adversary.

'Does this guy ever give up?'

The creature snarled with great anticipation, almost fuming at the nostrils with great rage. Despite the beating, the beast had no intentions of leaving or backing down. Hence, it made it nearly as stubborn as she was, not quitting no matter what. Sasha had to admire the creature's tenacity, but it also made her even more bitter since it meant she had to fight harder to keep up with it. With another battle cry, the beast charges forth yet again.

But as it came down upon the blonde warrior, Sasha jumped upward for the fifth time, boosting herself up with one of the broken dice for extra height and using the light from the ceiling above to make it harder for her opponent to see her. Still, the beast charged forth anyway, blindsided by pride and instinct, with the intent of to rip the girl to pieces even though it could barely see her. Yet, before it could lay a single tooth or claw on her, the blonde warrior came crashing down. As the beast looked up in terror, the battle queen drove the sword down into the top of the dragon's snout so hard the point came out of the bottom of the creature's mouth.

Thus, an agonizing screech from her reptilian adversary caused Sasha to smirk devilishly. But even so, she looked into the dragon's eye and saw fire started to show visibly. As a result, the dragon flailed its head around, with Sasha hanging onto the hilt of her sword. The serpent wyvern violently slams its head into the ground before swinging its head again—this time, it flips Sasha off its snout and sends her flying backward. The battle queen releases a groan as her back slams up against an art installation.

Half a heartbeat later, the blonde warrior was met by a pair of jaws as the creature shook off her sword and tossed it to its left, ramming its entire head against the installation. Pinned against the piece of artwork, Sasha wrestled against the dragon's mouth in an attempt to free herself. Only for the beast to lock its jaws around her waist before pulling back. Hence, it started flapping its wings and taking flight with the teen soldier still in its grasp. They got up a few feet in the air and a few yards before Sasha decided to cancel her unplanned flight schedule as she slammed her fist on the beast's muzzle.

The blow sent them crashing back into the earth, briefly skidding across the tile floor before coming to a screeching halt. There, Sasha unleashes an enraged yell as she strikes the dragon three times with her fist before following it up by driving her knee into its chin. The serpent beast moans before snapping again, hoping to catch the battle queen like its previous attempt. Yet Sasha ducks down again before moving up the dragon's neck and climbing into the creature's back. The dragon thrashes about there, trying to throw her off to no avail. It growls and roars in frustration as Sasha grabs the two horns on the back of its head.

Then, with all her strength, the former first lieutenant takes hold of the beast's left horn before violently slamming it into the ground, causing it to tumble again. At that moment, Sasha wrapped her arms around the creature's neck and attempted to end the fight by suffocating the serpent wyvern. An effort started to take effect as the beast began to whimper in protest as it struggled against her iron grip. And it was here that Sasha's confidence grew increasingly as the beast's strength waned against her chokehold. Hence bringing back that smile of relief she had earlier.

"Is that struggling I hear?" Sasha spoke out of spite. "Didn't think you'd meet your match to me, did you?"

For a brief moment, it seemed that this would be the case as she could feel the beast giving into her hold on it. The victory was so close she could almost taste it. But as she tightened her grip, Sasha started to feel the dragon's skin get warm. It's a lot warmer than usual. Sasha didn't know what this meant but was too focused on ending this fight to even care. All she was thinking about now was putting this dragon to sleep fast. But little did the blonde warrior know that by doing this, she would make a significant error in judgment, which would turn out to be a big mistake. The next thing the battle queen knew, everything started to glow orange as the dragon's entire body was set aflame.

Sasha screamed as the flames reached her, forcing her to let go of her hold on the dragon's neck to try to put out the fires. The distraction blinds her as the dragon spins its tail around and smacks her across the aisle, instantly putting the fires out. The blonde warrior hit the ground hard, face-first to the floor. Adrenaline forced her to get back up quickly, only to stand face to face with the dragon, who hovered against the ground with every single area on its entire body set on fire.

The dragon spun around a moment later, flying in a perfect circle as it projected fire at the center. Hence, creating a condensed flame before blasting it straight at the blonde warrior with a single flap of its swings, taking the fire coaxing along its body. Sasha had little time to react as it came straight at her, with the sheer power of the blast sending her flying backward again. When she landed, the battle queen cried out in agony as she started to feel her skin sizzle. The blow had been so bad that she began to feel her clothes burning up from the heat.

Sasha tried to pick herself back up, but her strength was fading fast, having spent most of it taking this beast down. As she dimly looked around, the former first lieutenant could glimpse her sword, which was only a few yards from her current position. The worn-out battle queen crawled limply as she went for her weapon, hoping to get back in the fight. Yet, as she reached out for her prized possession, Sasha was horrified as a giant claw came crashing down on the blade. Consequently, snapping it two without so much as a hard stomp.

And it was here that the balance of power as Sasha looked up in terror to see the serpent dragon fuming at her in utter rage. Thus, the dragon roared in fury as it lifted its claws and tried to stamp the blonde warrior out. However, luckily for her, Sasha had enough strength to dodge the attack, briefly getting up and stepping backward. The dragon stomped two more times, only to fail again as the former first lieutenant dodged again and again. But her efforts would only be futile as the dragon tail-whips the battle queen across the aisle. Here, Sasha could barely get back on her feet as the dragon charged forth, taking her by the jaws and jumping up before coming back down and slamming her against the ground.

The dragon then lifted its head, still clinging onto the wounded teenager in its maw, before banging her against the ground for a second time. Sasha cried in sheer anguish as she felt her entire body structure shatter like an egg. The creature smirked gleefully, considering the human's screams to be music to its ears. But even then, it wasn't enough to satisfy the serpent-wyvern's anger. Therefore, the creature picked her up again and slammed her body against the tile floor so hard that it created a shockwave that spanned across the mall. Sasha felt like her entire body was hit by a truck as the pain jolted through every single bone in her skeleton.

Yet that only turned out to be the beginning of her anguish as the dragon dropped her to the floor. Only to pick her up by her leg midway before she could even touch the ground. Then, it brutally bashes her against the avocado art installation, with her upper body and face colliding against the piece of artwork. Sasha felt her head spin as the beast continuously pounded her against the structure, with each blow being more brutal than the last. Finally, the dragon stopped short, only to fling the blonde warrior up into the air, bringing its tail around and flaming up before colliding at the center of her back.

BOOM!

The wounded teen was sent flying again. She got up to ten feet before skimming across the ground before making a rough landing inside the mall's fountain. For a brief moment, Sasha didn't get back up. Her strength was gone, and the pain from her unwonted torment was taking its toll. She moaned in pain as her body ached, as it felt like her entire skeleton had shattered entirely. Her clothes were almost burned off from the flames, and she felt parts of her skin sheered right off from all the burns she endured from the dragon's fire. The battle queen reckoned those would've been considered second-degree burns, not third, considering how quickly they were put out. Nonetheless, it was excruciating for the blonde warrior.

Finally, Sasha used whatever strength she had left to pull herself up, innately crawling backward as the dragon advanced. By the time she reached the fountain's center, the blonde warrior stiffly rested her back up against the mouth of the fountain, straining from the tension in her muscles. There, the wounded teen watched as the dragon slowly made its way, growling viciously as flames began to envelop its body again while raising its head high. As if it was putting on an impressive display of power and dominance over her injured and defeated form.

As it slithered toward the fountain, Sasha started to feel weary. The pain from the beating she took started to affect significantly her vision, causing the beaten warrior to fall in and out of consciousness. However, despite the amount of fatigue she was experiencing, Sasha could still get a good view of the dragon, who soon began to tower over its fallen adversary. There, Sasha looked into the dragon's eyes, filled with anger and rage, with the full intent of showing no mercy.

And it was here that Sasha realized that her fate was finally sealed, and she may never see Anne and Marcy again. She then began to regret ever staying behind to fight these things on her own. It would've been much easier if her friends were here to back her up. But it seems like that option would take a while. She started to tear up just thinking about it. However, despite the hopelessness of her situation, Sasha was not going to give in. If this were her final hours, it was better that she go out like a warrior who laughs at the face of death rather than a mere pup whimpering in cowardice.

So, as the dragon zooms in on her, with its muzzle practically up against her chin, Sasha mustered whatever strength she had to spit at the dragon's face in a sheer act of defiance. The action startles the dragon, who had spent that time sniggering at its would-be victim, actively playing with its food. Yet the act merely angers the serpent wyvern further, as it unleashes an echoing roar in response to her audacious display. But even then, Sasha didn't waiver. If death was going to come for her, she did not fear it. Instead, she welcomed it with open arms. Her only wish was to find Marcy and Anne in the next life.

It never came.

Instead, the dragon stopped short after light shone above them. Human and beast alike looked up to see a helicopter hovering above the mall, shining what appeared to be a searchlight right at the serpent wyvern. Half a heartbeat later, the dragon leaps backward as a shot is fired. Another second after that, it roars defiantly at the chopper as more and more rounds are fired. Though her vision was starting to get blurry, Sasha noticed that those were actual gunshots being fired instead of tranquilizers.

'Thank Frog!' she thought to herself.

The injured warrior sighed in relief. Finally, help arrived at her expense, which she was extremely grateful for. However, despite the sudden appearance of reinforcements, that brief moment of relief was shattered as the metallic dragon appeared, flew across the aisle, and stopped short right across the fountain a few yards to the left of the serpent wyvern. Though it was still pretty banged up from its scuffle with Sasha earlier, it appeared the creature had had time to recover in its absence.

At the same time, the serpent wyvern took notice of this and started calling toward the metallic dragon. It chirped a few times before motioning its head to the chopper. Sasha could barely see straight, let alone figure out what they were saying, before suddenly getting a glimpse of what it was getting at. Shortly after, the silver beast looked at its friend and gave it a nod before taking flight and gliding across the mall.

By then, the serpent wyvern stepped into the light before shooting fire at the ceiling and into the chopper's direction. In response, the helicopter fired two more rounds at the black and orange striped dragon, who suddenly bolted to the other side of the mall and took shelter behind the escalator. From there, it began to fire another flame at the ceiling, instantly shattering the glass. The chopper pulled up as a safety hazard, firing another round while staying out of range of the dragon's flames. Another three rounds were fired before it went quiet for a moment.

Then, suddenly, the metallic dragon shoots up into the air and flies straight at the chopper. The sniper tried to fire another round but stopped as a bright blue fireball came out of the silver dragon's mouth, striking the chopper's tail and blowing it instantly. After that, it went straight for the gunner's seat, where the sniper would be. Even though it was too far for her to see, Sasha could hear screams echoing above the mall. This indicates that the people inside the chopper were under attack.

She listened in horror as the voices of the people's screams got louder and louder. The next thing she knew, the wounded fighter watched as the chopper began to spin out of control. And without a tail to balance the helicopter out, it seemed pretty hopeless for those operating it. With the pilot still inside, the aircraft smashed through the ceiling, causing a massive gap from up top. However, the dragon miraculously jumped out seconds before contacting the roof. Then, Sasha watched with great terror as the chipper fell at least fifteen feet from the air and crashed several yards across the mall into the ground.

Upon impact, a massive explosion was created, one of which she was fortunate enough to be out of range. Sasha would've covered her mouth from the absolute horror she witnessed but was too dazed to do so. The next thing she knew, the wounded teen began to come in and out of consciousness as the serpent dragon came back into view. She watched it spread its wings out and roar in victory, almost muting her hearing.

After a few seconds, the dragon stopped short as its friend came into view. It began to chirp at her before motioning outside and heading out through the hole it made. Half a heartbeat later, the battle queen watched as the serpent wyvern turned its view toward her. She watched it smirk at her devilishly before turning back to the ceiling. The creature began to flap its wings and took flight, exiting through the roof and out of her line of sight.

Seconds later, Sasha continued to dive in and out of consciousness. She could only pick up the sounds of sirens approaching and a few sounds of shouting men and women before everything went completely black.

And then was still.

Chapter Text

Dawn brings a new day into the world.

It brings forth a new chance for everyone to build a fresh start after a long day's work, to begin a clean slate, and to forget about yesterday's troubles. To correct past mistakes, forge a clear path forward, and arise anew. It was a truly marvelous gift from the universe. However, the same could not be said for Anne Boonchuy and her despondent family, who sat near an ambulance, enveloped with coats as they sorrowfully stared at the wreckage of their once beloved restaurant.

Everything they had in there was gone. Reduced to cinder and ash, the likes of which have been left by that mysterious creature that attacked them last night. It was the one thing Oum and Bee had built since moving to this promised country. And it was meant to be a foundation that would last for generations. It is a thing to give the Thai community the recognition it deserves. But now that legacy has been all but diminished. Thus bringing the Boonchuy family to the edge of a series of dark times.

Yet no one was more troubled than Anne, who took this heartfelt tragedy the most. It was so bad that her legs were buckled from all the weight being forced on her as she fought the urge to tear up, only to fall too short of that predicament miserably, partially because she blamed herself for this unprecedented disaster. She could've stopped the creature from ruining everything had she been more decisive and faster. Instead, the beloved hero was brought to the lowest common denominator: failure.

As she wept endlessly, both her parents huddled between her to try to give her some place of solace while also grieving what they had lost similarly. Ordinarily, Anne would've taken this as a form of comfort, knowing she wasn't alone in this time of desolation. On any typical occasion, this would be a light at the end of the tunnel. But not even that couldn't undo the damage inflicted on their legacy. The thought made Anne tear up even more as the smoldering wreckage continued to pierce through her mind. The guilt was rather ominous for the Savior of Amphibia, who couldn't even save it.

Her mother attempted to touch her daughter's shoulder reassuringly but didn't have the resolve to see it through while also wallowing in her sorrow. It was much easier to provide Anne with comfort when she came back from Amphibia, but this was much different here. And considering her similar grief, there was nothing more she could say that could make her feel any better, let alone herself. What was there to say? What could she even say? Other than that, their legacy was gone.

And there was nothing they could've done to stop it. They barely held their own against the mysterious creature and couldn't even prevent it from setting the restaurant aflame. What made it worse was that in the past year, the family has faced everything from killer robots to giant herons, and somehow, the creature managed to get the best of them after everything they've been through. Out of luck or sheer coincidence, that animal had presided over them on a level that would make King Andrias look like child's play. Not even Cloakbot was that tough to deal with besides being somewhat of a nuisance. And that pest was way more intelligent compared to this beast. Yet somehow, they lost to it, at the cost of everything.

The notion only made Anne feel more guilty, believing she failed her family. It was a feeling the Thai teen hadn't experienced since the time she got everyone captured by the FBI back when she and the Plantars were trying to return to Amphibia. It was a humiliating feeling that just only made her weep even more. Yet even as the regret expanded into her heart, Anne felt a soft hand touch her shoulder. Startled, the teen hero looked up only to see her father peering over sympathetically.

"Hey," he said softly. "You okay, Anne?"

Anne didn't answer right away. Still wrapped up in the cloak of guilt, she could barely contain her sorrow. Yet her father's voice did start to bring her down to earth a little, making her aware of the tears running down her face. Slowly, she began to calm herself and bring some form of control over her nerves. Thus bringing her back to a small cast of reality. She took a long, deep breath before answering her father's question.

"No...not really," she said vacantly, her voice rasping and empty inside. Anne was never good at lying, especially to herself. And it was pointless to hide her true feelings from her parents, no matter how complicated it may have seemed. "I just...I can't believe it's all gone. After so many years. "

Her father paused, also unsure of what to say. It was no surprise that they were all in a difficult situation. But all he could give to his only daughter was a few words of encouragement to alleviate this dark moment. However, he doubted that it would work.

"Hey, Anne," he reassured hopelessly. "It's going to be okay."

"Listen to your pops, kid," a familiar voice said from a relatively short distance. "Some things can be rebuilt. As someone who's had to clean up many messes in the past, I speak from experience."

The family turned their gaze to see a familiar face, which turned out to be the infamous FBI agent and his trusted assistant. At first glance, Oum and Bee perked up with a smile. Anne, though still feeling rather gloomy, instantly smiled at the presence of some friendly faces.

"Mr. X," Oum said, fancying a brief embrace to their former colleague. "Thank you so much for coming."

"We came as soon as we got the call," Dr. Terri replied before receiving an embrace from Bee and setting her sights on the wreckage. "Looks like it was pretty bad, huh?"

"Hardly the case," Bee commented. "We barely made it out with our lives. We've managed to salvage a few things, but the rest..."

The Boonchuy father turned his gaze to the wrecked building and cringed just at the sight of it.

"...You get the idea."

As the agent and the scientist got a good view of what was considered the remains of Thai Go, they too shared looks of sympathy for the loss of the famous restaurant. X had only been to the restaurant once, and the food there was excellent, as far as he remembered. To see the place in ruin was a devastating blow. But all they could offer the family at the moment was a few condolences. And maybe a helping hand for the future at best.

"I'm sorry to hear that this happened, you guys," X sympathized. "But don't you guys worry, I know a few guys who'll have this place as good as new in a few months. Maybe even sooner, if we're lucky. We'll have this place back to how it used to be. You have my word."

Both Thai parents felt touched by the agent's kind words. Rarely have they trusted people outside of their community, let alone government agents. To hear the FBI officer's offer to rebuild what they'd already lost was a rare commodity. One that would not go unappreciated. It nearly drove Oum to the brink of tears.

"Thank you, Mr. X," she complied solacely. "Y-You're too kind.:

"Don't sweat it, Boonchuys," the agent replied. "You've helped me save our planet from invading frogs. It's the least I can do for you."

Naturally, the FBI agent smiled proudly, just as grateful to lend the Boonchuys a hand as they were. However, that smile was suddenly dimmed as he set his sights on a sulking Anne, still sitting on the edge of the ambulance, with her gaze locked onto the floor.

"Kid's taking it pretty hard, huh?" the detective wondered.

"Yeah," Oum answered. "She came face to face with that thing a few times. She couldn't stop it; none of us could."

"So it was here," Terri realized before banging the side of her leg in frustration. "Dang it, why couldn't I've seen this?!"

"So it's true then?" Bee questioned. "Dragons are here? And they do exist?"

"Yes, and yes," X answered relundantly. "No matter how crazy that sounds, just hearing it."

"We've been spending the last couple of days trying to track them down," Dr. Terri explained while opening up a picture of L.A county from her phone. "But they're so scattered across the county that pinpointing their locations is hard. And they disappear every time we get a clear signal on them."

"Sounds like a lot of paperwork," Oum said in surprise.

"Ugh, you have no idea!" Dr. Terri groaned. "I've been awake for 17 hours straight! With ZERO breaks! ZERO! And I thought working for Frakes was stressful enough."

This earned a chuckle from a Boonchuy couple, who found the scientist's ranting slightly amusing. But at the same time, they felt a little pity that they weren't involved with this. And because their child was a renowned hero, and the agent personally trained them in the arts of military combat, both parents were considerate in lending the agent their expertise, significantly since this new danger may directly threaten their lives.

"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" Bee offered. "You seem like you can use a hand."

"It's a tempting offer, but that won't be necessary," X respectfully declined. "You've already done more than enough to help us stop an alien invasion. The least I can do is call a few favors to help you guys out. But in the meantime, would you mind if I had a minute alone with your daughter? It appears she might need a word of encouragement."

"Of course," Oum accepted thoughtfully.

And just like that, the Thai parents went to the side to chat with Terri while the FBI agent focused on the still rather gloomy Anne. At first sight, it broke the agent's heart to see her like this. Anne had always been one to be so strong-hearted and confident. She believed she could do anything with the right people by her side. And was not a stranger to defying the odds. Even when he thought of her as a kid, she was there to prove him wrong. But now, to see this embodiment of confidence like this, brought so low, was soul-crushing at best.

He treads, likely not to startle the Thai teen. The FBI agent knows this must be hard for her, considering she never quits in adversity. Upon his approach, he knelt to face her at eye level, hoping she'd at least acknowledge his presence.

"You doing alright, kid?" he asked softly.

As expected, Anne didn't answer right away. The Savior of Amphibia is still feeling pretty shaken up about her and her family's situation. But X just sat and waited until she was ready. He knew the importance of patience, especially with people going through a hard time. However, at this moment, he realized that she was also fumbling with something in her hands; whatever it was remained a complete mystery to him.

Finally, she looked up and met the agent's gaze. Her eyes were still watery, and the evidence of tears had been pretty obvious. But X didn't mind at all. Instead, he just stood there on one knee and listened to what the grieving teen had to say.

"Between you and me, X," she said vaguely. "No. I'm not okay."

The FBI officer paused. Unsure of what to say next. But he tried to be as empathetic as he could.

"Alright. That's okay," he said, unsure how to put it. "Let's just try to..."

"I feel like I let everyone down," Anne interrupted. "I'm supposed to know how to face these kinds of things. But I made one bad call and screwed everything up. And now my parent's restaurant is gone!"

At that moment, Anne started to break down into tears again. This time, however, X quickly tried to remedy her anguish with a few words.

"Hey now," he commiserated. "Don't blame yourself. You can't expect everything to go your way. I should know. I've had plenty of those."

"But I'm responsible for everything that goes on in my life," Anne retorted. "I should know how to handle these situations. And I failed."

Shortly after, she buried her face in her knees and sulked. It was somewhat ambiguous to the FBI agent that he was doing little to convince Anne not to give up. But then, a brief memory brought him back into the light. One that he knew the Amphibian hero would be all too familiar with.

"Maybe, but didn't you fail to rescue your frog family when they were in my custody?" he recalled. "What did you say to me when I called you 'just a kid'?"

Anne looked up in response, almost offended at the agent's question. However, the agent was silently counting on it.

"Okay, dude, how is that helpful?" she questioned.

"Because you told me that you can do anything with the right people by your side," X kindly reminded her. "And if a kid like you can do anything, anything is possible."

This immediately throws the Thai girl off guard, not only because of the agent's words but also because she did say that. Not only that but also the meaning behind her little speech that reminded her of everything she's done. It was a testament to how much she had changed and matured. And in a sense, it also gave her the confidence and pride she needed to see through her journey back in Amphibia.

"We'll get through this," he added. "We'll send those beasts back into the hole they came from, just like Amphibia. And I'll be there right by your side when that happens. I can promise you that."

He briefly paused to see her reaction. For a brief moment, the shocked expression on her face hadn't changed. But then, the FBI agent noticed that she stopped shaking, and the wateriness in her eyes started to disappear. Finally, he began to see a smile creep up on her face. Thus, he sold his words of encouragement, bringing their little conversation to full swing.

"Thanks, X," she said softly. "I appreciate it."

"Any time, kid," the FBI agent replied. "Always a pleasure to help."

Shortly after that, he felt a buzzing sound coming from his pocket. Only to reach down and pick up his phone, which was ringing like crazy. When he answered it, he was hit with a string of words that shocked his eyes. It was something important. Half a heartbeat later, he hung up the phone and motioned to Terri, who had just finished a brief conversation with her parents.

"Okay, if we're all good here, we've gotta bounce," X wrapped up. "HQ wants us over at the amusement park three clicks from here."

"Is it one of them?" Bee asked curiously.

"Let's hope so," X replied optimistically. "Otherwise, it'll be another field day in Washington."

"Okay, well, it was nice seeing you again," Oum responded with a wave.

"Pleasure is all ours, Boonchuys," X answered kindly while urgently entering an armored vehicle.

"We'll keep you posted on what we find," Terri added before entering right after her colleague. "Be safe, you guys."

"You too," Bee added.

And just like that, agents and scientists were gone as fast as they arrived. Thus leaving the Thai family to attend to their issues. Unlike before, the parents were quite hopeful for the future, knowing they had an FBI agent and a renowned scientist on their side. The same could not be said for Anne, who found solace in the agent's words.

So, there was some form of hope after all. Yet the guilt remained in Anne's heart. What was done cannot be undone, no matter how many repairs to the damage there were. But with that guilt, the Thai girl felt an intense anger build up in her chest—anger towards the beast that destroyed her family's restaurant, to begin with. The creature that so much as showed up from whatever hole it came out of and ruined everything for her and her parents.

She looked at the item in her hands, which turned out to be a poison dart from the creature. And it was here that she started fuming with rage. Hatred began to run deep, and a burning sensation spread through every course of her body like a virus. Thus, her fingers clenched tighter around the base of the appendage. Half a heartbeat later, there was a brief:

SNAP!

The dart split in half before falling off Anne's fingertips, bouncing on the floor like a pencil. Yet the anger remained, fusing into something bigger. And before long, one thing came into Anne's mind. One that she had not felt since Sprig was nearly killed by Andrias when he threw him out of the tower. However, the Thai girl couldn't manifest this feeling into giving her the incredible calamity powers she was so renowned for in the past. What would she give to have this sort of power right now? She could've used it to defeat that creature with ease. But last she checked, that power was left with the stones, which ceased to exist upon her return home. Thus making this predicament more than unfortunate at best.

Instead, the feeling was more primal. More precise. And the hatred began to seethe into the back of her mind. It started to spread like a disease. Until it was the only thing she could think of. It boiled and ached at her muscles and bones, causing her to shake rapidly. And it was here that Anne silently began to swear things she had never done before. But for the sake of her family legacy, she would make the dragon pay for what it has done. She didn't know what or where it came from, but it would pay for destroying her family's foundation.

That feeling was suddenly cut off when the random sound of panting started coming from her right. In an instant, Anne looked up only to see another familiar face. But instead of an adult, it was another kid. More specifically, a boy and his twin sister who was right behind her. She narrowed her vision to get a better view, and her eyes suddenly widened when she recognized who they were.

"Hey...Anne," the girl said, seemingly out of breath.

"Twig! Molly!" she gasped.

The twin siblings breathed heavily, apparently after running so many miles. The startled Thai girl had no idea what to do, considering she was in an ongoing crisis. But she could tell there was something they needed to say to her, given their sense of urgency.

"Anne...hold on," Twig managed to utter. However, it was still unclear what he was trying to get at due to his apparent fatigue. "Just give us a second."

"Okay, just breathe, you guys," Anne empathized before getting to the point. "What's going on?"

Anne gave the twins a minute to breathe before they finally said something.

"You have no idea how many blocks we had to run to get to you," Twig complained instantly. "I mean, there must've been hundreds of them!"

"Yeah!" Molly agreed. "There were over ten at least."

The Thai hero was thrown into a loop. That couldn't be all they're here for.

"That's it?!" she questioned. "You came all this way to complain about how many blocks you ran?!"

Luckily for her, that wasn't the case. However, it manifested into something more important than blocks.

"No, it's Sasha!" Twig said in distress. "She's in the hospital!"

"Maggie sent us to go find you," Molly added. "It's very urgent. So we have to go now!"

Anne was instantly wide-eyed at the very mention of Sasha. And even worse, the fact that she's in the hospital. And just like that, the twins rushed off, expecting Anne to follow suit. In this case, Anne tagged along with them on their trek to the hospital. If what they say about her best friend is true, then this issue requires her attention. Just before she told her parents about her situation, she pulled out her phone and texted Marcy to let her know about what she just heard.

With any luck, she'll be there before she can, at best. That was if the former ranger wasn't knee-deep in her latest video game or if she hadn't already had her face buried in her journal or something. Though admittedly, Marcy was also one for being more attentive to the well-being of others. No matter how easily distracted she could get at times. But one thing she knew for sure was that this endeavor was unsuitable for them.

This was not good at all!

Elsewhere... 10:30 a.m...

The second time was the charm for little Marcy Wu as she entered the junkyard, a tall brown paper bag full of delicious dumplings in both hands. It wasn't easy to obtain, nor was it easy to give her parents the slip to let her leave the house on her own again. Nonetheless, she managed to pull it off, even if it almost cost her a week's lunch money. Sooner or later, she would have to explain to her parents why she kept spending money on stuff that was supposed to be lunch. But in her mind, it was all worth it. The only difference was she tried out the Hmart nearly a few blocks from where she lived. It was a more convenient way to discretely cache what she needed to appease her new friend's hunger.

That was if he was in a good enough mood. If Marcy could recall, her illustrious confidant was not pleased with her sudden reappearance. But because it hadn't killed her yet, it probably meant that she was making some form of progress. She brought her journal with her in case the dragon ghosted her, but Marcy kept it separately in her backpack, figuring she wouldn't have to use it if she didn't stay long. Or even if she planned on staying at all.

Marcy was never used to playing the long game. Especially back in Amphibia, when she wanted everyone to like her. But after the last encounters with the beast, the flipwart champion figured it was best that she'd go through it this way. The dragon didn't trust her enough to let its guard down around her. And if she learned anything from that rather embarrassing experience in Wartwood, this kind of thing will take time. It also gave her plenty of time to figure out her dilemma.

It was still unclear why Marcy was still going through this, other than her natural curiosity and desire to solve this apparent mystery revolving around the dragon's unexpected appearance. But the young teen's heart and resolve drive her forward anyway, with the evident need to see this through, for whatever reason. And who knows, maybe the dragon will help her find it in the long run if it ever came to that.

As the hopeful teenager continues to trek the unobtrusive dump, Marcy notices that the place is tranquil. A feeling she was not a stranger to because the site should be deserted. However, despite the gloomy vibe given due to the quietness, Marcy doesn't feel she is being watched, which is different from last time. Though it only encouraged her to press on further into the desolate wasteland. Still, she remained guarded in case surprises lurked in the shadows. After all, the dragon wasn't the only one residing in this wasteland.

For a moment, Marcy didn't see anything unusual as she came to the clearing and concluded that nobody had come here since her last visit. That is a promising sign so far. She wasn't sure what would've happened if a human other than herself had discovered such a creature, what it would've done if she wasn't the only one who knew its whereabouts.

She wasn't sure if she ought to be worried or relieved about the idea of someone else discovering the dragon. Worst, she was willing to wager that the beast would be less merciful toward that human than it was to her. That sort of needless death and destruction would be impalpable, especially by her standards. She cannot take that risk. But even worse was that she hadn't told Anne or Sasha about her discovery. But even that was a gamble at best, for who knows what they would do if they found out she'd been keeping this from them when she promised them no more secrets. They will surely be mad at her for this. Heck, they'd probably never trust her again.

However, Marcy can not take the chance. She was better off doing this alone, no matter how secretive she had to be. Plus, she would risk their lives if she told them about her enterprise. So it was better for it to be this way, even if it hurts deep down. Suddenly, her train of thought was cut off by clanking metal. Then, her vision focused on the enormous pile of junk, from which she could find what turned out to be a slumbering obstruction of what was presumed to be the dragon itself.

'So it still hasn't left after all,' she thought.

In the act of instinct, Marcy cautiously approached the sleeping creature, taking slow, calculated steps to avoid startling the dragon into waking up. Like the first time she saw it, the dragon was curled up on the side of its body, with its head resting between its paws, like a cat. Thin sheets of debris formed all around the beast's hide. Thus, the dragon was coaxed from head to tail, with invariant sections created from its wings, which were folded and hovered over its legs.

At the edge of the pile, Marcy stopped a few paces away to take in the unmistakable sight of a live dragon. A live dragon! Right before her eyes. As if it wasn't any more apparent to the young teenager. Marcy felt the urge to go into another geek fest as she gazed upon the marvelous beast. But she stopped herself by biting her finger, hoping not to awaken the creature. Half a second later, Marcy started up the pile, which, to her surprise, was much smaller than she remembered, ranging to at least five feet tall.

The young flipwart player shifted her gaze, noting that there were fewer pieces of junk than the last time she was here. The dragon had been busy, making itself comfortable, even if only for a few days. By the time she reached the top, Marcy was only a few steps from where the dragon was sleeping. All while the creature's chest rose and fell, signifying its breathing. The young girl would've mistaken it for dead if it hadn't.

Instinctively, Marcy continues the approach, being careful in her footing to not startle the dragon awake. The last thing she wanted was to provoke the black-winged reptile into striking her. After all, even though it spared her once, there was no guarantee it would do it again. And she had already managed to cheat death more times than she could count. She did not look forward to going through that kind of pressure for another time.

The young girl had only stopped a few paces away as she noticed something she hadn't seen in her last encounter. As it turned out, the dragon had a nasty wound on its left forearm. Sure, Marcy did recall seeing a massive injury on one of the dragon's paws. But it turned out to be significantly worse than it was before. For it was here the former ranger saw blood trickling down the wound and into the crevices of the pile. It wasn't too severe, but an open injury could be fatal. As she narrowed her vision, Marcy silently gasped in horror as she noticed this was no ordinary wound.

It was a bullet wound!

And from the looks of it, it appeared to be a clan shot that went right through the dragon's forearm. Thus leaving an open hole that could ideally be soon through. Unfortunately, Marcy didn't have any antibiotics on her to remedy the pain. But at the same time, she figured there'd be no need for it if the wound were recent. Still, the least she can do is seal the wound to stop the bleeding and prevent any infections from spreading.

As carefully as possible, Marcy set the grocery bag down to the side and reached into her backpack. Hopefully, she could find a bandage to close up the wound. With luck, she discovered a roller bandage, something her mother had given her if she ever bruised herself outside the school grounds.

Marcy was close to wrapping the bandage around the creature's forearm until she was greeted by a large green eye that shot up open and stared directly at her. The next thing she knew, the former chief ranger tensed and took a few steps back while the dragon lifted its head off the ground. The black silhouette hissed instinctively, mistaking the human adolescent for a trespasser. Marcy held her breath, praying silently that the dragon would recognize her and thus lower its guard. The tensity of the situation sent a cold chill up the teen's spine.

The volatile beast groggily keeps up its guarded demeanor. However, after a brief second, its expression changes, and the tense look on its eyes is now more relaxed after realizing who it is staring at. And for a moment, girl and beast found each other present in their gazes. Though if Marcy was being honest with herself, she felt rather uncomfortable under the winged panther's gaze. And was somewhat embarrassed to have given herself away that easily.

Still, Marcy smiled innocently despite all the pressure she felt in the moment's heat. The dragon, in return, gave her a dimly wary look as if it was expecting her to explain why she was there.

"Hey," she said, waving her hand nervously. "It's me again."

The dragon responded with a snort before sunkenly turning its head away from her without a second glance and laying its head back down above its paws. It was clear that the dragon had ceased in any interest upon seeing the human before its all-powerful presence. The sheer awkwardness made Marcy gulp timidly before she decided to press on, not to kill the vibe. However, as she loomed closer to the tired beast, the young geeky teenager noticed something different about the dragon's current position.

On one end, it was lounging in a typical sleeping position. But the overall mood was somewhat more complex than she anticipated. It appears that the dragon seemed to be somewhat defeated and deplorable in a sense. Like a terrible black storm just hit it, crushing him in every ounce of agony possible. The sight was disconcerting to the former chief ranger, and she had no idea why. She didn't blame the dragon for being in such a pitiful state. It must be hard for it, being forced to come into her word from wherever it came from. However, she wondered if there was more to this than she knew.

Something amiss was happening here, though she wasn't entirely sure what that could be. However, her train of thought was again interrupted as her gaze fixed on the wounded paw. And the urgency to clear it up came back to the young flipwart champion. With the roller bandaid still in her grasp, she bent to wrap it around her arm. Yet as she drew near, the dragon jolted its head back up and now growls fiercely in her direction. Its eyes narrowed into slits, its ear flaps flattened against the sides of its head, and its upper body raised slightly so its gaze was now at the same level as hers.

Here, Marcy could notice the roaring emotions in the dragon's eyes. Wariness, shock, mistrust, all responses that she was no stranger to at best. And it was backed up with the otherwise fearsome visage that sent Marcy quivering like a newborn puppy. But that doesn't sway her into turning tail and running. Instead, she lowers her guard to show the black beast that she meant no harm to it, as she did in her last encounter.

"It's okay, it's okay," she reassured the beast. "I won't hurt you. Remember?"

Yet despite her attempt to put the creature's mind at rest, the dragon was unconvinced. And continues to hiss at her warily. But it was also here that Marcy recalled what she had brought and hid the bandage in her pocket before hastily reaching over to the brown paper bag she had set aside earlier.

"Here," she said, gently setting it down before her. "Brought you a little morning breakfast."

And like clockwork, the dragon's ears perked up at the very mention of that word. Then, its overall mood shifted to a more anticipated form of eagerness. And as Marcy expected, the young flipwart champion could see the winged salamander licking its chops enthusiastically. It was still a prominent motif for Marcy that made the creature seem a little more predictable, motivated by the need for food.

As also expected, upon setting its sights on the bag, the dragon eagerly takes it within its jaws and sets it to the side and into its paws. The dragon lowers its upper body and digs through the paper bag. As it did, the black creature took a dumpling into its jaws before munching on it with a diminutive form of satisfaction. A moment later, the former chief ranger surprisingly watched as the dragon shoved its muzzle deep into the bag. Thus earning an amusing chuckle from the young flipwart champion.

The distraction allows the girl to turn her gaze back to the injured forearm. Upon instinct, Marcy reaches into her pocket and grabs the roller bandage, eager to seal the wound. As she inched closer, the sounds of chewing became more audible. Marcy silently commended how much of a fast eater the black silhouette was. A tiny observation she'll have to note down for later.

Yet, as she once again drew near, the young teen heard a menacing growl forming from the beast. Then, as she did not expect, the dragon removed its muzzle from the bag and snarled in her direction, baring its teeth directly at Marcy and forcing her back. The former ranger tried her best to stand her ground and advance, but before she could move another inch, the dragon lashed out, swiping its paw up to drive her back.

Marcy responds with a yelp as she jumps back, shocked by the dragon's sudden action. However, this bold act has consequences as the dragon steps on its injured forearm. Thus causing it to howl in agony as the pain from the wound starts to intensify.

"No, no, it's okay," she said, calmly throwing her hands up. "I'm trying to help. That wound doesn't look too good, does it?"

Upon mentioning it, the dragon looked down at its forearm and began to notice how severe it was getting. Nonetheless, the dragon remained cautious of the human, taking her words for granted. And it will bring more than just a meal to convince it otherwise.

"This will make you feel better," Marcy claimed with optimism. "I promise."

Marcy knows she's courting death, but if she doesn't seal that wound, the dragon could attract an infection and die. So, she was doing it a favor by enacting this crucial task. But even then, the dragon remained unconvinced, though it started irritating the young flipwart champion a little. Why the creature was so distrustful of her even though she's made her intentions clear to it was a bit of a mystery. At the same time, however, this thing could instantly kill her. She would need to do this carefully.

She inched closer to the dragon, holding the roller bandage out so it could see it. Therefore, her intentions are much more visible to the black creature. Then, as swiftly as she could, Marcy tore out a piece of the bandage, not too short but long enough to fit the winged creature's arm. As usual, upon hearing the sound of tearing leather, the dragon snapped at her viciously. Yet, it pulls back after pressing weight on its injured paw, whimpering in pain.

Marcy couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the beast in pain. Even though it tried to kill her twice in the last week, the young flipwart champion couldn't help but feel sympathy towards this creature, seemingly in a lot of pain as far as she could understand. This would've been the least she could do for it. Though as the beast stared dreadfully at its festering wound, Marcy could feel a sense of conflict within the black silhouette.

She senses that the creature is debating whether to accept her assistance but is holding back. Her suspicion was thus confirmed as the dragon turned its gaze toward her, locking eyes yet again in a somewhat pleading fashion. The energetic teen responded with a gesture to the bandage and smiled optimistically. Shortly after, the dragon looked back at its arm, still conflicted about what it should do. Everything seemed to be a little blurry from where it was standing.

However. with no other options, the creature suddenly holds its forearm out, practically begging for Marcy to do her thing, to which the teen was all too happy to oblige. As she did so, the dragon eyed her movements, watching closely as the teen carefully wrapped the appendage around the dragon's forearm. Then, as quick as a flash, Marcy rolled the piece of bandage up until the wound was completely covered up. Upon sealing it up, the young teen could hear the dragon purring under her wrists, taking in some form of satisfaction from Marcy's apparent act of kindness, which only caused Marcy to smile proudly.

Finally, after adequately sealing the bandage, Marcy planted a sticker with her usual 'Marcy Wuz Here!' logo to hold it together. Thus marking the end of a much more needed crucial task.

"See? All better!" she declared with pride. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

The dragon responded with a grateful warble before returning to the paper bag and resuming breakfast. Here, Marcy was unsure what to do next since it was already clear that the creature had lost interest in her and was too focused on eating. Instead, Marcy resolved this predicament by sinking to her knees and taking a small spot amongst the pile of rubble with her back towards the dragon to give it space.

The energetic teen tapped her little feet against the junk, feeling an awkward tension in the air. As she sat in the rubble, listening to the sounds of chewing coming from behind her, Marcy began reminiscing on a few old memories. One in particular came into mind, explicitly revolving around an old friend of hers.

"You know, it's funny," she said aloud. "You remind me so much about a friend I used to know."

The Taiwanese girl wasn't entirely sure if the dragon was listening, considering it still buried its head in the paper bag but carried on anyway.

"I only had just met him. But he was smart, brave, and funny. Not to mention, very handsome," she added, pausing briefly before continuing. " This might come off a little weird saying this...but you remind me of him a little."

At that moment, the dragon stopped eating for a second, and its left ear appendage perked up before it took its muzzle out of the bag to gaze upon her for the fifth time today. From the looks of its eyes, Marcy could sense a hint of curiosity in the winged creature. Perhaps in collective interest as to what she meant in her peculiar statement. However, this particular novelty only encouraged Marcy to open up even further.

"We used to have so much fun together," she explained. "But I had to leave him and everyone else I knew. And even though we're worlds apart, I still miss him. So much."

As she said this, Marcy felt the verge of breaking into tears but only stopped when the dragon tilted its head while looking down at her with sympathy. To add on, the dragon lightly wrapped its tail around her for comfort. For a brief moment, the former chief ranger felt that the winged beast was starting to empathize with her on missing a dearly departed friend. However, she wasn't sure if this was genuinely the case.

In hindsight, it did seem like ongoing progress to her, even if it was being shown gradually. However, it only makes Marcy bolder, opening her to possibly more dialogue that she could probably build upon.

"So what about you?" she asked out of curiosity. "You have anyone you miss right now?"

Before she could get an answer, the dragon looked at her bluntly before removing its tail, taking the paper bag in its jaws, and standing up. Before long, the dragon turned away from the young girl and flared its wings before taking flight. Thus, the creature glides away for a distance before setting down on another pile of junk and leaving Marcy to her squalor, who was not surprised by the dragon's abrupt departure but was a little disappointed that it left her hanging.

"Okay, " she concluded. "I guess that leaves that then. Good talk."

Two Hours Later...

Marcy had made much progress jotting down her latest observations on her newly found accomplice. After deciding to stay, she compiled a few studies while giving the dragon time. She managed to see a small space in the shade to go about with her examinations while keeping a separate section in her journal to not confuse these notes with the ones she had about Amphibia. Some of those observations mainly dealt with behavioral patterns, skeletal and bone structure, eating habits, and wingspan—typical nerd stuff. However, at the center of the page was a large sketch of the dragon that she had yet to finish.

However, in doing so, she left various arrows with question marks surrounding the picture of the black silhouette. Most of the question marks revolved around many theories she had about the beast. Ideas related to why the creature behaves the way it is, max speed, potential habitat preferences, the type of fire it produces, etc. But her biggest question was what name she should properly give the beast.

Marcy had a long track record of developing the perfect scientific names and classifications for every species she discovered in Amphibia. But since this was an entirely new specimen, the likes of which she had never seen before, coming up with a reputation for it was pretty tricky. Heck, she hardly could think of a general name for the creature. However, she was still open to workshopping the possibilities for a few potential words. They were rather endless to the former chief ranger.

At the same time, she was also open to the dragon sharing its name with her if it ever came to that. But that choice seemed unlikely for now, considering its mistrust towards her. Let alone if it was intelligent enough to do so in a manner she could understand. Still, she hoped it would become the case in the long run. As she finally made the finishing touches to her sketch, Marcy began to think deeply about her new acquaintance. There was so much more she hadn't learned about it. There was much more she wanted to know about it. However, it was unfortunate that the dragon was too reclusive to be possible.

That was until Marcy felt a whiff of air blow from the back of her head and a large shadow peering over her. To the young Flipwart champion's luck and shock, she looked over her shoulder to see the dragon behind her. Marcy responded with a nervous smile. She wasn't expecting this. Mainly because this was the first time in the last few days that the dragon had willingly approached her and hadn't shown any signs of aggressiveness or hostility. Instead, it expressed more of a genuine sense of curiosity. Though it only made Marcy more nervous.

"Oh," she said with a laugh. "Hello again."

The dragon didn't respond. Instead, its wide puppy-dog eyes were more fixed on her journal, specifically on the drawing she had of it.

"Ah, don't mind this," she tried to explain. "It's just my journal. I kinda like jotting down theories and observations."

The black-winged reptile tilted its head in slight confusion, perhaps because it had no idea what she was talking about. Yet, it only made the former chief ranger more and more anxious.

"You know, all about indigenous fauna, medicinal techniques, taxonomical classifications for various species and denizens..."

The young teen stopped shortly after noticing the dragon's expressionless face go unchanged. Save for a slight twitch to its right ear appendage, though that could've been a based reaction. The sheer awkward feeling she was starting to develop made Marcy blush in embarrassment. This forces her to get to the prominent topic that the dragon is only interested in.

"And sometimes I even do drawings," she finalized before holding up the drawing of the creature for it to see. "You like it?"

Here, the black silhouette bent its head to examine the sketch closely. It sniffed at it momentarily before tilting its head in the opposite direction. As it continued to admire the drawing practically, Marcy gulped nervously. She wasn't sure how the creature would react to this. Luckily, she was seeing positive responses. Yet before the former chief ranger could get ahead of herself, the dragon took its eyes off her journal for a moment and dozed off a bit. Shortly after, Marcy watched the creature turn its head the other way before looking back and perking up.

Half a heartbeat later, the black-winged beast bounded off without much of a second glance and out of the Taiwanese teenager's sight. And all Marcy could do now was let out a heavy sigh in utter disappointment. There must be a way for her to better connect with this creature. Otherwise, this would've been considered a complete waste of time for the former chief ranger.

Yet deep down, Marcy felt like she wouldn't learn more about this creature if it would keep ghosting her. She can't keep doing this forever. But even then, it felt like she was getting nowhere with this every time the dragon left her, thus leaving the poor girl up a creek without a paddle. And the sheer hopelessness made Marcy feel very gloomy.

Until a sudden clanging sound went off.

Marcy instantly perked up at the sudden noise, causing her to jump and turn her head to where it was coming from. A second shortly after that, she saw the dragon return with a metal pipe in between its jaws while making a sharp gargling sound as well. To what end, the young flipwart champion wasn't entirely sure. Suddenly, the black silhouette dragged the pipe against the ground in a peculiar fashion. And it was here that Marcy watched the dragon walk on its hind legs in a served line before dropping down on all fours and trotting into a circle, dragging the metal stick.

When it came around, the creature came to a short stop and stood on its hind legs before looking at the ground. Here, the black beast tilted its head slightly while eyeing the circle it made before it wiped away some of the dirt with its tail. Then, it firmly plants the pipe down and drags it around again, making what seemed to be an oval shape, before forming a smaller circle at the center of it. When it was about finished, the creature stopped to look at an already puzzled Marcy before hopping over to the other side of the big circle it had created.

The flipwart champion was more than confused about what the dragon was doing. But didn't have any interest in questioning it and was more drawn to what the dragon was trying to accomplish. Thus, she continued to observe the winged beast as it flared its left-wing out and dragged it slightly against the top of a circle into a diagonal line before curving it down so it matched up to the line above it. After that, the dragon hops back to the other side, forming another oval shape.

Twice, she watched the dragon make two circles with its metal pipe. And Marcy was still unsure of what its intentions were. However, the more she watched its movements, the more the former chief ranger began to notice a particular pattern form. And some of the shapes started to get increasingly authentic. Pretty soon, she began to see some somewhat perceptible features. Many range from body parts such as eyes, nose, and ear. There was even an image that held a striking resemblance to the green barrette that she kept in her hair.

Yet before Marcy could determine the meaning behind this, the dragon stopped short before eyeballing the young teenager. There, the creature panted while staring Marcy down before motioning down below. In return, she lowered her gaze to the imagery it had just crafted, which was too large for her to make out properly. Instead, she looked up back to the beast in front of her and muttered:

"Huh?"

Yet the dragon didn't react. Instead, it squinted its eyes, letting out a faint warble before perking up again. Then, it bounded off again before dragging the pipe against the ground for what happened to be the fifth time in a row. She watched it curve the line a little before reaching a screeching halt. Thus, sitting on its hindquarters and panted like a worn-out dog with the pipe still in its mouth.

Once again, Marcy was thrown at a loop as she looked down upon the carefully crafted lines in the sand. But then, the flipwart champion started to back up to get a better view. With each step she took, the image became more visible to her. And as she examined it further, it was here that Marcy began to realize what the creature had just done. Therefore, she concluded that this wasn't just any form of weird imagery.

It was a drawing!

And not just any drawing either. It was a drawing of her. Or at least that's what it looked like it was. Sure, it was imperfect and looked like her eyes were too big. But it didn't have to be a Pablo Picasso to impress her. The sheer thought the dragon could draw was enough to make Marcy frenzy. And it drew her smiling no less, which was just remarkable. And instantly, Marcy felt a familiar urge soar through her nervous system. Until it finally came out in full swing.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "You can draw?! I didn't know you could draw! Since when can you draw?!"

The dragon nodded in response as the former chief ranger went on her geek fest. However, the creature had no idea how much this meant to the teen. As far as she was concerned, this was more than just a simple revelation to the teen. It was actual proof that the dragon showed a sign of intelligence. Very few animals in the animal kingdom are gifted that kind of luxury. But for a creature like this to be capable of drawing a picture, and a good one at that. This intelligence could rival dolphins and primates, the second most intelligent animals underneath humans.

Yet the length of this particular intelligence opened her up to so many other questions. Many of these relate to how far this intelligence goes and if it could rival humans, too. The possibilities were endless.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!" she said with a much more giddy attitude. "I have so many questions right now. Maybe I should do a few tests to determine if-"

At the same time, however, Marcy's inherited geeky nature gets the best of her and causes her to step on the line obliviously. Thus earning a sharp growl from her seemingly intelligent partner. The sudden action causes Marcy to freeze, startled naturally by the dragon's all-too-aggressive behavior. Yet it only took her half a second before realizing what she did, and she instinctively lifted her foot off the line.

The black-winged beast responded with a purr before it let its guard down in gratification. But even then, Marcy's curiosity causes her to raise an eyebrow. For a moment, she looked between the beast and the line. As a test, the curious teen drops her foot back on the line and earns another threatening snarl from the creature. Only to lift it back up again and earn a satisfying purr.

She did it three more times before getting the same response from the dragon, and then she ultimately stepped over the line and planted her foot across from it. Therefore, she earns another purr from the dragon as it continues to let its guard down. And it was here that the message started to become clear to her. One of which Marcy respectfully obliged.

"Oh," she said nervously. "Sorry about that."

And with that, Marcy began to carefully step across the drawing, avoiding the lines as best as she could. In doing so, little did she know that the dragon was carefully tracing her movements and following every step she took along the way. With each calculated step, it was getting harder for Marcy to keep her balance, given her clumsy nature. The former chief ranger managed to keep it up for a few more paces, but before she could make it to the home stretch, Marcy ended up stepping on her shoelace. This caused her to squeal as she started to tip over.

However, before her face could firmly hit the ground as expected, Marcy fell short and hit a wall of scales instead. Before she knew it, Marcy had suddenly realized she had accidentally bumped into the dragon's muzzle. Ultimately, it startled the young teenager, and she let out a little yelp. Yet, to her surprise, the dragon seemed to be unfazed. Instead, it sat up on its hind legs and purred once again.

As the Asian teen stood there, her cheeks glowing red like a strawberry, it suddenly dawned on her how close to the dragon she was. And thus, Marcy started to feel a moment of deja vu, like she had been in this situation before. It was all too familiar to her at this point. Instinctively, Marcy reaches her hand out toward the creature. However, it merely responded with a warning growl. The young girl pulls back, only for the growling to cease. The dragon was making it clear where its boundaries were.

But the hopeful teenager was not willing to accept this. Marcy knew she meant no harm to the creature and had proven herself many times in the last few days. There was no point in doubting her at this point. Yet even then, she didn't force her way through. Instead, Marcy took a deep breath before lowering her head. Then, as slowly as she could, the young teenager extended her hand with her eyes closed. Thus leaving it up to fate to decide whether she was worthy.

As for the dragon, even though she couldn't see, Marcy could tell that it was somewhat astonished by her lowering her guard down in its presence. The former chief ranger knows she's flirting with death but will risk it if it means gaining this creature's trust. Though, to her credit, it took guts for her to willingly risk turning her back to a creature who could quickly destroy her and place all of her trust on its end.

The teen waited eagerly as the dragon continued to battle with its inner conflict. It was no secret that the black silhouette debated whether to consider her trust. And despite everything she's done for it, the creature still seemed somewhat wary of her. Yet other forms of doubt were suddenly crushed as she felt hot air piercing her skin. She could hear the dragon's nostrils getting closer until they were inches from her hand. She could feel the edge of the dragon's snout closely coming into contact when suddenly:

Ring! Ring!

The sound of Marcy's ringtone goes off, ultimately causing her to go wide-eyed. The dragon instinctively pulls back, confused by the noise. The flipwart champion's face goes utterly red before she quickly scrambles into her pockets to pull out her phone. The embarrassment she felt right now was impalpable, almost making her wish she could strangle the dipstick that decided to call her from her end.

Yet, to her confusion, Marcy was thrown off when she realized it was not a call, to be exact, but rather, a text from Anne. It was a rather ominous surprise since she had never expected Anne to be texting her at that hour. Last she recalled, her Thai best friend had to work the entire weekend at her family's restaurant. It was supposed to be a madhouse by now. However, Marcy was more drawn to her friend's message. One that instantly caught the Taiwanese girl's attention.

'Urgent!' it said. 'Sasha's in the hospital! There is no time to explain! Hurry!'

And it was here that Marcy's entire world started crashing down. And before long, a new sense of urgency started to form. Whatever move she was about to make with the beast had diminished. And Marcy found herself rushing over to her backpack. The former chief ranger packed her things as quickly as she could, shoving her journal roughly through it before throwing it over her shoulder. However, she stops shortly upon realizing that the dragon has its eyes still fixated on her. Its head was tilted slightly in bewilderment. Yet, Marcy had no time to explain, for one of her friends was in danger.

"I am so sorry, but I've got an emergency," she said, practically on the verge of tears. "I have to go!"

Then, as quickly as she arrived, Marcy rushed to the exit. Thus leaving the dragon in its lair both distressed and somewhat confused.

Chapter Text

The midday sun hung high in the sky, casting a ghostly glow over the bustling streets of Los Angeles. Marcy sat in the backseat of her parent's car, her fingers tapping nervously against her thigh as they navigated through the city's labyrinthine traffic. Outside, the urban landscape flashed by in a blur of colors and motion, a cacophony of honking horns and distant sirens filling the air. As for the young teen herself, she found it ironic that she was returning to the hospital; she just came out of what seemed to be a few days ago. The ride to it was pretty close to where she lived. But that did not alleviate the young teenager's urgency to get there as soon as possible, not after finding out that her second best friend was in there after suffering a brutal attack from one of the creatures. Or so that was how the story goes.

The Taiwanese nerd needed to figure out how or when this happened. Still, her main concern was making sure that her friend was okay and seeing how bad the damage was, considering her recent experience with being confronted by one of these things, let alone being attacked. She silently prayed that Sasha was alright and Anne hadn't suffered the same fate. It would kill her if she found out her two best friends were even remotely harmed by these things after everything they've been through in Amphibia. Since they meant the entire world to her from the moment she first met them in their childhood.

However, to their credit, both girls can handle themselves just fine. Marcy was no stranger to that. And Sasha can hold her own in a fight. After all, she wasn't considered the strongest of the three for nothing. But still, the young flipwart champion couldn't help but feel very anxious about her friend's condition, especially since she had been thrown into a similar situation recently. Luckily for her, Marcy's parents learned of the problem and insisted on giving her a ride there. They were the only friends she'd ever had, and since they were there for her when she was at the hospital, it was pretty clear to them how vital her friends were to their only daughter.

Yet, along the way, Marcy couldn't help but feel so anxious about her friends. The feeling was so bad that she could feel herself shaking on the ride there. She could also feel herself getting extremely hot and sweaty. It was all too much at this point. However, the emotional tension did not go unnoticed by the Taiwanese teen. They both looked at each other in uncertainty before taking the opportunity to address it.

"You okay, sweetie?" her mother asked, trying her best not to startle her daughter. "You seem a little on edge."

Though not frightened, Marcy yelped at the slightest sound of her mother's voice, bringing her back to reality instantly. At the same time, it only took a second for her to answer it.

"Oh, sorry," she replied, still shivering. "I'm just a little worried about my friends."

At first, the two parental figures said nothing, considering how obvious it was. Yet before either one of them could say anything, Marcy took the opportunity to elaborate further.

"I just got a call saying that one of them was in the hospital and that it was urgent."

At first, the two parental figures said nothing, considering how obvious Marcy was making it. Yet before either one of them could say anything, Marcy took the opportunity to elaborate further.

"I just got a call saying one of them was in the hospital earlier today," she explained. "And I just keep feeling that something bad happened to them."

Her mother glanced at her through the rearview mirror, concern etched in her eyes. "Try not to let your mind run away with you, Marcy," she said gently. "We'll know more once we get to the hospital."

Marcy's father nodded in agreement, his hands steady on the wheel. "Your mom's right," he added. "Let's focus on getting there safely."

But Marcy couldn't shake the knot of doubt in her stomach, knowing what she already knew. "What if something's wrong with them?" she asked, her voice rising with panic. "What if they don't make it?"

Her parents exchanged worried glances, unsure how to ease their daughter's distress. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Marcy," her mother said softly. "The doctors are doing everything they can to help them recover. Just like they did you, right?"

The geeky teen thought about that for a moment. But it only just made Marcy worry even more. She was lucky to have survived her encounter; having the dragon spared her life. Who knows what the others described in the news were capable of? Or even if they were as merciful. Perhaps they were just as bad or worse, more wild and dangerous. Fear and uncertainty began to spread like a virus, making her heart race and her palms grow clammy with sweat. And it started to make the former chief ranger more paranoid. As they neared the hospital, the tension in the car became almost palpable. And Marcy began to become more and more restless.

"But what something did happen?" she kept wondering, thus causing her to panic a little. "Oh, if anything happens to either one of them, I don't think I'll-"

"Hey," her mother stops Marcy before she can finish, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "It's going to be okay, honey. I'm pretty sure your friends are fine."

"Yeah," her father backed up. And we'll be right beside you when we get there. You have to have a little faith in them. That's all. It'll be fine. We promise."

This caught Marcy by surprise. Sure, she was now used to everyone reassuring her, but there was a hint of false hope in her parents' words. She couldn't tell whether they were lying or gambling with her emotions. Either way, Marcy could find solace in them, knowing she wouldn't be alone in this, regardless of her uncertainty. That would've been the last thing she wanted, especially now. She took a deep breath, taking up all her anxious feelings in her system, before letting it all out in one breath.

"Okay," she exhaled. "Thanks."

Her parents nodded in understanding before turning their gazes back to the road while Marcy waited patiently until they reached their destination. Luckily for her, the Taiwanese girl did not have to wait very long. After a couple more minutes, they arrived. However, it came with a small catch. While it was easy to get through the gate, the only problem was that the hospital's parking lot was packed, and the outside was chaos. With cars coming and going, it almost looked like an incurable disease had struck the city. Marcy speculated that half of them were from families of victims of these attacks. Yet she could only imagine what it was like on the inside, and if she were to take a guess, it couldn't get any better compared to out here.

The overcrowdedness almost made it impossible for them to get to the front of the hospital. Marcy could tell that her father knew it, judging from how he looked with wary eyes.

"Dang, it looks like it's gridlocked, kiddo," he informed her. Why don't you go ahead while we try to find parking?"

This notion threw Marcy off guard, considering how her father had just said they would go inside with her a second ago.

"Are you sure about that, Dad?" she asked undoubtedly. "I can always wait until-"

"I don't think there's time," her father reaffirmed. Besides, we will be out here for a while. If your friends are waiting for you, I suggest you go in now while you can."

"But I-"

"We'll be fine, honey," her mother emphasized, rubbing her knee as reassurance. "Go on and see your friends. We'll be with you as soon as we can."

Marcy didn't know how to feel about this. However, seeing as she had no other alternatives, the young teen had no choice but to bow to the inevitable.

"Alright," she said, cracking open the side of the car door, ready to jump out. "I'll see you guys soon."

Then, in a quick flash, Marcy jumped out of the car and weaved through the crowd of overly packed cars as she made her way toward the front of the hospital. Along the way, she couldn't help but look back to her father's words about having faith in her friends. Though it wouldn't be the first time she's had faith in them, Marcy wasn't the one currently on the pedestal. So, the situation was a lot more complex than she thought. However, if it was that same faith that made everything work out, then there was no doubt it would've done so again. She just needed to believe in them, to believe in herself.

And though the uncertainty remained, Marcy found solace in knowing she wasn't alone. Despite her parents being absent at the moment, there was still Anne, who was currently at the hospital, hopefully unscathed. And it was that knowledge that she knew she could face whatever challenges lay ahead. However, the moment she stepped forth into the lobby, all that knowledge and glimmer of hope went down the drain, being wiped clean from her memory of what she saw. To her surprise, the hospital lobby was crowded with dozens of people, massing in the hundreds at the very least.

Marcy scanned the area to see if she could spot Anne or anyone familiar at this rate, but there were so many people moving around that she couldn't get a clear visual. What made it harder for her to see was all the bright lights that would typically make a person go blind for days, along with the sounds of beeping equipment going off in the background.

However, as she cleared her vision, the former flipwart champion caught a glimpse of a familiar face. As she narrowed down, the image became more apparent to her. Thus, Marcy felt a smile creep up as she saw a messy-haired Thai girl.

Anne!

To add more to her luck, Marcy noticed that her Boonchuy best friend wasn't alone. Maggie, Haddie, Gabby, and the twins Twig and Molly were accompanying her. They were all sitting by a few sets of chairs against the lobby wall, slightly out of the middle of the chaos. Perfect.

Then, like a water snake, Marcy weaved through the crowd to reach them. Halfway there, she could see Anne looking up from what turned out to be her, staring at her phone while on her seat. Though very vague, Marcy started to notice Anne taking notice of her appearance. The former chief ranger shouted to ensure she didn't second guess herself.

"Anne!" she called out.

Just as she thought, Anne looked in her direction with a smile. She watched her get up from her seat, having recognized Marcy and was full of joy.

"Marcy!" she shouted back before going to meet her friend.

Before they could embrace, Marcy did a typical 'Marcy thing' and tripped over a nearby cord, falling face first merely inches before Anne, thus taking everybody by surprise. There was a brief moment of complete silence before Marcy jumped up to her feet, where she tried to play off the self-embarrassment in front of her best friend.

"I'm okay," she brushed off, attempting to pretend it didn't happen and failing miserably.

Regardless, Anne wrapped her arms around Marcy's neck, almost putting her in an impenetrable headlock. This would typically startle the geeky teen, but instead, she returned by wrapping her arms around Anne's back in a tight embrace.

"Thank goodness you're here, Mar-Mar," Anne said, on the verge of tears.

In the background, the other teens gathered around the two, edging to join the babble chain to let the newcomer know they were happy she was there.

"I would've gotten here a lot sooner, Anne, but there was a little traffic on the way," Marcy endeared delightfully.

"Well, we're just glad to see you after yesterday," Haddie replied. Many of us are shaken up after what happened, though I wouldn't know because I wasn't there."

"Yeah, well, it's been a rough ride," Maggie added. "I just can't believe that all happened."

"I still have night terrors from that night," Gabby reiterated, though not before doing a double take. "Well, not really. Sasha's the one who's been through it all."

"It would've been nice if we were there, too," Twig commented, almost envious.

"Yeah, that was a lot of action," Molly added.

Marcy couldn't believe what she was hearing. It seemed that Anne had been through some things the other night, though it only tempted her to hear more about the finer details—if Anne was in the mood to tell her.

"Anne, is this true?" she asked, caressing her cheek with the back of her hand.

Her long-time friend did not answer firsthand. The Taiwanese teen could see Anne's weight in her eyes, almost like the world was about to tip over. But even then, Anne, being the courageous person she was, managed to muster whatever mental strength she had to look Marcy in her big brown eyes before speaking her mind.

"Yeah, it's been pretty rough," she answered ghostly. My family and I have been through a lot this past night—first at the restaurant, and now this."

"Anne..." Marcy stuttered, struggling to find the right words. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," Anne replied stiffly. "But it's so great that you're here now. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don't think I can handle losing another friend."

Then, a heartstrung Marcy embraced her friend again in another tight hug. The group essentially watched the two girls snuggle up close to one another for another couple of seconds. Half another second later, they released each other, with Marcy's expression now turning severe. Most likely to focus on the subject relating to the one person at hand.

"Never mind me, how is she?" Marcy questioned.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Anne replied sincerely. "Sasha had been here since last night, and the doctors wouldn't let us see her yet."

"And it's been so long!" Maggie added sarcastically, dragging on the last line. "It feels like we've been here forever!"

"Yeah," Molly agreed. "And when we tried forcing ourselves in, some of the doctors suggested one of us go through a 'psychiatric evaluation.' Or whatever that means."

The twin girl was then seen eyeballing one of the nurses closest to them, presumable the one she was referring to. However, the doctor responds by rolling her eyes before resuming her work. An act which infuriated the ginger girl to the point where she was considering the idea of strangling her before she was inadvertently stopped by her brother, who decided against it.

"She's supposed to be due at any moment," Anne elaborated. "But they told us that it was a pretty big deal."

"How big are we talking?" Marcy asked curiously.

Anne hesitated, mainly because she couldn't find it to bring it up.

"Eh, nothing too severe," she answered reluctantly. "A few scratches, cracked bones, a few burn marks. Stuff like that. I don't know the full details."

Though not inherently, Marcy was taken aback. She felt her heart stop completely for a moment, and it seemed like time had stopped entirely. It looked worse than she thought as if what she was hearing was even close to being remotely true. Anne quickly took notice and defused the ticking bomb about to go off.

"But that's only from what I've heard," Anne reassured. "I haven't seen it myself. For all I know, she's completely fine."

And just like clockwork, Marcy found her nerves starting to settle. Thus, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, okay," she acknowledged. "Do you know when they'll let us see her?"

"Any minute now, I'm pretty sure," Anne replied, remaining uncertain. "Like I said, she's been here for a while. And I trust that the doctors know what they're doing."

"Let's just hope we don't have to wait through the whole night," Maggie commented from behind Anne. "My legs are starting to get numb from just sitting here."

"Relax, Margo," Haddie dissuaded, taking the orange head's exhilarated demeanor into account. "It's only been a few hours."

"Well, it feels like it," the ginger complained further.

Anne could only look deadpan at her colleague before returning to the point.

"More or less," Anne added, holding Marcy's hand. "We just have to give them time."

For all it was worth, Marcy couldn't help but smile. She admired Anne's sense of hopefulness and positivity. But at the same time, the former chief ranger couldn't help but wonder how long this would last, especially since they both had yet to see the damage inflicted upon their Warrior Queen. Yet it seemed it would be a while before they could see her. However, Marcy was willing to be patient rather than rush in for the sake of being optimistic. At the same time, she was very fortunate that Anne was with her on this. More importantly, she was currently unharmed.

Sure, there were a few things she had just mentioned, but there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, Sasha was her primary concern. And if waiting meant that she'd be able to get that chance in the long run, depending on how long or short it was, then that was what she would do. That said, Marcy silently hoped she wouldn't have to wait too long as she felt a little string of anticipation in checking her second best friend. But the flipwart champion knew better than to rush things. After all, patience was a virtue that she was slowly starting to become familiar with.

However, to what seemed to be her luck, Marcy didn't have to wait that long; after what turned out to be 15 minutes to half an hour, one of the nurses came into the lobby before hollering two names.

"Anne Boonchuy and Marcy Wu," the nurse called out.

Instantly, both girls stood up from their seats at the very mention of their respective names.

"That's us!" Anne said, waving her hand up so the nurse could see them.

Upon making eye contact, the nurse came in their direction. Anne, in return, grabbed Marcy's hand and strung her along as they met the nurse halfway.

"You guys are just in time," the nurse said, shaking Anne's hand simultaneously. "Her parents told me you'd be here. Sorry about the delay."

"How is Sasha?" Marcy asked, much to Anne's surprise. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Your friend is fine," the nurse answered. "She's on the third floor. Right this way."

From there, the nurse returned in the direction she came from, presumably to where the elevators were while motioning the two girls to follow her. Before they could, Anne gestured to the group to follow suit, which they did with equal anticipation. Along the way, they could see the rooms packed with patients of all ages. Some were in perfectly healthy shape. It was a promising sign, least to say. However, the good was regrettably outweighed by the bad, for many patients were unlucky. From what Marcy could see, some patients wore casts around an arm or a leg. One of which didn't seem so bad.

But then other patients bore scars and burnt marks so bad that it almost made her gag. Yet that wasn't even the worst part, for there were patients who were burned to the point where they were considered monsters beyond recognition, which was quite tragic for the families of those patients. It almost made Marcy feel nervous about Sasha and even more anxious. She couldn't even bear the idea of Sasha being one of those victims. But something in her head told her this would be the case, if not worse. Yet there was no turning back now. And Anne was with her too, so that was something.

As they reached the third floor, the group walked down the hall, where more patients were being held. They all had the same injuries as the ones downstairs. For every victim with charred-up scars, Marcy's fears started to grow worse and worse. No matter how many times she remained hopeful. But hope is all she has now. Disregarding it would be a fool's errand.

Finally, the nurse in front came to a precise stop just before a door just left of the hallway. From the looks of things, Marcy could guess that that was the room Sasha was in.

"Okay, she's in here," the nurse declared. "But I gotta warn you, she's been through a lot since the police found her. She's lucky to be alive, let alone in one piece."

Upon facing the door, Marcy hesitated. The former chief ranger was not ready to face whatever was on the other side, to see Sasha broken like the other patients. However, before she could go way over her head, she felt another hand wrap around hers. Only to be revealed to be Anne's, who met her gaze with reassurance.

"Whatever happens," the Thai girl said softly. "We'll face this together, right?"

Marcy nodded with a smile.

"Right."

They turned back to the nurse and gave her a nod. Only for the nurse to nod regrettably before opening the door. When they stepped inside, the hospital room was bathed in the sterile glow of fluorescent lights, casting harsh shadows against the white-tinted walls. The first thing that came to their attention was Sasha's divorced parents, sitting in two chairs right up against the window. It didn't take them long to notice the two girls entering before getting up to greet them.

"Anne, Marcy," the father addressed, respectfully shaking Anne and Marcy's hands. "Thanks for coming."

"Sasha told us to call you as soon as she woke up," the mother added. "But the nurses wouldn't let us use our phones during the procedures."

"No prob," Anne acknowledged. "How is she?"

Upon processing the question, both adult figures hesitated. This time, it was much more severe than either wanted to admit. And they knew it.

"You don't wanna know," was all the father could say.

"Well, is she okay?" she asked more drastically.

"Barely," the mother answered with a strain in her voice. "The doctors told us she'll live. But it's going to take a while for her to recover. The earliest, they said, was around six weeks. Maybe a month."

Both girls were instantly taken by surprise. It may be worse than Marcy initially thought. For it to take a month for Sasha to heal only implied that she took a beating, which only meant that she suffered a tremendous number of injuries if the flipwart champion thought correctly. It only made her more and more anxious to see for herself. However, she also felt that Anne felt the same way. Yet it was she who took the first initial step.

"Is it okay if we see her?" the Boonchuy girl asked. "Or rather, do you think she'll be okay with us seeing her like this?"

"Of course," the father said without hesitation. "You're her friends. She'll be glad to see you."

"Just try to keep an open mind, okay?" the mother added. "It might not be what you expect."

"Duly noted," Anne replied with a thumbs up.

Marcy followed up by smiling and putting a thumb up, too. Yet her inner voice practically screamed at her to turn back, only for that ship to have passed. There was no turning back now. And whether she was ready or not, she had to face the music and see Sasha in her current state. It helped a little that Anne was here, too, but only to an extent. As they went further into the room, the finer details of the surrounding environment started coming into the light. It was backed up by the steady hum of medical equipment filled the air, punctuating the occasional beep of monitors.

As soon as they turned the corner, the two girls gasped at the first sight of their beloved Sasha Waybright. From what they saw, she was propped up against the bed, with casts covering her body from head to toe, save for her actual head. Specifically, she had two short casts on her arms, one long cast on her left leg, and one spica cast covering her chest and right shoulder. The place that seemed to have been cast free was her head, which was instead covered by a colossal bandage plastered on her left cheekbone. It was a rather devastating sight for the duo. To see their dear friend beaten and broken as she was here.

Anne was beyond speechless, and Marcy covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from screaming, which would've been the case if it were just the three in the room. It was almost everything she feared would happen, save for the fact that the Battle Queen was still alive. There was an eerie tone in the room as they waited for a response from the apparent victim. Her mother alleviated one of these as she passed the two teens and sat by the chair near the patient. She breathed before taking hold of Sasha's near side hand, letting her know she was there.

"Hey, Sash," her mother said softly, stroking a string of hair from her daughter. "Your friends are here to see you."

The blonde warrior did not answer briefly, but she managed to stir awake at the sound of her mother's voice. She let out a groan in silent agony as the pain from her wounds started to take form. Yet Sasha, being the persistent fighter that she was so renowned for, dragged her upper body up against the bedrest so that she could sit up straight. She smiled as she looked at her mother and two best friends.

"Anne..Marce," she said, strainly.

For a brief and subtle moment, there was sheer silence, which lasted for a whole millisecond before finally:

"SASHA!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

And it was here that they both lost it. What seemed to be hours of pent-up energy, anticipating what they would both find, had finally come out, resulting in the two girls rushing in and trapping the injured teen in what appeared to be a swarm of hugs. However, it caused her to fall backward slightly.

"Oh my gosh, Sasha!" Anne exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"We were so worried about you," Marcy added.

"Woah! Did I miss something just now?!" Sasha questioned, a hint of sarcasm escaping from her lips. "Y'all are acting like I just died, though I am in a hospital bed, so I guess that checks out."

"How do you feel?" Marcy asked.

"Honestly, I've suffered worse," Sasha responded. "Though what you call a few cracked ribs?"

After the girls let go of their tightened embrace, Sasha tried sitting up, only to feel a jolt down her spine and lower abdomen, which brought her back down. However, at this moment, the blond warrior also began to notice that they had company—four teenagers skulking by the front door with her father.

"Oh, hey guys," she calls out. "Thanks for dropping by."

"Hey, Sasha," Maggie said, moving closer into the light so the injured warrior could see her. "How are you?"

The others followed suit shortly after.

"Sup," Haddie added, putting up a peace sign.

"OMG!" Gabby exclaimed. "Sasha, what happened to you?!"

"You look like a rabid raccoon mauled you," Twig commented. "Or maybe worse. What's worse than a raccoon?"

"Beats me," Molly shrugged. I was going to say she was jumped by a radioactive spider monkey that nearly ripped out her innards."

For the sake of not feeling embarrassed, Sasha ignored the last three comments. Her main focus was on her two close friends, looking down at her with complete despair. Something within the blonde warrior told her she had some explaining to do, which was no surprise considering she was here with several casts strapped to every inch of her body.

"Yeah, Sasha, what happened?" Anne questioned.

As expected, Sasha hesitated momentarily, finding it hard to recount the memories of the other night that had brought her to this place. She was barely able to feel her arms and legs. Yet, for all it was worth, Sasha could muster up the courage to recall the recent events despite how painful they seemed.

"Well, nothing good," Sasha explained. "We were out in the mall, going by our usual plan. We were about to call it a day until one of those things from the news came bursting into the other side."

"You mean dragons?" Marcy questioned, though it was more of an autocorrect.

"Yeah, dragons, whatever!" Sasha replied, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, I thought I'd buy the others some time by facing it head-on. A very Sasha thing of me to do. Am I right?"

"Yeah, you did that," Gabby added in the background.

Sasha responded with a side-eye before getting back on point.

"So, we tangled for a little bit. And I'll credit it: the darn thing put up a pretty good fight. I was about to put it out of its misery until this other dragon appeared. And now I'm up against not one but two dragons! Can you believe it?!"

"TWO?!" Anne and Marcy shouted.

"That's what I said!" Sasha responded enthusiastically. So I'm now dealing with this guy, and it goes at me like crazy. That was the longest darn fight of my life. I had to fight twice as hard to bring it down."

"And then?" Anne questioned further.

"I'm getting there, Boonchuy; please don't rush me," Sasha berated, though they tried not to be offensive. "Anyway, after a while, I put it in the headlock. But before I could finish him off, it set its entire body on fire. ON FIRE!"

The group couldn't help but cringe at that statement. Not that they could blame the poor girl.

"Yeesh," Gabby commented, still disturbed at the thought of a picture of the esteemed battle queen on fire. That must have been a severe burn."

"Diddo!" Sasha replied. "But that wasn't even the worst part. The thing's beating every inch of my life. And I'm barely trying to keep up with it. By the time it was finished with me, I was barely awake to see it crash a helicopter from the inside out. And the next thing I know, I woke up here, and I couldn't feel my ribs. The doctors say I fractured at least four of them."

Everyone in the room was thrown into a loop, each processing the information the battle queen had just told them in their own way. As expected, Maggie and Gabby were devastated, considering they were there when it happened—or at least at the mall with her before it all went down. If memory serves, they were instructed by Sasha to get help, which they fortunately did. But even when they returned with the cavalry, it was already too late, which is why the blonde warrior was lying here in a hospital bed strapped in large bandages.

Haddie was equally terrified but also very intrigued at the part when she mentioned that the dragon set itself on fire. Sure, the goth girl did see it on the news. But she also couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to see it up close and personal; it probably wouldn't be pleasant, considering what had just happened to Sasha. It was almost impossible to tell how the twins were taking this. On the one hand, Twig was as devastated as everyone else. On the other hand, Molly was taking in the damage inflicted and putting up a sinister-like smile. She was more or less siked up, similar to Haddie, but found it more enticing in a sick sense.

And then there was Anne, taking it much more complex than everyone else. Yet instead of sadness, intricacy, or sheer grief, the Thai teen was seething with silent rage—something nobody in the room had noticed—not even Sasha herself. Perhaps it was because she suppressed that anger in her hands, causing her to clench her fist. Guilt, hatred, and sadness also start to form, causing the young hero to become more and more tense. The only one who had seemed to take some notice was Marcy, but she was so shocked and emotionally paralyzed that she didn't say a word. She was so numb that she physically couldn't move or react to what anybody was saying. All she could do was watch as Anne (after calming her already fuming nerves) took Sasha by her right hand and held it with her own.

"Sasha..." she murmured silently. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"Don't be Anne," Sasha turned down, not that she didn't appreciate the sentiment, but also not asking for pity. "It was my idea to try to take on those things myself. That was my choice."

"A choice you shouldn't have had to make, Sash," Anne countered. "If I had known, I would've been there to try to stop-"

"Anne, there was nothing you could've done!" the battle queen backtracked.

"I could've saved you!"

"No one could, Anne!" The room went a little silent before Sasha continued. "Believe me. I wanted your help. I wanted you and Marcy by my side. But I was on my own at that point. You guys were doing your own thing. And besides, it was my job to protect the others. Who else could've done it?"

"Me!" Anne insisted. "I could've done it! I am supposed to be the hero, after all, am I?!"

"Hey! Now, that's not fair! Sasha snapped, slightly offended. "You weren't the only one who fought in the invasion. We wouldn't have gotten Marcy back if it weren't for me."

"Yet I saved you, too, from the moon that was about to crush us!" Anne countered. "That counts for something!"

"Um, guys," Haddie interrupted. I don't want to be that guy, but don't you think you're both taking it a little too far?"

"What do you mean too far?!" Sasha questioned. "She started it!"

"Well, to be fair, Sasha," Maggie chimed in. " You were kinda implying that-"

"Implying what?!" Haddie argued. "She's the one who's hurt."

From then on, the girls engaged in what seemed to be frivolous bickering. At the same time, they were unaware of the current state of a certain former chief ranger who had her back up against the wall and was as silent as the grave. As the arguing continued to escalate, Marcy found it hard to concentrate, let alone breathe. Her senses went into a spiral, and her heart pounded rapidly against her chest. For whatever reason, the former chief ranger felt her entire body shaking rapidly. The next thing she knew, she started seeing flashes of red and black, and the memories came rushing back.

Memories of past events that have haunted her for as long as she knew. Memories of the party and the torment she endured, her betrayal back in Amphibia, her imprisonment in the mindscape, even the memories of her pain. The type of pain that would either leave her with a hole in her chest or with her writhing in agony. It was so bad that she now started to hyperventilate. It happened so fast that she couldn't even think straight. Her vision began to get blurryer as the memories kept flashing.

She tries silently to control herself, to get her breathing under control desperately. But it was already too late. The last thing that flashed before her was a memory of her, trapped in the same chair when before she was under the Core's influence, feeling every ounce of pain that was inflicted on her. Thus, she began to hear herself screaming before submitting to its control. She covered her ears to keep herself from hearing her own screams. But they just kept getting louder and louder. And it all kept getting worse until she couldn't take it anymore.

Then, everything came crashing down like a hurricane. Marcy started going into complete panic mode. She felt her back hit against the wall before storming out the room as quick as a flash, passing through Gabby and the twins, along with Sasha's father, who were all blocking the, and Sasha didn't see their nerdy friend leave until it was too late.

"Marcy?" Anne called out, only to get no answer.

By then, Marcy was running across the hall, with nobody stopping her.

"MARCY!" Anne called again, but there was no response once again.

Anything said then went on deaf ears for the poor Taiwanese teen. All she could hear at that moment were the sounds of her own agony. All she could think of was for it all to stop, and being away from here would achieve that. Anyone but here was better—or at least that was what she thought. However, despite the head start, Marcy did run into a few people along the way, mainly a few nurses and guests passing through. And she didn't manage to get far.

She stopped when she nearly tripped herself. She had missed a person with an overtable passing through and crashed right into it, which made her stumble until she fell in the middle of the hallway. On the ground, she could hear the sound of someone shouting something to her, yet it still went numb through her ears. All she could hear was the sound of her own screams.

The former chief ranger tried picking herself back up, but it was too much. She could only crawl up against the wall and cover her ears, silently pleading to herself for it all to end.

But all she could do was sit there, not daring to open her eyes as she hugged her knees with both arms. Like before, her breathing was heavy, her vision was fuzzy, and her heart repeatedly slammed against her ribcage. And her eyes started to burn, swelling up with tears as the screams continued to echo across her brain. Until now, she was utterly powerless to do anything about it. It was practically hopeless. However, despite the relentless noise, she could hear one particular voice. One that was not her own.

"Marcy," she heard. "Marcy, are you okay?"

Finally, the nerdy teen opened her eyes to see Anne on her knees, looking into her big brown eyes. The messy-haired girl's hands rested on her friend's shoulders, gently drawing Marcy's attention. The Taiwanese girl tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was that the words were too vague for Anne to understand.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered, her breathing still ragged. "I think it...I don't know if I-"

"It's okay," Anne manages to say. "Just breathe."

Though it took some time, Marcy slowly regained her breathing. While she was at it, Anne slowly brushed a damp lock of hair that hung over Marcy's face before cupping her cheek with her right hand. Marcy looked up in awe at Anne as she rubbed her cheek with her thumb. Their eyes met, and for a split second, Marcy completely lost it. She drastically wraps her arms around Anne's waist, tugging at the Thai girl's shirt as she throws herself into a deep sob.

"I'm so sorry, Anne," she uttered in Anne's embrace. I'm sorry for Sasha. I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for everything!"

Instantly, Anne was at a loss. Granted, there were times when she's seen Marct so sad and depressed these last few months. But never had she seen Marcy panic like this or feel so broken, especially at a time when their other friend was currently incapacitated. She couldn't bear to see her like this. And even yet, she knew exactly where she was coming from, having almost lost Sasha back in Amphibia, even if she was half responsible.

And the pain of nearly losing a friend was something she was no stranger to. As such, Anne released a shaky breath of relief, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion as she wrapped her arms around her dear friend. Thus bundling her and herself into a tight, bittersweet hug.

"I'm here, Marcy," was the only thing she could say. "I'm here."

Shortly after, her parents arrived at the scene. And did not hesitate to provide their daughter with comfort. All the while, Marcy sat there, fully enveloped in the embrace of those around her. The screams were gone, yet the pain remained. The pain concerned one of her best friends, who had nearly fallen victim to the very things that are still out there. But that was a problem for another time. And all she could do now was take in the comfort she had right before her. No matter how brief the moment was.

5 Miles from Universal Studios, 4:30 p.m.

Mr. X has found himself in a tight spot at the amusement park in Hollywood. After a quick phone call from General Hoffman, who has surprisingly found one of the mysterious beasts, he now finds himself rushing with half the agency at his back, along with his assistant Dr. Terri, who was just as surprised as he was. As expected, when he asked about specifics regarding the situation, the general declined to share that information with him, which didn't surprise the agent, considering the General's trustworthiness.

Still, it puzzled him, knowing that the army and the FBI's relations had been strong at late. Their partnership couldn't have been even more robust during their battle with the Amphibians two months ago, even though they were at a heavy disadvantage and were losing, had it not been for Anne's efforts. The fact that he was receiving some skepticism from this General was unexpected. But at the end of the day, what he does in his department doesn't matter. His allegiance was to his agency and the president.

However, he started noticing something about Terri, who seemed anxious. However, it was more in an enthusiastic manner rather than nervous tension. The feeling wasn't new to the agent, but this appeared to be much more unusual than he had thought. He wagered that the flight had something to do with it because they took a chopper due to too much traffic on the freeway. And after a moment of thinking it over, the FBI agent considered addressing it to her.

"Everything okay back there?" he asked diligently.

Instantly, Terri snapped out of her phase but was slightly hesitant to answer his question.

"Sorry, just a little stoked, is all," she said while fidgeting with her fingers. "This is the first time I'm doing fieldwork."

"Really?" X asked, startled from hearing about this. "Didn't you do a tone of things being an assistant to that crazy, mad scientist of yours?"

"Yeah, but that's the thing," the doctor implied. "I've never really been out in the field before all this."

"What about that time you and your friends infiltrated my base?" X brought up prematurely. "You did pretty well back then. Till we captured you, that was."

"That was different," Terri countered. "What I did should be considered breaking the law, not vice versa."

"Still a win in my book," X deferred. "But if that's the case, then you should do fine for this."

"Yeah, that's another thing, though," the doctor admitted. "What if something does go wrong? Or what if the General asks us something, and I'm not ready for it? Or what if-"

"Hey," he calls out, grabbing her by both shoulders to get her attention. "You'll do fine. I'm in this line of work, and trust me when I tell you; it will be fine. And if it doesn't, we'll get ice cream when the job's done. How does that sound?"

For a moment, Terri thought about it. Usually, she'd take his word for what it was, but something inside her was telling her that something was going down and she would be seriously underprepared. However, considering how honest the FBI agent has been to her, she trusted his judgment well enough to go along with it. Thus, she let out a deep breath to calm her nerves before letting it all out in one clean sweep.

"Well, I don't know about ice cream," she doubted slightly. "But if it has to deal with yogurt-covered pretzels, that's good enough for me."

"See, that's the spirit," he said with enthusiasm. "Now, all we have to do is wait till we-"

"Boss," the pilot said through the comms. "We're here."

For a moment, the FBI agent was caught off guard.

"Oh," he said with a laugh. "Well, that was fast."

By then, the agent and the doctor looked out the window to see what seemed to be a hill on fire. More accurately, what was on the mountain seemed to be on fire. From its appearance, the place seemed to look like the amusement park the General mentioned during the phone call. To their knowledge, both of them were pretty familiar with the place. It was said to be one of the most famous amusement parks on this side of Los Angeles. The park's rides are said to be pretty legit, according to reviews. From what Mr. X recalled, the live shows held every once in a while were supposedly just as impressive.

Universal Studios, it was called. Or at least, that was what they remembered the name being. Others stuck out, but this one was the most relevant. However, from the air, it seemed like the place had been through a lot these last few days. For starters, the entrance was completely torn down. And the big ball that was supposed to represent the globe was fried beyond any hope of repair. Aside from that, concession stands were busted open, and buildings were set afire. Even billboards, which would've been considered very expensive to put together, were smashed right through.

Luckily for the two, they could find a place to land on the lower part of the hill, presumably where the crime scene was currently being held. Upon landing, they were instructed to go to an area with much larger attractions were being held. And that the General would be in touch with them as soon as they arrive. When they arrived at the scene, the entire place was swarmed with police swat teams, army artillery trucks, and marines. Two choppers were already in the air, each with searchlights aimed at one of the amusement park's oldest rides. It was one of the more prominent attractions, titled 'Revenge of the Mummy' as the ride's name. From what they could see, the entire place crawled with cops and troops.

A large sack of sandbags was spread out the most extended way from the building, with at least ten men behind it. To the left, near the dinosaur ride, the agents and doctor could see six snipers pitched right on top of the building, with six more covering the other side. Likewise, four more snipers were stationed at the stairway overlooking the building, with six more men covering the other side. Three gun trucks covered the nearest right of the building, while another covered the rear. The attraction's entrance was covered with all the rifles and guns pointed at a single door, leaving little room for escape for anyone inside.

At the plaza's center, they could see General Hoffman, in his esteemed glory, who X guessed was the one who set this in motion. Naturally, the FBI agent wasn't amused seeing the army general here but was willing to swallow his pride and do his job if it meant keeping the situation under control, even if that meant working with a man he considered very questionable personally. And that was what he would do for his sake and Terri's.

So, like any other professional, he puffed out his chest before going over to the General, which Terri followed right behind him. By the time the General noticed them, he was just about finished talking with two other soldiers before dismissing them to greet his acquaintances.

"General," Mr. X addressed.

"Mr. X," he greeted, shaking the FBI agent's hand. Doctor Terri, thank you for coming on short notice."

"Likewise," the FBI agent acknowledged. "What's the situation?"

"Forty-eight hours ago," the General explained, walking off with the two of them trailing him. "One of those things showed up and attacked customers. It was costing both lives and property. I had troops try to contain the situation, but the damn thing slipped passed our lines. We chased it all across the park, and it went into one of those attractions. Scared off the people inside and settled in like a bit of home. I sent swat teams to scout the area, but none returned."

"And how long has it been in there?" Mr. X asked.

"Since then," the General said bluntly.

"And has it ever tried to come out ever since?" Terri added.

"No, and I'm going to make sure it doesn't," the General responded, much colder than before.

This direction threw Mr. X in the loop, almost making him do a double-take.

"Forgive me, but I don't think I follow," he addressed.

"Then I'll put it simply," the General simplified. "In a few minutes, I'm sending two of my best men there to but the rabid beast down for good."

"But didn't the president specifically say to-"

"I know what the president said!" the General confirmed harshly. "But it is my duty to protect this country and her interest from any or all enemies. And I will not squander that by simply waiting for something to happen."

"Then why did you call us here?!" Mr. X questioned. "If you're just gonna disobey orders!"

"Consider yourself as an...insurance policy."

This left the agent slightly confused.

"A what?"

"Even though I do believe it is in our best interest to destroy these things," he elaborated. "I want to reassure the president that I did everything in my power to ensure that his orders were carried out."

"So if I'm getting this right, not only are you about to disobey a presidential order, but you also want me and my people to cover for you to keep you from being court-martialed," the FBI agent summarized in the form of a challenge. "Is that about right?"

At first, the General didn't give him an answer. All he did was squint his eyes before replying:

"I'm not asking!"

"But you're implying it," MR. X emphasized. "And as far as this 'insurance policy' is concerned, what's in it for us?"

The General was five seconds away from losing his patience before inherently calming himself down. He took a deep breath before regaining his posture. Thus, his demeanor was more of a cold but professional manner.

"Simple: You get to keep your job, and I get to keep mine," he said. Consider it a favor for our years of partnership. And maybe your science colleague can get a free sample when this is over."

After that, the General turned away to rejoin some of his men, one of whom approached him with a rifle already in hand.

"Lieutenant, prep your men," he ordered. "It's time to finish this beast off once and for all."

As the General and his men prepared for action, Mr. X silently fumed angrily. This man's disrespect for him and his colleague was entirely uncalled for. Not only that, but for him to have the audacity to try to blackmail him and his agency into covering for him while he disobeyed presidential orders was low, and he wouldn't tolerate it. It was a complete insult to both his honor and the honor of what it meant to be a faithful American. It was infuriating.

However, before he could ponder his anger further, he felt a finger tap his shoulder. When he turned to see who it was, he was surprised to know that Terri was surprisingly more anxious than in the helicopter.

"Sir, can I have a word?" Terri asked.

"Um, sure," the agent responded.

To ensure nobody else could hear them, Terri pulled Mr. X to the side, away from the bustling soldiers moving in multiple directions.

"Sir, this doesn't feel right," she addressed.

"Yeah, a lot of things don't feel-"

"No, I mean what the General is planning," she elaborated. "That thing inside. It's been in there for two days straight, and we hardly know anything about it. Now the General's about to send soldiers in, just as the swat teams haven't returned. Doesn't that tell you something?"

To her dismay, the FBI agent was slightly under a loop. So many things were going through his mind that he could hardly understand what she was saying. However, he did have an idea of where she was getting at.

"Okay," he acknowledged. "So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking this is a trap," she explained. "And it'll only be a matter of time before something bad happens to them."

Now, that was something he understood. And in some sense, she was right. They knew nothing about the creatures that appeared a few days ago. They were a lot more primitive than the Amphibians, but they were more dangerous. Something within him told him he should inform the General to keep his men from being sent to their deaths. However, the bigger question was if the General would listen to reason. But there was only one way to find out.

"Alpha team, Bravo team, move into position!" the General ordered as the two teams entered the entrance. "Give'em hell in there!"

"Sir, even if we agreed to this, your men don't know what they're walking into," X implored. "If we took the time to learn its behavior, maybe we'll have a better chance at-"

"If you want to see what the enemy's going to do, then you've lost, son," the general fires back sternly. Didn't your agency boys teach you that?"

Mr. X had to keep himself from losing his patience before pressing on.

"Sir, I insist that you reconsider your current course of action," he said with dignity. "So that we can come up with a new strategy so we can-"

"It's already DONE!"

Yet before the agent could protest even further, the order had already been given. All they could do now was watch as the two squadrons went through the entrance to the building, into the jaws of death or glory, while the rest waited outside, ready for anything that came after this moment. Thus, their lives were left in the hands of fate, which hopefully was in their favor. Within the confines of the arena, the air seemed thin, and eerie sounds were playing within the halls. Thus giving off a creepy vibe in the area. To make matters worse, it was so dark that the men could hardly see.

Only through thermal goggles attached to their helmets were they able to make out their surroundings. They wandered inside the attraction for a while, occasionally looking at the Egyptian symbols and mummified drawings that were decorated across the hall. At one point, one of the soldiers stumbled upon a small light, which showed a small hole in the wall that supposedly showcased the famous Book of the Dead, which was quite amusing to see before he stayed on topic. After a few more trips down the aisle, they stumbled upon a more extensive section of the room, where the ceiling consisted of creepy skeleton contraptions that gave out haunting sounds. It almost sends a cold chill down the lieutenant's spine just hearing it.

As they went further into the corridor, the lieutenant took a few steps to the right before noticing something strange on the ground. On short notice, the lieutenant signals his team to hold their positions as he bent down to investigate further. As he pointed his flashlight toward the object, the officer reached down to see what the object was. And in a camera attached to his chest, everyone saw him pick up what appeared to be a helmet. When he turned it over, the lieutenant further revealed that the helmet had a stain of blood smeared across the centerpiece.

"Are you seeing this, General?" the lieutenant asked through the radio.

"Affirmative, lieutenant," the General acknowledged. "But what is that?"

"Could that perhaps be one of the missing swat officers you sent two days ago?" Mr. X asked in the background.

"Are you threatening me, son?" he questioned sternly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," the FBI agent denied sarcastically. "I'm just pointing out a series of-"

"I could have you jailed for interfering with my work," Hoffman threatened. "As an officer of the US military-"

"And I'll have your mind that I could have you sent to the Brigg for disobeying a presidential command," Mr. X fires back. "So what does that make you in this, huh?"

For what appeared to be the second time in a row, the General was narrowly close to losing his patience when the lieutenant's voice sounded off from the radio.

"Sir, I think you might wanna see this," he said drastically.

The General took one look at MR. X stood up, his chest puffed out in pride, before scornfully turning to the radio to address the soldier under his command.

"What is it, lieutenant?" he asked through the earpiece.

"About those swat officers you sent earlier," he said, revealing a skull attached to the bloodstained helmet. "I think we found them."

Hence, they could see more bodies scattered across the corridor through the monitor. Thereby revealing the rest of the squad, which had the same charred looks and half-mangled corpses. It was a massacre. Though to the General's dismay, the FBI agent couldn't help but smirk, knowing he was right.

"Told ya."

Half a microsecond later, saliva touched the lieutenant's arm. A heartbeat later, another dropped right below the previous spot. Then, there was an eerie gurgling sound that sang through the air. The lieutenant lifted his gun to see nothing but a few saliva marks pinned against one of the ride's skeleton contraptions. He slowly rose to his feet while eyeing the markings. Oce straight up, another gurgling sound came from right behind him, catching the other soldiers' attention.

The lieutenant stopped instantly, feeling a gust of wind touch the hair on the back of his head. Paralyzed by fear, he glanced back behind him and above, only to suddenly wet himself as he saw an enormous shadow standing over him, courtesy of the flashlights. Hence, the shadow stepped further into the light, revealing a small but ferocious-looking heard. Shortly after, another was revealed, just to the side. The lieutenant second-guessed himself before realizing that the two heads were connected to one reptilian body—something he and the other soldiers weren't expecting. The creature loomed over the lieutenant, growling viciously before lunging down at full speed.

"INCOMING!" he shouted.

The soldier then lifted his gun so he could open fire, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, the lieutenant felt his head grabbed by one of the heads of the beast and dragged up midair. As he ascended, the soldier had his finger on the trigger. Thus causing the gun to fire rapidly in multiple directions. The other soldiers pulled back, taking cover a couple of yards back to avoid getting shot at while returning fire at the same time. The only problem was that the dragon was so high up and dark that they couldn't get a clear visual.

Thereby rendering their efforts pointless as they kept missing their marks. But as they kept raining bullets, the lieutenant's scream echoed across the corridor, causing Terri just on comns to shiver. Suddenly, one of the dragon's heads flung the lieutenant around like a ragdoll. In contrast, the other head reared back and banged its muzzle against the lieutenant so hard that he was sent flying back against the corridor, taking down two other soldiers with him upon landing. Dazed, the lieutenant attempts to pick himself back up, but as he lifts his upper body, the dragon jumps from the ceiling and lands straight onto the top of the trooper. Thus crushing his head in the process.

Outside, everyone sees the lieutenant's heartbeat flatline, indicating that he is dead. The act stuns everyone in the vicinity, especially the General himself.

"Lieutenant?" he called out, despite the sound of flatline. "Lieutenant! Answer me!"

The overconfident was thrown into a trance as the attack pressed. X and Terri were dead silent as they continued to watch the onslaught. There was a lot of shouting and firing, and the teams were thrown into chaos as the dragon carried on with its offense. However, despite being disadvantaged, the troops did their best to fight back. One soldier shot two Taser rounds at the beast, hoping to disorient it. The first shot missed entirely, but the other landed on the side of the dragon's shoulder, shocking it slightly. As the beast was stunned, the remaining troopers that weren't scattered tried shooting for the kill, though it was hard since the two-headed creature was all over the place.

Yet, while it was a lucky shot, it only caused the dragon to shriek in fury as it brought its tail around and slammed it into the cop, sending him flying backward and headed straight for another soldier. It took that soldier a split second to see what was coming, and they instinctively diverged before the flying trooper could whack him. However, his luck was short-lived as the beast grabbed him by the head before he could fire his weapon and tossed him into the air, where his head smashed into a skeleton contraption above him, causing the trooper to spin a few times before landing on the ground headfirst, snapping his spinal cord. Two more heartbeats flatlined, and then another, and another. X looked over to the General and saw him panicking silently. Then he looked over to Terri, who was horrified at the footage and the monitors' flatlining.

However, he could only turn back to the monitor and watch since they could do nothing. Through the monitor, he watched a trooper fire his net gun, which in return wrapped around the mouth of the left head, trapping its mouth shut tightly. The creature growled slightly muffled as the other head bit at the snout to get the net off. The distraction allowed the soldiers to try to rally and find an opening, with a few firing a couple of taser rounds to immobilize it. But the other remaining head caught sight of them and attacked before they could reform their firing line. Instinct drives the beast to lunge forward, shoulder charging straight into a wall, crushing a trooper against it before smacking its snout against another. As this occurred, the impact of the wall caused one of the gimmicks to collapse and crush one soldier underneath it. A trooper from behind tried getting a shot but was tail-whipped in the opposite direction to meet the wall with his face.

Three more heartbeats flatlined. A few seconds later, the remaining head looked at the net and bit at it with its jaws. After what seemed to be a few tugs, the dragon freed its other head from the net trap before rearing up in a blood-fueled rage. The troops watched in silent horror as the dragon dropped to all fours, and both heads unleashed an aggressive roar, indicating its fury. And it was here that the tides began to turn, and all hell broke loose. Consumed by bloodlust, the dragon swats two troops at its rear with its dual tail before one nearby head snatches a fleeing soldier. Simultaneously, he was lifting him off the ground and up into one of the skeletons before the two heads proceeded to tear him apart. The trooper's screams echoed against the comns as the dragon tore off everything from clothing, armor, and even flesh.

At this point, the rest of the soldiers were forced to retreat. It was too dark to see, and the dragon was moving so fast they couldn't get a clear shot. There was simply no other option but to pull back. Two soldiers were dragging a wounded member back, whose leg had been seriously maimed in the attack, while one brave troop stayed behind to cover their retreat. Through the dimness of the room, the lone trooper caught a glimpse of the beast tossing the mangled and mutilated form of his comrade before focusing its attention on him.

The soldier stood his ground as the dragon charged him at full speed. As it closed in on him, the lone wolf took his shotgun and fired it at the beast. Yet the creature dodged the incoming rounds by swaying its two heads around in a zig-zag, making it hard for the soldier to get a clean hit. He was fired five times and spent his rounds only to keep missing and missing. All the while, the two-headed creature was coming in hot like a raging freight train. Finally, the soldier fired one last shot point blank before the last thing he saw was a pair of jaws closing in on top of his head, muffling his screams for an instant.

Crunch!

Thus, the final heartbeat dropped, leaving the entire perimeter outside as silent as the grave. The General was left speechless, shocked that that thing had just killed two of his best squadrons, all under his command. And it did it without even breaking a sweat, which was the worst part. Also equally speechless, X couldn't help but feel that this situation would've been avoided if the stubborn General had just listened to him, proving his point as usual.

Yet rather than gloat, he focused more on Terri, whose hair was on end. For all it was worth, he felt terrible for her to have to see this. The FBI agent always preferred to know who he was up against before sending his men to fight. Otherwise, this happens, and the people involved pay the price. In this case, troops are sent into unknown battles and end up getting themselves killed. However, since a few men were still down there, his priority was getting medics as soon as possible.

"Corporal, get medical teams down here, stat," he instructed.

"Yessir!"

"Sergeant, take your best teams and see if you can get the wounded and bring them back here."

"Yessir!"

As the FBI agent went off to work, he noticed Terri in the background, staring at the overall appearance of the building that housed the dragon that had just killed a few of the General's troops. He wagered that she was taking in what just happened in full swing, but at the same time, he knew that there was no time to mourn. Not while some troops needed medical attention.

"Hey, you okay, Terri?" he asked softly.

At first, she did not answer him. But simultaneously, he could see her tensing up with writhing anger, mainly through her clenching her fingers into a fist.

"They all died...for nothing!" she muttered.

"Terri," he said, trying to get her attention. "I need you with me. Are you with me or not?"

He could snap her out of her little trance, from which she could regain herself and give him a nod. At that moment, the FBI agent couldn't help but smile, knowing that she could acknowledge him when he needed her by his side when he needed it most. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel bad that she had to witness all of this. To witness such death all because of the actions of a stubborn military leader, who shoots first and asks questions later.

Though that was a thought for later, some people need them now. He needed her by him to keep things under control, or at least to keep him from punching the General in the face for getting those men killed. The same couldn't be said for the latter, who had just gotten wind of what was happening and did not exactly take it well.

"What do you think you are doing?!: he questioned.

"Setting up a recon team," Mr. X explained. "There still men in there. If he hurry, we can-"

"You don't give the orders here!" he inquired, practically getting up in Mr. X's face, thus invading his personal boundaries. "I am! This is MY operation!"

"Your men are dying in there!" Mr. X expressed, pointing to the entrance. "If we don't do something, you'll lose them all!"

"That's not our priority!" the General exclaimed. "Our objective should be to eliminate the thing inside there!"

"And you're willing to sacrifice them to achieve that?!" Mr. X challenged.

The General hesitated momentarily, pondering the choice between saving the men he sent inside the attraction, only for some to get injured and others killed, or finish the job he set out to do. Yet, Mr. X could see that the General's pride would not allow him to make this decision.

"This is not up for discussion!" the General attempted to disregard.

"No, it's not!" the FBI agent challenged further. "Why are you so hardwired into this mindset? I thought you were a patriot through and through."

"Enough!"

"I thought you were the guy who actually cared about his brothers and sisters and didn't just send them into unknown danger to die alone!"

"Enough!"

"I thought you were a soldier who swore an oath to defend and protect the-"

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

"SIR!"

Before the two men could go any further, the soldier's screaming voice caught their attention. Thus, they noticed him pointing at the front entrance, where a green-like gas started making its way out. It spread like wildfire, already reaching their position within seconds. Not only that, but it appeared not to be stopping just there. It touched everywhere, from the surrounding concession stands to the trucks and artillery tanks surrounding the perimeter. Even the neighboring attractions west of the one they were surrounding.

At first glance, nobody knew what to think of the gas or where it came from, save for that specific area. Not only that, but it also started coming out of the emergency exits. Thus, it spread across the rooftops as well. However, Terri, being who she was, was very suspicious about the gaseous substance. Therefore, this prompted her to take a quick sniff. At first, she didn't find anything unusual about the peculiar odor. But only after taking a second whiff and using her infamous knowledge did she realize the true nature of the gas. Therefore, her eyes widened in terror.

It was flammable!

She looked at the agent, who started picking up her distressed expression. It only took him a few seconds to see what she was getting at before he took a sniff for himself. Hence, his eyes widened as he concluded that this stuff was so potent that all it would take to light it would be a single spark. But even then, the good thing was that nobody in the vicinity had a spark on them, causing him to sigh in brief relief. However, much to his dismay, a second sound came from inside the building before he could second-guess himself—a spark igniting!

"HIT THE DECK!" he yelled.

And it was here that Mr. X made a straight B-line for Terri as he cried the alarm. In a split second, he took her by the hand and dragged her a few yards behind them and to the nearest concession stand. As quickly as they could, the agent and the doctor took cover behind the stand before everything went completely silent.

BOOM!

The entire perimeter was set in an explosive flame, touching everywhere near the gas. Men were sent flying, the trucks and artillery tanks were blown from the inside out, and parts of the building itself were sent in multiple directions. The two helicopters hovering over the building were rattled so hard that they almost lost altitude. Luckily, the pilots had enough lift to stay above the ground high enough not to be sent to a watery grave. However, what was worse was the impact of such an explosion, which caused a miniaturized earthquake, rumbling and shaking the ground. Hence, the entire place would've been leveled if it had continued further than the perimeter, which fortunately did not happen.

Afterward, the entire place went quiet once the shaking stopped and became still. After a few more seconds of calmness, the FBI agent opened his eyes, only to be greeted by dust and ash. It would've gotten into his vision had he not been wearing glasses. When the dust finally cleared, he checked himself for any minor injuries, and he was fortunate to have none that he could identify. Then, he looked down to check on his partner, who was clinging to the fabric of his waist. He gently removed her arms from his waist before taking her up by the shoulders. He thoroughly examined her and found no bruises on her face, which was a good sign.

"You okay, Terri?" he asked, gently caressing a lock from her blue hair.

At first, the scientist was too dazed to give him a proper answer. However, after shaking away the dizziness, Terri quickly regained her senses. Thus, she looked at Mr. X's gaze before acknowledging his question.

"Yeah," she said, acutely. "I'm okay."

This caused the agent to sigh in relief. He could tell the scientist was still pretty shaken up from the explosion, but it pleased him that she was unharmed. The last thing he needed was to be responsible for getting his trusted coworker hurt in a situation like this. Especially since she, right next to Jenny and Jan, was the only person he could rely on, which was saying quite a lot, considering that he had only known her for a few months. Once things started to settle, the agent and the doctor stood up, brushing the dust off their clothes before assessing the damage.

As far as they were concerned, there were men scattered across the vicinity; some lay on the ground dead, a few were crawling, and a dozen others were covered in deep scars and injuries. All the equipment was destroyed, save for whatever tech survived the explosion. And all of the artillery tanks and trucks were utterly wasted. Thereby rendering the entire operation to be a complete failure. Though having said that, as the two looked around to check for other survivors, both could catch sight of the General, who somehow managed to survive the explosion by taking cover behind the sandbag line his men had put up.

The FBI agent half expected the General to check on the soldiers or finally make the call for medic teams to get down here to tend to the wounded. But much to his surprise, the army officer had other concerns in his mind.

"Where is the target?!" he demanded. "Does anyone have a visual on the target?!"

Nobody dared to answer the General the first time around. Probably because they were so beaten up from what just happened that they completely forgot about the creature that caused it. Heck, Mr. X had to do a double take, having forgotten all about the asset since he was too focused on making sure Terri didn't lose an arm or an eye. However, one brave soldier stood to the right of the army ranking officer's shoulder. He gulped nervously, silently praying to himself before speaking his mind.

"Sir, the soldier said nervously. "The target is gone."

The entire vicinity went silent at that statement: every soldier, every tech officer, even Terri and Mr. X went quiet at the soldier's words. The latter himself was surprised by this. But then again, there was no way to tell since most of the equipment was gone. And he did remember seeing a shadow passing through the vicinity before the dust cleared.

"What?!" he muttered in silent fury.

"The target, it's gone," the soldier elaborated.

Everyone remained silent, anticipating how the General would react to this sudden news. Mr. X was more curious as to how he would take it. At first, the army officer said nothing, standing in the sandbag line with his emotions relatively hidden from the others since his back was turned. However, from what the FBI agent could see, he noticed the General's breathing dragged, and his chest started to rise and fall rapidly. His muscles began to tense, and the back of his head started to glow red.

This alone told the agent he wouldn't take this well, which was no surprise given the General's apparent lack of mannerisms. However, the lack of silence made the brave soldier sweat. This encouraged him to be more specific about what he was referring to, and he even held out his tablet to show his superior the evidence.

"Look, sir, " the soldier said slightly. "It says here that-"

"ARRRRGHH!"

Suddenly, the General crushed the tablet with his right hand into small pieces. An act that took everybody by surprise. Even Mr. X was suddenly taken aback by this drastic action. Terri flinched behind him, covering her mouth as the FBI agent instinctively put his arm in her direction as a protective shield. He didn't know why he felt the urge to do that, but he also thought it was necessary, considering the General's suddenly erratic outburst.

"All they had to do was execute!" he ranted. "Why didn't they execute?! How could a plan so simple go so wrong?!"

However, much to the General's frustration, X found it somewhat amusing. Personally, he had a knack for being right all the time. But at the same time, he felt nothing but disdain for the General, seeing as how he was willing to sacrifice the lives of his men to bring down some unknown beast and then throw a temper tantrum like a five-year-old when things didn't go his way. It was here that he truly lost respect for him.

"Well, since it is your operation," X embarked sarcastically. "My colleague and I are going to grab some tacos. Is that okay with you, Terri?"

"Sure," Terri replied. "I'm down."

That said, both agent and doctor left the vicinity, with the General fuming hotly. Yet not before saying a final, "Oh, and about that previous arrangement, I'm afraid I will have to decline."

Hence, General Hoffman just sat there once the two were out of sight, wallowing in his embarrassing failure. Humiliated before his own troops, the army officer dragged himself from the dirt, still pondering the thought that a primitive creature had gotten the best of him. First, aliens invaded his country, nearly destroying the City of Angels, one of which the military was powerless to stop, and now these things come about, and he couldn't even eliminate one. What would that say about him? He'll be a joke.

However, despite this temporary setback, the prideful General refused to allow this to get the best of him. True soldiers were made at the hands of failure. And the beast could not hide from him forever. While pondering his unfortunate mishap, a new idea emerged while he sat there. One of which could make it easier to track these beasts down without having to chase them all across the country to achieve. In a clean sweep, he reaches for a radio that somehow survived the explosion. Then he turned on and tried to find a familiar contact.

"Corporal, get word to the mayor," he ordered through the device. "Under executive authority, I want to lock down the entire county. Nobody gets in or out."

"With respect, sir," the person on the other end of the radio said with concern. "But are you sure that's a good idea? This might be a drastic action and might require a few days before-"

"I DON'T CARE, Corporal!" he yelled through the radio. " The politicians already waste enough of our time as it is. Get down there and get the mayor to carry out this order, or I'll go down there and do it myself!"

"Understood, sir," the man acknowledged.

With that, the radio went silent. Thus, the General was left with some satisfaction, yet not enough to restore whatever pride he had before this ill-fated setback. He would catch these things, and when he did, he would send them back to where they belonged. And he would see through this if it was the last thing he does.

Wu Residence, 8:00 p.m

Marcy had a tough time trying to sleep.

She could feel it as she tossed and turned in her bed, which was a first since she could not sleep for two hours. This was likely due to the amount of stress she was in from earlier. While she was able to find some form of comfort at the hospital, she still didn't feel 100% right in the head. As if something painful inside her was still there, gnawing at her like a worm. She tried not to think about it, but it still lingered in her mind, unable to leave her entirely.

After a while, the Taiwanese girl started thinking about Sasha as she lay on her bedpost. Her dear friend, who now lay broken in a hospital bed, presumably at the talons of a dragon that she didn't even know. As she thought about her, a small part of herself wished she had done something to prevent that. Even though there was nothing she could've done since she wasn't even at the scene. But even then, she did not know what it was, but the former chief ranger felt she was somehow responsible for this predicament.

And what was worse was that she felt the exact same way about her other friend, Anne, who somehow suffered the same amount of trauma as Sasha. But only emotionally since her family restaurant was destroyed, which was also at the talons of an unknown dragon she did not know of. Once again, she had the same feeling of being personally responsible for all of this, that it was her fault that they suffered without even knowing how.

She tried to brush the feeling off, considering it to be her mind playing tricks on her. After all, self-guilt was a common symptom of people who sympathize with their friend's suffering, whether physical or emotional. However, that string of denial was completely cut off the moment she heard a familiar voice practically whispering into her ear.

"You did this to her," it taunted her. "This is all your fault!"

Marcy tried to try to shut it down, but it lingered further, like an annoying fly buzzing in a room. Worse, the voice began to manifest into the haunting image of her former, much eviler self that appeared through a mirror across from her bed. Thus, Darcy appeared once again to torment the former chief ranger.

"That's not true!" she said to herself. "I wasn't even there."

'That's why it's your fault! If it weren't for you, she'd still be in one piece!'

"I don't know what your-"

'Yes, you do!' it taunted further. 'You stupid piece of trash! No matter what, your poison is already in her. And there's nothing you can do to stop it!'

The poor flipwart champion covered her ears in a desperate attempt to shut it down, but it came to no avail. Thereby rendering the teen powerless to stop it.

"Stop!" she pleaded.

'Admit it, dumb-dumb!' the shadow insulted. 'You're a really stupid piece of trash! And everywhere you go, you destroy people!'

"Shut up!" she pleaded.

'Of course, this all happened to you! What did you expect?!'

"Shut up!"

'That's why Sasha got hurt! That's why Anne will never forgive you! What are we gonna do?! What are gonna do, stupid?! What are gonna-'

"SHUT UP!"'

In a quick flash, Marcy caught herself screaming, thus prompting her to sit up from the bedpost. Tears ran down her cheeks like a mountain stream as she blinked. Her heart raced, her chest felt tight, and she found it hard to breathe as she gasped for breath. However, a second later, she found herself able to regain her breathing, though it was very vague and ragged. But even as she regained herself, Marcy felt super broken.

Thus, the flipwart champion sobbed quietly as she covered her face with both hands. She cried quietly, with the words of her ruthless counterpart screaming at the back of her head over and over again, telling her how worthless and pathetic she was. And that her friends were better off without her, and it should've been her on that hospital bed instead of Sasha. It only caused her to break down even more. And after a brief moment, Marcy couldn't stand being in her room anymore.

Firstly, it started getting super hot, so she started sweating endlessly. Added to the endless torment she was forced to endure, the Taiwanese teen detested that she needed to get out and get some fresh air. More importantly, she needed to be anywhere but here. Thus, she forced herself out of bed, wobbling slightly from her legs being numb. She could barely see through her tears, primarily due to the darkness of her own room.

However, a glimpse of light from her window alleviated that predicament. By then, she could barely put on a pair of closed-toed shoes before forcing herself to make her way over to the window that led outside, where she could finally get away from her endless suffering. Her arms shook as she tried to lift the bottom of the window open, and for a moment, she was terrified she wouldn't be able to open it due to her weak nerd arms.

But desperation drives her into lifting it with all her strength before she finally manages to lift it open, only to be greeted by a not-so-subtle cold breeze. Yet she didn't care. All she needed was to get away from here. And that was precisely what she was going to do. Hence, she started climbing out the window, carefully shutting it so her parents wouldn't notice. Once on solid ground, Marcy darted out of her family's lawn and into the street. She didn't care if it was cold. Thus, Marcy ran across the street toward where nobody would find her.

Chapter Text

It was late at night in the beating heart of Los Angeles. The lights that adorned the city buildings shined brightly, the sounds of moving vehicles sped throughout the night, and there was a cold breeze in the air. Yet the cold didn't matter to the would-be alpha dragon, Toothless, who slumbered in the rugged wasteland now considered his tomb. This cold climate was nothing compared to the harsh climates he had endured in the Archipelago back home, with chilling colds that could freeze a human alive instantly. It all paled in comparison to this cold, which was merely childsplay.

But even so, the night fury had other things on his mind that were of greater importance to him than the cold. So what was keeping the almighty king of dragons awake that was far more important than cold weather? Well, for starters, it was him being in this dump. Yet, in hindsight, there was much more meaning to that. More specifically, regarding the situation the night fury found himself in with the human girl, Marcy. Something about her and her involvement in his current situation has left him on edge, especially since earlier today.

Toothless honestly didn't know what to make of any of it.

It had been three days since his first encounter with the human; the night fury was already filled with emotional conflict. The war of psychological confusion made it very hard for him to sleep, almost keeping him up for hours. He could hardly remember the last time he got shut-eye just thinking about it. While he did find the human very intriguing on one end, on the other, he saw her as very tiresome. Perhaps it had to do with her constant blabbering. In a way, she reminded him of Fishlegs back at home. The lad wouldn't stop talking, whether about dragons or about the many ways to impress Ruffnut.

At the same time, however, something about that girl felt...different. There was much conviction within her. Not only that, but there was courage, selflessness, and dorkiness. There was also a need-to-learn attitude; considering the excessive amount of questions, she almost reminded him of Hiccup, in a way. He didn't know how or why, but for some weird sense, he could see a lot of his best friend in her. His quirky, socially awkward, yet charismatic nature started to show in the human child. Only except she was more dorky and clumsy. WAY clumsier. Thor, she might as well be the clumsiest human he has ever met. Maybe even the clumsiest person alive.

In a sense, he found it very amusing. But that didn't mean he trusted the girl one bit. He doesn't even know her that well, nor does he know of her true intentions. However, there was the apparent notion that in all his encounters with her thus far, Toothless had no reason to believe that the human had ill intent against him. Especially since she went out of her way, risking her life, to save him from that rather violent predicament the night they first met. At the same time, he tried to kill her that night, too, which made it even.

For much of the night, fury felt very confused, mainly about what he should do. Not once had he had contact with his friends; the only one who knew where he was hiding was that human girl. He looked up to the night sky, which was unfortunately coaxed with gray mist, blocking out any stars the alpha dragon would typically see. Yet through the fog, the moon was still visible to his cat-like vision. He silently prayed to the gods to give him a sign. He prayed to Thor, Odin, and even Loki himself—anyone to provide him with an indication of what he should do.

Yet as the king of dragons stared into the night sky, covered with smoke-like clouds, a glimpse of blue light suddenly illuminated from behind his shoulder. Instinctively, the black dragon turned around, growling at the supposed intruder behind him. Only to be stopped as he saw a familiar blue silhouette stand before him. And before long, the identity of the mysterious perpetrator had become apparent to the night fury. This was no mere stranger but something much more than that.

It was the other blue dragon from earlier.

Even then, Toothless did not falter in his stance and remained wary of the serpent. The alpha dragon was unsure if this serpent was a friend or foe, yet he strongly felt he was about to find out.

'You again?!' he said suspiciously.

Though startled, the blue dragon remains calm toward the night fury's sudden hostility. Then, the unthinkable happens, one that. Toothless did not see coming.

'Easy there, big guy,' the blue dragon said. I don't mean you any harm unless you ask nicely.'

This suddenly took the night fury by surprise. Not only did the strange dragon speak to him, but it also spoke in his language, which was unprecedented.

'Wait, you speak my language?' he reiterated.

'Well, yeah,' the blue dragon answered. 'We are dragons after all, aren't we?'

'So it would seem,' Toothless replied, tilting his head. 'Who are you?'

'Nobody important,' the illusion said. But for now, let's say I am a friend.'

The night fury wasn't convinced. Something about this creature seemed off to him, and he couldn't tell if the blue dragon was real.

'Is that so?' he questioned.

'Well...only as long as you believe in it,' the blue dragon elaborated.

Though still unconvinced, Toothless took the illusion's word for it, no matter how little it meant to him. A large part of him debated whether this was all in his head. However, considering where he was, the night fury considered endless possibilities. Perhaps it was the gods playing tricks with him. Loki did have a personal knack for those. But even so, there wasn't much this spirit could offer him that he needed. Especially since he had just lost everything and everyone he had ever cared about.

'Well then, you should've stayed where you were,' the night fury dismissed before returning to his original spot. 'There's nothing you can help me with here.'

The alpha dragon half expected the illusion to fade, leaving him to his squalor. Yet, to his surprise, the blue dragon did not relent. Unknowing to his majesty, Toothless's sulking demeanor had only piqued its interest.

'What's troubling you?' the illusion asked, humble and modest. 'How do you look so glum?'

At first glance, Toothless couldn't answer. The night fury had gotten into this whole situation, which had taken its toll on him. With the added confusion, everything seemed to be spiraling for him.

'I—' he started, cutting himself off uncertainly. I just lost everything. My kingdom, my family, all my friends. Maybe forever.'

'Why do you think that?' the blue dragon questioned further.

Toothless's ears shot up, and his entire body went ridged. Tensions in his muscles began to boil. Was this spirit asking him why he thought he lost everything to a portal that dumped him here?

'Is that a serious question?' he shot back. 'Like, seriously, is it?'

'Well, just from looking at you,' the illusion stated, the night fury taking slight offense. 'Your situation doesn't seem half bad.'

'Oh, sure,' Toothless said sarcastically. 'It's not like I spent the last few days trapped in what appears to be a dump with no way of returning home. And it's certainly not like I might never be able to see or hear from my potential family again—one I was SO looking forward to having. '

There was a moment of pause from the blue dragon before it ultimately caved in.

'Alright, fine. It's that bad,' the serpent admitted. 'But there is still a bright side to this.'

Toothless wanted to laugh—he wanted to laugh so hard right now—but he didn't have the energy or will to see it through.

'How is there a bright side to any of this?' he questioned. 'What bright side could it be to turn this mess around for me?'

'The one regarding your new friend.'

The night fury was taken aback at first. He did not understand what the blue dragon meant by his 'new friend.' But after a brief moment of thinking it over, it finally hit him.

'The girl?' he asked, only to receive a nod from the spirit in confirmation. The night fury then responded with a scoff in disbelief. 'Don't be ridiculous. She is NOT my friend.'

'But I've seen that you're already growing fond of her,' the blue dragon replied.

'We'd just met a few days ago,' Toothless shot back again. 'I hardly know her. Sure, do the snacks she brings me taste delicious? Sure, I find her smile so adorable sometimes. So what? Why should I lower my guard down to a human that I' '

'But you were going to, weren't you?' the spirit shot back.

Toothless hesitated for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he nearly let his guard down earlier today before she disappeared without so much as a goodbye.

'Okay, maybe I was,' he confessed. 'But that still doesn't mean I should trust her. And besides, what does she need me for anyway? She has her own life to live.'

The night fury then turns away from the spirit, not taking notice of the disapproval marked all over its face.

'I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there, big fella,' the illusion said, catching the night fury off guard once more. 'I think she needs you. And I have a feeling that you need her too.'

Toothless paused for another second before turning back. His entire body fidgeted, and his face spoke of dread and confusion. For a moment, the night fury felt like his mind was physically going to explode with each time this spirit told him things he didn't understand.

'What?!' the alpha dragon said in disdain. 'How?'

'You both are not so different from each other,' the blue dragon spoke. 'In fact, you're more alike to her than you think.'

'What makes you say that?' the night fury asked.

Unexpectedly, all the blue dragon did at that moment was smile fondly before it lifted its long, blue paw and pointed in the direction opposite of the king of dragons.

'See for yourself,' was all it could say.

However, before he could interpret what the illusion was referring to, his ears picked up a sound coming not far from his usual spot. He turned his head to the direction and continued to listen. Something felt off. He could smell it in the air. Yet it didn't take him that long to figure it out, and his eyes instantly narrowed upon the realization.

He has company.

However, before he could interpret what the illusion was referring to, his ears picked up a sound coming not far from his usual spot. He turned his head to the direction and continued to listen. Something felt off. He could smell it in the air. Yet it didn't take him that long to figure it out, and his eyes instantly narrowed upon the realization.

He has company.

The night fury turned back to see if the other dragon was getting this, but it vanished without a trace or an exit before he knew it. The blue light that illuminated the illusion faded away, rendering the entire junkyard into darkness. Toothless snorted, annoyed by the other dragon's sudden departure without saying so much as a goodbye. It was so cryptic and rude. Unprofessional, to say the least. He then turns back to the direction of the mist and decides to investigate instead.

To gain a better vantage point, Toothless took up a position on the high ground and climbed on top of a long, broken metallic crane that appeared dangling on some old debris. From there, he stuck to the shadows and fixated his vision on the entrance to his supposed tomb, waiting for the interloper to come into the clearing so he could get a good look at it.

As he waited for the trespasser to show itself, Toothless saw a shadow in the mist. It was hard to make out due to the dulling fog, but thankfully, Toothless's excellent night vision allowed him to see through it. Hence, even though it was still vague, Toothless finally interpreted the shadow hidden through the fog. Then, it became clear who the intruder was.

A lone human, capable of anything. And from what it seemed like through the mist, it was coming this way and fast. The foggy image of the peculiar vagabond was enough to put the night fury on high alert. He staggered against the crane, barring his teeth as he prepared to fire. Even though it wasn't a wise choice to jump to conclusions, Toothless couldn't take the chance of having another human find out where he was hiding. The last thing he needed was another human making a mess of things for him. And despite allowing one human to live, he was not guaranteed to do it again.

As it approached, the night fury could hear distant calls through the mist. Yet, somehow, they weren't what he expected. Upon listening, it seemed they were calls of pain, sadness, and whimpering, even crying. The sound puzzled the night fury, almost making him drop his stance slightly. However, Toothless shook the feeling and redirected his focus. His maw was still glowing a light purple, yet he hadn't opened it up to fire. The night fury wanted a good look at who he was about to attack before he went through with it.

There, he slowly watched the human's cloaked form enter the clearing, waiting for the precise moment to pounce. The vantage point made him just out of the human's reach, and with the added mist and night, the human would never see him coming. So, should the human come with ill intent, he'll be ready. Yet, in light of the planned ambush he had just thought of at the back of his head, as he narrowed his vision, Toothless recognized the mysterious drifter. As the figure emerges from the mist, the interloper's identity is finally revealed to him.

It was the human girl. Again.

The image of the teenager named Marcy instantly made Toothless drop his guard. Yet, despite the familiarity, the night fury remains wary of her presence. He is still unsure of what she wants from him. Her continuous visits do not cease to surprise the king of dragons. However, it is becoming more irritating with the many times she has come unannounced. It is starting to become a habit now.

'Back for more, I suppose?' he thought to himself.

However, he noticed something unusual about the girl before he could second-guess again. For starters, she was panting heavily, almost like she had run an entire marathon without any rest. Right next to that, he saw that her eyes were very watery, with tears running down her face. And to top that all off, her body posture was almost rigid. He noticed her legs wobbling, and her hands started to shake. She looked around frantically before stumbling backward. Her back then propped up against an old tire, like when they first met. Shortly after, the girl slid down to her hands and knees, curling herself up in a small, rather meticulous ball before she wrapped her around her legs and was thrown into a somewhat uncontrollable sob, with her breathing being nonstop.

The entire act almost made Toothless stop in his tracks for a moment. Making him tilt his head slightly to the left as he surveyed the girl continuously sobbing. The night fury wasn't entirely new to this particular sight. He had seen it on the day they met as a response to him nearly killing her. Not that he could blame the poor girl. But this time, something was different. Something has made her upset. He didn't know what it was or why, but looking at her from a distance, he could tell that something had upset the human.

Or maybe it was a trick, for all, he knew. Yet he shot that notion down upon realizing she had proven incapable of deceit when he met the girl as most humans typically are. Not only that, but she has always proven to be quite honest in her intentions so far. Even if he didn't know what they were entirely. Either way, the night fury formally decided that this merited further investigation. Thus prompting the alpha dragon to hop down from the crane. He lept from the edge and landed on solid ground before looking back at the distressed human.

Despite the massive protest boiling at the back of his head, Toothless decided to greet the weary traveler. He could get a kick out of whatever tricks she had under her sleeve if she had any. Yet, as the king of dragons drew near the hyperactive teen, the sounds of her unrelenting sobs started getting louder and louder. To his confusion, Toothless was not used to seeing it, considering the environment he had grown up in. A background in which being emotionally vulnerable was considered a weakness, and only the mentally strong survived. And seeing this display of sorrow only made him more curious. It was something Toothless had yet to know about.

Out of instinct, the Night Fury slowly emerged from the shadows and walked towards the emotionally driven human, treading lightly not to startle her. As he drew closer, her sobs became more audible with each step he took. However, it was hard for him to get a clear visual of her face since it was buried in her arms and legs. He could hear her whimpering silently, making him stop and tilt his head again before resuming his approach. Finally, he stopped completely once he was within inches of her. The night fury was unsure where to go, but his curiosity drove him forward.

Toothless lowered his head, sniffing around the edge of her body. Surprisingly, she smelt pretty good. But what caught him off guard was how the human wore very little clothing. Particularly the kind that humans wear when they go to sleep. It was enough to cover her entire body, but he could tell she was shivering. It might not be freezing like back in the Archipelago, but it was cold enough to make a terrible terror shudder. Instinctively, he continued to sniff her but didn't realize how close he was getting to the human teen's face. Hence, he took one last whiff before exhaling, touching the girl's bare skin with the warm air.

The act caused Marcy to shoot her head up, startled by the dragon's hot breath. Toothless jolted back with a yelp, just as startled as she was. There was a long pause before the girl took a moment to recognize him finally.

"Oh...it's just you," she stuttered nervously. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything...I-I just..."

The night fury paused briefly, his eyes darting in opposite directions before returning to her. As far as the Night Fury could tell, Marcy looked terrible. Her face was pale, with a few bruises and scratches noticeable from her nose and chin. Some he recognized as his handiwork. Streams of tears flowed unevenly on both sides of her soft cheeks. Her hair was messy and unequal compared to the last few visits. Her eyes were bloodshot red from all of the crying. And her composure was utterly shattered. It seemed like she was about to say something else momentarily, but no words came out. Ultimately, she couldn't find the right words to describe her feelings.

By then, Marcy completely lost it, as she buried her head back into her hands and legs before sobbing once more. Toothless stood there, unsure what to make of any of this. Yet his curiosity kept him from leaving. Instead, he found himself inching back closer and closer. He couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl. Even though he did find her annoying here and there, he couldn't stand to see her so timid and frail, especially since he didn't know why.

It almost made him want to do something about it. To find some way to alleviate her anguish, she could tell him what upset her. But it was easier said than done. Though he was well known for being so empathetic back at home, he wasn't entirely in the mood for sentiment, especially after he had lost everything and everyone he cared about. But something inside him urged him to do so, even if it was small. Then, there was the question of where to begin. He never considered himself a pro at these kinds of things. Sure, he always comforted Hiccup whenever he found himself in a pickle. But this was a rather delicate situation that he knew nothing about.

Instead, Toothless went with what he could do. He moved closer to her, timing his steps so he didn't startle her again. The night fury looked down and noticed a small gap between her arms and legs, which she had wrapped up so tightly. He looks back at her, warbling silently before brushing his muzzle against her left arm. Marcy lightly gasped as she felt the dragon nudging her arm. He didn't do it hard, just enough to show the human his intentions.

Surprisingly, Marcy didn't try to fight him. Instead, she sat there in silent awe as the night fury moved up against her arms and rested his head against her lap. He then closed his eyes and breathed softly, waiting for the girl to settle. After a few seconds, which felt like hours, the night fury could feel the girl's heart decrease, and her already intense nerves started to relax. And the sobbing slowly began to cease permanently.

For some weird reason, Toothless hoped he wasn't crushing the girl's legs under his colossal head, given how small they were. But it seemed like the girl didn't have any issue with it. He then felt her hands touch the base of his head before slightly caressing his scales with her fingers. Her hands were cold, but the alpha dragon didn't mind. He would've been uncomfortable with her touching him in any other situation. But against his better judgment, Toothless was willing to make an exception.

The two of them lay there briefly, and everything was calm. The night fury hoped she would be okay and talk soon, but he only got complete silence like before. But even then, he wasn't in a hurry to get an explanation. There would be plenty of time for that whenever she was ready. Finally, after what felt like another few hours to the night fury, Marcy broke the long, sullen silence and said something.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Toothless's ears instantly perked up, and he lifted his head slightly to the left so his gaze was on the small girl. When he looked into her eyes, it seemed like she was better. The bloodshot red started to fade away, and the tears that streamed down her face had already dried up. The alpha dragon also spotted a grateful smile across her face, which merely gave him a minor form of gratification. He tilted his head slightly to the left, implying he was asking her if she was okay.

At first, Marcy hesitated. Though she was much calmer than before, it seemed like she was still processing her initial distress. Yet Toothless waited patiently for her to answer, not wanting to pressure her into opening up. Then Toothless noticed her shivering again and formally decided to help her out. He briefly takes his head off her lap and turns to the solid ground to her left, where he opens his mouth and releases a low flame. The quirky teenager watched in amazement as the dragon torched the ground around her, forming a small circle.

As a safety measure, Toothless stamped out the flames with his paws to minimize his capacity, giving the kid some warmth over the apparent cold. By the time he finished, he had resumed his place with his head on the girl's lap, curling his tail around her in a protective coil while giving a slight warble, implying for her to carry on.

"I'm okay," she whispered, more to convince herself than to inform Toothless. "Just a little shaken up."

The night fury was puzzled. He could tell that the girl was lying. The alpha dragon lifted an eyebrow in response, making it very subtle that he knew she wasn't being honest with him. At first, Marcy didn't get the notion, but when she did, her eyes widened, and her cheeks blushed in embarrassment. But even so, she wasn't backing down.

"No, seriously," she said in a defense. "I just...I-I just...I've got a lot on my plate right now. And I just needed to be somewhere I could suppress it all."

Toothless gave her another sid-eye glance, making it clear that he wasn't buying it. Though to her credit, she wasn't being entirely subtle in her deceit. It was most likely an excuse to hide whatever was going on. And she knew it, too. He could feel it. The night fury lifted his head off her lap while lifting his other eyebrow. The expression on his face was more serious this time. When she got the memo, Marcy's eyes widened, and she nearly panicked.

"Well...not really-" she struggled to say. "I mean...it's just.."

Then, Marcy's gaze met the dragon's luminous green eyes, as they did many times over. And in them, she saw a reflection of herself, a silent understanding that words could never fully capture. She also saw a safe space within the beast, to which she could feel the urge to talk. The likes of which Toothless made sure of as he gently laid his head against her knee, reflecting his concern. After a moment, Marcy let out a deep breath, the air tasting of salt and longing, before the truth of her well-being finally came out.

"It's like…like I'm still there," Marcy whispered, her voice barely audible over the hammering of her heart. "In Amphibia, where everything went wrong...It's like it's a part of me that I can't… can't shake off."

Toothless tilted his head, intrigued by the young girl's words. Now she's got his attention. He gently nudged her hand inquisitively as if giving the implication for her to carry on. However, the quirky teenager reluctantly retracted that implication. The anxiety started to pick up again, making the poor kid shiver again.

"I'm sorry," she said abruptly. "It's just hard to explain. I don't think I have the words."

While the night fury was slightly disappointed, he knew pestering her into confessing would get them nowhere. He had to be very careful about this. However, a thought came to mind. As quickly as a flash, Toothless dashed away from the girl into one of the nearby piles. He rummaged through the debris before perking up after finding what he was looking for. Then, he rushed back to the distressed girl, who was quite surprised to see him holding a metal pipe in his jaws. The same pipe he used to draw a quick sketch of her earlier in response to looking at the drawings she made of him in her book.

He dragged it against the ground once, making a mini sketch of him before dropping it right in front of her, waiting a few seconds before nudging it with his snout, hoping she would get the message. There was no initial response from Marcy other than the unanimous staring. For a moment, it seemed like she was starting to get a feeling of where the night fury was going.

"Huh," she said softly, seemingly puzzled by the dragon's apparent gesture. "That's one way of putting it."

The dragon cooed before nudging at the pipe lightly again, urging her to use it as he did before. He also backed up slightly to give her some space and to reassure the poor girl that she didn't have to speak to tell him, but she could instead show him through a more visual representation. After seeing him sketch a picture of her, she had already guessed how intelligent he was. Thus hinting at the implication that he understands visual cues. Though hesitant, Marcy quickly bowed to the inevitable after seeing how anxious the night fury was, who had already sat up on his forearms while wagging his tail slightly in anticipation.

"Okay," she admitted before picking up the pipe. "But I've gotta warn you. It's a long story. So you might want to get comfortable. Not that it would be an issue for you."

Toothless honestly didn't mind. It was no secret that he knew little about the girl before him and was still unaware if he should trust her. But if her telling him her story would be enough, then who was he to argue? Besides, sharing stories was one good pastime he had with Hiccup when he and the rest of the gang would sit around campfires, even though the twins weren't precisely funny with theirs in their many attempts to be humorous.

After a brief consideration, Marcy delicately dragged the pipe across the ground. She went small, drawing three stick figures representing her and two others. The likes of which Toothless did not know of.

"So, a long time ago," she started. "There was me and my two best friends, Anne and Sasha."

The night fury looked at the two figures inquisitively. He remembered the kid mentioning something about having a handsome friend but never mentioned these two before. As he peered over the drawing, he saw that one of the girls had messy hair, and another had a scar on her cheek, making him tilt his head to the left. They seemed like friendly people. They looked like they would be.

"When we were little, we would do everything together," Marcy continued, drawing various sketches of the three laughings, engaging in exceptionally unique activities, and simply having fun. "We were almost inseparable."

As Toothless examined the sketches on the ground, he couldn't help but feel these two humans meant a lot to her. It almost reminded him of how inseparable he was from Hiccup before he left for the Hidden World. And he had only been with him for nearly six years. That was more than the average human lifespan. But even then, the alpha dragon had a feeling that Marcy knew these girls a lot longer than he knew Hiccup. Thus making it more personal for her than the latter.

"And then that all changed one day," she continued, though hesitated momentarily. "You see, my dad got a new job out of state, which meant I had to move away from Sasha and Anne to another city. I was so mad that my parents didn't even consult with me about it first or consider how it would affect my life! They meant so much to me, and I figured that if I moved away, it would tear us apart. They were the only friends I had," she explained further. "And honestly...I didn't want to be alone."

At first instance, Toothless didn't react. Instead, he took the girl's words to heart. For one thing, he could understand the feeling of not wanting to be alone. Heck, the only reason he stayed with Hiccup for so long was because he was all he had left. Being the last of your kind had its drawbacks. And since there were no other night furies around like him then, what was the whole point of flying solo? That would make even the bravest human and the most ferocious dragon miserable.

Only when he found the Light Fury, his Queen, did he realize he was no longer alone. And went off to live his own life without Hiccup. However, in this case, it seemed like Marcy's issue was not letting her friends go, which was pretty understandable as far as he was concerned.

"So, when I found out, I ran out of the house," she explained. "I wanted to be as far away from them as possible. I was just so angry and scared. And then, I came across this chest in a thrift store. Well...it wasn't a chest. It was more like a music box."

"Anyway, before all of that," she pressed on, sketching a box with three holes at the center of it. "I had read a book that showed a picture of it somewhere, and there was a description saying that it can take you to other worlds."

Toothless tilted his head. A device that can take people to other worlds? Where did he hear that before? Then again, he was in no position to talk since he had the same experience.

"So, being the stupid and desperate person I was," she admitted, twitching a little before continuing. "I wanted to try it out. Around that time, it was Anne's birthday, and I thought it would be a good idea to give her that as a 'birthday present.' So, I called Sasha, and she had Anne go into the store and get it."

The night fury was taken by surprise by this. It was one thing not to want to leave your closest friends but to trick them into making a blind jump to an unknown world, where there could be a huge possibility that they might never go home. That's a bit much.

"When we got it, I had no idea it would work," she confessed. "But surprisingly, it did. Then, we were sent to a wonderful world called Amphibia. Long story short, it's a world where the people are based on amphibious creatures. So, frogs, newts, and toads. They each had their histories and cultures."

Then, like clockwork, Toothless's interest peaked again, primarily about this new world she mentioned and its inhabitants, which included the supposed 'frog people' she had just mentioned. When she sketched three pictures of each race, Toothless couldn't help but marvel at the astonishing features these frog people displayed—especially the toads, who bore a familiar resemblance to the vikings back home. The frogs were less interesting in comparison, though he did wager on whether they were exceptional harvesters, given how their appearances suggest their mastery in farming. And then there were the newts, who looked so elegant and graceful in their hooded cloaks and slim features, which was pretty impressive. They would make excellent archers in the human world.

"I ended up in the city of Newtopia, which was at the heart of the world," she explained, drawing a picture of a massive structure that would've been ten times the size of New Berk. "It was such a wonderful city. It was almost like heaven to me. Though I did end up falling down a flight of stairs."

The alpha dragon couldn't help but chuckle. Imagining a quirky teenage girl falling down a flight of stairs amused him, much to Marcy's embarrassment.

"Anyway, everything was going fine at first," she said. "I became a loyal ranger of the Newtopian Night Guard and got to go on some awesome missions. I even became the top adviser to Newtopia's king, Andrias Leviathan."

Toothless then observed a sketch she made of this 'King Andrias' figure and couldn't help but be impressed with the initial design of this benevolent ruler. Something about him seemed to be regal, even for his taste. He looked like it. Yet Toothless drew his ears back out of instinct. He didn't know what it was but found something skeptical about this 'Andrias' person. Maybe for good reason.

"Yeah, pretty cool, huh?" she said before continuing. "It would've been better if Anne and Sasha were with me, but unfortunately, they were sent elsewhere. Sasha ended up at the far edge of Amphibia near Toad Tower, and Anne got warped in Wartwood. But we all met up eventually."

For some reason, the night fury felt relieved from hearing that last statement, even though she was the reason they were there in the first place.

"The thing is, Anne was so caught up in getting home, and...I didn't want to go back," she admitted, pausing in between sentences slightly. "And I hadn't told them about the box's intentions yet. The only person I've talked to about it was King Andrias. At first, it seemed like he understood my position and wanted to help me. So, I made a deal with him."

The night fury's ears perked up again. This was a rather unexpected turn of events.

"I agreed to help charge the stones to the box to send us home," she elaborated, fidgeting. "And in return, Andrias promised he would take us to the new worlds, t-that we could have more amazing adventures forever and ever."

It was here that Toothless started to become more taken aback. All this time, he thought of her as sweet and innocent, which she was occasionally. But never did he realize how he seriously misjudged her. To withhold information from her friends about a device that could warp individuals to other worlds, gamble with all their lives by sending her and her friends into unknown danger, and then lie to them about her involvement to hold them together forever. And it was all to live out a fantasy where she would never have to leave her friends.

Now, granted, humans in his world have done worse things than this. Men have lied, cheated, killed indiscriminately, and manipulated others, all in the name of gaining power and control. Heck, that devious yet buffoonish snake Trader Johann had been lying and playing to Hiccup and the rest of the Berkian tribe for years in his insatiable quest for the 'King of Dragons.' But this was some heavy stuff; he wasn't going to lie. Marcy's reasoning was understandable, but it was still pretty cold-blooded.

However, something told him there was more to this story than he thought, which made the night fury more eager to hear the rest.

"Unfortunately, little did I know that King Andrias had his plans," Marcy elaborated, her hands fidgeting again as she sketched the supposed ruler holding a sword and leading what appeared to be a small army.

The troops behind him were something the night fury had never seen before. From how they were portrayed, he detested that they were metal-like, which was considered impossible. But then, given what he had seen so far, it wasn't entirely a surprise to the alpha dragon.

"As it turned out, Andrias wanted to use the box for his agenda," the nerdy teenager continued to explain. "He and his family come from a lineage of conquerors. They've used the box to invade other worlds, destroying entire civilizations and plundering for resources. And he was using me to try to reactivate the box to invade my world."

Suddenly, Toothless felt the hair on his scales stand on end, thus causing him to snarl in disgust. A race that invades entire worlds. He almost found it hard to imagine.

"Before he could go through with his evil scheme, I stopped him," she admitted. "I used the box to send Anne back home. But...not before paying an ugly price for it and everything I've done."

Marcy paused briefly before lifting her shirt, not too high, but just above her chest. Toothless narrowed his vision to get a better look, only for his eyes to widen in horror at what he saw. At first, he thought his eyes had deceived him and that what he had seen was not there. But as it turned out, what he saw was there, for there was an ample, white slash on the side of Marcy's chest. If he had it right, that was where the heart was. And it was a clean strike, too. Yet somehow, she was still alive.

That should not be possible. Toothless has seen many vikings being stabbed with swords in the same place as that girl. He had seen dragons, mainly in the sharp class, pierce through humans wearing even the most rigid armor in the same place, and they would drop dead instantly.

"Yeah, I know, what a shock," Marcy said with a hint of sarcasm. It was unusual for her to come out, yet she probably gets this all the time if people notice. "I should've died that day. I should've died knowing that I'd make things right."

While Toothless would agree with her, he still couldn't help but feel bad. Now, was what she did still messed up? Yes. But it seems like she was willing to sacrifice herself to do the right thing; however, what she says next throws Toothless entirely off guard.

"But apparently, Andrias had other plans for me," she continued, though she initially remained hesitant. "Rather than kill me, he had me strapped in a tank to heal my wounds. But not before revealing me to his master. A collection of the entire Leviathan lineage in a device called 'the Core.'"

Marcy reluctantly drew a sketch of the creature she called the 'Core,' which looked like a vile beast, twice the size of a screaming death, with numerous tentacles attached to its body and many eyes showing all over the base of its form. Toothless took one look at the sketch and instantly growled. There was something about this creature that he did not like. Whatever it was, he could sense a great evil in it. An evil that he did not understand, nor did he want to. It only made him hope that he would never have to deal with such a creature as this.

"At first, I thought he was going to take me, prisoner," Marcy admitted, though she found herself stumbling as she carried on. "But...i-instead...t-they...they wanted me...as their host.."

Toothless immediately paused and then looked up in disbelief. He would be lying to himself if he misheard, but it almost seemed as if the human had just said 'host.' Initially, he didn't know what it meant, but it seemed oddly familiar—and not in a good way. Like, in a really, 'never want to talk about it' way.

"They did things to me..." she explained further. "Terrible things...even though I don't remember much...but I-I can still feel what happened to me...I can still hear my own screams to this day...And the worst part was I wasn't able to control my body...It was awful."

As the young girl started to tear up and bury her face in her knees again, Toothless stood there in shock. He couldn't believe what she told him was true, but it became as clear as Aurvandil's fire.

'They controlled her?' he asked himself.

The more the thought stuck, the more the night fury began to piece it together. Thus, the alpha dragon narrowed his eyes and gnashed his teeth.

How dare they!

For such evil creatures to engage in such depravity. To torture an innocent girl and use her as their puppet. Toothless didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to say. He slowly started to feel mixed emotions. He felt sad, angry, and terrified. Maybe it reminded him of how Drago controlled him through his bewilderbeast. How the madman turned him into his slave, forcing him to murder his best friend's father against his will. Yet somehow, this was much worse than that because she was just a kid.

What kind of monster tortures children and uses them as tools for their gain?

The night fury felt his blood boil. His skin started getting hot, and he could already feel something building up in the back of his throat. What was worse was a rising tide of rage from his spine. He looked down at the picture of the Core, its devious appearance and nine-eyed looks standing out. Then, in a split second, he torches the sketch with a low flame. He held it for a few more seconds until a substantial black mark appeared on the floor.

Then he turned to the supposed ruler's picture and torched that sketch. While Toothless gained some form of gratification, the anger was still there. Soon, he found himself unable to control his emotions. He suddenly stumbled back, shaking his head rapidly to get rid of the feeling, to no avail. He let out a short roar, expressing his fury, before shaking his head again. Half a heartbeat later, he released another one before rearing up on his hind legs. From there, a purple glow appeared from his maw as he opened it wide.

The nerdy teen notices this and jumps to her feet to try to calm him down.

"No, no!" she said rapidly, her hands extended to get the dragon's attention. "It's okay. It's okay. It all turned out alright."

Toothless paused before looking down upon the child. He could see Marcy's look, scared and anxious about what he could do. Upon realizing the position he had put himself in, Toothless dropped back on all fours, and the girl released a sigh of relief. Once the night fury began to settle down, Marcy quickly picked up where she left off. However, he was still pretty livid about the notion the girl had thrown out there about that wretched beast turning her into its slave.

"Well...I mean," she stumbled a bit. "It did take Anne and Sasha freeing me from the Core's control. But I was mostly put in a mindscape, where I was supposed to live out my greatest fantasies..with Anne and Sasha by my side."

She paused momentarily, returning to her seat at the edge of the tire, before looking back at Toothless, sitting across from her, slightly calmer than a few seconds ago.

"And it was there that I realized," she pressed on. "While it hurts to leave the ones you care about the most, forcing them to follow my dreams was worse."

Though still feeling hot, Toothless did his best to listen to what she was saying.

"So, I let it all go," she said with a heavy heart. "The fantasies, my plans, everything. I finally came to terms with things that would change in my life. And I wasn't going to be with Anne and Sasha forever...It was hard to accept, but now I know they will always be with me no matter how far I go. Nothing will ever change the bond I share with them. And they had already forgiven me for what happened in Amphibia. So I'm at peace with it. I don't know what the future will hold for me, but after Amphibia, I realized I'll never be alone, whatever happens."

As she finished a sketch of herself with her friends cuddling together under a rainbow, Toothless was unsure how to interpret all of this. On one end, he was rightfully wary of her betrayal regarding her friends, lying to them and tricking them into traveling to another world so she could spend eternity with them. But on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel bad for her in terms of everything she went through. Especially when it came to being enslaved by the vile monstrosity she called 'the Core.' That seemed to have struck him harder than any mace to the head.

He watched as Marcy's hands started fidgeting again, causing her to drop the pipe as she teared up again. Even though there was a hint of regret in her voice, Toothless could tell she was remorseful. For all the choices she made in the past that led to her now. And in that moment, Toothless finally understood. This beautiful, innocent girl has endured her torment as both a betrayer and a betrayed. And what was worse, she was also a victim of the malicious grip of a ruthless tyrant. He knew the feeling all too well—the lingering touch of Drago's control that sometimes invaded his dreams, turning them into nightmares.

And it was here that he began to realize that the blue serpent was right about one thing: they might not be so different after all. They both have shared trauma under the retrospect of being controlled by evil beings who sought to dominate and conquer. They have also done things that they aren't proud of. However, he wasn't as intentional as her. But regardless, it was technically one of the same.

The Night Fury released a low, soothing rumble akin to a purr and nestled closer. His presence was a balm to her frayed nerves, a silent understanding of how she was feeling and emphasizing her struggle to cope with her trauma. Marcy leaned into him, allowing herself to draw strength from his unwavering spirit. She took a deep breath before speaking softly through her tears.

"But now," she said, initially catching the night fury's attention. "I don't know what the future's going to look like. With everything going on right now. Dragons appearing across the city, people getting hurt, my friends going through-"

Toothless's eyes widened, and ears perked up at that last part. He didn't quite catch it at first, but it almost sounded like she said 'dragons.' As in, plural. He didn't know whether she was bluffing or if he had misheard. But she almost implied that he wasn't the only dragon here. The thought made the night fury stand back up. He chuffed once to get her attention before gesturing over to the sketch he made of himself. It took her a few seconds to finally piece together what the night fury was getting at.

"Wait, are you asking if there are more like you out there?" she asked him, only for the black dragon to reply with a nod. "Well, sure—a whole bunch. Earlier, my friends were ambushed by one while at the mall. And that was before..."

Toothless's brain had a lengthy static hearing as his ears went numb. Every single word Marcy had said up to this point was now on deaf ears to the night fury.

He couldn't believe it.

The other dragons...Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang...they were here. More than that, they were alive! Sure, he felt they would end up in this world like he did. But he wasn't sure if they made it okay, considering his experience with this world's human armies. He was sure they would've been dead, but they weren't. It was a miracle.

He had to find them!

The night fury turned his back on Marcy and was about to race off the exit. But just one thing stopped him before he could take flight to search for the others. And that was him realizing that the moment he stepped foot out of this place, he would be dead. It was bad enough that his last encounter with the human military nearly crippled him, but he was also still recovering from his wounds. But then a thought came around one that could be a much easier way to handle this predicament. If he could go out to find them, perhaps he could bring them to him.

Then, with his higher stature, the alpha dragon pointed his face to the sky and unleashed a mighty roar, using his alpha call to signal the other dragons his location. Marcy looked up and instantly panicked. She jumped from her spot as Toothless released another series of roars, moving around to face him, and jumped up with her arms extended. After a few attempts, the nerdy teenager managed to grab the dragon's muzzle with both hands, much to his bewilderment. Once she grabbed both jaws, she yanked his face back down to hers so they were at eye level, and she started to silence the king of dragons frantically.

"Ssssshhh!" she cried out while keeping his muzzle shut. "It's near midnight! Someone could hear you!"

As a result, Toothless violently yanked his mouth out of her arms before shrieking at the young girl, startling her slightly. He then bounded off a few feet before stopping and looking at the sky. The child made an unexpected move, trying to silence a night fury, let alone the king of dragons. But he was more focused on his friends being out there somewhere. Probably frightened and confused. And he had to do something. He didn't care how loud he was. As the alpha, they were his responsibility. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to them.

"If you're worried about your friends, they're fine," Marcy tried to reassure him, though her eyes widened upon realizing what she just said. "Well...at least I hope they are. The police and military have patrolled the streets for the last few days. But nothing's come up yet. For all I know, they could be anywhere."

It only gave Toothless more of a reason to be worried. He couldn't rest knowing that the other dragons were out there while constantly being hunted by these humans. Who knows what could happen to them? For all he knew, some of them would've already gotten themselves killed if they hadn't already. It was a possibility that he couldn't risk becoming a reality.

"But if I'm being honest with you," she further implied, thus making the dragon look back at her. "I'm more worried about my friends. When I left earlier today, I got a call from one of my friends, Anne. Who told me that one of my other friends, Sasha, had been attacked by some orange dragon. She told me she was at the hospital...and...and when I got there...it was pretty bad."

He could see where this could be a problem. His kind grew up in a dangerous and hostile environment, and many developed bad tempers to survive his world's harsh brutality. He also felt that Hookfang was the culprit behind Marcy's friend's unprecedented misfortune. The flaming firepit always had a habit of shooting first and asking questions later—typical monstrous nightmare behavior.

"The doctors said she'll recover in a few weeks," she continued through sniffles. "But I almost lost her. She could've died, and I wouldn't have been there to save her."

"I'm scared," she whispered silently. "I'm scared of what might happen to them because of this. I nearly lost them once back in Amphibia and suffered for it. I don't want to lose them again...but at the same time, I don't know what to do...it just takes me back to when I was the Core's host. When I couldn't even control my own body...it's all just...hopeless."

She then sank back to her knees while pinning her eyes to the floor. Tears poured down as they did many times before. It was then that the night fury started to understand her situation more. She didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of her friends, who she had put in danger in the past, at the hands of his brethren. And because of the melancholy of her situation, Marcy is starting to revert to a time when she was being controlled by the monstrosity known as the Core, when she felt weak and powerless to do anything as her entire world burned before her eyes.

He can understand that, but finding the others was vital to him, too. They were family to him, especially Hookfang, Barf, and Belch, whose recklessness had always gotten them into trouble. And it was his duty as the alpha to protect them all. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to them and he wasn't there. Plus, that would mean he would have their blood on his paws. Hence, the entire predicament leaves them both in a somewhat awkward situation. If only there were some way that they could help each other. Then, an idea came to mind.

If he couldn't go out and find them, maybe she could.

At first, he retracted the thought. The night fury was still unclear about whether or not he should trust her, especially after what he had heard thus far. From his six years of experience around these creatures, he knew very well that humans bring nothing but trouble aside from Hiccup and over half of the Vikings in his homeland. And the King of Dragons would be gambling his future at best if he went through with this. But as he thought about it, they both shared a common objective. She wanted to keep her friends safe from these unprecedented attacks at the paws of his brethren; he tried to find his friends and find a way back home. Their interests aligned.

Not only that, if he was to survive, let alone find a way back home, perhaps he could use an insider. Someone who could go behind enemy lines, tell him their every move, and anticipate their following strategies if they close in on him. Maybe even speak on his behalf if diplomacy was an option, however unlikely that scenario would be. And from the looks of things, it seemed like the girl could pull it off. He noted some notable features as he examined every part of her appearance.

Many qualities screamed the notion: young, fast, clever. She also seemed somewhat of a fast learner, let alone a quick study at best—something he could find helpful. Plus, her being a human meant she could have better access to this world than he ever could. Hence, this makes it easy for her to find out where the other dragons are and hopefully bring them back here. And added to her desire to keep her friends safe, the night fury was sure she wouldn't turn on him. At least, not while her friends' lives were at stake.

The only thing he wasn't sure about was whether or not it could be pulled off. For if he was going to gamble everything, he needed to know if he would win, for his sake and that of the other dragons. But then again, seeing how he didn't have that many options, Toothless figured it was worth the risk. It was just something that couldn't go wrong. His crown and all their lives would be on the line if it did.

Toothless had to choose wisely.

The night fury carefully picked up the metal pipe with his jaws and started sketching again, naturally catching Marcy's attention. He drew a few pictures of the other dragons, mainly the ones he suspected were pulled with him through the portal the last time he checked. By the time he was done with them, he sketched Marcy and her friends, doing his best to match up to the drawing she made of them. And then, he followed it up by drawing him with the silhouette of the junkyard in the background.

Half a heartbeat later, Toothless stopped short to admire his artwork, which Marcy silently did the same before drawing a line from Marcy's small figure and connecting it with the other dragons. Only to draw another line connecting the other dragons to where Toothless was under the section of the junkyard. For a moment, Marcy stared at the picture, trying to piece it together. Her eyes widened a second after realizing what the night was proposing.

"Wait...you want me to look for them?" she asked, with a hint of uncertainty. "And bring them back here?"

Toothless nodded eagerly before he drew a line from his figure to the other dragons and then drew another from him to her friends. Thus, he implies that he would protect them from his brethren. Upon realizing this intent, Marcy gasped lightly, shocked by the second half of the dragon's unexpected proposal.

"And in return," Marcy reaffirmed, almost biting her lip anxiously. "You'll keep them from attacking my friends?"

The night fury replied with a nod while drawing a line from the other dragons to him. Thus, it hints at the suggestion that he is their alpha and that they will listen to him. And if she were to bring them there, he would do what he could to ensure they didn't hurt her friends or anyone else in this world. At least, not without good reason.

For a moment, he sat there, waiting enthusiastically to see the young girl's reaction. And for the billionth time, Marcy was leaking with tears. Yet only these were tears of joy, then complete and utter sadness.

"You would do that?" she holding her hands above her mouth. "For me?"

Toothless nodded again, slower this time, before drawing a circle of Marcy and her friends. Hence, he implied that he understood how much they meant to her, which he admired her for. And that he was sorry for what had happened to her friend. He also circled the sketches of him and the other dragons, hinting that all he wanted was to make sure they, too, were safe and they'd return home peacefully. And if working with her meant they could help each other save the ones they cared about, he couldn't see why not.

Marcy was speechless. She didn't know what to think. Instead, the young teen stared in awe-struck silence, unable to find a good enough response to the night fury's generous proposal. Though there was a hint of uncertainty from her, this was most likely an offer she couldn't refuse. One that she couldn't believe a dragon that nearly tried to kill her a few days ago would offer to her after pouring her heart and soul out to him. She knew Anne would've made a similar offer to someone as unfortunate as her, given to the Thai hero's pure heart. But a dragon, of all creatures?

She was suddenly overcome with emotion. Her arms started shaking, soon followed by the rest of her body. She didn't know what to do, nor did she think. Instead, she started sniffling, nearly breaking down into tears. Toothless warbled, concerned if she would break down again, and rushed to try to comfort her before she held a hand up to stop him.

"No, no," she reassured him. "It's fine...i-it's just...it's just perfect."

Toothless tilted his head in confusion. Sure, he hoped the human girl would take his proposal, but he did not want to force her into doing something she wasn't comfortable doing. This is a personal choice that she had to make herself. And he was completely okay with her opting out if she felt she wasn't up for it.

"I mean.." Marcy added hesitantly. "I have to admit...it seems a little risky. Not to mention that the entire army is all over the city now."

"But I'll do anything for my friends," she continued. "And if going out there, risking my life to round up some vicious fire-breathing reptiles and bring them back here will keep them safe...then it's worth a shot. So yes, let's do it!"

Toothless gave a grateful smile in response, though he slightly felt offended by her calling him a vicious reptile. He let out a slight warble filled with gratitude. But then he looked down upon the sketches he made of the other dragons and gestured to her, asking how she planned on bringing them here. This, insinuating that the other dragons were not as friendly as he was, was a complete understatement since he tried to kill her upon laying eyes on her.

"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard. I've read George Martin's book on Fire and Blood five times!" she explained while entering her 'nerd' phase. "It recounts the various methods used to handle dragons. I might need a few days to figure out their sleeping habits, what kind of preferred foods they like, what preferences they have in terms of-"

However, Toothless stopped her before she could get ahead of herself. He then implies that he asks her for just one thing in return before he agrees. Nothing too serious, but something that he had to be sure she was on board with if they were to proceed with this arrangement.

"Really?" she questioned inquisitively. "What's that?"

The night fury drew a small sketch of the young girl's face before drawing a line connecting to the picture of her friends. Then, he marked a giant 'X' on the lips of the geeky teenager. Though initially looking vague, it suddenly became evident what that one thing was.

"You don't want me to tell them?" she asked for further elaboration. "Or anyone?"

Toothless reaffirmed with a compressed nod. This further implies that she keeps this little arrangement between them and tells no one where they are. Not her friends, not her family, no one. If they agree, she takes this secret to her grave. And there would be severe consequences for both of them if she didn't.

"Oh..." she expressed while taking it with a grain of salt. "I mean...that doesn't seem too hard."

The night fury then looked her in the eyes, narrowing his expression to show how serious he was about this. He released a light roar once, demanding she swear she wouldn't tell anyone. Though it was a bit harsh for him to do this, he needed a guarantee that she wouldn't rat him out. If he was to go through with his, Toothless had to be sure he could rely on her to keep silent about this ordeal.

He emphasized his seriousness further by marking a giant 'x' on his sketch of her, then torching it with a small blast. Thus, he implies that he would finish what he had started at the first sign of treachery from her or if he sensed that she would betray him. Marcy gasped at the notion, hinting that she got the message. But she did not waiver.

"Okay, okay," she reassured, extending her arms to calm him down. "I promise. Heck, I'll even make a ranger's oath to you."

Toothless paused for a moment. He was not sure what the human was implying.

"Oh, it's a thing I did back in Amphibia before joining the Night Guard," she explained. "Each newbie has to take a sacred oath before they're accepted. Each ranger takes them seriously and would choose death before breaking them...Except for Captain Ernest, who was already dealt with. I so happened to see through that, personally."

There was a moment of long, awkward silence, and the night fury's eyes were wide open, eager to hear what came out of Marcy's mouth. The teenager was caught off guard; her eyes widened to the shape of dinner plates, and her entire face was red in embarrassment from what she had just said.

"Anyway," Marcy responded before clearing her throat. "I, Marcy Wu, Chief Ranger of the Newtopia Night Guard, Head of the Chest Club, Master RTS Player, Straight A Student (except for gym, but only because I was reading in class), which only proves my point..."

The night fury gave her a long, side brow, indicating another long, awkward silence before the geeky teenager continued.

"...do swear that I will not tell a soul about this arrangement. And should I commit such atrocity, you have my full permission to do whatever diabolical punishments you plan to inflict on me that you see fit!"

There was a long, solid pause from both girl and beast before they suddenly burst into laughter. Marcy dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach, while Toothless rolled over on his back, nearly going hysterical from the young girl's remark. The laughter stuck for a few more seconds until they both ran out of breath. Once they both started settling, Marcy took one more deep breath before returning to the point.

"But seriously," Marcy reaffirmed. "I won't tell a soul. I promise."

Toothless warbled in appreciation, taking her word for it, no matter how corny it sounded. After that, he rolled up onto his belly and sat up. Hence, there was a third moment of long, awkward silence, with the two unsure where to go. But then, a thought came into mind from Marcy. One that she hadn't necessarily considered up until now.

"You know, I've only known you for a few days," she confessed. "And I still haven't learned your name."

Upon hearing that, the Night Fury froze. His eyes widened a bit. Almost as if he was alarmed by her statement. He looked down and thought about it for a moment. It has been too long since he knew his real name, ever since the time of the vikings. Perhaps it's because he's been away from them for a while, even though it's only been two years. She knew this upon looking at the downed expression on his face.

"Oh, okay," she responded, finding it most unfortunate not to learn his name. But before she could ponder something else, she thought of an idea. "Oh, I know. How about I give you one? Surely, we both can think of something for you."

The dragon nodded in agreement, which made Marcy giggle a bit.

"Now, let's see...um...How about...Midnight?"

The black silhouette's eyes shrunk briefly, and then he nodded in no way. It was mainly because it was a name for female dragons; it was not something that best suited his style, even for the status he carried with him.

"No," she said. "Okay, um...how about Nightclaw?"

The dragon's face now froze for a second. It wasn't a bad name to him, even for his size and appearance. But as he thought about it a little bit more, he realized it seemed to be a bit too powerful for him. And he shook his head no again.

"Deathwing?"

He shook his head again.

"Charizard?"

After she said that name, the dragon started baring his teeth and growled at her. It was almost as if he was familiar with that name and must have hated it, and Marcy clearly could see that. And even though she wasn't offended, she still thought that naming a dragon would not be easy even though she wanted to.

"Well," she said. "I'm clearly out of ideas. What about you? Do you have any in mind?"

The regal creature thought momentarily, asking himself if it was a good idea. He did not know much about dragon names. But if Marcy counted on it, he could not disappoint her. So he had to think for a bit. His ears laid back, and his eyes looked in another direction. Figuring out a good name for her to call him was hard, Especially since he could barely even think of one.

So he tried thinking of his past, seeing if anything could help him find a name for himself. Yet, there wasn't a lot to think about. Since his past was long, his thoughts led him to believe in Hiccup, the first human friend he had in his life. And he had everything a good friend should have: nobility, strength, courage, and wisdom.

He, indeed, was something to him. But as he thought about him, something popped into his head. His ears flung up, and his eyes widened. He finally found something. It was a name. His partner gave him a name while he was in the hospitality of the Vikings. And he was sure that it would work. No one has ever called him by the name that was given to him by his partner.

Yet, he thought if his new human friend could understand it. He needed to find a way to prove to her that the name had no use. And he thought of it. He warbled something to her, which caught her attention. Then, he opened his maw out. Hence, he showed her every tooth he had. She was going to ask him why he would do this until suddenly, she saw his teeth retract into the upper parts of his mouth—showing only gummy parts.

At that time, Marcy squinted, leaning forward to see if she would get it. And after a few more seconds, she guessed what it meant.

"Toothless?"

In response, the dragon shook his head, reassuring her that this was the name he wanted her to call him in honor of his rider and former best friend.

"That's your name?" she asked again, getting confirmation from the Night Fury.

Marcy thought about the name for a second. She could tell why he would want that name—given to his gummy mouth, which served some purpose in the name. Yet, she wondered why he would be named that. Because from what she saw in him, he was a force to be reckoned with. To choose such an odd name felt a bit weird. But now that she thought about it, she has met many people with bizarre names. So, there was no real reason to say otherwise.

"Hmm...," she thought with her hand beneath her chin. "I kinda like it. Toothless it is."

The two of them then chuckled about it before Toothless extended his paw. The teen girl stared at it for a moment before looking back up to the dragon, who then gestured to it as a means of shaking it. To make the deal official, of course. At that moment, Marcy started to get emotional. Her eyes began to make a habit of leaking with tears. Then she did the next thing she felt like doing on the first impulse— which ultimately resulted in her running up to the night fury's chest and wrapping her arms around it, trying to hug him as best as possible.

The action startled Toothless as he stood there, looking down upon the human whose arms were currently locked around his chest. The night fury stared momentarily before gently wrapping his right forearm around her back. He could slowly hear her breathing from his chest. It was pretty nice.

"Thank you so much for this, Toothless," she whispered. "You won't regret this."

Toothless wished he could take her word for it since he didn't share her optimism. But her word was all he needed for now. The young girl held her grip on the night fury's chest momentarily before letting go. Hence, she fixated on his massive head before locking onto his gaze. There, they can see each other's reflections in their pupils. For Marcy, it was a pleasant reminder that this was no vicious beast that stood before her. But an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected her own.

For Toothless, it was the start of a new path. One that will determine his fate and the fate of the rest of his kind. But simultaneously, as he looked into his big brown eyes, he saw a glimmer of hope. This new arrangement could lead to some good despite the danger that may lie ahead. Though unsure of the outcome, he was comforted by the knowledge that whatever came, he could face it with the human girl.

Another few seconds went by as they continued to admire each other silently. Marcy was smiling the whole time, while Toothless held a warm-hearted expression to the girl with the hope that everything would work out. However, the moment was cut short when a buzzing sound went off from the girl's back pocket. Thus, it kills the mood for a second time. The geeky teenager scrambled quickly to reach for her phone, fumbling with it briefly before unlocking the screen. Half a second later, Marcy silently gasped as she realized what time of night it was.

"Oh, crud!" Marcy exclaimed. "It's almost midnight! I gotta get back before my parents realize I'm gone!"

With that being said, the human girl rushed over to the exit. But not before stopping briefly to return to the night fury, who silently watched her depart.

"But yeah, consider this a deal!" she proclaimed. I'll learn what I can about the locations of your brethren. It should take me no more than a few days. I'll come back here as soon as possible to figure out my plan. But until then, your secret's safe with me. You have my word."

The night fury gave her a nod in response. Though he didn't want to admit it, after spending two years away from them, Toothless couldn't believe he trusted this human. At the same time, however, he silently prayed to the gods that this all works out for both their sakes.

"Alright, thanks for everything! Talk to you soon!" she said giddily, returning to the exit. "Whoo! This keeps getting better!

With that, the tomboyish Taiwanese girl sprinted off, turning away and toward home. Thus, Toothless stood in the center of the junkyard, with his thoughts caught in a spiral, one of which involved him asking himself one dubious question.

'What did I just get myself into?'

Once she was out of his sight, Toothless then turned the corner to call it a night when a familiar blue aurora suddenly approached him. Though he briefly shielded his eyes, it didn't take him long to face his unexpected visitor.

'Well...' the blue serpent declared while sitting on its hind legs. 'That sure was something, wasn't it?'

The night fury almost jumped upon seeing the unknown dragon again, nearly causing him to have a heart attack.

'How long were you-'

'Believe me, big fella,' it reiterated. 'I heard the whole thing. Every...single...detail.'

For some weird reason, Toothless didn't feel surprised. Sure, was this the second time this mysterious dragon appeared unannounced? Yes. But at this point, nothing could surprise him, considering the weird stuff he's seen in the past few days.

'I supposed that checks out,' he replied, rolling his eyes before pinning them to the ground.

Though it wasn't entirely visible, the serpent detected a hint of doubt in the night fury, in which Toothless didn't even try to make it that obvious.

'You don't seem sure about yourself,' the blue dragon pointed out. 'Why is that?'

The night fury didn't answer at first. He was still contemplating the weight of the decision that he made.

'Where to begin?' he started. 'I just took a huge risk back there. Making that deal.'

'And now?' the blue serpent inquired.

Toothless paused momentarily, taking a long, deep breath before speaking again.

'And now, I just hope I made the right call,' he answered.

'What makes you think that?'

'Well, for starters, this Marcy,' Toothless explained. 'Even if I go through with this, there's no guarantee she won't keep her word...But if there is a chance...that she does and brings my friends here...isn't that a chance I should take?'

Initially, the blue serpent dragon hesitated, not knowing an excellent response to the night fury's predicament. He had to admit, it was a pretty tough question. Whether the spirit knew it or not seemed to be a mystery. But if there was one thing for certain, Toothless wasn't entirely sure about his decision.

On one hand, he remained hopeful that the girl would uphold her end of the bargain. But on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel that there was a good chance she would turn on him should things go sideways. It was a part of human nature, and after that, the deed was already done. And there was nothing he could do about it now. But the thought still lingered in the back of his head.

'Well, what does your gut tell you?' the serpent asked curiously.

'The kid can't be trusted,' Toothless answered honestly.

As painful as it was for him to admit, it was true. Even after everything the girl had told him, there was still some part of him that did not trust her, especially after hearing about how she deceived her friends and took them to another world without their consent. But at the same time, Toothless felt that the situation had given him no other option since the others were out there, and he couldn't risk getting killed trying to find them.

'But at the same time...I don't think my kin and I will last very long in this world if I don't.'

There was a short pause after the night fury's confession. He silently hoped he'd get a reaction from the serpent but was met with total silence. The likes are from complete astoundment as if it wasn't expecting such an honest answer from him. When it seemed like the serpent wasn't going to give him an answer, Toothless started walking away, past the startled serpent dragon, and up to his sleeping spot. If it wasn't going to say anything else, the king of dragons figured it wasn't worth his time staying down here in the dark. However, after reaching five feet away, the blue dragon turned around and opened its mouth.

'Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith first,' the serpent said, stopping the alpha dragon dead in his tracks. 'The trust part comes later.'

The night fury looked back at the mysterious spirit, slightly caught off guard by its words. There was another moment of pause from it before it took a slight breath and said something else.

'You've already taken the first step,' it continued. 'Which is a good thing. But what happens next is up to you to decide.'

Toothless briefly took his eyes off his mysterious admirer, taking its words to heart. Though he was never a fan of optimism, he was wise enough to consider this.

'Maybe,' he admitted, looking back at the serpent with a smile. 'We'll see.'

After that, Toothless turned back and bounded off. The blue glow behind him dimmed away as he settled into the night. As the night fury tucked himself back in, curling up to the ball and settling down, the events that transpired that night remained in the back of his head. From the words of the spirit, the frailness of the girl when she came in sobbing, the sketches she made of her past, along with all of the traumas and terrifying experiences that came along with them. Even the deal he had made would decide what would happen to him and his kin in the next few days.

Yet all he could do now was have faith that this would all turn a new leaf in the long run. It was the least he could do. Then he closed his eyes, the feeling of hope lingering around before he dozed into a deep sleep, maybe the first good one he would have in a long while as things started to change for him and his new 'friend.'

Chapter Text

Public Library, 6:45 a.m.

The library.

It was one of the few places that offered Marcy comfort before going to Amphibia. It was also one of the places that gave the geeky female where other places wouldn't. That being infinite knowledge. Whether it was for school, research, or just for the sake of it, the library was always a good place for Marcy to fuel her intellectual brain. It was where she first learned about the music box and its capabilities. But more importantly, this was also where fate would put her on the path to the frog planet, where she would meet her destiny alongside her friends, play her part in the planet's survival, and fulfill the prophecy foretold by the illustrious Mother of Olms.

But aside from fate, this was a place where Marcy could indulge in her intrigues while finding anything she needed that required knowledge besides the internet. Plus, the librarian has always been kind to her. She even gave the clumsy nerd her own study space for weeks when she needed to study for a test. What was better was that the librarian gave her a one-of-a-kind library pass card.

Thus, the former chief ranger was allowed to borrow whatever book she wanted free of charge. The only downside was she needed to bring the books back before the due date without a single scratch. Or she'd have to pay a fee. So that was a bonus. But instead of going about her usual browsing, Marcy had a unique appetite—one with an ambiguous sense of purpose—to find a book about mythical creatures—specifically, dragons.

It had only been a day since she had promised Toothless that she would find the other dragons still roaming the city in exchange for the protection of her friends. At this point, she was willing to do everything she could to uphold that promise if it meant keeping her friends safe. However, while Marcy was confident that finding the mysterious creatures shouldn't be much of a problem, what would happen next worried her. Specifically, what would become of her if she crossed paths with these other dragons?

Sure, it didn't take her long to figure Toothless out regarding his natural behavior. It only took a few days of being around him to detest the mixture of a giant winged pussycat when relaxed and a grumpy Siberian tiger when threatened or provoked. But at the same time, she nearly died in doing so. And if there was anything she learned from what Sasha and Anne had experienced in their respectful encounters, they might not be as welcoming as he was. Plus, Marcy was starting to have a hunch that they wouldn't fall for the same methods she used on Toothless since some appeared to be hot-tempered than others. Henceforth, the clumsy nerd couldn't take the chance to go through another initial encounter without being prepared.

But if there were one place in the world where she could learn more about the nature of the beasts that have come through in the past week, let alone find anything that could help her reach out to them without throwing her life away, it would be here. Luckily for the geeky teen, it was a good day to drop by, for it seemed like barely anyone was quick as a flash; Marcy hurried across the aisles in search of the book she was looking for. Further into the library, she looked, evidently coming across an aisle dedicated to fantasy novels where she suspected the subject would be kept.

As she skimmed across the aisle, Marcy noted the many books depicting many mythical creatures. Many represented trolls, unicorns, krakens, demons, a giant yellow triangle with one eye, and many others. But none of which contained anything about dragons yet. That was when she finally came across it. A small section that contained many books portraying the creatures. That is a good sign. She skimmed through every book and every novel she could find effortlessly. And that was when she saw it.

The fourth edition of the Dance of Dragons.

"Gotcha!" she muttered to herself.

It was just the book she was looking for. She already possessed a copy of Fire and Blood, but after going over it at least seven times, the former chief ranger came to detest that it did not relate to the specific nature of the dragons. It mainly was rubbish of the lineage of kings and queens. And while it was exciting to read about, it was inherently useless to her. She needed specifics about the dragons and how each of their riders could bond with them without being burned to a crisp.

This book supposedly covered that portion since it mainly covered the epic conflict that brought the dragons to near extinction. Let alone get the entire realm to near ruin because of the battles fought. From what she read in the last few copies, there was a head count of seventeen dragons that participated in the war, with only two coming out on top by the end. Many of them had more than one rider, and many people tried to tame them while failing miserably. Most of them resulted in a rather fiery demise, ending up in the bellies of the beasts themselves.

Satisfied, Marcy grabbed the book and a few others about dragons and training large animals in another aisle before setting them all down on the nearest table. While she was at it, Marcy made herself at home. She was going to be here for a while, after all. Once settled, Marcy opened the book she had been looking for and flipped through the pages. After scrolling, the geeky teen paused after coming across a peculiar page. And it was thus that her suspicions were correct.

The page covered the seventeen dragons who participated in the war and the few dragons involved before and after the conflict. The first started with the most significant and oldest dragon. And the list went on until it reached the smallest. Also, each section covered the exact behavior of each dragon, almost acting like a psychological profile, describing their tempers, preferences, stats, and everything else. Not only that, but there was also a list of all the nobles, princes, princesses, and bastards who had attempted to tame each dragon.

Excellent.

Here, she can use this knowledge to devise strategies that would help her in her mission to convince the dragons she's on their side and bring them back to the junkyard where Toothless would be waiting. It's also here that she can read about the riders' mistakes and triumphs when dealing with the dragons, along with what to do and what not to do when facing the animals. She didn't need to know everything about the creatures roaming the city personally. Still, if they, at the very least, matched the behavioral patterns of the ones in this book, then it shouldn't be too hard to convince them otherwise.

It was almost foolproof.

Urgently, Marcy pulled out her phone and took screenshots of the pages before turning to the next page. Marcy jotted down a few sidenotes in her journal for each screenshot she took while sketching each dragon. But even then, devising an actual plan would take more than this book alone.

Hence, the other books would come in. While reading the whole script about dragons was one thing, it was also very unrealistic. The other books she found relate to training animals like horses, dogs, and even elephants. She also took the precaution of finding various articles on the internet to reference.

For over an hour, the young teen went through every book she had obtained, taking more notes in her journal and drawing up various scenarios she might encounter. By reaching the tenth book, she had already lost track of time. There were times when she took breaks to prevent overstimulation, but ultimately, the benevolent nerd pressed on, feeling that it was important she should get as much done as possible before she left for school.

It wasn't until her phone started buzzing like crazy that she decided to stop. When she picked it up, Marcy held her breath when she saw Anne texting her, asking where she was and if she was okay, which was then topped off by her adding that school was about to start soon. Thus, it became clear that her time here was up.

'Sorry, just in the library, studying,' she typed. 'Be at school in a minute.'

After sending the text, Marcy hastily stuffed her notes in her backpack, not wanting to keep her friend waiting. In addition, Marcy decided to take only a few of the books she had with her as references if needed. While it was helpful to take notes, it helped even more to have something to reference off of if things go south. She was coming close to bailing out when suddenly-

"Marcy?"

The sound of a stranger's voice threw the former chief ranger off guard. Hence, Marcy yelped as she tripped over herself, spinning around to see who the interloper was. When she looked up, the Taiwanese girl was surprised to see a familiar face—no other than her dear friend Haddie, who conveniently was carrying four stacks of books with her two hands.

"Oh, hey, Haddie," she greeted before trying to play it cool so as not to look conspicuous. "What are you doing here?"

The goth girl hesitated before replying, "Oh, I'm just here picking some books to study. Yet, something tells me that I'm not the only one."

Marcy could feel her cheeks getting redder by the second, only to try to laugh it off.

"Yeah," she said frantically. "You can say that."

For some reason, Marcy had trouble looking Haddie in the eyes when she talked. It wouldn't be the first time, but the tension in the air made her extremely nervous. Then again, the clumsy nerd thought it best that she'd compose herself before she made the situation even more awkward than it needed to be.

"We're supposed to cover the Dance of Dragons today in Pattersen's class. I thought I'd get a head start by finding a copy and reading ahead."

Suddenly, the goth teenager's eyes widened in response to Marcy's with a mixture of shock and excitement.

"Oh shoot!" she exclaimed. "That's today?!"

"Yup," Marcy answered. "Mr. Patterson said we'd cover it this week. And we're starting with the Blacks and Greens in class today. I anticipate we will do a project about it soon, but he hasn't said anything yet."

Admittedly, Marcy wasn't wrong. The class was anticipated to cover the topic of the climatic war that nearly drove the dragons to near extinction. On the other hand, she failed to mention that Mr. Patterson covered the first half of the Dance this week instead of covering it in full. But she wagered Haddie didn't have to know that.

"Oh my gosh!" Haddie said with glee. "I've heard so much about that story! I've barely gotten up to the first half after Jahaerys' Reign, reaching up to the Stepstones and the Triarchy, but I hear that's where most of the action and drama is, right?"

"Are you kidding?!" Marcy responded with. "That's the highlight of the entire book series. The ending is heartbreaking, but it's still worth it."

"How much have you read, if you don't mind me asking?" Haddie questioned.

"Enough," Marcy simply put. "This is supposed to be the conflict where all the dragons turn against each other. So every dragon, except for Balerion, is present."

The goth girl gasped in utter delight, something Marcy surprisingly expected from her.

"No way!" she cried out. "I get to see my boy in action! How cool is that?!"

"You have a favorite?" Marcy asked curiously.

Haddie paused at the question momentarily. "Well, I wouldn't say I have a favorite dragon. I like them all...but let's say there's one that sticks out more than the rest."

"Which one do you have in mind ?"

"I wanna say Caraxes for his temper and fury," Haddie answered honestly. "But I wanna go with Seasmoke."

"Really?" Marcy inquired while folding her arms.

"Yeah, there's just something about him that makes me more drawn to him," Haddie elaborated. "He's loyal, brave, and takes the image of an underdog if I say so myself."

"Wow, for a second, I thought you would've gone with Sunfyre or Tessarion," Marcy replied.

"You mean those two overgrown hatchlings?!" Haddie scoffed playfully. "I mean, sure, they're beautiful to look at. But they don't have it like Seasmoke does, who fought in the Stepstones if I remember correctly."

"Fair enough," Marcy yielded. "Still, I can't help but say it's totally off the hook. I don't wanna give out any spoilers, but I think it's safe to say it'll have your mind blown."

"Whoa, you think so?" Haddie asked.

"Yup," Marcy replied. "I get goosebumps each time I read it."

"I know what you mean," the goth girl agreed.

There was a brief moment of silence going about with the two girls glancing around. Marcy was fiddling with her fingers when she noticed the goth girl looking at her a certain way.

"What?" the clumsy nerd questioned while titling an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Haddie shrugged. "All this talk about dragons. It just makes you think about everything that's happened in the last few days. And how it's all put into a matter of perspective. Don't you think?"

Marcy didn't respond right away but thought about it for a moment. As the thought lingered, it sent a cold shiver down her spine. Henceforth, the Taiwanese girl felt her hands shake slightly. She opened her mouth to say something when her phone rang again, indicating another text from Anne as soon as she pulled it out to check.

"Oh, yeah, well..." Marcy stuttered, starting to think it was time to wrap this up. "I should probably get going."

Before she could have enough time to turn the corner, the sound of what came out of the goth girl's voice made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Hey, uh," Haddie called out. "Before you go, I've been meaning to ask something."

At that moment, Marcy started feeling butterflies in her stomach. Though she didn't like being held up, the former chief ranger couldn't help but feel curious.

"What's that?" she asked, returning to face the gothic nerd.

Haddie didn't respond immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath as if preparing for a big speech. The tension in the air almost gave Marcy TV romance show vibes. Or rather, it could be something in very cliche movies where two people are in a room, and one person says something melodramatic and waits for the other person to respond.

"So, uh..." Haddie started to stumble a little. "I've been thinking a little...and..do you wanna, maybe, take some time to study together?"

Marcy gasped lightly in response. The clumsy nerd felt her heart skip a beat just from the weight of the question, which caused her to feel a little overstimulated. Haddie panicked slightly, perhaps because she didn't expect this reaction and thus didn't know how to respond.

"I-I I know school's been a lot for you lately," Haddie explained. "Same with me. But would you be more comfortable if we studied at my place? Maybe even read the Dance together?"

The former chief ranger was caught in a trance, mainly because no one had ever asked her to study with them. Haddie would be the first person on Earth, other than Anne or Sasha, who asked her to partake in an activity with them. At the same time, though, the clumsy nerd couldn't help but think back on her mission and if it were to deter her progress. And since she only knew Haddie for a few days, she couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.

"Well..it's very tempting," the former chief ranger scrambled. "But-"

Suddenly, Marcy stopped herself before she could say anything further. Now that she thought about it, she could use this to her advantage. The former chief ranger needed a proper excuse to tell her parents if she would go through with her plans to find the other dragons while being discrete about it.

Maybe this could be that excuse. They were familiar with Haddie from the party, given how she was with them when they took her to the hospital. Not only that, but Anne and Sasha wouldn't suspect anything if she spent time with her since they had been convincing her to branch out more. To put herself out there in the world and get out of that boring routine, as they mentioned a week ago. But regardless, they wouldn't grow suspicious of her if she told them she was out studying with Haddie.

Yet that would mean she must keep her word and study with Haddie. If she were to slip up once and her parents found out, they would accuse her of lying and compromise her progress. At the same time, she didn't mind it. Haddie had been a great friend to her so far. Though she had only known her for quite some time, she had gone so far as to stick by her side even after being viciously humiliated at the party. Hence, the clumsy teen had every good reason to trust her judgment.

"You know what? That sounds like a good idea," she answered. I'd like that."

Thus, no words would describe how amazed Haddie was to hear those words. The goth girl was nearly on the verge of tears when she suddenly wrapped her arms around her with a vice-like grip of a hug.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Haddie exclaimed. "You won't regret this! I swear it!"

"I'll take your word for it," Marcy responded, wheezing from being hugged too tightly. "It's also kinda hard to breathe, so..."

Haddie paused at the realization before loosening her grip. Then, a thin sheet of hot, glowing red started to swell upon her cheeks. Marcy could tell how embarrassed she felt, but she didn't judge since she was also a nervous wreck.

"Oh, sorry about that," she said, tugging at her arm with her dominant hand. "It's just stimulating. I've never really had anyone over my house, so."

"Well, as someone who has trouble looking people in the eye sometimes, I relate," Marcy replied. "So, what day did you have in mind?"

"Hmm," the goth girl thought while scratching her chin. "Does Friday night, after school, sound good?"

"Yeah, I'm into that," said the former chief ranger. "I don't have any plans that day anyway. Let's do it."

"Cool, I'll be sure to set a reminder in case one of us forgets," said the goth girl. "But other than that, we should probably get going. Classes are about to start in about 15 minutes. If we hurry now, we can make it in time before the school bell-"

The dragon geek started reaching the door when she noticed Marcy still standing above herself as if she were contemplating something. To which the clumsy nerd kind of was, but on a different level than the goth teenager thought.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Nah, I'll just be a minute," Marcy replied. "There's something I wanna check first before I take off. You go on ahead. I'll meet you at school with the others."

"Oh... okay," Haddie responded, looking confused before brushing it off out of respect. "I'll see you then. Don't forget, amigo."

"Trust me, I wouldn't dream of it," Marcy replied with a slight wave. "See you soon."

With that being said, Haddie slowly veered off to the side of the door, prolonging her last goodbye with a final:

"Byeeeeeeeee!"

And it was thus that Marcy watched her new study mate walk out the library's front doors with a massive smile. For what it was worth, the clumsy nerd looked forward to studying with her. She seemed pretty eager about it, though Marcy couldn't blame her. Heck, she was just as eager herself. After all, this would make her the first real friend she would have that's not Sasha or Anne. And if things work out with the dragons, maybe there will be room for more. But only time will tell at this point.

Her train of thought was suddenly cut short when her phone buzzed for the second time. She then saw that Anne had left dozens of messages asking where she was and that school was about to start in a few minutes.

"Oh, shoot," Marcy cursed as she forgot the time. "I gotta get going."

Yet before she could take off, Marcy overlooked the librarian passing by, unknowingly dropping a book beside her. The young teen paused momentarily, sensing a bit of Deja vu, before looking down at the fallen book. She turned to try to inform the librarian, but she was just as gone as the moment she arrived. Because of this, Marcy felt very puzzled since this technically wasn't the first time the librarian had done something like this.

Hence, it gave an odd feeling in the room before the geeky teenager shrugged it off. When she picked it up, Marcy was surprised upon seeing the book's cover, which she instantly recognized. Thus, the former chief ranger's eyes widened, and a cold chill spread down her spine. It was the book she had encountered before leaving Earth—the one with the picture of the Calamity Box, dubbed 'Dr. P's Extraordinary Guide to Magic & Mystery.'

At first glance, Marcy wanted to dispose of the book so she would never find it again, knowing the number of terrible memories she had created from it. Memories that have forever scarred the former chief ranger for life. Yet before she could do so, Marcy stopped herself and thought about it. Despite this book's dangers, the clumsy nerd had to admit that it was the reason she knew about the box in the first place. Maybe there could be something in here that she might find that could help.

Therefore, Marcy opened the book and started skimming the pages as usual, occasionally coming across pages she had seen before, one of which included the page of the box itself, giving Marcy a shiver just looking at it. However, when she flips through more pages, Marcy notices a section of the book she does not recognize. One of them contained a picture of a large dragon at the center, along with the following title down bellow:

How to Speak Dragonese.

The girl raised an eyebrow at the title, wondering what it meant. She was seconds away from considering it goofy stuff, like everything else in the book, but her curiosity stopped her, given the book's title and what she already knew about it when she read it the first time. Moreover, the first page seemed to depict an image of a young boy and a very small-looking dragon, with the creature around the size of a small cat. It was an enticing image.

So, after a moment of consideration, she proudly decided to indulge her intriguing nature and give it a look. When she opened the book and flipped the pages for the first time, the former chief ranger was stunned as she gazed upon the words, mainly because it wasn't just some mere book but a dictionary of various words and what they meant.

Yet, having said that, it came with a slight hunch. Some of the words weren't written in English. Some were written in an old language, one of which was quite familiar to the teen. But she couldn't exactly figure out which one it was. What was worse was that she couldn't precisely decipher them, and not with the short time she had to make it home so her teachers wouldn't curse her for making it to school so late. Yet, having said that, there are words on the other end of the page as if they were to explain the meaning of the words

However, now that the idea stuck, it reminded her of something she had read about a language the Targaryens used to communicate figuratively with their dragons. In the book's first few chapters, she recalled reading about how they'd use certain words to command their fierce companions, especially when they flew to battle. The former chief ranger wasn't sure if it would apply to this but considered taking the book with her just to be safe. After all, nothing was more valuable than information that could help her in this endeavor.

But what caught her attention was the symbol embellished on one of the pages—a symbol of a creature she recognized all too well. It was that of a black dragon curled up with purple covering the background. While the symbol was cool to look at, the dragon piqued her interest. Thus, the clumsy nerd gasped when she realized what dragon stood out the most.

'Toothless'.

Henceforth, Marcy abruptly decided that this book was worth looking at. This was after considering the one possibility: whatever this book was, it had something to do with her new accomplice. If she was reading this right, it was a possible language barrier that could allow her to communicate with dragons. Or at least that's what Marcy detested from a hypothetical standpoint. But she needed to be sure about it. Perhaps she could decipher it at home if she brought it with her.

Thus, Marcy quickly checked out at the front desk using her library card, then shoved the book in her backpack and bolted off toward the school, silently praying she wouldn't be late. After all, she didn't want to risk her parents having her head mounted on a silver platter for such a delay.

Meanwhile...

This was perfect.

The young goth girl felt more than pleased by Marcy's answer as she left the library. Heck, Haddie didn't even think she could pull it off. She honestly thought of the worst possible outcome, which involved Marcy saying no to her. But just when she thought all hope was lost, Marcy accepted it unconditionally. Something that she had never expected, especially after everything that had happened thus far. But alas, the winds of fate were kind enough to give her the blessing of her study partner.

Quite frankly, Haddie wasn't the type of girl who tried new things, let alone go out of her way to meet new people. Heck, very few people understood her or shared the same interests as her. And those interests had everything to do with the subject of dragons. It has always been something that has given her some sense of joy ever since she was little. She didn't know why, but there was just something about them that made her feel exhilarated. The way their wings extend during flight, the burning sensation their fires bring as they engulf their enemies. Everything.

Now, she has found someone who shares those interests and understands her in a normal conversation. Someone who doesn't make her feel so alone in this world. And that was great. Though taken for granted, the emo kid felt some guilt about not being able to help Marcy back at the party. To stand there while the poor girl gets constantly harassed by a bunch of bullies, powerless to do anything, had taken its toll. There wasn't a single day where she didn't regret not doing more for her that night.

But hopefully, things will improve now that they're study partners. Marcy seemed all too eager to do so. And since they both shared an equal interest in dragons, perhaps that will spark what can be a beautiful friendship. That being said, Haddie refused to get her hopes up. This will take a lot of time to get used to. But if it meant she didn't have to be alone anymore, then that's what it would have to take.

Though, now that she thought about it, Haddie couldn't help but feel that Marcy was hiding something. She seemed more anxious than when they first met. She didn't know her very well, but it seemed obvious when she dodged some of her questions, topped with the fact she had extra books with her besides the one she mentioned. Books relating to animal training and zoo encyclopedias. That didn't seem to be quite suspicious at all.

However, the goth girl detested that whatever her new study partner kept to herself was none of her business. And it was better to respect her privacy by not asking about it unless Marcy wanted to. After all, that's what a good friend would do, and Haddie intended to do just that. She thought of all this as she walked down the street toward school, where she would face the reality of her life and be reduced to nothing but pure boredom and nothingness.

That was until she dipped her gaze to the sidewalk and noticed something peculiar. Part of the sidewalk was darker than the rest of the road. Henceforth, a shadow blacker than any passing cloud swept over the young girl. Half a second later, there was the distant call of what could only be heard as a metallic screech and the sound of beating wings. Thus, the gothic girl looked up, only to gasp in shock at what she saw flying from afar.

It was a dragon.

A dragon that flew overhead from the direction she was walking toward. From the looks of it, she had seen this dragon before. On the news, she watched it make a mess of things at the Sofi Stadium before bursting out and flying south. Not only that, but from what she heard from Gabby and Maggie, this dragon was also there that attacked the mall, rammed straight into the front entrance, and made a mess of things before taking off with its partner.

While she felt terrible about what happened to Sasha, Haddie also couldn't help but admire it for its rather impressive resilience. Though she could barely see it from the ground, the goth girl could see it was in pretty good shape. Something that could scarcely be seen as impossible for any ordinary animal. But then again, this wasn't exactly an ordinary animal. The fact it's still flying after everything it's been through was most admirable.

As the dragon flew by, Haddie couldn't take her gaze off it. The sight of such a magnificent creature was something she wasn't going to take for granted. Heck, it was just a week ago that people considered them myths. Made up creatures to frighten children and use as symbols of evil for various religions, save for religions in South Asia. Regardless, the goth girl considered it a privilege to gaze upon such a beast with her own two eyes and not be called a nerd. For a moment, the silver creature dipped its head down with its green eye looking downward. Judging from its angle, the goth kid could've sworn it was looking down at her.

She could feel it as its gaze pierced her soul. Hence giving her some serious goosebumps. After a second and a half, the dragon turned its gaze back up as it kept flying. There, she carefully watched it bank before heading east, to what end she wasn't entirely sure. Just the mere thought made Haddie's hair stand on end. A dragon, an actual dragon, looking at her while passing over. She was utterly stunned at this point.

And to think, this day couldn't have gotten any better. Yet she didn't have the words to describe how she felt. There was so much energy coursing through her body that she couldn't even think. However, after a moment of silence, the goth teenager managed to mutter something that summed up her feelings through a single word.

"Wow."

Afterward, she giggled like a schoolgirl before prancing off back toward school. The dragon continued to fly east until it was entirely out of her sight.

Somewhere in Los Angeles... 7:55 a.m.

Hookfang was restless.

Much more than he intended to be. It was only a few days since he arrived on this dung heap of a world. And it had only been a couple of days since he rescued Windshear from that strange human girl that threatened to end her life. He had no idea who she was and cared even less since she had the nerve to face him only to end in total failure. He had to give her credit, though; she fought very well for a human. And a young one at that. She had to be somewhere near Snotout's age when they first met. Maybe a little younger.

It had been a while since the nightmare faced such a challenge, and even longer for an opponent to nearly beat him in a straight fight. Heck, not even Snotlout could bring him to heel. But even so, she was no match for his ferocity. Thus rendering all of her efforts futile. But even with his glorious triumph, he was still forced to retreat with Windshear to avoid any more attention from human reinforcements. Now, he's stuck in this abandoned structure, skulking around like an albino night terror while awaiting Windshear's inevitable return.

Though as hard as it was for him to admit, the flaming wyrm was impressed by how the Razorwhip handled herself since coming to her rescue, having fended off more than enough humans before he arrived. And it took their combined efforts and firepower to fend off the rest of the humans long enough for them to escape. But despite her vicious tenacity, she did take quite a beating, much more than he did. Hence, when they first found this place, the silver dragon needed to rest so she had time to heal before they could search for their leader in the field.

Since then, he spent the last seventeen hours watching over her intently as she rested. Luckily for her, Windshear healed faster than either of them could anticipate, and she fully recovered just recently. But when it came to scouting ahead, the metallic dragon insisted she go out and that he'd remain in here to avoid causing any trouble, which was utterly outrageous. He was in perfect shape. Sure, he did kind of torch a flying metal beast while retreating and may or may not have crashed into a few buildings along the way. But that doesn't have to do anything. Heck, he wagered that she wanted the glory all for herself, being the proud Razorwhip she was.

Hence, while he sat in this abandoned structure, the stubbornness in the monstrous nightmare was eating away at him. Thus making him yearn for some action. Especially after hearing what he swore to the Gods he heard, a call from their alpha, Toothless. In that case, who knows what kind of trouble the night fury has gotten himself into? And it only made him feel even more uneasy to think that his king was out there somewhere, and all he did was sit here in this desolate hole and wait. It was going to kill him at this point. The sound of the silver dragon's beating wings approaching from outside was the only thing that threw off his constant debating.

'Anything yet?' Hookfang asked from inside.

Windshear shook the dirt off her scales from the edge of the entrance before glancing over the resting dragon. Only to come closer to him before giving him her answer.

'Nothing yet,' she answered. 'Got up to half a click before calling to double back. But there are way more humans patrolling than I thought.'

Hookfang grumbled in response, with hot steam escaping his nostrils. It was made clear that he didn't like this news in the slightest. However, that was probably the stubbornness still eating at him. The silver dragon felt his frustration but waited for him to voice his concerns before jumping to conclusions.

'This is getting ridiculous!' he exclaimed.

'What is?' Windshear asked curiously.

'Us sitting here and doing nothing,' Hookfang elaborated. 'We should be out there. Looking for Toothless and bending knees instead of waiting.'

'I don't know if you haven't noticed this, Hookfang,' the Razorwhip replied. 'But we're heavily outnumbered here.'

'Which is why we should go together,' Hookfang persisted. 'With our combined firepower, we can find Toothless and drive off any human that gets in our way. Take them out one by one.'

'Idiot!' Windshear scolded. 'We barely escaped with our lives! If we go out now, it'll be a death sentence!'

'It's better than standing around and doing nothing!' Hookfang stood firm.

'Hookfang, I've traveled hundreds of miles across this world searching for our alpha endlessly till you found me,' Windshear reiterated. 'Top that with dodging as many fire arrows and powerful blasts. I need to rest and continue to heal my wounds. And so should you.'

'Oh yes, rest while our king is out there, all too exposed,' the monstrous nightmare said sarcastically. 'You heard the call yourself. We need to find him.'

The razorwhip could feel Hookfang being close to losing his temper. She could see it in his golden eyes, which glowed orange, along with the sizzling hot sensation his body gave away as flames started to spark up. Luckily for the silver dragon, Hookfang was sensible enough to calm himself before he could lose control.

'Look, I get why you'd want to go out there,' Windshear emphasized. 'But this isn't Berk anymore. These humans are far too dangerous for us to take on. We need to be smart about this.'

'And what would happen if they found Toothless?' he asked.

'Then I would pity them,' Windshear answered. Both dragons knew fully well how capable of a dragon Toothless was. Not only as a fighter but also as a leader too. And they sure as heck knew what happens when you cross paths with a Night Fury with ill intent. The Berkians didn't nickname him the 'Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself' for nothing. 'Though I think he'd tell you the same thing if he were here with us. He would've been wise enough not to act on the impulses that others might have.'

Hookfang snorted before taking up a spot beside the window, watching as the flashing lights of this accursed land continued to flicker. He didn't like it when Windshear teased him like that. Stormfly was just as bad, if not worse. Though, as much as he didn't want to admit it, the razorwhip had a fair point. Toothless would do something like that. Being the most intelligent of all of them, along with his current status as the alpha, the night fury sure has picked up a lot of wisdom these past few years.

Still, it didn't feel right to sit around and wait for something to happen. Their enemies are everywhere, and until recently, they have increasingly mobilized. It will only be a matter of time before they pick up their trail, and they will be forced to flee again. However, now that the subject has come to light, it made Hookfang think about Stormfly. She would have no problem evading them, being the second-fastest dragon beside their alpha. The nightmare reckoned that she had a better time out there than he was. The sheer thought of it started to make him feel jealous.

This started to make him think about the others and where they were. He already caught up with Windshear and had picked up Toothless's alpha call from miles away. Yet, he still had to encounter everyone else in his time here thus far. There was still Meatlug, Thornado, Barf, and Belch, and all the others who were sucked into the portal were the same as him. They were out there somewhere and were either hiding, like he and Windshear, or were already taken victim by the humans' war machine.

No doubt, Meatlug was one of them, given her slow pace. Barf and Belch might hold their own for a while, yet their constant need for chaos and destruction would probably get the better of him. Though, they'd probably go out in a blaze of glory. He would've given anything to be a part of that. To fight for his alpha and friends against any and all enemies. Just like he did in the good old days back on Berk. But alas, this wasn't Berk, nor was this home. This place was something entirely new. And one mistake could be their last. He didn't need to be a night fury to see that.

'Do you think there's anyone else out there?' he asked, calmly this time.

Windshear hesitated momentarily, being as uncertain as he was about the predicament. Like her ferocious companion, Windshear was in the dark about the coming days. Being trapped in an unfamiliar land, teaming with unfamiliar danger, did not sit well for the silver creature. To make matters worse, she had no idea they could return home yet, given how they suddenly just appeared here in the blink of an eye not too long ago.

But survival was the number one priority that came into her mind, and if resting up and letting her wounds heal was the only way to achieve it for the moment, then that was precisely what she planned on doing. And whether the nightmare liked it or not, he had to be on board, too.

'I don't know, Hookfang,' she replied. 'I don't know.'

Hence, much to the monstrous nightmare's dismay, the two dragons concluded that rest was a priority for the moment. Though it shouldn't have been too long, her wounds were recovering quickly. Thus, Hookfang's plans to search were put on hold for now. And the only thing he could do was lay and wait, wondering what the others were doing at this very moment.

Griffith Park... 8:00 a.m.

The arrival of unexpected creatures is reshaping the heart of LA County as the military starts to immobilize around the county's borders, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the city to contain the situation. With it, thousands of people are forced into this line of fire, cut off from the rest of the state as the land shrinks around them. With so many creatures scattered across the city, thousands of lives are thrown into the mix of the chaos as the attacks intensify from neighborhood to neighborhood in an instant, turning the once-pound city of Angels into a volatile warzone.

But there is always one who is oblivious to the dangers, let alone carries the same amount of volatile nature towards others as the rest. Hidden away, deep within the mountain regions of Griffith Park, Meatlug emerges from the rubble. Disoriented from being sucked into a wormhole, the gronckle shakes off the dirt and checks her surroundings. She does not think much of it due to the grogginess, but as she slowly starts to regain her focus, Meatlug is instantly on high alert.

She looked around, noting the drastic change in the environment. The terrain was a bit rocky and covered with shrubs and dry vegetation. The air smelt different; the warm ocean breeze was replaced with a smoke scent, almost reminding her of the smoggy remains of a Smokebreath nest. The chubby creature looked up and noticed the sky was different, too, taking note of the strange clouds that pierced the heavens above. And the sun was rising from the west, though she could barely see it through the dimness of said clouds. But what got her attention was the manufactured structures that accompanied her surroundings just behind her.

The boulder-class dragon took a closer look at the unique configurations with extreme wonder. They were carved out in stone, with a few wooden surfaces planted firmly at the center of each structure. However, as she moved closer to get a better view, the small dragon was taken aback when she noticed some metal bars enforced in the middle of said architecture. It was almost taking the form of a cage. Some part of her doubted it since this looked nothing like a cage. But if it was, she couldn't help but note it being one of the weirdest cages she had ever seen.

Nevertheless, whatever this place was, it looked old and possibly abandoned. And it wasn't worth the effort to explore it even further. Besides, there was a chance that whoever built this place would have passed away long before it was finished. It was probably the only explanation she came up with it being abandoned. Then suddenly, the rocky dragon's eyes widened when something else came across her mind. Something she hadn't thought about until just now.

'Toothless,' she muttered to herself.

Henceforth, Meatlug bolted in the opposite direction and towards the direction of what appeared to be a hill. The boulder class dragon stumbled a bit after tripping over a tree branch, but her tiny wings picked her back up, where she would be moving again. Once she had reached the hill's edge, she looked over the horizon, only to take in a view that had almost taken her aback. For off in the distance, she had seen even greater metal structures that appeared to be the size of mountains. With flying monstrosities inhabiting the skies above them, circling the perimeter of the large structures tentatively, to what end, she wasn't sure of.

To add further into her bewilderment, the boulder-class dragon could hear distant sounds of noise she had never heard before, with giant metal beasts coming and going below those structures. And there happened to be schools of them. All of them were covered with bright lights that shined across the land, spanning for miles on end. It was a forest she had never seen in her short and broad-wing life. Hence, the entire predicament brought the chubby creature to one conclusion:

This was nothing like home.

This was no surprise to her, considering this island looked nothing like any island she had visited in the Archipelago. But at the same time, her alpha was down there somewhere. In an unfamiliar land and facing unfamiliar danger. He probably needs her help right now. And she had to do something. Therefore, the chubby creature decided her best option was to go down there and find him at any cost. Sure, there was the chance she might encounter danger, considering that the locals here may be less tolerant of strangers, massive reptilian beasts like herself. But now, the only thing that concerned her the most was getting Toothless. Because why wouldn't she?

Toothless was not just her alpha, but he was also her closest friend. He would've done the same for her. Not only that, but she had been at his side since their days on Berk, fighting dragon hunters, dodging the screaming death, even bearing witness to his legendary duel against the Bewilderbeast, and earning his title as alpha, and had followed him unconditionally ever since. What kind of a dragon, let alone a good friend, would she be not to go and find him? Perhaps a pretty lousy one, probably.

And it was thus that Meatlug began to flap her tiny wings once again, barely able to lift herself off the ground as usual before flying straight toward the metal structures. Hence, she is on a mission to find her alpha and possibly her friends if they, too, are out there, even if it kills her.

Chapter Text

School was much more hectic than Marcy ever could've imagined.

After being lucky enough to make it to class seconds before the bell rang, the clumsy nerd didn't expect to walk into the absolute dumpster fire of chaos that had everyone shaken in their Converse shoes. First, there was the heavy presence of police patrolling the school grounds. While the former chief ranger had seen this before in the last week, today's was double. Any late student would be run down and given seven hours of detention. Heck, she recalled seeing a student being run down and getting his head shaved outside, only to remove a bandage at the back of his head during her first class. And that was merely two minutes after class began. It was disturbing and somewhat confusing to watch.

There was a sudden disturbance in the air as she sat with her friend group, or what was left of them, during the early minutes of lunchtime. Though it seemed like everything was fine, the clumsy nerd knew by heart that this was anything but ordinary. And with Sasha still in the hospital, the situation was much more dire than she could ever imagine. The only thing that kept the mood from being reduced to long, sullen silence was Gabby's constant babbling over the usual hot gossip of this week. And the ones listening in the group with Maggie and Haddie. The twins were frog knows where. Though she bet, they were probably still getting lunch.

But that didn't even come close to addressing the elephant in the room, which was the sulking image of her best friend, who sat across from her and was as silent as the grave. For what it was worth, Marcy felt worried for her. Since school began, Anne was unusually quiet, though Marcy couldn't blame her since she had lost one of her closest friends and her family's restaurant on the same day. The former chief ranger couldn't even imagine what that must feel like, but she could guess since Anne nearly lost her and Sasha back in Amphibia at the toad tower.

It didn't look too good from what they both told her in Wartwood before the Battle of the Bands. With the fighting and Sasha almost falling to her impending death when the tower collapsed in on itself. Heck, the thought of them two quarreling and Sasha having a near-death experience left Marcy worried for days. Nonetheless, the former chief ranger couldn't help but feel concerned for her with the apparent lack of silence. But she also felt this wasn't a great time to say anything, not while other people were talking.

Naturally, Marcy used this time to look into the Guide she had picked up and started deciphering the language in the portion she had discovered in the library. Admittedly, the clumsy nerd found it more challenging to translate the book than the ones on Amphibia, but she felt she was making more progress than this morning. It was just a matter of discovering the language of the inscriptions. Of course, only a few languages took the form of symbols. It seemed like the symbols strongly resembled old Latin, like Amphibia's. But it couldn't have been that much older based on how the symbols were written. Germanic perhaps? Marcy couldn't say for sure yet.

She was just about to put the first set of symbols together when her train of thought was entirely interrupted by a sudden outburst from the twins, who came barreling at their group without so much as a hello.

"Hey guys!" Twig exclaimed. "You guys check out the latest trending video?"

"Not really," Maggie answered fluidly. "Why?"

"Well, check this out," Molly answered, pulling up her phone to show the video.

The teenagers gathered around to see what the twins were referring to, except for the two heroes. However, curious about the commotion, Marcy decided to pause her study moment and peer behind Haddie to observe the video. When the clip started, the teens could see a guy with a skateboard at the edge of a ramp, overlooking an extensive obstacle course with a geyser right in the middle. Everyone first noticed that the guy wasn't wearing a helmet. Thus, they had an idea of where this video was going, yet continued to watch regardless, just for general amusement.

"What's up, guys!" the guy on the video said. "I'm Johnny Schrock, and this is the geyser jump."

Half a second later, after the introduction, the skater started rolling off the ramp and launched straight into the air. While airborne, the guy performed some of the sickest moves Marcy had seen, at least for a skater. Yet before he could make it to the other side, the geyser erupted just below him. Hence, there was a high-pitched scream following the eruption before there was an immediate ceasefire just seconds later. To his luck, the skater was still alive. But the eruption caused him to have some severe burns.

Moreover, he tumbled down to the other side, rolling across the dirt for a couple of yards before landing headfirst into a cage full of raccoons. There, a moment paused before the raccoons viciously set themselves upon him. All the while, his mate, who held the camera the whole time, stood and watched while still filming the entire thing.

"Hey, Johnny," he said while the skater remained in the cage. "You alright?"

The most subtle reaction to the group was an uplifting roar of laughter. Even Marcy herself couldn't help but snicker in amusement.

"Guess he should've worn a helmet," Gabby commented.

"Nah, I don't think that would've protected him from the sick burns he just got," Maggie replied.

The uproaring laughter lasted for half a second more before it started to die down.

"Man, comedy has truly peaked, hasn't it?" Twig added.

Once everyone settled, Marcy returned her gaze to the field guide, intent on solving the mystery behind the hidden language. As she examined the symbols further, the former chief ranger couldn't figure out what made these inscriptions so familiar. And what language they held reference to. Sure, they screamed Germanic, but they also seemed more Icelandic, given their shape. Or maybe something a lot more recent than the one. It didn't make any sense. However, before Marcy could continue deciphering the first word, she was dramatically interrupted for a second time when she was spooked by the sudden voice of a girl just a few centimeters behind her.

"What's that you got there, Marcy?"

The clumsy squeaked as she mustered whatever strength she had to keep herself from falling over the table. Only to look over her shoulder to see a familiar face.

"Oh, hey, Haddie," she responded. The former chief ranger paused briefly, glancing at the Guide before answering the question.

"It's just a little something I picked up on the way out of the library."

"Anything in particular?" the goth girl asked.

Marcy hesitated. Though she was tempted to share what she'd learned with someone who'd understood her thus far, the clumsy nerd didn't want to give away too much information. Less she risked spilling the secret she swore to keep. However, the more she thought about it, the more she felt no shame in sharing what she knew before the dragons came to this world. Moreover, she didn't even have to mention anything dragon-related if she was careful. So why not humor

"You know, believe it or not," she began. "This was the book where I first learned about the Calamity Box."

And just like clockwork, Haddie's interests had already peaked. She could already see the look on her face as her eyes widened with excitement and the great big smile already developing. From one nerd to another, this was quite amusing to see.

"Really?!" Haddie exclaimed.

"Yeah, " Marcy reaffirmed. "There's a whole bunch of stuff in this book. Most have to do with world traveling and secrets to the universe; there was even a picture of a yellow triangle with one eye. Don't know what that's all about, though."

"That's so cool!" said the goth girl. "That's almost like having the secrets of the multiverse in your hands."

"I know, right?!" Marcy emphasized. "I only just found out about it as I was leaving. This one section I've been catching on to deals with a hidden language. I've tried deciphering the symbols, but it doesn't match any language I know."

"Could they be a key to unlocking something?" asked Haddie.

"I think so," the former chief ranger answered. "But I can't seem to make it out."

The more she thought about it, the more Haddie wanted to take a look for herself. There was just something about the page in the book that she couldn't quite wrap her head around. Hence, curiosity began eating at the gray-haired teenager, finally causing her to say something.

"Hold on, can I see it?" she asked.

Marcy nodded before moving her head slightly to the left to give Haddie a proper look. The goth girl squinted her eyes briefly, narrowing her vision so that the symbols became more apparent. She hummed to herself for a second, trying to process the imagery of the symbols. For half a second, there was a moment of brief silence. Then, like a light bulb, it finally hit her. And everything started to make sense now.

"Wait a minute," she claimed. "These are written in Old Norse."

This made Marcy pause. Her eyes widened, and the world suddenly started to freeze in place. Marcy had always considered herself the smartest of the trio compared to Sasha and Anne. Back in Amphibia, she prided herself on developing the perfect strategy while uncovering the entire dictionary of Amphibia's language and being so good at tactics that she beat the King of Newtopia in a game of Flipwart. But never once did she find herself beaten by somebody who could devise a particular language she had spent hours juggling with five possible others.

"Wait, Old Norse?!" she questioned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that's Old Norse, alright," Haddie confirmed. "I thought I recognized these symbols. This is an entire Norse dictionary."

For once, Marcy had to do a double take. This whole time, she was looking up the many languages that could match the text, and only now is she realizing that one language she had no idea of looking into best matched it from the top of her head. Haddie had to be bluffing.

"How do you know that?" she asked further.

"Can't you tell?" Haddie inquired. "These symbols are part of an ancient rune system used by ancient peoples in the 8th century. It started with 24 letters, but at the beginning of the viking age, it was reduced to 16. Each rune resembled a specific letter in the alphabet. Heck, I think you can find these kinds of inscriptions in Sweden and Norway. My mom's actually from Norway."

Marcy thought of it for a moment but couldn't fathom the thought that Haddie knew so much about this predicament. However, she had no other reason to doubt her since the goth girl could piece it together.

"So, just out of curiosity, how does the system work?" the clumsy nerd asked.

"It's quite simple," Haddie answered. However, when she opened her mouth to speak again, the goth girl stopped herself after coming to a realization. "Well...actually, it's not as simple as you'd think. Some complications existed between the Elder and Younger Furthak systems where the runes were formed."

The teen nerd's face started to darken from the utter disappointment she was about to feel before the goth girl replied, "But once you've mastered that system, it should be more straightforward."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. After that, it should be easy to follow through. For example, " You see this word," the goth girl says while pointing at a particular inscription. "That's referred to as Kyrra. Which means to be calm."

"And this word is called bjóna, which means to serve or pledge one's service. And then this one over here: Læa rífa. Which means lock tear. It's pretty cool when you get the hang of it."

Marcy squinted to look at the word and then observed the translation. For a moment, she started to see through the runic patterns, which began making more and more sense.

"Wow, I never actually thought about that," Marcy admitted. "And that's coming from me. Marcy Wu. The Straight A student and master RTS player."

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," Haddie said with a chuckle. The two geeky teenagers shared a laugh before an idea popped into the goth girl's head. "If you want, I can teach you all I know about Old Norse."

The clumsy nerd paused once more before looking up at Haddie with surprise.

"Really?"

"Sure, maybe when we study together, I'll show you what I know. Maybe even throw in a little pop quiz if you're up for it."

"Is that a challenge?" Marcy questioned playfully while amused by this sudden challenge to her intelligence.

"Only if you're willing," Haddie clarified. "Though, I'm willing to be that something as simple as a quiz on old languages shouldn't be a problem for someone as smart as the great Marcy Wu. Am I right?"

Marcy smiled, feeling flattered. It was rare when somebody acknowledged how smart she was without something else to say. Not even Anne and Sasha could contend with this without commenting on how clumsy she was—not that she didn't mind.

"Well, that is true," Marcy admitted. "Alright, Haddie. I accept your challenge."

"Cool, I'll add it to the list of things to do," Haddie responded before pulling out a small notebook and jotting down a few notes. Just don't cry too hard if you end up being disappointed."

"You wish," Marcy replied. " I'm willing to wager I'll best it 10 out of 10 on the first try. You can bet on that."

"Oh, I'll take that bet, alright," Haddie responded.

Afterward, the two shared another laugh. Marcy started to like the back-and-forth banter she was having with Haddie. It almost reminded her of that one frog girl who had helped bring a flee to life back in Amphibia. Heck, she even looks like her, too. All in all, it was pretty amusing. And she felt like Haddie was slowly becoming a great friend to her to the point where she could now trust her. Yet before she could open her mouth to say something, the moment was ruined for the third time when Marcy felt a ring in her back pocket where her phone was.

When she pulled it out, she was surprised to see that it was from Sasha, who sent a face-time request. Usually, she would've been peeved by someone trying to FaceTime her during school hours, but this was Sasha, for frog's sake. No way was she going to miss out on this.

"Hey guys," she calls out. "It's from Sasha. I think she wants to FaceTime."

There was a slight pause before everyone instantly dropped what they were doing. Even Anne Boonchuy picked her head up at the very mention of Sasha.

"Really?!" Maggie exclaimed.

"This soon?" Gabby added.

"Has she said anything?" the Boonchuy girl asked, getting up from her seat across the clumsy nerd.

"Not yet," Marcy replied. "I was just about to answer."

"Well, don't just sit there, ya big dork," Anne responded urgently. "Go for it. See how she's doing."

Like moths to a flame, everyone gathered around the former chief ranger as she was seconds away from answering Sasha's call. As she got ready to press the button on her phone, Marcy heard chatter from the others behind her, anxious to see their friend, who was still at the hospital.

"I hope she's okay," Twig inquired. "When we saw her the other day, it didn't seem too good."

"Yeah," Gabby added. "That dragon gave her quite a beating."

"Are you kidding?!" Maggie rebuked. "Sasha's the toughest girl in this school. I'm sure she's fine."

"I'll say," Molly added. "Heck, it took two of them to take her down. That alone should say a lot about her."

"I wonder if she'll put that on her resume," said Haddie. "Assuming she's doing alright."

"Who wouldn't?" Maggie answered quicker than the blink of an eye. "It's one thing to save the world from an army of killer aliens. But to fight not one, but TWO dragons and live to tell about it?"

"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Twig, trying to keep a more optimistic approach to the situation. "We still have to see how she's doing?"

"Why are you suddenly concerned, Twig?" the boy's half-twin questioned. "Is it because you're jealous you haven't met one yet?"

"I'm just pointing out the facts," Twig retracted, throwing his hands up in defense.

"Yeah, well-"

"Alright, quiet, everyone!" Anne interrupted. "She's about to answer."

The ginger twins grumbled silently while everyone gathered closer around Marcy's phone. The screen was currently on red due to the poor reception. Luckily, after a brief moment of waiting, the screen shifted a bit, and the entire group first saw the slightly patched-up face of Sasha Waybright, who bore a massive smile on her face.

"Hey, girlfriends!" she greeted over the phone. "Good to see you!"

"SASHA!" everyone exclaimed.

There was a brief round of applause before the girl was suddenly bombarded with dozens of warm greetings from everyone in the crowd, smiles, and words that clearly expressed how happy they were to see her. From the looks, Sasha seemed to feel better—at least better than the last time they saw her. As for the former lieutenant, she, too, seemed as enthused to see everyone on the screen, which only made the moment even more bittersweet. Yet no one was more delighted to see the blonde warrior's speedy recovery than her two best friends, Anne and Marcy.

"I'm so glad to see you're alright, Sash!" Marcy shouted, wanting to jump into the phone and appear on the other side to hug her.

"Awe, thanks, Marce. You're the best," said Sasha as she teasingly blew a kiss from the other end of the phone. Thus causing the former to blush slightly.

"How are you feeling, girl?" Anne asked, with a wholesome smile on her face.

"To be honest, I've been through worse," Sasha responded. "Aside from these stupid casts that are stuck to my leg and all over my right shoulder! "

"So, that bad, huh?" Anne questioned further.

"Yeah," the blonde warrior replied with a sigh. "Doctor says I have to keep it on for another few weeks. He also recommended this special lotion to help with my burns. I'm starting to question if it's legit."

"If you want, I can always take a look," Marcy offered. "I once took a medical class in Amphibia, and I'm pretty sure I can-"

"Eh, that won't be necessary, Marce," Sasha quickly declined. "It's a tempting offer, but I don't want the doctors thinking I'm suspicious about it."

"Alright, if you say so," the clumsy nerd replied. "So, how long will it be before they decide to let you out?"

"A few more weeks, at best," the former lieutenant answered. "The doctors say my scars are starting to heal, but at a slow pace. And I guess I took a pretty bad hit from all the burns I got in that last fight. I can't tell if I can feel my ribs or not. Otherwise, they don't know how long until I fully recover."

There was a brief silence, most likely as the group took a moment to process what the blonde warrior had just told them. However, Sasha caught on to this and tried to lighten the mood.

"But hey, I'll still be around to bug you, dorks," Sasha said with a grin. Just because I'm tied down to a hospital bed doesn't mean I'm gone. Just wait."

The group chuckled briefly before Anne replied, "We know, girl. Just hang in there, alright?"

"Bet."

That said, Sasha couldn't help but notice Marcy being unusually quiet, which was surprising since she was face-timing from her phone. Also, the former ranger seemed quite sad and had her eyes pinned to the floor. Thus indicating that something was on her mind.

"Everything okay, Mar-Mar?" Sasha questioned. "You're quiet, which isn't like you."

It didn't take that long for Marcy to notice everyone was watching her before she answered.

"I'm good, Sash," the clumsy nerd replied. "I just really wish you were here with us. I miss you."

"Awe, that's so sweet, Marce," the blonde warrior responded with the highest pitch she could muster. "I'll remember that for my welcome home party."

The former chief ranger chuckled before replying, "You're not even out of the hospital yet, and you're already planning on throwing a party?"

Sasha hesitated for a moment. It had become evident to everyone in the room that she hadn't thought this through.

"I'm thinking about it," she answered.

"If you do, sign me up first," Maggie insisted. "You kinda owe me after scaring the crud out of me yesterday."

"Okay, just for that, I think I might not invite you," Sasha noted sarcastically.

The ginger teen responded with a huff before saying, "Alright, alright! I was only playing."

"JK!" Sasha exclaimed over the phone. "Of course, you're invited. Though I think you owe me a solid after your last party."

Though confused, Maggie sighed and shrugged before saying, "Fair enough, Waybright."

"Also, everyone else is invited too!" Sasha declared. "But it's strictly invitation only."

"Since when have you ever not thrown an invitation-only party, Sash?" Anne asked.

"Last month," Sasha answered. "And if I recall, it was just you, me and Marcy."

The Thai hero paused momentarily to think about it, only for her eyes to brighten when it finally hit her.

"Oh yeah," Anne proclaimed. "Wasn't that when we went to see that one movie? About the outdated cars and a desert?"

"You mean Maddy Max: Furious Road?" Marcy recalled.

"Bingo."

"Right," Anne jumped in, just having remembered. "That was a crazy movie. I almost remember jumping out of my seat during that canyon chase."

"Yup, and at that time, it was only a horde of pale-crazed lunatics going around wrecking shops and not a pack of bloodthirsty dragons," Sasha commented. There was a bit of silence, with the added tension stirring up. Yet Sasha was quick to defuse it. "But on the bright side, it was still much fun. You guys would've loved it."

"I don't know about that," Twig said, feeling a little discontent. "That movie kind of gives me the creeps."

"That's only because you used to have a crush on one of the wives," Molly claimed. "Specifically, the redhead."

"Pssh, ah, what?!" Twig explained, on the verge of denial. "No! No, Molly! You're not remembering that! No, I would not do something like that. I didn't find her exceptionally beautiful and had dreams about her for five weeks straight!"

"Oh yeah, sure," Molly claimed, feeling unconvinced. "It's not like you weren't saying her name in your sleep for a month. And remember, we both share the same room, too."

Everyone in the room immediately erupted, save for the ginger twin, who blushed with embarrassment. Even the warrior queen was enjoying herself. However, shortly after, Sasha's facial expressions started to change drastically. The confident smile she was putting up was suddenly replaced with a frown, weighed down with guilt.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I wanted to apologize," she confessed. "To all of you."

"Apologize?!" Anne exclaimed. "For what?"

"For what happened the other day," the blonde warrior explained. "At the mall. I thought I could take them. I thought I could've handled these creatures, whatever they were, and stopped them from hurting anyone else. But they weren't what I expected."

"Well, as someone who's also had a rough experience with those things," Anne expressed from behind Marcy. "I know what you mean."

"I just wish I would've done more to end up like this, you know?" Sasha continued. "I should've been more prepared for this sorta thing. I should've trained more. I should've used the swords I bought weeks ago. I should've

"Hey, Sasha," Marcy was the first to cut her off, right before Anne. "I'm going to be real with you. When I first heard about what happened to you, I didn't know what to do. But whatever happened, know that it's not your fault."

"Yeah," Gabby responded. "Those dragons were a piece of work.

"And you got 2v1'd, too, "Maggie added. "So that wasn't exactly fair game."

"That's cheating!" Molly yelled from the background.

"Yeah!" Twig collaborated. "Those cheaters."

There was a soft pause before Marcy continued, picking up where she left off. Only to be followed up by Anne shortly after.

"The point is, you have nothing to feel sorry for," she explained.

"And we'll always be there for you," Anne added. "Even if you're not exactly here with us."

"Exactly," Marcy reaffirmed. "All that matters is that you tried. And in my book, that's enough."

Sasha smiled brightly in response, making everyone else's smile just as bright. She always knew Anne and Marcy had a way with words, the former a lot more than the latter. Nevertheless, knowing her friends would have her back—as she would for them—still warmed her heart.

"Thanks, guys," she said sincerely. "That means a lot to me."

"No prob, Sash," Anne answered with glee. "Just sit tight. And come home when you're ready."

At this point, Sasha was on the verge of tears. The amount of support she was gaining from her friends, even from the other side of her phone, was starting to make her tear up. Of course, the warrior queen never wanted to feel like she failed them by taking the L in that last fight. But this was the icing on the cake for her. However, there was a bit of chattering before she decided to say something.

"Alright, guys, I'm gotta bounce," she declared. "The nurse will take my phone away if I'm on too long."

"She can do that?" Anne asked with a chuckle.

"Supposedly," Sasha said in quotations. "But she'll have to pry it off my cold dead body if she wants it. You can bet on that!"

"Oh, I'll take that bet," the Boonchuy girl says playfully. "Nothing ever gets past you, Waybright."

"You're darn right about that, Boonchuy!" the warrior queen proclaimed with pride. "And when I'm out, we're all gonna laugh about this."

"Get well soon, Sashi," Marcy commented.

"You bet, Mar-Mar," Sasha replied. "Alright, nerds, I'll catch you guys later!"

The warrior queen then held up a peace sign before they all shouted in sync, saying,

"BYEEEEEEE!"

Shortly after, the video call ended, leaving the rest of the group to chat. However, while some in the group were more civil in their conversations, the same could not be said for the twins, who immediately resorted to complete chaos.

"See?!" Molly declared to her twin brother. "What did I tell you?! Of course, she's okay."

"Wait, what?!" said Twig, full of outrage. "I never said she wasn't! I was only implying that-"

"You owe me fifty bucks, bro!" said the female twin. "Pay up!"

"Hey, that's fair, bro!" Twig fired back. "We never even made a bet!"

"Well, I just did."

"That's a camper move!"

"You're a camper move!"

"You pick your nose!"

"Oh, why you little-"

At that point, the constant bickering escalated into an endless round of wrestling. One of which the others were more than happy to watch without anyone being there to break them up. However, the only one who didn't watch was Marcy, who was lost in her thoughts.

Personally, Marcy was glad to see that Sasha was doing better. Her last visit had the former chief ranger worried sick. Heck, she ended up having an anxiety attack just seeing her like that. It was an absolute miracle that she survived, not that she would doubt Sasha. Nevertheless, she was grateful that her best friend was okay. There was no way she would allow what happened in Amphibia to happen again, even if it weren't entirely on her watch. That being said, Marcy's inner turmoil was interrupted when something else came to her attention.

As the others continued gossiping and watching the twins wrestle with one another, Marcy noticed Anne slowly panning away from the group and sitting at the table's edge. For a moment, the clumsy nerd looked at the Guide she had on her end, contemplating whether or not she should continue deciphering the text. But after taking another look at the sullen image of her best friend sulking in the back, she couldn't resist the urge to help. The former chief ranger personally didn't like seeing Anne upset. It hurts to see Anne like this, especially after everything that's happened thus far.

Hence, she set aside whatever thoughts she might have had in the back of her head to check up on her best friend.

"You doing alright, Anne?" Marcy asked.

"Sure, dude," Anne replied in the most subtle manner the clumsy nerd had ever seen. "What else is new?!"

This threw Marcy off a bit, as she wasn't expecting such a reaction from Anne. However, she did not let it get to her and could compose herself long enough to take a full breath.

"Listen, Anne, I-"

However, before she could continue with what she was about to say, the former chief ranger was suddenly stopped by the flurry of chattering from a distance. When the two teenagers turned their heads, they felt a shiver go down their spines when they saw it coming from no other than Tracy Chandler. And with her was the volatile gang that followed her. Marcy couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the girl who kept on picking on her. That girl won't keep to herself, won't she?

Fortunately, she wasn't bold enough to come to their spot like always; instead, she was doing something entirely different. The former chief ranger could hear her whisper about Marcy's guess to her posse. Though she wagered, it wasn't anything good. After a moment, there was an uproar of laughter from her gang, and she started making gestures toward her and Anne, knowing that they were watching. Seconds later, the privileged teen started whispering to other people, only to gesture toward them in return. She wasn't sure what pack of lies she was telling them, but Marcy could already know that it was about them. And not in a good way.

Bloody tyrant!

Doesn't she have anything better to do?!

Marcy didn't know what about that girl that made her so cruel, but looking at her made the clumsy nerd's blood boil. She didn't know where she came from or what caused her to be so vile and evil, but this was a bit much, even for her. Usually, she wouldn't mind a bit of false rumors about her. Heck, those were the few things about being a nerd. Yet this was taken into account that Sasha wasn't here, who had the support of most of the school. Indeed, there was going to be trouble in the future. She knew it.

"Ugh, there is something wrong with that girl!" she exclaimed with a hiss. "I swear, whatever's going on in her personal life is starting to kill the vibe, man. I bet it's her-"

However, before she could vent her frustration, her attention was returned to her best friend's sullen form.

"Anne, what's wrong?" she questioned. "Are you okay?"

Anne paused. For a moment, Marcy could hear her starting to sniffle.

"Yeah, it's just-" the Thai hero said, pausing to hold back her tears. "It's just tough to cope with all of this."

Marcy stiffened. She could tell Anne was about to reach her breaking point. Not that she didn't blame her for it.

"I know what you mean," Marcy emphasized.

"First, my family's restaurant gets blown up," Anne presses on. "then, Sasha gets hurt. And now this! Does it get any worse than that?!"

"Anne, why do you think-"

"I don't know, Mar-Mar," Anne cuts off. "I know I'm supposed to be strong for her, but it's not looking good right now."

Now, Marcy was taken aback. Of the three, Anne was the strongest person that she knew. Though she wasn't as physical as Sasha, Anne typically picked everyone else back up when they were down. Heck, back in Amphibia, she was the one who had changed the most and molded into the responsible person that she is now. Yet for her to lash out like this was something she did not see coming. Sure, she had moments when Sasha betrayed her, or she found out she had tricked her into coming to Amphibia. But this was something else.

And somehow, Anne knew it, too. Thus, her eyes widened, and she suddenly realized what she had said before she calmed herself down. She breathed deeply to cool her emotions before opening her mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry, Marcy," she apologized. "I didn't mean to lash out."

"Nah, it's fine, Anne," Marcy retracted, not wanting her best friend to feel guilty.

"I just...I just...I don't know," Anne stammered. "It's a lot easier when Sasha's around."

Afterward, Anne hunched over the table and planted her vision on it. Marcy almost wanted to tear up at the sight of her best friend's now rendered lifeless, sulking form. Marcy hated seeing her like this. She seemed so broken and empty, almost like a spiritless husk. It wasn't like Anne to be like this, even back in Amphibia. She was always there to carry the vibe, even when Sasha wasn't around. But, of course, this situation has turned her world upside down. Just as she feared it would.

Marcy opened her mouth to try to say something to her, anything, but nothing came out. It was all too much for her. Half a second later, the school bell rang, meaning lunchtime was over. With it, the group slowly said their goodbyes and started to disperse. At this moment, Anne pushed herself up to collect her backpack. However, before Anne could get even an arm's length away from Marcy, the former chief ranger stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hey, do you wanna do something after school?"

Anne had to do a double-take.

"What?" she questioned.

"I don't know, just a little something," Marcy elaborated. "Like, go to the mall or go get ice cream. Just something to pass the time."

For once, Anne seemed to be genuinely surprised. Not at the fact that Marcy was asking to hang out, but she was willingly offering her to do something outside of school for the first time in a while. Though she will admit that it wouldn't be the first time Marcy offered to do something like this, it was a rare occurrence. Even in Amphibia, Anne could only recall her best friend calling the shots once or twice whenever she offered to do something with her. Maybe it was because she and Sasha called the shots more often.

Surprisingly, Marcy didn't mind it. Though deciphering the book and finding the other dragons was her top priority, the clumsy nerd had to put her friends above everything else. There was no other way of putting it. Seeing Anne so sad and depressed was visibly hurting the poor girl. She has to do something about this. It was her sole responsibility to make sure her friends were happy.

Besides, the clumsy nerd wagered that he had plenty of time. The dragons weren't exactly going anywhere. And she hasn't even found the first one yet.

"Ummm...I don't know, Mar-Mar," she said with uncertainty. "I think I need to."

"Anne, we're going through a rough time," Marcy explained. "You're going through a rough time. We need a healthy distraction to forget all the bad stuff happening."

For a moment, Marcy could see the temptation in her friend's eyes. She could tell Anne needed a distraction. But it was slightly overlooked by hesitation.

"Oh, come on, Anne," Marcy said, trying to encourage her best friend. "It'll be fun. It'll be like the old days when it was just you and me."

"It's a school night."

"So? You didn't seem to have a problem when you and Sasha went out ditching class."

"Hey, that was different," Anne redacted. "We were different people then. This time, it's more-"

Marcy marches up to Anne and places her hands on both her shoulders. She stares at her directly so the Boonchuy girl has her undivided attention.

"Anne, do you remember when we first met?" the clumsy nerd asked.

"Yeah, I remember it like it was days ago," Anne answered, slightly puzzled that Marcy was standing only a few centimeters away from her face. "Why?"

"Do you remember when we were on that beach?" Marcy also asked. "And I built that sand castle?"

"Also, yes," Anne replied. "What are you getting at, Mar-Mar?"

"You made a promise to me that day," Marcy reminded. "Do you remember what it was?"

"Marcy, what does that have to-"

"Anne, this is important," Marcy cuts off. "Do you remember what you promised me about the sand castle?"

The Thai hero would lie to herself if she didn't admit how scary Marcy was when she was serious, mainly because Marcy was never really serious. It was an infrequent occurrence. And all the times she was serious, it was for a good reason.

"Anne!" she shouts. "This is important!"

"Okay, okay, jeez," Anne retracted. She hesitated momentarily; her cheeks started to glow red as she started muttering, "I promised we'd defend your castle till the bitter end."

"Exactly!" Marcy exclaimed. "When I was on the beach, you made a promise to me and personally saw to it that it was kept. Even if we lost it in the end."

"Yeah, what a losing battle that was," Anne joked. "If I remember correctly, we were on that beach for hours."

"But the point is, you made me that promise, as any friend would, " Marcy explained. "And now, here is my promise to you: We're going out after school! And I will not rest until we go to every last place on the block to make you feel better if it's the last thing we do!"

Anne held her breath to avoid laughing at Marcy's cheesy declaration. Nevertheless, the Thai hero started to take the bait, as a smile began creeping up on her face, ultimately increasing the former chief ranger's confidence.

"Come on, Anne, what do you say?" the clumsy nerd asked. "Remember when it was just the two of us? Two shrimpy dorks knockin' about in the streets? Wouldn't want to do something like that again?"

Marcy could tell Anne was thinking about it. As the Thai teen contemplated this proposal, the subtle look in her eyes was a dead giveaway. However, the more she thought about it, the more Anne felt it wasn't a bad idea. And she trusted Marcy enough to know she was on to something. And it didn't help her case as Marcy started giving her the typical puppy dog eyes. The big brown puppy dog eyes made the clumsy nerd look cute and innocent. At this point, how could Anne say no to that?

"You know what, Mar-Mar," she said. "You've won me over. Let's do it!"

Marcy's initial reaction was an overarching squeal before she reached over to envelop her best friend in a bear hug. The latter barely managed to avoid getting knocked on her back and staggered to meet the shrimpy dork's embrace.

"Great!" Marcy proclaimed, wrapping her arms tighter around the smaller girl. "I swear, Anna-Bananna, you won't regret this!"

"I'll take your word for it, Mar-Mar," Anne admitted

"Then it's settled!" Marcy replied while releasing her grip on Anne. "Meet me outside after school. It's going to be awesome!"

Anne chuckled.

Marcy was cute when she was excited. That was the one thing she liked about her, along with her eyelashes.

"I don't doubt it, dude," she agreed. "Now, we should probably get to class before the principal gives us a first-class seat to detention."

The clumsy nerd froze for a second.

"Oh, shoot, that's right!" she exclaimed before grabbing her stuff. The former chief ranger was about to bolt to class when she gave Anne one last look. "But don't forget Anna-Bananna! Me, you, after school, lots of fun!"

"Already looking forward to it, Mar-Mar," Anne replies as she drapes the straps of her backpack across her shoulders.

And with that, both girls gave each other a quick hug before departing to their separate classes. Henceforth, Marcy is already anticipating the fun she'll have with her best friend.

Thai Temple, 2:30 p.m...

There are few occasions when communities actively celebrate their culture daily. Moreover, there aren't that many communities that have entire temples dedicated to them. And none was more dedicated to their culture than the Thai community, especially that of the residential Thai Temple, enriched with good food, intricate dance rituals, and abundant customs and traditional practices that make the Thai community what it is.

Nobody was more proud than the Boonchuy family, which is well respected throughout the community. However, recent events have made it clear how deeply the family is in despair. The destruction of their prize restaurant will surely bring dark times in the long run. Nevertheless, here they are, trying to do whatever they can to repair the damages that have been done. Perhaps there was still hope to save that which they had already lost.

However, even in their darkest hour, the Boonchuys were in luck. Once again, it was market day at the Thai Temple. As per tradition, the Thai community gathers at the temple monthly to celebrate this special occasion. It is a day of good food, music, fun sports, and a particular Thai language school for youngsters in the community. As would have it, the Boonchuys just happened to have enough provisions and delicious treats stored in their house to bring to the event.

Since early morning, Oum and Bee have been at the temple, supporting the community as usual. When they first arrived, they were consistently showered with condolences by the other members of the community, and some even offered to give them the necessary supplies they needed to repair the damages to their restaurant. It was a generous and benevolent gesture that made their hearts melt like glass. Since then, the community has done its very best to show its support, as they have done during the many months when their daughter went missing.

Towards the end of the day, the two parents decided to call it a day so they could start repairing the restaurant. Additionally, Ned was there to help them load some of the supplies in his new truck (which was surprisingly undamaged, given what happened that night).

"Alright, Mrs. Boonchuy," he declared with pride. "That's everything."

"Thanks for the help, Ned," Oum said, giving the food truck driver's shoulder a little chat. "Why don't you go ahead and get this stuff to the restaurant? We'll be with you shortly."

"On it, boss," Ned saluted.

As she watched her recently added employee scramble inside his fully loaded truck, the Thai mother took a moment to admire their work. Initially, she wasn't expecting so much support from the community, not that she would expect anything from them. Nevertheless, she and her husband have been faithful to the temple since they moved to Los Angeles many years ago. And will continue to be loyal for as long as possible.

That being said, Oum would lie to herself if she didn't admit how fortunate she was to have so much support from many people around her. It meant so much for her and her family after the recent tragedies inflicted upon them. It almost reminded her of the time Anne went missing, and the entire community helped them through those dark times without asking for anything in return.

At the same time, while she felt highly grateful, it also reminded her of how sad she was. How lost and confused she felt when she thought her daughter had perished, or worse. This time, instead of her daughter, it was the foundation of her family's work. She was starting to wonder if fate, mere coincidence, or a not-so-subtle misfortune brought these unfortunate events to her front door. But one thing that she was sure of was that a drastic change was coming, and now the future was a complete mystery. And with nothing else she could do, Oum only prayed that whatever changes would come will be for the better. For the sake of her family. Yet recent events have made it abundantly clear that this may not be true.

However, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't see her husband coming up from behind her shoulder. The latter was so still that he could be mistaken as a manikin at the mall.

"Everything alright, dear?" he asked his wife, initially startling her.

"Don't do that!" she scolded, shoving Bee. "But yes, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked again. "You look a little tense."

Though she wouldn't admit it, Bee was right. Oum felt a lot of tension in her muscles without even knowing it.

"Well, can you blame me?" she questioned in her defense. "Our lives and work were almost destroyed. We're lucky we don't have to rebuild it from scratch. And who knows how long that would've taken."

Bee was at a loss for words. Though not as confident as his spouse, he was the most open-minded of the two, and whenever things went south, he was more optimistic about the future.

"I know it seems bad right now," Bee reassured. "But we'll get through this. We always do. Right?"

Oum paused for a moment, carefully considering her husband's words. As always, the Thai mother was never one to doubt her husband's optimism. It was a natural trait that she admired greatly. And given what history has shown, she had no reason to hold any judgment against it.

"Well, I guess you're not wrong," she admitted.

"Trust me on this one, honey," he said confidently. "We can get through this. Just like when we fought that robot."

"Oh yeah," Oum said with a chuckle. "That was such a fun time. We were so amped up after that."

"Heck yeah, we were," Bee replied with enthusiasm. "Remember, I was all like: Whapow! And you were all like-"

"Alright, alright," she tried to soothe, not trying to go too deep down memory lane. "Let's not get too carried away. Even if it was pretty awesome."

"But the point is, if we can handle that," Bee explained. "That we can handle anything."

Though it was hard to believe, Oum couldn't help but smile. Bee always had a good knack for lifting spirits. Especially when it comes to bringing up victories of past battles, specifically battles that didn't involve flying fire-spitting lizards. Which reminds her:

"Speaking of which, do you still have our old armor?" she asked curiously.

"Sure, it's in the back of the van," he answered. "I brought it with us in case we ever need it."

"Good," the Thai mother said with a nod. "Let's try to keep it with us just to be safe."

"Agreed," he responded.

Alas, the armor they were loaned by Mr. X during the frog invasion two months ago. The parents considered their suits useless for the last few months since the war with King Andrias had been long gone. And with no other threats from Amphibia, they kept it at home. Yet now that circumstances have changed, and the danger of fire-breathing monsters from another world is at their front door, they both agreed that keeping the armor with them was necessary.

While they didn't need it at the time, anything was possible. You never knew when such advanced technology could come in handy in challenging situations. Oum wagered that she'd gain much satisfaction using it on the beast that nearly put her life's work to the torch. That story would be worth telling her grandkids and their grandkids if she lived long enough.

However, as they watched Ned depart in haste, Oum caught a glimpse of two community members, Papu and Ba-Med, approaching them from the back of the temple. As a gesture of goodwill, they carried a few boxes filled with goods from the market.

"Hold up, you two," Ba-Med said with haste. "We've got something for you."

"Oh, hey guys," Oum greeted. "What's all this?"

"Just a little something we've packed for you two for the road," Papu answered.

Then, as quickly as a flash, the two parents found themselves holding the boxes of goods, only for Oum to pass them all on to Bee just seconds later—not that he didn't mind.

"Oh, that's so kind of you," said Bee. "Thank you."

"Of course, my dead," Papu replied. We're sorry to hear about what happened to your restaurant."

"Yeah, nasty business," Ba-Med added. "That beast had no business being there and making a mess of things. This loss deeply hurts the community."

"We appreciate that, Bad-Med," Oum responded. "I must admit, it was a grim day for all of us, even Anne."

There was a brief moment of silence as the four Thai adults reflected on their loss. Of course, there was no surprise in that. The worst part about the restaurant's loss was that some members, including Papu and Ba-Med, spent some time inside the restaurant, helping the Boonchuys with whatever they could. Some may say they even helped open the restaurant with them, too. And it pains them just as much as it does for the Boonchuys, knowing that the restaurant will never be the same again.

"Well, hopefully, this will help for the days to come, along with everything else," Papu said with a spark of optimism. "And know that whatever happens, the community has your full support. Whatever you need, we've got your back."

Oum smiled. Once again, she never fully intended to ask the community for anything since they do so much for it. But all these consistent gestures of goodwill have made the Thai mother more hopeful for the future.

"Thank you," she replied. "Both of you. And know that we'll always help the community whenever possible. You can count on that."

"Always," Papu responded before bowing her head in respect. Now, take care of yourself, too. We'll see you next month."

Henceforth, the two Boonchuys smiled with hope as they watched the two Thai elders head back into the temple, comforted by the knowledge that whatever happened in the future, they had people around them to give them their full support. That was until a familiar shadow passed over them—a shadow that belonged to a beast whose hunger had yet to be satisfied.

The two parents noticed it when they heard the sound of leathered wings coming from a distance. At first, it seemed like it was passing by as it flew overhead of them. But then, just when they thought it was on its way, their eyes widened in horror as it made a perfect U-turn before descending toward the temple. And as the shadow got closer and closer, only one thing stood in Oum's mind, which could be uttered in a single phrase.

"Oh no."

Meanwhile...One hour later...

In all their years together, Marcy couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun with Anne, even during their time back in Amphibia, where she had initially planned to spend more time actively with her. But it was all starting to come back to her as they walked on the side of the street after getting ice cream. And even then, that was after spending the entire afternoon at the arcade she and Sasha used to go to when they used to ditch class.

At first, Marcy saw this as just spending time with her best friend after they both suffered the grief of losing their second. But now, it was all starting to add up for the clumsy nerd. For whatever reason, Marcy was very grateful for every moment. The only thing that made this incomplete was the absence of Sasha (for self-explanatory reasons). It was quite a pity since she imagined herself with her two best friends like this, spending countless hours with each other for days.

But now, the former chief ranger was enjoying every second of this. As they were striding down the street, two ice cream cones in hand, the teen girls were having the time of their lives. Hence, a roar of laughter escaped them as they were knee-deep into their most recent conversation.

"Okay, okay, I got one," said Anne. "If you had a choice between spending one full hour playing a tennis match or one full day playing a match at chess, what would it be?"

"Hmmm," Marcy hummed while scratching the base of her chin. "I'm gonna go with chess."

"What?!" Anne shouts in surprise. "Why?"

Marcy shrugged modestly, though she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit how obvious the answer was.

"I have an unfair advantage," she replied. "I'm like an expert at playing chess. And with my recent experience playing Flipwart, I can proudly say that I'm a pro at it."

"So I've heard," Anne responded playfully. "But I'll admit, I don't know how you do it Mar-Mar. You've defeated the King of all Amphibia in a single match. Meanwhile, I don't think I would've lasted a single round without messing it up."

Marcy shrugged again as a response.

"That's just it with chess," she explained. "It's not as dull as people say it is. "It requires a lot of focus and pattern recognition. Intelligence is just a milestone."

As Marcy waited for Anne to respond, the clumsy nerd saw an opportunity for a little playful banter as she added:

"I'm quite surprised you haven't given it a go yet, Anne. You're already starting to get good on those games on that Game Boy I lent you."

Anne responded with a shove to Marcy's shoulder before giggling.

"Don't try to bait me, Mar-Mar," she replied. "You just wanna play a round to beat me again."

"Hey, I'm just being honest," the clumsy nerd responded, raising her hands in defense.

The Thai hero rolled her eyes and looked to the side to think. However, after about half a second later, Anne returned with a malicious grin on her face before saying:

"Well, I'll tell you what, Marbles. I'll start playing chess when you start trying out for the tennis team."

Marcy gasped, taking complete offense to Anne's bold proposal.

"How could you, Anne?!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm completely wounded."

"Why not Marce?" Anne asked teasingly. "With your brains and my skill on the court, nothing would stop us."

"Anne, you know how terrible I am at sports," Marcy explained. "Heck, gym class was the only class where I didn't get straight A's."

"Well, wasn't that because you kept reading while the teacher was having us do drills?" the Thai hero recalled.

Marcy paused. Despite the boldness of Anne's proposal, she was essentially right about that.

"Touché, Boonchuy," she remarked. "But even if I wanted to, tennis is a terrible sport for shrimpy dorks with no style."

"Hmm. Then it sounds to me like you'd fit right in. Dork," Anne replied while poking Marcy in the side before giggling. At this point, Marcy blushed madly, making Anne giggle even more. "Besides, you already admitted tennis is your favorite sport in last month's assignment. Face it, Marbles, you love tennis!"

"Nope," Marcy fired back playfully. "I've already changed my mind. You ruined it for me, Anna-Bannana."

By then, the two girls started trading faces and sticking their tongues at each other before erupting in another glorious laugh. Though, to be frank, despite her claims of being terrible at sports, Marcy always found tennis quite interesting, right next to basketball and lacrosse. Of course, this all started when she was five years old. After she and Anne went to a tennis match, they watched a famous tennis player play her match. Though that was a long day, Anne had the most fun being there.

What was more interesting was that it inspired Anne to get into the sport in the first place. That, along with the dozens of tennis videos she would have her and Sasha sit and watch with her before the latter took direction, was a primary motivation for the Thai hero. That idol's sheer confidence and skill were a primary motivation that set the standard for the Thai hero. And as it turned out, all those years of practice and building up her proficiency had paid off, as she became exceptionally good at it. Who would've thought it would transform her best friend into the kind-hearted, fearless person she is today?

However, Marcy is so lost in her thoughts that she can't comprehend what Anne says next, which completely surprises her.

"You know, if you want, Marbles," Anne said. "I could always train you."

Hence, Marcy could feel her entire face going red as the visions of Anne physically teaching her the basic principles of how to play the sport started to take form. Visions involving her best friend teaching her how to hold a rack, swing a ball, and swivel her hips to give her arms such powerful momentum all came to her mind in a single frame. It had now started to become seriously overstimulating for her.

"I'm not sure if that'd work,' she responded. "Besides, I probably won't go five seconds without tripping over nothing and looking back to see what I tripped over. In this case, it'll likely be over the racket itself."

"What's that supposed to mean, Mar-Mar?" Anne asked with a giggle.

The need to explain herself further only made Marcy blush harder with embarrassment.

'Oh frog, why did I have to open my big mouth?'

"You know, she said, gesturing as she vaguely stumbled over her words as she pathetically tried to explain herself. "Because of how clumsy I am. I wouldn't consider myself the most elegant and graceful person."

"Like when you fell down a flight of stairs when you first arrived in Newtopia?" Anne asked teasingly, much to the former chief ranger's dismay.

"Hey! I didn't see those stairs coming!" Marcy exclaimed before grumbling shortly after.

"Still happened, though."

Marcy shoved Anne's shoulder in response as the latter let out an undignified laugh. The clumsy nerd was so close to smacking her with her ice cream cone when Anne forfeited.

"Okay, okay," Anne finally surrendered. "It was just a thought. I won't talk you into it if you don't want to."

There was another moment of silence as they started running out of things to discuss. However, one thing came into mind that surprised Marcy. At least in the aspect of making her confused.

"Though, you would make a good cheerleader," Anne commented.

"Aren't I already?" she asked. "I come to every single match. Except for Wednesdays when there is a chess meeting. And so does Sasha."

"That's what makes it special," Anne replied. "You, cheering me on when I'm in a match. It's the highlight of the whole thing...Well, that and kicking the snot out of that one guy a few years back. What a total douchebag he was!"

The clumsy nerd felt a little flushed hearing that from Anne, mainly because of how flattered she felt by Anne's remarks about her being at her matches. Of course, she didn't mind it. That was until Anne gazed up at her with the most malicious smile she mustered.

"Though now that I think about it," Anne grinned. "You would look pretty cute in the uniform, Mar-Mar."

Marcy again turned red as the thought of her in a cheerleading uniform, running around the sidelines, cheering her best friend on, came into view. Hence, it made her feel twice as embarrassed as before.

"Please stop," she begged silently. "Right now."

"Nah, I don't think I will."

Thus, at that moment, Marcy decided to drop her cone and pounced on the side of Anne's shoulder, wrapping her arms around Anne's neck from behind. Not that it would do anything, considering her weak nerd arms. Yet somehow, the move startled Anne and nearly threw her off balance—only enough time to stagger herself before grabbing Marcy's hands to release her hold.

The two girls wrestled with each other for a few more steps before the weight pressing down on them threw off their momentum, causing them to trip and fall over themselves across the concrete sidewalk. They paused momentarily to process what had just happened, being equally flushed and embarrassed before they started laughing about it again. It stuck for a whole minute before Marcy was the first to pick herself up before pulling up Anne.

However, once they were both up, the clumsy nerd was caught off guard by how close she stood to Anne—only a few inches away from her face. The former chief ranger felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter before she breathed deeply. And she then exhaled before pinning her vision to the ground in exhaustion.

"I wish Sasha were here with us," Marcy laughed. "She would've loved this."

"Me too," Anne added. "We should do this more often."

There was a swift pause before the Thai hero asked, "Do you think she'll be alright, Mar-Mar?"

Marcy looked up, feeling distraught. "What kind of question is that, Anne? She's the toughest person we both know."

"Yeah, I know that," Anne agreed, pausing momentarily to look at the ground before continuing. "But, if whatever these things are can best her in a fight, what does that say about us? What chance do we have against something like that?"

Honestly, Marcy didn't even think about that. The dragons are likely to be the most mysterious of all the things they have faced thus far. Though she had yet to see what the others were capable of, from what she heard about Anne and Sasha's experiences and what she had learned during her time with Toothless, they were much more than she could have imagined. Nevertheless, she would do everything she could to keep them safe, even if it meant honoring the pact she had made with the dragon himself.

Still, her heart yearns to reassure her dear friend about her devotion to her. That will never change, even with the deal.

"Anne," Marcy said, placing her hands on her cheeks. "I don't know what the future has for us. But I can promise you this: I will never let anything happen to you or her."

"You both mean the world to me," she continued, rubbing Anne's cheek with her thumb without realizing it. "You have me, no matter what. Whatever happens or challenges come our way, I am with you till the end. Otherwise, I can't imagine a world without you."

Anne was at a loss of words. She was so astounded by Marcy's words that she didn't know what to say.

"Marcy, I..."

At that moment, Marcy realized how much she was rubbing Anne's cheek with her thumb. And it didn't take that much longer for the Thai girl to notice, too. This caused Marcy to panic as she lowered her hand off her face. However, before removing it, Anne stopped one of her hands by holding one of them. Specifically, the one she kept running her thumb.

Without saying anything, Anne could already tell how comfortable she felt with Marcy doing this. A simple smile assured the former chief ranger that she wasn't doing anything wrong. Henceforth, they both stood in silence for a moment. However, they didn't mind it. Being around each other was comforting, even if mere inches from their faces. However, Marcy flustered even more when Anne leaned into Marcy's hand more, silently humming.

The clumsy nerd felt her entire face go hot red with each passing second. Yet, this tiny voice in her head told her she wanted this. This feeling she was developing with her best friend was something she had yearned for all her life. It wasn't entirely wrong. There were plenty of times when she got flustered every time Anne did something that would be considered eye-opening. And she always found Anne cute on most occasions, even if it was over the slightest thing. However, the more seconds passed, the more she realized that this was something else entirely—something she hadn't expected.

It only grew further as Anne met Marcy's gaze for the seventh time. The Thai hero's eyes gleamed into hers, giving off a mysterious euphoria that Marcy had never felt. The clumsy nerd was unsure what this feeling was, but it was so intoxicating that every urge that told her to pull back was completely blocked off. Thus, Marcy started leaning closer to Anne, with the latter's eyes being soft and comforting, and her gaze was as loving as ever. Such a look made Marcy feel like her heart would burst into oblivion.

The next thing they knew, the two girls were perfectly synched. Their eyes were completely shut, and their foreheads softly touched one another. A slight breeze was in the air, causing Anne's hair to dance in the wind. And Marcy hummed a small breath, feeling quite content with the position she found herself in with her best friend.

However, the moment was ruined when a cry for help from a distance came in. What was more surprising was that the cries called out their names from afar. At that moment, Anne decided to spin her head in the other direction, with Marcy taking a step to put up some distance. Too flustered and embarrassed to look at each other, the two girls could only focus on the direction pointing to the other side of the street. On the other hand, it was more surprising that the person was calling their names from a distance.

It was the twins.

They were running towards them rapidly and uncoordinatedly as if they were scrambling for some reason they knew nothing about. Their shouts echoed across the street.

"Anne! Marcy!"

Though unexpected, both girls seemed just as surprised, if not more curious, about their urgency. Hence, they rushed to meet them halfway. By then, the two identical teens were half-gassed and exhausted from running for so long.

"Twig, Molly?" Anne proclaimed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Marcy asked.

Given how winded they were, there was no initial response at first. However, between breaths, at least one attempted to get the words out, only to say absolute gibberish.

"Temple...dragon...urgent," Molly blabbered.

"What? Be more specific," Anne said, asking for more clarification.

Finally, a second later, one of them managed to catch their breath, which happened to be Twig.

"Okay, what is with these blocks, man?!" Twig shouted. "Seriously! A train system should be put in place so we don't have to run so many blocks! It's exhausting!"

"Again with this?!" Anne exclaimed frustratingly. "Why do you keep doing that?!"

It was only a split second before Twig focused back up.

"Oh, sorry," he said before getting to the point. "But that's not why we're here?"

"What's going on?" Marcy questioned. "Is it about Sasha?"

"Worse, a dragon was just spotted by the Thai Temple," Molly declared, looking at Anne. "And Anne, your parents are there right now."

Horror and shock filled the girls's hearts, and a single word can sum up their reactions:

"WHAT?!"