Dragon Chronicles Chapter 12

"Jeff, how could you have let this happen?! You know what you could've done if those paramedics took you to the hospital and run tests on your blood," mom yelled at me.

"I'm sorry mom, but that was the only thing I could think of at the time okay. At least I had my sunglasses on when I shot the guy so they couldn't see my draconic eyes," I said.

Both Rachael and I were getting the third degree from our parents about the incident that happened at Farm's house and of course bringing Kremalia with us. Jessie and Paul were getting the third degree as well about bringing Nagendra. Azaria was in trouble as well with her dad but we made sure that we didn't tell them about Sam finding out about us being dragons and of course about Fernarn and Ethicus. After we got yelled at by our parents, we were grounded for about a week and we all groaned, plus we were going to be going back to school in a couple of weeks and we wanted to spend some time to ourselves after our training. After they were all done yelling at us, Rachael, Paul, and their parents left to go home and Jessie and I went to our rooms. I saw Kremalia and Nagendra on my bed in their normal forms and curled up around each other resting. I smiled at this and sat down on the edge of the bed and started to pet them both gently. They started to hiss happily at this as I shifted back into my anthro dragon form to get comfortable. I lied down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling to try to relax. I still couldn't believe that we were going to be going to a school again after being home schooled for 3 years.

As I was lying on my bed, a small portal opened up beside me and a small scroll came out of it with the royal seal on it. I groaned at this thinking that grandpa and grandma wanted us to come back for training. I sat up as I grabbed the scroll and slowly opened it. It was in draconic and I started to read it slowly. I went wide eyed as I read it and groaned loudly at this. I just couldn't believe it they wanted us to check on the others as well to see how they're doing. That was going to eat up our remaining summer vacation and some of our school time since about three of them weren't even in the country. The first one they wanted us to check on was Lian. I checked on the scroll to see where he was now and it said that he was in San Francisco, California. I soon heard Jessie groan as well and got up. I opened up my door and looked over at Jessie's room.

"I take it you got the same thing I did," I said.

"Yeah I did, I still can't believe we have to do this, this will ruin the rest of our summer," she said with a groan.

"I know, I just can't believe this, I guess this was punishment from grandpa and grandma for taking Kremalia and Nagendra with us," I said.

She just nodded and went back into her room. I went back into my room and started to pack a bag for the long trip ahead. As I was packing the bag, Kremalia and Nagendra lifted their heads to watch me. I looked at them and shook my head to tell them no and they lowered their heads a bit sadly. I know that they don't like being away from me that much and I don't like being away from them that much either. The three of us had a very special bond and that could never break it. I could still see people's emotions by locking eyes with them and now I'm able to see some memories after practicing all these years. I was proud of that and being able to control that little ability as well as my ability to regulate my own body temperature. Plus over the years, I've been training hard with the royal guard and it has been hard. I've been having to train harder than the others though since I'm the next heir to the throne and that just doesn't include training with my swords. I had to do survival training over the years and that included spending a few days in the volcanic part of Dragonia and the ice part of Dragonia. I even had to spend some time in a few other dimensions to further my training. That was very tough for me and made my parents worry about me even more. I was able to get through them all just find with a few scraps and all but nothing permanent. After I got done packing my clothes and a few other things to take with me, I looked at the two of them and sighed lightly. I grabbed their carrying bag and motioned for them to get in. They both hissed happily at this and quickly climbed into it and got comfortable.

I smiled softly at this and zipped up the bags after I packed some of their snack foods in my one bag. I made sure that I had everything with me and made sure that I left my gun here at home this time. I didn't want to have another incident with it like back at Farm's house a couple days ago. When I was done packing everything, I picked up the scroll that grandpa sent me and I also picked up the other scroll as well that I took from the library at the castle. I put the one scroll into my bag and grabbed my two medallions off of my dresser and put them on. I did the same with my gold and silver bracelets and my other two necklaces. I would've put my anklets but they don't fit me in my human form. I grabbed both bags and walked out of my bedroom sulking some as Jessie came out of her room doing the same thing and wearing some of her royal jewelary. We walked to the living room and mom and dad stared at us.

"Jeff, Jessie, you two go back to your rooms now," mom said sternly.

"I wish we could mom, but we got an order from dear old grandpa to go check on the others who are guarding the people that they're connected to," I said and held up the one scroll.

"Well, you can do it after your grounding," dad said.

"We can't dad, he wants us to go do it now," Jessie said as she handed them her scroll.

They both read the scroll and sighed heavily. My best guess was they weren't too pleased on grandpa and grandma sending the two of us on little missions like this to help us get some training done.
I just wanted to spend the rest of my summer as a normal teen as both Jessie and I slowly shifted back into our human forms. We both headed out of the house as a limo pulled up for the two of us and we climbed in. We saw Paul and Rachael in the limo as well and we sat down next to them.

"I take it you two got a scroll from our grandfather as well," I asked.

"Yeah, but we got the scrolls from our grandfathers," Paul said.

"I still can't believe that this is happening, we get grounded because Jeff here decided to play hero the other day and almost revealed our species to the world and ended up revealing us anyway to a kid," Jessie said.

"Hey, at least I didn't tell mom and dad, and you know what would've happened if grandpa found out," I shot back.

"We know what would've happened Jeff, we were told while growing up," Rachael said.

I sighed at this as I looked at my one bag that had the other scroll in it. I still had to look at it and didn't know when I would find the time to do so. I looked out the window of the limo as it started to move.  Even though we're rich because of grandpa being the king of the dragons, we didn't want to show it. We did live in a nice sized house but not a mansion. The house was big enough for us to go into our anthro dragon forms and all and we had a large property. There was also a forest that we had in our back yard as it was about four to five acres big and that's where Arnon, Alvarie, Karayan, and Shyama live. It's nice that they live there but we always have to be careful all the time if there's someone who likes to hunt for deer. I sighed a bit as we headed for the airport to get onto our private jet. It's nice being rich and all but mom and dad wants us to live as much of a normal life as possible, but that's a bit hard since the four of us are half dragons and being related to very important dragons back in Dragonia. I soon opened up my one bag as Kremalia and Nagendra poked their heads out of the bag and looked around.

"Jeff, why did you bring those two along, we're going to be getting in even more trouble when mom and dad find out that they're not at home," Jessie said.

"I don't care Jessie, if we're going to be gone for the rest of the summer, I would like to have my two pets with me," I said.

She tried to say something else but I just gave her a look to drop the subject and let it go. She did and we sat in silence for the rest of the time to the airport. When we got there, the limo drove to a hanger where a few private jets were kept and we saw ours on the runway all ready to go and the hatch open and waiting for us. The limo pulled up next to the jet and parked as the four of us got out. We grabbed our bags and climbed into the jet smiling lightly. The pilots were in the cockpit waiting for the go ahead to leave and for us to get situated. I smiled a bit more as the jet we were using was the one with the soda and candy bar on it and the satellite connection for the TV on the jet. It also had a few swivel chairs and a couch as well as a snack bar for us in case we ever go hungry. It had a fridge as well as a sink and an electric stove for us and I was glad we were using this jet. We soon got everything situated and sat down in our seats as a pilot closed the hatch and locked it. I buckled up and looked at Kremalia and Nagendra as they crawled out of their bag and curled up next to each other on the couch next to me. I was a bit glad that I brought them with me. I'm bonded to them very tightly and I'd miss them a lot if I didn't let them come along. After the pilots got situated in the cockpit, they started up the jet and it started to move.

Right now I'm a bit glad that we won't be using our medallions to create a portal to California. Flying is relaxing when you don't have to use your own wings and our flight was going to be six hours to get there. I leaned back on the couch and relaxed as the jet started to take off. As soon as it took off and leveled off, I pulled out my portable CD player and started to listen to it. I was listening to a Michael W. Smith CD because he's one of my favorite artists and his music is very good. I closed my eyes and kept listening to the music for a couple of hours and soon felt someone sit on the couch on the other side of me. I opened my eyes to see who it was and it was Azmoth sitting next to me. I practically jumped out of my seat when he waved at me and fell to the floor with a thud and groaned.

"Azmoth, I really wish you wouldn't do that to me, you know how I hate it," I said as I got up while rubbing my head.

"But it's so much fun young prince," he said with a small smile.

"And can you please stop calling me that, I like to be called Jeff," I said and sat back down on the couch.

I soon noticed that Paul, Jessie, and Rachael were all sleeping. I groaned at this and knew that he wanted to talk to me privately without the others hearing us. I started to think of what he wanted to talk with me about and soon realized it must've been what happened at Farm's house while I was checking in on Vallen.

"I take it you know why I am here Adeodatus," he said a bit sternly.

"Let me guess, a small incident when I was checking on Vallen," I said.

"Correct, and of course having someone finding out about us," he said.

"I'm sorry about that Azmoth, we did try our best about that, just be thankful that Fernarn and Ethicus didn't turn her into a feral as well, or worse," I said and crossed my arms.

"Adeodatus, I'm keeping this secret from your grandparents and the high council, but if they find out somehow now or in the near future, there will be consequences, and major ones at that," he said.

"I know Azmoth, but we have to at least try. She did promise to keep our existence as well as the existence of the others a close secret and promised to visit Vallen on a daily basis. You know how hard it is for him and the others to watch the people they're connected to and not miss interactions with other dragons," I said.

We continued to talk for the next hour on the subject and I was finally able to convince him to at least try to keep Sam knowing about us a secret for as long as possible. I also found out that the reason grandpa was sending us on this little mission was because he found out about our little stunt with meeting Vallen's charge and his family and of course having Kremalia along for the ride. After we got done talking, Azmoth disappeared in his usual fashion and the others started to wake up. I sighed heavily at this as they blinked a few times and looked around. I didn't mention talking with Azmoth because I know they'd be asking questions about why he was on the jet. We spent the next few hours just relaxing and talking with each other and of course watching a movie. After a few hours had passed we were flying over California. I smiled lightly at this as the jet made its way towards the airport and slowly started to descend towards the landing strip. I had to put my things up as it was procedure and gently put Kremalia and Nagendra back in their carrying bag and zipped it back up. After a few minutes, the jet had landed and started to taxi towards the air port. It came to a complete stop as the pilot and co-pilot walked out of the cockpit and unlocked the door. We got up as well and grabbed our things and slowly walked off of the jet. We couldn't help but smile as we were in San Francisco, California. As we looked around some, a limo pulled up in front of us and the driver got out.

"Good evening, I'll be your chauffer for your stay here," he said and opened up the back door.

"Thank you," Rachael and Jessie said at the same time and got into the limo.

Paul and I shortly followed after we put our luggage into the trunk of the limo. We got comfortable as the chauffer closed the door and climbed into the front of the limo. He started driving and we looked out the tinted windows as he drove out of the airport. It was very neat being in San Francisco. I started to think of visiting Hollywood but I knew we wouldn't have that much time to do that since we had to check on Lian and all as well as his charge. I yawned widely as we rode through San Francisco and looked at all of the scenery. We were even able to go across the Golden Gate Bridge and that was a sight that was well worth the trip. After riding through the city for about a half hour, we came up to a hotel. We looked and smiled widely as we saw that it was the Fairmont hotel. We couldn't believe that we were going to be staying in there. That was a historic hotel and a pretty big one as well. The limo pulled to a stop in front of the Fairmont and the chauffer opened up the door for us. The girls got out first as Paul and I followed them. We got our suitcases out of the trunk and walked into the hotel as I carried the bag with Kremalia and Nagendra in it. I made sure that they didn't make any sudden movements or sounds as we walked up to the desk.

"Can I help you," an attendant asked politely.

"Yes, we have a reservation here," I said.

"I'm sorry, but kids under the age of 18 can't stay here without a guardian," she said.

"That's okay, they're with me," we heard John say from behind us.

"Okay, may I ask for the name the reservation is under," she asked.

"That would be Hunyor," he said.

She started typing on the computer for a few minutes. She looked like she was having a little trouble with out last name as almost everybody does. I quickly spelled it out for her as she soon found our names. We all smiled as she pulled out some key cards and handed them to us and told us which rooms we'll be staying in. I couldn't believe that they would have John come and keep an eye on us. He's practically 5 years older than us and has a family of his own now, yet we couldn't tell his fiancé or his little one year old boy about our secret. That still bugged me a lot that we couldn't tell them along with Stacy's family. After we got the key cards, we walked over to the elevator and got in. We all stayed quiet as we went up to the second floor. My best guess was that John told Toni that he had to supervise us while we had to go to California on some kind of important business trip or educational trip before school starts in just two short weeks. We had three key cards with us so I guessed that Paul and I would be sharing a room while Jessie and Rachael would be sharing one and John would get the third one all to himself. I was right on the button with that when we got to our rooms and Jessie and I tried to go into a room and John stopped us.

"Sorry you two, but you'll have to stay in separate rooms," he said.

"But John, we're twins, we usually stay in the same hotel room every time we go on vacation," I said.

"I know, but not this time, Jessie, you'll be sharing a room with Rachael, and Paul will be staying with you Jeff," he said and motioned Jessie and Paul to switch.

"That's not fair John, how come we have to do that," I groaned.

"Jeff, if you remember right, Jessie and Rachael were in heat just a few short months ago, and Azmoth, along with grandpa and grandma, says that it might relapse in rare instances and I don't want to take that chance and have all of us get in trouble of having the four of you mate and accidentally get our little sister and Rachael pregnant," he said sternly.

"Um John, that's not going to happen, and we're still in the hallway where someone might overhear us," Paul interjected.

I couldn't help but grin when John's face went flush and turned a deep red as he looked around. Luckily nobody was around at the time since it was close to night time now. John soon went into his room as Paul and I went into ours. We said our goodnights to Jessie and Rachael as we went in and couldn't help but smile when we got into the room. It was a large room with two queen sized beds along with a TV and large dresser. There was also a mini refrigerator next to the TV stand along with a desk and chair and a small round table. We also saw a coffee maker on the desk as well with the usual stuff, plastic cup, Styrofoam cups, stirring straws, packets of sugar and creamer, packaged filters, and of course packaged coffee. I stuck my tongue out and made a screwed up face when I smelled the coffee. How people could drink that stuff was way beyond me. I tried it a few times when I was younger and didn't like the taste of it. That stuff was rank in my books and I never want to taste it again. Some of the flavored coffee smells don't bother me, it's just the thought of how it tastes that gets to me. Give me a cup of hot chocolate or hot tea any day and I'd gladly drink it. I slowly walked over to a bed after putting my suitcase down and flopped down on it. After sitting in a jet for almost 6 hours was exhausting and a bit cramped. I don't mind flying in a jet, but I like flying under my own power from time to time. Paul, Jessie, and Rachael feel the same way.

"I still can't believe that our grandparents made us do this," Paul said as I heard him flop onto the other bed.

"I know, I think they're trying to teach us responsibility or something, we already know about it and I think that it's a complete waste of time," I said.

"I agree with you on that, why couldn't they have just let us stay home and be able to relax," he said.

"If they did, they'd have us training remember," I said.

"Point taken," he said and held up his hand.

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I did have a good point at that, if we did stay home, dear old grandpa would have us training in Dragonia day and night until school started. So to me, this was a little time off from training and all. After a couple minutes of relaxing, I heard the pet carrier shuffling around and Kremalia and Nagendra hiss a bit. I guess they wanted out so they could stretch their legs and I got up. I quickly let them out as they slowly lifted their heads out of the carrier and looked around the room curiously. Their attention got fixated on the bed that I was on and they quickly crawled out of the bag and onto the bed. I smiled at this as they both hissed happily and curled up next to each other. I petted each of them softly as they flicked their tongues out happily. I was glad that I brought them along with me. Life's a bit more interesting with them along and not as boring. I stretched some as Paul quickly turned the TV. I couldn't help but chuckle at that as we both loved watching TV whenever we got the chance. I relaxed as well as he turned it to the news channel.

"And in other news, 5 young teenagers that were sentenced to 5 years in prison in Illinois somehow disappeared from their holding cell before they were to be transported to the prison. Witnesses say that a man claiming to be their lawyer wanted to see them alone and they somehow disappeared from the holding cell without a trace. Nobody knows how they were able to get out or where they went to. Investigators say that it will be an open case until they are able to find them. Authorities also say that a teenager wearing all black and red was hanging out around the court house and the prison. They say that if anybody has any information on either one, please inform them about either one," the news reporter said.

I couldn't believe it those five had somehow escaped the prison. I growled lowly as Paul turned off the TV. I already knew who had helped them escape and it was Azarath and Jason. I still had trouble believing that they did that. My best guess was that they were in league with them from the start. They probably promised those five power and that they'll become dragons. I didn't want to tell Paul that I had seen Jason back at the court house and didn't want to worry him or the others about it. I sighed heavily again and closed my eyes. I don't even know when or how Azarath got Jason out of the isolation mountain and I don't even know what they're doing. If they and grandma Charna were going to attack the humans with the hierarchy, why not do it now. That has been going through my head for a while now and the only answer I could come up with was that they were waiting for their numbers to get large enough to do a full scale invasion on the humans and try to take earth. I yawned widely as I was starting to get a bit sleepy. I closed my eyes and slowly fell asleep where I was. I don't know how long I was asleep for when I woke back up. I looked around and saw that the lights and TV was off and heard Paul sleeping in the other bed. I looked at the time and saw that it was quarter to 1 in the morning and groaned.

I tried to get back to sleep but it was very hard to me. I decided to get up and go for a small flight. I grabbed my key card and quietly made my way to the door and snuck out. I wanted to find Lian and talk with him to see how the person he was guarding was doing. I quietly went through my bag and pulled out a long medium blue trench coat and put it on. Even though it's summer out, it feels kind of nice to wear it. I had a couple of holes cut out in the back for my wings and they both had zippers on them, which mom and dad had put in. I was glad of that as it was touching the ground a bit, but I didn't mind. I also had a small design on the back between the zippers as it looked like a dragon roaring and it was silver in color. It was the same design that was on the breastplate of my armor and I really liked it. I was wearing completely blue clothing with a little bit of white on them. I soon pulled out a couple of small bags that were buttoned shut and put them on my belt. After I did that, I pulled out some fingerless gloves that were specially made for me. They were purple this time with blue lines on them as I had the sleeve for the pinky cut out so it'll just be a hole. That was a bit better since I wear them in both my human form and anthro dragon form. They were made from a specialized fabric from Dragonia that doesn't wear down and was very strong. I didn't bring any of my swords with me this time so I made sure to do the next best thing.

When we were younger, mom and dad got us some foam shuriken to play with and we had a fun time. Last year I asked the dragons that made the weapons to make me some shuriken and kuni for me. I kept it a secret and made out some designs for both and I have about 10 kuni in one bag and 18 shuriken in the other. I also had my knife with me as well and smiled. After I got out of the room, I quietly made my way down the hallway towards the stairs. I didn't want to take the elevator because I knew that it wouldn't go to the roof. I got into the stairwell and made my way upstairs to the roof as quiet as possible and soon got to the top where the door was. I smiled as I was able to open it easily and walked out into the cool night air. There was a nice cool breeze blowing and it felt nice. I looked around and saw that there were still a ton of lights on and dark outside. It was still clear out and I could see the stars that were shining. I had to be careful here since we were in the city and there were a lot of lights on. I made my way to the edge of the roof as I shifted into my anthro dragon form and flapped my wings a bit. I still feel cramped in my human form from time to time and I like being in my dragon forms a whole lot better.

"Decided to go for an evening flight I assume," I heard a voice behind me.

I jumped a bit and quickly turned around and saw John standing there with his arms folded and leaning against the door that led inside. I groaned at this and lowered my head. How he does that all the time I will never know, He's just like Farm's little sister, Sam. I guess that comes with the territory of being a big brother. The wind was blowing against me so I couldn't smell him when he came outside.

"Yeah, I was going to go try and find Lian," I said.

"Shouldn't you wait until morning," he asked and walked over to me.

"Yeah I should, but night is the best time, that way nobody will get suspicious and try to follow us," I said.

"Good point Jeff, just try to be careful alright," he said with a small smile.

"I will John, now why don't you go back to bed," I said with a smile.

He nodded and quietly walked back into the building. He was a bit annoying to me and picks on me and Jessie from time to time along with Stacey but I still love them. They're my older siblings and that's their job, pick on the younger siblings but also make sure that they're safe. I unfolded my wings and started flapping them and was soon in the sky. I started flying through the night sky over the city. I looked down and smiled widely as I was flying over San Francisco. It was still amazing even from the sky. I'll never forget this sight for as long as I live. I kept flying for a while as I was flying over the country side outside of the city. I could sense a few ferals here and there but not that many. They seemed a bit far off so I didn't have to worry about them. I sniffed a bit as I continued to fly and soon caught Lian's scent. I could always tell his scent from the others because his scent had a small mixture of feathers. I looked around and saw a small town coming up with small forest nearby. I smiled and flew towards the forest as I was descending. I landed on the outskirts of the patch of woods a minute later and quietly walked into them. I made sure I was quiet as possible so I wouldn't freak Lian out and have him accidentally attack me.

After walking for a couple of minutes, I came across a small clearing in the middle of the woods and smiled when I saw a large lump in the middle of the field. I could tell that was Lian as one wing was covered in feathers while the other one was webbed. I quietly walked over to him and nudged him gently. He mumbled in his sleep a bit and shifted and I couldn't help but laugh quietly. That was Lian for you, always trying to find a good place to sleep when he's not glomping me with a few of the others. I soon got an idea as I quickly plucked one of his feathers. He growled a bit in his sleep and I made sure I didn't make any sudden movements. He went back to snoring lightly as I walked over to his other side. I smiled widely as his underbelly was exposed and I started to tickle it with the feather. Lian started to chuckle in his sleep and then broke out laughing and started to squirm.

"Alright, alright, I give!" he said while laughing.

I stopped tickling him and broke out laughing as well. Tickling him with one of his own feathers was one of the only ways of waking him up. The other way was waving a piece of dragon fruit in front of his muzzle. Dragon fruit was perhaps one of his favorite snacks and he would always snatch it out of our hands and munch on it while pretending to be asleep. We both calmed down after a couple of minutes as he righted himself and yawned widely. He blinked a few times as he looked around to see who tickled him. He focused on me and smiled widely when his vision came into focus.

"Adeodatus, what are you doing here," he asked with a grin on his muzzle.

"My dear old grandpa sent me and the others to check on you and the other guardians for the rest of the summer," I said.

"That kind of stinks," he said.

"Yeah, so how is the person you're connected to?" I asked curiously as I sat down.

"Well, he's about 7 years old now and a bit of a troublemaker," he said.

"Oh really?" I said.

"Yeah, he causes trouble at school and gets into fights. He's widely liked but not popular, has a few friends, and he's very curious. He likes to look around and breaks things on accident or on purpose, and his name is Chris," he said.

I sighed a bit at this and nodded. It was hard to believe that the child he was guarding was a troublemaker and all. I just hope that he'll be able to straighten out and be able to make some more friends when he gets older. Lian and I continued to talk for a while about different thing. I made sure not to tell him about what happened while Rachael and I were visiting Vallen. We had a good chat and laughed a few times. We were reliving some good times from when we were younger and the mishaps that we got into while trying to raid the pantry in the castle. We got caught a few times along with Fetho, Jay, and Alastor. My grandmother would always catch us and we always gave her the puppy dog look which she couldn't resist. We always got a snack from her and always did the same thing whenever I was at the castle. After talking for a few hours, I yawned widely and stretched. It was starting to get late and I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting close to 6 in the morning. I had to hurry and get back to the hotel as the sun was already rising. I groaned at this as I couldn't fly back to the hotel in time in San Francisco. I had my cell phone with me and was very lucky about that. The one thing though was that it was still early in the morning and John and the others were still sleeping and I had to wait a few more hours for them to wake up. I said goodbye to Lian and started walking towards the edge of the woods as I shifted into my human form. I got to the edge of the woods and saw a house nearby and saw that there were a few lights on, especially in one corner of the house. It looked like a bedroom window and I could see a little boy looking out it.

My best guess was that the boy was the one that Lian was guarding because it was the one house that was the closest to the woods. I smiled lightly as I just continued to walk by the house. I wanted to look around the small town that was nearby and maybe grab a bite to eat. I was really hungry as my stomach started to growl loudly. I hadn't had anything to eat since last night and I was getting really hungry. It took me about 15 minutes to get to the town and I started to look around as I put my sunglasses on. I know it isn't that light out, but I felt a bit better wearing them. Not many stores were opened and I saw an all night diner that was opened. I smiled as I smelled the food there and it smelled good. I was glad that I had my wallet with me and some money as well as I walked over the diner. I walked in and saw that there were a few adults there and they looked at me. They didn't seem to care as they went back to eating their breakfast and reading their newspapers. I sat down in a booth and picked up a menu. I didn't want to make a scene as my stomach continued to growl loudly. I looked at the menu and smiled as I saw a few things in there that I liked. A waitress came over with a pitcher of water and a glass and gave me some water.

"Are you ready to order Hon," she asked.

"Yes I am, I'd like the French toast, hash browns, two side orders of bacon, two side orders of sausage, and a large glass of orange juice please," I said.

"Wow, you must work out a lot to have to eat all that," she said a bit surprised and wrote it all down.

"Yeah, I kind of work out a lot," I said and smiled lightly.

She nodded and left after writing down my order. I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw the expression on her face when I ordered my breakfast. Since I'm a dragon, I have to keep my strength up and my appetite does get the best of me sometimes. I quietly waited for my food to come out as my stomach continued to growl every once in a while. I hoped that the food wouldn't take that long to cook as I looked out the window. I could see a few cars driving by in different directions and I guessed that they were either coming back from work or going to work. After waiting for a few minutes, the waitress came back out with my order and I smiled a bit happily. The food smelled so good I could swallow it all up whole. I know I shouldn't do that since I'm in a diner and there are a few people around. I restrained myself as she sat the food down on the table and left. I slowly started eating the food and smiled as it tasted very good. If I was any hungrier, I'd probably eat food that was dipped in axel grease and cooked over a gasoline fire. I kept my sunglasses on the entire time as the waitress came back over with my check. I got done eating a bit later and slowly got up. I picked the check up and walked up to the register and paid for my meal and left a tip for her. She thanked me and I smiled as I quietly walked out of the diner.

I looked around the small town and tried to figure a way out of getting back to San Francisco without shifting into my dragon form. I don't know how far it is from the town I'm in. that means I couldn't call John and ask him to have the limo come out and get me and I didn't know how long it'll take me to walk. I couldn't make a portal back to the hotel because that might draw attention and that wouldn't be very good. As I was looking around I felt some tugging on my trench coat and looked down. I was a bit surprised when I saw the same kid I saw in the window of the one house I passed by after leaving the woods. I couldn't believe that he had followed me and was just looking up at me curiously.

"Um, can I help you?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, how come you came out of the woods that are near my house so early in the morning," he asked bluntly.

"Oh, I was actually taking a small short cut to get here," I said and smiled weakly.

I couldn't really tell him why I was actually in the woods. If only I could tell him, then it'd be better, but with grandpa and the stupid law of not allowing anybody knowing about the existence of dragons and other mythological creatures really puts a damper on everything. Even having Sam know about us and keeping it a secret is really pushing it and crossing the line. I had to get Chris home before his parents find out about him disappearing. I just hope that he didn't do this all the time. Right now I'm hoping that nothing bad happens while I take him back and that he'll let me take him back to his house without any fuss.

"Are you here by yourself kid?" I asked.

"Yeah I am, I walk into town by myself all the time," he said.

"Do your parents know you're here," I asked.

"No they don't," he said bluntly.

"Well, I'm taking you home, alright," I said.

He just nodded as I smiled lightly. We both started walking towards the edge of town where we came from. As we were walking, we started to hear very loud music playing and it sounded like it was coming from behind us. I turned around and saw what looked like an old style car coming down the street. It looked like it was a deep green in color. It almost looked like it was a convertible and there were about 4 to 5 people in it. The car itself looked like it was an old style corvette and looked to be about a late 60's to an early 70's model. I had to admit, the car looked like it was in good condition. They looked to be in their late teens to early twenties and dressed up in a few baggy clothes and all. They almost looked like gangsters and I soon caught whiff of something in the air that was coming from their direction. I snorted quietly and kept walking with Chris as what I could smell was drugs. I could smell cocaine, meth, and weed all mixed together. I couldn't believe that a group of drug dealers were here. I started to hope that they wouldn't notice me and I started to walk again with Chris. As we were walking, the car passed by the two of us and stopped. I groaned a bit at this and bet that they thought that I was part of another gang or something and trying to push drugs here. I looked at the car and saw them get out of it. There were definitely five people in the car. One looked like he was white, while two were Hispanic, and the last two looked to be black.

I still couldn't believe this was happening to me. Two of them were wearing sleeveless shirts while the others looked like they were wearing football jerseys. I could tell they were carrying guns because I could smell gun powder on them. The only problem is that don't know how many guns they're carrying because they were under their shirts. I gently pushed Chris behind me as I kept my sunglasses on and clenched my fists. They looked like they were between 5'8" and 6 feet tall. They also looked like they had a small build and I couldn't help but snort a bit since I know that they didn't stand a chance against me, even though I didn't bring my gun with me this time. They got within a foot of me and Chris and stopped instantly and smirked.

"So what do we have here, some kind of would be gangster trying to take over our turf," the leader of the group said and looked at me.

"Hehe, I think he's trying to copy The Matrix with the way he's looking," one of them said.

"Nah, I think he's just trying to join a gang to sell drugs, but is doing a poor job at it, but I must admit, he is sporting a lot of bling," another one said.

"Yeah, where did you get that much gold and silver, it must've cost you a small fortune," the leader said.

"Actually, it didn't cost me a cent, my parents got it all for me, specially made," I said with a smirk.

"Oh really, and just who are your parents, millionaires," another one of them said.

"Actually, we're billionaires," I said with a smirk.

All five of them lost their smirks and stared at me blankly. I knew I caught them off guard with that comeback. I chuckled lightly as I heard Chris laugh lightly behind me. The leader of the group soon snapped out of it and grumbled as he clenched his fists. I smirked as I knew what he was planning on doing. The one member that said that I was copying The Matrix movie had it right. I liked it so much that I decided to get my own trench coat and have it blue instead of black. And of course with me doing a bunch of training back in the castle and with my self defense classes, I'm able to be limber when it calls for it. The leader just raised his fist and went to punch me. I smirked and easily dodged the punch. It was like slow motion as I side stepped the punch and it went past my face within inches. I made sure to move Chris out of the way as well and I couldn't help but laugh at the reactions of the 5 of them. Our little scene was drawing a crowd as people were coming out of the shops and just staring at us.

"What's the matter, didn't hit your target," I said with a smirk.

"Why you little, I'm going to make sure you're in a lot of pain when I get through with you," the leader said.

"That is if you can touch me first," I said and gently pushed Chris to the side.

The leader started throwing punches at me and I simply started dodging them and blocking them. I was moving back a bit as he started to get angry that he wasn't able to touch me. I couldn't help but chuckle, I trained all these years and was pretty fast on my feet and was able to dodge just about anything. Plus being able to look into the leader's eyes and just getting a small glimpse of his movement patterns helps as well. After a few minutes of dodging, I grabbed the leader's fist and stood upright. He was surprised at this and I looked right at him. He looked to be about 21 years old, maybe 22 years old. It's really hard to tell without making eye contact with someone and look through their memories. I didn't want to take a chance on that right now and risk having revealing myself. But there was one thing that I didn't have to hide and that was my strength. I was still strong in my human form without having to use my draconic strength and I applied a little pressure to his hand. He cringed in pain and tried to free his hand from my grip. I couldn't help but chuckle as I lifted up my other hand. I simply hit him in the chest with the palm of my hand with enough strength that I sent him flying backwards as I let him go. He lost his balance from the hit and skidded on the ground a couple of inches. He groaned as his buddies helped him up and he looked at me angrily as he dusted himself off.

"Get him," he said.

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at this. I was also a bit surprised that they weren't using their guns, but also relieved that they weren't because of Chris and the other people watching. The five of them soon charged at me and I got into a fighting stance. They tried attacking me one at a time as I was blocking, dodging, and moving out of each one's attack. I could tell that they didn't exercise to stay in shape because after a few minutes of doing this, they were all breathing heavily. I smirked as the leader charged at me one last time. I noticed that his pants were a bit big for him and his belt was on loosely. I could see that it could come undone by one good tug and that was what I went for. He got close enough to me and I quickly side stepped him and stuck my foot out. He tripped over it and went down as I grabbed his belt and quickly tugged it off of his pants. I saw the gun that he was carrying and it looked to be a Remington R1 and quickly grabbed it as he continued to fall. I know my guns since I have my own and dad taught us what kind of guns there are. I quickly took the clip out of it and got the one bullet that was already loaded out and set the bullet and the clip in my pocket and made sure they didn't see me do it.  I proceeded to push the bullets out of the clip until there were about four left in it to be on the safe side. The leader caught himself on the ground and was on his hands and knees. I grinned at this as I held onto his gun and used his belt like a towel and snapped it against his rear. A loud snapping sound came from the belt as leather met skin. He yelped in pain as he jumped and fell onto the ground with a thud. I laughed at this along with everybody else and I looked over at his cronies.

They were staring at me in disbelief as I heard their leader slowly get up. I looked back at him as his pants fell to the ground. I couldn't help but laugh as he was wearing a pair of boxers with hearts on them as a few others broke out laughing as well. He quickly pulled his pants up and looked for his gun. I calmed down a bit and held up his gun for him to see. He went wide eyed in disbelief and slowly backed up. I motioned for him to walk back over to his cronies and he did so quickly. He grumbled as they stepped back a bit and they were starting to shake. Before I knew it, they were starting to reach for their guns and I quickly pulled the clip out and put it back in the gun I was holding. As they withdrew their guns and pointed them at me, I had the gun I was holding ready and aiming at them. Before they could pull the triggers, I took aim and fired the four bullets quickly as each bullet hit each gun and sent them flying out of their hands. Everything seemed to go into slow motion for me again. Bullets flew out of the gun one after another in slow motion and I could see them spinning in a circular motion and cutting through the air like butter. Sparks flew everywhere and they let out a small scream of surprise and pain from the sparks. I guessed that everybody was wide eyed by this as the five gang members were shaking badly.

"Anything else you want to try," I simply said as I dropped the gun to the ground.

They quickly made a dash to the car as I pulled out two shuriken from my one bag. Before they could start the car and drive off, I threw my shuriken at their tires and there were two loud pops and the sound of tires hissing as air was escaping them. I walked over to them and leaned on the car as they were scared out of their minds now.

"I wouldn't go anywhere if I were you. I'm sure the police would like to know what you were doing here," I said.

I smirked as I lowered my sunglasses as my eyes were draconic. They all saw my eyes and I growled lowly and they practically fainted. I laughed lightly as I took the shuriken that were in the tires and put them back in my bag. I proceeded to put the remaining bullets in the car and started to slowly walk off as Chris quickly followed me. I wanted to get out of the town before the police arrived and right on cue, sirens were being heard from a short distance away. They were coming from behind us as Chris and I kept walking as we turned around a corner. We kept walking as the sirens started to fade and I smiled at this. I didn't want to get involved with the police again and was glad that they weren't looking for us. With those five though, my best guess would be that they'd be getting a psyche evaluation most likely because they saw my eyes. I know for a fact that the police wouldn't believe that they saw a kid with reptilian eyes that actually growled at them. The two of us were soon out of town and started walking back towards his house.

"What's your name kid," I asked curiously.

"It's Chris, and what's your name," he said and looked up at me.

"It's Jeff," I said with a small smile.

He smiled as well as we continued to walk along the road. I hoped that his parents wouldn't be very mad at him or at me when they see me. After walking for about 15 to 20 minutes, we got back to his house and I saw lights on inside. I checked my watch to see what time it was and saw that it was close to 8:30 in the morning.

"Well, here goes nothing," I said quietly and walked up to the door.

I could hear his parents inside the house looking around for him. I'm guessing that this is a usual basis for them almost every day. I looked down at him and he smiled lightly as he looked up at me. I sighed a bit as I knocked on the door lightly. The noises stopped inside and I could hear somebody coming to the door. The door opened up and I saw his parents standing there and wide eyed when they saw me. I was a bit right about them staring at me and I looked down at Chris as he poked his head out from behind me.

"Chris, where have you been," his mother said worriedly.

"He saw me walking by your house earlier this morning ma'am and followed me into the nearby town," I said.

"Well, thanks for bringing him back to us young man," his dad said and looked at him sternly.

"You're welcome," I said.

I heard him gulp lightly as he walked into the house and his parents closed the door. I couldn't help but wonder why he did that to them all the time as I started to walk off. I slowly made my way towards the patch of woods that Lian was in. I knew I had to get back to the hotel because John and the others were probably wondering where I was. After I got to the woods, I slowly walked into them and looked around. There wasn't anybody around and I was glad of that. I opened up a portal back to the roof of the hotel and walked through it. I got to the other side and didn't see anybody around and smiled a bit more. I proceeded to walk through the door and down the stairwell. I got to the first floor and walked out to the lobby and started looking around for them. I saw them in the breakfast area of the hotel and walked over to them.

"Hey guys," I said as I sat down next to Jessie.

"Jeff, where have you been," Jessie said.

"I was out talking with Lian, why," I said curiously.

"Well, we were supposed to do it together, and John here said that you were going out for a flight when it after midnight," Paul said.

"Sorry, but I did go out for a flight, and I wanted to check on Lian, don't worry, I made sure to stay out of sight when I was flying," I said.

"Then how come you got back here so late, it's already after 9 in the morning," Rachael said.

"Well, when Lian and I got done talking, it was getting close to 6 a.m. so I just decided to walk to the town to get some breakfast," I said with a shrug.

"Alright Jeff, what happened that you're not telling us," John said.

I sighed heavily and started telling them what happened while I was out. After I got done telling them, they were all wide eyed and my best guess bewildered. I just hope that they don't go tell mom and dad what happened and more importantly, grandpa and grandma. We just sat there in silence for a about half an hour as they were eating. I was starting to get a bit hungry again, so I just had a bagel and some cream cheese to tide me over for a bit. After we got done with breakfast, we went back up to our hotel rooms to get our things. I'm pretty sure that Kremalia and Nagendra were both waiting for me to return. We got back to our rooms and Paul and I went into ours and I saw the two of them resting on the bed that I was used the night before. I smiled at this as they looked up at me and hissed happily.

"Did you two miss me," I said and walked over to them.

They both nodded as I started to pet them both gently. They both started to enjoy it as I smiled a bit more. After I got done petting them, I started to pack up my things as I put up my kuni and shuriken away along with my jewelry that I was wearing. We were going to spend at least one day in San Francisco and look at the sights. After we got done packing, I put Kremalia and Nagendra into their pet carrying case and zipped it up. They both hissed happily again and I chuckled lightly. They certainly liked being in there and being carried around. Both Paul and I walked out of the room and we all left the hotel after checking out. When we got outside, we saw our limo waiting for us and we all climbed in. I relaxed after getting into the limo and it started moving when the door closed. We started going from place to place in town. We made a quick stop to grab something for lunch. All of us except for John ordered a lot for lunch and we all chuckled. I made sure to get some food for Kremalia and Nagendra to eat and they both were eating happily as I started to eat as well. We spent the rest of the day just going around the city and it was starting to get late. The sun was setting as the limo pulled into the airport. After the limo stopped by the private jet, we all got out of the car.

"I'll be back you guys, go ahead and get on the plane and leave," I said.

"But Jeff, we all need to go, we have to go check on the next one," Jessie said.

"I know Jessie, I'll just use a portal to get into the jet, I just want to go do something real quick," I said.

"Okay, but be quick Jeff, I don't want to explain to mom and dad that I left you here in California by yourself," John said.

"Alright John," I said with a small smile.

He smiled back as I handed Jessie the pet carrier. The limo had already left as they all climbed into the jet to leave for our next destination. I didn't know who we'll be seeing next as I started walking away from the jet still wearing my trench coat. I soon heard the jet moving and I didn't want to stay there when it took off. The sun was almost gone as I could see just a faint line of sunlight in the distance. I always like sunsets because of the different colors that came with it. I looked around and saw that there was nobody around and made a portal open in front of me. I slowly walked through it and stopped on the other side as I was on the highest point of the golden gate bridge. I was glad that it was night time so nobody could see me there and I just stood there looking out across the dark river and at the town. The wind was blowing gently and I inhaled deeply. The sound of the cars on the bridge was relaxing and this was just what I needed. I could feel my coat flapping in the wind gently and the sound of mixed with the sound of the cars and the rushing waters of the river was a very relaxing sound. As I was standing there, a figure appeared next to me and was wearing all black and a long black trench coat. I smiled as I knew who it was as he had spiked hair and his eyes were glowing a faint red.  There was only one person that I knew of that had faint glowing red eyes. He even taught me the trick of being able to stand on the underside of outstretched roofs using my claws. It wasn't easy the first few times as I always fell off and hurt myself some.

"Hey Drake, nice of you to join me," I said.

"Hey Jeff, how come you're here all by yourself when your brother, sister, and two friends are leaving," he asked

"I just had to have some time to myself and this seemed like the perfect spot," I said.

"Yeah it is nice and quiet here, I come here every once in a while when it's night time," he said.

"That's cool, and we have a small problem," I said with a sigh.

"And what would that be?" he asked curiously.

"Jason and Azarath are back and I believe Charna is as well," I said.

I could tell he was wide eyed and surprised because he didn't say anything for a minute. I sighed heavily at this and kept looking out over the water. What seemed like an eternity passed by as we both stood there in silence and not saying anything.

"Promise me that you won't say anything," I asked suddenly.

"I promise Jeff, you know that I can keep secrets," he said with a small smile.

I nodded at this and stood there for a while longer when he said his goodbyes and left. I still couldn't believe that they were back. I don't know what they're planning at the moment but I know that it's not good. My best guess is that they're still trying to build up their army of ferals to attack earth and try to take it and most likely Dragonia as well. But I'm sure that Jason will most likely come after me to try to kill me for the throne of Dragonia. I knew I had to do something soon because I don't know when they'll launch their attack, so I have to be prepared for when it happens. Right now I needed to get back to the jet because it was starting to get late and I was getting very tired. Thinking about Jason will have to wait for another day along with that scroll as I opened up a portal and walked through it.