Final Dragon's World Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Four Years Later

All around him was near pitch blackness save for the soft glow of the florescent lights. He had to be as quiet as possible or else his enemies would find him. As he noticed that he had been breathing heavily, he tried to silence the breaths he took so that his position wouldn’t be given away.

His gun held close to him, he pressed up against the wall to try and hide. Five seconds later, he mustered up as much courage as he had and peeked from around the corner. He noticed two darkened figures moving past as he quickly pulled back in an attempt to make sure they weren’t able to see him. He waited for another few seconds before moving from cover and attempting to follow them. However, he noticed that the figures had disappeared.
Nervously he looked around tightly clenching his gun in his hands. He didn’t notice as one of the figures slipped behind him and came so close to him that he could almost feel the figure’s breath on the back of his neck.

“Nice try.” Whispered the figure directly into his ear.

With a gasp, he jerked around and then leapt back. His arms held out in front of him, he pointed the gun at the figure only for the figure to draw their gun first. A yell came from the boy as he fell to the ground, dropping his gun by his side. It was all over. Everything around him was growing darker and darker.

And then the lights came on.

“Drake, what are you doing?” Crystal asked as she looked down at her friend who was still laying on the ground.

Sean and Jake hurried over and joined Drake and Crystal who were in the middle of the laser tag arena. Drake opened his eyes and turned to his friends, grinning as Sean reached out his hand and helped his best friend up.

“Come on, admit it: I’d make a pretty good actor, right?” Drake asked, smiling proudly.

“Yeah. For a B movie.” Sean scoffed.

Drake snickered at his friend’s burn. “Ouch.” He replied back.

It had been four years since Drake’s father Titus had put an end to the dragon Saulstrance, the biological father of Jakol, or Jake as he was better known as. With no other known family to turn to, Titus and Sarah adopted Jake and since that day, the young half-dragon was finally able to live the life of a normal boy with his adoptive parents and brother.

The four friends returned their laser tag equipment to the front desk. Hung high on the wall behind the desk was the scoreboard. Their names appeared on the scoreboard with Sean in first with a total of 3,000 points followed by Crystal whose score was 1,800, then Jake with a score of 1,400, and lastly Drake whose score was a measly 300 points.

Drake groaned, disheartened at not only being in last but also having such a pitiful score.

“Man I suck at this game.” Said Drake, head hung low as he scratched behind his neck, trying not to take another look at his score.

“Hey c’mon man, it’s just a game. Besides, there are plenty of video games that we’ve never been able to beat you at.” Sean smiled, trying to cheer his friend up.

At the mention of that, Drake raised his head, his confidence in himself suddenly completely rejuvenated. He turned to Sean, a big bright smile on his face.

“That’s true! I mean, you’ve never been able to beat me at Smash Bros. for instance!” Boasted Drake, grinning widely.

“Oh yeah? Well you’ve never been able to beat me at Street Fighter!” Jake chimed in.

“And I’m about as good as you are when it comes to Mario Kart, Drake!” Crystal teased, giving Drake a playful nudge.

Drake laughed. “Fair enough.” He said as he and his friends paid the man at the counter.

“See you later guys!” Said the man at the counter.

“Bye Greg!” Said Sean as he and the others walked out of the laser tag arena.

The laser tag arena was the newest addition to the strip mall having gone in less than a year ago. It was three stores away from the toy shop that Drake and Jake’s mom Sarah owned. Sarah had in fact been the one to inform Drake and his friends of the new laser tag arena that was going in next to her store. She believed that her son and his friends would get quite a kick out of it. Jake, Drake, Crystal, and Sean were there for the grand opening and since that day, the four of them had become regulars at the laser tag arena.

“Well that was pretty fun. Like always, right?” Asked Jake, smiling at his friends.

Sean chuckled. “Yeah. Especially for me.” Sean gloated in a teasing way.

“Ha ha ha.” Said Crystal sarcastically, giving Sean a small nudge as he laughed.

“Hey c’mon! I’m just kidding!” He exclaimed, grinning as he staggered slightly from Crystal’s push.

Drake laughed as well. “Just remember Sean: nobody likes a bragger.”

Drake, Jake, Crystal, and Sean approached Sarah’s shop. Walking into the store, they saw Sarah standing behind the counter with Titus leaning against the left side of the counter. Several other adults were scattered around Sarah’s shop. Among them was Titus’s lifelong friend Lucas. A couple older kids were in attendance as well, most of them being the older siblings od the younger kids and others having been fans of Ben’s books when they were younger. All of them were watching as Ben, Titus’s adoptive brother was telling a story to a group of eleven young kids. The story Ben was telling was of the battle between Titus and Saulstrance. The children all listened closely, entranced by the tale Ben shared with them.

“And then, just as things seemed their darkest, and the hour of doom was at hand, suddenly –”
At that moment, the timer on Ben’s phone went off, informing Ben and the children that story time was over.

“And that’s all for today! But be sure to come back next week to hear the end.” Exclaimed Ben in an excited tone.

“Aww!” The kids all protested at once. All of them had been enjoying the story so much that they didn’t want to have to wait a week to hear how it ended.

“C’mon Mr. Flamel! Please tell us how it ends!” One boy who appeared to be around six or eight begged.

The other children in attendance, with the exception of Tim gathered around and begged to hear the rest. As both Drake and Jake watched the kids pester Ben to tell them how it ends, they overheard one child, a small girl who appeared to be around five or seven years old say that she wanted to know what happened to Blake and James. Drake and Jake looked at each other in confusion, Drake repeating the name “Blake” and Jake repeating “James” questioningly. Was she talking about them the two half-dragon teens wondered.

“Hey, my brother Sean was there! He can tell you what happened!” Exclaimed Tim, pointing to Sean who, along with his friends, stood silently by the door.

Suddenly the other children went quiet and turned towards Sean. With an exasperated groan, Sean shook his head.

“Tim, you idiot, that’s supposed to be a secret.” Sean whispered under his breath.

Although most of the city knew of the existence of dragons by now thanks to a news report four years ago which showed Titus and Drake in between their transformations from dragon and half-dragon respectively back to humans, many of the citizens of the city were still skeptical. Despite the overwhelming evidence, some people believed that the attack on the mall was all a hoax and that what really happened was being covered up by trying to make people believe that dragons destroyed the mall. One theory that had circulated around suggested that Titus and Drake were actually the results of some kind of strange government experiment that tried to combine human DNA with the DNA of an animal and that they were able to disguise themselves as regular humans.

Very few humans knew the truth about what Titus and his family had done for them. Drake and his friends’ fifth grade teacher, their classmates from back then, and the citizens of the desert town Baker Valley were the only ones and in Baker Valley, Titus had become known as their local hero. Since that day, Titus and his friends still made visits to Baker Valley thanks to the portals that connected the human realm to the dragon realm. The people of Baker Valley were always elated to see them return and even four years later, the memory of Titus protecting their town as well as the whole world remained fresh in their minds.

The adventures he had embarked on with Titus and the others became inspiration for Ben’s then budding writing career. Many of his works, most of which were geared towards children, had become big hits. As a result of becoming a local talent, Ben had gone on to do signings at book stores within the area and with some help from Sarah, began a weekly story telling session at her store which helped to bring in more customers than ever before. Every story Ben shared would have the kids and even adults captivated and leave them wanting more and seeing the excitement and joy Ben was bringing to children and adults alike brought him joy as well and made him strive to create even better works.

Knowing that Titus and the others wouldn’t want to be made into a spectacle, Ben promised not to use their real names for his books and, when his first book was about to be published, chose to omit its declaration that it was based on a true story. Ben’s other reasoning had been that even if he had said it was based on a true story, people probably wouldn’t believe it anyway.
The kids glanced back at Tim then back to Sean, then finally back to Tim. With a confused look on his face, one of the boys asked Tim what he was talking about because in the story Ben was telling, Sean’s name was changed to John.

“Yeah! And besides, it’s not a real story. Mr. Flamel made it up.” A little girl said.

An awkward silence suddenly filled the room. As happy as Sean was that the kids didn’t believe what his little brother had said, he couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit sorry for Tim. Sean assumed that part of the reason Tim said that was because he wanted the other kids to think he was cool yet in the end, he simply made things weird for himself.

“Well let’s give Mr. Flamel a big round of applause.” Sarah said as she began clapping, soon being joined by everyone else.

“Thank you all very much.” Ben smiled at his audience.

After the kids and their families made their purchases and left, only Titus and his family remained. Ben let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

“Man, those little tykes just have way too much energy for an ol’ hound dog like yours truly.” Ben said as he approached the counter.

Sarah and Titus stifled their laughter. Noticing this, Ben asked them what was funny about that.

“Nothing Ben. It’s just…hound dog? Really?” Asked Sarah in an amused voice.

“Besides, you’re only 52, Ben. I think you’re still pretty young. I wouldn’t say you’re an ‘ol’ hound dog’ just yet.”

Ben chuckled. “I guess not. I just wish I didn’t have to get any older. Kinda wish I had a bit of a longer lifespan like you Titus.”

Suddenly, at the mention of his lifespan, Titus’s smile went slightly uneasy. For Titus, his extended lifespan was a touchy subject for him. As a dragon, Titus was estimated to be able to life for at least three hundred years. Unfortunately for Titus, he never saw this as a great thing as he knew it meant that his friends and family would all pass long before he did. This included Drake and Jake as well who, due to being half-dragons, were also believed to have half the lifespan that a dragon did. The very last thing Titus ever wanted was to outlive his own son and adopted son. He always hoped that he would be able to pass on when his family did.

“Y’know Ben, having a longer lifespan isn’t always a great thing.” Said Titus somberly.

“Oh shoot! Titus, I—I’m sorry man. I know it bugs you I just--”

“It’s alright Ben. I know what you meant.” Titus said, trying to smile a little brighter so as to let Ben know that he truly was okay.

“Maybe it’d be best to change the subject.” Suggested Lucas.

Sean agreed with his father and asked Tim how Drake’s uncle’s story hour was. Tim happily exclaimed that it was really fun, declaring that Ben was the best storyteller he had ever heard. With a small

“Heh”, Ben smiled in response to Tim’s statement, feeling great pride in that his books had become so beloved.

“What about you Sean? How’d you do at laser tag?” Tim asked.

Sean grinned at his little brother. “How do you think I did kid? I won, like always!” Sean gloated, trying to make himself look cool for Tim.

Drake groaned and sighed. He hadn’t paid too much mind to Sean’s gloating in the beginning but now it was starting to get a little old. It was only a laser tag match after all. He thought of a way that he could get Sean to be quiet. Then it came to him. He went behind the counter and rummaged through the small fridge that his mom kept plugged in under the counter. There were a couple of water bottles lined in the fridge. Drake grabbed one and unscrewed the cap then he changed his fingernails into claws, his blue scales forming along his arms, and poured a small amount of water onto his claws.

“Drake, what are you doing?” Sarah asked her son.

Drake grinned impishly. “You’ll see.” Was all he said.

Sarah wasn’t sure what Drake was planning or even if she should like it. She, Titus, and Ben watched as Drake stood up and went back over to Sean.

“Hey Sean!” Drake said to his friend.

“Yeah?” Asked Sean as he turned around.

Without warning, Sean found himself sprayed in the face. He instinctively squished his eyes shut as the water that sprayed from Drake’s claws splashed in between his eyes. Tim, Crystal, and Jake giggled at this as Sean wiped the water off his face.

“What was that about Drake?” Sean asked, confusedly.

“Just wanted to make sure that the glory didn’t go to your head.” Drake joked.

“Huh?” Sean didn’t understand what Drake meant.

“Your gloating. It’s…kinda getting old.” Explained Drake, trying to sound as nice as possible.

“Oh, that? I was just joking man.” Said Sean.

“We know it’s just getting annoying.” Crystal said.

“Fair enough. I’ll stop.” Sean promised.

“Thanks.” Jake said with a small laugh.

A short time later, everyone was getting ready to leave. Lucas had some errands to take care of before heading home and Ben was going to make a stop at the grocery store to pick up some dinner for himself and Jessie. Titus opted to stay and help Sarah take care of some things before closing up shop for the evening. Because their families had things to take care of, Drake, Sean, Jake, Crystal, and Tim decided to make their way home on their own.

“Alright. Just be careful getting home you guys.” Sarah said, standing outside her store as she saw her sons and their friends off.

“We always are.” Drake said confidently.

“See you at home.” Titus said.

The five friends departed from the store and made their way over to the light rail station. The station was across the street from Sarah’s shop. They waited for about five minutes before the rail train pulled into the station.

Drake and the others boarded. Only three other people occupied the cabin. Drake, Jake, Tim, Sean, and Crystal sat in two rows across from each other. Drake, Jake, and Crystal sat in the seats on the right hand side while Sean and Tim sat in the row on the left side.
The train departed the station, its next destination the light rail station downtown. The five friends watched the passing scenery, trees, houses, businesses, and people passing them by. As the train entered downtown and came upon its stop, Sean leaned over to where Drake, Crystal, and Jake were sitting.

“So I was wondering if you guys wanted to do anything else before we head home.” Sean asked.

“Like what?” Inquired Jake.

“I dunno. Maybe get some food from somewhere. I’ve still got a little money.” Sean answered.

“I kinda want to go to the park if that’s okay.” Tim chimed in, leaning forward in his seat so that Drake, Jake, and Crystal could hear him.

Everyone turned their attention to Tim. The park sounded like a good idea to them. Although they still had some money, they didn’t want to use it all up in just one day. Aside from that, the four teens knew that their parents would give them a ton of grief if they did blow all their money that quickly.

“The park huh? Yeah, that could be fun.” Crystal suggested.

“It has been a long time since we went to the park. Good thinking Tim.” Drake said, beaming at Tim.

Tim smiled widely back at Drake, feeling proud that he was complimented by an older kid. With a light chuckle to himself, he blushed as he looked away from the older kids, facing towards the window.

The train pulled into the station. In no time at all the cabin went from being nearly empty with only a minute group of people occupying it to being almost full. Some of the occupants stood in between the seats that Drake and his friends were occupying, making it hard for the five of them to communicate. As the train embarked for its next destination, all they could do was thank their lucky stars that they were able to grab themselves some seats before the train became so crowded.
Seven uncomfortable minutes later, the train pulled into the next station. Drake, Crystal, Sean, Tim, and Jake squeezed through the immense crowd of people and left the train as quickly as they could before the new wave of boarding people made it even harder for them to get out.

The five friends were still aways away from their homes. They had gotten off at a light rail station that ran past a residential area. In front of them were a group of apartments and to the right of these apartments was a road that would lead them to the park they were heading to.
With no approaching traffic in sight, the five of them hurried across the road and journeyed down the small street.

“Glad we’re finally out of that train. I hate crowds.” Said Tim, breathing a sigh of relief.

“No disagreements there, squirt.” Sean agreed.

“I don’t mind being around people just…not in such a small area like that.” Drake said exhaustedly.

“Well if you guys don’t like crowds, you’d hate being at a convention.” Crystal said matter of factly.

Drake, Sean, Jake, and Tim flashed each other confused looks.

“But we did go to a convention. Remember back in 7th grade when we went to Comic Con?” Jake inquired.

“Oh yeah that did happen. Well I remember that after a while, you guys wanted to get away from all the people in the exhibition hall and we spent a good hour just hanging around outside.” Crystal told her friends, giving them a teasing smirk.

“That was partially because we spent two hours walking around looking at all the booths and our feet were getting tired. And besides Crystal, I remember you being the first of us to suggest leaving the exhibition hall for a bit to find somewhere to sit down.” Sean argued.

“Well, you’ve got a point there Sean. Truth be told, I don’t really like crowds that much either.” Crystal admitted with a sigh.

“Comic Con was really good for me and Jake.” Drake grinned, trying to add in some optimism to their Comic Con discussion.

“Yeah.” Agreed Jake. “Since everyone was in costume, we got to go out in our real forms and nobody said anything. Well, except for how cool our ‘costumes’ were.”

“And we got some people to take pictures of our ‘half-dragon costumes.’” Drake added, still grinning excitedly.

The friends passed through seven more neighborhoods before finally coming upon the park they were looking for. Thelway Park. This was the same park that Drake’s mom grew up in.

The park was empty, no adults or kids in sight. As the friends made their way into the park, the sudden sound of an ice cream truck’s jingle could be heard in the distance. It steadily grew louder as it approached.

“What do you say guys? Want to get some ice cream?” Asked Drake.

“Aw yeah! ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM!!” Chanted Tim.

The ice cream truck pulled up alongside the five kids. They all ordered the same kind of treat: chocolate ice cream bars. The bars were $2.00 apiece. The four teens all paid separately with Sean paying a little extra for an ice cream bar for Tim.

After thanking the driver of the truck, they immediately removed the wrappers on their food and went over to a picnic bench. As the ice cream melted in their hands, they continued to chew away at the tasty treats. After several bites, Crystal held her head in one hand.

“Oh, ow ow ow ow! Brain freeze! Ooh that doesn’t feel good.” Crystal said quickly, closing her eyes and trying to make the pain go away.

“You okay Crystal?” Asked Jake.

“I’m fine. It’s gone. I think I just ate too fast, that’s all.” Answered Crystal, taking a moment to let the brain freeze subside some more before continuing her ice cream.

Sean looked over to his little brother who was sitting right beside him on the bench. He was surprised when he saw just how quickly Tim had consumed his own ice cream bar. Sean scolded Tim for eating so fast, asking him if he saw what had happened to Crystal and asking him if he wanted to get brain freeze of his own.

Looking down at his almost finished ice cream and then up to his big brother, Tim continued to eat his food at a much slower pace than he had been going.

“Sorry Sean.” Tim apologized in a meek, toneless voice, mouth still full of half chewed ice cream bar.

“It’s okay Tim. You don’t need to be sorry. I just don’t want you getting sick.” Sean responded, smiling at Tim to let him know that he wasn’t angry at him.

His brother’s smile made Tim feel better. Once the five friends had finished their ice cream, Tim asked Sean if he could go play on the playground equipment. Before he had time to answer him however, Tim was already racing over to the jungle gym.

“Hey Tim! Go a little slower! You just finished eating and that’s not going to be good on your stomach!” Sean called out to his brother.

But Tim didn’t listen. He continued running over to the playground. Sean groaned agitatedly. He sighed and shook his head, wishing his younger brother would listen to him.

“Sean, he’s not a baby anymore.” Crystal protested in an attempt to get Sean to ease up on Tim.

“No but he’s still just a kid. He still needs somebody to look after him!” Sean testified.
Drake placed a hand on Sean’s back as he stood up, standing right by his friend’s side.

“Sean, we’re still kids too, y’know. You don’t need to be talking like an adult just yet. A little bit of fun isn’t going to hurt Tim.” Said Drake.

“Besides…” Drake continued. “Since we’re kids, we should go have some fun ourselves! Come on!” Drake exclaimed as he hurried over to the jungle gym that Tim was playing on.

“Hey wait up Drake!” Jake called to his adoptive brother as he bolted up, hurrying after Drake.

Sean and Crystal watched, smiling as the two half-dragons went to join Tim in the fun. The past four years for Drake and his friends had been some of the most enjoyable moments of their lives. No longer having to worry about taking down an evil dragon and his cohorts who sought to seize control of their world, Drake, Sean, Crystal, Tim, and Jake were able to simply enjoy being kids. Even still, however, this didn’t mean that the four teenagers didn’t have worries of their own to contend with.

“Hey Sean. Do you think we’ll always be together?” Crystal asked.

“Hmm? Why do you ask?” Sean asked Crystal back.

“Well it’s just that we’re already in high school right?” Crystal began.

“Uh, yeah?” Sean asked again, not understanding what Crystal was getting at.

“It won’t be much longer and then we’ll be looking at going to college or starting careers or something like that. When that happens, do you think the four of us will still be able to see each other? And what if one or even all of us go to colleges or work in some other part of California or even in another state?” Crystal fretted.

“Well if that happens, couldn’t we just keep in contact with each other online?” Sean asked, hoping to provide an alternative so that Crystal wouldn’t have to be so worried.

“I suppose…it’s just that it’s not the same as actually being together.” Crystal answered in a saddened voice.

Sean sighed. Crystal’s worries were beginning to rub off on him. He realized that Crystal had a good point. He had known Drake, Jake, and Crystal for so long that to him, they weren’t just his best friends, they were like siblings to him. Having to be away from them for an unspecified period of time or even no longer getting to see them at all was hard for both Sean and Crystal to swallow.
As much as Sean mulled it over, he knew that in the end, there may be nothing the four of them could do. Until it came to that point, all Sean and his friends would be able to do is hope for the best. He chose to remain optimistic about what the future would bring them. His hope for their futures was that he, Crystal, Jake, and Drake work hard when they go off to college or when they start their careers and spend their downtimes together as much as they can.

When Sean presented his hope for their futures to Crystal, he was able to alleviate the teenaged girl’s worries.

“I like that. I hope it comes true. Thanks Sean.” Crystal said, smiling gratefully at her friend.
Sean nodded and smiled back at Crystal, thankful that he was able to cheer Crystal up. The two of them then looked over at the playground equipment to see Drake and Jake playing with Tim. The two boys had cornered Tim on the jungle gym’s walkway.

“There’s nowhere to go now Tim.” Drake grinned mischievously as he slowly approached the younger boy.

“Nooooo!” Exclaimed Tim, giggling as he tried to look for a way to escape.

Finding himself incapable of getting past Drake or Jake, given how much bigger they were than him, Tim improvised and climbed over the railing. He loosened his grip on the bars somewhat and allowed himself to slide down them, gripping them tightly once again when his hands were by the ends of the railing. Once he was a few feet from the ground, Tim let go of the bars and dropped down. Jake and Drake watched as Tim ran past them, having narrowly avoided being caught by them.

“Darn it! The prisoner’s escaping Drake! We got to go after him!” Jake commanded as he took off in the direction Tim was heading.

Drake followed shortly behind his adopted brother as the two of them slid down the slide and continued their pursuit.

“Want to go join them?” Asked Crystal eagerly.

“Yeah. Let’s go!” Sean answered excitedly.

As Drake and Jake chased after Tim, the three of them stopped when they heard Sean call out his brother’s name.

“Tim! There’s no escaping from us!” Sean exclaimed as he continued running towards his little brother.

“That’s not fair!” Tim whined in a playful way. “Now I’ve got four bigger kids chasing me?”

“You should have never escaped in the first place Tim! The bigger kids have to keep the smaller kids locked up! That’s just how it is in our town!” Jake said, smiling as he continued to chase after Tim.

“But I don’t wanna be locked up! I’m a big kid too!” Tim objected as he ran from the playground equipment and into the grass.

Suddenly, without warning, Tim tripped and fell, landing face first in the grass. Everybody gasped, surprised. They hurried over to the younger boy to make sure he was alright.

Tim rolled onto his side and sat up. Drake, Sean, Crystal, and Jake gathered around Tim, all of them looking concerned for the boy.

“You okay Tim?” Sean asked worriedly, kneeling beside his younger brother and placing a hand on his back.

With a slight groan, Tim looked himself over. Aside from some dirt and bruises covering his arms and legs, he seemed okay.

“I think I’m okay. I hurt a little bit but it’s not too bad.” Tim answered his big brother.
Sean smiled with relief. He stood up, helping Tim to his feet. He brushed some of the dirt off Tim’s clothes as Tim wiped away some of the dirt that was covering his arms and legs.

“It’s a good thing you tripped in the grass instead of on the pavement. That would have hurt a lot more. I should know…” Jake said to Tim as he remembered back in fifth grade, when Zack and Jacob, two kids who used to pick on him pushed him to the ground causing Jake to smash face first into the sidewalk which resulted in his nose bleeding.

“By the way Tim…” Sean whispered to his brother.

“Yeah Sean?” Tim asked.

“GOTCHA!!! There’s no escape now, criminal scum!” Sean exclaimed as he grabbed Tim’s sleeve, pulling him over to him and wrapping his arm around his neck.

“Gaah! No fair! I had a serious injury!” Yelled Tim as he struggled to break free of his older brother’s grasp.

“Ooh, NOW it’s a serious injury. What happened to that big tough kid who said, ‘it hurts a little bit but it’s not too bad’?” Sean playfully teased.

The five friends laughed together as Sean gave Tim a noogie. Tim screamed and laughed, begging his brother to stop, only for Sean to loudly decry, “Never!” and follow up with a second noogie.

The friends continued to play together for a short while before deciding to head home for the day. It was already starting to get late and the five of them had homework they needed to finish before Monday rolled around. As it was already Saturday, they knew they had to get going on their work.
Once they got to Crystal’s street, they went their separate ways. Standing in front of their old elementary school, Drake and the others said their goodbyes to each other and headed for home.
Eventually only Drake and Jake remained on the block.

“So Jake, want to take the express route home?” Drake asked, grinning knowingly at Jake.

Jake grinned back at Drake. “It has been awhile since we did that.” Jake said.

“Too long.” Agreed Drake.

Drake led Jake a few blocks down to the same alley where Jake revealed to Drake that he was a half-dragon just like him. That one moment remained fresh in Drake’s mind for the past four years. For Drake, it was one of the most important moments of his life because on that day, he learned that there were other half-dragons just like him. This was also the case for Jake as, before he met Drake, he always believed that he and his adopted brother Alex were the only half-dragons in the world.

However, what had happened back then was also a bit of a sore subject for the two half-dragons. When Jake revealed the identity of his biological father to Drake, in a panic Drake pushed Jake to the ground, screaming at him to stay away. This, combined with Jake being forced to leave his last school which two of his best friends Jericho and Cassie attended had deeply affected Jake. Eventually, the two hybrids were able to reconcile and start over as true friends.
Drake and Jake both glanced around, making sure there was no one around who would be able to see them transform. Once they had confirmed the coast was clear, the two half-dragons looked at each other, nodded, and closed their eyes. Their bodies underwent a metamorphosis as their ears grew pointed, changing into fins, followed by two lumps pressing against the fabric of their shirts, these lumps then changing into two pairs of leathery wings. Their transformations concluded with their tails growing out of the backs of their shorts.

Their true forms revealed, Drake and Jake flapped their wings, lifting themselves off the ground. They ascended into the sky and flew for home.

The past four years, both Jake and Drake had been training their wings in order to make them stronger. Whenever they’d get the chance, the two boys would change into their true forms and often fly home if they were returning home late from school or if they were coming back from somewhere else. Of course they wouldn’t do this if there were many people in the area. By doing this so many times, Drake and Jake were able to make it so that their wings didn’t become as tired as quickly as they used to when they’d fly for long periods of time.

With how much practice they had, Drake and Jake were also both now capable of flying at much faster rates and were even able teach themselves some tricks to perform while in the air. Drake demonstrated this by doing barrel rolls in the air several times then flying high above Jake and then swooping back down, screaming “WAHOO!” while he did this.

Jake smirked at Drake as the latter flew back down at his side.

“Showoff.” Teased Jake.

“Oh please! You can do that too, man.” Said Drake, smirking back.

“I know. I’m just saying you’re a showoff.” Jake said knowingly.

As they flew, they observed the activity going on below them. Cars and people all moving below them and yet, they were so high above everyone that they all looked like ants. Despite the ability to fly being a part of who they were as half-dragons, neither Drake nor Jake could ever not be amazed when it came to flying. Just about each time felt like a new exciting experience for them.

The businesses, cars, and people were left behind by the half-dragons as they found themselves flying over a residential area. It wouldn’t be much longer and soon the two of them would be home. To them, the only downside to this was that this meant they’d have to get going on their homework.