FSE

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Arlo was worried and angry; he was late for school. This was odd considering that he was one of the only students in sight; but for him, that was late. Pushing open the doors of Clark High School, he made a beeline for his locker.

Alright, come on, come on. Where is that stupid thing?

After fumbling around for a few moments, he finally pulled out a wrapped up cap, padded but still thin, with a piece hanging off one side.

Good, no one around,_he said with relief, gently pulling off his sweatshirt hood to prevent it from tearing. Then, he put the cap on, ignoring the pain from forcing the spines on his head down, and stuffed the extra bit down the back of his neck._That was too close.

There were many times, like today, that Arlo wished that he could leave it at home, but whenever he thought like that he just had to remember the lecture from his mother last year when she found the cap after poking around his closet.

"There is no good reason to have something like this, especially not now that we've moved," she'd said, looking at him in disappointment. "I know you didn't have a great time at your old school but it's different here. People don't think the same way."

But that doesn't matter, Arlo sighed, his heart aching as he pulled his hood back up over the cap, now worried about it ripping.They'll still find something judge you over. I'm not going to let history repeat itself.

He made his way over to the school's library to pick up a book before heading down to the history teacher's room. Mr. Neilson was nice enough to let him camp out before 1st period and besides, he still had to finish his presentation about the Warriors of Lezerrand.

_And now that I've finally gotten this stupid book, it should be fairly easy,_he thought with mild glee.

The sharp clack of something hitting the tiled floor suddenly echoed through the hallway and Arlo looked up, seeing a figure come around the corner.

Crap, not him!

The lizard looked around frantically and then slipped inside an open classroom, almost catching the door on his tail in his haste. He stood by the door silently, listening intently. The clacking passed by without stopping and Arlo let out a breath.

Thank god, that was not something I needed this early in the morning.

Waiting for a few more minutes to make sure everything was completely quiet, Arlo eventually poked his head out, making sure that the coast was clear. Seeing that he was alone in the hallway, he quietly crept down to the 2nd floor stairs and made it to his destination with no further incidents.

"Hello there Arlo," Mr. Neilson said as one of his best students walked through his door. "Looks like you're eager to get working."

"Of course." Arlo rolled his eyes and tossed the book he had been carrying on his desk "It took long enough for this thing to come in."

Mr. Neilson chuckled and continued to fiddle with the ceiling projector. "You did have to have it shipped all the way from Wellington University after all. Most kids your age aren't reading archaic texts about dragons that lived thousands of years ago."

"Well, they should be."

Arlo took off his backpack and sat, the teacher dropping down behind him.

"Lets see if that information you were searching for is in here, shall we?"

The 6-minute bell eventually rang and the boy stood up, heavily resisting the urge to chuck the text out the window.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing about Rollinon at all!" he cried.

"That's not completely true," Mr. Neilson pointed out. "There was plenty in there."

"Only the usual stuff, though. Rollinon, the Agile, the Fleet, the Swift of Wing. I don't care about his place in the normal legends, I want to find out what happened before all of that."

His teacher nodded, deciding how to phrase his next question. "Have you maybe considered that Rollinon was a fabrication, and that's why there's nothing more about him?"

Arlo vehemently shook his head. "I refuse to believe that. Plenty of evidence exists!"

"Evidence from ancient stories and texts, maybe, but not much else. After all, they haven't discovered his remains yet, and since Altrion's grave was found two years ago with no mention of his supposed friend, I'm fairly certain that most historians have deemed him a construct of mere fiction."

"I'm still going to keep searching," the boy grumbled, irritatedly swishing his tail back and forth.

Mr. Neilson sighed. "If you insist, I'll try to come up with a list of additional sources before 6th period, although you shouldn't stress about it too much. You already have more than enough information."

The teacher held out a hall pass and Arlo took it, throwing on his backpack and heading for the door.

"And Arlo, for once would you take off that sweatshirt of yours? It's boiling in here."

His words fell on deaf ears, like they always did, and Arlo disappeared out into the now-empty hallway. Mr. Neilson sighed again and walked over to his computer. "I still have a little time left in my prep period. I wonder if my colleagues would know anywhere else to try."

The day went by as it usually did, Arlo keeping to himself and waiting for his favorite period of the day. Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.

"I can't believe that no one knows anything else about Rollinon," he grumbled to himself as he made his way through the nearly empty halls, heading for his locker. "Just my lucky day."

Glancing around to make sure no one was near, he slipped his hood and padded cap off, wrapping it up before putting it back in his locker.

I mean, I've done enough work to get an A, he thought, carefully pulling the fabric back over his head.But that's not really the point, is it?

Lost in thought, he failed to noticed a form emerging from a nearby classroom. His head did shoot up, though, when a harsh clack sounded out behind him.

No no no! Not today!

Arlo closed his locker and turned around to find two eyes staring up at him.

"Hi, Arlo!" Chris said cheerfully. "How's your day been?"

The boy hesitated before finally mumbling out an answer. "Fine, I guess."

"Neat!" the small lizard said. "Hey, I'm trying to raise money for the athletics program. I was wondering if you wanted to donate anything?"

"Sorry, I don't have anything on me," Arlo interrupted. "Look, I've really got to get going."

He brushed passed, heading for the door, and his heart sunk when he heard a rapid clacking behind him.

"I'll walk with you, then!" The words came out a little breathless, the small boy working hard to keep up with Arlo's pace. "That wasn't really the only thing I wanted to ask you."

Arlo stopped abruptly and spun around, almost causing Chris to fall over.

"Then what did you want?"

Chris' face fell slightly. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime."

"No!" The word came out more forceful than Arlo had intended. "I've got to finish my history project."

"Well, maybe I can help?" Chris asked with a hopeful smile.

Arlo fumbled for an answer, not really knowing how to say what he was thinking. There was no way that thy were going to become friends, but that had nothing to do with Chris himself. Rather, it was because...

"Hello, squirt."

Chris froze at the voice and then slowly turned around.

"Hi... Luke."

The massive monitor lizard bent over, tongue hissing at the air.

"You know, it was a pretty boring day. I was worried you were home sick and it turns out that you were just avoiding me."

"I... I..."

Luke's tail flashed out before Chris could respond, wrapping around one of the boy's crutches and yanking. With nothing to support himself, he fell down hard, crashing to the ground with a clatter.

Luke gave an unkind smile and knelt down, his eyes narrowing. "You know, I heard something interesting. According to one of my buddies, you were trying to join the track and field team again."

Chris clenched his jaw. "You know as well as I do that there's no rule against me joining."

The monitor lizard nodded. "You're right, but there is something unspoken against making us look bad and there's no way a cripple is going to be good."

Chris instinctively flinched, moving slightly back, before a flash of movement caught his attention. "Arlo, you don't think that right?"

Luke looked up and Arlo, who had been trying to creep away without anyone noticing, stopped cold.

"So, are you one of the friends he's been desperately trying to find?" the bully asked. "What you gonna do?"

Arlo went to answer but his mind flashed back to the events of several years ago, ones that he would rather forget. His facade cracked slightly, the smile he had put on his face slipping.

Arlo took a sudden step back and his throat closed up.

Luke must have sensed something because his eyes narrowed. "Where do you think you're going? I'm getting the idea that you want to join your buddy."

The desert lizard hesitated and Luke must have thought he was going to run because he jumped up from the ground with surprising speed. Arlo stumbled back, but the bully's hand snagged his sweatshirt hood, which was still pulled up, and yanked.Hard

Arlo felt the material catch briefly before his spines bent the wrong way, causing him to yell in pain. The hood completely ripped off, the sound abrupt and jarring.

Luke laughed. "No wonder you wore that; you look ridiculous! Was your mother a porcupine?"

Arlo didn't answer, instead backing away and racing out the door. Luke watched him go, a slight smile on his face.

"Well, this'll be fun tomorrow." He threw the torn fabric on the ground and turned back to the boy still on the ground. "Now, where were we?"

***

Opening the door to his house, Arlo hissed in pain as he gingerly touched his bent spines. His fingers came away wet with blood and he growled, fetching a damp washcloth from the bathroom and dabbing it gently where it hurt the most.

It least they heal fast, he thought, studying his reflection in the mirror. God damn it!

Arlo smashed his fist down, slightly marking his dresser. It wasn't supposed to happen this way! Why the hell did that stupid idiot have to get me involved?

The lizard let out a heavy breath and stalked over to his desk, snatching up a book without really looking. He collapsed on his bed and threw the cover open, noting the title with a dull laugh.

Trial of the Dark Times. How ironic.

Lost in his reading about ancient legends, he failed to hear his parents get home from work, but he did hear the call for dinner. Debating for a moment whether or not to go, he slid off his bed and walked down the stairs.

"Hi, honey!" his mother said as he entered the kitchen. "How was school today?"

"Fine, I guess," Arlo answered, getting a glass of water. As he turned around, his mother frowned.

"What's that at the base of your spines? It looks awful!"

"Huh?" Arlo's eyes shot open and he carefully reached up to his head. Several dark scabs had formed, standing out on his tan scales. "Oh, I... uh... I caught them on my locker door when I left school. Didn't hurt too much, just a little blood."

"Oh, you have to be more careful!" she said, putting down a towel and coming to take a closer look. "Tsk. Put a cold pack on it when you head back up to your room."

Arlo just secretly sighed. This wasn't the first time he had hurt his spines, although it was usually from catching them on fabric or furniture.

Arlo's dad arrived home at exactly 5:30 and sat down after putting his coat away.

"Mm, chicken. Delicious!" He gave his wife a kiss.

"How was work today?"

He sighed. "Exhausting. The real estate firm still hasn't been able to sell that last lot and they've given it to me for some reason. I won't lose my job if I can't take care of it, but Nick; won't be happy."

"Well, I'm sure everything will be fine. You're good at your job, honey."

"At least someone has confidence in me."

Arlo finished almost immediately, scarfing down his food and getting up to put his plate away.

"Where are you going so fast?" his dad asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I've got to finish my report on the dragons," Arlo said. "My book from Wellington came today."

"Oh? Anything interesting about... who was it again? Rolligan?"

"Rollinon, dad. And no, when I skimmed it at school it didn't have what I needed."

His mother put down her fork. "Then why are you in such a rush? Don't want to sit with your parents?"

Arlo shook his head. "There's still a bit of new information about Thallinus that I wanted to cross-reference with my other books. He's the other one, along with Rollinon, that I still need more on."

"Which member of that group was he? I can never keep them straight."

"Thallinus was the scholar."

"Now I remember! The one with magic, right?"

Arlo rolled his eyes slightly. "That's what the stories say, although when they found his tomb it didn't have anything of the sort. Hopefully, I can at least get that mystery cleared up today."

"Well, have fun reading," his mother said.

Arlo hurried up the stairs and reached back to touch the back of his head.Damn that hurts. I've got to get some ice. And maybe also some bandages.

Arlo was moving around gingerly at school the next day, like a bomb was about to go off underneath his feet. Nothing managed to lift his spirits and he was distracted during most of his classes, especially during 6th.

"Arlo, is everything alright?" Mr. Neilson asked in concern. Normally, his student would be hounding him with impossible questions after the main work for the day was done, but today he was just staring at the clock.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Don't worry," the lizard answered.Although, today is the day I have to leave early to get to dad's work. There's no way to completely guarantee that I'll avoid Luke!

"Well, if you're certain."

The bell rang and Arlo was out the door before it had stopped. He raced through the halls and skidded to a stop in front of his locker, pulling books out and stuffing them in his backpack before hesitating.

No sign of him yet!

In a flash, Arlo yanked off his sweatshirt hood and hat before tossing it in his locker. As he was reaching up to put back on his hood, though, a hand caught his arm.

"Well, well, well. You seem in an awfully big hurry today."

Arlo's heart stopped and he turned around to see Luke standing there with a grin on his face. He had something in a bag on his arm, but Arlo couldn't see what.

"I have to go, Luke," Arlo said, feeling his heart rate spike. "Let go of me."

The bully narrowed his eyes. "That's funny, because I didn't think that I was done with you yet."

Arlo froze and Luke took the opportunity to grab his head and yank it down. Arlo jerked around but couldn't manage to wiggle free.

"Let go!" he cried, his voice cracking.

"What's wrong?" Luke said. "We're friends, right? A noogie now and then isn't a bad thing, right?"

Arlo blinked, not understanding, and he felt a ball-shaped object get pressed against his head. Before he could say anything, Luke pushed his hand down and twisted violently. Arlo cried out as his spines bent the wrong way and he felt a cold liquid dribble down the back of his neck.

Am I bleeding?

Some dripped off of his forehead and landed on the floor. It wasn't red, though. Some got in Arlo's mouth and his eyes widened in horror.

Oranges!

Luke was effectively juicing an orange on Arlo's spiky head, creating a mess that ran down his entire head and got all over his shirt. A circle of people formed around the two and Arlo closed his eyes, small tears of humiliation forming.

We moved! Why did this have to happen? Why!?

Luke stopped for a moment and Arlo opened his eyes but the bully was just reaching into his bag again. This time when he started juicing, there was a blinding pain that raced across his entire head, and Arlo roared. Luke had decided to use a lemon, and the juice was getting in his wounds from the day before!

"Stop it! Stop it, please!" he cried, thrashing around, tears now fully in his eyes.

"What, you don't want to help me out a bit?" Luke said mockingly. "I'm just trying to get a drink."

"Stop it!"

"What's all this about?" a voice called from down the hall. The students scattered, revealing a livid Mr. Neilson coming towards them at full throttle. "Luke Smith, stop this instant!"

Startled the bully let go of Arlo and he bolted, ignoring everything around him as he ran. In a flash, Arlo was out the door, heading in the rough direction of his father's office but not really caring where he went so long as it was away from the school.

After several minutes, he finally stopped and dropped to the ground, the tears falling down his face.

"Why? Why!?" he cried. "We move and not even a year goes by!? Come on, give me a break!"

Arlo sat on the sidewalk for a moment before reaching around to his backpack and pulling out his water bottle. Opening he cap, he emptied it on his head, trying his best to wash the juice off his scales, especially the lemon. The sweatshirt wasn't so lucky; he'd have to wash it when he got home.

As he stood up to continue on his way, Arlo stopped suddenly, turning his head to the left and then the right.

Something's off...

It was the normal route and he had walked it many times before. Arlo spun in a circle, taking in his surroundings, before his eyes widened. He was sitting in front of a lot on a corner that he recognized. It was the same one that his dad had been talking about the previous evening, but now it was occupied.

Dad must have sold it, but how the heck did this get built so fast?

He gazed up at the large brick building before walking a bit closer.

What is this place? It looks quite old too.

There was a sign on the front, The Museum of Draconian History. Arlo raised an eyebrow, moderately intrigued.

I still do have that presentation to finish and I don't have that information I needed. Maybe this place might have something?_He sighed. _At the very least, it'll help me take my mind off things.

The door opened with a small chime and Arlo stepped into a dusty space, ducking to avoid catching his spines. The inside was dimly lit and contained a multitude of shelves, each filled with a variety of artifacts and crusty books.

"Uh, hello?" Arlo said timidly. "Anyone here?" His voice echoed slightly but only silence answered.

Arlo frowned. Maybe there's someone in the back? A curator possibly? The door wouldn't just be unlocked, right?

The boy started to make his way through the museum, although large collection might have been a better word. Arlo's gaze stopped briefly on a scepter handing on a wall.

Lezerrand's Regalia. Looks like a pretty good replica too.

He turned and continued carefully maneuvering through the close quarters. There were several books that also looked interesting but he didn't want to touch anything without finding the owner first.

Where is he? This is getting a bit creepy... hold on. What?

A specific label popped out at him, causing his brain to lock up for a moment and forget all about looking for the curator.

Rollinon, the Enduring? But... that's impossible.

In front of Arlo, sitting on a small pedestal, was a large skull, shaped like a dragon's head. The only problem was...

Rollinon's tomb hasn't been discovered yet. This isn't just a replica, it's a complete fake. What a stupid place.

Arlo spun around, dropping all thoughts of getting valid information and deciding to just leave. As he did so, his tail smacked into the pedestal. The skull wobbled and then fell, heading for the floor.

Arlo's eyes shot open. Not good!

He dove for the skull, trying to avoid the other artifacts as he extended his arms. Fake as it may be, he didn't want to get in trouble for wrecking another person's stuff.

Arlo watched the skull fall in slow motion before it landed into his hands. He breathed a sigh of relief and braced for the impact of the ground.

It never came.

An overwhelming terror filled his entire form. There was no museum anymore, no more skull. Instead, he was falling through dark clouds, the wind blasting against his scales but doing nothing to slow him down.

I've got to stop! I've got to stop!

He broke through the cloud cover and far, far down below a sprawling mountain range appeared, speckled with snowy peaks and craggy valleys. Flailing around in midair, the dragon tried to stop his momentum, grab onto something, anything!

Help! Someone help me! I can't fly!

He tried to yell but the sound was torn out of his mouth before it could even completely form. The ground got closer and closer, seeming to reach out with the desire to smash him to pieces.

Rollinon screamed in terror, this time producing a sound that was a cross between a screech and a manic roar. An instinct suddenly echoed through his mind, telling him to do what he was supposed to and spread his wings before he never had the chance to again.

Before he could try anything more, a huge shape materialized above him, diving downward. Massive claws extended and snatched the boy up like he was a small twig, which he might have well been compared to the being above him.

Astron! Dad!

The pair descended down towards the mountain range in much more controlled fashion. The dragon landed first, shattering the ground, and then ruthlessly threw Rollinon to the ground. He bounced twice and tumbled to a halt several feet away, groaning in pain.

"You are a disgrace, do you understand that?" the dragon roared angrily, his eyes flaring red. "In order to live you must be strong, and you are pathetic and weak instead. Allowing your Flight to overpower you and drop you from that height? And still not having the decency to fly like a proper dragon!?"

Arlo struggled to answer, to make sense of what was happening, but he didn't get a chance. The dragon snarled and then roared, the force knocking Arlo even further back.

"That was your last chance Rollinon, and you failed," he said coldly. "You're not worthy of being a dragon. I'd kill you myself, if not for the fact that it's against Draconic Law. However, the Exiled Realms should suffice just fine."

The dragon spread his wings and took off, the air kicking up rock and dust.

"Enjoy your last few days of existence. Maybe, in that time, you'll be able to understand just how much of a disgrace you are."

The dragon vanished back into the clouds and Rollinon was left alone in the mountains to die.

After was seemed like hours, the boy finally mustered the strength to get to his feet.

Slowly, Rollinon dragged himself over to the edge of the plateau he was on.

How could he do that to me? he thought, panting from exhaustion, tears beginning to form. No! No crying! I'm a dragon for heaven's sake!

He inched closer to the cliff. His right foot knocked several pebbles loose and his gaze followed them down the sheer drop until they disappeared from view entirely. He gulped and hesitated.

Come on you damn things. Work for once in my life!

Rollinon flexed his back muscles until he felt the sensation of his wings opening. Slowly, a weight appeared on his left side and out of the corner of his eye he could see a shape hesitantly extending out.

Still only one. There's no way I can fly.

Rollinon gave up and limped away from the edge, trying and failing to ignore the pain that was now much more insistent.

I can't last much longer. I need to find a place to sleep for the night, somewhere out of the wind and cold.

He spotted a small outcropping on the opposite side of the plateau and slid under it, tucking his tail and wings in close.

The morning came with a blinding intensity and Rollinon awoke, blinking his eyes to get his bearings.

Right, I've been abandoned.

His stomach abruptly rumbled and he felt the pangs of hunger begin to appear.

I've got to find a way down this mountain, or at least find some food. Otherwise, I'll starve!

There was a path down, as it turns out. Behind the outcropping was a mess of rocks that Rollinon carefully traversed, going slowly to avoid injuring himself further. He made his way through the mountain for most of the day, finding little alive besides himself. Everything was just endless gray stone and black dirt. Once again, he was forced to curl into a ball and fall asleep without food or comfort.

The next days continued in a similar manner. Rollinon woke up and left, trying to find anything to eat so that he could stay alive. On the third day, he found a small tree and after hesitation was overridden by hunger he gobbled up the leaves and bark like they were candy. It tasted terrible, but at least it filled the hold in his stomach for the time being.

On the fifth day, Rollinon was walking along a narrow ridge, trying to balance on a set of rocks. Although he didn't fully understand his dragon anatomy, his nose had caught wind of something and he had felt an instant urge to run to see what it was.

Rollinon lifted up one foot at a time, carefully placing each one, but his luck ran out when a rock shifted. Several more followed, breaking off completely, and the dragon flung a hand out in desperation. His claws caught painfully on the remaining holds, barely managing to halt his fall.

Rollinon hung there for a short second wild eyes before straining his muscles. However, he hadn't eaten and had no strength. After struggle futilely, he stopped, panting heavily.

"Help!" he roared. "Someone, anyone!"

The sound echoed, bouncing off of the peaks. After waiting for a moment, Rollinon closed his eyes.

Forget it, there's no one in these mountains besides me. It's hopeless.

"Hello? Hello?!"

Rollinon's head shot up and he strained his ears. The voice came again.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"Yes!" Rollinon roared. "Yes, please help!"

A head popped out up above and and its owner, a young dragon with grey scales, stared down with confused eyes.

"Wait a minute, you're new. But why are you yelling like that?"

Rollinon gritted his teeth. "If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of about to_fall_ here!"

The dragon cocked his head. "Uh, you do you realize you have wings, right?"

"I know that; I can't fly! Could you please pull me back up?"

The dragon held up a claw. "Hang on for a few minutes longer. I'm going to get someone else."

Rollinon opened his mouth to protest but the dragon had already vanished. His claws suddenly slipped and he grunted, tensing his muscles to stop from falling any further.

The dragon's head reappeared shortly and Rollinon sighed in relief.

"Pull me up, please! I can't hold on for much longer!"

The dragon grinned "I'm not strong enough but I brought a friend. Here we go!"

A huge hand reached over the side of the cliff and grabbed Rollinon's forearm. With a single yank, he shot upwards and tumbled back onto solid ground.

"Thank you...!" His voice trailed off as he saw the dragon that had pulled him up. The guy was absolutely massive, complete with spikes adorning much of his body and a tail that was as thick as an oil drum.

"So, Thallinus told me that you're a newcomer," the dragon rumbled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Altrion and I believe you met my friend already. What's your name?"

"I'm Rollinon."

"Hm, interesting name, but not a bad one," Altrion rumbled. He narrowed his eyes. "You look like you haven't had a good meal in a very long time."

"That's because there's nothing here to eat," Rollinon protested.

"You just don't know where to look," Thallinus said cheerfully. He turned to Altrion. "Can we take him back with us? Pretty please?"

The massive dragon gave a slight nod. "There's not much else we can do. Come on, follow us."

Thallinus leaped into the air, spreading his wings to circle overhead. Rollinon hesitated.

"I... I can't actually fly. My wings don't work right. Sorry."

Altrion raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering why you looked fine and yet were still sent to the Exiled Realms. Not to worry, I can't fly either. Can you at least walk?"

"I think so?"

"Good. This way then."

As they traveled across the barren mountains, Rollinon talked with his new companions, or would a different word be better?

Friend. It echoed around in his head like it didn't really know where to go. The most his other friends had even done was drop him many miles off the ground, eventually to his banishment. But because these two had saved him, maybe they were different.

The group eventually arrived at the entrance to a much larger cave. Thallinus landed and walked inside.

"After you," Altrion said.

The interior was dimly lit by a small fire and the back was completely shrouded in darkness, giving the impression that it went deep into the mountain range. A shadowed form off to the right moved a tiny bit and Thallinus perked up before pouncing.

"Augh! Get off me, you galoot! I was sleeping!"

The form rose up and the fire illuminated a dragon with odd rainbow scales. He was young but still managed to radiate a noble bearing.

"All you do is sleep!" Thallinus whined and the purple dragon huffed.

"I was out collecting food for most of yesterday, you know," he replied. "I think I deserve a little rest."

"Yeah, but not right now. We've got a new Flight member!"

The dragon raised an eyebrow and looked over, finally noticing that there was an additional person in the room.

"Well, how interesting. How did you get mixed up with these idiots?"

Rollinon sat down, coiling his tail around himself. "They saved me from falling and then Thallinus wanted me to come back with them."

The dragon chuckled. "This is the first time I've heard of a dragon in danger from falling."

Rollinon shrunk back. "I... I can't fly. So I really didn't have any other options."

"No wonder you were sent here," the dragon said with mild amusement. "How about you stick with us then? We're pretty consistent at finding food and, as you can see, have a pretty nice cave."

Rollinon bit his lip. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't know if I'd be that helpful..."

The dragon laughed. "I'm always sure, don't worry about that. What's your name?"

"I'm Rollinon. Rollinon... well, I don't think I really feel like using my family name anymore."

"I'd completely agree." The rainbow dragon flashed his eyes. "Nice to meet you. My name's Lezerrand."

When the name entered Rollinon's ear, he froze in shock.

Why... why does that name feel familiar? Wait, what's going on!?

The world around him, the cave, the dragons, everything, dissolved into specks of light and vanished. With a sudden thud, Arlo the desert lizard found himself lying on the floor of the dusty museum, holding the skull in his hands.

What was that? he thought, panting with wide eyes.It was so real! Like some sort of dream!

Not sure what to do next, he got off the ground and shoved the skull onto its pedestal before backing away with shaky steps. Then, abruptly losing his wits, Arlo turned and ran out of the building.

Footsteps sounded out from behind a nearby shelf and an aged lizard poked his head around, frizzy white hair bobbing slightly.

"Did I hear something?" he asked, scrunching up his face. Silence fell for a moment before he violently shook his head. "Must've just been my imagination."

He turned to get back to his work but stopped when something caught his eye.

"What the...? Don't you be getting up to your tricks again!"

He reached over and righted Rollinon's skull, putting it back into the proper orientation. Then, cracking his neck, he shuffled back into the depths of the museum.

Arlo ran the rest of the way to his father's office. He arrived out of breath, mind still in confusion from what he had experienced.

Let's think. There was a skull. I knocked it over and when I went to go pick it up, I had a weird dream. Maybe I hit my head?

That night, under his desk light, Arlo pulled out every book he had on the Warriors of Lezerrand.

Thallinus, Altrion, Rollinon, Lezerrand. The names match up, but what story was that? And come to think of it, what was with the weird label on the skull?

He fell asleep still pondering and woke up the next morning with a desire to visit school, even with the events of the previous day fresh in his mind. Leaving at his normal time, Arlo arrived before everyone else. However, as he followed his normal morning routine and stopped in front of his locker, he found himself hesitating.

_Do I really need this?_he asked himself, holding his padded hat. In the end, he chose to put it on, although this time still conflicted.

Brushing his feelings aside for the time being, he headed for Mr. Neilson's room. After all, he had much more important things to think about.

"Hello, Arlo!" the teacher said as he walked in. "Fine morning, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Hey, I've got a couple extra questions about the Warriors."

Mr. Neilson laughed. "More? I'm not sure if I can answer them but I'll give it my best shot. Fire away."

"Are there any stories from their childhoods? Like, before they became the Warriors of Lezerrand?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "That's something thought provoking. I don't believe so; the earliest story that I can remember is the one where they battle the hydra." He rubbed his chin, coming to a sudden realization. "Actually, that's a very interesting point. There's no story that I know of that explains how the Warriors actually met. How odd."

Arlo nodded, his mind wandering back to the dream and the museum. "The other question might be a bit easier. Have you ever heard of the title_The Enduring_ used for Rollinon?"

"The Enduring?" Mr. Neilson frowned. "From what I know, that seems like something that should be associated with Altrion or Lezerrand himself, not Rollinon. Where did you hear it?"

"Just in a story somewhere."

"Well, I'll make sure to pass on your questions to my friends, as per usual," Mr. Neilson said. "Hopefully I'll get a response before the project's due."

"If you don't, don't worry about it," Arlo said. "I think I have enough to finish now."

"Good to hear! Oh, and Arlo," Mr. Neilson called out as his student headed for the door. "Try not to take what happened yesterday too hard. Luke got detention, so he shouldn't be bothering you for a while."

Arlo nodded slightly and slipped out the door while the teacher sighed.

The day went by, as Mr. Neilson had said, uneventfully. Luke's detention didn't stop the various stares, though, and each one felt like a thrown brick. Arlo tucked his head into his sweatshirt hood and remained silent for all of school. Finally, when everyone was gone, he headed out to his locker to put away his stuff, as well as his hat. And then he stopped.

Chris was standing out in the middle of the hallway, his crutches dinged up and bent in places. He wore a slight grin on his face that faded as soon as he spotted Arlo coming down the hall.

"Hey, um, hi."

"Hi?" Arlo said, brushing by the smaller boy to put away his things.

Chris hesitated before sighing. "I'm sorry about the whole thing with Luke. I never meant to drag you into it."

Arlo didn't say anything, only pulled off his hood and hat, allowing his spines to pop back into their normal positions.

"Look, I really didn't mean it, I promise. I was just trying to collect donations for the program and then he appeared. And then what happened yesterday... I tried to look for you, but you were already gone."

Arlo stopped wrapping up his hat and turned around, his mind a bit of a mess. "Why were you collecting money anyway? I never got that."

Chris' scales turned red and he sheepishly looked at the floor. "The school's made a fund for impoverished students and I was hoping that I could possibly get prosthetic for my leg."

Arlo was confused. "Why? Don't the crutches work?"

"They do... but not really for what I need."

The desert lizard remembered back to what had been said two days ago. "Right, you wanted to join the track and field team?"

Chris brightened up. "Yeah, I want to become a runner!"

"Why?"

"Why?" Chris frowned. "It's something I've never done before and I really want to give it a shot. Prove that I'm not as useless as I look. Isn't that enough?"

"I was just asking," Arlo said with sigh. "About the Luke thing, by the way, it's fine. He would have found out sooner or later."

"That still doesn't make it ok," Chris pointed out. "Maybe I can make it up to you somehow?" He gazed up hopefully.

Arlo was about to refuse, but then the dream from the previous day flashed through his mind, along with the words that Chris had uttered right before Luke arrived.

"Well... do you have anything planned right now? I kind of need help with my project."

Chris' face lit up. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I need to practice presenting and some audience feedback might help."

"Of course!" If he didn't need crutches, Arlo got the impression that Chris would be jumping up and down from excitement right at that moment. For some reason, he also felt a bit different.

"Let's go! Oh hold on, you still need to finish putting your stuff away. Right, kind of forgot."

Arlo looked down. He was still holding his padded cap. After a second of thinking, he casually balled it up and tossed it into the locker, shutting the door afterwords.

"K, all set. My house alright?"

"Sure! I'll give my mom a call on the way over to let her know but she won't mind."

"Sounds good to me."

Dinner that night was a delicious lasagna and when they were finished the boys went back upstairs to talk before Chris' mother arrived to pick him up.

"Wow, how long did it take you to make these folders?" Chris asked, gazing at the countless files neatly organized and labeled on Arlo's computer.

"Way too long," Arlo admitted. "Although, I got access to the university's resources thanks to Mr. Neilson. See, I've got access to a lot of information."

He pulled up the website and logged in with his student credentials. The page opened to a series of news articles, studies, and papers about everything from science to history.

"Hey, what's that?" Chris pointed to an article near the top. "Looks like we need to alter your presentation a bit."

"What?" Arlo squinted at the screen before jumping back in shock. "Rollinon's tomb believed to have been found! What?!"

"Remember the part where you said that Rollinon might have just been a made-up character? That's what I was talking about."

"Yeah, but..."

Chris reached over and clicked on the article after Arlo didn't move for a few seconds. It opened with a picture of the entrance to the tomb front and center.

"Hm, that's something else you can add," Chris said, pulling the computer in his direction. "Looks like you forgot a title when you were listing them off."

"Huh?" Arlo partially managed to snap out of his thoughts.

"Right here," Chris said, pointing to the picture. "On the tomb entrance, it says_Rollinon, the Enduring._ Wonder why he was called that? It's kind of a cool title, too."

Arlo glanced over at the boy sitting next to him, the desperation he had felt in the dream returning full force, as well as the relief when he was saved by the other dragons.

"I think I might know."