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Return of the Heroes

It had been a year since their first time as friends, yet Jaradas had been close to Asola. As he now accepted his fate as a whole and began anew, the king made a pardon on him and released him, in term on being guarded by Asola. This, in turn, made them even closer than ever, as each of them held a feeling to each other.

Asola could express her feelings in a time when Jaradas tried to tell her how much he liked her, yet the dragoness was on it first and kissed Jaradas' snout. This act made the former human had an emotional rift, a sudden feeling that came out deep inside him like when he was having a girlfriend.

Yet...being close was also with responsibilities.

Jaradas now did errands with Asola in many ways, like hunting and trying to help some dragons. Some of the errands involved combat, and Jaradas had no prior knowledge to draconic combat and always get help from Asola. In this side, though, he wanted to try to fight, but his clawed hands weren't able to.

"You're once a human, yes? Of course you're not able to fight with claws, teeth, and fire," said Asola.

"Sorry, I can't help you."

"Don't make me like a damsel in distress! Look, there's no shame if a male dragon got beaten by a female. It's only natural. You're smaller than me, and you still can't breathe flame. Don't get too stressed to the fact. There are others hatched within the confines of the kingdom and unable to fight properly. It's instinct, Jaradas."

"I...hope so."

"Asola!"

A male dragon flew to her and said, "The king needs you to come to him."

"What is it now?"

"It's urgent."

"Oh, Jaradas, maybe you should go back..."

"No, I'm coming with you. I can't leave you in an urgent matter. Trust me. I can be as reliable like when I was a human."

They both flew to the castle (Jaradas still had a trouble flying since the muscles to his wings weren't there when he was human) and landed on the pad with Jaradas having the worst land a dragon could had. Flicrist just slapped his head.

"What do you need, my king?" said Asola.

"Our magicians said that there's a weird aura near the forest to the west of us," said king Hansel. "They wanted to see for themselves but I am worried for their safety. Can you see if it's safe for them to study it?"

"I'll try."

Before Asola and Jaradas left, though, Flicrist held Jaradas with serious eyes. Flicrist said, "Hey...you take care on her if you still value your life, weakling."

"Uh...w...why..."

"Flicrist..."

Flicrist slowly returned his stern expression to a relaxed one while making a grin. He just laughed a little and said, "Just kidding, my friend. You lost your human courage or something?"

"I...uh...had a trouble making friends..."

"Oh, for all dragons' sake, we need to move, Flicrist. Also, he needed to study his flying."

After Flicrist let them go, he made a smile to himself, yet deep in his heart, he was worried. The rift the magicians mentioned seemed not normal, yet it was like a dormant volcano, so he thought it would be no harm in sending both of them there, considering Asola's skill in combat was considerable enough.

It didn't take a while for Asola and Jaradas to reach the forest. The place was calm, and the height of both of the dragons was enough to be able to see the other end of the forest. There was no anomaly, but then, Jaradas felt uneasy. In his own experience, silence was deadly.

"Don't get too close to the forest, Asola," said Jaradas while baring his teeth. "The place...I don't like it. It's too quiet."

"How quiet?"

"It's like, there are humans in there. I can smell some traces. Could be hunters...but..."

Suddenly an arrow was shot directly to Asola. Somehow it was traced with strong head to pierce her scales. She roared in sudden pain and tried to find the assailant, but then she realized her body started to be getting limp, and she got a very painful headache, and she fell to the side.

Jaradas found the small arrow and tried to pull it off, but Asola somehow got a pain that she roared in excruciating pain that Jaradas didn't want to do it. Yet, he knew the arrow was once his arsenal, a slayer's favorite poison.

"Get out from the forest, people. I know you're in there."

Some people got out from the forest, each carrying the remnants of the dragon slaying weapons. The forest got into them, where they started to become tribal. Jaradas knew they were once the proud soldiers of Korth kingdom, the same kingdom Jaradas once tried to guard before becoming a dragon.

"Commander, what foul thing have they done to you?" said one of the soldiers. "Why...why are you the beast?"

"It's not your concern, soldier. I'm trying to adapt."

"Adapt? Are you okay, commander? What have they done to your head? Is it this dragon?"

"No! Don't you dare make her suffer!"

"Why are you trying to save her?"

"Because I have to, as a male dragon."

"You...commander, why are you discarding humanity? You know very well on what they do to your family..."

"And I know very well that the dragons I killed are nothing if compared to my family. My father is an alcoholic jerk, my mother is a whore, and my brothers are nothing more than shitheads taking away family's fortune."

"But..."

"I don't want to return to be a human. The dragons have taught me how to care for living things like they do..."

"But they are just beasts! A cunning one, that is!"

"If you still want to defy the way of the dragon, I will try to end your misery, old friend."

"I thought you're wiser than this, Jaradas. We could need your help."

"I don't want to betray a love I have got. Go to hell with your soldiers!"

The sudden emotion change of protecting his loved one made a heat building up inside his lungs. He had a certain emotion that with the breath, the soldiers would burn to ashes like their cursed life. He almost succeeded when he was being shot by some arrows, while succeeding in burning some of them. He still could move, but the poison from the arrow had paralyzed him to the point he was defenseless against their weapons. He knew he was done for, and he closed his eyes.

Only when he heard a scream of death did he opened his eyes again.

"You...you defiler!"

"Go fuck with your mothers, punks!"

He saw a flash of light, and at the same time some of the humans were burned to crisps. There were another horde of humans, and the mysterious figure jumped and made a yellow spark...resembling thunder. He thought he was dreaming when he saw the figure made a circle of dead bodies. Only when he was near Jaradas' vision did the dragon knew he was seeing a myth.

"A draconian?" he thought. "But...they're folklores. They can't exist!"

"Hey, Richard, grab hold to this!"

Another green draconian threw a weapon Jaradas didn't know to Richard and it made a loud noise, shooting everywhere like crazy. Jaradas could move much, but he was fascinated by the vision.

When he saw that the draconians were overwhelmed did he saw another figure came.

And that figure was the one that he feared most...

"A dragon! Kill it with your...oh no, run!"

"What is the meaning of this?! You're all dragon slayers!" said one commanding officer of the group. "Are you getting weaker?!"

"No! You must see the dragon!"

The officer turned his head and made a gasp before falling to his knees.

Before him, the legendary dragon stood proud, watching the humans. It stomped the ground and made the ground shook, making fissures that crushed many that fell in it. The officer couldn't breathe. He knew the antis would be lost when he returned.

"God saves us...it's the silver red!"

Richard turned his head to the voice and made a grin.

"Oh yeah, this party is getting wilder. Glad to have you back, Sera. I miss you!"

"Hey...uh, who are you?"

"I'm Richard, man! Richard! You forgot?"

"You look very draconic...wait, you're a draconian? I...I thought you're a human-dragon mutant or somethin'..."

"Scratch that! Behind you!"

Seraphor turned his body and made a slash that cut the human into two. He then saw the armies trying to run into the forest again.

"Oh shit, I hate forests...," said Richard. "Hey Jua, got anything for us to track them?"

"There's no point in chasing them, actually. They're shitting their pants off when they saw this fella," said Juagar while pointing to Seraphor. "Man, this world is one hell of a fairy tale!"

"You might want to know his reputation around here."

"Guys, maybe you want to...get behind me. There's a rain of arrows!"

Richard and Juagar saw the arrows and tried to run away, but Seraphor stopped them and readied himself to make another breath. He shot ice mist, which froze the arrows and turned them into mist. He then turned his vision to the forest.

"Guess without this forest I can find these bastards."

Seraphor then concentrated himself, making his power built up inside him, while he turned his eyes yellow. He then faced the sky, and a powerful sunlight hit him. He felt heat building up inside him and he released it, trying to hold the heat it produced to his maws. The burn was so intense that it burned almost half of the forest and the humans in it. Some of the survivors were unable to hold the heat and they burst in heat, like a boiled egg. Blood was everywhere for those that survived the burning, and many others perished in the intense fire.

The others couldn't believe what had just happened, and could only watch in both horror and awe as the forest burned to ashes. But snapped when Seraphor said, "Oh, I guess I need to burn the whole place..."

"You fucking idiot! Are you trying to destroy the ecosystem?!" exclaimed Richard while trying to stop the silver red from making the devastating attack again. "I'll make you unable to blow another fucking fire if you will stop burning forests like crazy!"

"Oh my god, Richard, what kind of world you are living before meeting us?!"

"Believe me, Juagar, this world is crazy, I said. Everything you know about dragons is fucking wrong!"

"O...oh...damn it...the forest..."

Seraphor heard the voice and came to Jaradas' aid. He saw the dragon was being poisoned by the dragon slaying weapons. While freezing the hurt part, Seraphor tried to pull the arrows off the ash green dragon. He moaned a little because he had no power to roar because of the paralyzing effect.

"Oh, shit...paralyzing weapons. They're getting better in making weapons to kill us. Shit, we need any dragons able to find any cure...goddamn it...my portal..."

"What?"

"My portal...it was there...it's gone. It is not stabile huh...well, I'll gonna miss you, Spyro."

"Who's that?"

"My friend, Richard. Hey, you guys...can you get into Korth..."

"The place is now called Xici kingdom, my old friends. Oh damn it, you guys are really in so much trouble here."

Seraphor turned his head to the source of the voice and saw his old friend and mentor, Yort, was standing behind him and made a grin. Seraphor saw as if the time here froze. Yort didn't look as much older, yet not younger. The silver red started to make a run to Yort and he really wanted to grab Yort's neck and made a friend's embrace, which he did and choked Yort.

"Oh ancestors, Yort! It's like forever I've ever seen you! I...I..."

"You're really still a kid, Sera. You never change," said the earth dragon with a grin. "Good to have you back with more friends."

"I'm Richard, Yort. You know, Ray's rider?"

"Oh...but, I thought you're a human?"

"I changed to a drake, just as simple as that. Let me introduce you to my friend. This is Juagar Hadfreid. Jua, this is Yort, an earth dragon and one of the longstanding Order of the Dragons' members."

"H...hiya." Juagar was dumbfounded by how magnificent a dark green dragon compared to him, having the same condition and...well, an almost same scale color.

"Greetings to you, draconian fellow. I presumed Richard troubles you with his...medieval kind of life?"

"Yort..."

"Sorry, just kidding, Andaluvia."

"Anyway, Yort," said Seraphor. "Can you help both of these dragons? They are attacked by slayers in the forest. I'll keep watch from here."

"We'll try to take them in," said Richard. "I don't want you to fucking burn this forest again. You hear me, you sick silver head?"

"Okay, okay! Damn, man, why are you so harsh?"

Seraphor waited for both draconians to return while he observed Yort's effort on healing, sometimes helping him growing a specific plant, which startled the earth dragon.

"Hey, uh, Seraphor?" said Yort while giving Asola a drink with his front legs. "Where do you learn to grow plants that good? Last I saw you did that is a disaster. This plant is herbal."

"I have a friend with the same ability," replied the silver red while trying freeze the injured parts. "He told me earth dragons had dominant element usability. He said that I had more control on the rock element of earth than the plant element my friend had. It was natural since earth dragons are born from different parents, either rock dragon, sand dragon, nature earth dragon, or crystal types."

"So, on your opinion, I'm a nature earth type?"

"Not really. Not like I care on other's heritage. Dragons are mythical and always mythical, so I don't want to talk too much about it."

Jaradas started to roar weakly when the dragons saw that he was panting hard. Not only that, Seraphor saw as if he was hallucinating as he started to roar with no apparent control, while the female crimson only could see him without even able to help.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is happening?"

"The poison starts to affect his nervous system."

"What kind of plant do you need?!" said Seraphor in a panic.

"Calm your nerves, Sera. He's fine. He won't die with mere shot to his body. Dragons are better than that, except, with foul aura like this, I doubt if he will be sane after we're done."

"Fuck..."

"Hey...what did you say?"

"Nevermind, Yort. Arkfast..."

"Oh my ancestors, what kind of world did you fall into?"

"A world where making strong language is common."

The painful hallucination-induced roar slowly receded into growls, before it became a slow constant heavy breathing. Seraphor made a sigh of relief when Yort said that he was okay, before tending to Asola that had started to get up because of being cured. She was still shivering on the paralysis, but overall, she was okay to at least stand.

"J...Jaradas...what is his condition, elder?"

"He's still breathing. I've given him a cure with usable plants, but we need to take him back to the Dragon district. I have necessary plants able to cure him. He'll be alright. I promise you."

"Oh, thank the ancestors..."

Asola turned to the silver red. "You have saved us with gratitude, noble dragon. The legend around you is true after all. I wanted to ask...where have you gone for the whole century?"

"Uh...what do you mean 'whole century'?"

"Since Raithorakh's death," said Yort. "The others said that you're gone and is declared dead among the casualties that day. Ramusk didn't believe that you're gone for good, only missing. He saw what happened to you, Avila, and some of our members. Your actions that day and Ray's death had now become a hope to the pro-dragons and struck fear to the antis, knowing that your return will turn the tide of the..."

"Whoa, wait...we are still having war with them? I thought it's over."

"No, it's not. Your disappearance made an impact to both sides, yet now you have come. Come on, then. Help me carry Jaradas."

While Seraphor helped to take the unconscious Jaradas to the kingdom, he kept thinking. Was living for 10 years in Dragon Realm had made him forget about his own world? Yes, he knew he had given up hope on getting back to earth, but his own love to Avila and all of his friends made him determined to get back. Yet, after that incident, he suddenly realized that he wasn't all that strong enough in fighting.

"Yet I'm back...but still, I feel empty," said Seraphor to himself.

Meanwhile Richard and Juagar had tracked the group on anti-dragons in the forest and gave an ambush to them. Their modern weaponries were too much for the more medieval humans, resulting in a one-sided battle. Richard killed the most, using his animalistic traits in butchering them, while Juagar only did what necessary to support his half-dragon friend.

Sitting at the side while cleaning the blood from Engrak's blade, Richard said, "Hey, Jua...what will you do after getting back?"

"Well...nothing really. I don't really want to stay in a medieval world. It's not my style, man. Maybe for tonight I catch a midnight movie while hanging out with my friends. How about you, man?"

"Me?" Richard made a deep growl followed by a chuckle. "I'd love to stay with my old friends, but, I'm a family drake with tons of responsibilities. Cernie's first egg just hatched."

"Oh? Congrats! What is the baby like?"

"He's green scaled, like his mother, but he has fierce golden eyes from me. I am planning to give him the name Edretus, meaning 'strong legs'."

"Why is that, then?"

"The little youngling is blessed with dragon legs and with that I hope he can be a runner like the rest of your family."

Juagar made a laugh. "Damn, man. I'm no athlete! But, yeah, guess Edretus is alright. His name is draconic, so I like that. So, when will you tell your silver dragon?"

"As soon as possible. Maybe he'll understand."

Juagar then rose up. "I'll go back to my home, now, Richard."

"I'll follow as soon as I'm ready."

"Don't worry. Those machine maniacs can hold this portal as long as you like. Soon, you can find many drakes coming here."

"I doubt they will."

Richard then walked to one of the bodies while trying to identify anything about the antis, hoping that he could help his friends better. Yet, he didn't find anything, so he gave up and went back with Juagar to Milsteir town, so he could meet with his dearest again.