All Jackie Chan Adventures characters are © Jackie Chan & Kids WB.
Slight crossover w/ the game DOOM 3 (NOT the movie!). All things DOOM
are © ID Software.
Cast of demon brethren and human warriors: See Chapter 1 for complete info!
Author Note: This story's timeline will be based off the episode J2
from season 4 of JCA & this is how Jade met Drago. Story has a torn romance
relationship going on between Drago and Jade. (See Ch.1 for the complete summary.)
Note: there are fairly violent bloody scenes & possible
lemons, so you know- not for the kiddies!
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J2: The Deception
Buckled in the back of Captain Black's van, the bald man let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't believe he was actually taking Drago to trial, finally.
"I'm surprised we got you in here in one piece, no thanks to your mouth." he said, shaking his head. Drago scoffed. They had put handcuffs on him, but he could easily snap them in two if he wanted to. Instead of doing that, he complained back to Black.
"Hey! It's not my fault that idiot Jim can't control himself." Drago said. Jade elbowed him then as she sat next to him. She gave him a look of disapproval.
"It wasn't just Jim who couldn't control himself. You didn't have to say those insulting things to him like that. Do you want him to kill you?" Jade told him. He glared at her, disgusted that Jade was remotely sticking up for Jim there.
"Ha. Like anyone can kill me..." he grumbled testily. Jade rolled her eyes. Why did he have to think he was so invincible all the time? Clearly he wasn't with those electric ice guns around. Why wouldn't he just behave for once?!
"From the way my agents were using their weapons on you, they could have. So watch your mouth from here on, Drago. Got it?" Black said, not playing games here.
"Rrrggh..." he growled, annoyed. He decided against saying anything more. He just wanted to get this trial crap over with as soon as possible. 'Go ahead, enter me in the system. See if I care...' he thought disgustedly.
In the courthouse, the judge wanted Drago to be more restrained. So, he was forced to wear another one of those blasted fireproof muzzles and was shackled to a stand-up cart in a straight-jacket. He knew he could easily break free from these irritating constraints, but he didn't think he'd get very far.
He had seen Captain Black pick up that gun Jim had dropped and he could use it against him if he tried to run. Plus, he had to behave if he wanted to keep his freedom and stay with Jade.
For what seemed like years, the judge gave his ruling and they could leave at last. Black was glad to get Drago out of that place finally. His constant low growling was nerve-wrecking and embarrassing.
As they wheeled him out of there and back to the van, Black reluctantly freed Drago from all those irritating restraints. The teen stretched hard for awhile since he wasn't allowed to move much all tied up like that for hours.
Jade hugged him, happy that he actually went through all that without going ballistic or killing anyone. She was amazed actually. She never thought Captain Black would succeed in getting Drago to do all this, but he did.
She believed it was because Drago desired to be with her more than just keeping his freedom. Though those things kinda went hand in hand.
It would be difficult for him to stay with her if he didn't have his freedom. But still, she wanted to think he was behaving just for her more so.
Black took them back to Section 13 and by that time, Drago was disguised as Drake once more. Although Captain Black made a deal with Drago to go capture Marlone, he didn't trust the teen to really do it.
He feared he would try to escape and hide instead since Black now knew he was also Drake. But still, he doubted Drago would run off without Jade. It was hard to know whether or not the fiery teen would take off or stay put.
Black decided to wait on letting Drago handle that mission of nabbing Marlone for now. Instead he advised him to stay in sick bay for at least a week to avoid any suspicion. No ordinary person could be up and about in one day after losing that much blood.
Drago agreed, even though he rather not be laying around in bed for that long. Especially at Section 13. That idiotic head nurse Missy would have to care for him and he didn't want that. She was unbelievably annoying and nosy, not to mention she disliked him in the first place.
He knew Missy didn't trust him, even as Drake, and he didn't trust her. This was going to be one long disgusting week, that was for sure.
Disguised as Drake, Drago quickly went into the sick bay room after making sure no one saw him go in. He didn't feel like answering millions of questions as to why he was up and about when he was in 'critical' condition earlier.
In the room, there were two beds with a curtain attached to the ceiling on rollers, for separating and privacy reasons. Drago chose the bed closest to the window and climbed into it.
Jade promised to check in on him whenever she could and then left him alone. With nothing left to do, but lay around and wait, he decided to sleep.
Even though he could go on without any extra healing, he figured why not. Sleeping was the best medicine in most cases, so he calmed his stressed mind and let himself drift off.
Due to Jim's fractured wrist, Missy urged him to rest in the infirmaries for at least a few days. Jim was about to refuse her suggestion when he noticed Drake in one of the sick bay rooms sleeping.
Jim was beyond convinced that Drake was indeed Drago, although he never really saw Drake turn into Drago or vise-versa. Still, this was a perfect opportunity to kill off that green beast once and for all.
"Uh, Missy, can you go get me an extra blanket? I think I will rest after all." Jim said, looking back into the room through the window. Missy was ecstatic that he was going to hang around the infirmaries.
She had developed a crush on Jim over the past months and though she knew he liked Jade, she hoped to win him over. Seeing how Jade liked Drake more so, she was fairly sure she could bag Jim eventually for herself someday soon.
As Missy rushed off to get him another blanket, Jim entered the sick bay room and pulled the curtains over the window to prevent anyone from the hallway to look in.
Jim planned on summoning several of his Iso's to hold down the monster while he killed him off. Grinning evilly, he took a deep breath to start his chant for the Iso's beasts when Drake aka Drago sat up from his bed.
Waking up due to the stench of his enemy, Drago glared viciously at Jim. The brown haired man glared back with similar animosity. At first, neither of them said a word. Then Drago scoffed out a scornful laugh with a haughty grin.
"What do you think you were going to do? Take me out while I was taking a nap? What a pathetic fantasy." he said, shaking his head. Jim grit his teeth, but held back his rage the best he could.
Seeing his nemesis hidden in human skins disgusted him. To think this beast roamed free in Section 13 and Jade allowed it, made Jim nearly vomit. WHY did she care for this horrid monster?!
"I wasn't thinking of doing it, I WAS going to do it. You evil despicable monster!" Jim spat, trembling due to his bridled ire. It took all his strength to hold himself back.
"Oh, come on!" Drago scoffed, then laughed. "You? Kill me?" Drago smirked slyly. "Keep dreaming, human." Jim was about to retort when Missy came in, looking for him.
"Jim? Jim? There you are!" she said, happily. She went over to him and handed him the blanket. Then she led him over to the empty bed next to Drago's bed.
"Sorry if he woke you, Mr. Raze." she said to Drago, not knowing he was the green beast of San Fran that she was so fearful of. Jim was very irritated to hear Missy speak so respectfully to the evil beast, but she didn't know the truth like he did.
"I'll get your wrist all fixed up, Jim. Did you get hurt on a mission?" she asked. She wasn't around when Jade had kicked him in the wrist earlier.
"You could say that..." Jim said, not wanting to say bad things about Jade to others. He still loved her even though she didn't seem to love him back. It was all Drago's fault really since Jim believed he had her under a spell to favor him.
"That's just awful!" she cried, then was paged to be elsewhere then. She looked disappointed, but hid it with a smile. She pulled the curtain attached to the ceiling on rollers forward so the two males would have some privacy from each other.
"Well, I have to go now, but I'll be back whenever I can. If you need anything, just page me. Ok?" Missy said, pointing to a yellow button near the bed that Jim should push if he needed her. He nodded and then she left reluctantly.
Drago had to comment. "D-mn, I can't believe it. She actually likes you..." he said, trying not to laugh. How could anyone like that idiot Jim anyway?
But still, the airhead Missy did and if she hooked up with stupid Jim, that ape of a man would finally leave him and Jade alone. At least, Drago hoped so, otherwise Jim would have to die for sure.
"Shut up, monster. I have nothing to say to you, except I will end your life slowly and painfully." Jim said hatefully, then fought hard to think up with a good way to kill the beast. Only the most agonizing of ways would do.
On the other side of the room, Drago was fighting to hold back his claws from digging into Jim's throat. If he even harmed Jim a little bit, Jade would nag him to death and Captain Black would yank his freedom right out from under him. He didn't enjoy being on the run, so he forced himself to behave. For now.
He decided to see if Jade was still in her office. No way was he going to hang around in the same room smelling Jim's stink all day long.
If anyone questioned how he got well so fast, he could easily say the Horse Talisman was used on him. Black authorized use of Shendu's Talismen if necessary.
Drago got up and began to leave the room. Jim jumped from his sitting position on his bed and acted as if Drago committed a crime.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, in a stiff angry voice. Drago glared disgustedly. "Wherever I want to." he replied simply and left quickly.
He cast a fast spell on the door so Jim couldn't follow him. Hearing the man yell and curse about the door being stuck made the fiery teen grin evilly.
Going to Jade's office, he bypassed her careless secretary with ease and snuck inside. He found her working on some paperwork and typing on the computer.
"Hey." he said, going behind her and leaning over to see what she was doing in detail. She glanced up at him. What was he doing out of bed? She should have known he wouldn't have stayed at the infirmaries for long.
"Why aren't you in sick bay?" she asked, concentrating on her work. She had to get this stuff done, it was way overdue. Captain Black already reprimanded her earlier for not getting this work finished.
"I was getting pretty sick and tired of waiting around, plus that scatterbrained Missy left idiotic Jim in the same room with me." he said, growling in detestation. Jade nodded, vaguely paying attention. Missy didn't know not to put Jim with Drago, er Drake, so she couldn't be blamed for that.
"That moron wouldn't stop bugging me." He paused and made a cutesy sad face. "And he threatened to kill me again. Wah." he added in playful baby-ish tone with a grin. Jade rolled her eyes, but couldn't hold back her laugh.
"Drake, stop it." she said pushing him away. She made sure to call him 'Drake' while he was in human form, just in case anyone was spying on them. Jade went back to typing.
"You know, Missy actually likes Jim." Drago said then, kinda out of the blue. Jade stopped typing and looked at him, surprised.
"Really? Huh. I would have never guessed. I thought she might have liked Mark." she said, then opened a drawer looking for a certain pack of papers.
"Someone should get them hooked up or something, so Jim will leave us alone. You know, anonymously help Missy get closer to that moron so hopefully he'll like her back..." Drago said, already getting ideas on how to do that.
Jade gave him a look. "Drago, just let it happen naturally. No tricks, no schemes." she warned him, dropping her pen to the floor accidentally and bent down to pick it up.
"That'll be the day." she mumbled to herself. "What?" Drago asked. "You wanting to play matchmaker. That's just weird." she replied, shaking her head.
Drago crossed his arms. "Hey, I'm willing do anything to get that ape off our backs. Ok?" Jade sighed, waving a hand at him. "Ok, ok."
He wandered about her large office, reading posted reports on the bulletin board. Several minutes went by before Jade couldn't keep silent any longer about something she wanted to discuss with him.
"I know Captain Black said not to do that mission he showed us in the bank, but I've just got to do it. To bring down Marlone for good, that's a dream come true." she said, typing the last few paragraphs quickly.
"Well, you always know I'm your backup, right?" Drago purred, returning to his spot beside her chair. He snuggled up close behind her with his arms wrapped around her small frame. She snuggled him back lovingly.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." she said back softly. Suddenly, he straightened his posture and puffed out his chest, saluting playfully. "I'm ready, Chief."
Jade grinned. She knew he'd want a piece of the action as usual. She was glad too, since she didn't want to bring anyone else along.
They could get hurt, but she was confident that Drago wouldn't. As long as Marlone and his goons didn't have those electrical ice guns, her green gecko-butt would be as invincible as she knew he was.
"Cool. We'll do it completely undercover and on our vacations. Some of the guys listening to the Tom's calls were able to make some sense out of his code talking. He said something about Marlone hiding out somewhere in San Diego. Although he's probably cleared out of there, I bet there's a clue to where he might have gone to." she said, shutting down her computer then.
Drago liked the sound of this. San Diego was where one of the demon chi powers were found at. He wanted to get there as soon as possible and suggesting a survival trip in the woods there might keep Jade busy while he searched the city without her.
He had a feeling that she wouldn't let him absorb those demon chi powers for any reason, so he had to do that quest solo. Once he had all eight chi powers absorbed, nothing could remove them. And Jade wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him afterwards.
"I probably can pick up that idiot Marlone's scent for you." Drago offered, eager to get to San Diego more than ever. "We can camp out in the woods, a complete survival mission, whatever. I bet you'll like that, right?"
Jade immediately ate up that with joy. "Oh yeah! I'd love that! We'll only take a few essentials and live off the land. It'll be like work and play all rolled in one. Thanks, Drake. That's an awesome idea."
He grinned a proud wide smile which was quite evil looking actually. Jade didn't really notice since she was used to seeing him smiling evilly before. She didn't think anything of it, although she should have...
Jade took in a deep breath of fresh air. It was about two days since she and Drago first came up with the idea to search around the last place Marlone had possibly been.
They were in a forest close to the city of San Diego. She was so glad that Drago suggested that they take this 'survival camping' trip during their short vacation from work.
She could have some fun while she was on this mission to take down Marlone for good. She loved intense survival programs. She lived for crazy unwavering action and ongoing adventures.
She only took an empty coffee can and a large sleeping bag (which Drago forced her to take along) with her on the trip. She purposely didn't bring any food or water with her, so she could live off the land.
Drago said he had to survive in the wild when he was a child when Shendu was training him to be disciplined and not a wimp. He knew what was safe to eat and wasn't out in the woods. He brought only a plastic one gallon water bottle and that was it.
He made her bring the sleeping bag since he didn't feel like sleeping out in the cold every freaking night they were going to be out there. Plus, making love on the dirty ground were animals defecated wasn't his idea of fun.
He left Jade to build a shelter at their camp site while he went out to get water and food. She happily went to work striking a long flat rock into a blade and hacked some small trees down. She dragged them to the camp site and began to tie them together with strands of roots rolled together.
She made sure it had three sides and covered it with fir tree branches. It was getting dark by then and Jade started a fire by rubbing sticks together, which was hard work.
It nearly took her half an hour doing that alone. Her hands were red and blistered from rubbing those stupid sticks so much. But she wanted to prove that she could make fire without Drago's help whatsoever.
She saw him moments later carrying a large animal over his shoulder. He threw it down near the fire Jade had made.
"We're having deer tonight." he said with a proud smile. Jade smiled back, but noted the blood splattered on him. She didn't like seeing blood on him like that.
It reminded her like how he looked back when they first met. Locked in a vicious hate-filled battle for life and death, it was her blood on him at that time.
She never wanted to remember those bad times long before. They gave her nightmares and reminders that maybe there was nothing she could do to change his wild evil nature.
She looked away, feeling a bit sick. Drago sat next to her, sensing something was wrong with her. He gave her a concerned look and put his arm around her shoulders.
"What? Don't you like deer? It's not that bad." he said, wondering what was bothering her. She let out a shaky sigh and shook her head.
"No, that's not it... It's...it's nothing. Don't worry about me." she said, looking at her feet. Drago shrugged and went to work skinning and gutting the animal.
"You did great with the fire, Jade." he said, trying to spark some kind of conversation out of her. "Thanks." was her unenthusiastic reply.
Drago instantly knew something was wrong with her, but she didn't want to tell him. He decided not to pry. It could lead to an argument of some kind.
Maybe...maybe she was still sad about losing that idiot Jim as a friend?? Ugh! He really didn't feel like hearing her tell him that was why she was suddenly depressed. Sometimes silence was golden.
Pretending the deer was Jim instead helped Drago clean the beast quickly. He cooked a piece of meat with the fire in his claw and handed the steaming meat chunk to Jade.
"Try it. I bet you'll like it." he said and watched her take the food strangely. Still she looked upset about something, but what?
Was she really that sad about losing Jim? Grrr... Growing a bit annoyed, he began to ignore her then as he ate his share of the deer. The silence was so thick between them that it bothersome.
Later, they snuggled down in a large sleeping and looked at the stars. Drago was fairly sure Jade was acting weird moments before due to her still caring for Jim despite what he had done to them, while Jade was doubting her abilities to change Drago and if she was really safe with him at all.
She didn't know why she was thinking this way about him. She did trust him, didn't she? Seeing so much blood on him again shook her up and a flood of 'what-if's' and doubts kept on ramming her mind.
She hated this new distant feeling she felt for him now...
Trying to enjoy the beautiful night sky with him and not to worry him, she pointed out the famous star constellations. He murmured responses and nodded every so often.
He was trying to keep his anger at bay, believing now that Jade was despondent due to her loss of Jim as a...'friend'.
'Part-time lover is more like it...' he thought bitterly to himself. Then he felt bad for thinking that, then indignantly justified it. 'It's not like she has been completely loyal to me...'
Remembering back to when he heard Jade talk to Jim in the break room at work, he couldn't really forgive those careless words she spoke about him to that idiot.
How dare she run her mouth off about him like that?! How could he trust anything she said anyway? He had seen Jim kiss Jade passionately...
And she didn't make any moves to push him away... Just thinking about that boiled his blood all over again.
His human side pleaded with him to still have mercy and to not be angry with her. But his demon side shrieked at him to tear her to shreds or at least torment her as punishment- something! Don't let her get away with being so disloyal!
Shoving both opinions away, he numbly tried to go to sleep. Jade was already sleeping beside him and he held her closer to himself. Disloyal or not, he wanted to keep her just the same. She was his...now and forever.
Moments passed and soon, the young fiery dragon teen was asleep. He had a strange dream where he was on a floating rock in a wasteland of stones and debris.
A vicious animalistic roar exploded from behind him and so he turned to see what it was. He backed away a few steps at the sight of the creature before him.
Two huge black horns protruded from the beast's head as his eyes burned a crimson red. Sharp fangs dripping with blood and saliva while several tentacles moved about from his chin. Heavy thick claws hung from his green scaly hands as he flexed his bulging powerful muscles.
He had huge wings and puffy strange neck muscles, like they could expand and hold wind. Drago knew who this monster was immediately just by seeing and being near him. He knew this familiar aura.
He was him!
"You know who I am..." said the horrific demon hybrid. Drago nodded.
"Yeah... You're me." He looked at his adult self up and down. "So, this is what I'll look like when I get all the demon chi powers?"
"IF..." the older Drago said sharply. "If you get them. Now, listen. This isn't a dream. I'm mentally communicating to you from the past with a special spell. I've been trying to do this for a long time and I've finally got your attention."
Adult Drago held a huge claw to his face in disgust. "I can't believe how mindless I was as a child." he said more to himself. Younger Drago growled indignantly.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he yelled back, waving his fist about. Adult Drago hissed back, silencing his younger self.
"SHUT UP! I don't have much time to tell you what you need to know. I'm stuck in Hell because I- you were so foolish! Whatever you do, DON'T let Jade go into the past to destroy the Dragon's Teeth! Kill her first, whatever, just don't let her go into the past!"
"What the h-ll are you talking about? Why would Jade go into the past to bust up some f-ing teeth?" Younger Drago asked, making a face. Adult Drago snarled at him.
"What an idiotic youth I was! D-mn it, just do as I say! I'm you, fool! Do you want to end up in Hell trapped forever? No? Then listen to me!" Adult Drago growled like a rabid dog as he waited for his younger self to show he was ready to pay attention and absorb information.
"She will destroy the Dragon's Teeth to ruin your Dragon Teeth spell you'll cast in about a year or two when you take over the world. Then dear old Dad can walk the Earth again and help devour our foes, blah blah." Adult Drago waved his claw about, showing that part about Shendu wasn't really all that important.
Freeing his father was a burden, an annoyance actually. But Drago didn't feel like stomaching all those humans poisoned with drugs and alcohol, not to mention those who were diseased.
"Anyway, Jade will try to stop you!" he said, his tone dead serious and filled with hatred. "You have to stop her first! She's the enemy!"
Younger Drago blinked a couple of times and then narrowed his eyes. Jade...his enemy...again? No! That couldn't be! He wouldn't allow her to betray him, he couldn't!
He was sure he had a good enough hold on her already, besides they were in love. He wanted to believe that love was as powerful as it is rumored to be. It was one of the few things that pleased his dying human side...
"No she isn't! I've got her under my claw, she's mine to control! Besides, she and I are lovers..." he said, feeling doubtful then. If love lead him to his doom, was it really worth it to keep on believing in it?
The older Drago scoffed at him, thoroughly disgusted. Still his younger self believed in the lie known love, he would be doomed for sure if he couldn't get him out of this fairy tale crappy mind set.
"Bullsh-t! She betrayed me, that's not real love...! She's nothing, but a LYING d-mn human that wants to put you in Hell! D-mn it, you stupid naive youth! She never loved us! She only pretended to so she could get close to me so she could stab me in the back! Do you think she'll let you get those demon chi powers? NO! She didn't let me and so I-..."
He paused and shook his head. He was releasing too much unnecessary info. His younger self would learn the truth eventually and it will mean more to him when Jade breaks his heart...
"Enough of that. Just remember, Jade is your enemy! She always has and always will be. I've tried that so-called love garbage and it just didn't work out..."
Adult Drago paused as he closed his eyes tightly, fighting back the burning tears welling up in them. No way was he going to show any human-like emotions now! Especially not now!
Love was nothing but a human lie, a dirty trick to confuse his demon side. He shouldn't feel sorrow over it. Hate was all he lived for now and revenge!
No matter how much his dying heart ached for Jade, he had to forget her. She had betrayed him way too many times, she couldn't be trusted.
Her love...was nothing, but a lying fantasy that he must avoid at all costs. Never again would he be tricked into being such a fool. He opened his eyes and looked down at his double.
"Just save yourself a lot of pain and suffering and just kill Jade as soon as you wake up. Understand?!"
Younger Drago bared his teeth at his adult self and hissed. "Like h-ll I will! I won't repeat the mistakes Dad made...nor the ones you made! I KNOW Jade loves me...and I love her!"
"Then you will suffer worse than I already have. Don't say I didn't warn you! Just remember, DON'T let Jade go into the past and especially DON'T go into the past with her if you screw up again!" the older Drago replied, then flew away in an angry huff.
He had a new plan. Instead of wasting time talking to his younger self, he should be talking to Jade... Meanwhile, Drago watched his older self leave, glaring angrily. How dare he, himself, insult the love he felt for Jade like that?
"Why am I so stupid!? I-..I love Jade! I do! She's mine!" Drago yelled at himself, feeling a bit insane. Was this a dream or not? Was he experiencing his first trance? What was going on here?? Was any of that for real?
Suddenly, Drago awoke after sensing others were close by. He sat up a bit to check. He saw dark figures surrounding him and Jade then. They all were waving strange unlit lanterns on strings.
Wisps of smoke came from the lanterns and the smell of the smoke made Drago feel extremely fatigued. Before he could really react or attack these intruders, he sank back down into the sleeping bag and he blacked-out.
When Drago opened his eyes, he knew he was not in the woods nor the sleeping bag anymore. Many odd-looking humans were around him, dressed in fashions that his father, Shendu, would have had them in. Their plain same colored uniforms depicted their lower ranks as humans.
The women were dressed almost naked, like how Shendu preferred them to be. Drago found himself sitting in a chair, no a throne of some sort. His original clothes were gone and replaced with a sorcerer's gown like his father would wear while in human disguise.
One of the chief elders came forward, bowing respectively. Drago glared while narrowing his eyes slowly. What was going on here!?
"Forgive us, O' Great Messiah, for taking you in the middle of the night. We had to bring you here as stated in the prophecy spoken by oldest members of the council." said a man named Yole.
"Messiah?" Drago said in a hushed tone, confused and getting angry. He stood up and spoke in a louder voice, pointing a claw at them.
"What are you talking about? Who are you people? What have you done with the woman next to me when you humans kidnapped us? Tell me!"
"Oh forgive us, Lord Drago! We are the Serpentans. We worship your father, Master Shendu. When we learned you were still alive and close to our home, we had to bring you here so you could bless our people and save us from extinction." Yole said in a rush, bowing with his hands held up in a begging manner.
Drago rolled his eyes in disgust. Another stupid cult brainwashed by his father. 'Thanks a lot, Dad.' Drago thought to himself. 'Now I have to baby-sit your mindless sheep for you. D-mn it!'
"And we prepared for the day you would be brought back to us." Yole turned to a guard. "Bring her in." The guard left and returned moments later with a young lady Drago never saw before.
She had whitish-yellow hair and it was partially pulled back up into a ponytail with a bone band. She was dressed in practically nothing.
Her medium-sized breasts were barely covered with a strange bra that seemed to be made of metal and only a loincloth hung from a thick golden string around her hips. She bowed immediately before Drago and even went as far to kiss his clawed toes.
"My Lord and Master, you've finally come!" she cried, being completely subordinate. Drago backed away from her and gave a disgusted look at Yole.
"Mind explaining this?" he asked, pointing to the groveling young girl. Yole pulled the girl up to her feet as she wiped her happy tears away.
"This young lady is your new bride, Lord Drago. She is my daughter, Delilah." Yole said proudly. Delilah smiled gently. "You may call me by my nickname, Lily...my Lord." she said, giving the dragon teen shy loving looks.
Drago shook his head in more disgust as Yole continued on. "Delilah has passed all the tests to be a most worthy bride for your greatness, Lord Drago. She has been tested and can give birth to many offspring at one given time. We have sacrificed those children to your father as thanks for her well-equipped organs. All I ask is that you accept your destiny as your father sees it fit and marry my daughter and repopulate the Serpentans."
Immediately, Drago's anger grew ten-fold. Did these people really think he was just going to do what his father wanted? NO! Never!
"You expect me to just follow along with what my father says? H-ll, no! I am my own dragon! I shall do what I and ONLY I, want to do!" Drago yelled, slamming his tail down on the floor.
"But my Lord! It is your father's will..! To carry on his greatness during his absence! To do as he would..!" Yole said in distress. Drago growled viciously, scaring all the people in the small throne room.
"NEVER! I'm NOT going to repeat myself..." Drago snarled in a low threatening tone and grabbed Yole by the front of his vest.
"Where is the woman you idiots kidnapped me with? WHERE?!" His eyes flashed a bright red, his demon essence flaring.
Yole squirmed, struggling. "She's not far! Hurry, Mashal! Show our Lord where!"
A guard named Mashal went out the door and Drago followed him. Lily watched with sad upset eyes. She rushed off after them undetected, although against her father's wishes. Who was this other woman??
Jealousy ran through Lily like wild fire. Surely this other woman did not pass all the grueling tests she had to. This other woman could not be up to par with her, absolutely not!
There was no way another could be a better bride for the son of Shendu! Lily had to see this other woman for herself.
Mashal took Drago to a small holding hut and dismissed two guards waiting outside the door. They went away, but not before opening the door for Drago. Mashal bowed respectively as he left in a hurry.
Drago entered the hut, calling out her name. Jade. So that was the other woman's name! Curse her! Lily pressed herself against the hut and eavesdropped outside.
Drago found Jade still sleeping on a grass mat on the ground. He shook her awake and eventually, Jade came to. Lily peeked around the still open door and watched.
"Jade? Come on, wake up already! We've got to get out of this idiotic place! Wake up, d-mn it!" he said, hoping Jade was alright. There would be a lot of trouble for these fools if they did any harm to Jade.
"H-huh...? W-what's going on?" Jade slowly sat up then looked around. She gave him a quizzical look. "Uhh, weren't we in the woods before? What happened?"
"I don't know. These nutcases kidnapped us and took us to their village. Dad's oh-so-stupid worshippers, the Serpentans. I thought they all died out, but they didn't... Yet... Ugh! I don't want to have to deal with this now..." Drago growled irritably.
This was yet another delay for him to find those demon chi powers. These stupid Serpentans were going to pay dearly!
"Whoa, whoa, wait. Are you saying there are people who actually want to worship Shendu? Are they crazy?" Jade asked, unable to phantom that there could be such foolish people left.
"Believe it. They are complete fruitcakes. Let's go." Drago stood up, helping Jade to her feet. Seeing how the Chinese woman clung to Drago made Lily vicious with jealousy. But she had to play this smart if she wanted to raise her rank to 'goddess'.
Being the mate of Shendu's son would mark a place for her in the heavens. This was what the Serpentans believed to be true. Any young woman in her tribe would kill to be worthy enough to be considered Drago's bride. Then she could become an Immortal!
But this Jade woman was trying to steal her rightful rank right from under her! Lily had to do something to make sure that Drago would never leave the village and get rid of Jade right away. For good!
Lily rushed in and pretended to be instant friends with Jade, just because they were females. Like it was girl thing to be friendly to other girls out of the blue.
"Lord Drago! Forgive my intrusion. I heard you want to leave, but please, give our village a chance. You have not seen it or anything. I'm sure your beautiful lady friend here enjoys fire dances and great feasts. You both must not miss out on our culture. Your father would approve of how we do things here." Lily said, smiling and gushing.
"If Shendu approves, I'm out." Jade said, trying to walk away, but collapsed. The gas must have really weakened her a lot. Great. Just great!
"Oh dear! Are you alright, Miss -um?" Lily pretended to not know her name. She couldn't let them know she was eavesdropping the entire time. She only wanted to think she accidentally walked in on them while Drago talked about leaving the village.
"Jade Chan. And you are?" Jade asked, appalled by what this lady had to wear. She blamed Shendu for her awful outfit, if you called that an outfit...
"Delilah, but please, call me Lily. Come, I will help you get well soon so you both can be on your way." Lily said, already planning on how to weaken Jade more to the point of no return and Drago would have to stay whether he liked it or not...
"No, I'll heal her myself." Drago said, then placed his clawed hands over Jade's head. Nothing happened and Jade waited more.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked, still feeling weak and dizzy. Drago scowled. "I guess that gas screwed up my magic. Forget it. We're leaving just the same."
He scooped up Jade into his arms, angering the jealous Lily more so, but she hid her emotions well with false hospitality. She just had to get Drago to stay here...forever!
"Surely, you can not leave without eating first. Please just stay a few days- at least one day! I'm sure you both will love it here. Let us make it up to you by offering you a wonderful time here in the village." Lily said, pleading somewhat.
Jade smiled. She kinda liked this Delilah person and she also wanted to help her get better clothes. She was always up to making new friends, even ones that worshipped evil Shendu.
She made Drago let her stand on her own, but she had to lean on him for support. "Ok, Lily. We'll stay a little. My uncles say I should try out different cultures, so I will." she said, then turned to Drago.
"One day won't hurt us. And I can help get these women here in some better clothes." Jade said to him in a low voice as they followed Lily out into the village.
"Nothing's wrong with their clothes. Dad often made Mom walk around in less than what the females here are wearing." Drago said, not bothered by the sight of practically naked women everywhere.
Thankfully, most of them were close to his age or older. Not too many of them were extremely old, then that would bother him. Wrinkles reminded him of his aunt Bai Tsa's monstrous scowling face and her bossy demanding attitude, which drove him crazy.
She was almost worse than his father. Luckily, he only saw his aunts and uncles a few times briefly. They never had anything good to say about him and they always called him 'human-halfling garbage'. He despised them well.
"Drago, your dad's mind is in the gutter. He's a horrid male chauvinist pig, he's freaking sick!" Jade complained, annoyed that Drago liked how the women here were dressed. YUCK!
"Don't insult my father, Jade. The locals might jump you." Drago teased with a grin. "I might jump you..." Jade felt a warm close feeling develop inside her for him as she looked up into his smiling face.
"Jump me then, gecko-butt..." she purred, closing her eyes as he kissed her lovingly. He was glad she was acting more normal now and he wanted to keep it that way. The less she was sad, the less she thought of that moron Jim.
They stopped following Lily to kiss and she found out in moments due to others in the street commenting in surprise. She stomped back and cleared her throat at them.
"We mustn't be late for your crowning ceremony, Lord Drago." she said the best she could without hinting her annoyance. Drago rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Let's go and get this over with then."
Lily took them to a special building, the main throne room and showed Drago to his seat of power. There was another smaller royal seat next to it, but just as grand. Lily was about to sit in it, but Drago offered it to Jade before Lily could do anything about it.
She let Jade sit in it, since Drago was the lord here, but she was NOT happy with it. All the chief elders already present noticed this and spoke.
"Lord Drago, Delilah is the chosen one to sit beside you..." Yole said, looking upset as well. Drago narrowed his eyes and growled deep in his throat, baring his teeth.
"Jade is the one to sit next to me, nobody else! Understand?" he snapped, raking his claws over the armrests. Seeing how well the polished oak wood peeled from under his claws, Yole simply nodded.
"Yes, my Lord." he replied, then clapped his hands. "Let the crowning ceremony begin!" Two men rushed in, each carrying a solid gold crown with jewels. One was larger and the other was smaller.
They placed the crowns upon their heads and Jade felt a strange feeling of happiness. She liked the idea of being Drago's queen and him her king.
A gaggle of young women followed the two men and some of them served food while the other danced for their new king's pleasure.
It was known that Shendu enjoyed watching lowly humans make fools out of themselves by dancing like jesters. He especially enjoyed viewing young ladies jiggle their breasts and rumps for him even more so.
Drago did find some amusement from the ladies shaking their booties about, but Jade was really offended and disturbed by how these people behaved and lived. How could they worship Shendu?? This was Shendu we are talking about here!!
As Lily helped the other girls serve food and drink, they teased her how even though she passed the tests, she was still not worthy.
And after all her boasting, there was nothing special about her anyway. After being insulted by her peers, she grew increasingly hateful of Jade more. This was all her fault!
Lily dared not attack Jade openly for this outrage. She had to do away with Jade, but make it appear as if it was an accident...
Surely, Jade must have bewitched their Lord Drago into favoring her without passing any tests first. How despicable! She was nothing, but a cheater and a stealer! Lily hated her so...
But still, she acted as friendly as she could to Jade just the same to gain her trust and to deflect any suspicion from Drago whenever she was near his prized female.
If she appeared to be any threat to Jade, she was sure Drago would try to stop her and leave even sooner.
No, she would get them both to trust her as nothing more than a friendly native slave person, eager to please and comfort them.
Seeing Jade wearing her crown, Lily bit her lip hard. How dare she steal everything from her that she worked so hard for?
Jade didn't deserve to be an immortal goddess, Lily did! Again, Lily's peers teased her and no longer honored her special privileges such as that she didn't have to be part of the clean up crew after the crowning ceremony.
Drago and Jade left quickly after the ceremony was over and Lily hatefully watched Jade receive a loving embrace from her Lord Drago. The way he held her made Lily sick with rage. She should be in his arms, not Jade!
Later, she observed them throughout the day, hating Jade more and more each time she saw Drago and Jade locked in a passionate kiss and embrace.
She definitely would drug them both with more of that sleeping gas so they would be too weak to leave any time soon.
When Lily took Jade away to get washed up for the nightly ceremony, Yole approached Drago in private to talk man to, er human-dragon hybrid.
"Lord Drago, may I have a word with you?" Yole asked, still annoyed that the only son of Shendu rejected his worthy daughter as a life mate.
If Delilah was Lord Drago's wife, then she would become an Immortal like Shendu and so would Yole. He had worked all his life to become an Immortal and he expected to be one now that Drago had come to their village.
(These were the types of lies Shendu fed to these people and they believed him; hook, line and suckers!)
But Drago did not accept his daughter like he was supposed to, like how the prophesy had said predicted by their oldest elders.
"What is it?" Drago was watching Lily closely to see if she was really truly that friendly or if she was just pretending. He was fairly sure that she was acting and she was plenty mad at Jade.
He didn't trust her to be around Jade at all, but he figured Jade could take care of herself if any problems came up. Afterall, Jade took Drago on without any protective gear and she was still alive, so she should be ok with that Lily woman.
"My daughter, Delilah, has passed many tests to be worthy enough to be your wed-locked mate. I ask, why have you rejected her and taken this other woman to be your queen? Surely, she has not passed the strenuous tests my daughter has..." Yole said, hinting his irked feelings.
Drago took a deep breath and exhaled smoke tiredly, irritated. He was really getting annoyed by this crap. How many times did he have to repeat himself about this nonsense??
"I don't give a d-mn about how many tests your daughter passed. I just don't care. I care only about Jade and I picked her myself. I don't need you or my father telling me which mates I should or shouldn't have! Butt the h-ll out!" he said in a ticked off tone and walked away.
Yole watched him go and began to form plans on how to kill Jade so Delilah could take her place...
Continued in Chapter 23!
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