"It is time, buddy. I am sorry but you would be glad and thank me later." Without warning, Xander began to transform. Soon, a very bright golden light shone on the mountain peak.
Instantly, the once uninterested dragon suddenly became interested, and the small Xander that once stood suddenly changed into a mighty big black and red dragon.
"ROAR!"
A mighty roar resounded in the heavens when his dragon pried open his mouth. Xander who was now locked on the inside laughed within.
He had finally let the beast out. All creatures beware.
"ROAR!!"
Far from where he stood on top of the mountain peak, two tiny beings stood at the foot of the mountain and gazed up in awe at the mighty dragon roaring to the skies and causing trembling to everyone who heard it.
"Hahhaha hhhaaa…" Jay's eyes shone with endless delight as did Sky with a bright wondrous smile on their faces as they stood below in their natural form.
They had felt it within them when Xander had changed into his natural form and decided on their own to check him out.
Following the trail of his scent both of them met at the foot of the mountain only to be shocked that they had similar thoughts.
They could tell what was going to happen when they saw him at the top of the mountain, still, it did not beat the feeling of actually seeing it do happen.
"He did it! He finally let him out," Sky yelled. "Whoo! Yay, go Xander!!"
"That's my Xyler!" Jay yelled in turn and they began to crack up again in laughter.
It was the first man in so many years since they last saw their friend let out his dragon. This was superbly nice.
They could feel it deep within them. Their own dragons snarled in their minds in anticipation of being free to play with their friend.
It was as though Xyler was a bird set free. A free dove out in the open sky, a locked eagle, finally set free to see the light of day.
No joy could be compared to this. He had only be given the privilege of watching from the inside, now he was right back out.
Sky and Jay who had been watching the beast roar and was now flapping his wings, preparing to dive into the sky suddenly turned to look at each other. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"
Jay was the first to speak. His own anticipation was already too shining than Sky's. His friend gave a single nod and they looked back up. It was time, time to join the dragon in the sky.
"One."
"Two."
"Ready!!" They called out in unison and the moment Xyler took off from the mountain peak, Sky and Jay did as well. "Go!"
And up into the sky, they went. As they drew closer to the mountain peak, a similar light begun to shine and within a minute both of them had completely transformed into their own dragons.
ROARR!!
A very deep roar echoed in the valley and outside it. They were very sure that people within range could hear them but they did not care. It was time for the three brothers to be joined together.
Roar!
Xyler roared when he noticed their presence and rather than stopping to wait for them to catch up, he smiled at them and dove higher into the sky, leaving the other two behind.
Sky and Jay wasted no time in following after him. Soon, all three dragons danced in the sky.
They played for hours, enjoying and basking in the sun. It was a freedom worth every bit of it.
"Xyler, how do you feel to be finally out after all these years?" Skyler asked.
"Great, Skyler, just great. Words cannot describe the joy I feel right now."
"Then let's enjoy it and give you something to remember for a very, very long time," Jeriah peached.
"Sounds to me like we've got ourselves a plan." Neither of the three dragons spoke after that. All they did know was to just flap their wings as they prepared their minds for one of the greatest flights they would ever take.
This was something they had looked forward to. It was like learning how to fly for the first time. The excitement knew no bounds.
"Ready?" Xyler asked.
"Ready."
All three of them moved at the same time, it was like their minds knew what to do the moment they answered ready, they flew high up into the sky and turned around.
Within a minute of turning, they turned so that their head faced down and their lower body up and started descending at an incredible speed with their wings tucked to their body.
If someone was watching the scene unfold, they would have thought that they were actually falling and had a fright.
However, that wasn't the plan at all. In their descent, all three of them laughed from their hearts. They could feel it all but they weren't scared.
Just when it felt like they were going to crash land anytime soon, they turned sideways and then…
WHOOSH!
They flew back up, soaring with all their strength and flying higher as far as their wings and strength could take them into the sky.
It was an experience worth remembering and one that they all would imbibe in their memories all the days of their lives.
"ROARRR!!!"
***
Meanwhile, Jade refused to sleep and went ahead to scout some more to get any news she could on Zale. After hours of tailing his men, she could not find anything suspicious going on.
That alone was already proved to her that something fishy really was happening but what could it be?
Why were they in search of Arctic? Have they seen him somewhere and now think they could catch him?
So many thoughts were running through her mind at that moment. She knew it was a matter of time and they would have already covered up all the other cities and they wouldn't be able to find her, leaving out only this city, and now, Xander has granted them entrance to trade freely.
'Sigh! Noting good comes out from doing business with the Anders. I hope Xander did not make a big mistake by allowing that to happen.' Jade thought to herself.
After some time, she had no hope with the whole thing and made her way back home.
To her, since it may be hard to get through and know exactly what was going on, she had only one choice, thwart his search for the unkillable killer and protect Arctic from afar.
With all these, Jade's plan was already set in motion and all she needed to do was wait and then attack.
She did not care where Zale was, it was time to actually end the idiot after making him pay and lose all that he owned.
Taking a deep breath, Jade made her way back home and went to sleep. She had a long day. One filled with fun, outing, pleasure, panic, and work.
She was exhausted and drained as it was. Right now all she could do was to leave everything in the hands of her maker and pray that her parents' spirit guides her.
"I miss you mum, I miss you, daddy. I would get my revenge one day and then perhaps I may still have a life to return to or I would focus my strength in rebuilding the gang and taking it to greater heights. Regardless, be rest assured, you can count on your daughter. Goodnight."
After altering those words to no one in particular, she smiled briefly before closing her eyes to sleep.
At the same time, a shadow passed by her window as a pair of wings flapped continuously right outside.
He stayed right outside her window in the dead of the night and watched her carefully as she slept.
Not too long after she slept, Jade had begun to turn in her sleep. Her brows furrowed and her eyes clenched tightly shut as she began to move her body, shaking from time to time.
He did not need someone to tell him, she was already having a bad dream or a nightmare just from a few minutes of falling asleep.
At that moment Xander was tempted to burst inside the house through the window and hold her close to his chest. He hated to see anything trouble her and he recalled that just sleeping close to her really did help then and she did not stir in herself.
It took a great deal of inner strength for him to hold himself back from going inside to comfort her. Resigning his fate to his helpless situation of holding her, he let out a breath and sighed.
"Schrele tah maoire…" The hushed sound of some unknown words resounded in the environment, carried by the wind into the room around her. As soon as the words left his mouth, a red light immediately surrounded her and the creased crows of Jade suddenly relaxed.