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II ix. dragon gone wrong... II









ALABASTER DIDN'T have much time to figure out his predicament when he woke to his friends' screams. Wind howled in his ears, and hair whipped his face. Brushing the hair aside, attached to it was his sister-who was somehow sleeping through the chaos.

"Not again!" Leo yelled from the front of the dragon. "You can't fall again!"

Alabaster, Piper, and Jason were all screaming helpfully behind Leo (or that's what Alabaster seemed to think).

"We're gonna fucking die!" He screamed. "We're gonna-"

"I can't go out like this!" Piper screeched. "Leo, you need to-"

"Falling!" Jason yelled. "We're falling!"

Very helpful. As the group continued to descend (not so gracefully) towards the ground, real panic seemed to settle in. Alabaster knew Leo was trying to save them...but couldn't he at least try to save them a little faster?

"Jason!" Leo finally screamed. "Take Piper, Andie, Al and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"We need to lighten the load!" He said.

Alabaster gaped. "What are you trying to say, machine boy?!"

"No! I-" He groaned. "I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him-"

"I'll be fine!" The elfish boy yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

Jason grabbed Piper and a sleeping Andromeda, reaching out towards Alabaster. The brunette looked towards Leo's panicked face, and made a decision. "Sorry about this, man."

"Sorry about what-"

Alabaster shoved Jason off the dragon. He peered down, watching as Jason cursed at him through the sky. Scooching up in his seat, he leaned over Leo's shoulder, "So, how much damage?"

Leo screamed. "Jeez, Al, what the hell are you still doing here?!"

"Yeah, uh, Jason-sorta-left-without-me."

Leo frowned. "What-?"

"But that's not the point. The point is, you're gonna need me here if you wanna survive."

Leo bit his lip, debating whether he should fight him, but decided he had bigger issues to attend to. Getting back to work with the dragon, Alabaster watched from the back as Leo's hands flew around it's head. He pulled a wire. Festus groaned-metal creaking inside his neck. His wings opened again, and their fall turned into a steep glide.

"Woo-hoo!" Alabaster cheered.

"Good!" Leo said. "Come on, come on!"

They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. Alabaster's eyes scanned the land below, until something caught his eye. "Leo!" He shouted. "Over there!"

The curly-haired boy turned towards the direction. A white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence-like some rich person's private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field. He steered the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life.

"Alright, hold on!" Leo shouted.

Alabaster grabbed Leo, ignoring the way the boy tensed, and braced for impact. That's when everything went to hell. As they approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding Leo. The boy yanked on Festus's neck.

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