Mad World

Mad World: The American Dragon

A lone Chinese dragon flew up the red streaked sky as it watched the sun rise over the shattered corpse of what once was New York City. His home. His territory. His responsibility.

Once upon a time, he would've rampaged. Tear apart its armies and make them pay for destroying his den but all his efforts were wasted as these creatures, these demons kept appearing like an endless horde and every time he ended one, twice as many will show up to replace the fallen.

Now the dragon was just doing what he can to keep his people alive from these abominations and barely succeeding. It grated on his nerves the way all his efforts always fall short. He was the first American Dragon! It was his responsibility to protect the people of this country and he failed miserably. He failed to save the country. He failed to stop the horde. He failed to save his family. He failed to save Gramps. His teacher, his guide, his idol.

The once proud American Dragon, protector of America, Jake Long was now revealed in his truest state; a weak, selfish coward. An inexperienced brat that was so far out of his league it wasn't even funny. A monumental failure to everyone he was responsible for.

Like the shattered city below him, what once was proud has fallen. What once was beautiful was scarred.

In the midst of his self-loathing the battered red scaled dragon with a yellow underbelly and black green-tipped hair landed on a skyscraper and shifted into an eighteen year old Chinese American man. He had the compact build of a fighter with various scars littering his body both old and new.

Jake sat on the very edge, the wind gently brushing his semi-long black spiky green-tipped hair as his sorrowful black eyes looked on the brightening dawn. Bathing the broken city with bright colors that bring the illusion of life and peace.

His haunted black eyes looked on the horizon. Glazed and empty, not seeing the view but remembering a time when the city was covered in snow in the height of summer and a boy appeared like cold death, recklessly killing everything in sight. Demon, magical creature or human the boy didn't discriminate. He ended them all equally either by blade or by ice.

As his responsibility to protect the humans and magical creatures of America, Jake can honestly say he has never met a creature quite like that boy. He looked human, a fourteen year old kid actually, but he was as pale as the ice he wields, wearing a crown of gold with three blood red rubies that stood out starkly on his silky, light blonde hair and odd white hat.

The boy's blue eyes glowed unnaturally. He wore a blue sweater with a brown sash, denim shorts and black winter boots. On his back was an odd round, dual layered green bag and on his hands was a white sword without a cross-guard but instead had a round blue crystal.

Then the kid smiled, showing off his teeth or whats left of it and laughing like a maniac. It wasn't until Jake landed a few feet in front of him did he hear the words the maniac has been muttering.

"The age of ice and whispering snow..." His voice was deeper than you'd expect and his gaze was clouded but then focused on Jake, suddenly he looked young and scared.

"The voices... they tell me to freeze the world." He mourned softly.

"Look kid, you don't have to do that." Jake reassured but readying to transform incase the weirdo tried to attack. "You don't have to follow what the voices say. Just stay calm and stop throwing ice everywhere, how 'bout doing that huh?"

The kid wasn't listening, he continued on his monologue. "I am the end and the beginning. I am the hand of madness." Then he cackled which evolved into maniacal laughter.

"DUDE STOP!" Jake yelled, the longer ice-kid laughed the harder the snow fell. The ice-kid stopped but now the crazy blue eyes of his was focused on him. Jake tried to smile reassuringly. "Look, how about we try this again? My name is Jake Long, what's yours?"