Daughter of the Dragon

Daughter of the Dragon part 2

A.N: there will be more, this is just a preview :)

Chapter four: rebirth

Palmela was dead. It took Jake's distressed mind a solid ten minutes to comprehend this simple fact. Palmela was dead. His first friend, first person he'd ever even known, was dead. Jake held his friend's lifeless body as he cried, sobs of helplessness and anguish ripping themself from his throat. He cried out to the canopy above in desperation, sobbing and screaming until his voice was hoarse. Even when his chest could no longer continue its intense crying, his eye refused to stop the tears. He had no idea how long he'd been there when he heard people approaching. After a few more minutes, Chō and Haruka emerged from the underbrush to find him. He had healed them hurriedly before running off to find Palmela, doing his best to patch their wounds with his flowers despite his rush. He could tell by the sound of Chō's footsteps that she was limping horribly, and knew they'd have to have her actually treated for her wounds. They both gasped upon seeing the small boy, sitting in a cold creek, cradling the body of someone who had once loved him. And he couldn't stop crying. Even when Chō and Haruka helped him up, even when they helped him carry the body, even when they sat with him in his bedroom, holding him for hours. The tears refused to stop. Palmela was dead, and his heart hurt. Haruka had apologized a few minutes prior, leaving with Chō to get her medical attention. So he was alone in his bedroom, sitting on the floor, and feeling like an idiot. He knew the second that people started going missing that it was Palmela, but he hadn't gone to find him. In that moment, he desperately wished he had. He may have been able to prevent his friend from dying, and that's what hurt him the most. Palmela was dead-so many people were dead-and it could have been prevented had he just made a move. So many people could have been saved if he'd actually done something. That thought is what had him curled up on his bed, wrapped in his thick furry comforter, crying until his eye had run dry.

Even then, his chest refused to stop the now painful sobbing that wracked his entire small form. Small, that's what Jake was. Weak. He was weak also. Small and weak, an awful combination for someone who wanted to be strong. For someone who was terrified of being a burden. That's what he had been: a burden. He wanted so badly to reverse time, to go back, to save Palmela, to have his friend back-wait. His eye widened in realization. He could get Palmela back. He sprung up from his bed, hastily wiping his eye on his hand and grabbing a skirt to put on (it was late, and he usually slept in his underwear) before sprinting down the stairs and into the library below. The library was closed, but he and Levi were still allowed to read during this time. He knew of a way to get Palmela back. It wouldn't be easy, but with a lot of research and dedication (Jake was, if anything a dedicated person) he could do it. He quickly ran to the one section he knew all to well. The section he had seen Chō's dad using for research, the section containing the books he read for fun.

The section that not many libraries had. The section in the back that not many were allowed to check out books from: the section of scientific research. Jake knew of this section purely because he liked reading about scientific research from other times, and even very recent things. There was one subject in particular he was looking for: Cloning. He knew it had been done, many years in the past actually. He remembered hearing about it about three years prior, whilst he'd been wandering the city. Somebody had successfully cloned their daughter after she'd been killed. Jake knew he could use that. Once he located the book, he took the book-which was extremely heavy-and a nearby flower pot. He placed the flower pot in the place the book had been to remind himself where it had been. He then scampered quietly back up to his room, massive book tucked under his arm. He had the research he needed, and knew of a place that he could use as a lab. Even purchasing the equipment wouldn't be that difficult. The only hard part was the task itself: clone Palmela. But Jake knew that he could do it. And so he sat down on his floor, opening the book to the first page with confidence, and prepared himself for the long journey ahead.