From: "Tim Brown" 
To: , 
Subject: Fic: Darkfire
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 10:09:59 -0700
Sender: owner-jqbackup@stargame.org


NOTE: This fic is supposed to take place after "Mystery of the Amazon" and
before "The Lost One" Most other fics will have references to this fic, so
if you don't read this one, not much of my other fics will make
sense.WARNING: this fic is slightly gory.

  DISCLAIMR: l do not own JQ characters, and am making no money off of
this. l am not worth suing for the five cents l own.

  ARCHIVRS: Go ahead.


 "The Real Adventures of Jessie Bannon"
                   'Darkfire'
              By Jade Falcon


  It all started with that stupid curse. The curse that changed my life.
The curse that supposedly couldn't be broken.....easily.
  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself......
  My name is Jessica Anne Bannon. Friends call me Jessie or Jess.
  It all started, and ended, about a week ago.
  I was sitting in algebra class, struggling to stay awake through the most
boring lesson I had had in my life. My head was on my desk, one arm hanging
over the edge, the other arm struggling to support an extremely tired hand
struggling to take notes.
  I glanced across the room at Jonny, who seemed to have long ago given up
the struggle. his head was down on his desk and he was fast asleep. He woke
up when the bell rang.
  Guess who's gonna have to borrow my notes tonight?
  We went to our lockers to get our books for next class, when I noticed
something unusual in my locker. A small black box no bigger than a match
box with a blue mark in the middle of the top. I reached in and took it
out. On the back was an inscription that said:

  'Bearers of this object, beware,
  This box is from The Dragon's Stair.
  If you should touch it, or place it in your purse,

  Beware, for you now bear
  The Dragon Curse'

  "What's *that* supposed to mean??"
  "What are you talking about, Jess?"
  I held the box up so Jonny could read the inscription on the bottom. He
read it out loud, and shrugged. He didn't know what it meant, either.
  After Jonny had read it, I felt a small shock go through me. I must have
reacted to it, becase Jonny asked me what was wrong.
  I said it was nothing, and shrugged it off, trying to ignore it.
  But, somehow, I couldn't ignore it, so I just stopped thinking about it.
  I really, really shouldn't have.

**********************************************************
  School went along normally that day. When I went home, everything was
still perfectly normal.
  When I went to bed that night, things got weird. Really weird.
  *He* appeared in my dreams that night. *He* was a wizard, or at least he
looked like one with his long black robe decorated with embroidered gold
and silver dragons, his metal staff with an ornately carved wooden dragon
perched on the top of it. He had long grey hair and a beard to match.
  "Who...who are you?"
  "I am Merloch of The Dragon's Stair," he said. "And I am here to complete
a work in you that you started."
  "Work?? What work?"
  "You touched a small black box, did you not?"
  "Yes."
  "That box carried a curse that would go to anyone who touched it. Now,
the curse is dormant. But I am here to make it active."
  I was starting to get a tad annoyed at this Merloch character. "You're
invading my dreams!" I practically screamed. "Get out of my head!"
  "I will. As soon as my work is complete."
  "No one's completing any 'work' in *me*." I turned and ran from him. He
uttered some Latin words I couldn't understand. I understood one: the word
"Draco," which I knew meant "Dragon."
  For some reason, I turned back to look at what Merloch was doing, and
immediately regretted it. The wooden dragon on his staff had come to life
and was chasing me, so I did the only thing I thought to be sensible at the
time.
  I ran.
  I was fast. It was faster. It circled me a few times and flew away.

  "The curse is now active."
  "It is??"
  "Yes."
  "Is there any way to break it?"
  "Yes. You must give your life to save another's."
  "That's it?"
  "Yes."
  "What exactly does this 'curse' do to me??"
  "You will know."
  "How??"
  "You will know." He repeated, then disappeared.

********************************************************************
  I woke up soon after that. I felt a little strange. I went to my mirror
to see if anything had happened, and if I was really visited in my dream,
or if it was just another one of my insane dreams.
  When I looked in the mirror, I found out.
  Everything looked perfectly normal. My hair, my eyes, my hands, my face,
my feet, my body, my tail...........?
  Waitaminute. My tail??
  I looked behind me. Sure enough, I had a tail.
  Terrified, I turned back to the mirror. I was now covered from head to
toe to....tail....in dark bluish black scales that shone like the inside of
a "Mother of Pearl" shell when light shone on them. I looked perfectly
human except for my scales and tail.
  My eyes were the next to change. I watched as the irises of my eyes
seemed to melt, making my entire eye green and as the pupils melted out
vertically and became reptillian. I vowed right then and there that if this
ever happened again, and I knew it would, I would never do it in front of a
mirror.
  Then came the claws, My fingernails and toenails hardened, grew outward,
and became long, dark green, thick claws.
  My face changed next. It bulged out and became long and narrow, like a
horse's. My nose slid forward and became two forward-facing nostrils on the
end of my snout. I grew horns, two large ones on my head, one smaller one
on my nose. Both were the same color as my claws.
  My gums and tounge itched horribly, and I opened my now fully-transformed
mouth to see what was going on. What I saw made me snap my mouth shut
again. My teeth were growing long and sharp and my tounge was dividing into
two sections, becoming long and forked, like a snake's.
  I grew six retractible spikes on the end of my tail, three on each side.
My arms, legs, and body thickened,and I became topheavy. I fell to the
floor on all fours. My neck stretched to about three feet long, and long
decorative scales appeared on my head.
  Last came the wings. They were huge in comparison to my body, and were
bluish black in color, just like the rest of my body.
  I was now a miniature dragon, and had to get out of there, fast, because
I was growing. Fast.
  Luckily, I was still small enough to fit through my window. I stepped out
onto the tree that grew right by my window (I had always used it to sneak
out when I was little). I tested my wings. One flap, and I was six feet
above the branch I stood on. I flapped my wings repeatedly and flew to the
roof of the lighthouse where, after about fifteen minutes, I stopped
growing at thirty feet tall, fifty feet long, and with a wingspan of at
least two hundred feet.
  I suddenly realized I had powers: the ability to know what time it is,
the ability to use magic, I had eyes that were at least a hundred times
more powerful than an eagle's, I had telepathic ability, my ears were at
least ten thousand times more powerful than a wolf's, and I could fly at
1,000 MPH.
  Part of me, the sensible part, was terrified and didn't have a clue of
what to do. There was another part of me, though, the rebellious and
nonpractical side of me, that was just saying, *This is so cool!*
  I just sat there on the roof, thinking. Was this just a night-type thing?
Like Werewolves? Or was it permanent? Would I ever change back? Was this
just another one of my insane dreams? No. It was too real.
  At about half past midnight my fine-tuned and sensitive dragon ears
picked up the sound of a door shutting. I instinctively jerked my massive
head in that direction and focused my lazer-vision eyes. It was Jonny,
walking out of the Compound's boundaries. I noticed a small piece of paper
on Jonny's desk in his room. I focused my eyes to read it.

	Can't sleep. Gone to Downtown Rockport for a walk. Be back by morning.
		Jonny

  My senses jumped. Downtown Rockport? At 12:30 am? Mugger and gangster
paradise! 
  I decided to follow him, just in case. Downtown Rockport was at least
five miles away. I knew I could get there with my speed in a few seconds,
but I had to go at Jonny's slow human speed to stay with him.
  About half an hour later, we arrived in Downtown Rockport. Jonny took the
bus. I flew.
  Jonny headed for the park and wandered around there for a while. I
settled down in a small thicket where no one could see me and kept an eye
on him.
  As luck would have it, he walked right in front of my little hiding place
before a small gang of about five teenage boys and one bimbo blonde stopped
him.
  "Hey, Blondie. Where ya goin'?"
  "None of your buisness."
  "Oo," said the blonde. "He's a tough one."
  "Yeah," added one of the boys. "Maybe he can even fight."
  My heart stopped. I knew more than I needed to know about Jonny's
pride.*Please, Jonny,* I thought to myself. *Don't answer them. Just walk
away.*
  I was dumb to even assume that.
  "As a matter of fact, I can. Who's first?"
  I groaned inwardly.
  The leader stepped forward. "That would be me."
  He landed a hard punch to the side of his face. Jonny fell to the ground,
stunned. The gang leered over him.
  That did it.
  I leaped out of the thicket, landed between the gang and Jonny and let
out a roar that shook the ground and even scared me.
  The teenagers were frozen in fear. So was Jonny.
  I changed my voice to a low, venomous growl.
  "Leave. Him. Alone."
  "H-he-hey, no problem."
  I wasn't finished with them yet. "There's a police station about two
blocks that way," I jerked my head in a certain direction. "Why don't you
go turn yourselves in?"
  They all nodded.
  "Good choice." I growled. "Now *BEAT IT*!!"
  They were gone before I could even blink.
  I turned to Jonny, who for a while, was too scared to move. He suddenly
realized what was going on, screamed, and tried to scramble away. I barely
even fluttered my wings and was on him in one-tenth of a second. I reached
out and grabbed him. He was, to me, about the same size as a G.I. Joe.
  He started to scream. My sensitive dragon hearing was not having fun at
this time.
  "*SHUT UP*!!!" I roared in a voice that even scared me.
  Jonny shut up.
  I sighed. "Look, sorry I yelled at you, but your screaming was getting on
my nerves. But I don't want to hurt you. I'm a friend."
  That seemed to calm him down a little. A little, as in he went from
screaming and shaking like a leaf to just shaking like a leaf.
  "Look," I said. "I'm going to let you up now. Run away, if you want, or I
can take you home."
  I lowered him to the ground. He didn't run. He just asked me if I had a
name and, if so, what it was. I couldn't tell him my real name!!! I quickly
tried to think of one. A name just popped into my head. I didn't know why,
but I took it, anyway.
  "Darkfire."
  "That's your name??"
  "Uh-huh."
  "I'm Jonny Quest."
  *I know,* I thought to myself. *I live with you.*
  He cautiously took a step forward.
  "You said you could take me home??"
  "Yes, I can."
  "How??"
  I lowered my head.
  "Hop on."
  "You're gonna fly?"
  "Yep."
  "Cool."
  He grabbed the horn on my nose, and used my nostrils as footholds, which
made me want to sneeze, and as soon as he had climbed onto my head, I did.
  "Gusundhiet."
  "Thank you. Hang on!"
  I flapped my wings a few times to gain altitude, then used all the speed
the dragon could use. My wings were moving as fast as a dragonfly's. It
took exactly five seconds to get back to the Compound. I dropped him off
and turned away.
  "I'll go now."
  I immediately regretted what I had just said. I said it in my human
voice!
  Jonny looked up at me with an expression on his face he always gets when
he's pondering something.
  "What??"
  "You.......sound like someone I know."
  "I do?"
  "Yeah. You sound like Je- Oh. never mind. Thanks for the ride."
  "Don't mention it."
  "Wait, Darkfire. When will I see you again?"
  *Next time you see Jessie.* I thought sadly. But all I said was,
"Tomorrow night. The roof of that lighthouse there."
  I then took off into the woods behind the Compound and fell asleep.
*************************************************
  When I woke up, the sun was out, my vision was limited, and I felt a
whole lot smaller. Were dragons only good for night??
  Then I realized what had happened. I was human again. Was it all just a
dream? If so, what am I doing out here?? Totally confused, I slowly got up
and climbed back up the tree to my room.
  When I reached the window and climbed in, I looked at the clock. Four
thirty. Good. At least I had some time to sleep.
  Which, after a night like that, was exactly what I did.
*************************************************
  I woke up at eight and went downstairs for breakfast. Jonny was there,
reading the comics and eating corn flakes. Everything, even me, seemed
normal. Maybe it was all a dream.
  I wasn't that lucky.
  Jonny glanced up at me. "Hey, Jess. You're never going to belive what
happened last night."
  Compared to what? "Try me."
  "Last night, a dragon saved me from a gang!"
  My heart stopped. It wasn't a dream. It was real. It was real.
  Real.
  I had actually turned into a dragon.
  "You okay, Jess? You look a little pale."
  Yeah, Jonny. You would, too, if you had changed into a dragon, thought it
was a dream, and then, you wake up the next morning, and your friend tells
you the exact same story you remember.
  "I'm fine."
  "You sure?"
  "Yes."
  He looked at me skeptically, but, thankfully, he shrugged it off and went
back to Dilbert.
  I got a small breakfast, changed clothes, and went for a walk. As sheer
luck would have it, I ended up downtown. I stayed there all day, when
somewhere around 7:00, the same gang that had stopped Jonny the night
before stopped me.
  "Where do you think you're goin'?"
  I was tired, I hadn't eaten since breakfast, I was crabby, I didn't feel
like dealing with these bozos, and it was getting dark.
  Waitaminute. It was getting dark...............
  IDEA!
  "Didn't I tell you jerks to turn yourselves in?"
  "Nice try. The only person who told us that was a dragon, and you don't
look like no dragon to me."
  Right. I don't. At least not right now. I turned and ran for the park.
They followed me. I dove into the thicket I had been the night before. They
didn't follow me in there.
  "Go on in there!" one of them yelled. "You're as good as dead, with that
dragon livin' in there!"
  I felt myself changing already. When I was half dragon, I realized the
dragon was hungry, too. I also knew that one unlucky teenager out there
wasn't going to last much longer.
  "Actually," I said, my voice a disgusting mix of the dragon's and my own,
"I *AM* the dragon!"
 I burst out of the thicket and struck out my head fast as a cobra, grabbed
the leader in my teeth, and swallowed him.
  Now I wasn't so hungry.
  Remembering my promise to Jonny, I took off for the compound and landed
on the roof of the lighthouse, just as I had promised.
  Jonny came out about five minutes later and began looking for me. I used
one of the dragon's abilities to remind him.
  
  Telepathy.
  Of course, he couldn't answer me, but he glanced up at where I was, but
he couldn't see me.
  Duh. I was black.
  I spread my wings. They caught the moonlight and lit up like a beacon. I
quickly shut them, not wanting to attract too much attention.
  He seemed to see me now. He ran to the stairwell of the lighthouse, and I
dove off the roof. Literally. I jumped headfirst off the lighthouse,
spilled the air out of my wings, and spread them to catch air at the last
minute.
  "Where to?" I asked him.
  "Huh??"
  "Where would you like to go?"
  "Oh. Uh... Downtown?"
  "Hop on."
  I lowered my head and he climbed onto my head. I took off, not knowing
that I was not exactly being the smartest dragon alive.
  I slowed to a coasting speed and made a few lazy circles over the park,
not knowing of what was on the ground..........
************************************************
  The first thing that hit me was a giant searchlight. I recoiled, let out
a growl of frustration, and shot a fireball out my nose into the
searchlight. I suddenly realized why I had chosen the name "Darkfire." My
fire was black.
  The searchlight shattered and exploded.
  I was glad for my nightvision just then, as a potpourri Of crossbow
arrows, bullets, and two other objects I couldn't identify flew towards me.
I plucked one of them out of the air. A three-foot-long tranquilizer dart.
I grabbed one of the other objects and gasped. A wooden harpoon about three
feet on diameter with a twelve-foot-long metal tip. I quickly threw it
away, not wanting to look at it anymore.
  The bullets just richocheted off my scales, but I had to dodge the darts
and arrows. The harpoons I just burned.
  I screeched as a sharp pain seared through my tail. I glanced back to see
an arrow poking out of the base of my tail.
  "Jonny!" I screamed. "Can you get that arrow out of my tail?!"
  A few seconds later, the pain was even sharper than before, and then was
gone. Jonny had pulled the arrow from my tail.
  I heard helicopter rotors, and turned. A helicopter was after me, now.
They really must have wanted me dead. It came at me, and I turned towards
it, turning my back on the ground.
  Big mistake.
  Another harpoon was launched off the ground. It hit its mark.
  More specifically, it hit me in the back of my head and came out my
mouth. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. Dragons don't scream. I wanted
to roar or spit fire, but I couldn't.
  I was too busy coughing up blood.
  The helicopter came back one last time. Using the last bit of strength I
had, I plucked Jonny off my head and held him out to the pilot. The pilot
took Jonny into the helicopter through the open side door, and I stopped
flapping my wings.
  I landed on my back in the middle of the park. The impact sent the
harpoon out my mouth and into the ground next to me. I watched the
helicopter go off to the police station and land on the helipad behind the
building.
  It hadn't hit me until now. I realized I was going to die. Had I given my
life to save another's? I got Jonny into the helicopter away from the
harpoons and arrows, hadn't I? But I got him into that trouble. I just
wasn't sure if I had broken the curse or not.
  It hurt so bad to even breathe. I blacked out.
  I don't know why, but it was like....I don't know, like....like my spirit
wouldn't leave my body. What was also weird was I could see in all
directions. It was weird. I could see, I could hear, I could smell, but I
couldn't feel or react to anything.
  The police, Coast Guard, and even a S.W.A.T. team gathered around me to
see if I was dead or not.
  What happened next was even weirder. I heard Merloch's voice.
  'THE CURSE IS BROKEN.'
  It must have come from the sky, or something, bacause that was the
direction everyone looked in.
  I became surrounded by light, and they all backed away from me. When the
light was gone, I was human again, but still dead.
  A bolt of lightning snaked down from the sky and struck me, and I opened
my eyes and sat up. Alive. Merloch spoke again.
  'THE DRAGON CURSE IS BROKEN. SHE WILL NEVER AGAIN BE ABLE TO CONTRACT IT.
SHE WILL STILL TRANSFORM INTO A DRAGON, BUT ONLY WHEN *SHE* WANTS TO.'
  I stood up, concentrated on the dragon, became surrounded by light again,
and when it disappeared, I was a dragon again. I flew to the police station
and picked up Jonny. I flew back to the Compound with him on my head.

		THE END

--------------------------------
Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/3324

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