> 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

(c) Jade Falcon 1998