A Meeting of Dragons

1

Danny Leong adjusted his pack again as he walked through Old Troy, taking in the Pacific air. He made his way along the boardwalk, skirting around any obstacle in his path with easy grace. Every movement conveyed his serenity to any who noticed him, but most didn't notice him.

Danny had wandered across the world for some years. It was something that gripped him despite his self control. His raven black hair and smooth face belied his middle age as much as the way he moved through the crowd without pushing the other pedestrians away from him.

The boardwalk enjoyed a capacity crowd, tourists and locals rubbing against each other with a lack of humility on either side. Every city was like that as far as Danny could tell. At least the way he moved confused both sides as he wandered without worrying about where he needed to be.

After all he had no particular place to go.

Danny paused at an outdoor café, settling into one of the wire seats. A waitress promptly appeared and he placed an order for appetizers as he looked at the crowd passing by. He marveled at the different cultures represented as he waited for his small portion of food to appear.

Danny had been on the road for a while, going where his feet would take him. He had thought about settling down somewhere. He just couldn't seem to find what he was looking for.

He didn't like to compare himself to his teacher, but he knew the older man had not lived in the same place for a day in a long time.

This was his first time in Old Troy in a decade. He was amazed at how things had changed. It was like looking at a woman who had went through plastic surgery to look better. The city seemed more relaxed, cleaner somehow. It had not been that way when he had been here last.

He wondered how much things had changed from his last visit. There was another student living in town. There was the last time he had walked through. She had married a man, and settled down. He was curious to how they were getting along.

They seemed to be happy together. They had stood on the porch of their house, waving at him. The man had bright, unnaturally bright, blue eyes, dark hair, a couple of strange scars on his hands. He wore black clothes, except for a silver belt buckle. Suki was slim, inscrutable, and had metallic green eyes that smiled at the world in small amusement, wearing a long kimono with a dragon dancing on the front. They seemed a strange fit.

2

Jack Dragon looked out his hotel's window, sipping a cup of tea. This was the third day of a week long engagement in Old Troy. He wanted to take a moment to smell the roses metaphorically.

Jack rarely performed outside of Church Hill anymore. He usually picked up a job when he was tired of looking at the interior of his home venue. That didn't happen so much as it had in his younger days as a performer.

He considered it a working vacation.

Jack finished his tea, placing the cup on the room service tray. He dressed in the black suit with a white shirt he usually wore. He made sure the knot in his tie was straight, all of his belongings were in place and locked down, the room was neat, before leaving the tray outside his door. He wrote a symbol on the 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign before hanging it on the door knob outside his room.

He didn't want the cleaning service to examine his room while he was out and his ward would make sure of that until he got back. He had done the same thing to the windows in case of flying intruders.

Jack had made a lot of enemies on his own, and helping his uncle. Many would like to catch him unaware in his hotel room and do nasty things to him. Jack equally liked to stay alive and able to do what he was born to do. The monster of the week tried to ruin his dream of domestic bliss.

Jack headed for the elevator, glad that he had signed up for this gig. It had been a while since he had left Church Hill, and he was sure he would be able to pick up some new tricks while he was looking around Old Troy. Things couldn't be much better at the moment.

Wojohowitz had booked a group of magicians to perform while he was away. Maybe he could get one of them to stand in for him two weeks out of the year so he could take this kind of working sabbatical more often. It would take some negotiating. Wojohowitz hated to spend anything if he couldn't get a return.

Jack rode the elevator to the lobby, cut across the spacious room, and out the front door. He joined the foot traffic, pulling on his sunglasses. He looked like a well paid executive instead of the stage magician that he was.

Jack walked the streets, gravitating to places not on the tourist pamphlets. A city hid its true nature from visitors while the residents knew where the best things and secrets were. Still the magician finally arrived at the beach area where the ocean crashed into the shore.

Jack found himself following a compact man with gray in his hair. He had a bag on his shoulder and the air of someone who had been on the road a long time. Something made him stand out to the magician, but the younger man was at a loss as to what.

3

Yusuke Tremaine stood on a corner not too far from the high school his friend Kay attended. He looked around, hands in his pockets, the picture of boredom. He always did this when there wasn't anything else pressing on him. He pretended otherwise, but Kay was part of the reason he kept some of the things he had run into in check.

His life without his parents felt too barren to allow something to happen to her too. Kay made everything brighter and clearer with her intellect, and heart. He knew his own attitude was dark and brooding without her. At least the city was slumbering in its way, so he had the time to really relax before taking on something else.

Yusuke hid his smile when he saw the girl coming down the street. She kidded him enough about his attachment, without him adding more fuel to the fire. Some kid in a lower class had already asked if he were taking her out. The green-eyed boy had been embarrassed by the personal questions.

"Hey, Yusuke," Kay called as she jogged to meet her friend. "Have you learned to bake a cake yet? The school's having a contest, and I want you to help me win. First prize is two tickets for Oceanside Tours."

"You want me to help you bake a cake?," said Yusuke. "I don't know anything about cooking. Getting a burger from BK is about my speed."

"Then how are you going to help me, dimwit?," Kay demanded. "I would really like to win those tickets."

"Wouldn't it be easier to ask your parents for the money?," Yusuke asked.

"Try again, Brainiac," Kay said, a chopping motion reminding the boy that Kay's parents would never go for anything so frivolous. Just seeing him on their doorstep made them cringe.

He was the ultimate in what they regarded as frivolous some days.

"You've convinced me you need the help," said Yusuke, trying to think of an excuse so that the help wouldn't be him. He frowned as he realized he was drawing a blank. "What are you supposed to do?"

"It'll be a cook off," said Kay. "Each team gets a recipe, and whoever finishes first with the best cake gets the prize. Then we can get a bus to go to Oceanside."

"I can do speed," said Yusuke.

"And I can cook," said Kay, grabbing his arm. "We're the perfect team."

"I think you're nutty," the boy said, trying not to enjoy the grip on his arm.

"All we need is a little practice and we'll be the team to beat," Kay enthused. "No one will see us coming until we have those tickets in my hands."

"Our hands," said Yusuke.

4

Danny Leong checked his memory. He compared that to what he saw just a few feet away. They didn't match at all. He had spent too much time away on the road.

The house was broken down, and decrepit. A sign on the front door warned people away from the place since it was condemned and belonged to the city. The grass and garden had overgrown its borders. A dozen trees had taken root, crowding against each other.

What had happened since he had been here last? Where had the Tremaines gone?

Danny looked around before walking to a house beside the derelict. He knocked on the door. His hearing told him someone was moving around inside the place. He waited as the owner approached where he stood.

He had spent too many years away from his friends.

"Hello," said the housewife that answered the door. Her look betrayed the puzzlement she must have felt on seeing a vagabond on her doorstep. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering what happened to the people that lived there in that house," Danny said. "I knew them, and have been out of town for a while. I thought I would drop by and surprise them."

"I'm sorry," said the woman. "The Tremaines died a long time ago. I don't know what happened. I don't think anyone does. Social Services took their son to place in foster care."

"Thank you," said Danny, turning from the door. His friends had died and he had never known.

Danny walked back to the broken house, wondering what had happened to the boy. His parents had been unusual, and the wanderer knew that the boy was just as unusual in his own way. He was at a loss what to do for the first time in many years.

He wandered in a daze, trying to come to grips with the bad news. Then he decided that the best thing to do was check the hall of records. He needed to know what happened to the Tremaines.

Danny consulted a phone book, and a tattered map. Then he flitted through the city, becoming a wraith that covered miles with prodigious bounds and roof jumping. The Dragon Mage entered the building without thinking how the stone walls seemed to reflect the setting sun in fiery glory.

5

Jack Dragon flipped cards from finger to finger as he waited for the man he had decided to follow to finish with the city bureaucracy. His curiosity wanted him to go after the man and beat him to the floor.

He had resorted to spells to keep up with his interest when the other had suddenly taken off across the roofs of Old Troy. Waiting seemed to be the best option at the moment until he figured out what he was doing.

Jack wondered why this was attracting his interest. He should be thinking about putting on a show, not following vagrants across a strange city on a whim. His instinct told him something was there, something that he should know if he wanted to carry out his uncle's wishes.

The man had moved with superhuman speed, but in this strange world of ghostly heroes and mystic artifacts, that wasn't much.

He needed more to go on. The only way he was going to learn was to follow his new friend around, and keep an eye on things. He would need to do something about the show. Maybe he should figure out a way to be two places at one time while he was at it.

The vagrant exited the building, inscrutable but apparently disappointed. It didn't take an oracle to figure out why. The bureaucracy was going home, and turned aside his questions. He looked across the street at Jack, facial expression changing just a touch to express his displeasure.

Jack waited, writing on the back of the playing cards he toyed with as the other man crossed the street, heading for where he stood. This could go either way, but the magician had decided to try peace instead of spellcraft.

"Why are you following me?," the other man said. Jack realized the man might be carrying gear to wander, but it wasn't because he couldn't operate in society. He had decided to pick up his roots on his own. You could tell it in his stance, and the healthy way he looked.

"I was just curious," said Jack, holding out a hand. "My name's Jack."

"Curious enough to follow me across this city several times?," said the other, looking at the proffered hand until it was withdrawn.

"I'm strange that way," said Jack, trying to smile. "Do you want to talk about your problem? Maybe I can help you."

6

Yusuke Tremaine picked up an egg beater, and stirred it in the air experimentally. Then he looked around at the other instruments of food torture laid out on the counter. He couldn't decide if he should make a break for it while Kay was off in her room changing, or embarrass himself with his ignorance.

He decided that discretion was the better of valor. He headed for the front door as silent as a shadow. He didn't have a talent for food, and knew it.

"Yusuke!," said Kay. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm just stepping outside for a breath of fresh air," said the boy.

"You were trying to get out of helping me, weren't you, you rat?," Kay said, anger making her blush. "Don't give me any excuses. Back to the kitchen so we can practice our moves."

Yusuke grimaced, but obeyed. He slumped into the kitchen as Kay broke into a snappy patter about what she was doing and why. Ingredients stirred and mixed as the girl explained each step to him. Uncertainty infected his normal grace with clumsy jerks and spasms.

It took at least an hour before Kay pronounced some satisfaction in his performance. She assigned him to clean up the dirty dishes as she put the pastries in the oven to cook.

"Is this how the competition will be?," asked Yusuke, scrubbing a pot at the sink as soapy water rushed to the rim.

"Yes, except you're going to have to be faster and smoother," said Kay. "Like you're in a fight. No thinking, just doing."

"No thinking, just doing," repeated Yusuke. "I can do that."

"I hope so," said Kay. "Otherwise we're going to lose. I'm not going to be laughed at because you can do everything but cook. I am not going to even want to have to explain how you don't know how many cups are in a recipe. Understand?"

"I just need practice," said Yusuke. "Let's try again. I won't let you down."

"Let's try something simple," said Kay. "Remember that I'll be calling out directions for you to maximize our speed. I know you have better reflexes than I do, but I'm the better cook. All you have to do is listen."

"Hit me with your best shot," said the boy.

The second attempt made Kay smile in approval as her partner did everything as fast and as graceful as his normal workaday standards. She only had to point out a couple of almost mistakes at the end of the practice run. She placed the creation in the oven with a laugh.

"Beautiful," said Kay.

7

Danny Leong studied the stranger sitting across the table from him. They had found a small café where they could sit and talk while watching the street. This Jack smiled with his face, but his eyes were intent and glittering slightly.

"My friends have died, and their son has been on his own for a long time," said Danny. "I don't know what happened to any of them."

"Public Records not very helpful?," said Jack, sipping tea from a cup.

"No," said Danny. "The records don't tell the whole story."

"I think I can help you," said Jack. "I need to think on it."

"How will this work?," said Danny.

"Usually I decide what I have to do, and then create a spell to carry that out," said Jack. "It's nothing spectacular. I do it all the time."

"Have you ever had to try to find someone after all this time?," said Danny. "We are talking years."

"Time's not a barrier to me," said Jack. "I think I can do something. I just need to consider what I need from the world. I'm sure you understand."

"Maybe we should start at the old Tremaine house," said Danny. "Maybe he still visits there when he is not on the street."

"We'll start there," said Jack. "I have a feeling that I can run him down a lot faster than waiting for him to return to an old house. Things will work out agreeably for everyone concerned."

Danny tried to agree with the stranger's assessment. Either they could find the boy, or they couldn't. There was only a faint hope he was still alive after all these years on his own. He might not be the same person that Danny had met so long ago, the pride of his parents.

Danny knew that he wasn't same man after all those years on the road. Still he hoped things would work out. That was part of the training inscribed into his system. There was always hope.

"Shall we go?," Jack said. "I have a show to perform later, and I'll need to get ready for that in a few hours. We can at least look around your friends' former home before I have to be on stage."

"It will take that long just to get there from here," pointed out Danny.

"A taxi ride is nothing between new acquaintances," said Jack, leaving money under a salt shaker.

Jack made a sign in the air as he stepped to the curb. A cab came around the corner, and stopped in front of him. The driver rolled down the window so he could speak.

"Did you need a cab?," the driver said, looking a little bewildered. "I don't remember a call from here, but if you need a ride, get in."

"Thank you," said Jack, getting in the front of the car beside the driver. Danny got in the back, silent as any shadow. "This is where we want to go."

The cab pulled away, as Jack gave the man the address.

Jack Dragon led the way down the walk to the dilapidated house. He had spent the cab ride over thinking about what he wanted to do. That had helped determine what signs he needed for his locating spell.

Intent and will shaped the spell to get the wanted result. If you weren't clear on the result, things could escalate out of control. Many an amateur had been killed by the wrong thing.

Jack wrote on the door frame, opening the door and priming the first spell he was going to use. It would help him gather information that he could use to find the boy.

It would also help to verify what he had already been told by his new acquaintance.

Jack walked to the center of the living room, watching his magic take shape. He smiled as letters rewound time in front of him. People took shape, the history coming to life. He didn't recognize them, but there was no reason for him to do that. There were plenty of extraordinary people in the world that he hadn't encountered yet.

Still he knew these two were extraordinary just looking at them.

The husband was average looking except for the extreme blue of his eyes. Gray had touched his hair in lines. There was a connection somewhere else. Jack could see that from the future.

The wife was almost as average looking, faint green highlighting her brown eyes. Her long dark hair was pinned back in a leather holder.

She also carried herself like his new client which spoke volumes to Jack.

Jack dialed through their lives, watching as history unfolded around him. He could intercede perhaps, but knew the consequences of time travel. Changing one event changed others which changed others which changed the world the same as the butterfly chaos theory. There was no telling what the impact would be so the magician did his best to skip over the tragic parts while enjoying the happiness.

Finally the parents died. He couldn't see how from his limited point of view. That didn't matter. The boy had been left with a sitter, almost old enough to fend for himself by this time. People from the local Child Services arrived to take him in tow. He was an orphan, and the city could at least supply a foster home.

Jack changed the focus of the spell, following the boy as the house became the street outside, then other parts of the city. There were blanks after the escape from the orphanage the state had decided on. Still he did track the young survivor down.

He checked the address before returning to his starting point. That would give Danny Leong something to do while he was at his show.

This was one of the few times he would have ducked a show to see how things turned out. He had a feeling that a reunion wouldn't be smooth for either of them.

8

Danny Leong paused when he saw the house at the address he had been given. He had been away for a long time. He had let the boy's parents down by not being there when they needed him.

Danny pushed the guilt aside. He had done things to regret that were worse than this. No one could see the future, or change the past. Danny squared his shoulders, trying to think of something that would explain why he had tracked down the runaway son of two dead friends.

He had a feeling that condolences were out of the question at this late date.

Danny decided the thing to do was to knock on the door. A simple meeting would be the best. He did have something of Lotus's and returning it would need no other explanation. Then he could move on as he usually did.

He paused before he knocked on the door. This was out of character for him to extend a hand to a stranger. He couldn't remember the last time he had tried to make a friend. He didn't quite understand this urge to meet someone to compare him to people he had known in years past.

It was somewhat childish.

It also reminded him of how his Uncle Nick had taken him in after his father had died when he was a boy. His uncle had tried to find out what had happened to the elder Leong to no avail. None in the community had the desire to help an outsider.

Danny knocked. The worst that could happen was the boy would hate him for not being there for his parents. The wanderer could live with that if that was all that happened.

Danny heard light footsteps coming to the door. He had heard voices when he had approached the porch of the house. A girl opened the door, looking up at him quizzically.

"I'm looking for Yusuke Tremaine," Danny said, explaining his presence to set her at ease. "I have something for him."

"Come in," the girl said, stepping aside. "Yusuke is helping me in the kitchen. I don't think he has talked about any relatives."

"I'm not his relative," Danny said, stepping inside the neat house. "I knew his parents a long time ago and just recently learned they had died. I have been carrying something I meant to give his mother but had never passed through while they were alive."

"Yusuke is not very friendly," the girl warned him. "Just keep everything as neutral as you can until he comes around."

Yusuke regarded his handiwork with a certain amount of pride. He had never learned how to cook, and marveled at the way Kay ruled the kitchen. He knew what his expertise was, and baking a cake wasn't it.

"Yusuke," Kay said. "This gentleman would like to talk to you."

Yusuke saw a man with a placid face, a small trace of gray streaking his hair, and really odd eyes. It was almost as if the iris couldn't decide if they were green or brown. He wore plain, almost bland, beige pants and shirt. Heat radiated off him like a shuttered furnace.

"My name is Danny Leong," said the man. "I have something for you."

"I don't understand," said Yusuke. "I know I don't know you."

"I knew your parents," Leong said, digging into a pack he pulled close. "I found this during my travels and brought it back but everything was different. I just found you thanks to a magician."

Leong produced a flower. The petals were gold in a silver setting. A ruby marked the center of the thing, sparkling under the light like liquid fire. The stem was thin, green wood held together by stone bands.

"This was supposed to be an anniversary present," said Danny. "It belongs to you now."

"I don't understand," said Yusuke, taking the jeweled flower. "Why bother after all this time?"

"I made a promise that I have just now been able to keep," said Danny. "I regret that I didn't return sooner than this."

It was odd to have a stranger say he owed something to you. It was odder still for an orphan who made it his business not to owe anything to anybody, or do anything that he needed payment.

"What do you know about my parents?," Yusuke asked.

"Your mother was a student in the system that I have learned," said Danny. "She was like a senior while I was a freshman. We had the same teacher, and I would visit when I was near. Your father had a gift for something he called mediumship."

"Mediumship," repeated Yusuke, thinking of the things he had seen, and dealt with using the skills passed down from his mother and the sight he had inherited from his father. Unusual trouble lurked along Old Troy's streets, along with the more mundane things people had to deal with in the course of their day.

9

Jack Dragon finished his second show with a flourish. Everything had gone smooth the whole night. The crowd had gone wild as he finished his last trick of the night. Times like this was why he had gotten into stage magic in the first place.

Jack put away his show props as the crowd left the building one clump at a time. When he was done, he would probably leave by the side door off the stage. It would be a nice walk back to his hotel, something to keep his mind off the unexpected problem he had helped resolve.

He wondered how things had gone between the two strangers, but knew that it wasn't his business anymore.

Jack took one last look around after locking his gear where no one could get at it. He could replace anything lost, but felt prevention was better. He spotted the two of them standing by the main exit door, standing almost the same. He hadn't heard them come in, but knew they hadn't wanted him to do so.

"Hello, gentlemen," Jack said. "I see that your reunion went well."

"I would like to ask another favor of you," said Danny.

Jack waited, instinctively realizing that he had let a genie out of the bottle. Of course they would return to him. They wanted to know what happened to the Tremaines. That was easy enough to guess just looking at them.

"Go ahead," said Jack, looking at the placid face of the wanderer, and the tense face of the boy who was very much both of his parents in one.

"We want to know what happened to the Tremaines," said Danny. "We know you can tell us with your powers."

"You will tell us," said the boy. "I want to know why they died."

"Don't," said Jack, holding up a hand. "This kind of thing takes a cool head. Anger will hurt you more than anything."

"I don't have the time for that," said the boy, reaching for the magician, blue and green mixing in one eye as his anger fueled his thoughts.

Jack didn't see the hand move as his arm was caught in a bear trap. That didn't stop him from executing a counter move, breaking the grab while throwing the impatient kid off the stage. He flexed his arm as he wrote on the side of his face with his finger. His uncle had taught him magic, but he had learned fighting from his country.

"Make the time," said Jack. "It's been years. It can wait until you have a calmer head."

"You can't stop me," said Yusuke, instantly on his feet. "I need to know."

"Don't," said Danny, reaching out with one hand. "He's right. You can't take on something when you don't know what's involved."

Yusuke looked at both of the older men, and the light went out in his eye.

"All right," he said. "Show me."

10

The three dragons stood in the old house that used to belong to the Tremaines.

Danny Leong had taken the time to change his clothes to a dark and light green fighting suit, and apply green war paint to his face. He carried the tools of his trade on his person where he could produce them with the lightning speed taught him by the One.

Yusuke Tremaine wore his dragon decorated jacket, blue and white light playing in one eye as he waited impatiently for things to begin. Finally he would have an answer to why he had been orphaned. He didn't like to be held back from when it was so close at hand.

Jack Dragon stood in the center of the ruined room, dressed in his usual black business suit and sunglasses. He had already written several spells for future use on his jacket, and sunglasses. Was he bringing about delayed justice, or satisfying a need for revenge? He wasn't clear where he stood, and knew that was always bad when he was dealing with someone else's life.

"Are you sure you want to step on this path?," Jack asked, taking several deep breaths to prepare for what he planned to do. "Now is the time to step aside and think about what you have, and not what you want."

"I have to know," said Yusuke. "I need an answer that I can live with."

Danny nodded, knowing what it was like to be an orphan, and losing your father to something vile. He had been in the same place once, and finally had a small amount of reparation after years of looking.

He wouldn't deny the boy the right to make his choice as he had done when he had begun his training.

Jack wrote on the air with his finger, drawing symbol after symbol in a story that no one could read, much less understand. The air split into sections as the room whirled and danced around them, becoming a phantom that had already happened. The magician crossed his arms as he and his passengers became intangible observers of scenes long gone.

"Is this the same place?," asked Yusuke. "It looks totally different."

"That's what years of abandonment will do to a place," said Jack. "Just watch, and remember the price you will pay for this."

The trio watched as events sped by until the last day of the elder Tremaines' lives dawned and things ran to their eventual conclusion. Jack waited until after the battle, before approaching the masked figure who loomed over the baby crib where little Yusuke slept. He wrote a symbol in the air, trying to ignore the sobs behind him.

This was his second time witnessing this event, and the magician steeled himself to do what he was expected to do. That was the thing that kept him from sending them back to the present so the boy would remember that none of this was real.

The spell carried them back through the years after the masked man as he continued his killing spree. There was a need for justice after all. The killer finally settled in a little village outside of Madrid. And that was where the spell dropped them when it ran its course.

"I hope someone has money for a plane trip home," said Jack, looking around cautiously.

"I had heard stories, but thought they were mistaken rumors," said Danny. "If that was Vega, he killed many who had undertaken the training."

"He has a lot to answer for," said Yusuke. "I'm willing to get my pound of flesh right now."

Danny Leong led the way, listening to the village as he went. The teachings bestowed a better than human hearing on a student, and he didn't like what his ears told him.

"Vega has started his own school," he said. "They are getting ready to stop us."

"So what?," said Yusuke. "Nothing is getting in my way now."

Danny shook his head, hoping the boy had some skill to back up his bravado. Depending on how far along these students were, they could match him and he wouldn't have time to watch out for either of his comrades.

"Don't worry about us," said Jack. "We'll do fine."

The magician wrote on his ear, spelling it to give him a warning of danger. He was the weakest link of this impromptu expedition, and knew it. Both of his comrades were far faster and stronger than he was normally. His prepared spells would elevate him to their levels but he could use them up in a prolonged battle.

A bell rang three times at the other end of the small town. Blurs of motion filled the air as the villagers answered the summoning call.

Danny led the way to the church, watching for traps as he went. Vega had earned a reputation as a dirty fighter among those who had learned with him. A poison dart, or a mechanical device to wound, would not be beneath him to use.

Danny paused at the massive wooden doors of the stucco building, listening to the interior. Everything was quiet. He knew that had been done so he couldn't tell how many opponents he faced. He took one look around the small town, and guesstimated from the small buildings he could count.

Danny pushed the doors out of the way. Everyone knew they were there so it wasn't any use to sneak around. The wooden panels slammed against the inner sides of the small foyer. Men and women dressed in black stared at him coldly as crossed the threshold of the large open space.

"So what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Dragonmage?," said a wasted figure at the far end of the room. A white mask rendered his face featureless and impossible to read.

"I have come for my parents," said Yusuke Tremaine, pushing past the elder fighter. "It's time for payback."

"I have killed so many over the years," said the masked man. "What are two such in the face of that?"

"They were my parents," said Yusuke, walking forward. "And I never had a chance to really know them. And I have come for what you owe me."

The villagers rushed forward with weapons drawn to stop the boy. No one could be allowed to threaten the master.

Jack Dragon stood at the back of the room. He was glad of that for two reasons. First he didn't want to be between the fighters now that they were moving at speeds that he couldn't keep up with unaided.

Since everyone was moving to the center of the church, it allowed him to watch everything with an eye on protecting himself from harm until the fight was over.

He hadn't counted on being seen as the weak link.

One of the fighting villagers had gone around the back of the church. She grabbed Jack by the neck with the intent on throttling him. She wasn't prepared for the whirlwind that slammed her in the ground. He stepped closer. His spell yanked the threatening student into a whirling circle that slammed her into the closest wall.

Jack adjusted his glasses as he went back to watching the fight.

Yusuke had led the way, stalling under the wave trying to prevent him from wrapping his hands around Vega's neck. The spillover fell on top of Danny. They weren't prepared for how he redirected their attacks against each other.

Vega waited behind his blank mask as the combat came closer to where he stood. He didn't seem concerned that he was almost within Yusuke's reach.

Yusuke broke clear of the pile up, eye flaming as he struck with open hands. A finger tip met his attack, stopping it instantly with a gentle push. He had a moment to stare at the counter before he was flung away from the raised platform with an open hand.

"That wasn't very skilled," said Vega. "Is that the best you can do? You must shame your dead mother with that lack of grace."

"Allow me to try then," said Danny, clearing a space with a single windmill move of his arms. He used a man's face as a stepping stone to get close enough to where he wanted to be.

"The wanderer's son," said Vega. "I have been looking for you also. Let's see what you can do."

The two men squared off for just a second. Then they vanished to the normal eye. Waves of power pelted the onlookers as the stage warped and that end of the building began coming apart. Finally they reappeared a small distance from each other, pausing to catch a breath.

"You are more skilled than I thought," said Vega.

"You aren't," said Danny. "The other students always said you were a coward and a sloth. They were right."

"You'll pay," said Vega. "You will be dust before I am through."

"Doubt it," said Danny.

Jack walked forward as Vega's students and Yusuke paused to watch the two masters duel. He couldn't see anything, but did feel the living energy bathing the room. One of the villagers looked at him, realized that he should be doing something to oppose the man in black, paused when the magician held up a hand.

"Let's wait," Jack said in perfect Spanish.

Danny appeared, holding his arm to his side. Blood dripped from a cut lip as he staggered back. Vega took one step into being. No one could read his expression through the cracked mask he wore.

"Who is the ungainly sloth now?," Vega mocked, hand to the side of his head. "I think it is time for you to die, and these others that have come with you will die also. Maybe they should die first so you can suffer all the more."

"Shut it," said Danny, eyes dripping emerald light as he moved faster than any eye could follow.

Blazing light surrounded Danny's fist as it became a lightning bolt blurring the air with its fiery passage. The masked master tried to block the blow but had been caught flatfooted by the sudden display. The blow sent him into the wall like a bullet, the halves of his mask separating and falling to the floor.

The flame faded from Danny's eyes as he grimaced at his fallen enemy. He was surprised by the almost skull of a visage, and patchy scalp. That wasn't right. No master had ever been reduced like that as far as he knew.

"My face!," Vega cried, hiding his ruined visage with his hands. "What have you done to my face?"

"What have you done to the Master?," said one of the villagers, rushing toward the stage.

"I think this is a problem," said Jack. "A very big problem."

"You'll pay for hurting the Master," the closest townsman said, reaching for Jack with slower but no less deadlier hands than his teacher. He was surprised by the invisible thing that plowed him through the floor.

"That's a neat trick," Yusuke said, eye lighting again as fighters tried to punish him for his part in how things had gone so far. His self taught proficiency allowed him to hold his own against Vega's students.

Jack didn't answer as he dialed up his speed. He couldn't expect his dervish to catch every threat against him. He needed to take an active hand so the threat was reduced to just one enemy. He agreed with Yusuke finally. Vega had to go one way or the other.

"That was good," said Vega, stepping from the crater in the wall. "Better than I expected. Are you ready for what I can do? I don't think so."

The emancipated master struck with eye blurring speed. The pressure of his passage flung the Dragonmage in front of it like a leaf in a high wind. The younger master smashed through the wall without stopping.

"Maybe you old guys were right," Yusuke said as he blocked and counterpunched a woman trying to smash his face in.

Jack didn't answer. He was more intent on writing the symbol for sleep on anyone who tried to grapple with him. His speeded up reflexes and protective aura were helping, but he knew that he would pay for the exertion he was undergoing.

He wanted to be alive to pay it.

"Step aside, children," said Vega, stepping off the platform, eyes glittering in the ruin of his face. "It is time for these two to experience my greatness. They have certainly earned it."

"Get ready," said Jack, as the fighters who had not been dealt with by his sleep spell, or Yusuke's fists, pulled back to allow their master some room for the type of maneuvers that had dealt with the Dragonmage so effectively.

Yusuke nodded, his gifts bringing more energy to his weary body, lighting his eye with their mixed brilliance.

"There is no getting ready for the pain I am going to inflict on you in the final seconds of your pitiful lives," said Vega.

Something green and black flickered from behind the traitorous thing. Vega tried to turn, suddenly aware of this threat at the last second before it struck him in the upper body with the force of a bomb. The living skeleton flew right at Jack. The magician had assumed one of the basic defensive postures from his training. It was a stance that he broke to catch the flying body by the arm, and turn into a throw powered by his failing protective spirit. That was enough to slam his catch into the ground before the old master could try and right himself in midair.

Yusuke leaped forward as Vega dug into the concrete floor. The boy seized the man's face, and squeezed the living energy out of him. A fountain of sparks pushed him away as the old man's spirit filled the area for two seconds. Then it was gone, leaving behind a dried husk collapsing in on itself.

"A little excessive, don't you think," Jack said, looking around at the stunned assembly.

"It was better than he deserved," Danny Leong said, holding himself on his feet with an effort.

"Far better," Yusuke agreed.

epilogue

"What do you think?," Yusuke Tremaine asked Kay Banner, making a wide gesture to indicate the house they stood in front of on a sidewalk.

"This is your house?," Kay asked. A note of disbelief crept into her voice.

"I still need to do a lot to it," said Yusuke. "That Danny helped me get the deed back from the city, and he's helping me fix it up when he's in town."

"Where is he now?," Kay asked.

"China," said Yusuke. "He'll be back in a month or so. Until then, I need to do what I can to make it more livable than it is now. It's a real job."

"You want help, don't you?," said Kay.

"I did help you with that cooking thing," Yusuke said, irked at being so transparent. "A favor for a favor."

"I don't know," Kay said, hand on her chin. "This could possibly cut into my small amount of free time with little reward. I don't think I can do it."

"You have got to be kidding me," said Yusuke. "You owe me for that prize money you won. You're telling me that I have to do everything on my own."

"You are so easy," Kay said, laughing quietly to herself. "Of course I'll help you. This will be a first."

"Women," Yusuke said, in the manner of a put upon husband of many years. "You can't live with them, and you can't put them in a trunk."

"Keep that up, buster, and the first thing I'm renovating is your noggin," Kay said, shaking her finger at him. "Let's see what the inside looks like."

Yusuke led the way inside the house, realizing that memories of lives that could have been shared with him pulled at his senses. His eye flared as he saw a smiling woman and man standing in the center of the room. Kay pressed on to other parts of the house, inspecting it, as he stood in thrall to his talent.

They reached out to him in a gesture of love, and pride. His eye died, allowing them to fade away. He knew they would always be there for him, just as they had always been. He shook off the reaction, and followed Kay out of the former living room.

He had to keep moving forward, even if he had recovered a part of his past that had eluded him for as long as he could remember. His parents had shown him things before they died. It hadn't been much, but he knew that inheritance had saved his life, and by extension the city.

That was something he would keep for as long as he lived.

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