Spyro and Jake Long - Ch. 4

                                Chapter 4: The Search For Hunter – Part 1

Spyro, Sparx, Jake, Spud, Trixie, Rose and Fu Dog were still walking around the city.

"Okay dudes, stop." Jake said, as he spun to his allies and using a stop hand signal. His pals stopped walking.

"Why Jake?" Spyro inquired.

"If we wanna find Hunter faster, we gotta split into groups. Alright, I will go with S, Sparx and Rose," Jake told to his pals. He looked at Trixie. "Trixie, you go with Spud and Fu. If we can't find Hunter by sunset, we'll meet each other at the skate park, ya'll feelin' me?"

Everyone except Jake nodded in agreement.

"Oh and make sure ya'll talk to us by using my cell phone and we'll do the same. Ya feelin' me, guys?"

Spyro, Sparx, Rose, Trixie, Spud and Fu nodded their heads again.

"Awesome, now let's roll!" Jake exclaimed.

He and his group headed down the pavement while Trixie, Spud and the shar pei went the opposite way. Jake was walking at the middle, Rose was at the left of him, Spyro was on the right and Sparx was floating near his best friend.

"Jake, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Rose asked, staring at her boyfriend.

"Sure! My plan never fails!" Jake assured her, giving her a confident grin.

"I hope it doesn't."

"Hey, Jake. Should we look for Hunter in that place over there?" Spyro questioned, pointing to a massive, extensive building which is Jake's, Rose's, Spud's and Trixie's school, Millard Fillmore Middle School which is a few miles away from them. A lot of people were walking past it.

"Nah, besides we can't get in 'cause it's the weekends. It's a good thing it is 'cause we have time to help ya find your mate." Jake replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, so where should we find him then?"

"Hmm… what about Central Park?" Rose suggested, staring at Jake with a pondering face.

"Awesome! We could head over there, relax just the two of us and—"

"Er… hello? We're supposed to find Hunter, remember? You did say that we gotta find him before sunset." Spyro said, waving his claw in front of the Chinese American teen.

"Oh, right." Jake replied sternly, snapping out of his dreamy trance. "Let's get there before the end of the day, okay?"

"Yes." Rose simply said.

"Uh-huh." Spyro replied, indicating agreement.

So, Spyro and his buddies began their long trek to Central Park.

"What is Central Park, Jake?" Spyro enquired, not having a clue of what it is because he hasn't been there before.

"It's just a park with a lot of trees, bushes and greenery there. There is a bridge over a river. Tons of rocks and pebbles surrounded it. It's the perfect place to relax and a romantic area to spend time with your girlfriend." Jake explained as he winked at Rose when he said "girlfriend". Rose covered her mouth and giggled, happily as she blushed.

"It's big, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh. Hopefully, we can find Hunter there."

"What if he's not there?"

"Then we gotta head someplace else."

"Okay then."

After a few hours of walking, they eventually reached Central Park which was near Fifth Avenue. They stepped onto the ground of the park. The park was very breathtaking. There were trees on the light green grass, wavy dark green bushes were around the path, a wooden, dim brown bridge is located over the babbling brook, a batch of different shapes and sizes of grey, rocky rocks and stony pebbles were enclosing the river. Some were on it. The zoo can be found miles away. The trail is ideal for walking, jogging, bicycling and horseback riding. The three were busy looking left and right repeatedly searching for Hunter except Spyro, who was admiring the scenery and sniffing the fresh air.

"Man, I've never seen anything like this for a while, right Sparx?" Spyro beamed, calmly.

The golden dragonfly just nodded.

"Hunter! Where are you?" Rose called out; only a piercing echo can be heard.

"Yo, Hunter! Can ya hear me?" Jake shouted as he put his hands around his mouth. Unfortunately, there was no answer.

"Seems like he isn't here, Jake." Spyro said. "How about he go someplace else?"

"No wait! I think I can see something!"

Jake squinted his eyes as he put his hand on his forehead. Further away, he could see 2 tiny shadows moving towards them. They moved closer and closer, however Jake now can see who they are. They turned out to be 2 Huntsclan trainees, beginner level students.

The first one is shorter than the other one and his skin is brown, he has black eyes, a diminutive nose, a mouth, a small chin and puny ears. He wore a purple Huntsclan Uniform mask with a Huntsclan red symbol on it, over his eyes, a Huntsclan long-sleeved shirt with "88" on a red circle which is on the left sleeve with a black belt with a Huntsclan symbol on it. He also wore black trousers, purple Huntsclan socks and shoes. He has the similar hip-hop and overconfident persona like Jake. He's known as Number 88.

The second one is taller than his friend. He has big, black eyes, pointy, little ears, a weird-shaped nose and a mouth with two buckled teeth. He has tan skin and wore the same Huntsclan attire as Number 88. He's recognized as Number 89. They both halted their walking as they saw Jake, Spyro, Sparx and Rose.

"Hey, look! It's Rose's BFF… forever." Number 89 dumbly said, as he nudged Number 89 and indicating Jake.

"How many times do I have to say to ya? The last "F" stands for forever! You said 'Best friends forever, forever!'" Number 88 yelled, glaring at him and put his hands on his hip.

"Shut up!"

"No you shut up!"

"(Sigh) Here we go again!" Rose sighed as she smacked her forehead.

"Er… are they always like that?" Spyro asked her.

"Yes, they are."

"What are you two clowns doin' here?" Jake demanded, looking angrily at the Huntsboys and crossing his arms.

"Er… nothing." Number 89 said, putting his hands behind his back as he smiled guiltily.

"Don't play dumb with me! I know that you two chumps are up to no good!"

"We weren't up to anything. We were… uh… trying to slay a unicorn… Oops."

Number 89 instantly stared at Jake in extreme fear as he kept on biting his nails. Flames were burning in Jake's eyes. Rose noticed this and covered her mouth with shock. Her ocean blue eyes were now wide. Spyro just gazed at Jake, blankly. Sparx did the same. The black-haired teen stomped towards Number 89 and was about to punch him in the face but he immediately stopped. With that, he treaded heavily away, furiously.

"Jake, where are you going?" Rose asked.

"I'll be right back. I just gotta go somewhere." Jake said between gritted teeth with an angry look.

"Oh, I see…"

Jake Long continued to stomp and hid behind a nearby tree. He whispered, "Dragon Up!" Blue flames enclosed him and he transformed into his dragon form. He is now a slender, tall, scrawny red dragon with enormous bat-like wings, claws and legs with black sharp nails, red hard, tough scales, a long yellow body or belly, lengthy tail and green spikes. He has a dragon face with the same beady eyes, thick black eyebrows, a mini, dim red nose, pointy dragon red ears, a mammoth mouth with a light pink tongue and a hairstyle which is identical to what he have when he's in human form.

He flew away from the tree and travelled back to where Rose, Spyro and Sparx are. In the meantime, they were even now standing in front of the Huntsboys.

"So, where's your BBF forever now, Rose?" Number 89 taunted as he blew a raspberry.

"Yeah, he probably ran away like a chicken! Bawk – bawk – bawk – bawk – bawk - ba—" Number 88 concurred while he pretended to be a chicken and did an impression of one. He was cut short when he saw Jake in dragon form.

"Right here, Huntschumps!" Jake hollered, getting the young hunters's attention. Both of them shrunk back with fear. Both of their eyes abruptly became wide and they opened their mouths with surprise. But they aren't the only ones who were astonished; Spyro was occupied of gawping at Jake. His eyes look like they were out of their sockets and his jaw dropped to the ground whilst Sparx held onto his head with both of his hands as his eyes were spinning really fast and his head was rocking left and right which resulted him fainted.     

"Drag--dra—" Number 89 stuttered.

"Dra--dra--Dragon!!" Number 88 stammered and then immediately screamed as jumped into Number 89's arms. "Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Mamma!! Mamma!!"

"What a bunch of amateurs." Jake muttered, crossing his arms and staring at them with his eyes half-closed.

"I know. I can't believe they are part of the Huntsclan." Rose acquiesced, closing her eyes and nodding.

"Let's have a little fun with them."

Jake glided over to the frightened hunters and he opened his large mouth and was about to let out a blast of scorching fire but Number 89 threw his friend down and they both ran away, into the woods with their hands up in the air, flailing like crazy. Their ear-piercing screaming could be heard.

"Heh, heh, at least they're outta the picture… for now." Jake chuckled with enjoyment, seeing the Huntsboys running for their lives. He turned to Rose. "I'll be right back with something you might like."

With that, he soared away, leaving Rose, Spyro and Sparx alone. They stood there; their eyes and mouths weren't moving for 20 minutes.

"O-kay… that was pretty unexpected." Spyro said, breaking the silence.

"About what?" Rose enquired, looking at the purple dragon.

"I never expected to see a dragon here. He was red, tall and very skinny with bat-like wings. I thought there are no dragons at this place."

"You know, this park could be full of surprises."

"Since that dragon scared those weirdos off, do you think he's on our side?"

"He could be."

"Who is that dragon anyway? I can't believe he's taller than me!"

"Yo, guys! I'm here! Did I miss anything?" Jake yelled to his pals, sprinting towards them holding a beautiful common rose in one hand. The leaves of the flower are rough and the stem is kind of lengthy. There are razor-sharp prickles on the underside of the stem. He stopped dead in his tracks and knelt on one knee and held the rose in one hand, showing it to his girlfriend.

"Ahem! Rose, milady?" The Chinese American teenager enquired, romantically as he smiled.

"Jake, you shouldn't have!" Rose smiled back, taking the rose from his hand. She then held it in her delicate hands, close to her soft, graceful cheeks and she bent down to Jake's level and kissed him on the left cheek. Jake became woozy while blushing vividly red and gave out a dreamy sigh. Spyro trotted up to him and raised his eyebrow. He snapped his fingers in front of Jake's zoned-out face. He right away came back to realization.

"Zoning out, why?" Spyro wondered, looking at Jake with a questionable face.

"Uh… nothin'! Just nothin'!" Jake bellowed, realizing that his dragon friend was gaping at him. He subsequently got up from the grass. "Now, let's get outta here, alright?"

Rose and Spyro both nodded. So, they ran out of the park but before that, the wilful purple dragon picked up his passed out friend and pulled him away. Once outside of the greenery area, they sustained their journey around the bustling city.

"Er… Jake? Do you know anything about that dragon appearing in the park?" Spyro curiously enquired.

"Uh… no! Why you'd ask, yo?" Jake fretfully questioned, sweating a lot, blushing uneasily and grinning nervously.

"'Cause I just saw one. He's really tall, skinny and red with bat-like wings. Is it me or does he resemble somebody familiar?"

"I think you're imaginin' things, S. There are no such things as dragons."

"Oh, really? But I'm one, right here! If I don't exist, why the heck am I talking to you right now?"

"Oh… right. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"So, shouldn't we get back to finding Hunter?"

"Yeah, let's jet!"

So, Spyro, Jake, Rose and Sparx who is even now fainted continued their search for the Spyro's second best friend, Hunter as they walked down the rock-hard, grey pavement. The sun was shining vibrantly past the fluffy, white clouds. The sky was pale blue while some cars were swerving past the gang.

Hmm… the dragon I saw previously seems awfully recognizable. I recognize the hair-do, the usual persona and the beady eyes very well. Could he be Jake? Nah, Jake's right. I must be imagining things. Spyro thought to himself.

Uh-oh! Seems like Spyro is getting suspicious that Jake might be a dragon! But later on, he'll know his true identity sooner or later. Oops! Looks like Jake made a boo-boo, let's hope it doesn't slip later on in the story or trouble might ensue!