A/N: Typing at work = frustration at an unfamiliar keyboard. Also, I would like to apologize for the long, long, long overdue update.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Thirteen's Elite

Part 3: Demon

Theme: Limelight, by Rush

Chapter 9: The End and the Beginning

His claws tightened into fists, his breathing was forceful and uncontrolled. His heart was beating too fast to count, but he felt each beat distinctly. He forced his eyes open, feeling as though they were sealed shut. Before him, on the wall of the Vault, was a golden statue of a dragon. Not just any dragon though, this was a demon sorcerer, the master of fire. Drago's father. The same demon he had assumed banished with the rest of his family. Part of him reflected that the Chans never lied to him about his father. In fact, they all but refused to speak of him. Still, there was the spark of betrayal in finding his father like this. Sealed in stone, locked away in the same building Drago had lived in. Sealed away by the ones he had considered friends. Sealed in by the Chans. Perhaps the demon sorcerer sensed his son's mounting anger, perhaps even the nature of his thoughts. For it was not until Drago's rage was at the bursting point that Shendu spoke again.

"Calm yourself Drago. There is much work to be done." The young dragon met his father's petrified gaze. Countless questions filled his mind. Why was his father in the vault? Why was he a statue again? Why did the Chans lie to him? The last sent chills up Drago's spine. It led to a train of thought he wanted with all his half-demon heart not to consider. If Jackie and Uncle had lied to him, then…

"Jade." His entire being wanted to crumple up and fade away in that moment. To not feel the subtle ripping sensation he was filled with. Fire burned in his clenched fists, the heat threatening to set off the vault's alarm.

"Calm yourself boy! Or do you wish to waste your anger by bringing all of Section Thirteen down on yourself?" Drago opened his clenched eyes and glared at his father. "Do you feel it? The betrayal that comes from trusting humans?"

"What do you know about trust? You've never trusted anyone in your life!"

"Silence!" The very air shook with his father's anger. "I know the pain of having your trust shattered by a human. You know that as well as I do." Drago felt the anger and pain weaken against the sheer exhaustion brought on by the day's events. He wearily dropped to the floor next to the door. "Together we can take revenge on our enemies."

"Revenge?" He leaned his back against the wall, listening to the hum of the vault's security.

"We will destroy the Chans." His eyes slipped closed at that, seemingly at peace.

"No." The sorcerer seemed at a loss for words for a moment. Then the rage returned.

"What was that, boy?" He yelled furiously. Drago stood and made his way to the vault door.

"Maybe I can't trust them, but I can't trust you either. So until then, I'll take my chances with the humans." He paused to look back at his father. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"If they discover that you know I'm alive they will put you down like a dog!"

"Well, good to see you actually care Dad." With that, he slammed the vault door on his past.

Jade stood the moment the alarm sounded. She rushed out her door and made her way to the vault along with dozens of other agents. She tried to swallow her guilt, tried to put her mind in perspective. Yet her mind kept going back to when it all started. When everything involving him was so simple, so easy.

"See this? This is a chinchilla." She said to the bored looking dragon while pointing to the furry creature on the screen. She was sitting on his bed while he lay next to her. She was attempting to find something to interest him so they could find some common ground. She clicked a random link, hoping it would be helpful. An image of the Chinese zodiac greeted their eyes. She felt the dragon tense beside her. He said something else in is bizarre, almost-Chinese. "What's wrong?" He tapped a clawed finger against the screen.

"Shendu." He said flatly, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She clicked to another site, hoping to ease the dragon's clearly troubled mind. They spent the next hour or so attempting to find some way to communicate with each other. A sharp knock on the door caught their attention. Jade looked up in time to see Captain Black enter the cell. He gave the scene a brief, flat look before sighing wearily. Drago stood and backed away from both humans, seemingly self-conscious.

"I guess we can consider this your first day on the job?" He gave the dragon a wary look. "Find anything out?" She bit her lip briefly before answering.

"He knows Shendu." The dragon glared at her when she said the demon's name. "I don't think they got along very well." Drago breathed out heavily, flames flicking briefly.

"Is he going to be a problem?" The captain watched passively as Drago paced the cell restlessly.

"Chinchilla?" Both humans looked at him in confusion. "Computer?"

"I thought he couldn't speak English."

"Well, I've been trying to teach for an hour. I consider two words a day a success." She sent the dragon a dazzling smile. Captain Black gave her a flat look. "What?"

"Maybe you could have tried Chinese? Something more along the lines of what he keeps spouting at us?" The dragon and the captain watched each other carefully.

"Drago." He said with his hand on his chest. "Jade." He said, pointing at her.

"Captain Black." He gestured to himself. The dragon frowned and pointed at him.

"Chinchilla."