Chapter 2

"Okay." Jubilee stated, trying to keep her balance on the uppity Dune. "This sucks. Got any ideas?"

Monet snorted (somehow still managing to sound high-class while doing so), gestured to Daria, grabbed Jubilee and Angelo, and flew them away. Daria did likewise with Jono. They flew off to a quieter section of beach and set down.

"Well, that was fun." Daria said brightly. The others looked at her. "What?"

"Dar, that Dune tried to EAT US! " Jubilee yelled, flabbergasted. "Doesn't that, y'know, seem kinda funky to you?"

Daria looked from one face to the other, then looked down and toed the sand. "You mean they're not supposed to do that?" She peeked up at them, which probably would have been a little more effective if she'd had bangs.

<*No, gel, they don't. Or, aren't, I mean.*> Jono looked back towards where it was starting to settle back into its deceptive Early Stable Beach look. <*Gorra admit, though, it weren't too difficult to get by, eh?*>

"Only because two of us could fly." Monet was searching the sand trying to find the footprints again. "However, to anyone else, it would be a substantial- aha!" She pointed to scuffle marks in the sand. "I wonder how the boys got past it?" She shook her head and set out after them.

The others looked at each other, then shrugged and followed.

"One thing's fer sure." Jubilee told Angelo. "I don't remember none o' this from the brochure."

* * * * *

"Ouch!" Leech said. He'd stubbed his toe on another rock. They'd found a nice path leading into the jungle, and were happily following it. Maybe it wasn't very adventurely, but it was nice and shady and there weren't any dragons on it. The one on the beach had been bad enough.

* * * * *

"Oooooooooboy." Jubilee ran to hide behind the rock with the others. "It has wings. I don't think we can fly away this time." She grinned and turned to Jono. "Hey, why don't ya go talk to it? Y'know, ya got that whole internal combustion thing goin' on. Maybe it'll like you."

Jono looked at her incredulously. He was about to tell her to go see if its mouth was as big as hers when a large, scaly head poked over the top of the rock.

They looked up.

It looked down.

Jubilee thought really fast.

"Heh heh. Hey there." Jubilee stood up and clasped her hands. "Well." She struggled. She couldn't ever remember being stretched for words, but... "So. You're a dragon, huh? Nifty." It looked at her, cocking its head so she was staring right into its bulbous eye. She looked at the others. Angelo waved his hand at her. 'Keep going' he mouthed.

She straightened her shoulders and strode out in front of it. "So, this yer first time on a man-eating beach? It sure is ours, by golly." She laid it on thick, gesturing with her hands, looking like the world's smallest sideshow barker. "Now, what we got fer ya is a prop-po-zish-ionay. We've got a gen-u-wine deal to make with ya. Howzzat sound?" The dragon was following her every movement. She walked around to the other side, so that it had to turn in order to follow her. "I know, you've gotta be saying to yerself, what kinda deal would that be? Well-" She saw the others tiptoeing behind the dragon before taking off up the beach. "I'll tell ya. Now, remember, ya can't let anyone else know this, but..." She wasn't sure the dragon actually understood what she was saying, so she leaned forward and gestured to the dragon to lean close. It did, moving its snout until it was inches away from the top ! of her shoes. It was staring int ently at her, waiting for her to say something interesting, which is why it was very surprised to be smashed into the ground by a heavy falling object.

"Ow." Monet got up and twisted, looking at her backside. "I think one of those horns might of made a dent in my posterior." She looked at the dragon, which was snoozing peacefully away, steam curling up from its nostrils.

Jubilee bent down and waved her hand through the steam. "Living Dunes, dragons...We're agreed that somethin's up here, right? I mean, I know Florida's got some big lizards, but..."

"Something is definitely up'." Monet looked down the beach to where the footprints disappeared onto a path leading into the - jungle? She frowned. Florida didn't have jungles. She turned to the others. "We can't call anyone. The phone is back at the car, and somehow I think we had better find the boys as soon as possible. That means we're on our own." The others nodded. "Very well, then. Let's keep going." She marched off towards the path.

* * * * *

Leech and Artie had been walking for what seemed like hours (which it was, of course) when Artie saw the little lizard in the middle of the path. He projected a picture of it to Leech, who grinned at him. They both liked lizards. The hurried forward, reaching out to pick it up. However, it heard them coming and spun around just as Leech grabbed it and held it up to his face.

"Look Artie! Funny lizard!" Leech had never seen a lizard like this one before, not even at the zoo. It was making a funny hissing sound. Artie looked closely at it, agreeing. Leech played with it a bit more, then placed it back down on the path. The boys watched it for a moment, then, losing interest, headed back along their way.

Hissing angrily, the basilisk whipped around and scuttled the opposite way down the path. Up ahead it could hear human voices. It changed its hissing from anger to delight.

Woo-hoo. Playtime.

Chapter 3

"Huh." Monet stopped walking abruptly and peered forward. "Jono? Can you hear-well, you know what I mean- something up ahead?"

Jono looked at her quizzically, then turned his attention to the path ahead. It wasn't long before he 'heard' it, too. <*Someone's thinking too loudly fer their own good*> he sent to the others, who, naturally, were somewhat confused. <*Up ahead. They're - she - is thinking, 'yumyumyumyumyumyum' over and over, with thoughts of tasty people circling around the 'yum's. Somehow, I don't think that bodes well fer us.*>

"Eeeeeyeah, y'know, I'm just gonna step off the path a little bit, here..." Angelo leapt off the path and quickly shimmied up a tree, followed closely by Jubilee. The others hid down in the underbrush.

They didn't have long to wait. In a couple of seconds, their noses recoiled from a noxious smell emanating from a creature that was half-bird, half-woman. Really ugly, smelly, saggy woman, at that. She was toddling along, munching on what appeared to be a small lizard. One of her wings was tied up with a dirty piece of cloth. She would take a bite of the lizard, then raise her head and sniff the air, presumably looking for them. She came to the part of the path that they had vacated and stood still for a moment, then dropped the lizard and peered around. The students held their breath, trying to make themselves invisible.

Fat chance.

The bird-woman squawked. "I can see you in there, you little @$$&*/^$! No good trying to @$&%#& hide!" She walked towards the tree where Jubilee was hiding and looked up at her. Jubilee waved.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see ya come up here and get us with that busted up wing, ya old bee-yotch!"

"I don't have to, you tiny peice of $%&@. There's plenty of you on the $%*&@# ground!" She suddenly dodged into the foliage and yanked Daria out by her ankle. The bird-woman raised Daria's foot to her mouth and was about to take a big, sloppy bite when Jubilee paffed her from above. To her shock the bird-woman's feathers lit on fire almost immediately. She dropped Daria's foot and hopped around, squawking in pain, before falling over and lying still, the flames crackling merrily.

"Ooops." Jubilee climbed out of the tree, holding her nose against the smell. "I didn't know that was gonna happen." She sniffled. Blasting a Sentinel was one thing, but this was another living creature.

Angelo reemerged and put an arm around her, also holding his nose. The smell was atrocious. "Somehow, I don't think anyone's gonna miss the old puta, J. Don't worry about it, chica." He squeezed her, kissed the top of her head, and ran as far away from the smell as he could get, preceded by everyone except Monet, who took Jubilee's hand and tugged her along.

"He's right. Come on, let's find the kids."

* * * * *

"Mmmphle." Leech twisted his head to see Artie, trying not to taste the icky piece of cloth that he was gagged with.

Just as miserable, Artie projected a picture of the older kids coming to rescue them.

"Hey! No using talents!" The goblin carrying Leech reached over and bopped Artie upside the head, which made him start crying. The other goblins in the band laughed.

There would be good eatin's tonight.

*to be continued...