Zero woke up to the annoying beeping of an alarm. Despite the fact he hated his alarm, he happily got up. Today was the day he got to go home, but more importantly, he got to see his best friend again!  He started grabbing the few things left he needed and ran right out of the dorm. Finally! College is over! My life can truly begin! He wished he had more time to go see his family during this, but what can you do? What mattered now was getting home and not making anyone wait for a second longer.

He quickly packed his things into his car and set off back home. As he drove, he drank a whole cup of coffee in just a few seconds. He felt alive again. After half a day of driving without rest, unless it was for gas, he finally saw the city come into view. He was so distracted by the memories, that he hit another car and that sent them both spinning into a ditch.

Zero shook his head a bit, then got out to see just how bad this was. The front of his car was pretty awful with half of it seemingly ripped off. Out of the other car was a wyvern... He looked familiar, though... "Oh no..." Zero mumbled. It was Nimbus, but he seemed different. He had one earring with a golden chain that looped to the back, and he also had a more menacing look. that would make a child cry.

"Well if it isn't the freak of nature himself!" Nimbus said as his ears perked up. "I'd say welcome home, but I honestly don't welcome you anywhere!" Zero narrowed his eyes. "The feeling is mutual, cloud-for-brains." Nimbus laughed hysterically, then quickly jumped on Zero, strangling his throat.

"Here is what is about to go down, freak. You are going to pay for the damages, and you are going to drive as far as that bucket of bolts can take you AWAY from this city! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?!" He picked Zero up by the throat and slammed him into his car door. "And one more thing before you do any of that..." Nimbus slammed a fist into the back of Zero's head and wiped off a bit of blood.

Zero was NOT going to tolerate this guy. Not today, or ever. Zero got up and walked towards Nimbus. Nimbus chuckled. "Now, where is that mon-" Something came out of Zero's shoulder and punched Nimbus 20 feet away.

Zero walked to where Nimbus was lying and grabbed him. "You listen to me, I may have caused that wreck, but you are NOT my boss, and you WILL NOT tell me to leave my home. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?!" He stared into Nimbus's eyes expecting him to beg for mercy.

Nimbus mumbled "I think you are mistaken..." and breathed fire into Zero's face. Zero dropped Nimbus and fell back. Nimbus got in his car and began to drive off, but Zero got up and brushed himself off. "I don't think I was."

As Zero said that, Nimbus's car suddenly jerked off the road and into a shallow river. Zero sighed and waited for a moment. Eventually, a dark blob crawled to Zero and it seemed to get absorbed into his scales.

"He is gonna be beyond mad when he figures out I was behind what just happened." Zero grinned and got into what was left of his car. Despite the condition, Zero felt like a god as he drove into the neighborhood. As he pulled up to the new house Snowy talked about, he couldn't help but be impressed.

Snowy had been putting hours into her job and was able to afford a lovely two-story house. In the heart of a tranquil suburban neighborhood, the modern marvel stands as an architectural masterpiece. Its exterior, an elegant blend of local stone and charcoal concrete panels, strikes a harmonious balance with the surrounding homes. Towering glass windows and sliding doors provide a connection to the picturesque neighborhood and offer glimpses of the city skyline in the distance..

Suddenly, a red and black dragon with leg braces burst out of the door. No way was that the Rose he saw last time. She was a lot taller, but still as thin as she was. She wore a silver necklace with a ruby on the end and two gold earrings. 

She stopped for a moment when she realized the damage that had been done to the car, but then continued full speed ahead. She yanked Zero out of the car in a flash and hugged him very tightly. "You're here! Finally!" She jumped, still hugging him. Zero yelled "Yeah I am! And this time, I am not leaving!"

Rose let him go and looked him up and down. "Dang, you are tall..." Was he tall? He didn't feel any different... He chuckled. "So are you! You look like you are twice the height you were when I last saw you!" Rose smiled with all of her teeth, then her eyes quickly opened all the way. "Oh! You need to come in! Come on!" 

Rose pulled Zero inside. As he entered, he saw her. Snowy was here, right now. She had changed a bit as well. She had patterns of blue on her white scales, and her head spikes were longer and prettier than ever. She had two bracelets on her left talon and a silver ring on her right.

As the two met eyes, anxiety filled Zero to the top of his head, worried about how she would react. Sure they were dating, but he still held her opinion high, especially since those trials she went through. Snowy leaped up off of the seat she was in and ran up to him. "Zero! Wow, you are tall now!" Snowy exclaimed. Was Zero really that tall? He always felt the same though! Perhaps it had just been a while and they all forgot how tall he was.

Snowy wrapped her talons around Zero and hugged him with a small peck on the cheek. As she let go and stepped back, then made a shocked face. Zero raised his eyebrow at her. "What's wrong?" He said confused. "How did those marks get on your head? I can't believe I am just now noticing, they are horrible Zero!"

Marks? Zero put one of his talons to his head, then jerked it away from the sudden sting when he touched a large gash. Once Zero noticed this, it started to hurt quite a bit. "Ah, that? I just kind of got in a light wreck. Nothing too serious!"

Snowy closed her eyes for a moment. Finally, she said, "Until it gets infected tomorrow." Okay, so she played the future-seeing card. Well, it's not like she could have figured that it could get infected without those POSSIBLE future visions.

"I refuse to let you do anything else until it gets taken care of, Zero." She said as she held Zero's talon in hers. "I will if you don't use your visions for every little thing." Zero said. "You can't worry over every little thing." He shook his head as he went to take care of the now very painful mark on his head.

Zero appreciated what those two girls did for him. Honestly, he thought he didn't deserve any of it. From Rose's positivity to Snowy's kindness, it almost felt like he was out of place when he was with them.

Suddenly, Zero heard the window behind him in the restroom open. Zero looked to see a peculiar glowing dragon with glowing green scales striped along dark grey scales. The dragon crawled in, seeming to be in a panic when he finally realized that a whole dragon was looking right at him.

The dragon jumped. "Wait please don't hurt me! I don't have anywhere to go just please let me hide for a little!"  The dragon pulled his wings in front of him to cover his face. Zero stared blankly at the dragon for a moment, then realized an odd-shaped tooth on his left side.

Zero walked to the window, looked out, and shut it. "You know you don't just break into houses and expect the ones who live there to treat you kindly, right?" Zero asked as he reached the dragon's eye level.

"Well, I didn't have time! If they found me, I would be taken back... I can't go back!" The dragon fell to Zero's feet. Zero thought for a moment, then asked "Who exactly is looking for you?" 

The dragon looked up at Zero. "The ones who have kept me captive... They made me ugly!" The dragon pointed to his face. Zero shrugged and said, "You look alright to me." Then Zero grabbed the dragon by the tail and pulled him into a corner of the bathroom.

"You chill here until I say. And if you try to slip away before I come back, I will find you, capiche?" The dragon nodded his head and Zero headed off to his group. No big deal, Zero, you only have a random glowing dragon in your bathroom.

As he got back, he saw Phantom sitting back in a seat. The two of them grew a bit distant, but they were still great friends. "What's up, Zero?" Phantom said as he looked towards Zero. 

"Hey, Phantom." Zero smiled. "So, now that everyone is accounted for, wasn't there someplace we were supposed to head off to?"

Rose jumped off her seat. "Right! Mom and Dad have this huge meal planned and there are gonna be a ton of relatives there!" Phantom looked down a bit.

Snowy looked toward her brother. "Hey, we are a part of them now, so don't mope about him, okay?" she tapped Phantom on the snout. Phantom let out a sigh... or a hiss... or a sigh hiss? and said, "You are right, let's just go." Then Phantom got up and walked towards the entrance.

Snowy gave Zero an "It'll be okay." look and followed Phantom out. Rose smiled. "He is having a hard time getting used to our family, but he loves them!" Rose then pulled Zero out the door and into a car, eagerly flapping her wings with excitement.

"So, I heard the Hellfires are planning something huge tonight! They always seem to have some new crazy event planned for every little thing, right?" 

"Yeah..." Zero said as he finally had time to think. Should he tell Rose about the run-in with Nimbus? Or the whole dragon in the bathroom thing? He just didn't know... 

Suddenly, Zero blurted out "So I hit Nimbus's car today!" he grinned at Rose. He smiled, but inside he was very confused about what to say now. He can't just say "But don't worry, I made him fall into a river!" because that is something to worry about.

Rose glanced over at Zero with a shocked expression. "Wait, what?! That's what the spot on your head is! What else did he do to you?!" Rose growled. Zero simply responded with "Not much."

Rose sighed a breath of relief as if she was expecting worse. Zero gave her a skeptical look and asked "Was he supposed to do something else?" 

"He was. He kept bothering us and saying things like 'Just you wait, as soon as he returns, I am going to kill him! Or maybe I will make him wish he could die, and you will all see!'"

The two went quiet for a moment, but Rose kept glancing over at Zero. He knew she was expecting him to respond, but what could he say? Zero thought it was best to just drop it.

After a few minutes of driving, they made it to their parents' house. It felt like it hadn't changed a bit since Zero last saw it. There were a group of dragons outside and it looked like they were waiting. Zero instantly recognized them all.

On the left was the Hellfires. In the back were Bentley and Agate. They were fairly tall and had a very regal posture. Bentley had a red and gold pattern along his body with spots of black dotting his back. Agate was beautiful patterns of red, blue, and green, and had huge wings. Then there were their kids, Plume, Jasper, and Emerald. Plume and Jasper were identical to their father with the only difference being speckles of blue on Plume and orange on Jasper. Then there was Emerald, the odd one. She was a dark, mossy, green with small stripes of red wrapping around her like ribbon, and her wings were huge. But it wasn't like she could fly, because she was born blind. Usually, at family gatherings, Emerald and Zero would end up talking to each other while everyone else did their thing. He understood how it feels to be different, and they've become great friends.

Then there were Zero's parents. Zero's mother still had that young, lively look, but it was still tough for her. She had been attacked while guarding, and now she can no longer fly. Her left leg and eye were blown off as well. His father also looked fairly lively... but he always looked that way. Zero deeply wished he could be a bit more like his old man, but the two were just too different from each other.

When Zero stepped out and met eyes with his father, the old man ran up and gave him a warm hug. "I am so proud of you, my son." Zero's father said as he let go. Zero smiled and chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it, if you hadn't been there to push me to be my best!" Zero knew inside that it wasn't true, Snowy had always been his main motivation...

After all the reamnents and the other hellfires gave their congratulations, all that was left was Emerald. She felt her way through and grabbed Zero by his arm. She spoke in that same soft, and majestic tone that he remembered, though it was much deeper.

"Took you long enough to get back to us losers!" she said with a grin. Zero shrugged. "Guess I can't survive without these dragons... how have you been, em?" She felt his neck spikes. "I've been lonely without you, man! I couldn't bare to watch you leave for that college!" She laughed and beckoned Zero towards everybody by tugging on him. Zero went around talking to his family. He talked the night away, sharing stories with them as they shared back... Zero was home.

After driving back to the house, Zero remembered the literal glowing dragon in his bathroom. Rose tilted her head at his worried expression. "You alright? You look like you're about to crap your pants!" Zero turned to her and asked. "Would you come to the bathroom with me? There's somebody I would like you to meet." Rose laughed but then stopped when she saw the serious look on his face. She quickly nodded. "O-of course... lead the way..."

The two went to the bathroom, and Zero slowly opened the door to reveal the now sleeping dragon. "Hey, we got some questions for you." Zero said with a bit of authority. The green dragon jumped up, a bit startled. "O-oh, sir, it's just you!" Rose popped in. "I am here too... and why the hell are you in this bathroom?" The green dragon suddenly leaped to Rose's talons and bowed. "Please, miss, forgive me for intruding, but please let me stay in your... bathing room..."

Rose looked shocked, then growled. " A bathroom is no place for a dragon to sleep! You can at least sleep on the couch! But first, what is your name?!" The dragon looked shocked, and then softly replied "I don't have a name... mister nimbus calls me subject..." Zero couldn't believe his ears, surely this can't be the same nimbus.

Zero decided to push on. "Was this Nimbus guy you speak of possibly a pale wyvern with anger issues?" The dragon paused and then nodded. There was pretty much no doubt... Nimbus was crazier than he initially thought... Rose gasped "Zero... you think Nimbus would-" "I do... and that's the case... looks like Nimbus is experimenting on dragons for his own sick game..."