NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: 29. Rose: Jake, I will love you no matter what.
This has been a tiring week for both Jake and me. After all, Jake fought off his evil doppelganger which nearly assimilated the real Jake and then I had to extract those negative energy using Wood-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands and then defeat that stubborn parasite in its physical form in order to destroy it. Hell, I even used the Celestial Orrery to remove its existence entirely just to be safe.
Then I had to dump the corpse of the Kelpie in front of Principal Dolores Derceto as Sage and had to explain the unexpected encounter with this low level beast while not indulging the information of my capabilities. This Kelpie was used to create a new infiltration armour which can absorb Chi and perfectly mimic everything about a person including that person's habits and abilities sort of like white zetsu. I woke up from sleep and saw the first snowfall of this year which serves as a reminder to how much my life has changed.
I have everything I have ever dreamed of which is regaining my family. I helped Susan in setting up breakfast for everyone. Jake seemed pretty excited because it seems like he's got a date with Rose after school. Jake decided to go to school by foot with his friends. I dropped off Haley at her school and Susan is going to her convention centre for arranging a birthday party for some rich kid.
I secretly instructed Aleph Null to send me any information if anyone misbehaves towards Susan or her employees. At that moment I get a message indicating increased huntsclan activity in Central Park area. I ordered the Phantom unit to not disturb their actions. If I'm correct they are looking for the Aztec skull which is guarded by a guardian serpent. The snake is currently dormant as it hasn't been disturbed for a few millennia which will change this afternoon due to two troll brained idiots.
As Derceto left for other assignments Rotwood became the principal of Millard Fillmore Middle School. I'm launching five Imperator class Battleships which will be commanded by the first 1000 graduates from Utopia Planetia University. The five captains of the ships get a personal shipborne V.I.( Virtual Intelligence) which will help them to make tactical and command procedures. They will be responsible keeping the solar system safe.
Jake Pov:
Rose and Jake were walking through Central Park. " This is nice isn't it? Well, except for the part where my fingers turn into popsicles. Whoooh." Said Rose while shivering. " Yeah, it is nice to finally be done with the secrets." Said Jake. " The lies." Replied Rose." The you trying to slay me, stuff me and mount me on your mantle." Said Jake. " It's all so weird. The huntsclan always taught me that dragons are disgusting monsters but meeting you I realised just how wrong they are." Said Rose while shuddering at the cold.
Suddenly her face turned sour and Jake the ever attentive boyfriend asked," Rose, what's wrong?" Rose let out a sigh and said," It's the huntsmaster. Ever since I slayed you he has been suspicious of me and he is keeping a close eye on me." Jake scoffed and said," Chill, Rose. It's not like the huntsclan is going to burst out of the ground."
At that moment there was an explosion behind them and two high pitched scream could be heard. It was the original 88 and 89. They were being chased by the guardian serpent. Both of them stopped in front of the lovebirds and 88 said to 89," Look 89. Rose went and found herself a hunk of a man." Both Jake and Rose started to mumble out incomprehensible sentences in order to explain that they are not in a relationship.
89 said in a taunting voice," Rose and her boyfriend sitting under a tree K... I..... S...Ahhh." Both of them screamed and ran away leaving Jake and Rose to fend for themselves against the guardian serpent. Rose engaged the serpent using her huntstick but she was quickly overwhelmed and Jake seeing her predicament turned into his dragon form and lent her a helping hand and finally Jake tossed away the overgrown snake far away and also ripped off the rattle of the serpent. " So, dinner at my place?" Asked Jake. " Jake, we can't. The huntsclan is watching me and your dad. As much as, homemade dinner sounds wonderful given my current living condition with the huntsclan I in my sane consciousness can't put you all in anymore danger than you already are." Replied Rose. Rose started walking away but she suddenly bumped into someone.
Jonathan Pov:
I heard Jake and Rose's conversation through Gammah Null and my fist clenched in anger. Just how low will the huntsclan go to fulfill their worthless objectives. Now don't get me wrong I have killed plenty of teenagers in my previous life and now in my current life I have killed plenty of huntsteen but I don't manipulate them and make them live in an abandoned subway station with the rats. I just kill them plain and simple.
Also, I have rescued plenty of children who were willing to be reunited with their family. I teleported in their vicinity behind an ordinary bush and I simply walked in front of Rose and Rose in her absentmindedness bumped into me. Rose was flustered seeing me and I simply said," Ah, Rose it's nice to see you. How's your uncle?" " He's fine and thanks for the paycheck Mr. Long." Replied Rose.
At that moment, Jake came running and as he saw Jonathan he was surprised and asked," Dad! What are you doing here?" " Eh, came out for a walk because today I didn't feel like staying cooped up in the lab. So, I came to Central park for a little reminiscing because the last time I came here in winter was during high school with your mother on a date. Jake, I'm cooking dinner why don't you invite Rose."
Jake looked at Rose with pleading eyes and Jonathan looked at her with enthusiastic eyes making her relent at the end. Jonathan turned out and looked towards a building's roof and made the throat slitting motion and it successfully terrified 88 and 89. Jonathan took the two of them to his car's back seat and picked up Haley from school.
All three of them came home and Jonathan went to the kitchen where he put on his personal apron. Jonathan said," Dinner will be ready in an hour. Jake and Haley keep Rose company." Rose was sandwiched between Jake and Haley. Haley was the first to break the silence as she said to Rose," So, you're Rose the huntsgirl. The girl who hunted my brother the entire previous year. Now, you two have gone from mortal enemy to lovers. I hope you never betray him."
" Um, nice to meet you Haley. Yeah, no I'm not going to betray your big brother because Mr. Long will probably tear me to shreds and I genuinely love Jake. I'm willing to give my life for him. So, you don't have to worry." Replied Rose. " Yo, chill y'all. Today's about relaxing not talking about heavy stuff." At that moment Jonathan came out wearing his apron which attracted everyone's attention.
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It was a black cooking apron with the words " CHEF DAD" written on it. Jonathan asked," Rose, do you have any dietary restrictions?" " No, Mr. Long. Thanks for your consideration." Replied Rose. Jonathan went back to the kitchen in order to continue cooking and in the kitchen he started playing " My dearest." By Supercell.
Abandoned Subway Station:
88 and 89 reported everything about their encounter with the guardian serpent from Jake as the American dragon and Rose fighting it off. They also told him about how Jonathan located them and made the throat slitting motion and took Rose away.
Huntsmaster simply sighed and kept rubbing his temple after all their finances are being constrained day by day. Currently the huntsclan can only operate in New Orleans and New York because all the other bases have ceased to exist and most recruits are either dead or missing. Fortunately the three remaining skulls are located at New York and the New York base has enough supplies and equipment that can be dedicated to pinpointing the exact location of the last three Aztec skulls.
Huntsmaster can't help but feel that this entire time the huntsclan has been dancing on someone's palm and indirectly helping him achieve some unfathomable goal.
Long residence:
Susan came back after completing the birthday party and to my surprise no one misbehaved towards Susan indicating that ruining Thad and Jasma was the right choice. Susan was surprised to see Rose and in Jonathan's absence she started a full blown interrogation on Rose. " So, Rose do you really love my son or do you just want his pelt?" Asked Susan.
" I don't want Jake's pelt. I want Jake after we take care of the huntsclan." Replied Rose. Susan wasn't convinced and said," I won't be a hindrance to your love life but I'll keep an eye on you Rose the huntsgirl. After all, till last year you wanted to hunt my son." Rose nodded in understanding after all she understands that Susan is simply worried about Jake.
Jonathan calls everyone for dinner and Jonathan simply outdid himself this time. For appetizer it was Ceaser salad, then for the main course it was A5 wagyu steaks weighing 9 ounces served with mashed potatoes and fire roasted asparagus and finally for dessert a cup of hot chocolate with a slice apple pie. Susan may have been suspicious of Rose but she didn't leave out Rose from her conversations or made her feel left out in any way.
I could see that the corner of Rose's eyes were tearing up and I can't blame her because this is probably the first time she felt the warmth of a loving family. After finishing dinner Rose came forward to help Susan in washing dishes as Susan kicked me out using the excuse that I tinkered around her kitchen enough. Jonathan gave Rose a mini food fabricator which has the atomic structure of thousands of dishes saved on it and it can be shrunk to the size of a keychain.
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It uses air as the source of atoms. Rose went back to the abandoned subway station and the huntsmaster interrogated her about her reason for visiting the Long Technologies headquarters. Rose said that she went there for espionage and her relationship with Jake was for the sole purpose of infiltrating Long Technologies. Meanwhile Lao Shi examined the rattle and told the Jake about the Aztec skulls.
The next day:
Rotwood entered the science class and the first thing he did was drag his nails on the blackboard surface making a horrible screeching sound. Every single student felt as if their eardrums would burst. Rotwood said," Since, your science teacher is absent I'm in charge of your science assignment. All of you must invent something that will blow my der Kniestrumpf off. You will be graded upon originality, revolutionarity and uniqueness. You have till next Friday and you will draw lots to determine your project partner. Jake Long you first."
Jake used his eye of the dragon to pick Rose's name. Rose gave various excuses such as Jake uses too much hair gel and he stinks to get a partner change but Rotwood refused. Meanwhile in the cafeteria Rose said," Sorry Jake, for saying those mean things about you and you don't use too much hair gel. Okay, you do but you look good."
" Hey, chill we are just two regular teens doing science projects." " You're right. So, meet you at the library tonight?" Asked Rose. " Sure." Replied Jake.
The evening:
Jake was getting ready for his library date and at that moment he noticed the zit on his nose and what's worse that it turned out to be the indication of the beginning of his molting cycle. Jake avoided meeting Rose in the light of the street lamp of the library and flies away. Rose meeting with Jake was seen by 88 and 89 and they reported it to the huntsmaster which huntsmaster temporarily ignored.
When Rose returned the huntsmaster told them to get some sleep for they will go after the guardian serpent tomorrow after midnight. Rose tried to use her dream charm to reach Jake but it seemed like Jake wasn't sleeping yet so she decided to make herself a pizza using the food fabricator and it was delicious. She went back to bed as she decided to tell Jake about the hunt tomorrow.
The next day:
The entire day Jake ignored Rose and Rose seemed to figure out what's wrong. For some reason Jake's skin has become black and filled with zits and Jake seemed afraid of meeting her in this form. Rose relentlessly pursued Jake but Jake was very slippery and finally in order to convey her message Rose goes to Fu's dream to tell him that the huntsmaster has found the guardian serpent in a cavern at central park and they will retrieve the skull tonight with 88 & 89 so Jake must get there first and intercept it and she splashed water on Fu to wake him up.
Fu gave the news to Jake and Jake was able to retrieve it thanks to Rose giving it away. 88 and 89 accused Rose of betraying the huntsclan and they went as far as to say that they didn't believe she killed the dragon in the first place and the huntsmaster demanded Rose showed him the pelt of the dragon she slayed as proof and he went out to retrieve the skull himself. Rose quickly rushed to Canal Street Electronics and told the hiding Jake how huntsmaster was using the guardian serpent to track the skull. Jake blasts through the walls of the shop and came out at the open.
The guardian serpent has reached the back alley of the shop and at that moment the snake is killed by a green plasma blast at the head. The huntsmaster appeared and stated his intention to find kill Jake and take away the skull. Jake starts fighting with the huntsmaster and was able to rip off the loose skin from Jake's face and at that moment the huntsmaster is knocked out by a green blast and Rose appeared holding the huntstick. " Don't worry I didn't kill him. He's out for 10 minutes 15 at best."
Jake using his dragon legs scurried into the shadow of the alleyway and Rose found that particular action of Jake very cute. " Jake, can you come out?" Asked Rose. Jake hesitated but finally came out. Rose saw the saggy skin dangling on Jake's entire body and said," Jake, did you really think I would be disgusted about how you look? I love you not your looks. Jake, I will love you no matter what. But this is probably the last time we will ever meet as I'm leaving the city tonight."
At that moment, suddenly Sage jumped down from the roof and glanced at Jake and Rose and then he looked at the guardian serpent and said while weaving hand signs at an incredible speed," Looks like you two got things under control." After finishing speaking Sage puffed his chest and a fireball shot out from his mouth which burned the guardian serpent into ashes.
Sage turned towards Rose and said," I overheard your predicament. Perhaps, I can help ." Sage took out a scroll and unfurled it and pressed his palm on it. A red dragon pelt appeared which surprised Jake and Rose. Sage started explaining," This is not a trophy but rather a reminder of my failure. This is the pelt of a 14 year old dragon. The huntsclan was chasing him and he was injured severely and by the time I reached him he was dying. He with his dying breath in a last act of spite asked me to deny the huntsclan of their prize. I skinned his pelt and took his skull and left behind his body. When the ones hunting him found his skinned body I set everything on fire including his body and the huntschumps.
Don't refuse Rose because his sacrifice will finally be worth it." Rose took the pelt respectfully and dragged away the huntsmaster.
The abandoned subway station:
The huntsmaster woke up and saw Rose clad in her huntsclan uniform sitting beside him and tending his injuries. " Ugh, what happened?" Asked the huntsmaster groggily. " You were attacked by the elder dragon and I was able to save you." Replied Rose. " I don't remember seeing the elder dragon." Said the huntsmaster with suspicion.
Rose with a pained expression said," You still question my loyalty? Fine, if you don't believe me here's your proof." Said Rose and she threw a dragon pelt on the floor. Huntsmaster stared to examine it and Rose was about to leave. " Huntsgirl!" Said the huntsmaster in a deep voice. Rose clenched her fist clearly ready to fight. " Well done." Complimented the huntsmaster. Rose turned around and gave a bow and then left.
The next day:
" I knew we could find the 100th use for our 100 use cream." Said Spud. " Mmhmm, one good slather of the cream and that loose skin peeled off like a sock." Said Trixie while pulling Jake's right cheek. " I hope Rose is okay." Said Jake as they entered the classroom. Rotwood yelled," Mr. Long present your project."
Jake gulped and went at the front and started saying," Our revolutionary thing is totally made but my partner Rose.." At that moment Rose came in and said," Is here." Rose came beside Jake and Jake whispered," I didn't get time to make a project." " Me neither." Whispered back Rose.
Suddenly Rose's face lit up and she presented her dream charm and Rotwood's face lit up as he said in wonder," This looks awfully a lot like the dream charms that I read in mythological folklore but seeing the shoddy craftsmanship it's clearly a fake." Rotwood clears his throat and said while rubbing his chin," As a holographic paperweight I find it mildly interesting. C minus!!" Jake and Rose breathe a sigh of relief.
After school:
" Jake, I love spending time with you but I can't because it's too dangerous." Said Rose. " Yeah, wait you said you would love to spend time with me.Dang, someone has it bad for the Jakeman." Said Jake cheekily. " In your dreams, honey." Said Rose in a teasing tone. Rose gave Jake a dream charm and Jake asked with confusion in his voice," Huh, why did you give me your dream charm?" " I'm giving you your own dream charm." Said Rose while showing her own dream charm.
" You know, since I gotta sleep you gotta sleep we can meet in our dreams." Said Rose. " So, it's a dream date?" Asked Jake. " A dream date it is." Said Rose. Rose waved goodbye and went on her way.