Fiona shook her head a little. "If I hadn't done something, and all the mutants had gone out to cause havoc... I'd be beating myself up forever for not helping. Maybe Coyote knew this would happen, and made me like this on purpose so that I could help..." She shrugged a little.

  Leaning happily against Ozzy, smiling as she spoke, Clarissa said "We may never know.  There's a lot more going on in this world than a lot of us suspect until it sneaks up behind us and bites us.  I had no clue Ozzy was a wizard until he rescued me from a bad situation, but I'd been sweet on him for ages.  I didn't think he'd give me a second look, until he rescued me, and I just knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.  And here we are, happily married!  I startled him, coming up in the mall and asking HIM for a date!"

Fiona had to grin a little at that. "I really hope that I'm not stuck like this forever, then. I doubt anyone would go for a girl that's a two hundred feet long dragon. Except another dragon."

Ozzy chuckled and said, "Hey, maybe Lin could set you up, Fiona. She seems to know plenty of dragons."

Fiona stuck out her forked tongue and flicked it at Ozzy. "I'd rather have someone a bit more humanoid. No offense, Wind," she immediately added to her dragon companion.

  Wind said calmly "Some of us do marry humans.  But we normally don't tell the humans in question until much, much later.  If ever."

Ozzy grinned and said, "See? Dont be hating on our scaly buddies. Then again, I may be biased, since Ive got one on each arm. Me and Tats have been together since I was little."

  Zhang 'peeled' off, puffing into three dimensions, and said (in a shockingly deep voice) "Indeed.  And yes, I AM precisely what I look like.  Young Wind-In-Bamboo is your advisor.  But I think I may be able to teach you how to fly as a Dragon.  I taught Tats and Ozzy both already."

Fiona smiled a little, eyeing the tiny dragon as it puffed up, no bigger than one of her eyeballs right now, but her face visibly brightened when she heard what it had to say. "You can? That would be wonderful..." She wasn't entirely sure whether it was going to be successful - after all, she wasn't a 'real' dragon, and didn't even have any magic - but was certainly willing to give it a go.

Ozzy nodded, and Tats peeled off as well. They then explained in stereo, "Yeah, just start undulating your body. You'll start to feel energy gathering beneath you, but don't be afraid, because Eastern dragonflight is powered mostly by magic, so that just means you're doing it right."

"Um, alright..." Fiona began uncoiling her long body and turned her head, making sure that there was nothing in the way that she might smash; fortunately, a large area had been cleared for the demonstration. So she began moving her long serpentine body in a wave motion, slowly at first. "Like this?" she asked the two much smaller dragons.

  Zhang nodded, and peeked around, then undulated off of Ozzy's shoulder, and then was suddenly his FULL size.  Which was easily a match for Fiona.  He coiled himself neatly, and added "Feel the nature of the water and air within your body.  Feel those elements, and let them lift you, as the cool mist floats through the air.  Let the mana become as the air lifting the water in the mist itself . . ."

Ozzy nodded, and Tats joined in, deciding that he needed the practice himself, the little dragon hovering off of Ozzy's shoulder amd towards Fiona.

Fiona's eyes widened as the tiny little dragon suddenly blew up to many times that size, and she suddenly had a face in front of her that was just as big as her own. But she coninued undulating in place, and closed her eyes to try and feel these elements within her body. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to look for, but maybe it'd come to her.

Ozzy could feel Tats channeling the mana, and he could sense it moving through Zhang as well.  Fiona could FEEL something, but it tingled and made her whole body seem to thrum in answer to it.

Keeping her eyes closed, Fiona concentrated on that strange feeling that was making the frills along her spine stand up. Was that the water or the air that Zhang was talking about? She continued her motions, trying to grasp that energy she was feeling coursing through her body.

Ozzy grinned and said, "You should be feeling it, Fiona. I'm certainly detecting it around you. You're doing good! Keep it up!"

Fiona was feeling something, but having never used magic before, she wasn't sure what it was that she was feeling. All she could do was to keep up what she was doing, and focus on this strange energy, try to channel it.

  Zhang purred, and began to undulate, his body rising effortlessly into the air as an example for them all.  He was HUGE!!

Fiona concentrated and tried to direct the energy she was feeling. There was a lot of it by now, but a dragon as big as her probably needed quite a lot to lift herself up. She imagined herself becoming as light as the clouds, the wind carrying her up in the air...

*Funeral*

The funeral procession soon arrived at Weston City Cemetary. Dragon Fist, Hunter, and the others soon came to the funeral plot, which was donated by the city, which also showed some photos of the Femme Fatale. Most of the pictures were obscured due to the randomness of her appearances, but the fact that they were there was a testament to the wondrous enigma known only as Mirage.

A priest soon said a few words, wishing Mirage safe passage into the afterlife. Dragon Fist seemed to be silent throughout the entire proceeding, as well as Hunter, Psyche, and young Diantha. Nora clinged to Don in a show of support, and Detective Martinez put a comforting hand on the Champion of Light's shoulder.

The procession soon ended, and everyone went about their separate ways, except for Dragon Fist, who kneeled at the headstone, his head bowed.

*Funeral*

Dragon Fist kneeled silently at the graveside of Mirage, his grief was silent but all too evident. The turmoil in his soul may have been eased by Kimeran but the turmoil was still there. He still wondered, that even though he was the Champion of Light, and helping to save Weston, why those close to him were hurt and killed because of it.

Inwardly, he also wondered if Mirage, like himself, would make the unlikely passage beyond death, and return to the mortal plane. Lucas was fully aware that he didn't cheat death....death HAD indeed taken him...until a purpose was revealed for him. The purpose hadn't changed....the tenets still remained...no matter what happened.

"My love....I'm sorry...I only hope that you can hear me somehow, and know that my love for you has not diminished...only that there is a void that I don't if it can be filled or not. Vaya Con Dios, Amor..."

Standing to his feet and sighing, he extended his wings, and flew towards familiar spots.

>>>>>>>>>>To The Dragon And The Tiger>>>>>>>>>>>>

Fiona's eyes flickered open again to discover that she was rising up into the air, slowly but surely. It didn't look nearly as elegant or effortless as with Zhang, but she was doing it! Foot by foot of her long body left the ground and undulated up into the air. "Whoooaaaa!" her deep voice rumbled, and her forelimbs paddled a bit comically in the air, like those of a swimming dog.

Katy walked.

So much had happened in such a short time, from her turning on her closest friends, discovering a futuristic daughter, and the latest: The death of her mentor, her friend. There were few things in the world she understood more than the loss of a partner. Being in the Weston PD, to be considered a veteran you had to lose at least one partner. Psyche had gone through two. One killed by a Para who didn't have full control over his powers, the other caught in a crossfire between rival gangs.

Still, having been through it before didn't make it any easier. Helena was her closest friend and ally. She'd snatched Katy up right as she was discovering her powers, helped her hone her ability to control it, direct it, help people with her ability, and eventually to join the Legacy. She believed in Katy when no one else would, when no one else would believe in her. Katy could count on Helena to vouch for her, no matter what it was.

She sighed as she walked, fighting back the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to burst forward. She was frustrated that everyone she knew was being cut down, or being taken away from her. She was tired and hurt that she was still recovering from her attack from Brain, and she couldn't help.

Katy put her musings aside, taking in the metropolis of Weston Downtown. Simple, people going about their business, not even paying attention to the off-duty officer in the blue blouse and ripped-at-the-knee-jeans. But they were paying attention to an apparent draconic being floating up into the air.

Sighing and shaking her head, Katy looked up and stared directly at the being, smirking slightly and shaking her head. A slight movement of her hands and the dragon-being would feel a telekenetic force bearing down on her. Almost seemingly unawares of the others flying, or outright ignoring them completely, An extremely powerful mind-voice bespoke the Dragon (Fiona).

Weston's a strange place, to be sure. But being seen in public in such a large form is...disconcerting to others. Please move your friends and yourself somewhere else, away from...prying eyes. She bespoke.

With considerable difficulty (she was new at this, after all), Fiona had just managed to lift her entire body up into the air. Her expression was like that of a child at christmas - amazed and delighted and full of wonder. She smiled at the other gigantic dragon and danced around him a little, slowly of course. But when she heard the voice in her head, she stopped in her motions, and seemed to stumble in midair, although she didn't fall. "Who's that?" she asked no one in particular and looked around for a moment before thinking to look down.