A Dragon's Tale #Watty's2015

Truths

Tyro's POV

"And Alex turned out to be Lung?", Shadow asked.

Nolan shook his head, "to be honest, I'm not sure, Alex had orange scales, not green. Plus...it's the wrong personality."

"Wrong personality?", I asked tilting my head.

Nolan sighed, "It was a mission in Vietnam. Alex took a shotgun blast at the point blank range and it nearly killed him. I scrubbed the mission because of that ambush and we hauled ass back to a MASH station. Alex went in Orange and came out green. The Vets there explained it to me that the antiseptic and the morphine changed his scale color, but that wasn't all it did. Alex had this skittish, shy personality before surgery, but after it he was hyper aware and alert to every little detail, he also seemed to out right forget a lot of things we'd been through together."

"Like what?", Syralth asked.

"There was one time at the drag strip when my Dad ran his brand new 45 Impala with a 300 horsepower V8 against a Rat Rod and smoked it after the Rat popped a camshaft. It was one of the funniest things we'd ever seen to the point where the mere mention of it had Alex choking on his own laughter", Nolan said, "but after the surgery, it was like he forgot all about it, he wasn't the same dragon after that mission."

Faline sighed, "I'm no stranger to Draco higher ups pulling shady shit, so do you think that they maybe just killed Alex and replaced him with Lung?"

Nolan buried his head in his hands, "please don't say that Faline. I've tried to forget that thought for nearly a century now, I've never been able to dismiss it because....I believe it."

I swear Nolan had to fight his gag reflex just to get those words out. He seemed like he was two seconds away from losing his mind and crying.

"Something doesn't quite make sense", Shadow said, "Lung told me that he was the one, and only, Eastern dragon in the project, ever."

"Not true", Hudson said, "Emelia was."

"You were?", Shadow asked.

"For a couple of days yeah", she answered, "I jumped ship after John died...for reasons other than that which I'd really rather not discuss."

No one spoke for an uncomfortably long time after that. There wasn't really anything to say that hadn't already been said.

"Go back to your barracks guys", Nolan said, "I just...I need some time alone, there's something I need to do."

Without words we stood and walked back to the barracks. The sky had darkened and the rain was ready to pour. Once we entered the barracks, Ace and the kids ran to the Xbox to play Minecraft while, Danny, Alex, Adelind and I went to our bedroom.

"He seemed really out of it", Danny said, "I've seen my share of people in grief in my 50 years, but General Nolan takes the cake."

"Give the man a break", Alex said, "he lost his little brother almost a hundred years ago."

"Is there a possibility that the surgery really did change him?", Adelind asked, "and that Lung really is Alex?"

"You seriously believe that?", Danny asked, "it's just like the Draco Brass to kill off siblings and friends and then say something like "Oh the drugs changed his scale color", to cover their asses."

"I was just saying that it was a possibility", Adelind said.

"It's also a possibility that they locked him in a cell somewhere", I said staring out the window, "I doubt Faline even remembers how long she sat in that cell."