Hm...

...

Feels like I've been hit by the blunt end of a battle-axe.

What even happened?

Attempting to clear his mind of the strange fog, Brandon groaned and made a (rather pitiful) stab at pushing himself up. He failed, so made do with staring at the bright blue sky.

Heh, nice colour.

...Why am I here again? Pfft, that cloud looks like a dragon.

Wait - That is a dragon.

The half-hybrid, half-human managed to get himself into a sitting position as he looked on. From what he could tell, it was around midday, but had no idea why he'd randomly passed out.

Probably just tired.

Ack, what the- What the Nether's that? Moving a hand to the back of his neck, he winced as he plucked some kind of needle or spine and just chucked it to the side before stretching and falling back onto the grass. Gods, this feels nice.

The distant roar of a dragon reminded him where he was, causing Brandon to narrow his eyes and slowly stand upright. Though embarrassed to admit it, he actually had no idea where anyone would be - They couldn't still be at the village, surely.

'Master Hutt?'

Yelling out at the random voice, the slime whirled around as the tri-headed dragon landed infront of him. It looked familiar, but he couldn't put a finger one where it was from.

It actually scared him too much, that thing could kill him in seconds.

'Master Hutt, you have returned!' It crowed, nuzzling him affectionately while Pete flinched. He couldn't place where the dragon was from, but he did know it.
Somehow.

'Master Lachlan believes that you are still in the village. I tried to tell him that it wasn't you, and now that you're here we can prove it!'

'You're Lachlan's dragon?! Notch, you've grown.' Brandon smiled awkwardly, moving a hand to the middle head's chin and scratching it gently. It was passive, so he could tell it wouldn't hurt him.
Well, he hoped so anyway.
'What did you mean by the boys thinking I was in the village? Surely they realized I was missing-'
'A shapeshifter has taken your place, copying you exactly - Even to the detail of your hatred towards the humans.'
'Not really a hatred... 'Kay, you're right, but I had a good reason. Anyway, what can I do?'

The reptilian mob snorted at the response and lowered his body, instructing the hybrid to climb on his back as he unfurled his massive wings. 'You are still partially human on the outside, so getting you to Master Lachlan in time may prove you're the real Brandon.'
'Uh... Is this safe?' Pete questioned worriedly, clinging to Salt's thick neck (the middle one).
'...Yes?'
'I heard that question - OH GODS WHAT.'

~~~

'So... As soon as we pass the barrier, you won't be able to hide your hybrid side until we're back out?'

Harry shook his head, glancing at his two older friends as they observed the land beyond the translucent wall. He remembered one of the risks of them being there, and decided it would probably be a good time to tell them.
'Alright boys, they're something I actually forgot to mention earlier-'
'The fact that the air's poisonous, right?' The golden-husky practically choked, while Tobi and Josh raised their eyebrows. 'You alright there, mate?'

'If you know, then why're you here?! You can literally die.'
The medic of the trio shrugged, his hand barely touching the glossy surface of the magic divide as he looked in. 'It takes around a fortnight for the poison to take effect, and it's definitely not gonna take us that long to find him.'

'I mean, I guess.' The blond muttered quietly, pushing through into the area and taking a deep breath - This was his home, and he was finally back.
'Right, the first place to check would probably be the village, but to get through there we can do one of two things; Go through the mountains, or go through the forest. Any preferences?'
He turned to his group, ignoring the fact that Josh was just staring ahead blankly as he and Tobi continued to discuss the basics for their plan 'Going through the mountains would be more dangerous, but would get us there faster, while going through the forest would be-'

'Bro, look at Josh.' Tobi muttered softly, attempting to "discreetly" point at his friend as Harry followed his gaze. The eldest of the group had gone from staring at the mountains to his hands, eerily calm as some kind of inky substance began to make it's way up.
It seemed to stop at his forearms, but wasn't finished. It appeared in coils above his head, merging together and creating horn-like shapes.

Then, two strands shot out of the horns and stabbed him in the eyes. He yelled out in alarm, stumbling back and falling as he moved his claw-ish hands up to his face. "Oh, my gods... Is he-"
'Josh! Josh mate, you alright?' Tobi called, sprinting to his side and kneeling down to check for any bleeding or leaking of the fluid. They were past the barrier now, so they couldn't call for any help.
'I-I'm okay.' Josh stammered. He obviously wasn't, with how much he was shaking and the tone of his voice, but they didn't push it 'Here, let me see.'
With clear hesitation the male started to move his hands away, before wincing at the sunlight - It was way brighter than previously noted 'Dude, that mean you need to open your eyes.'

'Ugh... Fine.' He whined childshly, keeping his head down as he did so. Unsatisfied with the movement, the team's medic decided to tale it into his own hands and forced the elder to look at him.
'Stubborn - Woah. Harry, bro, could you check this about real quick?'
'Hm? Oh, yeah, sure.' Snapping out of some sort of daze, the golden-husky hybrid nodded and jogged over to check the dark-haired male's eyes. It didn't take him long to figure it out; He'd already been running through the possibilities.

'Right, Josh, there's no easy way to put this so I'm gonna be blunt. You're either some sort of undiscovered hybrid, or a descendant of Emperor Urie.'

~~~

"Alright Lachlan, you got this. You've been in a major, life-changing battle, you are part dragon, you've got this... No, no I don't. I cannot do this."
Not gonna lie, the dragon hybrid was terrified. Telling your friends and mother one of your darkest secrets can scare a guy.
"Deep breaths mate."
"What're you doing?"
"Ack! Bloody Nether mate, invasion of privacy." The blond internally groaned, glaring at Vik from across the room. Most of the boys were there, with the exceptions of Brandon (Ill, as always.), Kenny (doing something with Harvey and Jason) and Choco.
Yeah. Nobody knew where Choco was.

"Pfft, sorry, but seriously - What's up?"
'If I stop chickening out, then you'll find out in about two minutes. I'm gonna tell everyone."
"...Is it to do with your scars?"
Lachlan froze up for a few seconds, glancing around the room. His close friends and family were there. He couldn't tell them all.
Not now.
"I can't do it."
"Hey, s'alright. Do they know that you were gonna tell them?"
"No." His answer was short and blunt, and he saw the Brit frown out of the corner of his eye before he stood up 'I'm gonna go outside for some air, I'll be back in a few hours.'

'Stay safe honey, don't fall down any more arenas alright?' His mother called, and he nodded while walking out the door. Once he was out the Australian took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around his torso and beginning his short journey towards the beach. He needed to be alone with his thoughts, and that meant getting away from Vik.
He liked Vik - A lot, honestly, but the fact that he could almost constantly read his mind was unnerving. The shorter teenager couldn't help it, and they'd established that, but still.
It was risky.
"Gods, everything's a mess. I don't blame the guys for this, but... I just need to tell them."

'Salt I swear to Notch if you - THIS IS WHY YOU SCARE ME!' A distant voice screamed, followed by the gravely laugh of a dragon. Bewildered, the Australian glanced upwards to see his reptilian companion flying down with a flailing slime on his back.
'Oh hey Salt, hey Brandon. What're your guys doing here?' Something seemed different about the older hybrid. He was more... Familiar, in some weird way.
The teenager took a shaky breath as he glared at the dragon, who just snorted and nudged him affectionately 'I thought you were ill today.'

'Ah, yes, the infamous "I" that's been in my place for like five years. Slightly offended that nobody realized actually, but you guys always were oblivious so I guess... Meh.' He shrugged, one hand on the back of his neck while the other was resting on Salt's left-hand head. 'Basically, what I'm trying to say is that somebody's been pretending to be me? From what I've been told, anyway.'
'So, wait - Where have you been all this time?' Lachlan asked tentatively, and the slime hybrid narrowed his eyes before sighing. 'I don't know where, but... It was cold, and dark. I wasn't the only one there but - Nevermind.'

It was clear that Brandon was hiding something from him, but the Aussie pushed it aside for now and grinned softly 'Well, it's good to have you back. We can tell the guys about this whole situation, but I'm gonna get Mum to check you over first.'
'It's really not-'
'Shut up, it's happening... Oh, and there's something you might want to know.'
'Shoot.'
'Ahah, yeah; Kenny, Mitch and Vik are back.'

--------------------------

E'RRYBODY IS BACK M8 HAVE YOU NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION.

What do you think Brandon's reaction is gonna be? Any change from young Brandon?

See you all in the next chapter, and have a great Morning - Afternoon - Evening - Dawn - Dusk - Midnight - Paranormal Timezone!

(P.S - Ignore this horrendous update schedule like pls I fan XD)