

Waking the Dragon - Astro's Adventures

by

Susan Day

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Susan Day on Smashwords

Waking the Dragon - Astro's Adventures

by

Copyright © 2015 by Susan Day

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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Waking the Dragon - Astro's Adventures

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the dogs of the world that don't have a warm bed to curl up in, toys to play with or a cat to chase. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to rescue shelters to help you all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

THE ASTRO'S ADVENTURES SERIES

OTHER TITLES

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1

After an exhausting rescue Commander Rocky and his team were back at headquarters resting.

They belonged to a secret organisation known simply as "The Organisation". The main goal of The Organisation was to save other dogs from neglect. Its office was cleverly hidden behind a Doggie Day-Care Centre, manned (or should it be 'dogged'?) by a team of secret agents. Their work went undetected by dog owners, animal shelters and human beings in general.

It was the dogs' job to rescue other dogs left without food or water; ones locked in cars and even ones abandoned at animal shelters. It didn't matter how dangerous the mission or how long it took, these intrepid canines never gave up.

Commander Rocky was head of The Organisation. He was a black Border collie and had a reputation for being very tough, strong and patient... very, very patient.

His team were loyal and dedicated. Never once did any one of them not want to rescue a dog. Never did they walk away from another dog in need. They worked hard and were brave, well, most of the time.

Sitting in his office, Commander Rocky was typing his report about their last mission. After landing, and then ripping through the roof of a circus tent, the dogs found themselves dog-napped by a team of evil clowns.

During their adventure, they managed to avoid being shot out of a cannon, being pushed hundreds of feet off a diving board and even being eaten by a lion. In fact, in the end they rescued the lion and the other circus animals who were being mistreated by the clowns.

Commander Rocky continued with his work, "Once we discovered the clowns were ghosts..."

"You're kidding? Ghosts! All of them?!" Hans, his assistant, was standing nearby. He was a small brown dachshund whose greatest skills were filing, compiling the database and being a father to twelve puppies. He fainted a lot too, but no one was sure if that counted as a skill because it wasn't particularly helpful.

"Yeah, they were really strange," Rocky continued.

"Dead ghosts?" Hans exclaimed.

"They're the only kind," Rocky sighed. He continued to type, talking out loud as he did.

"Then I ordered Indy to go into the Big Top tent on her own," he muttered under his breath.

"Really?" Hans asked then he thought out loud, "Where is Indy?"

"She should be back soon," Commander Rocky checked the clock on the wall. "She's making sure the lion gets back to his family."

"The one from the circus?" Hans shook his head. He was imagining sitting down with his twelve puppies re-telling this story to them.

'They are going to love it!' he smiled to himself.

"He wasn't so bad. He was hungry, that's all. But you know what? He soon realised that we had the better of him," Commander Rocky looked up at Hans.

"But weren't you all tied up with a never-ending line of coloured scarves?" Hans asked.

"Yes, but after a bit of persuasion and a short confrontation with Indy he was happy to release us. Then he only wanted to eat Digger," Commander Rocky smiled and went back to typing.

"Only Digger? Why?"

"Because he was the smallest," Commander Rocky said. "And like I said, he was very hungry."

"Poor Digger!" Hans exclaimed. He put out his front paws and held on to the edge of the desk. He was smaller than Digger and knew that if he had been there the lion might have dined on a little sausage dog.

He let out a long sigh and shook his head. His long ears flapped and Commander Rocky glared at him. He was tired and wanted to get his report written so he could relax in the playground with the other dogs.

Just then Dotty snuck into the room. She was head of the Communication Room. It was her job to monitor all messages received from frightened and neglected dogs. Messages also came in from other dogs who were working as operatives out in the field.

She didn't want to disturb the Commander but it was urgent.

She cleared her throat. "Umm, Commander Rocky. I'm sorry to interrupt you but we've just had the strangest message," she whispered.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I think you should hear it for yourself," she looked down at the floor.

Rocky hit 'control + s' on his keyboard to save his work and stood up. Hans shrugged his shoulders and stared at the young Dalmatian.

"Whatever could it be?" Rocky frowned, and he and Hans followed Dotty to the Communications Room.

Standing in front of a computer, Dotty began to explain. "Well, it seems that Buster and Indy dropped the lion off and were heading back when, well, listen for yourself. It came through five minutes ago. This is a recording of Indy's message but I'm afraid it's not very clear."

Stella came into the room. "I sensed there was something wrong," she said.

Stella was a small Cocker spaniel who was blind. She looked like a young puppy but she was reported to be hundreds of years old. Even though she couldn't see, she could communicate through her thoughts and often knew about things before they happened.

"We're not sure yet," Hans whispered to her. "We're about to hear the message."

Dotty tapped 'play' on the screen.

Digger, Alfie and Astro came into the room as the video message started.

Digger, as mentioned earlier, was a small dog. He was a terrier and, true to his breed, he was a legendary tunnel builder. He wore a green beret and despite his often dirty work he kept his white coat remarkably clean.

Alfie was a large Doberman who had some unique qualities. He was incredibly strong, frequently using his head to break down walls. He was always hungry and well, there's no nice way of saying it, but he was dumb... really, really dumb.

Astro was the newest recruit. He was a large grey, hairy dog who loved being a secret spy but who was very spoilt and a bit of a sook. He came to work for The Organisation after he began a rescue mission to save all the dogs at the Check Out – that's the most awful animal shelter in the world. A place where poor dogs go and then they 'check out' – never to be seen again. The rescue was known as The Great Escape and it is still a popular story shared between dogs at off-leash parks and in the queue at the fire hydrant.

"What's going on?" Astro asked.

"The boys in the lunch room said there was an urgent message from Indy," Alfie added.

The video had white streaks running across it and the images jumped about. They could just make out Buster trying to drive the van. He was looking over his shoulder to see what Indy was doing and trying not to crash.

Indy was leaping about in the back of the van. The rear doors were open and she was kicking and punching at something. She looked confused and worried. The sound was scratchy but they could just make out what she was saying.

"It's Ind... There's a dragon... Giant... Eyes wide, staring... Its body is... and gold and at least one hundred feet long... it's attacking... Sun Looooong!" Indy's voice screamed then the recording stopped.

"The message ends there," Dotty said.

"A dragon!?!" Hans gasped and promptly fainted.

Stella bent over him and put her paw on his forehead. Digger looked at her.

"He'll come around soon," she reassured him. The others hadn't noticed.

"The sun's long?" Astro looked puzzled. "What does she mean?"

"I don't know. Everyone knows the sun is round. It's not long!" Alfie rolled his eyes. "After our adventure in space I would have thought Indy would have known that!"

"I'm not sure, Commander, but it sounds like they need our help," Stella said.

"Yes, or course, but a dragon?" Rocky scratched his chin. "A real dragon?"

He turned to his team. "Looks like we are going to have to save Indy and Buster from being attacked by a dragon, team!"

"A dragon!" Digger exclaimed. "That sounds scary!"

"I don't think my nerves could handle a dragon!" Astro whimpered.

"I wonder what a dragon is doing in Bendigo." Stella said thoughtfully.

"What's a Bendigo?" Alfie asked.

"It's a town. That's where Indy and Buster dropped off the lion," Astro reminded the big dog. "Remember? At the open plains zoo?"

Alfie scratched his head and screwed up his nose.

"Oh yeah! I remember now," he said after a minute or so. "Wasn't he going to stay with his cousin? Rodney? Rufus? Ralph? Or something like that?"

No one answered. They had all left the room and gone straight to the Meeting Room.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Alfie cried and he galloped after them.

CHAPTER 2

Earlier that day, on the other side of town, an old alley cat and his tiny accomplice were about to hatch a vile and shocking plan.

Speed Bump Charlie was flicking rapidly through websites on his computer tablet, sniggering and muttering to himself as he did. His sidekick, Furball, was flicking rapidly through television stations.

"I'm bored," she moaned. "Surely there's something we can do, Dad? Robbery? Kidnapping? Blackmail?"

"Shhh! I'm concentrating," Speed Bump Charlie hissed at her. "And don't call me dad, I've told you before I am not your father! We look alike, that's all."

Furball rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "I wish we could go somewhere interesting," she said.

She flicked through the channels. "Boring, [click], boring [click], boring, [click], boring."

"Dragons!" Speed Bump Charlie exclaimed. He looked up from his computer and smiled.

She kept watching television. "What about them? Boring [click], boring."

"We're going to steal one and demand a huge ransom!" Speed Bump Charlie was nodding his head. His whiskers bristled. "I am quite the genius, you know!"

Furball put down the remote and looked firmly at the old cat. "You do realise they are big and ferocious and," she stopped and thought about what she was saying. "They're not real, either!" she added. "Steal a dragon! Boy, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard!"

"Really?" Speed Bump Charlie curled his lip. "What's this then?"

He handed the kitten his computer tablet and pointed to the picture. "See? That's a real dragon and according to legend this year it's going to lay an egg."

"It's enormous!" Furball shrieked. "You may be the greatest evil genius ever born – well, in your own head, mainly - but how are you going to steal something that big?"

"We're not going to steal him, or is it a her? I don't know, but what I do know is we are going to steal its egg – its baby. Then the dragon and his poncy keepers will pay us to get it back." Speed Bump Charlie looked at the tiny cat for approval.

Furball swiped through various screens. As she did she read out loud, "The dragon's name is Sun Loong and it's over one hundred feet long. Just before the great Lunar New Year, it will lay an egg. This only happens once in a thousand years. The baby dragon will be known as the Imperial Blessed One and, it is rumoured, may have magical powers. This rare and extremely unique event will happen on the stroke of midnight during the Lunar New Year.

For security reasons no one will know where this event is going to take place. There will be police stationed on every corner. The baby dragon will be the prize of the Bendigo Chinese Community. For those who come in contact with the dragon, it will bring about good luck, a long and healthy life and extreme wealth."

Furball looked up at Speed Bump Charlie. "I like the last bit," she smirked.

"So do I!" Speed Bump Charlie grinned. "So do I!"

"But how are we going to pull it off?" Furball asked. "The place is going to be crawling with the fuzz!"

"The what?" Speed Bump Charlie asked.

"The coppers! The jacks!" Furball threw her paws up into the air.

"Who?" Speed Bump Charlie said.

"The police!" she shouted.

"Oh, don't you worry about them. They won't suspect an old alley cat and his sidekick because we will be posing as Chinese tourists. They'll be looking for someone big and strong, but we will fool them and sneak under their radar," Speed Bump Charlie nodded.

Furball looked at him quizzically. "You're making this up as you go along, aren't you?"

Speed Bump Charlie looked at her. "So, what if I am? It's still a wicked, evil and totally nasty plan."

Furball had to agree with him and even better, it didn't involve those pesky mutts, Astro and the others.

"And it doesn't involve those pesky mutts," Speed Bump Charlie smiled.

Furball tilted her head to one side, "I was just thinking that," she frowned.

"Let's go," Speed Bump Charlie said. "It's the Lunar New Year tonight. We don't want to miss the big event!"

Furball turned off the television and followed Speed Bump Charlie out of the house.

"Where do you get your ideas from anyway?" she asked, as they walked down the street.

"What ideas?" Speed Bump Charlie said.

"Well, stealing a dragon's egg, for example. How did you think of that in the first place?"

"I've got an app on my phone," Speed Bump Charlie said calmly.

"An app? No way!" Furball stopped in her tracks. "Let me see it."

"Can't. It's only for the best evil geniuses in the world not some rat-tailed kitten like you." Speed Bump Charlie kept walking.

"I don't believe you," Furball said. "Show me!"

Speed Bump Charlie stopped and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Alright, but you are not allowed to touch the screen."

He held his phone in front of Furball's face.

"D.A.W.G... that spells dawg, sounds like dog!" Furball pointed out.

"It does not! I'll have you know it stands for Devious Awful Wicked Geniuses! That's me! Definitely not you!" Speed Bump Charlie exclaimed.

"What's that button do?" She went to lift up her paw.

"Noooo, you don't!" Speed Bump Charlie snatched the phone away. "Last time I pressed that button I ended up at a cat show."

Furball was confused. "What's wrong with that? You're a cat aren't you?"

"It's a long story," Speed Bump Charlie raised his eyebrows and shook his head. A shiver went down his spine. "Let's just say, it didn't end well!"

"But what happened?" Furball cried. "Tell me!"

"No time now, there's our bus," the old cat said, hobbling to the bus stop. He turned to Furball.

"I hope you brought some change for the fare," he smirked.

CHAPTER 3

In the Meeting Room, back at headquarters, the dogs assembled in their usual seats around a large table. Rocky was tapping the glass surface at his end. Under it were all manner of buttons that turned things on and off.

When a large red one was hit a bowl of water and a bowl of biscuits appeared in front of every dog. A panel would slide open and up the bowls would come. It was very clever.

Alfie stared at the surface of the table in front of him waiting for the biscuits to appear. His breath fogged up the surface. Digger looked at him and rolled his eyes. Astro, who always sat next to Alfie, shook his head.

"You can't be hungry again, surely?" he asked.

"It's been at least 12 ¾ minutes since my last meal," Alfie informed them without looking up. "I'll have you know I'm starving! Anyway, you know what these missions are like. One minute you're sitting in a lifeboat on your way home dreaming of delicious pizzas and hamburgers and the next you're shot into space with only a few lousy sausages for sustenance."

Digger glared at Alfie.

Astro looked over at him then whispered to Alfie, "I wouldn't mention the sausages if I were you. You might recall they got you into a lot of trouble."

Before Alfie could respond, Hans let out a yelp and the screen on the far wall brought up a map. Hans shook his paw and then sucked one of his fingers.

"Paper cut," he told Astro who nodded sympathetically.

"Now," Commander Rocky bellowed. "Operatives, this is a map of Bendigo. It is quite a large town in Central Victoria. It's about two hours north of here. As far as we can find out they have hundreds of dogs, cats and a lot of other pets, but so far, no reports of a dragon."

"But Indy said..." Alfie began.

"Yes, we are all aware of what Indy said, but as you can see from these figures," Commander Rocky looked down and hit a blue button three times. "There are no dragons in Bendigo."

They all stared at a large document on the screen. It was compiled by the local council and had all the pets in the area listed on it.

"Well, Indy wouldn't lie," Digger said.

"No, and you'd think after all the sharks and crocodiles she has wrestled in the past she'd be happy to take on a dragon!" Astro added.

Alfie agreed.

Stella stood up and cleared her throat. "I don't think Indy was lying. I can sense great danger coming from the north."

"There! Look, there is a dragon!" Alfie yelled, pointing to the screen. He jumped up and ran over. He poked at a line of text under the heading 'Reptiles'.

"See, four bearded dragons! Indy was right!" Alfie proclaimed.

"They're just lizards, Alfie," Digger said, "Bearded ones."

"Bearded dragons, bearded lizards? What's the difference? If you ask me, a dragon is a dragon!" Alfie crossed his arms indignantly.

"But a bearded dragon is not very big. One certainly wouldn't be big enough to fight Indy," Astro added.

Alfie frowned and his shoulders slumped. "Still a dragon; beard or not," he muttered under his breath.

Outside they heard a screech of brakes and the secret doors buzzed open. Rocky hit a yellow button and the screen showed a video image of Indy and Buster coming into the building.

"They're back!" Astro cried. "Oh, thank goodness for that!"

CHAPTER 4

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball had arrived in Bendigo just before sunset. There were a lot of people crowding the streets. Many of them were waving red and gold flags and holding up red envelopes.

Firecrackers were going off in the distance and there was a wonderful smell of sweet and sour pork, fortune cookies and gun powder.

"This is definitely the place," Speed Bump Charlie nodded. "See, those people are all waiting to see the dragon."

"Why?" Furball asked.

"I dunno and I don't care. Some sort of festival," Speed Bump Charlie muttered. He was looking around for something in particular.

Furball had to jump back out of the way of a woman with a large pram. It was carrying three children all sitting in a row. They waved red flags at her and smiled. Furball stuck her tongue out and they laughed at her.

"Weirdos!" she hissed under her breath.

"There!" Speed Bump Charlie exclaimed pointing to a dark alley across the street. "That's where we'll get our disguises."

He dashed across the road.

"How do you know?" Furball asked.

"The app - remember the app!" Speed Bump Charlie shouted over his shoulder. "It's got everything an evil genius needs."

"The D.A.W.G. app," Furball sneered.

Speed Bump Charlie didn't hear her because he had vanished into the crowd.

Furball struggled to keep up. She tried to be polite by stepping to one side and saying 'excuse me', 'excuse me', 'excuse me', but Speed Bump Charlie was getting further and further away.

"I'll have to try something else," she mumbled and she unsheathed one claw. Then she pointed it at a pair of legs.

"Ouch!" a man yelled and he jumped out of the way.

"What was that?" cried another man.

"Oh my! That was sharp!" a woman yelped.

Furball didn't care. Her plan had worked. The people were moving to one side to let her through and she was able to catch up with Speed Bump Charlie in no time at all.

The pair ducked down a dark alley and Speed Bump Charlie went to a row of rubbish bins. He moved away the middle one to reveal a small metal door. He tapped his phone then he knocked on the door twice, then three times slowly. Furball watched with fascination.

The door creaked slowly open and a pair of green eyes glowed from within the darkness. Furball shifted behind Speed Bump Charlie for protection.

"What do you want?" creaked an old voice.

"Two disguises for the Chinese Festival," Speed Bump Charlie said.

"Sizes?"

"One middle size cat and one small kitten," he turned and looked Furball up and down. "Large rat size, I'd say."

"Wait here."

The door slammed and a breeze blew up from the street. Furball noticed fortune cookie wrappers being tossed by the wind. It was eerie and quiet in the alley especially as there was a rowdy festival going on in the street only a few metres away.

The door burst open and two disguises were thrown out. Then it snapped shut again.

"Here," Speed Bump Charlie said, handing Furball her disguise. "Get this on straight away and follow me. And, don't say anything until I tell you to and don't go anywhere unless I tell you. Have you got that?"

Speed Bump Charlie replaced the bin and pulled on his disguise. After a few minutes fumbling with loops and buttons, and a further few minutes adjusting his headwear he was ready.

"How do I look?" Speed Bump Charlie asked. He was wearing baggy cotton pants and a large shirt that buttoned across his chest with wooden toggles. On his head he wore a large conical hat that shaded his face.

"Like a Chinese rice farmer," Furball said. "How do I look?"

"Like a rat dressed in a Chinese dress!" Speed Bump Charlie smirked.

Furball looked down at her dress. It was bright purple and had delicate silver lotus flowers embroidered on it. It crossed over at the front and each tiny silver toggle had a silver tassel hanging from it.

"I think it's very pretty," Furball brushed her paws down the satin fabric.

"You would," Speed Bump Charlie replied, "Because you're a girly girl. Now, let's get moving or we'll miss the big event!"

They were so cleverly disguised no one paid them any attention. Speed Bump Charlie and Furball ran out of the alley and up the main street. It didn't take long before Speed Bump Charlie found a large warehouse on the edge of town.

"This is it," Speed Bump Charlie squealed with joy.

They hid around the corner of a neighbouring shop. Slowly both cats poked out their heads and looked around the corner.

The warehouse looked like a concrete block. There were no windows or signs, just a large grey roller door that acted as the entrance. It was surrounded by high fences that were edged with razor wire. Guards dressed in black surrounded the gates and the entrance. Each one wore dark sunglasses and a quick glance told Speed Bump that they were carrying guns.

"This place is a fortress!" Furball exclaimed. "Disguises or not, we are not going to get in easily."

"Shhh! I have a plan," Speed Bump Charlie hissed.

He looked up and down the street. He noticed a crowd of people outside a café.

"Follow my lead," Speed Bump Charlie told Furball.

Then he stepped onto the road and said in a very loud voice:

"Oh, my! Is that the home of the dragon? It is! It is! How exciting! We will be able to receive our fortunes before anyone else!"

Someone in the crowd yelled, "Hey did you hear that? I'm going to be the first to see the dragon!"

"I want my fortune now!" another voice cried.

"Not before me!" said a man as he came running towards them.

Speed Bump Charlie smiled and nodded to Furball.

"See? I told you..." Speed Bump Charlie didn't get to finish his sentence. Once the word had spread hundreds, possibly thousands, of people came rushing down the street. Poor Speed Bump Charlie was knocked over. He struggled to get up, but people kept coming at him. They were pushing and shoving him and each other. Furball dashed out and dragged him to the safety of a shop doorway.

"Phew!" Speed Bump Charlie said. "It's like the Running of the Bulls out there! These people are maniacs!"

They both stood and watched the crowds of people throng around the gates of the warehouse. They were jostling with each other to get the first glimpse of the dragon. The security guards ran to the gate and shouted at the crowd to stand back, but they weren't heard over the yelling and cheering.

"Perfect!" Speed Bump Charlie said. "We'll be able to sneak in unnoticed. Follow me."

The two cats crouched and made their way along the fence line. Speed Bump Charlie was checking the fence for holes – anything small enough to crawl through.

"Here, this will do," he said pushing at the wire.

"Get down on your tummy and wiggle under here," he ordered Furball.

"But my dress! It'll get dirty and ripped!" she protested.

"I don't care about your silly, girly dress," Speed Bump Charlie yelled. "Get under the wire!"

"No!" Furball stood defiantly with her paws crossed over her chest.

"Get under!" Speed Bump Charlie hissed at her threateningly, "Or I'll..."

Not for the first time that day, Speed Bump Charlie didn't get to finish his sentence.

A little girl in a bright pink dress had spotted him and Furball.

"Oh, look! Kitty cats!" she shrieked and pointed at them. "Hello, kitty!"

Other children heard her and they cried too.

"Awww, dar got costoomes on!"

"Ma! Look, der is puddy tats!"

"I want to squeezy one, weal tight!"

The cats looked at the children then at each other. Their whiskers stood straight and every hair on their bodies began to quiver. Then, like a tsunami, the children rushed towards the cats with open arms. Their eyes were wild with excitement, and drool was dribbling from their open mouths.

"Crikey! We've been spotted!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled. "Let's get out of here!"

And, without looking back the old cat shot back down the street with the small kitten right on his tail.

CHAPTER 5

Speed Bump Charlie may have been an old cat, but he wasn't a slow cat. Not when a horde of crazy little kids were chasing him, anyway.

Huffing and puffing he jumped into a dark alley and pressed himself against the wall. A few seconds later, Furball joined him.

The children rushed past them squealing with delight and waving tiny flags, crying, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

Furball was struggling to catch her breath. "What now?" she puffed looking out on the street to see if the children had gone.

Speed Bump Charlie pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen.

"Plan B," he gasped.

"There's always a Plan B. Just let me catch my breath."

Furball began looking around her. On the other side of the street was a souvenir shop. It had all manner of trinkets in it. There were postcards, jugs, dishes and flags – all with pictures printed on them of Sun Loong, the famous Imperial Chinese Dragon.

Amongst them was a statue of a gold cat. It had big round eyes and lucky red notes posted on it. One arm was sticking straight up in the air and it was rocking backwards and forwards. Furball gasped.

"It's waving to me!" she cried. "Look, Dad..., I mean Mr Bump, there's a cat over there waving to me! A big, gold cat."

Not waiting for a response, she ducked across the street and rushed towards it. It was staring straight ahead, but Furball was convinced it was looking directly at her.

She put her front paws on the window and nodded in time with the waving cat. Backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards, Furball nodded.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," she whispered. "Yes, yes, yes, yes."

She became hypnotised by the gold cat. "Yes, yes, yes," she repeated in a trance.

Suddenly, there was a huge bang and then cracker, crack, crack! Furball spun around to see hundreds of people had filled the street behind her. They were letting off fire crackers and cheering. There were men, women and children. Some were dressed in traditional Chinese costumes.

She looked across the street, but she couldn't see Speed Bump Charlie. She tried to push her way through. She squeezed between people's legs and shouldered her way through, but the crowd was too thick. She wasn't sure, but it sounded like the noise was getting louder and louder. She got to the curb and looked down.

Drummers were thumping on drums. Dancers were clapping large cymbals together.

Then, more and more fire crackers.

Pop.

Bang.

Crack.

Boof!

"I've had enough of this!" Furball cried and she made a dash across the street. She was halfway across when, all of a sudden, it become very dark.

"What's going on?" she cried.

She looked up and gasped in horror.

Standing over her was an enormous dragon. It had bugling eyes, sharp teeth and on its bright red tongue balanced a large gold sphere! It had bells hanging from its fur and the more it moved the louder the fire crackers got.

It shook its head and screamed at poor Furball. She nearly fainted with fright but then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Speed Bump Charlie. He was signalling to her.

"What?" she said. "I can't hear you."

Speed Bump Charlie shouted over the terrible noise.

"Keep it busy while I steal the egg!" he screamed.

He made a circling motion with his paws and then smacked them together. Furball spun around and looked back at him.

"That's it!" he screamed and nodded. "Distract the beast!"

Furball spun around again and again. She waved her arms in the air and clapped her paws together. The dragon nodded and it rolled its head around and banged its jaws open and closed; open and closed. She had lost sight of Speed Bump Charlie and had no idea what was happening.

At the back of the dragon, the old cat was weaving and ducking away from the dragon's long body. He ran around and poked its gold scales.

"Where's that egg?" he gasped. "It must be here somewhere."

He looked at the dragon's feet and noticed that it seemed to have hundreds of legs.

"How strange," Speed Bump Charlie muttered. "Each pair of legs has matching shoes, but none of the shoes are the same. Why would an Imperial Chinese Dragon be so careless about its appearance?"

He shrugged his shoulders and kept looking. The dragon's body was swaying from side to side.

"Keep still, you over sized lizard!" he hissed.

Furball ran up beside him.

She was panting. "I tried... to... keep... it busy... but its... deafening up there," she gasped.

"Stop giving me excuses and look for the blasted egg!" Speed Bump Charlie shouted at her.

Furball weaved and darted around the many legs of the dragon. She, too, noticed that it was wearing lots of different kinds of shoes. She shrugged her shoulders and was about to report back to Speed Bump Charlie when suddenly she was lifted off the ground by the dragon's tail.

"Whoa!" she cried. "Let me down!"

The little kitten hung on for her life. Speed Bump Charlie ran below her. He jumped up and tried to pull her down.

"Let go," he yelled. "I'll catch you!"

Furball shook her head. She may have not liked being tossed side to side by a dragon's tail, but she didn't trust the old cat to catch her.

At a last ditched attempt, Speed Bump Charlie jumped and tried to pull Furball down, but the dragon's tail swept under him. It sent him several feet up into the air and then he came plummeting back down. Luckily he landed on the dragon's tail beside Furball.

"What are you doing?" Furball screamed.

"Hanging on for dear life! What does it look like?!" Speed Bump Charlie shouted and rolled his eyes.

The two cats bounced up and down until the dragon noticed them and then it let out an ear-piercing scream and lashed its tail against a shop wall. Both cats were thrown high into the air. They tumbled and rolled upwards. Then, sadly, they tumbled and rolled downwards.

Furball screamed, but Speed Bump Charlie managed to stay relatively calm. On the way down, he noticed a white van driving through a side street. He recognised the logo on the side.

"Those mutts are here!" he yelled.

Without warning both cats landed on a shop awning. Furball laid out flat catching her breath, but Speed Bump Charlie leapt straight into action.

"Come on!" he called as he shimmied down a drainpipe. "I've got a plan!"

"Another one?" Furball squeaked. "I'm tired!"

"Don't care! Hurry up! All is not lost!" and with that the old cat disappeared.

Furball stood up and followed him.

She muttered to herself, "I've either got to get myself a new evil genius to follow, perhaps a lazy one, or I'm going have to go to the gym."

In the next street she found Speed Bump Charlie hiding behind a sandwich board. He saw the dragon come around the corner and rush up to the van. It pulled on the back doors wildly. Furball joined him and immediately recognised the driver.

"That's that dog!" she yelled.

"Ssshhh! Keep down," Speed Bump Charlie ordered pushing down on the kitten's head.

"Why did the dragon leave the parade and what have those stupid mutts got to do with it, I wonder?" the old cat mused.

Having got the doors open, they watched as the dragon wrestled with a dog in the back of the van. There was a lot of yelling and shrieking. The van's tyres squealed as it swerved from side to side.

"Let's follow it," Speed Bump Charlie suggested, and ran along without waiting for Furball.

She soon caught up, and they watched as the dragon rolled something into the back of the van and stopped.

They saw the dog punch and kick thin air and then the van sped off. The doors slammed shut and the dragon hung its head and slowly turned its long body around. Ignoring the two cats it wandered back up the street and disappeared around the corner and back to the crowd.

"Well, at least we know where the egg is!" Speed Bump Charlie cried. "To the bus stop! I hope you've got more change!"

CHAPTER 6

Back at headquarters the dogs were very pleased to see Indy and Buster return. Rocky hit another button and spoke into a microphone.

"Indy and Buster report to the Meeting Room immediately," he ordered.

Within a few minutes, Indy and Buster entered the room. Astro, Alfie and Digger cheered.

"Oh, are we glad to see you!" Alfie cried.

"So, you got my message then?" Indy said.

"Yes, we were just on our way to help you. What, on earth, happened?" Rocky said.

Indy sat down, but Buster remained standing.

"Would it be okay, Commander, if I left Indy to tell you what went on? I need to get home. My owners will be back from work soon and I don't want them to know I have a secret life saving dogs. They think I sleep on the back porch all day," Buster explained.

"Of course," Commander Rocky replied. "Your work here is very important and we need to keep your secret identity very secret indeed."

Buster thanked Rocky and left the room.

Indy took a deep breath and told them what happened.

They had delivered the lion, as promised, back to his family at the open-plains zoo. The whole operation had gone smoothly. Buster had slipped on his delivery uniform and pulled the cap down low.

When they got to the gate, Indy was still in the back with the lion. Buster told the guard that they were delivering a new animal.

"It's some sort of rhinoceros," Buster lied. "One of those big blighters with three horns on its head and feet the size of truck tyres. He's a huge one, that's for sure. And hungry, boy, he hasn't eaten for days."

Indy and the lion knocked the sides of the van loudly. Then the lion let out a low, deep growl. It sounded really scary.

"I think he's a bit on edge," Buster winked at the guard. "I had better get him inside before he uses one of those horns to rip open the van and find someone, I mean, something, to eat."

The guard looked at Buster and back at the van. Inside the van, the lion turned around and with one almighty roar he kicked the side with both feet so hard a dent appeared. The guard jumped back in fright and rushed to open the gates. Buster drove through them whistling loudly.

Later that evening the guard told his wife what had happened.

"I know beards are coming back in fashion, dear, but this guy was really hairy. I mean hairy, like a dog!"

"Oh, don't you go over exaggerating, again," his wife reprimanded the man, setting the table for dinner.

Indy continued...

Everything else went as planned until they were leaving Bendigo. Buster took a short cut through a back street. There was some sort of festival on and he didn't want the police stopping him. Fooling a zoo guard was one thing; but the police were a little more switched on.

No one was paying them any attention so they thought they were home free when all of a sudden the doors at the back of the van flew open. An enormous dragon stuck its head inside and roared at them. Indy jumped through the seats and tried to push it out, but it was very strong.

"It had teeth, thousands of sharp teeth. It roared like a thousand thunder storms. Its eyes were green, no gold, no red – they kept changing colour the angrier it got," Indy explained.

"Teeth? Thousands of them?" Astro began to tremble.

Indy continued, "Its body filled the whole space. I couldn't see past it but I knew that it was like a giant snake because the faster Buster drove, the more it twisted and turned."

"A snake! Another one!" Alfie shuddered and, for a brief second, he forgot he was hungry.

"And then I saw the most terrible thing I think I've ever seen in my canine life," she took in a deep breath.

All of the dogs, except Stella, sat on the edge of their seats, wide eyed and jaws draped open.

"I saw a man," Indy began.

"Oh, Indy, we've all seen men before!" Alfie interrupted her and laughed.

She stared at each one of them in turn, took a deep breath and said, "Inside the dragon's mouth!"

Hans gasped and fainted. Digger struggled to stay conscious too, but it was extremely difficult. Stella was staring ahead thinking while the rest of the team were staring at Indy in disbelief.

"In its mouth?" Rocky asked. "Are you sure?"

Indy nodded.

"The man looked confused and frightened. He was trying to tell me something, but the wicked dragon kept swallowing him, gulp after gulp!" Indy continued.

"That's awful!" Astro cried.

"The poor man!" Alfie added.

Stella got up and went to Commander Rocky's desk. She didn't say anything. Instead, she tapped the screen and an image of a Chinese dragon appeared.

"Is this your dragon, Indy?" she asked.

Indy spun around and gasped. "Yes, that's it! But how did you know?"

"It's not a real dragon," Stella explained. "It's a huge puppet that the Chinese community use to celebrate the Lunar New Year. There is a big celebration with lots of dancing, games and fireworks. The fireworks are meant to wake the dragon. Then the dragon dances through the streets and brings everyone good luck and fortune."

"But it was moving and trying to attack us!" Indy protested.

"There are people inside the costume. That's all, I'm afraid. That's why you saw a man's face. He was probably the head puppeteer."

Stella flicked through a few more images. The dogs saw pictures of colourful dragons all of which were controlled by people inside them.

They all looked at Indy. Somewhere deep in their hearts they were relieved. Also, somewhere deep in their hearts they were angry.

"It's only a puppet!" Alfie said and he stood up. "I'm going back to the fifteen pizzas I left in the lunch room. That's if the other dogs haven't eaten them by now!" he declared and left the room.

Astro shook his head. "A man in its mouth!" he muttered and followed Alfie out. His paws were dug deep in his pockets.

Digger looked at Indy, shook his head slowly and left the room.

"Not you too!" she cried. "I swear, it looked just like a real dragon! You have to believe me."

Commander Rocky looked at the toughest member of his team. "Just a puppet, Indy? I don't know why it was attacking you, if that was what it was doing. Still it was just a puppet." He turned off the screen and he and Hans walked out.

Only Stella remained.

"You believe me, don't you, Stella?" Indy pleaded.

Stella sat in silence for a while longer. Indy hung her head in her paws.

"You're right. It doesn't make sense that the dragon was trying to attack you whether it was a puppet or not. But we have to face facts. It wasn't a real dragon only a puppet," Stella said. "Now, why don't you get some rest and perhaps in the morning things will be a bit clearer."

She stood up and left the room.

Indy shook her head and banged her fist on the table.

"I'm sure it was more than a puppet. There has to be something behind it. Why was it attacking us? Why? What did it want?"

She banged her fist hard on the table again.

CHAPTER 7

Later that evening the dogs were either asleep or watching old episodes of Inspector Rex. It was dark outside and clouds were blocking the moon and the stars. The only light came from a solitary street lamp.

In the car park, the van began to move.

It rocked slowly at first, but then it got faster and faster. Something inside it was rolling from one side to side.

In the distance, a wolf let out a long cry.

Rocky stopped typing and looked up from his computer. "That's strange," he said. "There aren't any wolves around here for hundreds of miles."

He thought about it for a few seconds, but his mind went blank. It had been a long day and he was tired. He turned everything off and left his office. In the corridor he bumped into Dotty.

"No messages, Dotty?" he asked her.

"No, sir. It's all quiet here at the moment. There doesn't seem to be any dogs that need rescuing or dragons for that matter," she chuckled.

"Well, that does make a nice change. We might be in for a quiet week after all," Rocky smiled. "Now, you go home and get some rest because that's where I'm going!" he said and did exactly that.

The next morning when Commander Rocky arrived there was a loud commotion in the car park. Astro, Stella, Digger and the rest of the Operatives were there.

Indy was standing at the back of the van yelling.

"I told you! Look!" she screamed pointing to the back of the van. "It's been ripped open!"

She was right. The whole van had been torn apart like a tin of dog food. There were tears down the sides and the back doors were flung open. The rest of the dogs were standing with their mouths open shaking their heads.

"What could have done such a thing?" Commander Rocky asked. "Or should I say 'who'?"

"A dragon! That's what!" Indy exclaimed. "I told you a dragon was trying to attack us!"

"But there wasn't a dragon in there last night," Buster said. "When we got back I checked the back and it was empty. The only things in there were some old boxes."

"Well, there was something in there, that's for sure," Stella was feeling the gashes in the side of the van.

She continued, "I can tell by the way the metal has been torn that it was something big and very strong and, by the feel of these jagged edges, something with very sharp claws."

Hans came bumbling out of the building.

"What's this?" he cried. "What happened to the van? What a mess!"

"We don't know, Hans," Astro explained. "Indy said it was a dragon."

"A dragon?!" Hans shook his head. He ran round the van shaking his head and wagging his tail. "How am I going to explain this to the insurance company!?"

They all stopped and looked at him.

"Poor Hans," Astro muttered. "He does worry about the strangest things."

Alfie agreed.

Stella went over to Commander Rocky and whispered in his ear.

"Really?" he said. "Yes, I suppose you've got an idea."

He cleared his throat. "Stella has made a valid point. Whatever was in there is now out here."

He stopped and looked at his team.

All he saw were vacant faces.

"Which means we had better find it before it does any more damage," he continued to instruct them.

He waited.

"Oh! I see," Alfie laughed. "So, what are we looking for?"

"Something with very sharp teeth!" Indy declared pointing to the slashes in the side of the van, "Very sharp teeth and claws!"

"Well, surely something that has teeth that sharp must be big. I mean really huge," Astro offered.

Digger and Alfie nodded.

"It can't be that hard to find something that big, surely?" Astro suggested.

Just then they heard an ear-splitting scream come from the office.

"That could be it now!" Alfie offered. "Boy, that didn't take long at all!"

He looked around and noticed he was alone.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he called and followed the others towards the scream.

Behind some bushes, two cats were watching and listening very carefully.

"What now?" Furball asked.

"It looks like the egg has hatched. Now, we wait for those stupid mutts to find it," Speed Bump Charlie answered her.

"Then what?" Furball continued.

"Then we steal it and ransom it for a lot of money!" Speed Bump Charlie smiled and nodded. "And I mean, a lot of money!"

A wicked smile spread menacingly over each cats' face.

"All we have to do is sit and wait," Speed Bump Charlie grinned.

CHAPTER 8

Inside the office they found the receptionist, Florence, standing on her desk screaming. Normally, she was a very level headed Golden Retriever and nothing phased her. As Astro and the others reached her she bellowed at them.

"Down there. I saw something," she was pointing to a row of filing cabinets. "It's gone behind there."

"What was it?" Astro asked.

"Was it a dragon?" Indy asked her. "A really big, scary dragon?"

Florence looked directly at Indy.

"A dragon? Have you been buying treats from that cheap shop on the corner? No, it was something small but I'll tell you one thing," and she pulled on her sleeves, "It's got very sharp teeth!"

The sleeves of her cardigan were ripped and torn. Florence tugged on them and they disintegrated and strands of wool fell to the floor.

"See?" she offered.

Commander Rocky took control.

"Let's be careful, team. This creature is clearly very dangerous. Florence's ability to knit indestructible garments is legendary. Ask Hans if you don't believe me."

"It's true!" Hans exclaimed. "Florence knitted each one of my puppies a sweater and not one of them could rip or tear it up. That's very impressive. I don't need to remind you how my puppies terrorized Santa's reindeer!"

The team nodded. It was a memory they were trying to keep well out of their minds.

"Let's quietly surround the filing cabinets. Whichever way it runs one of us should be able to catch it," Commander Rocky suggested.

Slowly the dogs crept into place. Each one crouched down and opened their arms.

'This will slow it down,' Indy thought, holding her hunting bone high above her head. She was ready to bop whatever it was clean and swift.

Buster stood behind them with a net. For safe keeping, Florence remained standing on her desk.

"Ready?" Commander Rocky whispered.

His team all nodded.

Slowly he tapped the side of the cabinet.

Nothing happened.

Then he did it again only this time a little harder.

Still nothing.

He lifted up his paw to do it again when they heard an astonishing squeal and something shot out from behind the filing cabinet, between Alfie's legs and vanished.

"What was that?" Astro yelled.

"I didn't even see it!" Digger squealed.

"It was like a rocket!" Alfie exclaimed. He was bent over double looking between his legs.

"Right! I've had enough of this!" Indy rolled up her sleeves and narrowed her gaze.

"I'm going to get that thing and show you all I was telling the truth!" And she marched off with her hunting bone in one hand and a stink bomb in the other.

Astro looked at Alfie and whispered, "I almost feel sorry for the little fellow."

Alfie agreed.

"Come on!" Commander Rocky ordered, and his team followed him down the corridor.

A few doors down they saw a blur shoot out of one door and into another. It was followed by the same shocking scream.

"There it goes again!" Digger pointed.

The blur shot out of a room and came straight for them.

"Get it!" Rocky ordered.

Each dog jumped as the blur zoomed past and each dog missed. Alfie and Astro fell on top of each other. Hans and Digger stumbled into each other and bounced off the wall. Rocky spun around in circles and tried to regain his balance. Stella hadn't even tried to catch the creature. She stood with her back to the wall thinking.

Indy ran up the corridor and leapt over Astro and Alfie. She leap-frogged over Digger knocking his beret to the floor. She wove around Hans who was still unsteady on his feet. She dodged around Commander Rocky and disappeared after the blur.

"I'm going to get it now!" she yelled. Then in a softer voice she cried, "Come to Aunty Indy, you little monster, I've got a surprise for yooooouuuu!"

Astro and Alfie shuddered. Then, along with the other dogs, they dusted themselves down and set off after Indy.

Again they saw the blur dash from one room to the next. It was so fast no one could make out what it was.

Each time it moved it let out the same shrill screech. It was quite nerve wrecking.

Commander Rocky and his team ran forwards, but again the blur shot towards them.

"Here it comes, team!" Rocky ordered. "Don't let it get past you this ti..."

It was too late. No sooner had he given the order than the blur was gone. Then came Indy and this time, several other dogs who were trying to help. The mob of dogs rushed and pushed past Commander Rocky's team.

"This isn't going to work!" he yelled in exasperation. "Everyone stop. Stop! NOW!"

Every dog halted on the spot. They were all panting heavily. Indy popped her head out of a doorway and looked at them.

"What are you all doing? Come on, let's get it!" she cried.

Commander Rocky held up his paw. "No, Indy. It's clearly too fast. We are going to have to set a trap."

"How?" Astro asked. "We can't even see it."

"And don't forget what happened to the van," Digger reminded them, nodding towards the car park.

"Yeah, if we do catch it what are we going to keep it in?" Hans asked.

"We might have a chance if it's hungry," Alfie offered.

"Alfie's got a point," Stella said. "Let's assume that it is some sort of animal. I calculate that if it has been in the van all night it probably hasn't eaten for nearly 24 hours."

Alfie shook his head. "I'd die if I had to go without food for that long," he muttered and a cold shiver went down his spine.

"But what should we use as bait?" Digger asked ignoring Alfie. "We don't even know what it is. Some animals only eat plants; some only meat; others, like Alfie, everything that isn't nailed down!"

"Hey!" Alfie frowned at Digger, but he wasn't sure if he was making fun of him because it was true.

"What food does every creature in the world like?" Astro offered.

"Peanut butter?"

"Cheese?"

"Beans? Green beans?" Hans suggested.

The dogs turned and frowned at him.

Rocky shook his head, "Not everyone likes green beans, Hans! Especially me!"

Astro held up his paw, "Bacon?"

They all stopped and thought about it. Alfie was licking his lips and, Digger and Astro's tummies rumbled.

"Bacon it is!" Commander Rocky cried. "To the kitchen!"

CHAPTER 9

In the kitchen everything was happening. The chef and a team of cooks were frantically frying up as much bacon as they could find. Astro and Digger were busy trying to keep Alfie away from it and Rocky and Indy were preparing the freezer room.

"It's the only place in the whole building that the creature won't be able to get out of," Stella explained. "All we have to do is put a plate of bacon in there and wait. We could all hide in the kitchen."

Indy began to see where Stella was going. "One of us could hide behind the door and when it goes in there, BANG! - Slam the door so it won't be able to get out!"

Hans came scuttling into the room.

"Sir, Sir! All of the corridors have been closed off on this floor. There is no way the creature can get out."

"Very good," Commander Rocky nodded. "Now, once the bacon has been cooked all we have to do is wait..."

He looked up and saw Alfie trying to reach over Digger to get a piece of bacon. Astro had both paws on Alfie's arms trying to pull him away. Alfie was too strong and Astro couldn't stop him.

"Alfie! Stop that now! Come over here at once!" he shouted. "It is important that we all remain focused."

Alfie dropped his shoulders and slunk over to his commander. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath.

Chef tipped a pan-full of bacon into a large dish. Digger grabbed it and rushed into the freezer before Alfie realised what was happening.

"The bait is set, Sir," he saluted Commander Rocky, coming out again.

"Good work, team! Let's all get into our positions and wait. Alfie, I want you to wait behind the kitchen door. When the creature comes through shut it slowly and stand in front of it so it can't get out."

"Let us out first!" the chef yelled, and she and the cooks dashed to safety.

Alfie watched them run down the corridor and hide in a storage room. Then he crouched down behind the open door.

"Digger and Stella I want you to squeeze yourselves under the benches. If it tries to make a run for it push the pots and pans onto the floor to slow it down. Indy, jump up and stretch over the pot hooks. If it tries to escape I want you to drop down on top of it. Astro will wait beside the stove and I will wait behind the freezer door. Are there any questions?"

"What about me, Sir?" Hans piped up.

"You're nice and thin, Hans. See if you can squeeze yourself between the cupboards over there," Commander Rocky suggested.

Hans nodded and each one of the highly trained Operatives quietly got into position. Years of training and experience meant they didn't need to be told twice.

After several minutes of silence and the loudest ticking clock Alfie had ever heard, he couldn't wait any longer.

"Sir?" he whispered.

No one spoke.

Alfie tried again. "Sir? Commander Rocky?"

A low, angry snarl came from behind the freezer door. Commander Rocky peeked out and bared his teeth. "What?" he growled.

Alfie waved to him. "It's me," he whispered loudly. "I was just wondering. Do you think this will take long? It's only that..."

Alfie stopped mid-sentence. From behind the kitchen door, he heard a strange scratching noise. He looked at Commander Rocky, but he had vanished back behind the freezer door. There was something strange moving on the other side of the door. Alfie looked around for help, but he couldn't see anyone so he crouched down and waited.

The creature sniffed the air several times. Each time for a little bit longer. He made a funny slurping noise and Alfie reckoned it was licking its lips.

'I don't blame him. Bacon is the most delicious smell in the world!' Alfie thought to himself.

The creature scratched at the floor and crept into the kitchen. He was very wary, looking this way and that. He opened a cupboard door expecting to see a dog hiding inside. He lifted up pot lids – nothing. He scrambled up and stared into the sink. He saw his reflection in the stainless steel surface and smiled.

He was far too hungry to ignore the smell of freshly cooked bacon. It was driving him crazy. His tummy grumbled loudly. As he crept closer to the door, Alfie slowly leaned on the kitchen door causing it to slowly drift shut.

The creature stopped. He shot his head above the kitchen bench, then below it. His eyes darted from side to side. Was it safe? Was this a trap? He turned to flee but then stopped. He looked over his shoulder at the bacon and licked his lips. Then with lightning fast speed, he shot into the freezer and began devouring the bacon.

Commander Rocky leapt up, slammed the door and locked it. Astro, Digger, Stella, Hans and Indy cheered and ran to join him at the glass window. They all wanted to see what it was.

"I can't believe it!" Astro cried. "It worked!"

"Look at it. Awww, he's so tiny!" Hans said.

Alfie came bounding up. "Let me see," he demanded. They all moved out of his way.

"Well, will you look at that? He's so cute!" he laughed. He looked at Commander Rocky and gave him his best 'puppy-dog eyes'. "Can we keep him?" he pleaded.

Commander Rocky shook his head. He was about to respond when they heard Indy clearing her throat. She was standing on top of the kitchen bench behind them. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was tapping her foot.

"Well?" she said, eyebrows raised, "Someone deserves an apology, doesn't she?"

They all nodded and agreed.

"Is that or is that not a dragon?" Indy declared, pointing to the freezer.

"Yes it is, Indy, but it's not the monstrous, huge one that attacked you," Commander Rocky said. "We are sorry we doubted you but this one is only tiny. It couldn't have been the same one you described."

Indy huffed loudly.

"We are all sorry we doubted you," Stella consoled her.

The rest of the dogs agreed and apologised in turn.

All except Alfie. He was tapping the window in the door making coochie-coo noises at the baby dragon.

Digger shook his head. "Move over, Alfie so I can have a better look at it."

"Okay Diggs," Alfie said, and he lifted up the little dog so he could see through the glass.

In the middle of the freezer room a tiny dragon sat munching on bacon. He had large yellow eyes that had black slits like a cat's. He had yellow claws and two sharp fangs.

His body was green and his belly was light yellow. He had a purple tinge to his nose and ears. Down his back he had lots of yellow spines that seemed to be razor sharp. Although he was definitely a dragon he was only a foot long.

The little dragon saw Digger and whimpered. He threw the bacon down and pushed the dish away. He rushed to the door and climbed up to the window. Then, to everyone's surprise, he started kissing the glass.

Alfie looked at his little friend. "Oh, I think someone has an admirer," he teased.

CHAPTER 10

Well, that settles it then," Commander Rocky said. "I was going to ask for volunteers, but I think Digger is the obvious choice. Go in there and see if you can calm that thing down."

"Oh, Sir, I don't think I'm cut out for battling dragons," Digger shook his head. "Umm, no, it's not a good idea at all. I'm only small and it looks vicious. I'm not strong like Alfie and I'm not a commando like Indy."

Alfie placed him back on the floor. They were all staring at him.

He looked with pleading eyes at his friends.

"Pleeeassee," he begged.

Still no response.

Alfie leaned past him and slowly turned the latch. Then he nodded his head towards it. Digger huffed and pulled his beret down on his head.

"If anything happens to me..." he muttered under his breath and he slipped through a small gap left by the slightly open door. As soon as he was through, Alfie closed the door and snapped the lock shut. Digger glared back at him.

The dragon had gone back to the bacon and hadn't noticed Digger coming in. When he did his eyes grew wide and the spines on his back stood up straight. He grinned a very wide, toothy grin and made a very shrill noise.

Digger put out his paws and began to step backwards.

"Now, now, let's not get too excited," he said. "There's no need to ..."

The little dragon took one leap and landed right on top of poor Digger. He began kissing him on his head and as much as Digger tried he couldn't get him off.

"Help me..." he tried to scream but his calls for help were muffled by the tiny dragon hugging his head.

The dogs on the other side of the door were listening very carefully. Freezer doors are usually thick. This door was over eight inches wide. It had not only been designed to keep the cold in, but Alfie out. Because of this none of the dogs could hear a thing.

Stella made herself comfortable on the kitchen bench. She was sitting cross-legged and she was humming. Rocky turned around to look at her. He was waiting to see if she could find out what was going on. Stella was able to float up and out of her body. She floated into the freezer. When she looked down she couldn't help laugh. Digger heard her.

"It's not funny!" he protested.

In the kitchen, Stella opened her eyes and spoke.

"I think it's safe to say you can open the door now."

Commander Rocky nodded and Alfie turned the handle. There was a moment's silence while the team waited to see what was going to happen.

Hans gulped because he was worried the dragon would fly out and attack him.

Digger stepped out and stood in the kitchen with his paws on his hips. Alfie and Astro sniggered. He looked very funny with a little green dragon balancing on top of his head. The dragon stopped kissing Digger and sat up and smiled at the dogs. He had a piece of bacon in each claw.

"I suppose you think this is funny!" Digger growled. "And I bet my beret is torn to pieces!" He was not happy at all.

Commander Rocky stepped forward.

"Now, we aren't sure how he will react but I think it might be an idea if we took him to the meeting room to see if we can communicate with him," he suggested. "If we put him on the floor he might run off again. Digger, you are going to have to walk with him balancing on your head. Okay?"

Digger was still frowning. "Do I have a choice?!"

Commander Rocky shook his head.

"Ummm, nope," he answered.

Digger went first, then one by one the others followed him. He walked down the corridor with his arms spread wide to give himself balance. Although the dragon was very little he was starting to feel very heavy.

Munching on the bacon, the dragon looked down and saw Digger trying to keep his balance. He copied Digger and the other dogs laughed.

Once they were at the meeting room, Digger sat down and lifted the tiny creature from his head and placed him gently on the table. The dogs sat down quietly because they didn't want to startle him. The door was locked behind them.

The little dragon sat up straight and looked at them.

"I think he's smiling at me," Alfie said and he smiled back.

"Be careful," Astro warned. "He might be smiling but he could also be showing you his very sharp teeth!"

Rocky cleared his throat. "Hans, see if you can find anything about dragon languages," he said. "Meanwhile, we'll see if we can get him to understand us."

He leaned across the table and tapped it gently. The dragon glanced down at his paw.

"I... am... Commander... Rocky...," Commander Rocky spoke very slowly. "We... mean... you... no... harm..."

The dragon copied Commander Rocky by putting his claw on the table and tapping too.

"I doubt whether he'll ever be able to talk to us," Hans pondered.

"I agree. Such an ancient creature probably speaks an ancient language that was lost millions of years ago," Astro said thoughtfully.

"What are we going to do?" Indy asked, scratching her head.

The dragon saw her and scratched his head too. Alfie laughed. He patted his head with one paw and rubbed his tummy with the other. The dragon copied him.

Then Alfie put his back foot in his mouth. The dragon did the same, but he nearly toppled over.

"Stop it," Digger said, righting the little dragon back on his feet. "He's only a baby."

Hans flicked through screen after screen trying to find something about dragon languages. Lots of images came up of dragons. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Then an image of a furry, little man appeared.

"What's a Hobbit?" Hans asked, but no one was listening.

They were all too busy entertaining the little dragon. He was copying everything they did. Everyone in the room was becoming much more relaxed.

"Do you think he might still be hungry?" Alfie asked. "Perhaps we could share our biscuits with him?"

"Good idea!" Commander Rocky said, and he hit the big red button and in front of each of the dogs a bowl of mountain-fresh water appeared and a bowl of dog biscuits.

The dragon squealed with excitement.

"I told you he was hungry!" Alfie laughed, but the smile was soon wiped from his face.

The dragon ran around the table tipping the bowls of water over. The water ran to the edge and dripped in each dog's lap.

Then he ran around again with his bottom jaw resting flat on the surface and swallowed each and every biscuit, knocking the bowls over in the process.

"What...?!!" Astro cried, jumping up.

"The cheeky little..." Indy said, wiping water from her legs.

"That's very naughty!" Digger admonished the dragon.

He waved his finger in front of his face.

The baby dragon smiled and gently took Digger's finger and kissed it.

"Now, you must promise not to do that again!" Digger insisted.

The baby dragon nestled into him and purred like a cat.

"Now, that's a good little dragon," Digger whispered, patting him gently.

"Thank you!" the little dragon said.

"He can speak!" Astro cried.

"Well, I'll be!" Indy shook her head.

"And he speaks 'dog'!" Alfie smiled.

Hans looked up from the computer.

"Well, we won't need these any longer." He went to switch the computer off when the dragon saw a picture of Sun Loong.

"Mama!" he cried. "Mama!"

All the dogs looked at the tiny creature.

"But I thought Sun Loong was a puppet?" Astro asked.

"A puppet!" the little dragon screeched.

"Now, now," Digger soothed him. "When Uncle Astro said 'puppet' he didn't mean it. Ummm, what did he mean?" Digger looked around for help.

"Regardless of what we think Sun Loong is this little fellow thinks that it's his mother," Stella said. "So, we better go along with him until we find out what is really happening."

They all agreed and felt sorry for the little dragon.

"Don't you worry, little fellow," Commander Rocky reassured it. "We will get you back to your family."

The little dragon stared at the image. Tears welled in his eyes and he sniffed.

"What I want to know is how did he end up in the van in the first place?" Indy asked.

"I don't know, but I think we should find out," Commander Rocky said. "Hans, what operatives do we have in Bendigo, the home of Sun Loong?"

Hans skittered to the computer and tapped the screen. He drummed his paws on the table while the information loaded.

"There's Ming the Chow, no, he's busy guarding a litter of puppies. Umm... what about Sissy, the Shar Pei? Oh no, she's on holidays. Umm..." Hans flicked through several screens. "Here, we go. Zheng the Pekinese? He's on active duty."

"Go to the Communications Room and tell Dotty to send Zheng a message. We need to know what this is all about. Especially since we are now babysitting a baby dragon and we don't know why nor do we have any idea what to do with him," Commander Rocky said.

"What are we going to do in the mean time?" Digger whispered.

"He must be getting tired," Astro offered. "I know I'm exhausted."

"Let's take him to the nursery where the puppies sleep and see if we can comfort the poor little soul," Commander Rocky said.

"When you say 'we' you mean 'me', don't you?" Digger cocked one eyebrow.

Commander Rocky nodded.

"Take Astro with you," he suggested.

"He's very furry and the dragon might find lying next to him a comfort."

"Me?" Astro protested. "Why me?"

He looked around the room at a sea of blank faces.

"There's no point complaining, is there?" he said.

The dogs all shook their heads together.

CHAPTER 11

The next day started normally at the Doggy Day-Care Centre. Lots of dogs were dropped off so they could spend the day playing with each other and running in the park.

Digger got up early to make sure the baby dragon was okay. When he got to the nursery the little dragon was waiting for him. He was jumping up at the door and squealing with delight.

"Me very hungry!" he told Digger and he smacked his lips together and smiled.

"Well, let's head straight to the kitchen," Digger responded.

In the kitchen, the dragon was served plate after plate of bacon and eggs.

"More!" he commanded.

More was given, but it wasn't enough. After twenty minutes Chef looked at Digger.

"That's the end of the bacon and eggs!" she cried, throwing her hands into the air.

"Porridge?" Digger asked. "Perhaps he likes porridge?"

Chef poured some oats into a saucepan, added water and stirred the mixture.

"This is like cooking for Alfie," she complained, "A never-ending demand for food."

Digger didn't hear her; he was busy trying to stop the little dragon from destroying the kitchen.

The dragon was running from bench to bench throwing things up in the air and tipping over pots. Digger tried to catch him but he got more excited and moved faster and faster.

Chef placed a big pot of steaming porridge on the table. The dragon stopped and threw his nose into the air.

"Yummmm...." He cried and rushed to the table.

Within seconds he had drained the pot and was demanding more.

Chef hung her head and began to sob. "I was wrong. That thing is worse than Alfie! I'm all out of food! There's nothing left!"

"Never mind," Digger said, "I'll take him to the playground."

He turned around, but the dragon was gone. Digger dashed into the corridor and looked up and down.

'Where has he gone?' he wondered. Then he heard a terrible scream.

"Found him," the little dog muttered, dashing towards the scream.

Digger ran along the corridor, looking in each room as he passed the doorway. Mostly, he saw dogs looking back at him wondering what all the commotion was about.

In one doorway, however, he saw a cloud of smoke and saw petri dishes sailing through the air.

Digger stopped in his tracks. He heard a loud explosion.

"That'll be him," he sighed, and he ran into the room.

The little dragon was sitting on the bench rubbing his front claws together. He had discovered that he could breathe fire. Digger saw him leaning over the gas burners.

"Oh, this can't be good," the little dog gasped.

He ran over to stop the dragon, but he wasn't quick enough. The little dragon flicked the lever and started counting; one, two, three. Then he breathed fire onto the leaking gas.

BOOF!

WHOOSH!

It exploded.

The little dragon shrieked with laughter. He rolled back on his tail and kicked his back legs in the air and clapped his front claws together.

The lab techs were hiding behind a cupboard.

"Do something!" one of them screamed at Digger.

"He's going to blow us all up!"

Digger scanned the room and saw a bright purple scarf hanging from the coat stand.

BOOF!

WHOOSH!

SHRIEK!

"This will have to do," he muttered.

Then in a sing-song voice, "Hey, little dragon! Come and see what I've got!"

He waved the scarf in the air. The little dragon looked around. His eyes opened wide and he smiled.

"Mine?" he screeched and began leaping across the benches towards Digger.

With every step, glass dishes and beakers were tipped over and scattered everywhere.

One of the lab techs stood up.

"That's my scarf!" she protested, but it was too late.

The little dragon pounced on Digger and ripped the scarf out of his paws.

"Oooh, it's soft!" the little dragon said, running the scarf over his claws. Then he picked it up and rubbed it on his cheek.

"That's made from 100% Chinese silk!" the lab tech yelled. "It's very expensive!"

Digger looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Perhaps that's why he likes it. He is, after all, a Chinese dragon," he offered.

She crossed her paws across her chest and huffed loudly.

Digger smiled at her and then, turning to the dragon, he whispered, "Come on, let's get you out of here and ..."

But Digger was too slow; the dragon was gone... again.

"Oh, boy! What a day!" Digger cried as he ran after him.

~~~

Meanwhile, outside another window two sets of pointy ears could be seen followed by two sets of green eyes.

"Can you see anything?" Furball asked.

"No, not yet," Speed Bump Charlie whispered.

"Keep your head down. We don't want to be seen."

Furball let herself down slowly and stood on the grass.

"If we do find the dragon what are we going to do with him?" she asked.

"See the van over there," Speed Bump Charlie pointed to the car park.

"We're going to steal it and take the dragon back to our headquarters."

"Then what?" Furball asked.

"Then we are going to call his family and ask for a big, fat reward!" Speed Bump Charlie chuckled.

"Here read this," he pulled a folded newspaper clipping out of his pocket and shoved it towards Furball.

She snatched it from him and opened it.

"It's from the Bendigo News: Rumour has it that the dragon's egg is missing. Some people are saying it has been stolen; others are saying it has been hidden away. Some people are offering a reward for its safe return. If you know anything call. Call Bendigo 3472. Urgent!" Furball read then she smiled. "Wow! This is going to be easier than I thought! Great!"

Suddenly they heard an explosion. They saw flames shooting out of a nearby window.

"What's that about, I wonder?" Speed Bump Charlie muttered.

He climbed down and ran towards the noise. Furball threw the newspaper on the ground and followed him. Speed Bump Charlie ran past the doorway, but when Furball got to the same spot something hit her hard. She screamed and was knocked to the ground.

Speed Bump Charlie spun around.

"What are you d..." he stopped and gasped.

Running across the lawn was a baby dragon.

"Well, will you look at that?! It looks just like a baby drag..."

Furball stood up and shook her legs and arms.

"What was that? It feel like I've been hit by a car," she cried.

Both cats stopped and looked at each other.

"A baby what?" asked Furball.

"That's him!" they both cried, and together they shot off across the grass.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball soon caught up with him, but catching him was another thing. Furball jumped on the dragon's back.

She wasn't much bigger than he was and she struggled to hold him down. The little dragon twisted and squirmed and let out a loud cry.

Speed Bump Charlie grabbed the dragon from the front and wrestled with him. He wrapped his arms around him and tried to push him over with his back legs. Instead, he ended up squeezing Furball into the dragon's sharp spines.

"Watch it!" she yelled. "He's full of spikes!"

The two cats pushed and shoved the dragon. Eventually he fell onto his back and Furball wriggled free from underneath him. Speed Bump Charlie whipped out some rope from his pocket and tied the dragon up.

"Phew! That should hold him," he puffed. "Now, go and get the van. We need to get this lizard back to our headquarters without delay!"

Furball ran over and checked the ignition. Thankfully the keys were still inside. She looked at the rips and tears in the side of the van.

"Boy, something's made a mess in there," she muttered.

She hopped in the driver's seat and started the engine. Speed Bump Charlie dragged the dragon over and was going to throw him in the back.

"What happened to this?" he asked. "I won't be able to put him in there he'll roll out of the gaps."

"Put him in the front, then," Furball yelled over the noise of the engine. "Now, let's get going!"

Speed Bump Charlie shoved the baby dragon onto the floor of the van and put his back paws on top of him.

The dragon squirmed and shrieked. Speed Bump Charlie grabbed a hankie out of his pocket and shoved it in the dragon's mouth.

"That should keep him quiet!" Speed Bump Charlie laughed. "Well, looks like today is our lucky day!" he smirked.

Furball swung the steering wheel around and the van jerked forward. She over corrected and it lurched onto the footpath nearly missing an old lady.

"Watch out!" Furball cried. Then she turned to the old cat.

"Sure is our lucky day, Mr Bump!" she smiled.

The baby dragon growled and squirmed about wildly. Speed Bump Charlie kicked him.

"Be quiet, you green lizard!" he laughed.

The white van rocked down the road and swerved around a corner. Then it sped off along the highway while a tattered, purple scarf lay in the middle of the lawn.

CHAPTER 12

Digger ran to the doorway and saw the van speeding down the road.

"Oh, this isn't good, not good at all," he moaned.

Alfie casually trotted up beside him. "What is it?" he asked.

"I can't find the dragon and the van's gone," Digger squealed. "What if he's stolen it? Or what if he's been dragon-napped!?"

Digger grabbed Alfie with both paws and shook him.

"What am I going to do? I'll get into a lot of trouble! I was supposed to be looking after him!" he began to sob.

"Stay calm, Diggs," Alfie reassured his friend. "I bet the dragon is here somewhere and Buster probably took the van to be repaired." The big dog smiled.

Digger noticed a piece of newspaper lying on the ground.

"What's this?" he said, picking it up and reading it.

Then he put the back of his paw on his forehead and fainted on to the grass.

"What is it?" Alfie cried. He bent down and grabbed the paper out of Digger's paw and read it.

"50% off new collars and leashes at your local pet store! Wow, that is a bargain," he nodded, but looking down at Digger he added, "But I'm not sure it's worth fainting for, Diggs."

Digger struggled to his feet and shook his head.

"On the other side, you dope!" he snivelled.

Alfie shrugged his shoulders and read the other side. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped open. He turned and looked at Digger.

"We had better show this to Commander Rocky. Someone has posted a reward for his return. Someone must have taken him to get their paws on the money. They've taken him!"

The two dogs walked to Commander Rocky's office.

"You are right about another thing," Alfie said.

"What?" Digger muttered.

"You are going to get into a lot of trouble!"

Digger sighed and shook his head.

~~~

Inside the office, Alfie and Digger gave the newspaper clipping to their Commander and told him what had happened.

"You lost the dragon?! That tiny, little defenceless baby dragon? How?" Commander Rocky was flabbergasted.

"He ran off," Digger gasped. "And I assume whoever took him was waiting for him. They must have known he was here."

Digger looked at the floor then something occurred to him.

"Defenceless? Are you bonkers? He was mad, crazy and very, very naughty!" he barked.

Commander Rocky frowned at him. "Well, we're going to have to get him back. I wonder who took him."

Stella walked into the office. "I knew something was up. Let's check the CCTV cameras. They should tell us something."

In the Communications Room, they were joined by Indy and Astro.

"Dotty, let's see the video footage from the car park," Commander Rocky said.

The dogs watched as two cats, one big and the other small, crept around the buildings, wrestled the dragon and then drove off in the van.

"Speed Bump Charlie!" they all cried.

"And the little kitty," Alfie added.

"I hope they don't hurt the dragon," Astro cried.

"I doubt that very much," Digger muttered. "He's quite a handful!"

They all stopped and frowned at Digger.

"Well, he is! You should see what he did in the lab. I doubt the tech dogs will ever be the same again," Digger protested.

Hans rushed into the room waving his notebook.

"We've had word from Zheng the Pekinese. He said he couldn't find out much, but there is a definite connection between Sun Loong and the little dragon. I've written it in my notebook."

"Read it to us," Commander Rocky said.

Hans cleared his throat, "Zheng says when the dragon lays an egg it is a very unique and rare occurrence. Apparently it only happens once in every thousand years and even though the dragon is not technically real, the egg comes about from an ancient Chinese spell cast a long time ago. It's like a blessing.

Rumour has it that Sun Loong's keepers suspected the egg was going to be stolen. Their guards spotted our van and they decided to give it to us for safe keeping. Apparently it's not due to hatch for another week, then," Hans turned the paper over. "They plan to come and get it."

He continued. "Also, the little dragon is to be presented as a gift to the Prince and Princess of the Imperial Palace in honour of the birth of the granddaughter," Hans added. "That's nice."

"Why would anyone want to give a dragon to a child? That seems dangerous to me!" Astro said.

Hans checked his notebook, "It says the dragon is a popular symbol for the Lunar New Year. It represents strength, wellness, and good luck, and is also said to have supernatural powers."

The phone rang and they all stared at it.

"I hope that's not one of Sun Loong's keepers," Alfie bit his bottom lip.

Commander Rocky picked up the phone. He stood up straight and held his breath. Whoever was on the other line must have been very important.

"Yes, that's right. Yes, we did find the egg," Commander Rocky said, "Well, sort of... What I mean is that it hatched... and..."

A shrill voice screamed something on the other end of the phone. Rocky lifted the receiver away from his ear and took a deep breath.

"Yes, that's right. It hatched and we were looking after him," Commander Rocky continued.

The voice persisted.

"Yes, that's right, it was a boy."

More questions.

"Well, I'm talking in past tense because it appears that two wicked cats have stolen your dragon and we don't have him anymore," Commander Rocky lifted up away from his ear.

The voice carried on, unbroken, for what seemed several minutes. All the dogs stood in silence.

Rocky waited. He slowly brought the phone down and tilted his ear up. He drew in his breath and was about to speak when the voice started again. Commander Rocky nodded and sucked his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Yes, I understand. A gift for the Chinese Imperial Grand Princess. Yes, I do understand how important that is. Yes, I promise to get him back. And take him... sorry, where?"

Commander Rocky's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head.

"Yes, I promise we'll deliver him straight away. All of us? Yes, consider it done," he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Astro asked.

Stella shook her head in dismay.

"Let me guess. We have to find the dragon and return it," she said.

"Well, Bendigo's not that far," Alfie smiled.

"To China," Stella finished.

"China!" the dogs sang in chorus.

"Yes," Commander Rocky muttered. "All the way to China."

"But we've got to get him back from Speed Bump Charlie first," Astro said. "That's not going to be easy."

Digger shook his head and checked his watch.

"He's been gone awhile now. I imagine those two cats will have had quite enough of him by now. Getting him back might not be as hard as you think."

CHAPTER 13

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball managed to get the little dragon out of the van and into their home which doubled as their headquarters.

"Tie him into one of the lounge chairs," Speed Bump Charlie ordered. "I'll get onto his owners and we'll set our reward demands."

Furball did as she was instructed, but it wasn't easy. The dragon wiggled and squirmed. She had to sit on top of him just to keep him still long enough to tie up the knots.

"There!" she sighed. "That should hold you."

Speed Bump Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table tapping away at his phone. Furball looked in the cupboard. They both heard the dragon sneeze and looked toward the lounge room.

"He might be allergic to cats," Speed Bump Charlie sniggered.

Furball ignored him.

"There's nothing to eat," she complained. "I'm going to the shops to get a snack."

"Don't be too long," Speed Bump Charlie ordered.

"I'll be finished here soon and we'll need to arrange the swap of lizard boy in there for our vast fortune!"

Furball shook her head and slipped out the back door.

"That's the message typed now all I have to do is send it," Speed Bump Charlie said, but before he could finish he heard a faint sound.

Archooo! - WOOF!

"What's that?" he wondered.

He got up and went into the lounge.

Speed Bump Charlie's eyes were met with a shocking sight.

The little dragon had gotten out of his ties and was standing on top of the bookshelf.

Archooo! - WOOF!

He was sneezing and each time flames roared out of his nostrils.

Speed Bump Charlie stood flabbergasted as he watched his plant pot catch fire.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Speed Bump Charlie screeched.

Archooo! - WOOF!

Now, the television and several books were burning.

Speed Bump Charlie ran around trying to pat out the flames with his paws.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Archooo! - WOOF!

The curtains caught fire.

"This is not working," Speed Bump Charlie yelled looking around the burning room.

Suddenly the smoke detector started to screech.

"Don't like that noise," the little dragon said and he sneezed towards it.

Archooo! - WOOF!

It stopped and melted in flames.

Speed Bump Charlie ran back to the kitchen and called the fire department.

"What's caused the fire?" he yelled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Now, just get over here!"

He grabbed a bucket of water and ran into the lounge. He threw it on the curtains. The little dragon watched him intently.

Speed Bump Charlie ran and got another bucket. This time he doused the couch. The third bucket he tipped over the television and books.

He shook his head.

"It's going to take months to dry them out," he muttered.

The little dragon thought he would help. He jumped down from the bookshelf and ran to the doormat.

It had caught fire along with the curtains. Not having a bucket of water, the little dragon used the next best thing. He lifted his leg and peed all over the mat.

"What are you doing?" Speed Bump Charlie screamed.

"Helping!" the little dragon answered.

He shook his leg and smiled at his handiwork. "Fire out now!"

"Helpin..?! Hang on a minute. You can talk?" Speed Bump Charlie looked sternly at the dragon.

"Well, what do you know about that? You might be worth more now!"

The dragon didn't know what Speed Bump Charlie meant, but it didn't seem nice. He thought he would cause a distraction and escape.

"Hungry!" he demanded.

"Too bad," Speed Bump Charlie said. He was still trying to put out some of the embers.

"You'll have plenty to eat when we return you to Chinatown."

"Hungry! Now!" the dragon yelled.

Just at that moment, Furball came back.

"What happened here?!" she cried. "What a mess!"

"The lizard can breathe flames apparently," Speed Bump Charlie sighed. "I didn't see that coming. And he's also hungry. Give him what you've got."

"No way!" Furball shouted. "It's my chocolate and I am not sharing it with anyone!"

The dragon spotted the candy bar in Furball's paws and smiled.

"Mine soon," he muttered.

He ran towards her with his claws out. His eyes were wide, while steam shot out of his nostrils in small puffs.

"Gimme!" he snatched at the chocolate bar.

"NO!" Furball shouted and she ran out of the front door into the street. The dragon followed her. Speed Bump Charlie was not impressed.

"What are you doing? You can't take a dragon into the street! What if someone sees him?" he shouted, but Furball didn't hear him.

She was racing down the middle of the road with a small green dragon chasing her.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" the dragon squealed.

"Get lost, scaly!" Furball yelled over her shoulder.

Speed Bump Charlie ran behind them, but he was old and had trouble keeping up. He dodged a fire truck zooming towards his house.

"No need now!" he hollered at it over his shoulder, but firemen and women are not accustomed to taking orders from a cat and they sped on unaware that the fire had already been put out.

Further up the road, Furball shot into a car park hoping to lose the dragon. Dodging between a van and a taxi she stopped to catch her breath. She waited, expecting the dragon to follow her. When he didn't, she stuck her head out to see what had happened to him.

The little dragon was standing behind the taxi. He was reading an advertisement on its boot.

"Mama!" he cried pointing to the sign.

"What is he talking about?" Furball groaned.

She saw Speed Bump Charlie running into the car park. She waved to him and pointed to where the dragon had stopped.

"There he is," she whispered loudly.

Speed Bump Charlie nodded and ran towards the dragon with his paws outstretched and his claws unsheathed.

"I've got you now!" he hissed under his breath.

The dragon hadn't noticed Speed Bump Charlie and he'd completely forgotten about Furball and her chocolate bar. He opened the taxi's passenger door and ordered, "Chinatown!"

The taxi driver looked over his shoulder and gasped.

"What! Where?" he spluttered.

"Chinatown, now! Please!" the dragon held his head to one side and smiled. Then he battered his eyelids.

"Pleeeeaaasssee!"

"How are you going to pay the fare?" the driver grunted, unmoved by the pleas of the little creature.

The little dragon dug his claws deep in his pockets and pulled out several hundred dollar notes.

"With these," he said, handing them to the driver.

"Found them in at the cat's house hidden under the sofa cushions."

The driver was very impressed.

"Well, now you're talking. With this kind of cash I could take you to the real Chinatown in China!"

"Okay with me," the dragon smiled.

"The airport it is, then," the driver nodded. "Looks like today is my lucky day!" he muttered to himself shoving the wad of cash into his top pocket.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball watched dumbfounded as the taxi tore out of the car park.

"Where's he going? He's our reward money!" Speed Bump Charlie declared, throwing his paws up into the air.

Furball pointed to the sign on the taxi's boot.

"Chinatown, I bet!" she said.

Just then a van screeched to a halt behind them. Commander Rocky, Astro and the others leapt out and grabbed the two cats.

"Where's the dragon?" Rocky demanded. "Give him back now!"

Speed Bump Charlie squirmed and tried to get free.

"Get him back yourself, fleabag," he hissed. "He's just taken off in a taxi."

"Where have you sent him?" Astro growled.

"You better not have hurt him!" Alfie warned the two cats rolling up his sleeves.

"Hurt him? Are you kidding?" Speed Bump Charlie cried. "He set my house on fire!"

"Told you," Digger muttered under his breath.

"Well, where is he going?" Rocky snapped.

"I wouldn't tell you lot if I knew," Speed Bump Charlie spat.

"Tell us NOW!" Indy unhooked her stink grenade and waved it in front of the old cat's nose.

"Oh no, not that thing again!" Speed Bump Charlie moaned. "Okay, okay. Ask the kitten. She seems to know where he's gone."

Indy thrust the stink grenade under Furball's nose.

"I do not!" Furball protested. "It's just a guess, that's all."

She leaned her head back as far as she could.

"WHERE!" Indy growled.

"Chinatown, I think," Furball confessed. "There was a poster on the back of a taxi. He was looking at it and cried 'mama'. Next thing I knew he'd jumped into the backseat. I can't be too sure but I think he's gone there."

Commander Rocky turned to Digger. "Get on to Dotty at HQ and ask her to tell Zheng the dragon is on his way," he said.

Digger nodded and scratched at his microchip seven times to activate it. He relayed Commander Rocky's message straight away.

"What are we going to do, now?" Astro asked.

"We're going to Chinatown to get the dragon," Commander Rocky replied.

"What about these two?" Alfie asked.

"Leave them for now. It sounds like they have a lot to clean up. But...," Commander Rocky turned and bared his teeth at the old cat.

"If I come across either of you again I'll make sure Indy has her way with the stink grenade, is that clear?"

The cats nodded.

The dogs jumped back into the van and sped off.

"What are we going to do now?" Furball asked. "I'm still hungry."

She pulled the chocolate bar out of her pocket and began to munch on it.

"We're going to follow them, of course," Speed Bump Charlie said.

"They're not getting in the way of my reward money. It's not over yet! I hope you've got some money left over for bus fare," he added, grimacing at the chocolate smudged all over Furball's face.

CHAPTER 14

Speeding down the road, the dogs were keenly focused on where they were going, well, sort of.

Commander Rocky was driving and Digger had got into an argument with Indy about which route they should take. Alfie was searching the luggage compartments for any sign of food and Stella was sitting cross-legged on the back seat. Astro was the only one looking out of the window.

The van slowed beside a yellow taxi at a red traffic light. Astro looked down and gasped. Sitting in the backseat was the dragon. He saw Astro and waved.

"Hey, come and have a look at this. There's the dragon," Astro cried.

They all stopped and rushed to Astro's window.

"Where?" Alfie said looking across the road to the street.

"There!" Astro pointed down to the taxi.

"So, it is!" Digger declared.

The dragon saw them and waved excitedly. When he saw Digger he began blowing kisses towards him.

The lights turned green and the taxi veered left and disappeared down a side street.

"Where's he going?!" Indy yelled.

Alfie squinted and read the sign, "Airport: This Way!"

"The airport?!" they cried together.

Rocky planted his paw on the brakes and turned the van around. They all fell about the seats. Except Stella, she remained completely unmoved and unfazed.

"That explains why I couldn't find him at Chinatown," she muttered.

Then she took a deep breath and concentrated.

"Better be quick, Commander Rocky. He'll be there soon and there's only one flight to China and that leaves in 10 minutes," she said.

"Ten minutes!" Astro cried. "How are we going to get on the plane? They're not going to let six dogs simply jump on board!"

"Astro's right, Commander," Indy said.

"Digger, get onto Dotty and tell her what's going on. Ask her to contact Snuffles the Sniffer Dog. If anyone can get us on board a plane it'll be Snuffles!" Commander Rocky declared.

~~~

Lucky for Speed Bump Charlie and Furball they didn't have to wait long for a bus. They jumped on board and sat right behind the driver. Unlike the taxi or the van, the bus bumbled along slowing for traffic lights and stopping to pick up passengers.

"This is going to take ages!" Speed Bump Charlie declared impatiently.

"It's a bus, it's supposed to stop and pick up people," Furball shook her head. "There's nothing you can do about it."

"Wanna bet," Speed Bump Charlie smiled wickedly.

He leaned towards the driver and whispered something in his ear. The driver sat up straight and gulped in fear. Without looking around, he planted his foot on the pedal and the bus zoomed off.

"Hey! This is my stop!" a passenger cried.

The driver ignored him. Sweat was dripping down the back of his neck.

Furball looked at Speed Bump Charlie and nodded. She was too afraid to ask what the old cat had said, but she knew that he was probably the most wicked, evil feline the world had ever known, and boy was she proud.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dog's van heading up a side street. Turning she could make out a yellow taxi ahead of it.

"I think we need to go that way!" she said pointing down the street.

Speed Bump Charlie leaned forward and whispered something else into the driver's ear. He nodded and sucked on his bottom lip.

"Yes, Mr Bump," he choked.

He spun the bus around and followed the other vehicles. Some of the passengers complained and started yelling at the driver.

Speed Bump Charlie stood up and turned to them. He held up his paws and unsheathed his claws one by one. The glistening blades shone in the sunlight.

"If anyone else complains they're going to feel one of these! Is that understood?" he hissed.

Everyone sat down and said nothing. Silence reigned for the rest of the trip.

~~~

At Melbourne City Airport, Snuffles the Beagle was dutifully sniffing suitcases as normal. It wasn't a bad job, really, for a dog. He was well fed and loved by his handler. Sometimes he found drugs or an animal someone was trying to smuggle into the country. They were exciting days. Most of the time, however, he merely went from bag to bag sniffing.

"Talcum powder," he muttered, and moved on.

"Phew! Too much aftershave, dude."

"I think someone's spent a little bit too much time at the duty free shop!"

And so his day went.

On a few occasions he'd act up solely to brighten his day. He would sniff something like sugar or salt packets people had stolen from restaurants and pretend it was something rare and exotic.

He'd plonk his backside down beside the bag and refuse to move. His handler would pull and tug at his leash. She'd call him in a soft voice; then in a harsh voice. But, true to Snuffles training, he sat as unmovable as a statue.

Snuffles often did this when he saw people he didn't like. Dogs understand people often better than people do. They can tell if someone has been mean to an animal or a child, for example.

At this very moment, it was one of these very types of people that Snuffles had decided was trying to smuggle something terrible into Australia.

"Get this mutt away from me," the woman screeched at Snuffles' handler. "I ain't got nuffin' on me."

"Well, Snuffles is one of our best sniffer dogs, madam, and I'm afraid he hardly ever gets it wrong."

"Rubbish! Get your stupid dawg away from me," she hollered.

Snuffles' handler was used to working with people who were rude. Within minutes they were surrounded by security guards and the woman was taken into the backrooms. It was at that moment that Snuffles' microchip beeped. He scratched at his neck seven times.

"Yes, Dotty. What is it?" he asked.

Dotty explained what was going on.

"So, I'm to let six dogs and one dragon onto a plane?" Snuffles asked.

"Will there be anything else? No? No problem at all. Consider it done!" And he hung up.

Back at headquarters Dotty swooned. She lowered her eyelids and bit her bottom lip.

"Those sniffer dogs are so commanding!" she sighed. "And, oh, so handsome!"

Snuffles hid behind a large billboard. He made sure no one was watching. Then he let out a long, low whistle that only the other sniffer dogs could hear.

Immediately, they came running. Without delay Snuffles explained the situation.

"A dragon? A real one" Bruiser the Lab asked.

"Yes, but it's only a baby," Snuffles explained. "Are there any more questions?"

The other dogs shook their heads.

"When do we start?" Terry the Terrier asked.

They heard a screech of brakes and a girl squealed.

"Oh my! It's a dragon! Look Ma, a baby dragon! How cute!"

A van came to a sharp stop behind a taxi and six dogs tumbled out. Snuffles and the others could hear voices.

They heard Astro cry, "There he is!"

Then Digger, "Yes, I missed you too, but you have to stop kissing my head!"

"I think we start now!" Snuffles exclaimed.

Like a covert operation any secret service would have been proud of, Snuffles and the other dogs managed to sneak the dogs and the dragon unseen around the back of the check-in desks; through the duty free shops and onto the tarmac.

As instructed, the dogs crouched behind the luggage train and waited for the sign from Snuffles. The train had seven trolleys hitched one behind the other and each one was stacked with suitcases.

Each dog waited behind one of the trolleys. Time seemed to drag on and on. Only a few feet ahead was the plane destined for China. It was bright red and had a long, golden dragon painted down its body and tail.

The little dragon saw the image and begun to jump up and down with excitement. He had chosen Digger to carry him, but when he got excited Digger struggled to hold him.

"You're getting stronger by the minute but you'll have to wait and be patient," Digger hushed him. "It won't be long now, I promise."

Then they heard the signal - three short barks then two long howls.

"That's it, team," Commander Rocky said. "Everyone, jump on a trolley and hide behind the suitcases."

They did as they were told and the trolley driver delivered them to the back of the plane. Then it was simply a matter of running up the ramp, hiding behind a suitcase and they were on the plane, bound for China.

They did not realise, however, that two cats had been watching their every move.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball managed to follow the dogs onto the tarmac. They hadn't been able to jump on the luggage train in time, but instead had run behind it. They reached the ramp just in time to see the last suitcase riding up into the hold.

"Blast! We've missed our chance!" Speed Bump Charlie hissed.

"Hang on a sec," Furball said.

She crawled under the ramp and found a small case that had been missed. She lashed the side open and pushed it out from under the ramp. The contents spilled everywhere.

"Blow me!" the luggage handler declared. "Where did that come from?"

While he was busy shoving skirts, stockings and tubes of make-up back into the bag the two cats dashed up the ramp and were safely ensconced inside the jumbo jet.

CHAPTER 15

If you've ever been on an airplane you'll know that it is an experience of many extremes. Once the excitement of flying has worn off it can be very boring. The dogs suffered a very similar experience. To make matters worse, they were in the hold which was cold and noisy and, much to Alfie's disappointment, lacking completely in food service.

"None at all?" he bellowed. "Are you sure?"

"Look around you, Alfie, do you think the stewards are going to push a food trolley all the way down here," Digger stated. "You'll just have to wait!"

"But I'm hungry now!" Alfie moaned.

"Me too!" the little dragon nodded.

"You two are going to have to forget about food for a few hours," Commander Rocky said. "We are stowed away on a plane and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"What are our plans when we arrive?" Astro asked.

"On landing Zheng has organised for the Chinese Sniffer Dog Team to get us out of the airport and into the city. The dog in charge is his cousin, Zhing.

After that, we'll get a guide from the Chinese Dog Rescue Organisation who'll help us find the Imperial Palace," Rocky explained.

"The Chinese Dog Rescue Organisation?" Astro said.

"So, they do the same job we do but only in China?"

"They sure do, Astro," Stella said. "And what a fantastic job they do, too."

"That's very impressive," Astro said thoughtfully.

Then he yawned. "I think I need a kip, Commander," he added.

"I think that's a great idea," Rocky said. "We could all do with a rest and, let's face it, there's nothing else to do on these long flights."

All the dogs made themselves comfortable and soon nodded off to sleep. The dragon cuddled into Digger who had chosen to sleep on a large suitcase. The dragon soon drifted off to sleep but he snored loudly.

Digger wriggled around and tried to soothe the dragon but it didn't work. He tried tapping him on the shoulder, but when dragons sleep they really go out for the count.

Digger sighed deeply and tried to relax. Eventually he drifted off to sleep and he began to dream that he was battling a giant lizard. Digger only had his bare paws to fight against the terrible beast. It stabbed its massive claws at him and Digger leapt up into the air and karate kicked the frightening beast. Unfortunately, Digger really kicked his leg out and he sent the little dragon sailing off the suitcase.

The little dragon sat up and scratched his head. He was having a lovely dream that he was chasing a little girl through a field of cherry blossom trees. The soft, white and pink petals fell like snow as he and the little girl danced and laughed together.

He rubbed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. He looked around and for the first time noticed how big Alfie's nose was. He crept towards him and felt a great blast of air rushing from Alfie's nostrils.

The little dragon smiled. Then he pulled off one of the luggage tags and held it in front of Alfie's nose. He waited until Alfie exhaled then he let it go.

The gust blew the luggage tag up into the air. The little dragon giggled as he watched it sail up and spin in circles. Then it floated gently to the other side of the plane.

"Again!" he cried, and sure enough the second luggage tag did a very similar thing.

In fact, all four hundred and sixty-five luggage tags did too.

CHAPTER 16

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball were crouched in a dark corner. They watched the little dragon's antics and both shook their heads in disgust.

"I suppose we should be grateful he hasn't set the plane on fire," Speed Bump Charlie muttered.

"Let's hope he doesn't start sneezing again," Furball added.

They kept their voices down. They didn't want to be seen by the dogs but they were finding the flight very uncomfortable.

"I'm freezing and there's nothing to eat!" Furball complained.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Speed Bump Charlie hissed at her.

"Why don't you pick the lock on one of those suitcases and crawl in. Then you'll be warm and I won't have to listen to you moaning!"

Furball frowned and looked around her. There were hundreds of suitcases. Most of them were black and rectangular. She crept along inspecting the locks.

"Too easy... piece of cake... simple," she muttered as she passed each suitcase.

"Oh, this one's nice," she said running her hands over the soft leather. "And I love the colour," she added.

Speed Bump Charlie had followed her. "You would, it's the same purple colour as that pukie dress you had on in Chinatown," he tutted loudly to show his disapproval.

Furball chose to ignore the old cat and she leaned forward and slipped one of her claws into the lock. A second later, it popped open, and she and Speed Bump Charlie crawled inside.

On the other side of the plane the little dragon was getting bored. He decided he needed a playmate. Looking around at the sleeping dogs he thought there was only one choice.

"Alfie! Alfie!" the little dragon bent over Alfie's head and lifted up his eye lids. "Wake up!"

Alfie snorted and shook his head.

The little dragon tried to lift one of Alfie's ears.

"These sure are heavy!" he muttered, dragging the ear backwards. When he saw the centre, he leaned forward and whispered, "Get up, Alfie, I'm bored!"

Nothing.

"This dog sure can sleep," the little dragon shook his head from side to side.

"Looks like I'm going to have to bring out the heavy ammo!"

The little dragon ran around and lifted up Alfie's tail with one claw. With the other one he held his nose. "Phew! These dogs sure are stinky – from both ends!"

Then he took a deep breath and blew a short burst of fire onto Alfie's bottom!

"Yaaahhhh – OUCH!" Alfie leapt up into the air grabbing his behind.

"Excuse me!" he staggered around fanning his backside with both paws. "Boy, I'm not sure what I ate that caused me to fart like that but I'm never eating it again!"

He looked down at the little dragon.

"Didn't get ya, did I, little fella?" he said.

The little dragon shook his head. Then, to add insult to injury, he pegged his nose between two claws and looked at Alfie's offending bottom.

"Stinky!" he said.

"Sorry!" Alfie apologized.

"Let's play!" the dragon's face brightened.

His plan had worked.

Alfie looked around.

"There's nothing much to play with in here," he said, "Only suitcases!"

He turned around to see the little dragon pushing cases to one side. He was making a path down the middle of the plane.

"Okay," Alfie nodded. "You're trying to make a path. I can help with that, but it's not much of a game."

Together they soon forged a wide path. There were piles of suitcases on either side. Standing down the far end of the plane, Alfie wondered what they could do next. The little dragon, however, had a plan.

He was running along sniffing the suitcases. They smelt of clothes, perfumes and the sort of things humans stuff into suitcases. He stopped at a pretty lilac case and took in a deep breath. A wicked smile crossed his face. He jumped on top of it and bounced up and down.

"This will do nicely!" he laughed.

He pushed the case over to where Alfie was waiting.

He jumped on top and cried, "PUSH!"

Alfie threw his paws up into the air.

"Why not!" he laughed and he bent over and pushed the suitcase along the path they had created.

"Faster! Faster!" the little dragon cried.

"Okay, you asked for it!" Alfie laughed, and he flexed his back legs and ran as fast as he could, pushing the case in front of him.

The faster Alfie pushed the more excited the little dragon became. And the more excited he became the more he jumped and bounced on top of the suitcase. Inside it, two very confused cats were being bumped and bashed.

"What's going on?" Furball cried.

"This is your fault!" Speed Bump Charlie cried.

"Ouch!"

"It is not! Ouch! You told me to ... Ouch! ... find a suitcase ... Ouch! ... to climb into!" Furball hissed. "What's happening? Ouch!"

Up and down the aisle Alfie pushed the little dragon. It was a great game that seemed to last for hours.

Furball had grabbed a small purse and was using it to protect her head. The only thing Speed Bump Charlie could find was a lady's bra. He doubled it over and put it on his head.

"What?!" he cried at Furball who was staring at him.

"It's protecting my head!"

Furball couldn't help herself and she burst out laughing. "You have no idea how funny you look!"

At that moment a terrible roar filled the cargo hold. Then the plane began to rock from side to side. All the dogs woke up and struggled to get to their feet.

"What's going on?" Astro asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It sounds like the plane is falling apart!" Digger wailed.

Indy stood confidently with her legs spread apart and her paws on her hips. "If it's an invasion I'm ready to take them all on!" she growled.

The little dragon jumped down and ran to Digger's side. A few seconds later, Alfie joined him. They both tried to hug the little dog.

Rocky looked at Stella and saw she was smiling. Then he realised what was happening too.

"I think the plane is about to land, team," he said.

"You probably need to find something to hold on to and brace yourselves. It could be a rough landing!"

"Did you hear that?" Speed Bump Charlie cried.

"What are we going to do?"

"We can't get any more bruised and battered than we are now," Furball said between gritted teeth. "We're better off staying here. We'll sneak off after the dogs."

A few minutes later the plane landed with a bump and a thud in the capital city of Beijing, China. Little did anyone know but, six dogs, two cats and a baby dragon had stowed away on board.

CHAPTER 17

Zhing had created a diversion at one end of the terminus. He, and a Shar Pei named Petal, bailed up a large Australian man. Zhing jumped on his suitcase and wouldn't get off. Petal stood directly in front of the man barking.

Within a few minutes, there were security guards, airport officials and staff all humming around trying to calm the dogs and the man down. Little did they know, Zhing wasn't going to move until he received the signal from four Pekinese dogs on the other side of the airport.

Dressed in security uniforms, the Pekinese dogs ushered the travellers out of the plane's hold and through customs. Single file, the dogs crawled along the edge of the building, through the wide cargo doors and along the luggage return carriageways. Alfie had given the little dragon a piggy-back to make sure he stayed safe and didn't run away.

Once they were all outside, one of the Pekinese scratched at her collar to send a message directly to Zhing: Mission Accomplished: The Australians have left the airport.

They turned to Rocky and the others and bowed. Then they trotted back inside without having spoken a word to them.

Alfie laughed. "Their fur is so long it looks like their feet are not even touching the ground," he chuckled watching the four dogs disappear swiftly into the crowd.

"Their uniforms were very smart," said Digger thoughtfully then, turning to Commander Rocky, "Where to now?"

Rocky jumped onto a luggage trolley to get a better view. Beijing was a very busy city. There were thousands of cars and tens of thousands of people. Rocky couldn't make head nor tail of what they were all doing. It was as if they were all going in different directions at the same time.

He scanned the horizon until he spotted what he was looking for. He saw a red flag fluttering in the breeze. He hopped down and turned to his crew.

"Follow me and keep your heads down," he ordered.

He crouched low and led the way. The dogs followed him in single file. The little dragon sat on Alfie's shoulders waving to everyone. Most people just stared in shock but some actually waved back.

"What is that?" a lady asked her husband.

"Oh, probably a publicity stunt for a new movie or something like that," he muttered shovelling bags into the boot of a taxi.

She nodded and watched the tiny dragon bobbing up and down on the shoulders of a large black dog and slowly lifted her hand and waved back robotically.

Zhing had ordered a special rickshaw to take the dogs to the Imperial Palace. It was larger than most so they would be able to ride together. Waiting beside it were two small pugs. When Rocky and the crew approached they bowed and introduced themselves.

"We are Ping and Pung, your runners today," the little dogs said in unison. They were wearing traditional Chinese pants and long grey jackets.

Rocky looked at the small dogs and then at the rickshaw.

"Is there only two of you to pull it?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," the pugs chimed. "We are small but strong!"

Rocky looked around at Alfie. "You will want to be," he mumbled under his breath.

He introduced his team to the pugs.

"Hello there!" Astro declared holding out his paw to shake.

The little dogs shook his paw and bowed.

"They're kinda cute," Indy said, bowing to them to show her respect.

They bowed back.

"I like them. I hope the rest of the dogs in China are this friendly," Alfie said, and he roughly patted Ping then Pung on the head.

"Okay, team. Let's get to the Imperial Palace and hand over the little dragon," Rocky directed.

"Don't you mean the Forbidden City?" Ping said.

"The Forbidden what?" Astro asked. "We were asked to take the dragon to the Imperial Palace; nothing was said about anything being 'Forbidden'."

"That sounds scary!" Digger moaned.

Ping and Pung smiled at each other.

"Well, I am sorry to tell you, but the real name for the Imperial Palace is the Forbidden City," Pung explained. "I think they just said palace to make sure you agreed to go."

The dogs smiled nervously at him.

"Is it dangerous?" Digger asked.

"What is forbidden there?" Indy said.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," Ping smiled, "As long as you don't get caught."

"Ha, Ha! Yes, important not to get caught!" Pung chuckled.

"Or disturb the Imperial Dragon!" Ping grinned.

"Oh, no! Best leave him alone!" said Pung nodding.

"Not to mention the Imperial lions!" Ping sniggered.

"What have you been told about mentioning the Imperial lions?" Pung admonished his brother.

"Well, palace or city, we have to go. It's our duty and I promised," Rocky firmly stated. "I'm afraid, team, we don't have much choice."

Everyone clambered into the rickshaw. Rocky sat in the middle of the front seat with Digger and Stella on either side. Indy and Astro sat on the backseat. Alfie handed the little dragon to Astro, but he nearly dropped him.

"Boy! He's getting heavy!" Astro declared.

"I know," Alfie agreed trying to squeeze next to Indy.

"If you ask me he's put on a good ten pounds since we left Australia."

"And he's grown much bigger," Indy added, sizing the dragon up and down.

The dragon patted his tummy and smiled at her, but when she looked away he stuck out his tongue. Astro frowned and tutted loudly at the naughty dragon.

The little dragon smiled and went to touch Indy's utility belt. She swatted his claws away and he jumped back in surprise.

"Set off my stink grenade and it will turn into an international incident like no other," she growled at the little creature.

Undeterred he moved his attention to the passengers in the front seat. He was about to knock Digger's beret off his head when Alfie accidently bumped him and he fell forwards onto Rocky's neck.

"Alfie! Will you be more careful?!" Rocky shouted as Astro picked up the dragon and sat him back on his knee.

Alfie had got one leg in the rickshaw but was having difficulties squeezing his bottom into the seat. In the end, he had to settle for sitting on the back ledge and dangling his second leg over the door. He held onto the canopy with both paws.

Rocky leaned forward and said to the pugs, "We're ready when you are."

They took a deep breath and rolled up their sleeves. They tried to lift up the poles. They strained and huffed.

"Boy, these Australians are heavy!" Pung moaned.

"Fat, you mean!" Ping grunted under his breath.

"I can only manage to bring the pole up to my waist. I'll never be able to get it onto my shoulder," Pung gasped.

Rocky watched the little dogs struggling. He leaned forward. "Can I make a suggestion?" he asked.

The pugs turned around and stared at him.

"What if Alfie carries the poles. He's wide enough to get one on each shoulder and he's very strong," Rocky suggested.

The pugs looked at each other. Pung stood on his tippy-toes to see which one was Alfie.

"It would not be honourable for us if we didn't do the job we were assigned," Ping explained.

"Yes, but they are very fat!" Pung pointed out, "And my back may not be able to get the job done. Besides, look at the size of him, the one they call Alfree, he's bigger than a Terracotta Soldier!"

Ping looked up at Alfie and Alfie waved at him.

"But we are to guide you to the Forbidden City safely," Ping explained. "You will never get there on your own."

"Well, you can ride up here with us," Stella suggested. "Perhaps you could be our travel guides. I can't see so it would be nice if you could describe the beautiful sights as we pass them."

Ping and Pung looked at each other and nodded.

Ping spoke, "We think that this is a very good idea and we are happy to accept your offer."

"Thank goodness for that!" Alfie sighed climbing out of the rickshaw. "I thought I was going to end up being folded like a Chinese cookie!"

"You're too fat for that!" Pung said, shaking his head.

Alfie grabbed both poles and easily lifted them on to his shoulders. Digger climbed into the back next to Astro and the pugs made themselves comfortable on either side of Rocky.

"Straight forward!" Ping instructed.

Alfie took in a deep breath, wiggled his bottom and pulled with all his might. It was difficult at first, but once he got the rickshaw moving he was able to pick up speed.

"Piece of cake!" he laughed jogging through the crowded streets of the city.

Watching the whole event was a slender Siamese cat named Blossom. She wore a traditional Chinese hat and had many lucky charms dangling from her collar. She was hiding behind a flower seller's cart. As they left, she stood up slowly and pulled at a kangaroo charm on her collar. It activated a small receiver.

"Speed Bump Charlie, can you hear me? I have the news you requested" she hissed.

CHAPTER 18

Back at the airport, Speed Bump Charlie and Furball hadn't got through customs as easily as the dogs. Zhing had alerted the security dogs that there were two suspicious characters trying to sneak through the airport.

"That should slow those two cats down," he planned.

A burly red Chow Chow named Wang had herded them into a corner and wasn't letting them go.

"Listen here, you oversized powder puff. You have no right to detain us!" Speed Bump Charlie hissed at the dog.

"I'm simply following orders," Wang growled. "You don't have a passport or any official documents. How can I believe what you tell me?"

"Why would I lie?" Speed Bump Charlie threw his paws up in the air and let out a long sigh.

"It's true – we are here to inspect the Imperial Dim Sim factory. Australians eat more Dim Sims than any other country outside of China. And, as I'm trying to explain to you, we are Dim Sim inspectors. Now let us go!"

Wang bent his head to one side and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know if I trust you," he said. "What do you look for in the Dim Sims?"

"Oh, you know," Speed Bump Charlie tried to think up a lie instantly. "We look for freshness, clean cooking facilities and the meat."

He squinted and poked a finger towards the big dog.

"We check the meat, too, you know!"

Furball could see this was not getting them anywhere. She clasped her paws in front of her chest and pleaded with the dog.

"Please thir," she lisped. "I am only a little kitten and I need to go to the toilet. Please let me go."

Wang looked down at her large pleading eyes. Furball sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear. He blew air of his mouth. She was very convincing. After a few seconds, he gave in.

"Okay. You can go to the toilet, but make sure you come straight back here!" he huffed.

Furball wiped another imaginary tear away and gasped. "Fank you, thir. You are so kind to widdle me."

Speed Bump Charlie looked at her. She was a devious little thing and he knew she was up to something, but what?

Furball skipped away then, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, she ducked onto a luggage trolley piled high with suitcases. A luggage handler stepped out of the toilets and checked his watch.

"Nearly home time," he smiled.

He started pushing the trolley in the other direction, out of the building. If her plan was to work, Furball had to act swiftly. She glanced up at the nametag on the man's shirt.

"Get that trolley to the other end of the cargo shed, Roy!" she ordered. She sounded just like the man's boss.

The man stood and looked around. He thought the voice had come from the luggage, but then he noticed the office door closing and assumed his boss had just walked back in. He shrugged his shoulders and turned the trolley around.

"I thought this was supposed to go on the tarmac. I suppose someone has changed their mind," he mumbled under his breath.

Furball poked her head between two cases. She could see Wang and Speed Bump Charlie up ahead. She waved to the old cat. He saw her out of the corner of his eye. He looked back at the large dog and decided to distract him.

"I am sick of repeating myself. When my boss speaks to your boss you are going to be in a lot of trouble!" he threatened.

Wang was about to respond when Furball yelled,

"RUN!"

Then she pushed a tower of suitcases onto the poor dog. They hit him hard and he collapsed on the floor. Just before he lost consciousness he saw two tabby cats running out of the cargo shed.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball shot through the airport and ran outside.

"We made it!" Speed Bump Charlie panted. "Well done, Hairball!"

"Furball!" Furball corrected him, but he wasn't listening.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped his DAWG App. Then he typed in a short message.

"What are you doing?" Furball panted.

"Contacting our Chinese connections," Speed Bump Charlie muttered. "These smart phones are, well, really smart!"

Then he saw a lady and a man climb into a taxi. It was the same lady who had waved to the little dragon.

"Let's hitch a ride with them," he said.

While the lady was telling the driver where they wanted to go, the two cats squeezed past her legs, through the man's and climbed into the boot.

As they pressed themselves in between the cases, Speed Bump Charlie received the message from Blossom.

"Boy, that was quick!" he said, pulling his phone back out of his pocket.

He listened carefully.

"You beauty!" he cried. "Those stupid dogs are taking the dragon to the Imperial Palace."

"Why?" Furball asked.

"Who cares! We need to get there before they do," Speed Bump Charlie said.

"How? They have such a good start," Furball exclaimed.

"Apparently, they are travelling by rickshaw pulled by the big smelly one. We, on the other hand, are travelling in the luxury of this modern vehicle," Speed Bump Charlie smiled waving his paws in a wide sweep.

"But we don't know where this modern vehicle is going!" Furball reminded the old cat.

Speed Bump Charlie bit his bottom lip. "Hmmm, how can we make sure they go to the Imperial Palace? Let me think of something," he mumbled.

Furball waited and waited.

Nothing.

They could feel the taxi driving off and accelerating as it headed onto the highway.

"We could end up anywhere and we don't have all day!" she yelled. "Leave it to me!"

She began to cough and spluttered. She pushed her stomach in and gagged.

"What are you doing?" Speed Bump Charlie seethed.

Furball held up one paw and then proceeded to vomit all over the suitcases.

"Ewww! That's gross!" Speed Bump Charlie gasped.

From inside the taxi they could hear voices.

"What's that terrible smell?!"

"Eww! Yuck!"

"Stop! Stop! Get me out of here!"

Furball smiled at Speed Bump Charlie.

"Now's our chance!" she said. "Follow me!"

She scratched at the latches and pushed one of the backseats forward. She stuck her head out to make sure there was no one left inside the taxi.

"All clear!" she cried and jumped into the driver's seat. "Belt up and hang on!"

Speed Bump Charlie was right behind her.

"Hey! How come you get to drive?" he complained.

"Because I did the spewing!" Furball reminded him.

She wrenched the car into 'drive' and stretched her paw towards the accelerator.

"I can't reach," she complained. "Get down there and work the pedals!"

"Are you out of your hairy little mind?" Speed Bump Charlie spat. "I'm the evil genius here, not you. You get down there!"

He pushed Furball off the seat with one swipe of his paw. She hissed and spat at him.

From outside the taxi they could hear people talking.

"It's the only one left. If you don't take my cab you'll never get to the hotel in time," the driver explained.

"But I don't think I can stand that smell!"

"I'm sure it's nothing. Get in, get in and I'll drive you."

The cats looked at each other and knew that if they were going to steal the taxi they would have to be quick, time was running out.

Furball jumped down on the pedal and the taxi lurched forward.

"Well done!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled.

"Now, let's see if we can out smart those stupid dogs and get to the Imperial Palace before them."

CHAPTER 19

Ping and Pung turned out to be very informative and interesting guides. They took the dogs down beautiful streets lined with colourful bazars and curious markets. There were so many wonderful things to see.

"This sure is a big city," Digger remarked as Alfie dodged around a group of tourists.

They only had to yell at Alfie three times on the whole trip. Once for charging through a puddle and splashing them; a second time because he got his left and rights mixed up and ended up running down a dead-end alley and; thirdly for steering the rickshaw through a drive-through noodle store.

"But I'm starving!" Alfie had protested.

"Too bad!" Rocky cried. "You can eat all you want after we've delivered the dragon!"

"It won't be long now," Ping muttered in a low voice. "The Forbidden City was planned down to the smallest detail. It was created to reflect the wondrous power of the Imperial Emperors."

"What colour is it?" Digger asked.

"Yellow," Pung answered.

"That is the colour of the Emperor," Ping continued.

"However, the tiles of the great library are black. They represent water," said Pung

"Why?" Astro asked.

"To protect the books from fire," Ping explained.

"And the Crown Prince's home has green tiles."

"Does he like vegetables?" Indy asked.

"No! Well, he might," Pung stopped and thought about it for a few seconds. "No, the tiles represent the trees and perpetual growth."

"What's it like inside?" Astro asked.

"Well, the halls of the Outer and Inner courts are grouped into shapes a little bit like a triangle. They represent heaven," Ping said.

"The homes inside the Inner Court are arranged in groups of six. They represent the Earth," Pung continued.

"So, it's like living on Earth and being surrounded by heaven?" Digger said thoughtfully. He stared ahead and wondered what it would be like to live in such a beautiful place.

"And the best part are the statues that decorate the buildings. There are dragons and one of a man riding a phoenix," Ping nodded his head. "It is something so fabulous to see."

"As you are about to find out!" Pung laughed. "Turn right at the next corner, Alfree!"

Alfie nodded, but went to turn left.

"NO! Wrong way!" Ping and Pung called out together.

"Your other right, Alfie!" Rocky cried.

Alfie abruptly turned around and trotted happily down the street. They came to a wide courtyard. In front of them stood the Forbidden City.

Alfie lowered the poles down and stared ahead.

"Well, that is certainly stunning," he nodded.

"It sure is!" Digger said, sliding down and joining his friend.

Rocky and Stella climbed out of the rickshaw.

"Look at the statues!" Indy was very impressed. She jumped out and landed on the tiled courtyard.

"Can you hold the dragon while I get down, please?" Astro asked her.

"Sure," she said without looking away. She held out her paws. Astro lowered the little dragon down.

"I'll take him," she said, but the dragon had other ideas.

During his long trip from Australia he had grown wings. While the others weren't looking he had been stretching them. As Astro lowered him down, he thought this might be a good time to try them out. He wiggled his bottom and stretched his wings out. Then with a shriek he flapped them hard and took off, up into the sky.

"Hey!" Astro cried. "What are you doing? Come back here!"

The others turned around to see what was going on.

"How did he do that?" Rocky said.

"He's flying!" Digger cried.

"Oh, boy, this isn't good," Indy muttered.

"Where's he going?" Alfie shouted.

"Not towards the palace, I bet," Stella said. She had her head lowered and was trying to communicate with the little dragon.

He could hear Stella's voice pleading with him to come down, but decided that it would be more fun to keep flying. He flapped his wings and lifted himself into the air. Looking down, he could see the dogs and all the tourists who had come to see the Forbidden City.

"Come back down!" Alfie cried.

The little dragon ignored him. Instead, he swooped and dove at people in the crowd. At first they thought it was amusing. Some of them had travelled thousands of miles and were delighted to see the aerobatic tricks of the dragon.

"It must be a publicity stunt," one man said.

"Yeah, they're probably trying to sell us something," another added.

"Well, whatever it is, I want one!" a third cried. "It's fantastic!"

The dragon swept low and grabbed a hat from a lady's head with his claws. He flew up into the air and released it. Then, he flew around it a few times before he did the unthinkable - he breathed fire and incinerated the hat to a crisp! The ashes drifted down to the ground. The dragon let out a hoot of joy and headed towards another tourist.

"Oh, dear," Rocky said shaking his head from side to side. "This isn't good."

"What are we going to do?" Digger moaned, and snatched his beret from his head. He tucked it safely under his arm.

The little dragon was having a wonderful time.

The people in the crowd were becoming scared and angry. They began to run out of the courtyard and away from danger. Hundreds of people came charging towards the dogs.

One lady grabbed her sunhat and screamed as the little dragon dove straight for her. Her husband lashed out and hit the little dragon with his bag.

The people cheered.

The dogs gasped.

"We had better do something before this whole mission is ruined!" Indy yelled.

CHAPTER 20

A taxi screeched to a halt behind the rickshaw. Two cats jumped out. They were nearly crushed by the stampede.

"What's going on?" Furball asked, jumping safely on the bonnet.

Speed Bump Charlie leapt up and jumped onto the roof of the taxi. He looked up and down the street and then, standing on tippy toes, he stared over the crowd.

"Well, I can see the Imperial Palace and those stupid mutts," he began to explain. "But what's that in the sk...?"

He leapt from the roof and onto the bonnet.

"Looks like we've found our dragon!" he nudged Furball.

"The huge reward is going to be all ours!"

He rubbed his greedy paws together and leapt down. He dodged past the people running the other way and called to Furball over his shoulder, "Come on! Let's get him!"

She quickly joined him and the two cats ran straight past the dogs and into the centre of the courtyard.

"There he is!" Furball cried, pointing towards the dragon.

He heard her and spun around. Recognizing them immediately, the little dragon's eyes widened and he smiled a very wicked grin.

"Here, puss, puss, puss!" he shrieked, and he flew nose first towards them.

Furball looked at the dragon and back at Speed Bump Charlie.

"Umm, Mr Bump, I don't think we've thought this through properly," she whimpered.

"What do you mean? All we have to do is catch him and we're rich. The stupid dogs have delivered him here. Let's grab him and knock on the gates. Simple really," he explained.

The dogs watched on.

They could see the dragon getting faster and faster. His wings were tucked into his body and he was aiming straight at the cats.

Indy turned to Commander Rocky. "We are going to have to save them, aren't we?"

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the impending disaster. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Nothing to worry about, Indy," Alfie whispered. "They're not wearing hats!"

"He's not playing now, Alfie," Astro explained. "I think he's got something much more diabolical in mind."

No sooner had Astro spoken then they watched as the little dragon filled up his lungs and prepared to blast the cats with a searing burst of flames.

"I can't watch," Digger gasped, but he couldn't avert his eyes. It was too terrible to watch and too terrible to miss!

Furball ducked behind Speed Bump Charlie for protection. The old cat spun around and grabbed her.

"Oh, no you don't," he muttered.

He picked her up and prepared to throw her into the air.

"When I let go, grab onto his wings. You're a chubby little thing. He won't be able to fly and carry you. We'll soon have him back on the ground," Speed Bump Charlie yelled.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Furball screamed, but it was no use. Speed Bump Charlie had already launched her into the air. She was sailing up and up towards the little dragon.

"Who are you calling chubby?" she cried, but no one heard her.

The little dragon was quite taken back by this development and stretched out his wings in an effort to slow himself down. He had never seen a cat flying and wasn't sure if she was going to hurt him.

Furball's arms and legs were thrashing around as she soared through the air. In those few seconds of hesitation, the little dragon's fate was sealed.

The tiny kitten managed to bring her paws together around his neck and hold on tight. The little dragon shook himself and flapped his wings. As hard as he tried, he couldn't shake the cat free and they both screamed as they tumbled to the ground.

The dogs watched in horror.

Speed Bump Charlie watched with the utmost joy. He clapped his paws together and hopped up and down.

"It worked! Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!" he squealed with delight.

Indy grabbed Astro and Alfie by the arms.

"Come on. We can't let them land on the tiles. They'll be badly injured!"

The three of them ran under the falling cat and dragon. They ducked and wove around each other. Alfie and Astro bumped into each other with such force that Astro fell backwards onto his bottom.

"Crikey, Alfie! Look out!" he cried.

Indy and Alfie didn't pay him any attention.

"You get the dragon," Indy called to Alfie, "And I'll get the kitt..."

No sooner had she spoken when the little dragon fell safely into Alfie's arms and Furball into hers.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Furball said. She reached up and hugged Indy tightly.

"Ewww! Cat germs!" Indy squealed, and dumped her on the tiles.

Furball spat and hissed at Indy.

"Nasty dog!" she grumbled. "I was only showing you how grateful I was!"

The little dragon wriggled about in Alfie's arms.

"Oh, I don't think you're going anywhere," Alfie said as he struggled to hold onto the squirming dragon.

Speed Bump Charlie was busy tapping his phone.

The dogs ran up to help their friends. The pugs went with them. When the little dragon saw Digger he squealed and lurched towards him.

"You can go to him only if you promise not to fly away again," Alfie said.

The little dragon nodded.

"Promise?" Alfie said, holding his pinkie finger up.

The little dragon wrapped his claw around Alfie's huge finger and agreed. Then he leapt into Digger's arms and began to kiss him all over.

"Hey! Stop that," Digger protested. "It tickles!"

Commander Rocky looked around at the two cats and shook his head.

"We don't have time to deal with them," Stella interrupted him. "I sense something really bad is going to happen."

Rocky looked at her. He was never going to get used to the fact that she could read his mind.

"Okay, team. Let's deliver this little fellow to his new owners and then we can go home," he ordered.

"Oh, I don't think so!" a harsh voice growled behind him.

The dogs spun around to see, not only Speed Bump Charlie and Furball, but hundreds, perhaps thousands of cats.

The cats weren't ordinary moggies like the ones from Australia. These cats were sleek and graceful. They had narrow heads and bright blue eyes. Each one had a collection of charms hanging from his or her collar. They were howling and growling and the closer they got the louder they got. Blossom was leading them.

"Where did all these cats come from?" Astro cried.

Speed Bump Charlie hopped up and down. He waved his phone above his head.

"I've got an app!" he yelled, but they had difficulty hearing him over the noise.

The cats moved closer and the dogs backed away. Each cat unsheathed a set of razor sharp claws from their paws and waved them towards the dogs.

"What are we going to do, Commander?" Indy asked as she reached for her utility belt. She held up her hunting bone with one paw and her stink grenade with the other.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball were moving to the back away from danger. When he saw Indy he speedily tapped something into his phone. Blossom held up her paw and the cats stopped. She whispered something to the cats standing on either side of her. Those cats whispered something to the cats next to them. The next cats did the same thing.

"What are they doing?" Digger gasped.

"Chinese whispers!" the little dragon laughed. "It's lots of fun. Wanna play?"

Digger shook his head. "Maybe another time," he muttered.

The cats all moved away from Indy and towards the others. Hiding behind Alfie's legs, the two pugs were hastily scratching their collars.

"Disgusting animals have fleas!" Speed Bump Charlie cried.

What he didn't know was that Ping and Pung were calling from help.

CHAPTER 21

Ping and Pung had sent out a S.O.S signal to the Chinese branch of The Organisation. Rallying that many dogs in such a short time wasn't going to be easy.

"We will send all the dogs we can!" Lotty cried from the Chinese communication room. "But it will take some time."

"We don't have any time!" Ping cried.

Pung turned to his brother.

"I told you we shouldn't have taken this job. Now, look at the mess we're in!"

"Yes, but we needed the money!"

"Only because you had to have the latest computer tablet! Really! Is it worth it? Now? Really?" Pung screamed.

The cats moved closer and closer.

Alfie had an idea.

"Hey, Commander, what if I do my thing?" he whispered. "That will stop them!"

The cats grinned at the dogs. They were cornered.

"What are you talking about?" Rocky growled.

The dogs stepped backwards, but there was nowhere to go. They pressed themselves against the walls of the great palace.

"You know. Remember what I did in space? When I turned the spaceship around?" Alfie nodded.

Stella leaned forward.

"It's too risky," she said. "We'll cop it too."

"But it might be our only chance!" Digger moaned.

The little dragon kissed him again and then put his claws into his mouth. He took a deep breath and blew really hard. No sound came out.

Digger looked at him.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to do, but that was a pathetic attempt at a whistle!"

The little dragon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Dogs," he muttered. "They know nothing! What are they talking about," he asked pointing to Alfie and the others.

"I'm willing to take the risk!" Astro gasped, "No matter what the consequences!"

Rocky looked at them and shook his head in disbelief.

"Fart! You want him to fart? Alfie? Are you out of your minds?! He could choke us all to death!" he barked.

"It can't be as bad as being ripped to shreds by hundreds of cats!" the pugs cried.

Rocky bent down and whispered in Ping's ear.

"What did he say?" Pung cried.

Ping cupped his paw over his brother's ear and told him.

Pung gasped then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.

Digger shook his head. "That's my trick!" he moaned.

Blossom rushed forward and slashed at Commander Rocky. He leapt back to save himself, but as he did the other cats moved in.

"We're goners!" Digger bawled. He squeezed the dragon hard and the dragon squeezed him back and then kissed his head five times.

"Hey! Up here!" Indy called.

The dogs and the cats all turned to see what she was doing. Indy had climbed up onto the walls of the Forbidden City. She was pointing towards the front gates. She began to count down.

"Five, four, three..."

"What is she doing?" Astro yelled.

"Two, one..."

There was a clunk as the doors of the Forbidden City creaked open. The dogs and cats all turned to see what was going on.

At the back of the cats, Speed Bump Charlie and Furball were hopping up and down trying to see over the sea of fur.

"What's going on?" Furball cried. "I can't see a thing!"

"I don't know!" Speed Bump Charlie replied.

"'Bout time!" the little dragon sighed.

He climbed out of Digger's arms and flapped his wings. He flew above the dogs and waved his front legs.

"Over here!" he cried. "Quickly!"

Blossom climbed up onto the shoulders of another cat to get a better look. She gasped. What she saw was both terrible and horrific.

"Run, run like you've never run before!" she bellowed.

The cats didn't need to be told twice.

Whatever was coming out of those gates wasn't good - well, not for them anyway.

The dogs all looked at each other. They could hear bells ringing and hear fire crackers popping.

Commander Rocky called up to Indy. "What is it?"

She smiled. "It's the cavalry – Chinese style!"

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball looked at each other.

"What's happening?" the old cat hissed as the Siamese cats all rushed past him.

"No idea," Furball muttered. "What could frighten so many cats, I wonder?"

She didn't have to wait long to find out. Blossom ran up to them.

"Sorry, Mr Speedie, but you're on your own now. There's no way we are going to fight the lions," she gasped. "Or the dragon – not the big one!"

"Lions?!" Fuball gasped. "A big dragon?"

"Yeah, they are waking the dragon! Chinese style!" Blossom roared then she disappeared.

Speed Bump Charlie checked his phone and nodded.

"Might be an idea to leave," he said quietly.

Then glancing back at the gates he yelled, "NOW!" and he took off down the street.

"Wait for me!" Furball cried, chasing after the old cat.

CHAPTER 22

The lions weren't the sort of lions you might find in Africa. They weren't yellow with sharp teeth and claws. They were Chinese lions. They had large eyes and wide mouths full of teeth. They had bells in their ears and fur around their necks. They were covered in jewels and mirrors and they danced and hopped. They rushed towards the cats and snapped at their tails.

The dogs stood still with their mouths open. Above them the little dragon hovered, clapping his claws together.

"Good! Good! Good!" he cried.

Digger looked at Astro.

"I hope they don't come after us when they've finished with the cats," he moaned.

"No fear of that!" Ping smiled. "These lions guard the Forbidden City. They have come for one thing only."

Digger pointed up at the dragon.

"Him?" he asked.

Ping and Pung nodded. "Yes, him."

"They're wonderful!" Astro cried. "Look, there's a red and gold one!"

"And a purple one!" Alfie added.

"I like the green one!" Digger laughed.

When every cat had been chased out of the courtyard the lions turned and faced the dogs.

"No sudden moves, team," Commander Rocky said. "We're visitors here. We don't want to get into any trouble."

The lions stood side by side.

"What are they doing?" Alfie whispered.

For a few seconds the only noise anyone could hear was the gentle beating of the dragon's wings. He flew over and landed in front of the lions.

Then a drum beat slowly.

Bom, bom, bom.

Lightning seemed to flash in the sky as one thousand fire crackers exploded together. The drums beat faster and then a large Chinese dragon danced out of the gates.

The dogs stared in shock. It was such a beautiful sight with its long golden body, silver scales and wide red head. Around it there were pink and blue fishes bobbing up and down.

The dragon snaked around the square and then headed towards the dogs. No one moved. It was so long that it looped around them twice. It shook its head and lifted it up high showing them its wide mouth.

"It's got a gold ball on its tongue," Indy whispered. "Just like the one in Bendigo."

The dragon nodded to the lions then quickly swept back through the gates.

The dogs watched as it disappeared then, one by one, they turned to look at the lions.

The biggest one bent forward so the dragon could whisper in its ear. The lion stood up tall and jingled his head from side to side. The other lions didn't move. Then one by one they bowed.

"Why are they bowing" Astro asked.

Ping and Pung stepped forward.

"They are thanking us for bringing the dragon to them," Ping explained.

Alfie waved. "Not a problem at all," he called. "Anytime."

Ping turned toward him and shook his head.

"You all need to bow too. It's important to return their display of respect," he instructed the dogs. "I'm sure you don't want to upset them."

"No!"

"No!"

"No!"

The dogs promptly bowed. They stayed bent over for a very long time. Alfie was the first to twitch.

"How long do we have to stay like this?" he whispered.

"I don't know," Rocky replied.

They heard a loud clunk.

Stella was the first to lift up her head.

"They've gone," she smiled.

The dogs stood up and looked around them. They were all alone. The lions were gone, the cats were gone and even the little dragon was gone. Indy climbed down and joined them.

"Well, I suppose it's home time," she said putting her hunting bone and stink grenade back in her belt. "What a shame I didn't get a chance to use these."

Digger sniffed back a tear.

"I'm gonna miss that little guy," he sobbed.

Alfie leaned down and patted his little friend on the back.

"Never mind, Diggies. He's gone to a good home and perhaps we could get you a puppy of your own to replace him," he offered.

Digger looked up at the big dog. "I am a puppy!" he cried.

Commander Rocky said. "I must say it does feel strange not getting to say goodbye to the dragon, and not being able to see where he is going to live."

They all nodded.

"I will miss him too," Astro sniffed.

"Well, let's head back to the airport," Rocky said. "I suppose we should go home now."

"Not quite," Stella said. She lifted her head into the air and then pointed down the street.

A team of Chinese dogs emerged from the shadows and made their way towards Rocky and his team.

"Who are they?" Alfie whispered.

The leader of the dogs was a large black dog. He walked straight up to Commander Rocky and shook his paw.

"I can't thank you enough, Commander Rocky," he said.

"Who are you?" Rocky asked, looking from dog to dog.

Stella dropped her head and had to put her paw up to her mouth to smoother a giggle.

"My name is Locky, Commander Locky. I am the leader of the Chinese branch of The Organisation," the dog said.

Commander Rocky nodded.

"This is our tunnelling expert, Rigger and our newest recruit, Bastro. This is the strongest dog we have, Malfie and our martial arts expert, Tindy," Commander Locky introduced his team.

They rushed forward and shook paws with the Australian dogs who were taken back.

"They're just like us!" Alfie laughed, shaking Malfie's paw.

"And this is our special agent, Rella," Commander Locky stood to one side and a Chinese Hairless Dog walked towards them. She was dark brown and had a white cane.

"She's blind!" Astro declared. "Just like Stella!"

Rella and Stella stood nose to nose and bowed. Then they shook paws and hugged each other.

"It has been too long," Rella smiled, touching Stella's long ears.

"Yes, much, much too long," Stella agreed.

Commander Locky let out a sharp bark and his team rushed behind him and stood up straight.

"We can't thank you enough for returning the dragon to the Imperial Grand Princess. She will be delighted. It is about time she had someone to play with," Commander Locky smiled.

"It's all part of our job," Commander Rocky said seriously. "And I suppose we had better get back to the airport and return to Australia."

"Yes, of course," Commander Locky bowed. "We would be happy to escort you if you don't mind our company."

"That would be splendid," Commander Rocky smiled. "Perhaps you could show us the way. We might get lost."

"Of course," Commander Locky replied. "Come with me."

He led the way and Rocky followed him.

Each of the dogs walked beside their Chinese equal. Conversations were soon started and before long friendships were formed.

Just as they got to the airport, Commander Locky's microchip beeped loudly. He bowed and excused himself. While he was gone, Commander Rocky turned to his team.

"It's time to say goodbye," he told them. "And then we are going straight home."

The dogs started to shake paws and embrace each other.

Commander Locky returned.

"I'm afraid you're not going home just yet," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Commander Rocky said. "The dragon is safe. We've done what we were asked to do. What's the matter?"

"Your work is done here in China, but I'm afraid there has been an urgent request for your services in another country," Commander Locky explained.

"What do you mean?" Commander Rocky said.

"India," Commander Locky nodded. "Something to do with the game of cricket and a missing mascot. They have specially requested the Australians," he explained. Then he prodded his finger into Rocky's chest. "That's you!"

"Well, I know that but what is it about?" Rocky was bewildered.

~~~

As the plane flew to New Delhi the dogs tried to relax.

"At least we're flying first class," Digger said.

"Yes, it was a thank-you gift from the Chinese government," Stella said.

"It's much more comfortable than the cargo hold," Indy remarked.

"Oh! Look down there!" Alfie exclaimed.

He pressed his face up to the window. The other dogs joined him.

Below them they could see the gardens of the Forbidden City. There were row upon row of apple blossom trees. Pink and while petals floated in the air like snow.

"Oh, look!" Digger cried. "There he is!"

Far below them, a little girl was running from one tree to another giggling and holding her hat. Above her flew a little dragon. They were playing hide and seek.

"They're having a fantastic time," Astro said.

"They sure are," Digger smiled.

The little dragon stopped and looked above his head. He could see some familiar faces in the window of a jumbo jet. He smiled and waved to them and blew a special kiss to one in particular.

Just then the dogs heard a ruckus coming from the front of the plane. They jumped up to see what was causing it. They heard an air steward yelling something about the food trolley being tipped over and being emptied. The dogs all stopped and looked at each other.

"Where's Alfie?" Commander Rocky asked.

Astro, Digger, Indy and Stella sat back in their seats, took a deep breath and looked out of the window. It was going to be a long flight.

The end... for now!

FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN

 ASTRO'S INDIAN ODYSSEY!

###

Astro's Adventures series:

 The Great Escape

 Golden Treasure

 Rampaging Rats

 Major Dakota's Ghost

 The Gypsy Curse

 A Christmas Calamity

 Neptune's Trident

 Dogs in Space

 The Haunted Circus

 Waking the Dragon

 Astro's Indian Odyssey

 The Lucky Leprechaun

More from Astro -

 Astro is Down in the Dumps

 Astro's Horrible Howlers or the Worse Dog Jokes Ever!

Learn how to get these books delivered to your door every month at

Astro's Adventures Book Club

Other titles written by Susan Day:

 Understanding Your Dog

 Clarence the Snake from Dunolly

 Dog Trick Training & Obedience Book (non-fiction)

FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you for reading this fun book in the Astro's Adventures series. The dogs and cats in this book are based on real ones. The goal of these books is to raise awareness for the need for dogs and other pets.

I share my house with Rocky, Digger, Stella and Alfie, and Speed Bump Charlie (yes, that's his real name). The other dogs are owned by family members and friends. All the dogs play together on a regular basis. If you'd like to read more please visit our website: Astro's Adventures

If you feel moved by this story, and you love animals why not leave a review? Your review will help others choose great books to read and share. Astro, Rocky and I read all reviews, and we would love to know what you think.

Please pop over to Astro's Adventures Book Club to learn how you can get all 12 print books in the Astro's Adventures series sent directly to your door each month.

Yours in Paws,

Susan Day

