"Pass the ball here!” called Mingming as he jumped up and down, waving his arms in the air.

Xiaobai grinned as he tossed the ball up and punted it towards the younger boy, laughing as he scrambled after it. “Careful you don’t fall! Mom will kill you if you stain your new clothes.”

“I won’t stain them!” Mingming said stubbornly as he smoothed the collar of his new silk jacket. He knew his mother had stayed up all night stitching the final touches on the clothes. But the cap was kind of hot, even for the winter. He pulled it off and set it on the bench, ruffling his hair with his fingers.

“Mingming! Xiaobai! Get inside, now!” came their mother’s worried call from the doorway.

The ball slipped through Mingming’s fingers and he froze, staring down the street. “Do you think…do you think he’s coming?” he whispered.

His older brother hushed him, grabbing his arm and dragging him back towards the house. “If you talk about him, he’ll come! Let’s go!”

“Hurry!” Mother called as they ducked through the door. She slammed it shut behind them and sighed. “It is the first day of a new year and we should be celebrating. But instead, we must give food to that monster and hope he eats it instead of us.” She smiled at them sadly.

“It’s always been like this, right?” asked Xiaobai.

“Even before I can remember,” Mother replied.

“Can’t Father defeat Nian?” Mingming asked.

Xiaobai hushed him as Mother glanced worriedly at the door. “Don’t say his name, Mingming! He’s a mystical beast. We do not understand his powers or his strength. We are no match for him.”

Mingming frowned as he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Once, he had tried to take a look at Nian. Mother had forcibly pulled him away from the window and hidden him in the bedroom. He sighed. In all the stories his Father told him, monsters always lost! So why couldn’t they defeat Nian? He ran his fingers through his hair.

And froze.

His hat! The hat that Mother had made him! He’d left it outside!

Without thinking, he grabbed a large stick and burst through the door. “Mingming!” Mother screamed. “What are you doing?”

A huge creature was cautiously sniffing at the hat, blinking and tilting its head from side to side as it studied the article of clothing. He took a cautious leap backwards, just as a bit of light from the village fell across the red silk, causing it to shine. Nian yelped and hastily scrambled back.

“Go away!” yelled Mingming, rushing towards the hat and snatching it up, holding it protectively to his chest. Nian looked torn between the prospect of a meal and the red silk cap that was frightening him so badly.

“Mingming!” Mother yelled.

Desperately, Mingming began smashing the stick against the bench. Each loud crack made the creature flinch backwards until it turned and ran down the streets, trembling as it fled.

“And so the people studied what that boy had done and gradually learned that Nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red,” the dragon girl finished. “And that’s another reason why the Chinese New Year celebrations are so important.”

I raised my eyebrows, smiling slightly. “Man, you guys do like a good story.” She sighed and rolled her eyes as she reached out a hand to pull me onto the rooftop. “So basically, all of this is your fault.” She glared at me. “What? If you hadn’t made it rain and started bringing destruction on the city, none of this would have happened!”

“Well, if you and your boys weren’t so disrespectful-” She paused and held up her hand, tilting her head slightly. “I hear him.”

I glanced around at the low buildings around us, decorated like some ancient Chinese town. “Where are we?”

“You could learn a bit about the culture you’re stealing from,” she huffed. “This is Cheng Huang Miao, the City God Temple of Shanghai. Where you were supposed to leave those weapons?”

Oh. I had forgotten about those. I imagine they were still lying in the street where Taemin and I had dropped them. I hoped that three-headed kid wouldn’t react as badly as the dragon girl had.

Taemin. My fist tightened involuntarily and I gritted my teeth. Where was he? Was it true, what the dragon girl had said, that he was going to be eaten alive by that monster?

“There he is!” she whispered, pointing down. We crouched at the edge of the roof and peered over the edge.

Taemin was slumped in an unconscious heap, a gash forming on his forehead as blood oozed from his ankles. The monster was pacing back and forth, tossing its head as if proud of its catch. To my immense relief, Taemin looked like he was still in one piece.

“Hey, Nian!” Dragon girl called and the monster instantly jerked its head up and glared at us. “If you want a real prize, try catching me!”

Nian growled in annoyance. He sank back on his haunches and then sprang into the air, roaring up into our faces. Dragon girl stumbled backwards and grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me back as Nian sprang for us, claws digging into the tiled roof. Pieces of tile broke off under his weight and shattered on the ground below as the dragon pulled me to my feet.

“Come on!” she called. “Run!”

The shingles were slippery and a little loose as I stumbled behind her, not daring to look back. I could smell the creature’s terrible breath and I realized, with horror, that we were reaching the edge of the roof and Nian was gaining on us-

And then we were air-born. I felt a gust of wind under my feet as I was lifted off the roof, my feet still flailing uselessly. The current carried us over to the next building and I landed awkwardly, my knees buckling under my weight as she impatiently pulled me along.

“Jump next time,” she called.

“This all part of some brilliant plan?” I gasped, my breath coming in ragged pants.

“I thought you were the smart one,” she retorted.

I stared at her, which was a mistake, as we went soaring off another roof. “You had no plan in mind when you got him to start chasing us?”

“Let me know when you think of something!”

I was running from a mystical beast that no one had seen in thousands of years, being dragged along by an insane half-dragon girl who had been trying to kill me all night.

Ready to wake up anytime now.

By the light of the street lamps, I could see our shadows as we jumped from one building to the next, perfectly in tune. I kept my fist curled around the pearl that was so important to her, my heart beating in time with its energy pulse, and I briefly wondered how I’d feel if she were the one chasing me.

I felt her grip suddenly tighten on my hand as she stumbled slightly and the next thing I knew, she’d thrown me forward. As I crashed to the roof, I rolled over just in time to see her slip, her hands desperately clutching the gutter as Nian pounced.

“Dragon girl!” I yelled. My hand flew into my back pocket, my fingers tightened around Minho’s gun and I pulled it out, desperately firing at the monster gaining on her. Nian yelped, twisting around in midair to dodge the bullets as he tumbled to the ground below.

I raced to the edge of the roof and dove forward on my stomach, grabbing her by the wrist. She looked up at me, as surprised as I felt as I dragged her forward onto the rooftop. She shivered, the fire in her suddenly quenched, and drew her knees to her chest. She didn’t look like much to be afraid of anymore- she just looked like a lost girl.

“Are…are you okay?” I ventured.

"You know that if you’d just let me fall, I would disappear and leave you alone,” she said quietly.

“I know that,” I replied.

She raised her eyebrows, asking me why, but I couldn’t answer, because I didn’t know myself. “What do we do now?” I asked, pulling her to her feet.

She eyed the gun in my other hand and smiled slightly. “I think I have an idea…”

We found Nian sulking in an alley as he sniffed around, searching for his prey, I assumed. I wondered if all Chinese monsters were this arrogant- getting beaten even a little bit made them pout and whine a lot. His nose was pressed to the ground as he sniffed at a door. His ears pricked back as if pleased with what he’d found and raised an enormous paw to swat down the door.

Suddenly, he raised his head even higher as he spotted a trail of fluid, leading up to several large clay jugs. His eyes widened as his lips peeled back in a grin as his tail lashed excitedly. It was a surprisingly human reaction to rice wine. He bounded forward, stuck his face in one of the jugs, and began lapping at the liquid inside.

In fact, he was so absorbed by the alcohol, he failed to notice the scraps of red paper trailing alongside it.

“Now,” Dragon girl whispered in my ear.

I wasn’t Minho, with his perfect aim, having never missed a target in his life. I wasn’t Jonghyun, who could pretend to be anyone in the world and mold himself into their mindset. I wasn’t Taemin, who could sneak up on the distracted monster and force him into submission.

I wasn’t even Key, whose fingers stayed steady under any circumstances.

I was just Onew. And that was why I needed my friends back.

I raised an unsteady hand and fired at the paper trail. Nian’s head whipped around immediately, but by then, it was too late. The spark caught fire to the paper, and, fueled by the spilled alcohol, began burning it up. I saw the monster’s eyes widen as he finally realized what the paper was.

Firecrackers.

Nian stumbled backwards with a yelp, but it was too late. The dragon girl smiled and I saw the flash fire burning through the firecrackers mirrored in her eyes as the flames traveled steadily along the alcohol to reach the clay jugs.

"Get back!” Dragon girl yelled, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me down behind a wall, flinging her arms over her head.

The jugs exploded.

I cautiously looked up, brushing dust out of my hair as I peeked over the wall. Nian was lying in the wreckage, curled up and shaking. He had one paw over his nose, as if to protect it. He looked more like a kitten than a beast, and I would have felt bad if…no, I didn’t feel that bad. The dragon girl stood up and pulled the red ribbon out of her hair as she approached him.

Nian didn’t even fight as the dragon girl knelt down beside him and tied the ribbon around his horn. His eyes flew open, as if in shock, before they seemed to soften. He rose stiffly to his paws, shaking off the rubble on him, and bowed low to her.

“You know what to do,” I heard her murmur to him as she scratched behind his ear.

Nian sighed and nodded his enormous head. “It was fun while it lasted,” he sighed. And then, he vanished into thin air.

The dragon girl checked the clock and a smile spread across her face. “One minute left,” she sighed. “We just made it.”

Hesitantly, I pulled the pearl out of my pocket. “Dragon girl…”

“D,” she interrupted. “Everyone calls me D.”

“D.” I held out the pearl and her eyes widened, but she didn’t reach for it. “I need to know. Why do you want this so badly?”

“Because I thought it was a sign that I’m more than a legend,” she said quietly. “That people still respect me. There is no proof that dragons ever existed and no one believes in us now.”

“Hard for me to not believe in you after I watched you tear up half of Shanghai,” I retorted and she smiled.

“Things will go back to normal after I return to the spirit world. Your boys are already back,” she replied. She took my hand and squeezed it slightly as she smiled. “Thank you, Onew.”

I was surprised at the warmth with which she said my name and the genuineness of her smile. I didn’t let go of her hand, even though she tried to pull away. Her hands were warm and soft…I guess thinking about dragons made me expect cold and scaly claws. I could feel her pulse in her delicate wrist, perfectly in tune with the pulse of the pearl.

“You know…” I murmured. “Under different circumstances, things might have turned out better.”

“You mean, if you hadn’t been a thief with no respect for tradition?” D retorted.

I smiled. “Something like that.” I opened her hand and placed the pearl in it, closing her fist over it. “You know what? You deserve to have this back. It belongs to you.”

She stared at it for a moment, then smiled and closed my fist around it. “Keep it, Onew. I don’t need it anymore.”

“What?”

D turned away, staring out at the ruined city with a faint smile on her face. “I forgot something about tonight, something important. Chinese New Year is more than a holiday. It’s a tradition that will be passed along as long as Chinese blood flows in their veins. It’s the same with me. My stories have been passed down from generation to generation and though each generation may think the stories are irrelevant or foolish, they will always continue passing those stories on to others. I am real to them. Just in a different way.”

She shook her head slightly and her cheeks flushed. “Sorry. I know I sound corny right now.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said quickly.

“Please keep it for me,” D said. “So that I’ll always know that at least one person in this world truly believes in me.”

“Sure…”

The clock struck once and both of us jumped. “I have to go. And don't worry, your boys are already safe,” D said. “Thank you for everything, Onew.”

She moved closer until I could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She closed her eyes and leaned forward.

The last thing I remembered was how soft her lips felt against mine…

The explosion of fireworks jolted me out of my sleep. Groaning, I rubbed my temple as I slowly sat up. All around me, colorful sparks were lighting up the reddish-grey sky. Every once in a while, a series of bright flashes and loud pops dotted the streets around the brightly-lit homes.

Shanghai had never looked more beautiful.

I would have pondered that some more, but I wasn’t completely sure why my boys and I were sleeping in the middle of an empty courtyard or how we’d gotten there.

Beside me, Minho was looking just as confused as he pointed at my hand.

“Why are you holding my gun?” he asked.

I frowned. “Not sure,” I replied, as I handed it back to him. Minho checked it over suspiciously before shoving it back in his pocket.

Jonghyun stretched his arms over his head and ran his fingers through his spiky hair. “Aw man, my head,” Jonghyun groaned. “What the hell was I drinking? Did I try a keg stand? Because I feel like I just drowned or something.”

“That’s not funny,” Key frowned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “If you did do a keg stand, that means we didn’t get any pictures to blackmail you with.”

“Haha,” Jonghyun deadpanned. “I- Dude, what happened to your hands?”

Key glanced down at the red marks crisscrossing his arms and shrugged. “Must have partied too hard and fallen on something.” He tilted his neck from side to side and lay back down on his back, tucking his hands behind his head. “Hey, you know what I’m craving right now? Seafood.”

“You, too?” Minho raised his eyebrows.

“Not me!” Jonghyun protested. “I had the weirdest dream about shrimp. I thought it was probably from eating too much sushi this past week.”

"You know what? I think I did too, now that you mention it,” Key replied, rubbing his eyes again. “But I don’t really remember what happened…”

I glanced down at my other side to see yet another person lying on the ground, curled up tight and motionless. I reached down to poke him. “Hey, Taemin. Taemin, wake up.”

“Can I have some coffee? I’m so hungover and I don’t even remember going to a party-” Jonghyun whined.

“Taemin, get up now,” I hissed.

“I guess we all out or something,” Key replied. “That’s weird, Onew. You’re usually the responsible one. Did you drink too much too?”

“I don’t remember drinking,” I replied. “Taemin, wake up already!” I jabbed him hard in the shoulder.

A hand reached out and slapped my finger away. “Stop that. I’m cold!” Taemin complained. “Let me suffer in peace.”

“You’ll freeze to death if you sleep out here,” Key retorted. “Get up, already. I’m in the mood for a hot shower and a good nap.”

“Hey, it’s past midnight,” Jonghyun grinned. “Happy New Year, guys!”

“I still don’t see why you called off our plans for tonight,” Taemin grumbled. “This could have been the biggest heist of the century!”

“Minho said that Chinese New Year was a sacred night,” I shrugged, shoving my hands into my pockets. Upon feeling something hard in my right pocket, I frowned slightly.

“You okay?” Minho asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Why would you listen to Minho?” Taemin continued whining. “He doesn’t even do anything!”

“Yeah, it’s all me and Taemin!” Key added.

“Hey!” Jonghyun protested. “You guys would be nothing without me!”

“Yeah, you try to save your own next time,” Minho retorted.

“Well-”

I pulled my hand out of my pocket and slowly opened it to see a large pearl, its glow pulsing steadily in my palm. I glanced at the others, before quickly closing my fist around it and hiding it in my pocket again, trying to remember where I’d gotten it.

A flash of red silk with gold flowers crossed my mind, but it faded like the smoke from the fireworks rising into the sky.

A/N: Whoo-hoo! It's done! Happy New Year, everybody! I wish you all good luck and prosperity in the Year of the Snake!