Chapter 2

Safari Zone

26 Ananeosis, 30 Zenoheld

Taking another ride on Boriates' shoulder, it was not long before Volt and Kaiser reached the Dragonite breeding ground: a lake partly surrounded by cliffs, with groups of stone spires jutting out from the lakebed. Upon arriving at the lakeside, Boriates let the two down on the ground. Volt, being the one more used to riding on Boriates, had been holding the egg.

"Now where should we put this egg?" asked Volt.

"Do you see them groups of spires juttin' outta the lake?" asked Kaiser. "Those're actually the Dragonite's nests. Each one of 'em holds one egg. This egg that Team Rocket just stole was the first one laid by the Dragonite this year. Just dive down an' put the egg inta one of the nests, an' let's get outta here."

Before Volt could reply, however, the duo heard cries coming from above. The cries came from a pair of creatures flying towards the lake: orange-skinned dragons with off-white underbellies. They had wings that were orange on their dorsal sides and green on the ventral. Each dragon had two long, thin antennae extending from their foreheads. A small horn grew out of the crown of each dragon's head.

When the pair of Dragonite neared the lake, they sped forward, enraged that someone would try to steal their egg. Flying in tandem, they generated blue dragon-shaped auras that surrounded them as they rushed towards the automaton.

The Dragonite collided with Boriates with such force that it generated a shockwave, nearly toppling Volt and Kaiser. Due to the defensive boost granted by the Custom Battle Ability, Boriates stood fast. Nevertheless, the unfazed automaton did not deter the dragons in the slightest.

One of the Dragonite sped towards the ground, intent on preventing the humans from escaping with its egg. The remaining Dragonite readied a Hyper Beam and fired it at the robot's face. Boriates raised its hand to block the attack, then tried to swat the Dragonite away as if it were a fly. Yet with a flap of its wings, the Dragonite ascended high enough to dodge the giant hand coming towards it.

Undaunted, the Dragonite continued to attack. Flying towards Boriates' head, its right arm became enveloped in lightning. However, before it could land its ThunderPunch, it got knocked out of the sky as Boriates backhanded the Dragonite.

Enraged, the Dragonite generated the blue aura again and started rushing toward Boriates, but Boriates caught the Dragonite midflight and threw it into the lake.

Howling in pain and rage, the Dragonite launched itself out of the lake, ready to press the attack.

On the ground, Kaiser and Volt watched as the other Dragonite flew towards them. Landing in front of Volt, it gave an authoritative "Bow!", as if to say "Drop it!"

"Hold up, there," said Volt. "I am not trying to steal your egg." Slowly bending his knees, he placed the egg on the ground and backed away a few steps. "I came here to give it back to you."

The Dragonite tilted its head, suspicious that this human would give up the egg so easily. Suspecting some kind of trap, the Dragonite growled at Volt and barked some more, forcing him to back up even farther.

Watching the interaction, Kaiser noticed a faint detail on the Dragonite's horn. At once, Kaiser's eyes grew wide.

"Dragonite?" Kaiser said warily.

"Bow?" replied the Dragonite, turning to the source of the voice. Seeing who it was, the Dragonite's features softened. After giving a warning growl to Volt, it walked towards the old man and nuzzled him.

"Nice ta see ya again, old friend." Kaiser said. Gesturing towards the egg, Kaiser continued, "An' congratulations on your new baby." Gesturing towards Volt, he said, "This guy here came ta return that egg ta ya after Team Rocket stole it."

At the sound of the words "Team Rocket," Dragonite growled, remembering how two Team Rocket agents had years ago attempted to detonate a bomb in its lake and indirectly caused a human to almost drown.

After a few seconds, it turned to Volt and bowed down, giving a contrite "Bow" in apology.

"No worries, Dragonite," said Volt. "I understand how it must have looked. But do me a favor, would you? Could you please tell your mate to stop attacking my Bakugan? For all the effort it's expending, it's only bashing its head against a wall."

Giving an affirmative "Bow!", the Dragonite flew off to intercept its mate.

Meanwhile, Volt asked Kaiser, "How did you get it to stop being angry at me?"

"Well, it's a long story, but the short version is that that Dragonite an' I have been friends for a long time. Most likely ya didn't notice it, bein' scared an' all, but there was a cross-shaped scar on the right side of her horn. I dunno how she got that scar, but that's how I recognized her. Yer lucky that she's the mother, otherwise we woulda had ta run outta here. Dragonite can be very protective of their eggs."

In the sky, the father was about to ready another Dragon Rush, aiming at Boriates' knee. However, as the aura was just about to form, his mate flew right in front of him, extending her wings and arms in a defensive stance.

"Bow?" said the father, a puzzled look on his face.

Gesturing towards the ground, the mother started barking, explaining that the egg was safe and that there was no need to attack the robot any further.

The father replied with another confused "Bow?"

The mother replied with a few more barks, gesturing towards the ground.

The pair then alighted on the lakeside. The egg was still lying on the ground where Volt had left it.

The mother resumed her explanation to her mate, gesturing first towards Kaiser, then towards Volt during her speech.

The father looked at his mate, then at the egg standing undisturbed on the ground. Afterwards, the father turned towards Volt and bowed, giving a contrite "Bow." Then it picked up the egg, barked a grateful "Ba-ooh!" and plunged into the lake.

The mother was just about to follow its mate into the lake when Kaiser interrupted it. "Dragonite."

"Bow?"

"Thanks for believin' in me, old friend."

"Bow," it replied sheepishly.

"An' one more thing."

"Bow?"

"From now on, try takin' turns foragin'. That way, ya won't leave the egg defenseless just ta get a bite ta eat."

"Bow!" it said, and then it plunged into the lake.

Turning to Volt, Kaiser said, "Well, that was an eventful couple of hours, don't ya think? Now, if ya don't mind, do ya think ya can give me a ride back ta my house on that giant robot of yours?"

"You're not afraid of riding on Boriates?"

"'Course I still am! But I'm not about ta pass up a free ride, especially since my house is a long walk from here. Besides, I got some questions for ya."

"I have some questions about this place as well," Volt admitted.

"Then it's settled; we'll talk at my house. Let's get goin', then."

A/N:I apologize for the long wait. Computer issues have been keeping this chapter from going out when I expected.

The reference to Team Rocket agents almost blowing up the Dragonite-breeding-ground lake is a call back to Episode 35. In a bid to capture the Pokémon in the lake, which included a Dratini, Meowth threw in an electric bomb, which would zap all the Pokémon in the water and cause them to rise to the surface. Ash jumped in to retrieve the bomb and almost drowned in the process, until he got saved by a Dragonair, which is now the mother Dragonite in this story.

As always, many thanks to my beta, Outhra, for his help in the development of the Vexos Chronicles thus far.

What do you think about the story thus far? Constructive criticism will be highly appreciated. Please review, and I hope that you will enjoy the next chapter, which will be coming out later today!