Chapter 2 - Popping In

Ever since their meeting in the Dark Forest, Sylvana couldn't stop thinking about the diverse group of Dinotrux and how well they worked together to save that Dozeratops from the cliff edge; she especially couldn't stop thinking about that devilishly handsome T-Trux who was with them.

Oh, bugger off! He's not handsome, he's just desperate, Sylvana growled at herself, as she made sure to store the ore that D-Structs had given her inside of a hidden hollow in an old tree. Since ore was far rarer in the Dark Forest, she had no choice but to accept D-Structs deal with helping him take out the other Trux; otherwise, she would venture out of the forest to look for some, despite not knowing where to look, or starve to death trying.

Sylvana then smirked at a thought she couldn't deny, He is pretty cute, though.

"I thought I might find you trying to stow away your reward," a familiar and dreadful voice caught Sylvana's attention, and she scoffed when she turned to find D-Structs and Skrap-It approaching.

"What do ya want now?" Sylvana begrudgingly questioned.

"I need you to head out into the Endless Desert, and lure the Trux into a trap," D-Structs slowly explained.

"What kind of trap?"

"Ooh, that's the fun part! Ya won't know 'till ya get there!" Skrap-It added in between twitches.

Sylvana sent a glare towards D-Structs, "And what if I refuse?"

"Then you can say goodbye to your potential safer home in the crater."

D-Structs grinned when Sylvana's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity at that. He had her hooked.

"I'm listening…" Sylvana mused.

"If the trap is successful, then I will gladly welcome you into my crater and a new home with your name on it. Do we have a deal?" D-Structs explained darkly.

Sylvana truly didn't want to get in between D-Structs and his enemies, especially since she's spent time with them. She failed to understand what was bad about them, and if she was fighting the wrong fight. But she still liked the promise of more food and a new, yet temporary, home.

"What do I gotta do?" she finally questioned, earning a grin from D-Structs.

Although Ty would have been delighted to be planning with Revvit about building into the underground tunnels, he was instantly in rescue mode when Skya said she saw something at the edge of the Endless Desert with Scrapadactyls flying overhead.

"Skya, still locked on?" Ty called up to the Craneosaur.

"Like a Scrapadactyl on a lightning bitbug! They still haven't moved, though, and…" Skya began while keeping an eye out, but paused in shock when she got a better look, "…no way…you're not gonna believe who it is!"

The others were intrigued and worried about what Skya could be seeing, so they picked up the pace to find out sooner than later. And when they reached the top of the last dune, they were all bewildered to find that it was none other than Sylvana; she seemed to be trapped underneath a pile of sharp scrap metal, and the Scrapadactyls occasionally swooped down to pick at her parts. She would have fought back with her tail, but it was caught between two rusted blades, so she could only thrash her head and upper body at them.

"Sylvana, are you ok?!" Ty shouted and was the first to approach the trapped T-Trux.

"I didn't think I'd run inta you guys out here," Sylvana admitted in surprise, as she tried to pull herself free again, but to no avail.

"We could say the same about you. What is your business out here?" Revvit questioned in suspicion.

"Yeah, and how'd you get stuck?" Ton-Ton added.

"There isn't a lot of scrap in the Dark Forest, so I went out to look for some and found this huge pile just sittin' here—but I pulled from the bottom instead of the top, and it all fell on me," Sylvana sheepishly explained.

"Well, don't worry. We'll have you out in a jiffy," Ty reassured while figuring out a way to free her.

"Jiffy? No one says that anymore," Sylvana chuckled.

"I do. Skya, you hook that piece of metal and pull up, and I'll help pull her out."

Skya did as Ty instructed, and used her winch tongue to grab a curved piece of metal on top of Sylvana; she then started pulling, which loosened the grey T-Trux a bit.

"Alright, grab my tail and get ready to rev your engine," Ty informed and turned around, allowing Sylvana to have clear access to his tail. But when she bit down, he gave out a yelp of pain.

"Easy with the teeth!"

"Thorry!"

With that, the two T-Trux began to pull as hard as they could, kicking up some sand in the process. It wasn't long before Sylvana finally slipped out, but the momentum of their pulling resulted in her ramming into Ty and knocking him over onto his stomach.

"There's nothin' like lookin' up the undercarriage of a T-Trux ta start the day," Sylvana chuckled sarcastically, making his engine heat up in embarrassment as he struggled to stand.

"So, uh…no 'thank you for rescuing me'?" Ty began nervously.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Guys. If you hadn't come along, I would'a been Scrapadactyl chow. And to return the favor, I thought I might share my other findings."

Sylvana then led the others over another dune, and pointed over to a collection of volcanic ore sitting out in the open.

"Is that volcanic ore?" Ace asked in shock.

"That's the most delicious kind!" Ton-Ton cheered.

Ace then jumped onto the Ankylodump's head, "What're we waitin' for? C'mon!"

Ty rushed with everyone else to get a taste of the delicious ore, but quickly noticed that Sylvana wasn't following them; in fact, she was headed in the opposite direction.

"You're not gonna have some?" Ty questioned.

"Nah, I've already had some. The rest is all yours," Sylvana replied and finally left. But she didn't get far before she heard loud chatters and shrieks, and feared the worst for the others. She stayed out of sight as she drove back over dune to see what the commotion was, and gasped when she realized that they were ambushed by a group of Desert Scraptors.

D-Structs didn't mention anything about this, and that really irritated her. She wanted to go down there and help them, but she had to get to the bottom of this.

"What the hell was that?!"

D-Structs' eyes widened when Sylvana's voice echoed into his lair, and he turned to find her storming in with rage in her eyes.

"What was what?" D-Structs inquired, trying to act clueless.

"Ya didn't tell me there were gonna be Desert Scraptors waitin' for 'em!"

"As long as the ambush was successful, the smaller details don't matter."

"They matter ta me. Unlike you, I've got a good conscious, and I'm not gonna live with the thought of havin' murdered an innocent group of Trux for the rest of my life."

"Do you honestly think I care what you think is right or wrong? Get in line. If you wanna survive in my crater, you'd better be ready make those tough choices. If you really had been stuck out there without the Trux noticing you, you would've learned that lesson the hard way."

Sylvana knew that D-Structs was far bigger and more powerful than her, but that didn't stop her from getting up in his face to get her point across, "Next time ya think about murderin' someone, leave me out of it."

Sylvana left the cave in a huff after that, leaving a rather annoyed D-Structs alone again—well, more annoyed than he normally is, anyway. He swore that there was something admiral about Sylvana; maybe it was her independence, or her strength, or even her feisty nature. D-Structs never really thought about having a mate, but he knew that Sylvana would be perfect, should he change his mind.

Sylvana wouldn't be able to sleep at night without knowing if the other Trux had survived the Desert Scraptor ambush; that, and she wanted to find a way to make it up to them. So, she wandered across the crater in search of the weird group, and eventually found them working around some holes in the ground.

"Hey, Ty!" Sylvana called out to the said red T-Trux, who was once again happy to see her.

"Hey, Syl—you don't mind if I call you that, right?" Ty asked out of concern.

"Well, it's different—I like it."

"What're you doing out here?"

"I heard you guys got attacked by some Desert Scraptors. I felt bad for not bein' there ta help fight 'em, so I wanted ta make sure you all made it out alive."

"Thanks for the concern, but we held our own. We've fought worse before, anyway."

"Oh, really?"

Ty was about to start going on about the countless enemies he and his friends have come across, but a Desert Scraptor suddenly leapt out of a nearby hole and caught Sylvana's attention.

"They're back! I got it this time!" Sylvana growled and sped towards the Scraptor, spinning her spiked wrecking ball to prepare for attack.

"No, wait! They're not-!" Ty tried to stop Sylvana, but it was too late. She had already struck the Scraptor in the side, and sent him flying a few good yards away with some new dents in his metal.

She was about to go after it and get rid of it for good, but Ty suddenly came up behind her and got hit in the face with her tail.

"Ooh, sorry about that! I didn't damage anything too badly, did I?" Sylvana spoke quickly while closely examining Ty's face for injuries.

"No…I'm fine," Ty groaned in denial. But he winced from a sharp pain in his left cheek.

"Oh, wait. I think one of my spikes got lodged inta your mug there. Lemme get that for ya."

Ty froze when Sylvana suddenly leaned forward, and carefully grabbed the spike between her teeth and pulled it out. It wasn't an actual kiss or nuzzle, but it was still too close for comfort.

"Better?" Sylvana asked after spitting out the spike.

"U-Uh…yeah. Thanks," Ty stuttered, once again feeling his engine start to overheat.

Sylvana then glanced over to find the rest of the Desert Scraptors following close behind a Reptool, and was stopped by Ty again before she could do anymore damage.

"They're friendly—well, as friendly as a Scraptor can get, anyways. They think Click-Clack is their leader because of those horns on his head," Ty quickly explained.

"Really? I thought Scraptors were supposed ta be strategic hunters, but here they are followin' a Reptool. That's gotta be towards the top of the list of the weirdest things I've ever seen," Sylvana stared in disbelief, and her jaw dropped when a Scraptor lifted the Reptool up onto a rock and brought him some ore.

"Is that more of that volcanic ore? I'll take a chunk," Dozer pointed out and approached the Scraptors, only for them to shriek at him and chase him away, "Whoa! Ok, ok! I'll find me own. No reason ta get all snarly."

"I think I'm comin' around on this bein' a bad idea, Rev," Ty added in fear.

"Took ya that long ta figure that out?" Sylvana deadpanned.

"I will go talk to him," Revvit stated firmly, and bravely approached the Desert Scraptors. As soon as he got too close, the Scraptors growled at him threateningly.

"Uh, no, no, no. He's ok," Click-Clack told the Scraptors, to which they instantly backed off, "Think we could talk later, Rev? I was just about to take a nap. I get snoozy after a big meal, ya know?"

"Click-Clack, I have not known you to 'nap', and never outside around savage Scraptors," Revvit pointed out.

"Haven't ya noticed? They're not so savage anymore."

"Yes, I know. But that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I am starting to worry that this is a very dangerous situation." Despite Revvit's efforts to talk some sense into him, Click-Clack seemed to ignore him while humming a little tune. "See, this is where you would normally say, 'whoa-ah-ah-ah, danger'!"

"Revvit, that's just it. With these horns on my head…" Click-Clack began before leaning back and yawning, failing to notice that his head suddenly became a lot lighter, "…I don't have ta be afraid anymore."

Revvit started the shrink in terror, "Uh…that is great, Click-Clack, but…the horns are not on your head anymore."

Click-Clack then looked up to find that his horns really were gone, and the Scraptors quickly noticed, too. They stared at their "master" and growled angrily. But before they could attack, Skrap-It knocked Click-Clack down and rose up, showing off the same horns that he once wore. The Desert Scraptors easily took notice of the horns, and bowed to Skrap-It respectfully.

"Looks like your pets have found a new owner," D-Structs chuckled darkly, as he suddenly entered the scene. And after Skrap-It got the ok from D-Structs, he knew what he needed to do next.

"Team Skrap-It, attack!" Skrap-It cried out and pointed a claw at the Trux, resulting in the Scraptors to gang up on the Trux.

"S-Sit…sit!" Click-Clack begged as they got closer.

"I do not think that is going to work anymore, Click-Clack," Revvit regretfully informed.

"Just take cover!" Waldo shouted as he and the other Reptools sprinted off. This left the Trux with the Scraptors, and they wasted no time in showing the Scraptors who's boss.

"Finally, a challenge!" Sylvana laughed maniacally, and began swinging her tail with full force. She once again hit another Scraptor and sent it flying, which impressed Ty again as well.

"Look out!" Ty was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Skya's voice, and dodged a Scraptor just before it was too late.

"The only way ta get rid of these things for good is ta get those horns back from Skrap-It!" Ty shouted.

"I'm on it!" Ace called back and made her way to Skrap-It, who seemed to by too busy trying to impress D-Structs to notice her.

She then ran up and flipped over the Scraptool, grabbing horns from his head in the process, "Thanks, Skrap-It! I've been lookin' for these!"

The small mechanic ran as fast as she could, especially when Skrap-It started chasing after her. She called out Click-Clack's name and tossed the horns to him just before Skrap-It could take them back. Click-Clack hastily put the horns back on.

"Scraptors, stop!" Click-Clack ordered firmly, and the Scraptors instantly stopped attacking when they saw the horns on his head. But Skrap-It suddenly came back and stole the horns again.

"Attack!" Skrap-It shouted demandingly, making the Scraptors turn back to the Trux to continue their fight.

But Click-Clack stole the horns back again, "Stop!"

"Attack!"

"Stop!"

This continued on for a bit longer before the Scraptool and Reptool started pulling on it like a game of tug-o-war, which sent the Scraptors into a state of utter confusion. But the horns suddenly snapped in two when they pulled too hard, and the Scraptors realized they didn't have to listen to them anymore.

"Good luck!" Skrap-It whimpered as he ran away, which left Click-Clack as the only target.

"R-Remember a-all the g-good times w-we had?" Click-Clack stammered in an attempt to regain their trust, but to no avail. He continued to back away, but suddenly fell into one of the holes that led into the underground tunnel systems.

"Click-Clack!" Revvit exclaimed in terror. He and the others quickly approached the hole, and waited and listened for any sign to indicate that the Reptool was still alive. Eventually, they heard a low rumble from underground.

"Sounds like he made it to a cart!" Revvit pointed out and jumped onto Ty's head, and they followed the sound of the cart's rumbling.

"That should keep him ahead of those things for a while," Ty pointed out.

"But the last part of the tunnel is not finished. Click-Clack will be cornered!"

"Not if we get there first!" Sylvana shouted as small prods extended from her treads, which helped her get a better grip in the dirt and go much faster.

"Whoa! Since when can you go that fast?!" Ty laughed in amazement.

"Now is not the time to be marveling her speed! We need to focus on tracking Click-Clack!" Revvit cut in.

"Yeah, but it's hard to tell which direction they're going in! I'm losin' 'em, Rev!" Ty regretted to informed, as he and Sylvana made aimless tracks to look for the noise again.

"He's right here!" Sylvan shouted after pinpointing the rumbling, and came to a skidding halt when she heard a loud crash, "We hit the ground on my count! One…two…three!"

Ty swung his tail right as Sylvana did, and the easily bashed a hole in the ground. Ty lowered his tail to let Click-Clack grab on, to which the said Reptool wasted no time in climbing.

"Delivery!" Sylvana called jokingly as she hit her tail against a boulder, causing it to fall over and cover the hole before the Scraptors could escape.

"Click-Clack, that was amazing. You faced down three Desert Scraptors, all the way across the crater on your own," Revvit admitted in amazement.

"What can I say? I told you I was gonna make it farther than ever without being afraid today. But don't get me wrong, I really don't wanna do anything like that ever again," Click-Clack sighed in exhaustion.

"Now that those horns are destroyed, something tells me you will never have to."

"Think those things will find their way back to the Flatirons?" Ty interrupted.

"Unlikely. Odds are they will surface somewhere else first," Revvit reassured.

"And if they don't, you can bet they'll be expectin' another poundin'," Sylvana chuckled with a sinister grin.

"Are you gonna stick around?" Ty asked with high hopes.

"Eh, I'll be poppin' in and out from time ta time, so don't go waitin' up for me."

At least Ty and Sylvana seem to make a good team, but I wonder how D-Structs will react to that.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!