Chapter 4 – Beautiful and Powerful
The dragons nodded understandably at what Captain Keahilani expected of them. They could tell that this was going to be a rather demanding trial, but that did not stop them from being determined to do their best.
"Before the trial can begin," continued Captain Keahilani. "I must first know, since I doubt all of you are taking on the trial, which of you are the trialgoers."
"Just the six of us," said Cynder. "Draco, Lily, Torden, Jakkin, Percival, and myself."
"Yeah, we're all just here to support them," said Jeremy.
"Not to mention that we're also here to look for our Charmander friend," added Zippy.
"Okay, that's all I needed to know," said Captain Keahilani. "Will you six dragons step right up, please?"
Cynder led her group up front as they focused on the lion. He kept a solemn expression on his face and made sure they were paying full attention to him.
"Observe very carefully now," he began. "Here comes the first dance."
Captain Keahilani signalled the Marowaks to begin their dance, and when they stopped, all three assumed a certain position. They then did the same dance again, only this time after they stopped, one of them assumed a different position, and the dragons only had a split second to see which one was different.
"Now then," said Captain Keahilani. "Which one was different?"
The dragons looked at each other, and consulted together quietly to know who remembered the two positions. Cynder turned around to give her answer.
"It was the middle Marowak, captain."
The Marowaks smiled in response, and so did Captain Keahilani. "Not bad at all!" he exclaimed. "Okay, get ready for the second round, and watch carefully again!"
With that, the Marowaks did another type of dance and assumed a new position, followed by performing the same dance again and ending at the same positions they assumed, but one was different, just like in the first round.
"So, once again, which one was different?" asked Captain Keahilani.
"I saw very attentively, sir," said Draco. "It's the Marowak at the left."
Captain Keahilani turned to the Marowaks for confirmation, and they nodded happily.
"Magnificent!" he exclaimed. "Now, are you ready for what's coming for the final dance?"
"We are!" said the dragons in unison.
"Right then," said Captain Keahilani. "One more time, everyone!"
In response, the Marowak trio did a new dance and assumed yet another position upon stopping, and when they repeated it again and stopped, all of them were in the same position this time, only now the dragons caught a glimpse of a strange creature among the trio. They have never seen anything like it before. It was a huge black lizard-like animal with a purple belly and pink markings, not to mention a pink underside of the tail. The creature even appeared to be feminine as it looked very beautiful with its thin, slender body.
"You saw it, now answer the question," said Captain Keahilani. "What is different in this dance?"
"That strange black lizard among the Marowak trio!" all the dragons exclaimed.
"All of you are very clever indeed!" laughed Captain Keahilani. "You have guessed it correctly, and now you shall face Salazzle."
"Salazzle?" asked the dragons.
"Yes, of course," said Captain Keahilani. "She is the strange black lizard you see before you, and I have trained her very well in order to test those who take on my trial."
"So that's Salazzle," said Cynder. "She does seem pretty strong."
"Rightfully so, and you're going to see how looks can be deceiving," said Captain Keahilani. "She may seem harmless and beautiful, but deep inside, she is a force to be reckoned with."
The Totem Salazzle nodded in agreement to Captain Keahilani's statement, and as soon as she stepped into the fray, her entire body flashed, emitting a fiery red aura.
"Oh, man," said Jakkin. "This is goin' to be a rough one, that's for sure!"
As the dragons readied themselves, the Totem Salazzle made her fighting stance, which set the stage for the upcoming battle.
"Ready?" asked Captain Keahilani. Everyone nodded in response. "Begin the fight!"
The showdown began as Torden charged straight at Salazzle. He pounded her right in the chest, then kicked her high up into the air, and then flew right up to knock her back down. Everyone stood in shock as Salazzle crashed into ground, causing dust to fly everywhere.
"Holy smokes!" exclaimed Draco. "That really has got to hurt!"
But surprisingly, Captain Keahilani did not seem all too worried, and when the dust settled, Salazzle was standing, unscathed from the beating. Torden was speechless.
"But – how?" he stammered. "That was a damaging blow!"
"Like I told you before," said Captain Keahilani. "My Salazzle is very formidable and can take whatever you would dish out."
Salazzle then lunged towards Torden, and before he could act, she delivered a quick lashing with her tail that struck the blue dragon right on the chest, making him yell out in pain. Torden struggled to get up, but he was hurting very badly. He attempted to strike Salazzle with his claws, but they hardly did anything to her. In response, Salazzle grinned as she grabbed Torden's arms and delivered a swift kick which sent him reeling across the arena.
"Oh no!" shrieked Lily.
"Whoa, did you see that?" exclaimed Percival.
"Yeah, her power level is pretty high," said Cynder worryingly. "Much higher than that Totem Wishiwashi we have fought."
"Let's not stand there!" urged Lily. "We got to help him out!"
Quickly, Lily raced to Torden's aid. Salazzle was about to unleash a devastating Z-move, but Lily saved Torden from the attack just in time.
"Thanks for getting me safe, Lily," panted Torden.
"Leave this to me," said Lily, staring at the Salazzle. The Totem Beast did not flinch, and she was ready to fight more.
Lily tried her hardest and held on longer than Torden, but the Totem Salazzle still proved to be very difficult to take down. With ease, she overwhelmed Lily, and the pink dragon was left dazed from being beat by the powerful lizard. Percival stepped into the fray, but not even he was able to take down Salazzle.
"Come on, Draco, Cynder, and Jakkin!" called Jeremy. "We believe in you! You can do it!"
"It's up to the three of us now," said Cynder. "Are you guys up for it?"
"You bet, Cynder!" said Jakkin.
"We'll try to give it our best shot," said Draco, and together, the three stepped forward, ready to battle Salazzle.
At first, Salazzle did not seem too worried, but by now, she started to show a bit of fatigue since downing the other three dragons. The battle seemed a bit tough for Cynder, Draco, and Jakkin, but soon, they started to gain the upper hand. Salazzle tried to deliver her swift blows on them, but they quickly dodged them, if barely. While the Totem Beast was taking her time to recharge, Cynder knew this was the right moment to strike. Draco trapped Salazzle with his Fire Spin, while Jakkin delivered a flurry of punches and kicks, incapacitating her even more. Finally, Cynder used her fully charged Plasma Burst and aimed it right Salazzle. This let off a devastating explosion, and after the smoke cleared, Salazzle appeared to be knocked out.
"Wow, I can't believe it!" exclaimed Captain Keahilani. "You've managed to take down Totem Salazzle!"
"You did it, guys!" cheered Jeremy. Bowser and Darky also celebrated the group's victory.
"Another trial completed," sighed Draco happily.
"For that, you shall receive your reward very soon," said Captain Keahilani. "Congratulations on your success."
"That must be them up there!" cried a voice. "Come on, I'll show them to you!"
In a second, Salem appeared and following right behind him were the Charizard pair he took after earlier. One was a female and the other was a male.
"Salem!" exclaimed Zippy, happily. "It sure is a surprise to see you here again!"
"I have heard a big battle going on in the summit of the volcano and I assumed it was you guys as you were doing your Island Challenge thing," said Salem.
"Good that you're still here," said Starfire. She then noticed the Charizard couple. "So you have managed to come in contact with those two we saw back there."
Salem smiled. "I'd like you all to meet my mommy and daddy," he said. "Their names are Dolores and Rory."
"Nice to meet you, Dolores and Rory," greeted Draco.
"So you're all Salem's friends, I hear," said Dolores as she smiled at the young Charizard. "He told me wonderful things about you."
"What a pleasure to meet you all," said Rory. "If you haven't guessed already, we were looking high and low across the globe for our only son."
"And it seems you already have," said Cynder.
Dolores and Rory nodded. "We are very grateful that you have been keeping an eye out for our little Salem," they said. "I don't know how we could ever repay you."
Zippy and Starfire thought very hard on what Salem's parents could do for them in return, and they were about to say something, when suddenly, a loud bang was heard. Everyone turned around to see Salazzle bound and gagged, and standing right in front of them was a large mechanical contraption manned by three familiar figures.