Welcome back readers. So now the concluding part of the Skavenger adventure.
Disclaimer: This story has nothing to do with Eragon, How To Train Your Dragon, Dragon Booster or any other stories involving humans riding dragons. Also, I only own my OC's and nothing else.
So let's continue.
Chapter 9: Fights in the Fleet
Troy, Spyro and Astral set off in pursuit of the escaping Skabb, zooming around the many smaller ships. Just then, two of the ships fired cannonballs at them. Astral and Spyro ducked and weaved around the balls, but when they came out of the fray, Skabb and his birds had disappeared.
"Oh no, we lost them," Astral groaned as they landed on a discarded lifeboat.
"They can't have gotten far," Troy reassured her. "Two little birds can't carry a big guy like Skabb for long. They'll have to stop and rest sometime."
"But how do we find them again?" Spyro asked uncertainly.
"We'll just have to search every ship we can see until we find them," Troy decided. "Come on, let's go."
So they set off, gliding down to every ship, fighting the Skavengers on board and riding lifeboats over to the next ship. But after hours of searching, there was still no sign of Skabb and his parrot lackeys.
"This is hopeless," Astral sighed as they landed on the seventh ship. "Where could those villains be?"
"We can't give up now," Troy retorted. "Scratch knows something about the Dark Lord, and I need to know what."
Suddenly a loud squawk was heard overhead and before Troy could react, he felt something grabbing his shoulders and lifting him off the ship. He looked up to discover he was in the clutches of a Skurvywing!
"Troy!" Astral and Spyro cried in horror. As they prepared to follow, a horde of Skavengers pounced on them.
As the dragons fought against the Skavengers, Troy was taken to a nearby burning wreck and dropped onto the deck. As he got to his feet, he found himself surrounded by a gang of Skavenger Commanders.
"Well, well, well," the biggest Commander snarled. "The human what caused all this chaos… Now we're gonna run ya through!"
"Bring it on, you flea-bitten freebooters!" Troy yelled, pulling his sword out.
With a roar, the Large Skavengers charged forwards. Troy focused his powers and called out, "Conveias Glacius!" His sword flashed blue and became as cold as ice. He swung it out and struck the nearest Skavenger, freezing him solid. Then Troy yelled, "Conveias Phullon!" His sword glowed green and became like a leaf. As he swung it forward, the Skavengers were covered in a glowing spore that baffled the pirates before being taken out. Troy then Channeled his Flaming Sword to finish the rest off.
But then the Skurvywing perched in the sails swooped down with a screech and swiped at Troy with its clawed wing, scratching his arm and knocking Draconis out of his hands and onto the far side of the deck. With no way to escape, Troy watched as the mega-bird's rider jumped off his steed.
"Nowhere to run to now, human," the Skavenger snarled, raising his cutlass.
Troy closed his eyes and raised his arms up, expecting the impact of the blade in his chest… but then a loud thud made him look up. The Skavenger let out a gurgle of pain, staggered backwards and then slumped face down on the deck, an arrow in its back.
Troy looked round and saw a familiar figure standing on the other side of the deck, his bow raised. "Nobody hurts my good friend!"
"Bloodwolf!" Troy cried in delight.
"Did you miss me?" the elderly archer beamed, lowering his bow.
"What are you doing here?" Troy asked. "I thought you were heading for the Temple."
"I was, until I saw you chasing Skabb," Bloodwolf replied, handing back Troy's sword. "I thought you might need help, so I turned my boat round and landed on this ship in time to rescue you."
"Thanks for that," Troy beamed. "Now I need to know what happened to Spyro and Astral." He focused his mind until he could hear Astral's thoughts, "Looks like we've found them."
"Astral," he called in his mind. "Can you hear me?"
"Troy! Thank the Ancestors you're safe," Astral replied joyously. "Where are you?"
"I'm on a shipwreck," Troy answered. "Bloodwolf is with me too. He saved me from the Skurvywing. Have you found Skabb?"
"Yes. He and his birds are resting on a crow's nest on top of the last ship," Astral said. "We're going to take him out. Hurry up and help us."
"Right, I'll be there soon," Troy ended the conversation and let out a sigh. "Phew… telepathy really takes it out of you…" He shook his head and turned to Bloodwolf. "Come on, let's get on your boat and find the others!"
"It won't be quick enough," Bloodwolf replied, turning to the confused Skurvywing. "But I think I've found a faster way…"
Some distance away, Spyro and Astral were standing on a lifeboat overlooking the last ship. They'd dealt with the Skavengers that attacked them but were unable to find Troy. Spyro had suggested they keep going so they had travelled across three more ships until they spotted Skabb landing on the last one. Just as they were preparing to go down, Astral heard Troy communicate to her. After she gave him directions, she and Spyro glided down to face the Skavenger Captain.
"Sucka, you just don't know when to quit!" Sniff yelled.
"Then you don't know us very well," Sparx countered. "I quit all the time."
The dragons gave him an irritated glare.
"Sorry, I thought that was gonna sound cooler," Sparx murmured.
"You seem to be missing someone," Scratch noted. "Have you lost your Rider, golden one?"
"How did you know Troy was my Rider?" Astral asked.
"In the same way I know about the Dark Lord," the orange parrot replied. "Because the Skavengers used to be in his service…"
"What?" Astral's jaw dropped.
"He's right, fool," Sniff retorted. "Years ago, Skabb's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather used to serve the Dark Lord. He provided them with the Dreadwings to aid the Ape's battles and bring PAIN to the Dragon Riders."
"When the Dark Lord was defeated," Scratch continued, "the Skavengers fled to the skies and founded this new lease of life… capturing combatants and making them fight each other…"
"Thus making them the legends of Troy's stories," Spyro realized.
"I was quite surprised to discover a Dragon Rider and his steed alive in the Ancient Grove," Scratch admitted. "But it doesn't matter; he is gone and now there's only you two to deal with."
With a snarl, Skabb raised his sword and swung it round, driving Spyro and Astral back.
"AVAST THERE, ME HEARTIES!" a sudden voice rang out from above. "Prepare to be boarded!"
Skabb, his parrots and the dragons looked up to an incredible sight. A Skurvywing was swooping down towards them and on its back were two humans, one holding a sword aloft, the other holding the reins.
"Troy! And Bloodwolf!" Astral cried out.
Angrily, Sniff scrambled to the chest on Skabb's back and flung it open, revealing a cannon hidden inside. He grabbed the fuse and pulled, firing three cannonballs at the bird.
"Barrel-roll, Darrius!" Troy yelled. Bloodwolf pulled on the reins, making the Skurvywing spin in the air to dodge the cannonballs.
As Sniff prepared to fire again, Astral fired a Plant Bomb into the cannon's muzzle and the vines blocked it. Spyro then swung his Earth Flail out and knocked the cannon off Skabb's back.
With a roar, Skabb raised his cutlass and summoned a great power into the blade, making it glow purple. Then he slammed it into the floor, sending a series of shockwaves out. Spyro and Astral jumped up, dodging the attacks.
"Get that bird close to the ground," Troy ordered. "I'll take it from here!"
"Watch yourself, kid," Bloodwolf warned, bringing the Skurvywing down.
As Troy leapt off the bird, he focused his energy and cried out, "Conveias Psykosis!"
His own sword, Draconis, glowed with an eerie blue light and he swung it out, sending a wave of energy into Skabb's chest. As the energies surged through the Skavenger's tiny brain, he groaned and staggered backwards, onto the plank sticking out of the side. He shook his head to clear his mind, but the action made him lose his balance and he fell off the plank with a scream and disappeared over the edge into the ocean below.
Nearby, Scratch and Sniff perched on the nest's rim and glowered at the group.
"That ain't nothing," Sniff yelled. "We don't need him to take out these punks! I pity the fool that messes with us! Welcome to the world of hurt-"
But while Sniff was psyching himself up, he couldn't see that Sparx's hackles beginning to rise, his eye twitching, until he raised his little fist and punched the purple bird right up his beak, making him spin round and fall to the ground in a faint.
"HOOOO-aah!" Sparx cried. "That felt good!"
Scratch let out a squawk of alarm and he grabbed Sniff in his claws and took to the skies.
"Guess he didn't want to stick around," Troy smiled.
"Whoa," Bloodwolf said, landing his Skurvywing nearby. "Remind not to get on that little guy's bad side…"
"He did say how much he hated those birds," Astral recalled. "Looks like he found his opportunity for payback."
"Right," Bloodwolf called out. "I'm off to the Temple. Are you guys coming with?"
"Not yet," Spyro replied. "We're actually on a mission of our own, looking for the Chronicler. After that, I'm not sure…"
"I understand," Bloodwolf nodded.
"Hey listen," Troy said, climbing onto Astral's back. "You handled that Skurvywing quite well. When you get to the Temple, talk to my brother, Orion. I'm sure he'll accept you into the Dragon Riders."
"It would be an honour, kid," Bloodwolf replied. "I hope we'll meet again soon."
With a nod, Troy, Spyro and Astral took to the air and set off towards the setting sun, while Bloodwolf flew off on his Skurvywing in the direction of the mainland…
Some distance away from the fleet, the group was making good progress towards the White Isle. Astral explained to Troy what Scratch had told her about the Skavengers' involvement with the Dark Lord while Sparx was still psyched up about his punch-up with Sniff.
"Did-did you see me back there?" he called out, buzzing around Spyro's head. "I was like BAM! And he was all OOF! An… which reminds me, where are we going?"
"I didn't get a very long look at the map before it was destroyed," Troy admitted. "But there's got to be some sort of landmark somewhere."
"We'll just have to keep a lookout, that's all," Spyro added.
"Oh sure," Sparx said sarcastically. "I'll just keep my eyes peeled for the big flashing sign that says SPOOKY MOON TEMPLE."
As Astral rolled her eyes, she suddenly saw that Spyro's own eyes were glazing over and then his wings stopped flapping and he tumbled out of the sky.
"SPYRO!" Astral cried.
"Oh no," Sparx yelled. "Please tell me you're just pulling over to go to the bathroom…"
"Troy, he's falling! We have to-" She suddenly felt Troy slump forward in his saddle and realized he must have fainted too.
Thinking fast, she folded her wings back and swooped down to catch up to Spyro. Just as the ocean came into sight, she spotted him and grabbed him in her claws, but she couldn't stop herself quickly enough and they crashed into the water with a mighty SPLASH.
As they sank beneath the waves, Astral tried to pull them back to the surface, kicking her legs and flapping her wings, but she was too heavily burdened. She resigned herself to her fate, but then she hit land underneath her legs and suddenly she was lifted up, up, up… and her head broke the surface. She let in a gasp of air and then she realized what had happened – she was on the back of a giant Leviathan!
"Of course," she remembered as she let Troy slide off her back. "These creatures know the secret places… Hey, Sparx! Can you tell him to take us to the White Isle?"
"One step ahead of you, Astral," the dragonfly replied. As he flew towards the sea creature's head, Astral felt her eyes get heavy then she fell asleep too…
Once again, Spyro woke up to the Dream Realm, but as he glided down to the Elemental Pool, this one blocked by a yellow barrier, a shiver ran down his spine. "Something's not right," he murmured then he called out, "Why is so dark here?" When there was no reply, he shouted out, "Can you hear me? Is anyone there? I want to know what's happened to Cynder!"
At once, a bolt of lightning struck the wall above him and then the Chronicler answered, "A flash of lightning is born of the sky and its tempers, young dragon. You must learn to control your emotions if you are to tame the free spirit of Electricity."
Spyro sighed and climbed on to the pedestal. As he closed his eyes, he felt a strange feeling like static electricity through his veins as the Chronicler spoke. "Surrender to its erratic nature. Allow its energy to charge through your body and anticipate its movements then UNLEASH it… willingly."
Spyro focused his energy and felt the electricity sparking from his body and shoot out across the platform, taking out the barrier. As he shivered with the feeling, the Chronicler finished, "This power is accentuated by your impulsive nature. Trust your instincts, Spyro."
Spyro set off again along the platforms to learn his new elemental powers. At the first platform, he fired a glowing yellow orb at the soldiers' feet which quickly exploded and sent them flying. On the next one, he spun around on his tail, shooting electricity out of his body, and charged into the next soldiers. Afterwards, he came across some crystal orbs built into the floor and he powered them up with his Electric Orbs to open a door before finishing off the soldiers with his Electric Fury.
Soon he arrived at the entryway to the Dream Temple, where he sat down and waited for Astral…
Meanwhile, in the Hall of Rider Heroes…
Troy woke up and got to his feet, finding himself back in the training grounds of his dreams. Then he spotted the Sentinel standing by the statue of Trafalgar. "You're making good progress, young Rider. Thanks to the Turtle Whale, you and your friends are now approaching the White Isle."
"Sentinel, Skabb's parrots told me they used to work for the Dark Lord," Troy asked. "And they provided the Apes with Dreadwings…Was that true?"
"Sadly, yes." The Sentinel bowed his hooded head. "In time, Trafalgar was able to thwart the pirates' plan, but the deed was already done. Our race was decimated by the Apes' new steeds and by the time Trafalgar was able to defeat the Dark Lord, there were only a handful of us left."
Troy sighed and bowed his head, but the Sentinel's next speech was more cheerful. "But now, you've managed to restore the balance between humans and dragons. Now you are ready for Trafalgar's ultimate skill… the Blade of Divine Might!"
"Wow," Troy breathed and he drew out his sword and focused. "What do I do?"
"Just focus your mind and feel the purity of your heart," the Sentinel's voice whispered. "Then when you're ready, call out: Draconis Divinus."
After a few attempts, Troy finally felt the power and called out, "Draconis Divinus!"
As he opened his eyes, he saw that his blade was glowing with a mighty purple light.
"Excellent work, Troy," the Sentinel praised. "You truly have the spirit of Trafalgar. Now you must put this skill into practice."
Troy was soon surrounded by statues, but he listened to the Sentinel's words. "Your normal attack is the Divine Slash. It's ten times more powerful than your normal attacks."
With a nod, Troy swung his blade out and took down the statues. Then another statue appeared, this one three time bigger than the normal statues. "That enemy is too powerful for even the Divine Slash," the Sentinel warned. "But that doesn't mean it's invincible. Point out your sword and give out the words: Divine Beam!"
Troy pointed his sword forward, braced himself and yelled out, "Divine Beam!" At once, a beam of purple energy shot out of the tip of the sword, obliterating the giant statue.
"Excellent work, young Rider," the Sentinel praised as the sword faded back to normal. "You have mastered the Blade of Divine Might. But take heed: the powers of Divine Might are not to be taken lightly. So use it only in the most extreme emergencies."
"I understand," Troy replied.
"Good. Now you should learn the last two Channeling skills: the Lightning Blade and the Tsunami Sword. The words to Channel them are Conveias Electrus and Conveias Aqueous."
Troy practiced these new skills and found that the Lightning Blade could send a powerful jolt through any enemy that could sometimes spread to other enemies nearby, and that the Tsunami Sword could blast enemies back with a surge of water. Soon he had mastered the skills.
"Well done, young Rider," the Sentinel spoke. "Now you must return to your world and prepare yourself."
"Are you going to tell me who you are yet?" Troy asked.
"Not yet," the Sentinel replied. "When you and the Chronicler meet face to face, then I will reveal myself."
Then Troy felt himself blacking out once more…
At the same time…
When Astral woke up in the Dream Realm, she glided down to the Elemental Pool and saw the exit block by a watery barrier. She felt a chill in her scales as rain began to fall on her. "Weird," she murmured then she called out, "Chronicler, are you there? Are we getting close? Please tell me if Cynder's going to be alright."
From behind the wall came a crashing sound and a spray of water shot up as the Chronicler spoke, "The most powerful ocean waves are created by the gentlest breeze, young dragoness. You must learn to focus your soul if you are to control the unstable spirit of Water."
Astral nodded in understanding and climbed onto the Pool. As she closed her eyes, she felt a cool feeling like the ocean that earlier threatened to drown her flowing through her as the Chronicler continued, "Surrender to its various moods. Allow its currents to ebb and flow through your body and brace yourself against the tide then UNLEASH it… gracefully."
She focused her energy and felt the water rising around her and growing in power then she let it loose, crashing through the like a dam bursting its banks. As she shook her body down, the Chronicler concluded, "This power is accentuated by your relaxed nature. Trust your instincts, Astral."
Astral set off along the platforms once more. She knocked down the first horde of soldiers with a powerful jet of water. Then she summoned water around her body and charged at the second horde, taking the out. Her journey was barred by a force field but she discovered some vases that she filled with water and activated the switches underneath to power down the force field. The last horde of soldiers was washed away by Astral's Water Fury.
She arrived at the Dream Temple and found Spyro waiting for her. As they entered, he called out, "Okay, we've completed your tests. What do we do next?"
"How do we find you?" Astral added. "Are you there?"
But there was no reply.
"Chronicler, where are you?" Astral cried.
"Great," Spyro sighed. "Now the voice in our heads is ignoring us…"
"Well, the Pool of Visions is over there," Astral decided. "Maybe we'll just take a peek…"
They climbed up to the Pool and looked down and another vision appeared. They saw a massive hallway carved from the mountain with a long beam of energy pouring in the middle. But their attention was drawn to the Ape King sitting on a throne nearby and the Ape Commander dragging Cynder toward him on a chain. The massive Ape glowered down at her. "So… the traitor returns!"
"You can't go through with this, Gaul," Cynder yelled, pulling at her leash.
Gaul let out a deep chuckle. "Nothing can prevent this. We are merely here to welcome our Masters back in the Realms and join them at their sides… but fear not, Cynder. You've been such a faithful servant that I'm sure they'll take you back... and if you refuse, then you'll have the honour of being the first to perish at their hands."
Cynder let out a growl of anger as Gaul got to his feet and announced to the Apes around him, "Long have we waited… long have we suffered… but soon our Masters will return… and their coming shall bring forth a new age of power for the Apes… and we shall have our revenge!"
As the Apes let out a cheer, Astral blacked out for the last time…
And there I'll stop. Did you notice the change I made to the order of dreams? I thought I'd end at Gaul's speech for effect.
Next chapter, Troy, Spyro and Astral arrive at the White Isle and face a series of challenges to prove their worth. Speaking of which, should Troy help Astral in her trials or should he face his own tests? Let me know and I'll put it in the next chapter.
See you then