"Ah, Tria. I've been waiting for you." Liu Ren greeted me, looking then at the ground, "And hello to you too, Nibbles."
"Sup." Nibbles replied casually from his place next to me. He'd met me on my way to Liu Ren's office, and, after hearing why I was there, decided to join me.
"Well, let's get down to business." Liu Ren continued, getting straight to the point to emphasize the importance of the task before us, "I've been concerned about the Earth Dragon. It's been acting strangely recently. I would like you to check on it with me. You seem to have a way of reasoning with it, and the Earth Dragon may be stronger than when we first fought it, so a second set of eyes could be helpful." At the growl from next to me, Liu Ren added, "And a third set of eyes would be even better."
"I'm in." I said, with Nibbles snorting in agreement.
"Thank you very much." Liu Ren said to me, reaching into a drawer in his desk and taking out a familiar green jewel, "Let's be off."
"That's the original jewel, isn't it?" I asked as he led us out to the Garage for his Bone Buggy.
"That's right." Liu Ren answered as he drove through the portal to Lantern Lake, "Now that the Cosmonium has been extracted, I think returning it shouldn't be a problem."
"It would probably be wise." I replied, flying next to the silver Rock Crusher, "I did promise the Dragon that we'd return it once we'd gotten what we needed from it. It probable wants its original jewel back. It had only accepted the replacement jewel grudgingly once I'd explained the situation to it."
"That would make sense." Liu Ren muttered as we entered the cave. As we drove up to the restless statue, he cringed. "Look at that. Who could have imagined such a thing?"
"What's wrong?" I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
"It seems you're right." Liu Ren mumbled, "The Dragon is rejecting the new jewel we placed in its claw. If left unchecked, who knows what kind of destruction its rage might unleash?"
"Looks like we're about to find out!" I yelled as the cave shook with a familiar rage. As the statue began to move and regain its color, Liu Ren released his two vivosaurs: the Air-type carnivore Tarbo and the Fire-type sauropod Amargo.
"It's just like before…" Liu Ren muttered gravely before commanding me, "Come, Tria! Let us pacify the beast before it's too late!"
"I'm on it!" I replied, sending out Nibbles along with my most trusted Air-type teammate, Stego. With all vivosaurs on the field, the battle began.
The Earth Dragon, its rage making it impatient, slithered forward, teeth bared menacingly. Tarbo, Amargo, and Stego, all slow-moving, stood firm to counter the attack. Nibbles, with more mobility than his teammates, darted underneath the charging Dragon and hit its stomach with an uppercut. Though not enough to fully stop the Dragon's attack, it did cause the strike to miss the other vivosaurs, leaving the Dragon in a vulnerable position.
"Tarbo! Deadly Fangs! Amargo! Drop Press!" Liu Ren commanded his two vivosaurs. Tarbo roared ferociously, grabbing onto the Dragon's snake-like body with his jaws and pulling it to the ground, where Amargo held it with his massive front feet. Nibbles also jumped onto the Dragon's back and roared.
"Now, Stego!"
"Right!" Stego stomped her feet aggressively as the blades of wind shot from her backplates, raining down on the grounded Dragon as her three teammates jumped back.
The Dragon lay there briefly before raising its head and roaring again, the deafening noise throwing the vivosaurs back. It then lunged again, its blue jaws open.
"Bring it on, you overgrown snake!" Nibbles roared challengingly, unleashing his Crimson Flames in the Dragon's face. The Earth Dragon screamed and threw its head in the air. Its whip-like tail lashed out, slamming into Nibbles' armored arms and sending him flying. As he crashed into the wall, Tarbo and Amargo pushed the Dragon back with a Shoulder Tackle and Body Check. The Dragon pushed back, managing to repulse their attacks before getting hit between the eyes by Stego's Homing Blast. It shook off the blinding effect quickly and roared again, dazing its opponents.
"I think this has gone on long enough." I rumbled to myself, standing up from my place on Liu Ren's Rock Crusher. I leapt down and darted forward, past the feet of the large vivosaurs, speeding toward the Dragon.
"Tria! What are you doing?!" Liu Ren cried, more out of shock than concern. I ignored him, as I often do when in battle, and launched myself directly at the Dragon's head. It reared back and roared again, teeth flashing threateningly, but I just grinned.
"Fool! You've left yourself wide open!" I laughed, charging fiery energy in my jaws as I approached, "Angel's Fire, Compressed Blast!"
I then opened my mouth and fired a short blast of my Angel's Fire, the flames packed tightly into a small sphere, straight into the Dragon's gaping maw. The attack then exploded as it hit the back of its throat, sending it crashing to the cave floor. White smoke rose from its still-open mouth and a thin stream of blood flowed into the small pool surrounding the statue's usual place.
"Don't you think you went a little too far, Tria?" Liu Ren asked, sounding worried for the Dragon's life.
"It'll be fine." I replied, kneeling before the Dragon's head and stroking its muzzle, "This creature's been protecting this continent for hundreds of years. It'll take more than a little attack like this to bring it down." I looked back at the Asian leader. "Though I would suggest returning the jewel before it wakes up."
"…Yeah…" Liu Ren muttered, looking at me warily as he retrieved the jewel from his Bone Buggy. Stego returned to me as a Dino Gear and Nibbles reverted to his normal form to stand next to me.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked me, his emerald eyes shining with admiration.
"How to turn your flames into a bomb?" I asked for confirmation, chuckling at his enthusiastic nod, "Heh heh. Sure thing, buddy."
Having placed the green jewel in the Dragon's claw and retrieving the red-orange one, Liu Ren stood beside me, his vivosaurs' Dino Gears in his hands.
"We're done here." he said, looking at the Dragon, "Everything should return to normal now."
"Let's hope so." I replied, standing and walking back out of the cave as the Dragon stirred, "We don't need it throwing another temper tantrum."
Liu Ren snorted, the sound of resigned laughter, "I guess the Earth Dragon liked the original jewel more than we suspected." he said as the Dragon sniffed at the green jewel now resting in its left paw and purred, "I must have put too much emotion into my crafting of this statue. I never expected it to have such an obsessive personality."
"Yeah, but you are not at fault." I consoled the older male, "You made him during a troubling time. War has a way of bringing out the worst in anyone. Still, that obsessive personality may be beneficial for its purpose. It's good for guardians to be obsessive and possessive; it makes them more protective of that which they guard." Liu Ren nodded in agreement, heading for his Bone Buggy. That's when Nibbles tapped my leg.
"I thought that snake is hundreds of years old." he stated, making Liu Ren tense suddenly, "How could he have made it if it's that old?"
"Um…" Liu Ren stuttered, turning to us frantically, "I mean…that's what I WOULD be saying if I were the sage who made it! I couldn't have made it! That's just silly! I'd have to have been alive for hundreds of years! Ha ha…haaaaa…"
I burst out laughing at the man's rambling, draping a wing over his shoulders. "Relax, Liu Ren. I won't tell anyone. I'd already figured out you were much older than you appear. You have far too much knowledge and experience for even an elderly human to have gathered." I smiled reassuringly at him. "Your secret's safe with me."
Liu Ren nodded shakily. "Th-Thank you very much, Tria." He was about to get into his Rock Crusher, but was stopped again, this time by the Earth Dragon, whose head appeared suddenly right next to us. "What? You're STILL not satisfied?!" Liu Ren exclaimed to the Dragon, taking a battle stance. Nibbles snarled, preparing to transform again. I watched carefully, my tail thrashing in agitation as the Dragon eyed me warily.
"Father." the Dragon's booming voice echoed off the cave walls, "I must speak with you." It glanced at me again and added, "Privately."
Liu Ren shifted his gaze between me and the Dragon he'd created, looking about to protest, but I just nodded to both of them.
"Then I shall head back to the Park. It'll be getting dark soon, and I have something else that needs my attention." I said, smiling at the ancient beings before me as I picked up Nibbles, "I will see you both at a later time." I then took off and flew out of the cave, evading the waterfall as I had when I'd entered. I hovered briefly outside the cave and listened before speeding toward the Park. I knew what the discussion was about, what the Dragon had sensed in me and was alerting his creator to. I'd heard all I needed in the first words from the Dragon.
"The darkness still lies within."