Chapter 29

With a good night's of rest and all of us carrying our supplies, the four of us were ready to head to the desert. We would be taking the tunnel, due to how it would save us time and Glory had already informed her guards there that we were to be let through it, which was nice of her since it would save us a couple days of travel.

With everyone ready and our path set, we left the Rainwing village and headed towards the tunnel, signifying that our journey had truly begun. We were all showing different emotions at this, with Sara and I focusing more on the task at hand and discussing what we were going to do once we arrived at the desert, Singularity bouncing around cheerfully at getting to see more of the world, and Asteroid keeping slightly to herself, though she was glad that we were moving.

"So when we get there, we'll just need to ask Sahara if she's willing to come with us." I explained. "This should just be a quick in and out trip, since I have already talked with her a bit before, and she said then that she would be more than willing to join us. So hopefully we'll be out of the desert and on our way to the Seawing's kingdom within a day."

"You know nothing is ever that easy." Sara told me. "I mean, with everything that's happened so far, haven't you noticed that a lot of cliches have happened? Nothing is ever as simple as "go get it". There always seems to be one obstacle or another around here." Sara sighed.

I shrugged. "I've got a good feeling about this, though I have noticed the cliche as well. It's almost like we're in our own adventure story at times." I said, chuckling. "But anyways, like I said before, unless something has come up, Sahara should be joining us. I got to talk to her a lot while the dragonets were in the Sandwing kingdom helping Thorn adjust to being a queen. She already knows everything about the quest and the two of us, so we should be fine."

When I originally told Sahara the truth about me, and how I was actually a human/scavenger before, she was first very skeptical. However, when I reminded her that she wore a necklace that managed to heal life threatening wounds and how that proves anything is possible, and explained my whole story along with some information like physics and technology from my world, she believed me. Of course, it still took a while to convince her and I'm still not a hundred percent certain she doesn't think I'm just crazy, but she still said she was willing to come along for the journey anyway.

"So what exactly is your relationship with Sahara that she's willing to just drop whatever she's doing working for the Sandwing queen and to instead come with you on a mystery journey to stop a mystery dragon?" Asteroid asked, looking at me curiously. After she asked that, I felt three pairs of eyes locking onto me, waiting for my response.

"Sahara is just a friend, I guess. We originally met soon after I originally arrived here in Pyrrhia, when I was forced to fight in Scarlet's arena. It wasn't the best introduction, and I originally thought I killed her with my lightning, but so did Scarlet and her guards, which gave her the chance to escape. We then met up a couple months after that, in which she repaid me for saving her life by helping Sunny and I in the Sandwing kingdom. Ever since, she's continued to work for Thorn, and we've talked a few times when I was there with the dragonets."

Asteroid nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer. Singularity seemed to let out a breath she had been holding for whatever reason, and Sara just kept walking, looking like she was lost in thought. I was curious what she was thinking about, so I spoke up. "Something on you mind Sara?" I asked her.

Sara looked up quickly, knocked out of her thought process, but quickly readjusted herself. "Not really," she said, shrugging. "I'm just thinking about the route we're going to take is all. We're probably going to have to find a few places to stop for more supplies along the way, since not only do I doubt our supplies will last for more than a couple months, but we'll also need supplies for anyone that joins us."

"Already taken care of." I said, reaching behind me and into my bag, pulling out the map a moment later. "Like I've said, I'm trying to plan ahead as much as possible. I've marked down a few places we can stop by for resupplying, including a new town open to all dragon tribes that Sunny told me about called Possibility, which will be interesting to check out."

Sara took the map from me, looking over the map while we continued walking. As she did so, Singularity walked up beside me, signifying her presence by nudging me slightly with her wing. "So Jack, what exactly do you think we'll see on this adventure? I want to know so I can start getting excited to see everything now!"

I grinned, glad to see Singularity in such high spirits as usual. "Probably more than most dragons can ever say they've seen, that's for certain. We'll of course be traveling across the entire continent, exploring almost everything besides the Icewing kingdom, since we'd all freeze to death. Then we'll have to find a hidden sky tower, which is where Storm is hiding and waiting for our appearance."

Although Singularity seemed pleased with my response, Sara looked at me curiously while she put the map back in my bag. "So you know where we need to find Storm now? Some kind of hidden tower in the sky? How did you find out about that?" she asked.

"Oops." I thought to myself. "I totally forgot that I learned about the tower through Asteroid's vision. I'm not exactly sure she wants to tell them about her powers, so I have to think up a reasonable excuse."

Asteroid beat me to the answer though, speaking up before I could come up with a reply. "If you're going to panic that much Jack, I might as well tell them, since we're going to be traveling together for a while." She then turned to the now curious looking Sara and Singularity. "It would happen that unlike the rest of my tribe, I actually have both of the powers that Nightwings can have, both mind reading and visions of the future, though both have their downsides."

While Sara seemed mildly skeptical, Singularity seemed to be in a mild panic. "Wait, so you can read our minds, as in see our thoughts? And you've been doing it this whole time, hearing everything, even…" Singularity trailed off, her gaze falling over to me, making me tip my head in confusion.

Asteroid, however, was grinning. "Yes Singularity, even that. I wish I didn't read minds at times honestly though. I hear way more than I would like to, and I always get a large headache when I'm around large groups of dragons, such as when we were in the Rainwing village. Oh, and your secret is safe with me, don't worry." Singularity seemed relieved at this, meanwhile I continued to be confused while Sara shrugged, probably accepting the fact that in this strange world, there would at least be one dragon that can see the future and read minds.

"Wait, what secret? Are you hiding something Singularity?" I asked her, curious what they were talking about. Asteroid was still grinning as we walked, meanwhile Singularity was stammering and turning a bright pink all over. Due to this, I could make a mild guess what they were talking about, but still wasn't a hundred percent certain. "Eh, don't worry about it, as long as it doesn't harm us in the future, we should be fine."

Singularity let out a large sigh in relief as we finally reached the tunnel, where two Rainwing guards stood. They nodded at us before moving aside, already having been informed of our arrival. We passed by them and into the tunnel, the others noticeably shuddering as they entered, as I was the only one who had been through it enough times to get used to the odd feeling it let off.

After walking through the tunnel in silence for several minutes, each of us lost in thought and Asteroid giving an occasional burst of flame to light our way. Walking through this tunnel signified that there was no going back, and that we truly were starting our journey.

When we finally reached the other end, we had to dig for a few minutes to get out, due to how sand had once again blocked the exit. Once we were out, we stood in the desert, with the Sandwing kingdom in the distance.

We moved to go forwards, Asteroid and Sara both ready to get a move to shade in the dry heat, even though Singularity was heavily enjoying the extra sun. We opened our wings though, pushing ourselves into the air as we headed towards the kingdom.

Since a month prior, the kingdom was under renovation from when Burn had turned it into a fortress. All of the disembodied heads were gone, meanwhile deconstruction on the outer wall had begun, making the kingdom look more hospitable once more as Sandwings flew around it, all having destinations in mind as they worked.

As we neared the kingdom after a few minutes of flight, I told the others to stop as a group of Sandwing guards flew up to us, all of them bearing the mark of the Outclaws. I recognized one of them right away as Six Claws, who also seemed to recognize me as he approached.

"Static, long time no see. It's good to have you back in the Sandwing kingdom, and I see you brought others with you. I take it this is about that mission you're on that you mentioned to queen Thorn?" He asked.

I nodded. "It's good to see you again as well Six-Claws, and that's exactly what I'm here about. I'm hoping that Sahara hasn't changed her mind and is still willing to join me on my trip. Do you know where I could find her, by any chance?" I asked as Six Claws waved away the other Outclaws, the situation easily under control.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not, but it shouldn't be too hard to find her. I'll send a messenger for her to see if she's available, meanwhile you can wait in the central courtyard for her."

I nodded, smiling at the hospitality. "Thank you. We'll be waiting for her there then. I really appreciate your help Six-Claws. I didn't exactly want to search the whole kingdom for her, especially since there are probably areas that I'm not allowed in."

"It's no problem, though really the only areas you wouldn't be allowed in is the treasure room, which is still pretty barren, what with the only treasure recovered being the bags that were with queen Oasis' skeleton, and the queen's private bedchambers, which I believe you have more sense than to go wandering in to. Anyway, I'll go get that messenger sent, and talk to you later."

I nodded and waved goodbye as Six-Claws flew off, meanwhile I led the others to the central courtyard, which I remembered as it was were I had nearly died to fire wounds more than a month back. Not exactly the most pleasant memories of a place (especially with the face that Asteroid was making), but it does help you remember where something specific is.

When we landed in the courtyard, we were given a few looks from passing Sandwings, but no one really paid us much mind. While Sara and Asteroid took cover in the nearby shade of a desert tree, Singularity made herself content as she laid on the ground, sighing in pleasure from the extra sunlight. I decided to leave her be, and thus went over to Sara and Asteroid to join them in the shade.

We waited anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes out there, talking amidst ourselves. We went over a few different topics, such as Sara wanting to be certain about Asteroid having powers. After that was proven with Asteroid telling Sara her current thoughts, we talked a bit about what I knew of the Sandwing kingdom.

With the time having passed, we were greeted by a flurry of wingbeats, and as I turned around to see who it was, I was tackled to the ground with sand flying into my face. "Static, it's good to see you again!" Sahara said from on top of me, not realizing she was making it hard for me to breath with my face pinned into the sand.

After a minute of me suffocating and Sahara probably being confused as to why I wasn't replying, Asteroid spoke up. "If you're waiting for him to answer, that's kind of difficult with his face buried in the sand, which is also preventing him from breathing."

While I was thankful for having a person that can read my mind at the time, Sahara started apologizing while getting off of me and pulling my head out of the sand. While I brushed the sand off of my snout, I looked over at Sahara. "It's good to see you as well Sahara. How have things been since I was last here?"

Sahara seemed to slump a bit at the question. "Not easy, unfortunately. We Outclaws have had a lot of work in the last month, and there's no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. Sure, we've all been doing our parts and contributing to the work, but there's still a lot more to do, especially with everything else that queen Thorn still has planned."

I nodded in understanding, knowing that even after a month, there would still be much to do for the new queen and those that worked for her. "Alright then. But how have you been doing? Do you think you'll still be able to take up my offer and join me on my trip?" I asked.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait for now." I heard from behind me. I turned around to find queen Thorn standing behind me, and I quickly bowed in surprise. "You know you don't have to bow to me Static, since I'm not your queen. How have you been since you and the dragonets were last here? And how's Sunny doing?" She asked as I got off of the ground.

"Everyone has been doing fine." I said. "Sunny and the others besides Glory are all still up at Jade mountain, and Sunny is doing well as she prepares to make a school out of the whole mountain. I'm sure she's already informed you of that though, but otherwise everyone is doing fine from when I last saw them a couple of days ago. Now, if you don't mind me asking, why can't Sahara join me on my trip currently? Is there an issue?"

Thorn nodded as Sahara walked up beside her. "Unfortunately, there is. Ever since the war ended, there have been an increasing number of reports of bandits in the desert that have been causing trouble for all dragons that cross them. I've had Sahara here looking into it for me with some of my other Outclaws, but so far they haven't been able to stop them. I'm afraid that until those bandits are caught, I can't let Sahara go anywhere, since I need every claw available to stop them."

Sahara looked disappointed at the fact that she couldn't join us, and I could tell that she wanted to, since I remembered that she still had to repay me for saving her life. I wasn't about to leave her behind, so I shook my head. "What if we were able to find these bandits and stop them?" I asked Thorn.

"Then she would be allowed to leave if she wanted to, since that's all I have her assigned to at the moment." Thorn explained. "But I'm not exactly certain about putting you into danger like this Static. You already did a lot for the dragonets, including my daughter, and this is more of a responsibility for me and my Outclaws. You should really leave the work to us."

I shook my head in disagreement. "I'm afraid I can't just sit back and not only wait for the bandits to be caught, but also for Sahara to be put in danger as well. I'm certain that with the rest of us," I said, gesturing to my group. "We can more than likely find these bandits and put a stop to them."

Thorn still looked uncertain, more than likely due to how she remembered how much Sunny seems to care for me, but sighed a moment later. "Alright, but just remember that this isn't your job and that you can stop at any time. And be sure to stay safe, because I know Sunny would be upset if she found out you got hurt."

"Don't worry, I have no plans of getting myself hurt again any time soon." I explained. "It was good to see you again Thorn, but it looks like I now have some bandits to stop."

"And it was good to see you as well Static." Thorn said. "Be sure to say hello to Sunny for me next time you see her. Now, I must get back to my duties as well. Sahara, I'm putting you in charge of informing them what we know of the bandits."

"Yes, queen Thorn." Sahara said as Thorn nodded before flying off. Once Thorn was gone, Sahara turned to me. "You really don't need to help me with this. I'm sure you can just come back for me later or find a different Sandwing to join you."

I shook my head. "No, I already said that I'm going to help you catch those bandits, and that's final. I still feel like I owe you this, with how much you want to join us and how you've saved my life in the past. I'm going to help you get this done, so why don't you start telling me what you know about the bandits?"

Sahara sighed before looking up at me. "You know that I owe you more than you owe me." She said. "But if you really feel that obligated to help, I guess I wouldn't mind a few extra talons helping. But is it just going to be just you helping, or is your group going to be aiding as well? I see you already have both a Rainwing and a Nightwing with you, along with your sister if I remember you telling me about her right."

I nodded as I looked to the others. Asteroid bobbed her head in agreement, while Sara gave me a thumbs up, signifying her aid as well. Singularity, after taking a moment to stretch from her brief nap, looked over and smiled before nodding, showing that everyone was on board. I looked back at Sahara and grinned. "It would appear that everyone is willing to help. So why don't you tell us a bit about these bandits?" I asked.

Sahara nodded while smiling, glad to see that we were all willing to help her get her job done so she could join us. "Alright, here's everything we know so far. They're a group of Sandwings, probably a division from Burn's former army, that have been attacking any small group of dragons that fly their way. They steal any valuables that the dragons have at hand, and if they don't have anything to be stolen, the bandits kill them."

"We can tell from the survivors that this is a group anywhere from five to ten dragons, who hit quick and hard, and only attack if they're certain there aren't and Sandwing guards around, which is the main problem with us catching them at the moment. We've managed to at least track them down to the North-Eastern part of the desert, since that's where the most travelers moving and thefts have occurred."

I nodded. "Alright, then our best bet would be to set a trap for them. If we made ourselves appear to be travelers, than we could wait and have Sandwing guards hide in the sand until they show up."

Sahara shook her head. "We've already tried that. We can guess that if a group of travelers stays in one place for too long, they grow suspicious of a trap, and they probably have a scout as well. Our best bet would be to find wherever they have set up their base, but we haven't been successful in finding it yet." Sahara explained, shaking her head.

I nodded, thinking for a second. "Alright, here's what we do then. We'll do a scouting trip today, and we'll all stay together that way if they do show up, they won't think of attacking us due to the size of our group, that is, if five is enough." Sahara nodded, confirming my suspicions. "Alright, we can take the next few days then to comb the desert for even a clue of their base's location. If we don't find anything, then we'll think of a new plan."

Sahara looked uncertain. "I'm not sure that is the best plan Static. No offense, but we've already spent days searching for these dragons, and still haven't found anything. What's going to change by us going instead of the normal guards?"

I grinned at Sahara. "They're expecting guards, not us. That's our advantage. And I already have an idea to find them. Do you happen to have a map of the desert by any chance?" I asked her.

Sahara looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I'll even get the one that I've been using to mark down the attack locations. Just give me a minute." With that, Sahara opened her wings before flying off. I turned back to the others, with Sara and Asteroid giving me odd looks.

Sara spoke first. "What did you mean by her saving your life Jack?" She asked. "Out of everything that you told me about, I don't remember you ever mentioning her saving you, unless something happened last time you were in the desert that you're not telling me about."

I looked away from Sara, since I never told her about the few times I came close to dying, including the one time I did die. "Let's just say that there was a Sandwing guard who seemed to think that his fire would look good on my face, and Sahara saved me from that." Sara didn't look pleased at my answer, but let it go for now as Asteroid began to speak up.

"So what exactly is your plan Jack?" She asked. "It's obvious you have more in mind besides combing the desert in mind. Why do you need the map of the desert to find them?" As Asteroid asked this, I pulled some string out from my bag, along with a few pins.

"I'm going to use an old strategy to try and find out where the bandits are hiding." I explained. "I'll show you what it is once Sahara gets back with the map." Right as I finished speaking, Sahara arrived, holding a map on a wooden slab that had several markers on it. As she put the map down, I saw that she was correct, and that several of the markers were in the Northeastern part of the desert.

I thanked Sahara as I began tying string to the pins on the map, much to the confusion of the others. I began attaching one pin to the next, until after several minutes all of the attacks were connected. Just as I had suspected, they all crossed over each other at one point, which, according to the map, was only a few minutes flight from it's nearest oasis, their source of water. I placed the pin on the map where every string intersected. "And that's the location of their base."

Sahara and Singularity were looking at the map, surprised, while Asteroid was nodding, showing how she was impressed. Sara was rolling her eyes, probably thinking I got this idea from a book or tv show, which I did. I was actually surprised it worked so well, and hoped that that was the actual base location.

Sahara, as if reading my thoughts, spoke up. "That's really impressive, but we should at least scout out the location before any squads are sent out after the bandits. We can leave now, if you want to."

I looked around at the others, who nodded in agreement of us leaving now, and I looked at Sahara. "Then let's go find us some bandits." And with that, Sahara nodded before opening her wings and taking to the sky, with the rest of us following behind her as she led us to the point on the map. While we flew, I looked over at everyone, grinning as the five of us took to the sky, fond memories returning to me of traveling with the dragonets.

Sahara caught my smile, but her face turned serious quickly. "Just remember Sta...Jack, if I remember you saying it right, we're on a mission with dragons that won't hesitate to kill any of us, so please be careful, alright? I wouldn't have to see you hurt, not like last time…" As Sahara said that, she clutched the necklace that she kept on her, the one I could thank for not being a severe burn victim….or worst.

I nodded as I bumped Sahara in the side while we continued flying. "I know, and I'm still on high alert as we travel, and once we get there i'll be more serious, but I just enjoy flying through a large open sky with my friends is all. It's...relaxing, in a way, to have such a vast, open plain available to you and your friends."

Sahara seemed to think for a second before smiling and nodding. "I think I can understand, and I'm glad that you enjoy flying so much. I do as well, and when I feel too stressed, I'll just take a break by taking a long flight through the sky. However, I never do it with any friends, and unfortunately that's how I got caught by Scarlet during the war. I haven't actually had any of my flights like that since, but now...I think I might do them again. Well, once we're done with this whole trip is all."

"I'd be happy to join you on your flights, if you don't mind the company." I said. "Personally, even though it's great to fly, I find flying alone too….quiet, and it's better to fly with others, even if no one is talking. Just the sounds of other wingbeats is nice to listen to. So, when this is all over, and if you don't mind, I'd be glad to join you on your flights."

Sahara was silent, and when I looked over at her, I thought I saw her blushing before she turned her head away from me. As I wondered what that was about, I swore I heard Asteroid groaning, and when I looked back, I saw her shaking her head in what seemed to be disappointment for some reason. Before I could ask, Sahara spoke up. "I'd like that." She said. "But we can talk later. For now, we've arrived at the point of the map, and I'm not seeing much."

We landed down onto the sand, in which I noticed we were in the center of where several sand dunes surrounded, putting us in some kind of sand crater. Looking around, the only thing that stood out from the sand was a single cactus that stood directly in the center of the crater.

While I looked around, Sahara brought out the map as the others surrounded her. As they looked closely at it, with questions as to if this was the right place and if I was wrong in my guess, I began to approach the cactus, wondering if it held some kind of clue.

Looking closely at the cactus, I could tell...it was an ordinary cactus. It stood a bit taller than me, and had several spines poking out all over it, with a single pink flower growing out of it. Nothing appeared strange about the cactus, and there wasn't anything that stood out. It was just a cactus.

While I pondered why a single cactus would be all the way out here, without any other cactus growing around it, the others approached behind me. While Sahara spoke out what I just said about there not being any other cactuses, since she saw the problem as well, Singularity stepped up to the cactus, before plucking the flower out from it.

Right as Singularity placed the flower behind her ear (which looked quite nice for her), we all stood still as the ground began to shake. We watched as a new flower grew out from where Singularity had grabbed it, and suddenly there wasn't anything beneath our feet as the ground opened up from beneath us.

We all cried out in surprise as we fell, none of us able to open our wings to stop our fall due to the sand falling above and onto our wings. And so, we fell, deep into the earth, and after a few seconds, the ground that we had fallen through closed above us, trapping us under the earth as we all continued to fall.

After what felt like minutes of just falling in the darkness, each of us shouting out for each other, we saw light from beneath us. Looking down, we could see a large blue pool from under us, and not even a minute later, we all landed in the water below, using our wings to slow us down enough to not kill us on impact.

After a minute of swishing around and bumping into each other confusedly, all of us emerged from the water. While the others spat out sand and water, trying to breath, I looked around.

We appeared to be in what could only be described as a tomb of sorts, reminding me of Egypt. However, looking around, it was obvious that others had been here lately, with supplies scattered about, along with bones from former meals. However, the final thing that stood out was a large flag hanging from the wall, depicting a flaming dragon skull being clutched by talons.

We had found the bandit's hideout, but now that we were in it, it was obvious we would soon be in trouble, with only the five of us with no reinforcements and no one else even knowing where we were. We were all alone, and would have to find our way out of here while dealing with the bandits.

I could only hope we would survive the experience.

Author's Note: Another week, another chapter. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the story so far, and I've actually been reading up on some of your suggestions lately, and I'm going to try to use some of them soon. I'm glad you enjoy my last prophecy, which took me about twenty minutes of thinking of things that rhyme to create (should have just used google). But anyway, I'm glad that you are all enjoying the story so far, thank you all for your support, and as usual, the next chapter should be up next week on the usual day.