Blue skies rimmed with receding orange as the late morning sun approached noon position.

Above the tranquil ocean, a teal hot-air balloon neared the craggy cliffs of Peace Keepers at a steady pace, the gentle roar of its burners background music. Within the basket of said balloon, Gosnold, donning his matching teal scarf, was accompanied by two members of the Ecologist clan currently conversing with one another.

"YOU DIDN'T BRING THEM WITH YOU?!"

Conversing quite loudly in fact. At least the other half of the conversation believed in indoor voices.

"For the last time, Dian, we don't need any of my aerial drones."

"You don't know that!"

"Uh, neither do you?"

"Exactly! Trouble followed Nico – Nico of all people – to Artisans – Artisans of all places! Plus, whoever pulled that stunt sounds like they used an older model of your spider-bots. We cannot take chances!"

The tall and stout dragon blurting this was sandy brown with a lighter brown underbelly and wing membranes, orange tail fur shaped like a pine tree, and light orange freckles and matching curly hair from which emerged moose-like antlers and ears. Her attire consisted of a forest green button-up shirt and ranger's hat.

"Besides," she continued, "if this is another Ecologist we're dealing with, who knows what other tricks they've got up their sleeves!"

The shorter dragon rolling her eyes in response had a sea green body, a pale-green underbelly and wing membranes and angular eyebrows and mohawk, the last of which had slightly darker green sides, blue headphones with darker blue muffs, blue jacket sporting darker-blue musical notes, a pale green tail fin shaped like a quarter rest note, and a pair of thick white horns shaped like lightning bolts. A dark blue fanny pack lay strapped to her side.

The latter dragon sighed and faced her companion with an understanding frown. "Look, cuz, you're not wrong. What happened could have turned out worse, but it didn't. Who's ever doing this clearly isn't working with a full plate, so I think we can afford to chill a little. Besides, if these mystery jerks wanna scare us, they'll hafta try a lot better than that!" The punk Ecologist thumped a fist against her chest in pride.

Her cousin stared down at her, blinking, and then pointed a wagging finger. "...See, this is why Sofia sent you with me, Madison. Ya take things too lightly."

Madison shook her head. "Only cause you take things too seriously. In fact, that's why she originally meant to send Rebecca with you. I love ya, D, but I only came instead because you threatened to use my jetpack wings to come here the other day if Sofia didn't agree to the change."

Which made no sense because wouldn't you want to not tell people you're about to do that? Not to mention that contraption produced more noise than Jesse's snoring so no dice on stealth.

"See? I'm a master at persuasion and you at critical thinking. Together we're unstoppable!" Dian turned away with crossed arms and a huff, adding under her breath, "Rebecca's no fun anyway."

Once again Madison shook her head yet sported a fond smile this time. Her cousin operated in strange ways.

At that moment, their balloon touched down on the dock, burners turning off in full. Dian and Madison hopped off and gave Gosnold their thanks, the bashful balloonist nodding back in return.

"You're quite welcome, ladies – a-and please do watch yourselves." His hands started to fidget. "There have been reports of suspicious activity in the desert near Cliff Town."

Dian stood up straight like a proper soldier. "We'll keep that mind throughout our ventures here! Thank you for the words of caution!"

Madison scoffed in good humor before hooking an arm around her cousin's shoulders and dragging her across the dock towards the main entrance building. Inside torchlit walls illuminated the smooth tiles and wooden supports, everything tinted in a warm orange. There Titan awaited them, axe balanced across his shoulders and the other hand on his hip, classic toothy grin on his muzzle.

"Welcome to Peace Keepers, ladies!" He put a hand to his chest and bowed his head. "I hope the accompaniments were to your likings!"

Madison and Dian shared a look. Not much 'accompaniment' for a simple balloon ride but considering the warm welcome, why not play along? Dian stood up straight again and saluted, only this time with a playful smile. "They were up to snuff sir! Thank you for asking!"

"Eh," Madison shrugged, "could have used an in-flight movie. Or a snack bar – you ever considered installing a snack-bar for a hot air balloon?" Despite the joking tone, she had a point. There's only so much sky and ocean you can look at until your eyes start bleeding blue and occasional white into your brain. Some provided distractions would have gone a long way.

Titan tossed an amused look in return. He could already tell how well many of his fellow Peace Keepers would get along with this one. He gestured a hand to the entranceway and made his way there, Madison and Dian following.

Coarse sand kissed their feet the moment they stepped out into Peace Keepers proper, the desert sun unrelenting in its heat and light. Titan silently noted that neither of his guests seemed instantly put out by the hot, although he did notice Madison reach into her pack to fetch herself a plastic flask of water. Did the Ecologists live someplace as hot but not as dry?

The Peace Keeper leader kept that question on the backburner for now as they neared the central stone archway and what appeared to be a training session.

A training session going haphazardly by the looks of it.

"Stop, stop, stop!" barked a tremendously chubby dragon riddled with horns and dressed like a sumo wrestler as he approached a somewhat smaller dragon lying face first in the dirt. "You're still unbalanced when you fire an Earth blast! Remember, keep both feet grounded. That way, your attack's recoil has less of a chance of knocking you down. Got it?"

A muffled 'okay uncle' sounded from the youth before he picked himself back up.

Like the sumo, he possessed a chubby muscular build and wide squashed nose. His appearance consisted of a cinnamon body; sandy brown underbelly; dark brown for the spikes on his knees and upper half of tail, undercut hair with a high topknot (tied back by a dark grey hairband), matching two tiny forehead horns and two massive slightly angular ones from the undercut, nails, and kite spade on his tail tip; and medium small dark grey wings with dark brown stripes.

His Spartan attire comprised of a dark brown bandanna, gunmetal plating – strapped to the shoulders by leather straps, to the forearms by fishnet straps – and dark brown belt with three dark grey metal plates running down the front.

Holding back an amused chuckle at the scene, Titan chose that moment to approach. "Magnus, I hope we're not interrupting family time."

Turning at the voice, the girthy warrior shared a friendly hand clasp with his leader. "Training time to be more exact but hey what's the difference?" His attention then turned to the cousins. "So, you're the little scientists strolling into our battlefields today. I'd have gotten out my good suit if I'd had the time!"

Considering you'd be hiding all that under a suit, I say you look good as is, Madison opined in silent admiration of the larger dragon's muscle and chub. On the topic of looking good, she noticed some large holes in the canyon wall opposite the group, cracks around them as though they'd been pelted by something huge and heavy.

Noticing, Titan gestured a hand to the cuts. "We're doing some drills on Earth Breath with the older youths. For now, everyone's off getting one-on-one advice from the veterans but we'll be joining back up in a few minutes to give the kids an overview."

Now that Madison and Dian took a closer look around, they could see in the distance older Peace Keepers at various places throughout the hub world either speaking with their young wards or watching as their juniors attempted certain moves with their clan's element.

That gave Dian an idea that sent her tail wagging. "Sirs, I can show the kids a thing or two if ya don't mind!" When Magnus and Titan furrowed their brows, bemused, she resisted the urge to hop in place and settled for an eager grin. "Really, my mom taught me all about Earth Breath and even Kallisto gave me tips before she moved back here!"

"And she's been practicing her moves," Madison quipped, "I should know since she always sweettalks me into spotting her near every morning."

Titan pursed his lips in thought for a moment before nodding. Eh, what could it hurt?

In a matter of minutes, Madison found herself standing off to the side as she watched her cousin school the trainees on the finer points of Earth Breath and its various applications while the older Peace Keepers stood aside well beyond throwing in their two cents every now and then.

For all her wacky intensity, the ranger dragon had chops as a teacher. Her enthusiasm was contagious, keeping her audience and their attention captive all throughout, yet never detracted from the confident expertise with which she shared her knowledge. Plus, she had a way of encouragement that made you want to keep trying no matter how many times you failed, evidenced as she had each student try out a technique and offered her own mix of critique and congrats.

The sight alone made Madison proud.

"Do you fare well, milady?"

An absent 'hmm' left Madison before she turned to discover one of the Peace Keepers standing beside her, a taller older-looking yellow dragon in Don Quixote-style gear. At her quizzical stare, the older gentleman bowed his head, wings wrapping around his shoulders in lieu of a capelet.

"My apologies. I only ask for you seemed left out while your companion enjoys herself. I go by the humble title of Conan."

Oh wow. Did this guy step right out of Nico or Franz's romance novels? Madison had to hold back a snort lest the poor guy thought she was mocking him.

"And I go by the most epic title of Madison." OK not completely mocking him. "Not that I don't appreciate the concern, but this isn't my first time spectating my cousin, let alone the other Ecologists. Hell, if anything I actually prefer this."

Conan cocked a white eyebrow. "Is that so? Forgive me for sounding presumptuous, madam, but the general aura you emanate would suggest otherwise."

Perceptive old man. Madison merely shrugged, careful to keep her face neutral. "It takes me a while to adjust to new faces."

She deliberated to ignore the flash of pity she caught streaming across the taller dragon's eyes. She did not need parental guidance of any kind from a stranger, thanks but no thanks. Time for a subject change.

Fortunately, the perfect excuse came strolling in from a small recess on the other side of the group. Madison eyed the cheetah walking alongside the deer-antlered dragon and gestured her head at him. "Since we're on the topic of faces, I take it that guy's not exactly a resident."

Conan followed with his eyes and perked at the cat in question. "Ah, that would be Hunter, a dear friend of Spyro's from Avalar! A brave youth he is, albeit a tad skittish. He's taken to visiting our region as of late, no doubt spurned on by Spyro's tails of our clan's great deeds!"

Duly noted. Indeed, Madison noticed the springy cat blabbing away to his much taller companion with unbridled vigor, who nodded in between amusement and fascination, sometimes interjecting a comment of his own. One of the teachers attending the seminar, a leopard gecko-like dragon in pilot gear Madison recognized all too well, waved the pair over.

"I can help introduce you to him and the others. Todor and Kazue seem around your age after all."

Madison shot a surprised look at the elder dragon. Was he being for real, offering to help a stranger from an estranged clan so easily? She blushed. "Uh, that won't be necessary! I can do that myself." In fact, best she does that now before this geezer did it in a way that brought too much attention to her. After Conan nodded in understanding, the green dragon made their way to the trio, careful to go around the back of the crowd so as to not distract Dian or the kids.

All the while, she rehearsed how they'd introduce herself. Alright, Mads, just gotta strike a balance here: humble without self-deprecation but confident without cockiness. Easy.

Then Hunter noticed her standing behind out of his peripherals, swiveled around, and gawked at headgear. "Whoa, are you some kind of dragon DJ?"

Or get noticed for my fashion sense. That works too, Madison mused in taken back pause. She cleared her throat and set her hands akimbo as the two other dragons faced her way as well. "Nice guess. More of a hobby of mine, though. My main occupation is weapons engineer for the Ecologists. Anything my clan needs to protect themselves, I'm the dragon to see. Name's Madison."

Realization lit up in the blue serpentine dragon's catlike eyes. "Ah, so you're the Madison that Kazue's been bragging about! Can't say I'm surprised a weapon-maker would drop by our realm. I only hope you won't be put off by our clan's more...archaic choice in weaponry."

Madison waved dismissive but not unkind hand. "No shame in sticking to the classics. Where do you think I get so many of the ideas for my weapons from – GURK!"

That GURK came from Kazue forcefully (but not too forcefully) draping an arm around the other dragon's shoulders. "Gee really? I thought your inspiration came from all those girl band crushes."

Madison's dry stare back made the surrounding desert look like nothing. "Good to see you again, too, Kazue." After firmly but jokingly flicking away the other dragon's limb, she regarded the cheetah still looking up at her with eyes full of awe. She quirked a brow in amusement at the lack of change in expression. "Not that I'm unaware of my exceeding gorgeousness, but you might wanna close that mouth 'fore the local bugs make themselves at home."

The cat snapped out of his stupor, blushing as he rubbed his nape in embarrassment. "O-Oh, my bad! Name's Hunter! My pal Spyro said you guys would show up here next, but I guess I was so busy asking these guys for all sorts of tips on fighting it slipped my mind."

Madison let off a snort. She could already tell this guy and Dian would hit things off well. "In that case, may I have the honor of joining the conversation? Just looking at a few of the weapons ya'll are chuggin have been givin' me brainstorms."

"In that case," Kazue blurted before dashing off towards Titan.

Madison and Hunter shot questioning stares to Todor. "Seems like she's going to ask Titan if she, Hunter, and I can join the tour." The cheetah gawked at his inclusion, paw on his chest, and Todor chuckled. "Of course. Can't let our commander have all the fun."

Sounds good to me, Madison mused with a shrug. "In that case, lemme check in with my cousin first. She'll jump to conclusions and rip this place apart looking for me if I scamper off without a word." Of course, Dian would likely insist on coming along to provide protection. She'd always been overprotective like that.

Speaking of whom, Madison only managed to turn before finding her cousin's starlit eyes and planet-sized smile up close and personal, the larger dragon clasping her hands together like a child who just opened the most awesome birthday present. Madison barely managed to jerk her head back to avoid bumping foreheads.

"Uh, hey D. I take it the lessons went well?"

"Went well? They were fantastic! I've never had anyone to teach Peace Keeper stuff to and these kids have so many questions to ask, it's almost unreal! And—oh you heading out somewhere?"

"Why yes," Todor spoke up, "we're about to give your cousin a tour of our realm! You're welcome to join if you'd like."

Dian waved a hand, turning down the offer. "Eh, that's fine. I'll join you guys later once I'm done here!"

Madison blinked in surprise. Did she hear her cousin right? "You're…OK with us splitting up?"

Dian shrugged. "Well normally no, but that Magnus guy over there mentioned how often you guys do escort missions and I figured you'd be in safe hands 'til then."

Oh right, escort missions. The female Peace Keepers mentioned those during their time with the Ecologists. Madison shrugged back. "OK, cool. I'll see ya later then," she held out a hand for the other dragoness to clasp, "later D."

Beaming, Dian not only returned the clasp but pulled the smaller dragon into a tight hug immediately after. She pulled away to give a playful salute. "Until we meet again!"

And with that, the park ranger pivoted on her heel and strolled back to her class. Madison ran a hand down her mohawk as she watched her cousin's departure, a little bemused at the easy acceptance. Then again, anyone able to pass the Dian Test™ had to be more than capable.

A chuckle reminded her of Hunter's presence. "Wow, your cousin's pretty cool. Is she, like, a park ranger or something?"

The green dragon rolled her shoulders. "Both as a matter of fact. She alternates between that and working as a veterinarian. Let's just say she has a way with animals." A way that wouldn't look out of place in a wildlife documentary either. At this point, Madison set hands akimbo as her attention switched back to Todor, narrowly missing Hunter and Conan going wide-eyed at something and subsequently backing away as if to steer clear. "Speaking of animals, how much longer is Kazue gonna take gettin' the OK from you guys' boss?"

On cue, a blond cackling blur tackled the green Ecologist from behind, sending her face-first into the sand with a startled yelp – though not too far into the sand that Madison couldn't hear Todor's upcoming wisecrack.

"Not much longer."

XXX

Per Titan's suggestion to Kazue, the first stop would be Night Flight.

Considering the location consisted of islands near the Equator, the maritime climate would ensure moist air while retaining the warmth of the overall region. At the same time, though, unlike say Dark Hollow, this place disregarded the day/night cycle in favor of a perpetual night, the area's namesake. A prime spot to help newcomers acclimate to the climate – well, save for one little catch.

"Not much room to land here, huh?" That droll observation came courtesy of Madison, who currently stood alongside Todor atop a flat podium standing among the lit lighthouses marking the area, a wowed Hunter clinging to her back. Kazue, the only one of their entourage absent, was currently making the rounds due to right now being her current turn on surveillance duty.

Todor chuckled as he gestured a hand to the scenery. "Now you know why this is one of our endurance courses. Often times, fights won't allow you a moment to land, never mind one long enough to do so and catch your breath. In those situations, the best a soldier can do is keep moving and stay mindful of their surroundings without losing their cool or expending too much energy at once."

Hunter huh-ed from his perch. "Is that why there's so much random stuff lying around?" He pointed to a series of flat-topped crystal spires of varying heights in the distance, each one topped by a golden treasure chest.

"That's right. Spyro may have told you about his stories about going through this place during his first adventure. Although between you two and me," Todor leaned down and lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper as though Spyro might hear all the way from Artisans (or wherever the little troublemaker might be at the moment), "what he went through here was the easy course: no moving targets, no targets that fight back." He paused for a moment. "It'd be best not to tell him that."

"Heh," Hunter scratched his cheek with a nervous chuckle, "my lips are sealed."

Madison smirked. "As are mine." That is unless Spyro told her the story himself should they ever cross paths; she might be unable to not contradict him. Hey, she was a scientist; seeking the truth was part of her thing.

Anyway, certain things were starting to catch her eye. "Speaking of sealed, there don't happen to be anything you all keep secret about this place, right? All these crystals are looking like they could be put to good use in, say, a laser gun?" Indeed, one of them had conducted a beam of electricity she'd shot at it quite nicely earlier while the group had been looking for a place to land after arrival.

Todor stroked his chin, mulling the question over. This wouldn't be the first time Night Flight's crystals had been used for weaponry. "Not necessarily, although you'd have an easier time at the other flight worlds in all honesty. This place isn't the most popular spot for crystal-gathering considering its proximity to Gnorc Gnexus, same reason why it's one of our most important posts."

Hunter perked his ears at the mention of the homeworld of Spyro's first big enemy and frowned in concern, asking in a slow concerned tone, "Do the Gnorcs show up here often?"

Todor shook his head. "Not as often as before after Gnasty's defeat. In fact, we stopped hearing as much as a peep from the Gnorcs a couple months ago. We still keep a vigil here of course," he shrugged, "but so far nothing."

Huh, weird, Madison thought. Oh well, at least it meant there'd be no nasty surprises in store for the trio. Speaking of surprises, she opened her purse and dug around for a bit before pulling out a navy-blue cube.

"What's that?" asked Hunter, peering at the strange object in curiosity, same as Todor who craned his neck closer.

Rather than a direct answer, Madison smirked before stating the following command: "Blox, analyze."

Before her companions could ask for clarification on who she was talking to, the cube levitated from Madison's hand, spinning diagonally midair as it did, and split into three equal prism pieces, a cyan energy emanating in the spaces between. That same energy in the blink of an eye transferred to the front of the device where it shot out as a wide beam that reached all the way to a stack of crystals a couple of feet away from the group's location.

And then just as quickly as the beam came, it disappeared. A tinny robotic feminine voice followed suit. Analysis complete. Compiling collected data for future use. Suggestion: emulate crystal structure in holo-shield generation to provide longer-lasting protection as well as offensive capabilities.

A faint 'whoa' escaped Hunter at the device, the gadget's light reflecting in his blue eyes.

Todor couldn't agree more. "What is that?"

Madison smirked at her mystified audience while Blox retracted back into cube form and returned to her hand. "A birthday gift from my parents – with a few modifications of course. Said they crafted this little lady out of spare parts."

The archer whistled. Even without being a tech person, he could tell that could not have been a small feat. "Impressive. Your parents sound like they are quite the builders."

Something resembling sadness streaked across Madison's eyes – only for a moment but a moment long enough for Todor and Hunter to notice. The sea green dragon forced a nonchalant smile as she hastily stuffed Blox back into her purse. "Alright, enough mushiness. This view is pretty as hell and all, but it'd be even prettier with a glint of steel or iron."

Despite the deliberate change in subject, Todor opted to keep his concerns to himself and smile back. "In that case, I know the perfect place." As if on cue, Kazue landed atop one of the closest lighthouses. "Ah, right on time! We were about to head to Cliff Town next. Will you be able to join us?"

Kazue let off a groan. "Love ta, can't. Enzo still ain't back from his and Kallisto's investigation in Shemp's old hideout." Then like a switch she perked instantly. "But hey, ya ever drop by the tavern, make sure ya pour out one fo' me!"

Face pinching in sad disappointment, Hunter slouched his shoulders. "Aw, I wanted to see your bombpile!" Plus, he hadn't much chance to talk to her long beyond the flight here.

The aviator reptile giggled and gently poked the cat's nose with a clawed finger. "Aw, don't worry, Fuzz, we'll meet back up at Dry Canyon! 'Til then Titan sent somebody else to take my place! They're already waiting for ya back at the coast."

Todor smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, Kaz. Appreciate it. Alright, everyone, shall we?"

The two dragons and their passenger waved Kazue goodbye and took off. However, whereas Todor took off ahead, Madison paused when she noticed Hunter had his attention fixated elsewhere.

"You OK back there, Spots?"

The cheetah started at being addressed and sputtered for a few seconds before regaining himself, slapping on an embarrassed smile. "Huh? Yeah, yeah! I got a little distracted I guess."

Madison arched a brow, curious, but chose not to probe any further, electing instead to take off as intended.

Hunter tried not to make his sigh of relief audible. He did not want to make himself look like a wimp or worrywart around these guys. If everyone he'd met here had been cool and nice so far, he still wanted to make a good impression on these the same dragons Spyro looked up to so much. Still, even as they left Night Flight behind, the cheetah could not help but glance back. He swore something had darted behind one of the crystals.

He chose to shrug it off soon after, shaking his head with a lopsided smile. Probably just imagined it.

The moment he looked away, one of the crystals flickered, shape now distorted.

XXX

"And then I went all BOOM, and they went all WAHHH!"

"Now did they go THUNK, or did they go SPLA?"

"Uh, I think they went sort of both? Like…SPLANK?!"

"Knew it!"

Maybe letting Kai be our guide wasn't the best idea, Todor mused as their now slightly larger group strolled down the bridge leading into Cliff Town proper.

Straight from the get-go, the younger Peace Keeper's fanboy-isms meshed all too well with Hunter's bro attitude, leaving Todor feeling as though he were being led by college students (not an inappropriate feeling considering their ages). However, it also resulted in Todor having to take reins of their group after one too many close calls with Kai, engrossed in his and Hunter's conversation, almost colliding facefirst into something. After a near-miss with a particularly large cactus, the boys had to fall back a little to let their senior lead the way instead to avoid any more potential missteps.

Besides, Madison, who'd been walking at his side until the switch-up, hadn't spoken a word since their arrival here. Shooting a glance over his shoulder, Todor could see her still doing light headbangs with her eyes closed, ears covered by her headphones as she snapped her fingers in time with the current song. If he blocked out the boys' talk enough, he could make out the sounds of EDM and piano – an odd mix of music to say the least but not unappealing from what little he could hear. Todor didn't have the heart to interrupt her me-time.

If anything, the change in leadership suited Todor more as this allowed the others to enjoy themselves, something the blue serpent considered top priority alongside their safety. Besides, he knew Cliff Town's layout enough that he could let his mind wander a little, relax.

That didn't last long.

BOOM!

More the tremors than the sound took the group by surprise. All eyes caught sight of a huge mushroom cloud of sand rising in the middle of town.

"What the—?" Hunter started.

Madison pulled down her headphones in confusion while Kai gingerly reached for the kanabo he'd brought with him on his belt, unsteadily awaiting orders from his senior.

Todor narrowed their eyes and cupped a hand over his eyes to shield away the sun's glare – only to roll his eyes in exasperation once he noticed a familiar dreadlocked dragon standing atop the cliff high above them, back turned. "Oh, for goodness' sake, Trondo…," he muttered before raising his voice, "what are you doing up there?"

The golden reptile left off a curious grunt before turning around and spotting the group below. A toothy jagged grin took hold of the scarred dragon's face immediately as he gave a hearty wave. "Heh-hey, Toady! You're just in time!"

As much as he feared knowing, the archer knew for the sake of everyone in the vicinity that he couldn't afford to gloss over whatever fresh madness Trondo had in store, so after steeling himself with a deep sigh he called back in a slow and cautious tone, "Time for what?"

When his buffer comrade gestured them all to come up and join him, Todor sighed and shot a nod to his group before lifting off.

Madison, smirking at the antlered reptile's blatant exasperation, gently elbowed Kai in the arm. "This is a regular thing, isn't it?"

Kai shrugged and chuckled. "Yeah, he and Trondo grew up together, so he's gotten used to reining him in whenever he gets a little crazy." Another ground-shaking boom echoed from above, prompting Madison to cast an amused smirk at him, to which he rubbed his nape with a sheepish smile. "Weird though. Trondo's more of the fisty type than the blowy type. No idea what he could be doing with bombs." Let alone where everyone could see him.

Hunter, who just now sidled up to the dragons, threw his hands out. "Hey, long as nobody's getting blown up, right? He is supposed to be a veteran, so maybe he's got things under control."

Supposed being the operative word, Madison mused. She kept that tidbit to herself, however, lest she make the cat anxious at the prospect of becoming feline barbeque. Besides, while she expected her introduction to Peace Keeper weaponry to go down like this, she had no qualms seizing the opportunity. For this reason, she took off after Todor with a curious gleam in her eyes.

"Either way, no way am I missing out on this!"

When the sea-green dragon reached the upper cliff and touched down, the first thing to catch her eyes were the various sandy craters spread throughout the huge section of near-empty desert. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be various residue within many of them: icicles, glass shards, root-like strands of fulgurite. Then she noticed not only Trondo and Todor in a heated argument –well heated on Trondo's end; Todor was more in the vein of 'patient and trying to reason but also done with this nonsense' – but an elderly pinkish-brown dragon dressed in aviator gear in between them, mediating in a calm strong voice. Already Madison could see some resemblance between this new dragon and Kazue.

As well as she could see the clear concern on Todor's face. She hoped this wouldn't put a wrench in their plans.

Meanwhile Kai touched down beside her, Hunter in his arms bridal-style. As the young warrior set the cat down, he noticed how the Ecologist eyed the argument with slight worry. "If it helps, this is kinda low-key for Trondo. I think we've got Ivor to thank for that." Because for all his age-induced spaciness, Ivor like the other elderly Peace Keepers retained their clan's characteristic vigilance. How else would they be able to keep tabs on their younger counterparts?

Madison had to give him that. For all Todor's concerns, none of Trondo's handiwork ventured close to the purple ooze river that cut through the region, a clear divide between this area and the town. "Yeah, Kazue often told us stories about how he always seemed to be onto whatever crazy scheme she had cooked up when she was a hatchling. A heck of a grandpa, I have to say."

Any wonder then why Trondo had acted (relatively) tame under his watch.

"Still," Hunter piped up in a nervous tone, "should we, ya know, say something? It's kinda awkward standing here listening to them go back and forth."

"Nah, it looks like they're about to wrap things up," Kai noted. Indeed, Todor seemed more placated now whereas Trondo begrudging and annoyed but same, a content Ivor in between.

That is until the scarred dragon took one look at Madison and threw his head back in raucous laughter before saying the following:

"Ya sure you wanna let somebody that delicate near this stuff?" He patted the bulging bag of what one could only assume were bombs tied to his waist for emphasis. "I don't wanna explain to Titan why our little guest's left in tears from all the noise."

Oh, that muscle-head did not just call her delicate! Had no one told him what she even does for a living?! Madison set her jaw with a miffed grunt, ignoring her companions' winces, before noticing and turning to climb up a nearby tower. Hunter shared a confused and slightly concerned look with Kai, who could only shrug.

Todor, disapproving, barely started to admonish his fellow Peace Keeper for such rudeness when a sudden whooshing sound caught his hearing. He barely turned before he caught Madison soaring straight at them at blazing speed! The three men dodged her by mere seconds!

"WHOA," Trondo barked more in surprise than alarm at the soaring stranger now twirling upward, "what's up with" – then he noticed the bag in her hands and corresponding absence of the very bag no longer on his hip. He shot Madison an offended snarl. "HEY! GET BACK HERE WITH THAT!"

Kai murmured a 'huh' in amazement to an equally stunned Hunter as the golden warrior shot into the air in hot pursuit. "Welp, it's not like he didn't bring this on himself."

Todor could not believe his eyes right now. Actually, scratch that, he did believe his eyes. Simply from hearing the tales from Kazue and the other female Peace Keepers' mouths, the archer already knew beforehand of Madison's…playful nature. He just hadn't expected her to pull such a stunt on a trip meant to foster goodwill. Then again, if Ivor's amused and not at all put out smile indicated anything positive, perhaps this still counted among those lines. Would be nicer if those lines involved something non-explosive but Todor supposed beggars can't be choosers.

Besides, he couldn't but feel as though Trondo deserved this.

"Seriously," Madison quipped as she ducked from the beefier dragon's grabby hands, the bag doing the same despite no longer being in her hands. "I know you guys are old-fashioned and all, but don't you guys think it's high-time you use something smaller for explosives?"

"THOSE ARE SMALLER!" Trondo barked in between swipes and divebombs.

"Ya sure? It's kind of hard to tell without a good comparison."

"HOW ARE YOU EVEN HOLDING IT WITHOUT HANDS?!"

"Sciency nerd stuff – and by nerd stuff I mostly mean my little buddy here."

Only now did Trondo notice the weird cube thing following the other dragon around, dragging the illuminated bag with it. The desert dragon narrowed his eyes before going for another divebomb. As expected, Madison ducked down until she landed on the ground. He was going to have to do better than – wait, why the sudden smirk?

To everyone's surprise, Trondo tucked his wings in and let himself drop down to the ground as well. As he fell, he clasped his hands together and raised them above his head as green energy started to build up around his forearms, glowing the most around his hands. With a roar, he slammed an overhead hammer throw into the ground and caused a series of huge pillars of sand to burst out, fanning out around him and Madison in a circle.

And he wasn't even done yet.

Launching back into the air, he began spinning at high-speed, willing the sand to do the same, resulting in a massive sand twister that drastically lowered visibility for his opposition. From the outside, whatever could be happening in there could be anyone's guess. Once the twister subsided at last, Madison reopened her eyes and lowered her arms and wings, still taken back by what just happened. Maybe panache did count as a Peace Keeper thing.

A cocky 'ahem' sounded off behind her. Madison shot around and noticed Trondo behind her, the bag in one hand and draped over his shoulder and Blox in the other. She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in resigned defeat. "Alright, I concede, good sir. You win."

"It ain't nice to snatch up other people's stuff," Trondo huffs as, ironically, he tosses Blox back to her. "That being said, pretty slick, usin' your electricity to jettison yerself like that."

Madison doesn't bother raising a hand to catch; Blox halts before her in midair and turns over once before drifting back to her side. "It's also not nice to assume what others can handle – or are premature judgements customary for this clan?" To her immense satisfaction, the larger dragon's response consists of a slack jaw, stuttered gasp, and cornered speechlessness. "Name's Madison. You're testing some bomb types out here, huh?"

A hasty huff emitted from the barbarian reptile as he crossed his arms and looked away with an embarrassed glare. "Y-Yeah," he thumbs at the elder dragon who was approaching along with the others at the moment, "under Ivor's supervision of course."

Noticing Madison perk her brows in interest, Ivor chuckled as he pulled out an orb from the bag, no wick visible much to Madison and Hunter's surprise. "They're more of a recent development. These babies need a little magic thrown in to give 'em that extra kick. Ever since our buddies over at Gnorc Gnexus had gone quiet, our clan's been getting a little restless, so some of our more innovative members have been looking into making new weapons. Ya know, as a surprise for Gnasty's forces once they're back from whatever little vacation they've been havin'."

Ivor held up the bomb as he continued. "Element bombs. Halvor made these with help from one of the Magic Crafters to give us a handy alternative to our breath powers. Lil' Tro and I were out here testing them out when you lot happened to be passing by."

Trondo bit back the urge to demand not being addressed by that name lest he pile up on his humiliation, instead resigning himself to grumbling under his breath.

Madison, smirking, resolved to file that nickname for later. For now, she cocked her head. "This Magic Crafter wouldn't happen to be a guy by the name of Eldrid, would he?"

"Ah," Ivor responded in total lack of surprise, "so Kallisto's told you about her old man then."

"Both of her old men, to be more precise. Is he here right now?" Because if so, this would an opportune time to get some insight into how the elder wizard dragon incorporated his own talents for what amounted to a cross-clan project.

Ivor shook his head. "Not at the moment, I'm afraid. He and Asher are off with their granddaughter on some sort of trip. Someplace a little north of Magic Crafters if I remember right."

Madison pursed her lips but then nodded, a little disappointed but not put out. At least she could still ask this Halvor guy, if he was still around, for some details and tips.

Hunter held up a hand. "Whoa, hold up! I see Asher whenever I visit with Spyro, so I know he's a Peace Keeper, and this Eldrid guy's a Magic Crafter. Never met this Kallisto person, though; Asher always says she's busy. Is she both Peace Keeper and Magic Crafter then?" Cause the idea of meeting some sort of brawling wizard dragon sounded really cool!

Ivor blinked at the cat's observation and question before stroking his own chin. "Eh no, not in her case anyway. It's a bit more complicated than—"

An angry shout from the nearby town shattered both the air and the rest of the elder bomber's response.

As did the distant cry of pain.

For reference pictures of my OCs:

Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs

Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs

Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs

Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs

Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs

Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs