Oh, today rocked so much! (Pun totally intended by the way.)
Not only did Dian get the chance to show off her Earth Breath skills to the other side of her heritage; she even got to teach those skills to the recruits! Well, if a bunch of hatchlings counted as recruits but hey details.
Speaking of whom, their ohs and wows filled the air as the Peace Ecologist slammed her massive flail of green energy straight into the ground immediately before a series of training dummies, the resulting shockwaves sending the cotton-filled targets flying into the air. Without missing a beat, Dian followed up with a jumping spin-kick to unleash a wave of green energy that sent the dummies soaring into the far side of the canyon.
Too easy, the ranger mused in pride as she stood back up and pumped a fist in triumph.
Youthful cheers followed almost instantly, as did the raucous whoops of some of the older Peace Keepers who'd been supervising. Dian faced her audience with a beatific smile and bowed like a theatre performer (a fitting comparison since some of the trainees started calling for an encore).
"Alright," Titan called out with a hearty clap of his hands, "it's getting to be about that time. Nice work everyone!"
Aw, done already? Dian ruminated with a disappointed sigh. Geez, did the time fly by. Regardless, she smiled and waved goodbye as a few of the adult dragons herded the little ones away. "That concludes our lesson for today, kids! Next time we'll moving onto projectile attacks! Maybe even super-big projectile attacks!"
Assuming she and Madison came back here of course. As much as she trusted Kazue and that Todor guy to keep her cousin safe, Madison missed out on watching the rest of the session still bummed Dian to an extent. Ah well, more material for storytelling, the light-brown dragoness supposed.
"Not bad," commented a gruff voice from behind. Dian turned to discover the really toothy green guy with the eyepatch standing there alongside Magnus and Titan, arms crossed and bearing an interested expression. "Usually, it takes a while to get the young ones' attention."
No stars could hope to compare to the ones that took shape in Dian's eyes. Though she restrained the urge to squee from being complimented by a veteran lest she seem unprofessional, her smile could not be contained as she puffed her chest out and saluted. "Regular trainer at Piney Forest Continental Park, sir!"
Park, eh? Titan rubbed his chin, interested in the implications. "Sofia did say in her letter that you're a wildlife ranger."
When the younger dragon gave a terse yet earnest nod, Magnus chuckled in amusement. "Tussling with actual fighters is a little different from wrangling animals, so I can only assume from how well you did here that that place gets some serious troublemakers." The sumo arched a horned brow, curious. "Poachers?"
A brief scowl took over Dian's face before she masked it into a friendlier expression. "Not as many as before since the change in management, but affirmative, sir!"
Gunnar was willing to bet his other eye that this young lady had something to do with that decrease as well. "In that case, how's about joining me for a quick patrol around the mountains?" He pointed a thumb at his leader. "Titan here just received a report from one of our comrades in Ice Cavern about a mysterious figure lurking around the perimeters. I originally meant to go in with my buddy, Enzo, once he and Kallisto came back from a mission, except he hasn't been back yet."
Titan raised a hand when Dian opened her mouth, suspecting her incoming question judging by the dragoness's look of concern. "I already sent Ragnar and Boris to check up on them. In the meantime, Todor and his group should be back from Night Flight soon. I had Magnus' nephew head out to pass off the order to make Cliff Town their next stop so Todor can check in on everyone."
Dian rubbed the back of her head, lips pursed. Had her feelings really been that obvious? Then again, not the most obvious considering her next question. Once again, she got beat to the punch.
"Not to worry," Gunnar added in with an understanding half-smile, "you and me will head there next after we're done with Ice Cavern. Your cousin will be in good hands 'til then."
Good to know – very good in fact – but Dian still blinked, impressed. "You guys get questions like this often, don't you?"
Titan flashed a toothy smirk. "Considering the many escort missions that we've done both here and beyond, yes." He beat a fist to his chest. "Tis the life of a Peace Keeper, soldier."
Dian shrugged in a casual manner to show her acceptance of this statement. Even she knew better than to expect any action this early into the visit.
On the topic of action, Gunnar turned his back on the others and gestured his head at the small tunnel leading to Ice Cavern's portal in a 'follow me' manner. "Now then, enough talking. Let's get to the part you've been waiting for, shall we?"
An ecstatic smile bloomed all over Dian's face at hearing this! No need to tell Dian twice! However, an afterthought caused that smile to wane right afterward. "What about the tour though?"
After hearing Nico regale his experiences in Artisans, Dian had expected similar here. Plus, there'd be places Madison's seeing that her cousin will be missing out on and vice versa. Her missing out on her session had been one thing; the ranger would rather avoid any further 'just-missed-them' nonsense.
Gunnar huffed in a knowing manner before giving a thumbs-up. "Once your groups reconvene, Todor will have everyone double-back. Don't worry, cadet, you'll both get the full experience."
A peeved frown marked Dian as Gunnar turned to leave. Seriously, what age did this guy take her for?
She shook her head. Throwing tantrums over some ribbing wouldn't do her much good. Besides, if he and the others did doubt her mettle then she simply had to prove it, this reason enough to revive her upbeat smile.
After all, she didn't come here to merely fangirl over everyone (mostly).
XXX
Gunnar had to give Dian credit: she took to the colder faster than expected.
Not to say the dragoness didn't show some struggle here and there. She would shiver and rub her arms up and down from time to time, especially now flying way up in the frigid mountain air. However, those moments happened infrequently enough that her rapid-fire questions about the local wildlife suffered almost no interruption.
At the same time, Gunnar found himself out of his depth. He never had anyone ask him so many questions about fauna and whatnot, never mind how said fauna impacted the local environment.
Case in point.
"Do the bats here have any hibernacula in this region or does this tend to be more of a temporary resting spot for them," Dian gestured a hand to the peak they were currently circling, "because I noticed a couple hanging around then taking off without being spooked any time we checked back in with the residents."
"I…suppose," Gunnar returned with a shrug. Despite the difficulty in dividing his attention between patrolling and this conversation, he couldn't deny a stimulation fomr pondering aspects of his home region that hadn't seemed necessary to understand in greater depth prior. "Not many animals live this far up the mountains besides the occasional mountain goats, but even those are rare and only show up around the outskirts."
Which just so happened to be the pair's current destination. They had only needed to take a few steps out onto the platform near where the portal's magic had dropped them off for a proper departure spot. Asher, the elder who'd filed that report, had pointed them in the direction where he last saw the figure. The purple dragon had expressed a desire to pursue, but someone had to hold the fort back in the caverns alongside Ulric. Besides, he had more than enough faith in the 'young uns' to handle any possible confrontation themselves.
'Youngs uns.' Sometimes Gunnar pondered the sort of world that old man lives in.
"I take it you're used to doing patrols of your own up at these heights?" the one-eyed reptile continued.
Dian twirled her hand in a thoughtful manner. "A little colder than I'm used to – these mountains might be a little taller than the ones at Piney Forest – but nothing I can't handle," she amended with a ready grin. "After all, what's a little chilliness to us Peace Keepers?"
Gunnar chuckled, amused yet pleased. He liked this one's gumption. That said, he hoped she wouldn't have to deal with anything overwhelming in case this patrol took a turn. Something about the recent incidents had been unsettling him, especially the most recent one. Hopefully it all pointed to something manageable. The last thing anyone needed after that incident in Artisans was—
"Do you think we'll run into clones?"
A moment passed before Gunnar registered the other dragon's random blurt and eyed her in confusion. Where had that one come from?
"Clones," Dian returned upon catching his look. "Sofia told me and Madison about what Titan told her about the recent weirdness in your neck of the woods. Somebody could be planting clones of everyone to cause trouble and make you guys look dangerous. Ya know, scare me and Maddie off like they tried to with Nico."
Gunnar had to blink at the casual tone in which all that had been spoken.
Once again, the dragoness noticed. "I mean, that thing back in Artisans involved the locals' emotional states getting copied into something dangerous – er, something meant to be fully dangerous. Making entire copies of people is simply the next logical step."
Again, Gunnar could only blink, taken back and somewhat amused. Now who seemed like a mind-reader? Regardless, the green veteran shook his head to refocus on the task at hand. Conjectures weren't going to be much use at this point.
Still a part of him couldn't deny a bit of sense in the dragoness' words. If anything, it would at least explain the seemingly familiar claw marks that somehow don't tie to anyone.
"Let's focus on making sure nothing concrete is causing trouble for now. We can save the speculation for after we're—"
FWOOSH!
His next words cut off when a huge fireball shot between them, sizzling the air in its wake as its sudden appearance startled them into barrel-rolls. The rolls only persisted when a storm of even more fireballs hailed upon the two dragons from below.
"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Dian cried out as she twisted midair to bat away one of the projectiles away with an electrified kick, mindful to avoid striking the mountain and causing an avalanche. One nearly managed to graze her wing while she'd been preoccupied dodging another, but Gunnar and his reflexes proved fast enough to deflect the burning missile with one swipe of his mighty tail.
After some more close calls, the olive-green dragon managed to catch a peek at their assailant in between attacks: a short, hooded figure in either dark purple or black wielding a golden scepter topped by a sizable octagonal-prismatic jewel of deep magenta.
It would appear they found their troublemaker.
With a snarl, the Peace Keeper went into a divebomb towards the figure, deftly dodging all the while. Somewhere above, the sound of electricity and explosions could be heard above. Dian must have been holding her ground well because their opponent started to get more erratic with their blows, their frustrated growls more audible as Gunnar drew closer. The green dragon reached a hand in intents of grabbing the scepter, the figure backing up in a panic.
A surprise fist to the face put a stop to that.
Thanks to the brief break in attacks, Dian had time to rub her eyes to make sure she was seeing right. Chubby, big horns, Yokozuna belt: hadn't she seen that guy back at the hub world? The hell was he doing here?! Better question, what was he doing working against them? Unless…
"Called it!" she gasped. "I called it and I hate it!"
Oh, now the not-that-guy was giving her the death glare. Dian slapped both hands over her own mouth, just now realizing what a bad time to draw attention to herself. To her surprise, instead of changing opponents he snatched up the little guy into his arms and took off through the skies.
Oh, I don't think so. Dian snorted sparks before shooting a worried glance to Gunnar, who'd recovered from the blow. "You OK, over there? We need to go after that punk!"
With a grunt, Gunnar wiped the blood off his mouth. "I'll be fine. Cheap shot…," he growled that last part under his breath. Was it Dian's imagination or did the guy sound a little perturbed too?
In any case, the veteran had no qualms in initiating a midair chase. However, before he could, something where their target had been caught his peripherals. His eye narrowed at it and widened straight after, pure horror replacing his anger. "Oh no…"
What's up with him? Dian traced the other dragon's line of sight and discovered what appeared to be a radiant purple crystal peeking out from among the white snow and slate-blue rocks. She cocked her head in confusion and slight worry. Why did the sight of it make her feel uneasy, even all the way up here? The dragoness shook her head to quell the feeling, although the same could not be done to her sense of conflict. Though that guy and the fake were getting away, she didn't like the idea of leaving something so obviously not good alone either.
Thankfully, Gunnar confirmed the right call when he landed before the crystal and proceeded to uproot it – only to be whipped in the stomach by thick dark green vines that burst from the surrounding snowbanks!
The veteran barely finished skidding back on the trail before two of the vines entangled both his wings, preventing him from flying away.
Snarling, he called forth a green glow that poured into the ground beneath him – except it receded into the vines instead.
Damn it, he cursed in his head as he craned his head in an attempt to catch one of the offending limbs in his teeth so he could chew it off. He needed to get this stuff off him before—
A bright golden flash lit up the scene, forcing Gunnar to shield his eyes from the glow.
Almost immediately the vines writhed in pain from the light and loosened their grip on him in turn. This allowed their ex-captive to retaliate with well-placed swipes from his claws and a follow-up Earth-enriched punch.
Seeing the success of her senior's counterstrike made Dian smirk at the effectiveness of her quick thinking. What a blessing to hail from the clan started by the Founder with electrical powers.
"Keep it up!" Gunnar barked as he continued slicing and boxing away.
The bright light intensified as Dian drew closer. Not only did this cause the vines to spasm even harder; it also divided their attention between the two dragons currently attacking it from different sides.
Several times the vines tried to snag Dian, but the Peace Ecologist kept them at bay thanks to her electrical powers making her a living bug (or rather plant) zapper.
Before long, Gunnar got close enough to administer a running punch clean into the crystal's largest facet, reducing the whole structure into shards. A burst of dark energy rushed out amongst the flying pieces, a cacophony voices moaning in audible rage and despair before fading into nothing. Right away, the remaining vines flailed before going limp and crumbling to dust that the gentle breeze scattered soon after.
Dian cut off the light, sighing in slight exhaustion, and landed beside Gunnar. "Phew, glad we got that squared away! I take it that was some sort of dark magic, right?"
"Worse: a Dark Gem," Gunnar grunted, hands crossed over his chest. He noted the dawning look of realization and subsequent horror Dian adopted in response. Good to know isolation hadn't left the Ecologists clueless. "No clue how it connects to that guy or…whoever that was, let why they left it here."
Dian shot him a look of surprise. Did that mean he agreed with her theory? "So…you think this might be a clone too?"
"Wouldn't be the craziest explanation." Gunnar scowled with a dark glare. "After all, there's no way the real Magnus would side against his own. What I wanna know is: who made it, how and why?"
A countenance of concern came over Dian as her eyes darted back to the dimming pieces. Last she checked, Dark Gems and their variants don't create copies by themselves. Did that rogue Ecologist that Sofia said she discussed with the other dragon leaders add something?
"Thankfully, we got to this thing before it had a chance to blossom all the way," Gunnar continued. At least at this stage the Dark Gems' ability to nullify elemental powers was shaky at best. Nevertheless, the green reptile scratched his chin in thought. "A little odd how easily we came across it and that guy, though. In a cloak that dark in these conditions, he could have easily slipped away unnoticed."
Hard to argue that point. Heck, now that Gunnar brought this odd detail up, Dian couldn't help but feel the same way about Not-Magnus. Real or not, that was a pretty conspicuous person to have for protection if one's intent is stealth.
Did that shrimp intend for them to see him?
On a whim, Dian bent down for a moment to pick up some of the pieces for evidence, only to stiffen at something. "Hey Gunnar, minerals are outside my jurisdiction, but I'm pretty sure they're not to supposed to have stuff like this." She held up a shard so the other dragon could see.
Gunnar craned his head for a closer look and right away saw what she meant: tiny silver flecks flitting around the shard like fleas. Just as he did, a shing echoed around the two dragons. Before their eyes, the shards started to grow in size, including the one in Dian's hand.
The green dragon balked at the sight! "W-What are those things? Bugs?"
Dian shook her head, a grim expression on her face. "Again, not my expertise but if I'm right, it's trouble. Big trouble." Right away, she dropped the shard to the ground and gestured Gunnar to back up. Once he did, the Peace Ecologist took a stance, palms up, and began glowing a bright yellow. Once enough electricity culminated in her hands, she threw both arms out to the sides and unleashed a wave of energy that electrocuted the entire area around her and Gunnar.
After a few moments, she stopped and bent down again to wave a hand over the shards, nodding in satisfaction afterward. Gunnar stood behind with a bemused expression, waiting for an explanation.
"A friend of mine told me a long time ago about how dark minerals work. They're supposed to use only dark magic to drain life, so I knew something had to be off when my electrical powers sensed the nanobots on this stuff."
"Nanobots?"
"Microscopic robots. Think of them as tiny little workers you can control. I've been around my cousin and her work plenty enough times that I've learned how to recognize the presence of these little guys from electrical charge alone."
Gunnar set his hands akimbo and whistled. "These nanobots sound like something you could use for a whole bunch of tasks."
"To say the least. Mostly my clan uses them for repairing things: tech, buildings, ourselves…"
Ah, meaning the shards had ceased their growth in turn once she fried their little helpers. Gunnar smirked. "Clever thinking, rookie. Dark Shards take ages to grow without something to help them along. Plus, it seems as though your little lightshow drained them of what little power they had left."
Dian smiled back. "To be fair, sir, your tactics contributed a great deal too!"
Light might have been a natural contrast to darkness, but Earth excelled at shattering a target's foundation. Speaking of which, the ranger stuck a hand out at the jagged remains still in the ground, willing the surrounding rock to uproot it onto the trail.
"There, that oughta making gathering it all easier! Maddie should be able to tell us more once we get all this over to her."
"In that case," Gunnar got to one knee and started gathering, "let's not waste any time."
XXX
Gathering all the pieces took some time, especially when Dian had to resort to carrying the smaller pieces in her hat, but fortunately they didn't have to travel far back to Ice Cavern. Once they procured a burlap sack from Ulric in which to carry their findings, the two dragons wasted no time taking the exit whirlwind back to the hub.
Unfortunately, that's when their plans took a second turn.
They'd only taken three steps out of the tunnel before they had to weave past a flying Magnus sent their direction. Not the best kind of reunion for either party.
"Magnus!" Gunnar cried as he dashed for the small sand crater where his comrade lay. "You alright?!"
The rotund reptile grunted as he rolled himself back to a sitting position and rubbed his aching head. "Yeah. A lot more than that imposter's about to be in a few seconds."
Gunnar and Dian looked up to discover a glaring spitting-image of Gunnar himself, eyes cold and piercing. Then as it readied to charge—
"Get away from them!" a strong and aged female voice roared before a dark red blur struck the Not-Gunnar with a flying kick, sending it sliding back well away from the group. Her mohawk, armor, and spear were unmistakable.
"Thanks Athena!" Gunnar shouted as he and Magnus took defensive positions beside her in a triangle formation, Dian taking a spot behind them all since she was the one holding the bag. No sense in letting their cargo risk damage.
Not-Gunnar hunkered down as though to charge again…then turned and flew off.
The real Gunnar rubbed a hand over his head crest, sighing in annoyance. Were all the fakes going to be doing this?
Sharing in his comrade's bafflement, Magnus shook his head before regarding the others. "What gives? First, that punk gets the drop on me, then he somehow cheats by cutting me off from my element, then the moment I get backup he amscrays."
Yeah, that seems to be a pattern with those guys, Dian noted in similar irritation at their retreating opponent. Are they trying to make us follow? Cuz it isn't working.
"Kai's group is still at Cliff Town, right?" Magnus inquired in concern, "I need ta check up on him." For all they know, those fakes could be gathering there to regroup.
"Then Gunnar, Dian, and I will rendezvous with Titan at Dry Canyon to update him on the situation," Athena affirmed.
Dian stepped up to Magnus before the sumo reptile could take off. "Wait, lemme come with you instead! My cousin might know a thing or two about what's going on if I take these to her!"
"She's got a point," Gunnar agreed. "Besides, what I've got to say should be enough to catch Titan up on whatever's going on." Same for any other Peace Keeper that happened to cross their path.
"Then make sure to keep up!" Magnus huffed to Dian before darting for the portal to Cliff Town at a speed that belied his girth.
Dian started to follow before a hand on the shoulder stopped her. Curious, the dragoness looked back and caught Athena's stern expression.
"This probably goes without saying but be careful out there. Whoever's behind this isn't fooling around this time."
Despite the situation at hand, Dian smirked. "You forget, ma'am: I'm also an Ecologist. As long we can think, we always find a way."
On that note, Dian dashed after Magnus who'd already vanished into the shimmery entrance. In seconds, she dropped down into the main building of Cliff Town and dashed across the bridge into the town's first court, where she started to hear thuds and spot explosion clouds further ahead.
Crap! Making sure the bag remained securely closed, Dian charged forward with the bag posed as a makeshift flail. "I'm coming, Cuz!"
In moments' time, she emerged into the large space of sand between the town and the main fortress wall, where a fierce battle was taking place. Right away, she spotted Magnus in a fierce sumo-style grapple struggle with his double. Up in the air, a golden dreadlocked dragon locked in a dogfight with the former's own copy. To her left, Kai bobbed and weaved hammer-swings from what she assumed to be Halvor's own double while Kazue and an elderly vulture-like dragon circled above, lobbing bombs when necessary to give the younger dragon space.
"D, over here!"
Straight away, Dian traced the voice to the building to her left and spotted her cousin waving from the other side. The wildlife warrior wasted no time in dashing over, making sure to take the other way around the house to avoid detection. There, she noticed Todor on his knees tending to a stout purple dragon, covered in dark purple scale-plates and matching bracelets and battle skirt, leaning against the wall. A huge battering ram with its club shaped like an actual ram's head (nice pun) lay propped up on the wall behind the two reptiles.
A perusing gaze revealed the latter to be sporting a broken left leg judging by the wrap and splint. Behind them, Madison and that cheetah guy were peeking around the corner to keep an eye out.
Dian took a step towards Todor and Halvor in worry, ready to ask if she could help.
Halvor caught the question in her eyes and waved an assuring hand, grin to match. "I'll be alright. My fake and that other one jumped me the moment I stepped out of my forgery and got a lucky shot in. You're Madison's cousin, right? Name's Halvor." He let out an apologetic chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "I'd say welcome to our neighborhood, but—"
"Hey, it's cool!" Dian interjected. Hearing herself, she rubbed her nape. "I mean what's happening isn't cool, but it's not like you caused this! Speaking of causes," she dropped the bag at her feet, crystals inside clanking in turn, "I got something you might wanna check out, Maddie."
Madison turned, curious, only to widen her eyes at the bag full of pale purple crystals. She approached and picked out one of the minerals. "No way. Are these…?" A somber nod from her cousin affirmed. Madison frowned. "Give me all the details on how you got these."
One short yet deeply informative explanation later, Dian crossed her arms, concerned. "That's about it. However way that short guy is making all these copies, I bet you it's got something to do with these crystals and all the nanites on them. Any clue how?"
"Can't say for sure," Madison replied as she rotated a gem shard between her fingers. "At least not without the proper equipment. Lucky for us, that's not our top priority at the moment." Between her thumb and pointer finger, she held it up to the sunlight where the 'dead' nanites glimmered. "Robots are robots no matter what their size – and if my suspicions are correct based on the scans that I've had Blox run on those guys – all we need is one good zap for each."
"If you mean with your elemental powers," Halvor spoke up, "then you better find another way to do it."
Behind the group, Hunter started and screwed his face up in confusion (he'd been stuck on how Dian described the perpetrator – an angry short guy spouting fireballs from a staff?). "What do you mean?"
Halvor gestured a hand to the gem Madison still held. "That these fakes are forged from Dark Crystal, the strongest variant of its kind. Just a single one can rob any dragons and other beings nearby of their magical powers. I should know considering I tried to slug those two with an Earth Missile, only to get nothing."
When Hunter recoiled away from the bag, Madison rolled her eyes. "Relax, Spots. These things are duds now. Dark minerals have a delicate growth cycle before they can fully bloom into crystals. That's why they only grow in darkness-infested areas, the sort of places most folks stay far away from."
"You said those things are robots," Todor stated, having just finished Halvor's cast. "Is it true then? That an Ecologist outside your clan is behind this, because if it is how would they be able to gather Dark Crystals at all?"
Considering the sorts of creatures that they tended to attract.
Madison shared a somber look with her cousin at Todor's valid point – only one individual came to mind thanks to these minerals. However, before she could answer, a massive boom and accompanying shout interrupted, followed by a despairing cry of 'Uncle!'
Dian shook her head. "We don't have time for this! These clones are gonna get away to if we don't do something! We need at least one of them for questioning so we can figure out what's been going on here!"
Assuming they can talk at all, Halvor mused before he looked to Todor. "Ivor gave you the Element Bombs I lent him and Trondo, right?"
Todor nodded. "Right before he left to help the others, not to worry. He and Kazue will keep Kai safe, but Magnus will need help the most."
Indeed, when Hunter looked back out at the field, the cat witnessed Magnus locking the fake one in a chokehold. Not the kind of 'need help' Mr. Todor probably envisioned but if it works, it works.
Speaking of whom, the serpentine archer unhooked from his belt a sizable pack of his own, clasped at the top, and tossed it to Madison, much to the scientist's surprise. "Can I trust you to launch these at Magnus' duplicate? Kazue and Ivor have their hands holding back the others, and I doubt anyone can catch a speedster like you."
Madison smirked before draping the pack over her shoulder and searching for an Electric Bomb. "Just watch me," she quipped before taking off into the air.
Once high enough, her sharp eyes caught her target. Without hesitation, she took a blisteringly fast dive towards the two Magnus-es just as the fake one, still in the chokehold, started to push back against his grappler up into a nearby wall to free himself. With one hand and careful aim, the weapon-maker launched the bomb like a baseball.
Magnus, the moment he saw the projectile in coming, released and pushed his fake away right before the Electric Bomb contacted his other's chest. Immediately, the duplicate spasmed with a silent scream of pain, eyes wide and limbs spazzing every which way, until it went perfectly stark still mid-writhe and fell forward into the sand with a resounding boom!
Madison smirked in triumph. Bull's eye.
Fake-Halvor and Fake-Gunnar gawked at what became of their comrade, seemingly forgetting their opponents for a moment. This resulted in Fake-Halvor getting clipped in the stomach by Kai and his kanabo while Fake-Gunnar barely managed to aerial-dodge a similar fate from Kazue and Ivor.
The latter, regaining his composure in seconds, shot towards Madison, one hand stretched out to grab at the dragoness's bomb bag. This attempt earned him a face full of battering ram courtesy of an angry Dian, the blow enough to send him spinning back midair.
However, instead of a solid thud like expected a sound more akin to a glass window shattering echoed out as glimmering shards of purple could be seen flying.
Fake-Gunnar quickly righted himself and turned to face them again, only to reveal a harrowing sight: jagged purple crystal framed and occupying the half of his face where Dian's hit landed – but not for long. In seconds, the damaged face crystals reformed with a chilling shink before resuming Fake-Gunnar's original colors and his unamused glare along with it.
Close by, the same happened with Fake-Halvor who stood back up as his stomach recrystallized the huge chunk Kai took out.
"Whoa…," the young dragon squeaked, freaked out by what he just witnessed.
Magnus, mouth agape and eyes wide, had to agree. Well, that's unsettling.
Fake-Gunnar barely started to move towards the Ecologists again before the whoosh of something from behind incited him to dodge. To no avail for while the Electric Bomb missed him, the resultant arc of electricity once it hit the ground still struck, stunning him long enough for Dian to recover from the recent nightmare fuel and pummel him in the chest next.
This gaping crystal wound left lagged in contrast, repairing itself yes but at a struggling pace. Fake-Gunnar noticed and frantically started backing away. Unfortunately for him, the electricity had compromised his physical integrity for every movement caused further cracks to spread from the wound.
Before the good guys could take advantage of this development, he and Fake-Halvor suddenly disappeared in their own pyres of dark fire, leaving behind their comrade and everyone else in shocked silence. Safe to say, those two weren't coming back.
"Dear Terrador," Ivor gasped as he and his granddaughter landed beside the others, "what in the sand dunes was that about?"
"Hell, if I know!" Trondo barked back. "All I care about is strangling the smart aleck who's got the nerve to make rip-offs of our buddies." He crossed his arms and looked over to Madison, who'd been busy examining Fake-Magnus's remains. "So, Miss Scientist, care to share your findings or what?"
Rather than respond, the sea green dragon narrowed her eyes and tapped a finger against the duplicate's head. The moment she did, a shimmer passed over Fake-Magnus before all his colors gave way to the same pale purple, reduced to seeming like an odd morbid sculpture of the real version.
By that time, Todor and Halvor emerged from behind the building, the former supporting the latter in a dragon version of the human crutch carry to ensure the other dragon kept pressure off his bad leg. The blacksmith narrowed his eyes at what remained of the fake. "I'd like to know, myself. After those two got the jump on me, they just…held me down 'til the others showed up."
"Cuz they wanted to show themselves to us," Dian answered. She jerked her head to the crystal corpse. "This thing did the same with me and Gunnar here near Ice Cavern."
"Welp, whatever their reason," Kazue piped up, "no way we're findin' out now." Not with those two bozos off to who knows where and their buddy here now a lawn ornament.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that."
Everyone turned to Madison, who was currently perusing some holographic readouts from Blox.
Dian crouched down beside her. Though she'd never been as adept with technology as the rest of her clan, she'd been around it enough to get a general idea of what her cousin was examining. "You getting an idea there?"
"Yeah, you said you encountered this clone and that short guy near Ice Cavern, right?"
Dian nodded back. "And we ran into Gunnar's clone back at the hub right after we left the cavern and right before we came here." She cocked her head in curiosity. "I take it your brain's already cooking something up."
Madison smirked before tapping a spot on the holo-screen to render the readouts into a vertical map of the entire Peace Keepers region where three glowing red dots were marked: Ice Cavern, the hub world, and Cliff Town. She traced between all three points, a white line following until she formed a triangle.
The shape's interior only contained one named location.
"Dr. Shemp," Ivor, who'd gathered around the two Ecologist alongside the others, stated in urgent realization. "Titan's been sending dragons there to check up every now and then since our clan usually avoids the doc's old hideout. It seemed like a pretty suspect place for your classic bad guy planning. Nothing so far."
Nothing no longer it seems.
A sudden memory came to Madison, inciting her to address Kazue. "Didn't you say earlier that Kallisto and this Enzo guy hadn't come back from there yet?" When the leopard-spotted bomber nodded back, the weapon-maker returned her attention to the map.
Magnus narrowed his eyes at it as well. "Don't forget Ragnar and Boris were sent to check up on them; we haven't heard back from them either. Those 'nanites' allowed those Dark Gems to bloom fast, fast enough that they could already shut off my and Athena's elemental breaths by getting close enough."
Only as Crystals though; in Gem form they had needed to touch the target, hence how Dian had still been able to use her own abilities as long she'd kept the vines away.
"So," Kai spoke up at last as the young dragon had been quiet for the entire conversation, feeling like the odd man (or boy) out among all these experts. "Does this mean they're all in trouble then?"
Trondo huffed and unsheathed his dagger. "Seems like it, kid. Looks like we're gonna have bust even more heads in today."
"Not without a plan," Magnus retorted in a stern tone. Charging in would only complicate matters after all. "First off, someone needs to keep Hal here company while he recovers, not to mention keep an eye on our mineralized friend in case it has any more changes. Second" – he shot a look to Dian and Madison – "you two need to check in with Titan about what we found out so he can cook up a strategy against these guys. Make sure to bring that bag of crystals to him too. You'll also be needing an escort of course."
Todor, catching onto his comrade's train of thought, nodded. "While the rest of us spread out in pairs to notify as many of our remaining clan as possible."
Dian rubbed her nape before standing up. "Well, me and Gunnar already told Ulric about what happened on the mountain and asked him to spread the news. Pretty confident Gunnar did the same with Athena since they're both seeing Titan at Dry Canyon."
Kazue set her hands akimbo. "And with Halvor hangin' back here and me done with patrollin', I'm pretty sure that's every place covered."
"There's still a chance some of the Keepers in the other areas could miss the news," Magnus cautioned. "Plus, those fakes and their leader might have planted new Dark Gems in the meantime. We better still send folks all round to be safe."
The portly reptile proceeded to assign the pairs, regarding each one as he did. "Todor, you head out with Madison and Dian and Hunter here to Dry Canyon. Ivor and Kazue, check the hub; give Night Flight a look-over too while you're at it. Trondo, you and me have Ice Caverns. The four of us will check back with Titan afterward. And Kai" – he did not miss the rush of anticipation building up in the boy's eyes – "since there's no one else in Cliff Town right now, keep Halvor company until one of us comes for you."
Kai gaped at hearing this and stepped forward to protest. "But Uncle—"
"No buts," Magnus cut him off with a serious frown, "We need all hands-on deck and you're still in training."
When the younger dragon wilted in response, Madison and Dian shared an empathetic look. They knew a thing or two about not getting to prove themselves.
For this reason, Dian stood up and cleared her throat. "With all due respect, sir, your nephew has chops as a fighter. In fact, I think it'd work better for my group to switch him out with Todor here." When Magnus opened his mouth to shoot the suggestion down, the light brown dragon forged ahead. "The higher diversity in fighting styles would make combat a lot easier on us."
"Yeah," Madison added in with confidence, "Plus, he and Hunter hit if off pretty well, so that's already a win for their teamwork."
Hunter shot Kai an encouraging smile and nod. No argument there. The cat could get behind the ladies' reasoning and welcomed any chance to help a cool dude like Kai prove himself. Despite his initial shock, Kai recovered and sent both the cheetah and cousins a grateful smile in turn.
When Magnus didn't respond at first, still hesitant, Todor threw in his two cents.
"He does get along with Hunter even better than I do. Besides, I don't mind looking after my fellow soldier for a little longer."
Turning to the other Peace Keepers did not help Magnus either, their responses ranging from noncommittal shrugs to encouraging gestures of their own. At last, the dragon sighed with an exasperated yet fond half-grin at his nephew. "Alright, I give. Kai, make sure your group stays together and keep all fighting to a minimum. Focus on getting to Titan alive and in one piece."
If not for the presence of everyone else, Kai would have tackled his uncle in a bear hug. Instead, the young warrior settled for a firm salute and resolute 'sir, yes sir'. He had every intention to fulfill this mission to the letter.
Only once everyone disbanded into their respective groups and took flight for the exit whirlwind that Kai, upon turning to leave, noticed Hunter suddenly sporting a perturbed downcast expression.
"You OK, there, man?" Like him, the golden feline had been pretty quiet himself throughout the previous conversation, a complete 180 from when they first came into town.
The golden feline jumped at being addressed, and hastily tried to cover his anxiety with a nervous grin. "YEAH! Yeah, of course I'm cool. I'm super-super cool! You know…" When the dragon only blinked back, he sighed in defeat. "Except maybe that short guy you guys kept mentioning. I…think I might know who it is. No, I totally know who it is, it's just…"
A large yet gentle hand on the back urged Hunter to look up at Kai, who offered a comforting smile and then open arms set underhand. Understanding, he returned the mien and accepted the offer, continuing his confession while Kai lifted them into the air.
"That might be the same guy Spyro saved Avalar from. Ripto." The descriptions from Dian alone were almost enough to confirm. "I'm 85% percent sure that's the same guy. I know it's big talk coming from a scaredy cat like me but…he was kind of a problem for me and my pals back then."
"How big a problem?"
Hunter sucked a breath through his sharp teeth while his eyes rolled skyward in thought. "Not really take over the world trouble now that I think back on the stuff he did. More like a couple steps above playground bully with a big stick." Considering the worst Ripto had done consisted of booting Moneybags out of his various castles – and maybe the bombs too.
And now here was that same guy with a way more powerful stick pulling off way more dangerous tricks, never mind using actual dark magic. Speaking of which…
"What I wanna know is how he even came back. Elora and I saw him fall into the lava after his last fight with Spyro back in Winter Tundra. There's no way he could've survived that!"
Pretty valid observation, Kai had to admit. At this point, he landed before the exit and fixed Hunter with a curious gaze after setting the cat back on his feet. "Doesn't sound much like the guy Dian and Gunnar dealt with. Then again, it doesn't sound like he was using the same strats either."
An equally valid observation but Hunter chose to shrug it for now since they had somewhere important to be right now. Regardless, he managed to give Kai a somewhat confident half-grin. "Well, if all else fails, we can always hightail it to regroup. Better to live to fight another day, right?"
A good chunk of the Peace Keepers youth would have considered that idea dishonorable or worse 'chicken'. Lucky for Hunter, Kai had a better head for battle tactics than most, despite his penchant for goofing off. He chuckled before stepping into the exit.
"With this Ripto guy being so sloppy, maybe we won't even have to. As long as Mr. Titan's leading us, it should be smooth sailing!"
Probably not the best choice of words.
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