Sorry for the radio silence these past few weeks. Lots of stuff's been eating up my time lately.
On the bright side, Kai and his group found their way to Titan without incident.
The only surprise en route came from Ulric's presence at the exit portal, the red dragon under Titan's orders to keep watch of transit there. Same with the other portals across the region, Ulric had explained, a dragon assigned to each one. The one exception was Dr. Shemp's hideout since no one sent there had returned yet, meaning that portal needed to be temporarily off for everyone's safety.
Ulric had even been nice enough to point out the exact location of Titan's rendezvous spot in Dry Canyon.
Not so bright side, coming across Titan happened to be an incident in and of itself because the moment Kai and the others came within sight of the canyon base, the clan leader and Conan emerged from around the corner riding atop some huge, horned green dinosaur creature like the world's strangest pair of cowboys.
A familiar huge, horned green dinosaur creature that sent Hunter's jaw dropping once he recognized him.
"Have at ye, most foul beast!" Conan cheered as the Don Quixote dragon clung fast to one of the creature's horns.
Well at least one of them is enjoying themselves, Madison drily mused among the gobsmacked expressions of her group.
Despite being bucked all over the place, Titan managed a sharp-toothed grin at the others. "Give us a moment!"
Finding a chance in between tosses to right himself, the golden dragon raised his spear high and drove it hard and deep into the beast's hide before pulling it out, leaving behind a sizable hole. Conan, seeing this and catching on, followed suit with his lance on the other side. Then as one, the two Peace Keepers each pulled out an Electric Bomb and stuffed them into their respective slots.
However, the beast started intensifying his thrashing, almost causing the two soldiers to fly off. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for it, the others dashed up to swarm it – Hunter with his arrows, Dian and Kai with their tackles, and Madison with Blox's lasers – drawing its focus away from the riders.
Before long, Titan and Conan raised their weapons and rammed them one last time, setting the bombs off in a shower of sparks. The two elders managed to soar away right before the electrocution could manifest. The beast convulsed in pain before collapsing on its side, still and lifeless, colors instantly fading away to the same crystalline pale purple as Fake-Magnus.
"You have our thanks, young ones!" Conan accoladed as he and Titan touched down before the group. He pointed his lance at the mineralized remains of their opponent. "This uncouth beast had been set upon us to allow his short, hooded master escape after we caught the little coward sneaking around."
Dian eyed the huge corpse, curious, before regarding the older dragon. "Any idea what he was after?"
Titan shrugged. "Other than slowing us all down, I'm fairly confident he mostly did it for kicks. Pretty sloppy on his end since that meant Conan and I got to see the way he left."
"You mean he didn't use the exit, sir?" Kai asked.
The general shook his head. "Used some kind of gizmo to whip up a quick portal of his own." He cocked a brow at Madison, who was already tapping on a screen materialized by Blox. "I take it you already have an idea how to trace where he went."
Madison gave an affirmative hum. "Yep, although at this point it's more confirmation. Nice use of the bombs by the way."
Titan allowed a brief smirk at the accolade. "Gunnar already told us about their weakness. I take it though you've got news of your own?"
"Yeah," the sea green dragon lifted her eyes to meet Titan's gaze, "we might have a lead on where all these Dark Crystal clones are coming from." She brought out the same map from before, locations still dotted and triangulated. "Magnus and the others are combing your region in case there are any other Dark Gems or Crystals hidden around."
At her hand gesture, Blox expanded the map so everyone else could see more easily.
Stepping closer to get a better view, Titan stroked his beard. "Dr. Shemp's old base, eh? I already suspected something off about that place, what with four of my soldiers not coming back from there. All this does is prove my suspicions."
Kai tilted his head. "So, what's the plan, sir?"
"First things first, cadet, we need to gather up everything we've learned about the culprit and his little helpers." Titan turned towards the group of four. "Why don't you all start first?"
Thus Madison, Hunter, Dian, and Kai shared all they'd learned and seen over the course of today. The most damning testimony however wound up coming from Hunter, who shared his own suspicions up front. Everyone else's reactions confirmed as much.
"Ripto?" Conan asked in wonder once the cheetah finished. "That Tyrasaur Spyro went up against?"
Hunter pulled a confused face at the word. Was that the name of Ripto's species?
Madison in contrast threw her head back and groaned skyward. "Oh, sweet Volteer, not that little shrimp again!"
Dian pumped a fist into her other hand. "I thought that thing you guys were riding looked familiar!"
Hearing those words directed the cat's gaze of surprise to the two Ecologists. "You guys know Ripto too?"
"Know him, hate him!" Madison sniped. "That punk and his cronies were a real pain in our clan's side after we took in Kallisto and the other evacuees. We tricked him into taking one of our modified portals by convincing him it'd lead to our weapons facility. No idea where he ended up after that." The weapons engineer cocked a hand against her hip and scratched her noggin, murmuring, "I just hope he didn't cause too much trouble wherever he wound up."
Titan, Kai, and Hunter all shared an awkward look. Best to save that story for later.
On the topic of saving, Dian rolled her neck with a sigh. "Hope you're ready for a rematch then, Mads, cuz it looks like he's got way more help this round."
Titan tapped a meditative finger against the staff of his axe. "And we only have so many Electric Bombs on hand. That's part of the reason I had us rendezvous here since this is where we've been keeping the main supply."
Conan nodded. "Fortunately, it seems as though our quarry failed to abscond with it. Perhaps his need for pettiness blindsided him to it."
"That or he had no need for it," Titan amended with a grimace. "The latter seems more likely given what you and Gunnar have told us so far. That said, it also means he's is expecting us to figure out his location and confront him there."
Hunter set his jaw in confusion. So much of this behavior did not match the tyrannical pipsqueak he, Elora, and the Professor faced. What could have changed?
"OK," Kai spoke up in a contemplative tone as he held his hands out and then stuck both pointer fingers skyward. "In that case, what about a sneak attack? We can have someone distract him and—"
Madison put a hand on her junior's shoulder, effectively hushing him. "We can do one even better." She tossed a knowing grin over to Dian. "Mind showing me some of those crystals you're still carrying?"
XXX
"I spy with my little eye something…purple," spoke a deep dopey voice.
"Crystal," a dry contralto one responded.
"OK, I spy something…sparkling."
"Crystal again."
"Something…pointy."
"C'mon Enzo, really?" Cue the puppy dog eyes. "Ugh, fine. Crystal."
"EH! Wrong! That guy's lance!"
"Oh, what the—you changed your answer at the last minute!"
"OK, OK, how about this? I spy with my little eye…someone short, angry, and really full of himself."
Kallisto snorted; Ragnar rolled his eyes; Boris held back a smile. Despite being trapped together under a huge angular cage forged from power-sapping crystals atop the tallest podium of the ex-Dr. Shemp's boss area and guarded by a circle comprising evil silent counterparts of their friends, the three dragons and Enzo weren't worse for wear beyond some bruises and scratches.
"Come on, Rags," Enzo urged as he sat against the mineral wall alongside the others, "you gotta admit that was a good one."
Whatever quip Ragnar had in mind never came. The whoosh of a fireball to the sky cut the conversation short.
"Could you all CLAM UP?!" their diminutive captor barked as he stalked towards them, hood down to reveal his face. Two of the crystal copies – Gunnar and Kallisto's – parted to the side for him. He waved his staff at the prisoners in a threatening manner that amounted to zilch due to not only the size difference but also the prison bars being so tight together that they could barely accommodate a flicker of flame. "One more peep out and it's an all-expense-free trip into the ooze for all of you!"
Kallisto arched a brow, amused. "We've been stuck in here for hours, got nothing to do, the view from here is lousy, and I'm half-certain my friend over here," she thumbed at Boris who'd been lightly wagging his left foot for some time now, "really needs a bathroom. Can you really blame us for getting antsy?"
"Actually, this is more me suffering from hunger," Boris corrected in a bored tone, one hand propped under his chin. "You are planning on feeding us, right?"
Seriously? Ripto facepalmed at the nonstop nonsense of his prisoners. Was it much to ask for captives that acted the part? Even some cliché good-guy/bad-banter would've been welcome. Well, if any silver lining existed at least the wanna-be warlord won't have to deal with these fools for much longer.
As if on cue with his thoughts, the Tyrasaur perked at the nearing sounds of flapping wings and turned in time to see Titan, Magnus, Conan, and Trondo coming in for a landing a few feet before him.
"Oh good, our guests finally arrive," Ripto purred, smiling wide enough to reveal his sharp teeth.
"Ripto!" Titan barked as he took a step forward. "Release our clan members now and maybe we'll consider hearing you out."
"Hear me out you say?" the scaly Napoleon sneered in a mocking manner. "So that purple menace told you about little ol' me? What makes you think I'm not spoiling for a fight instead?"
Was that his idea of a bluff? Magnus huffed and crossed his arms, not impressed. "Then you would have stayed to actually beat down anyone in your path. Same with your little helpers."
"Not to mention you did a really shoddy job of planting all that evil jewelry of yours," Trondo sassily added, twirling a dagger between his fingers. There'd been so few of those minerals set about the region, the other Peace Keepers found them all in no time.
Titan cocked a brow, hands akimbo. "Be honest. There's something you want from us, and I'm betting you don't want your higher-ups to know." When the miniature warlock lost his smirk, at a loss for what to say to that observation, Titan's only grew. "Well…?"
For some time, no made a move or uttered a word. The ball now lay in Ripto's court and for once he had no idea what to say. At last, he released a frustrated groan. "You're not wrong …but you're also wrong. I am here for something – but not from you." His golden eyes scanned the area and narrowed. "Where are those Ecologists?"
Conan puffed out his chest in defiant manner. "Someplace well beyond your reach, villain! Speaking of whom, what would a dishonorable magic user such as you desire from them?"
"As if I need to answer you, dragon!" Ripto snapped back.
Magnus huffed at the show of bravado. This little guy honestly believed he had all the cards, didn't he? "Funny, because we're under no obligation to let you near them either. Unless maybe you fess up."
"Or we beat it outta you," Trondo casually added, beating a fist into his other hand.
"Your choice," Titan reminded with a knowing smirk and crossed arms.
Set and match. Ripto grit his teeth at this valid point and for a moment he seemed about ready to forgo negotiations and attack – until he sighed in defeat. A few moments of pregnant silence passed before the warlock fixed the four dragons with a serious (and perhaps forlorn) countenance.
"I need help. Help getting away from my…bosses to be more exact. The Ecologists are the only ones who possess the means to help me."
Getting away? Titan shared brief glances among his fellow Peace Keepers. It seemed as though they might receive the reason behind all this bedlam after all. The golden dragon returned his attention to Ripto, face stern. "Who are these bosses of yours?"
Ripto darted his eyes from side to side nervously as though checking to confirm the coast clear. At last, he looked back to Titan and opened his mouth to answer.
BZZZZZZTTTTTT!
To everyone's shock and horror, electricity ravaged Ripto's entire body, sending him to his knees as the Tyrasaur screamed in agony.
Faster than anyone could blink, he stuck out his scepter skyward, the gem on top glowing ominously before unleashing a storm of dark energy that gathered into a ball above everyone's heads. When the ball started to grow, numerous crystals around the vicinity began to glow in resonation, trembling violently before rocketing out of their placements and into the sphere. This included the cage, setting Kallisto and friends free though also forcing them to brace themselves against the strong winds.
Even the Dark Crystal copies could not escape an identical fate, their attempts to escape rendered feeble by the sphere's overwhelming pull, no choice left but to toss and turn through the air before disappearing into the violet maelstrom. Right after they did, the sphere exploded in a burst of dark energy, forcing everyone to cover their eyes from the ensuing brightness.
And throughout all that, as Titan would note later on, Ripto's face bore only abject terror and frustration.
All at once, the winds of darkness halted as though frozen in time, seeming like cloudy purple tentacles, much to the wary confusion of everyone – and then all of a sudden snapped back towards the orb in reverse, where it all coalesced into a swirling miasma that slowly but surely began to take color and shape into something.
A blocky and massive metallic bipedal reptilian hulk soon came into being sporting massive steel-plated wings, two massive head horns, a squat tail, and thick trunk-like limbs. It's snaggletooth maw, framed by round yellow eyes glowing like traffic lights, released a strange tinny roar as the creature flapped its mighty wings. In its left hand it held a solid-metal club adorned with wickedly sharp spikes.
If Hunter were here, he'd call this thing Metal Crush, a reference to the Metal Gulp that Ripto used in the final phase of his fight against Spyro.
Oh right, he was here – and sweet Avalar, the cheetah could not believe what he'd seen so far.
He, Dian, Madison, and Kai were currently sneaking around the perimeter of the area where Ripto had been keeping his captives, using the tall Dark Crystals for cover…or at least what now remained of the Crystals. Fortunately, the amalgamation had all its focus on the battle-ready dragons down below.
Kai shook his head free to refocus, glanced over his shoulder at the others, and gestured two fingers ahead before continuing to sneak along. They had a mission to complete.
"Alright, right here," Madison whispered while pointing to a patch of rock nestled between some crystals. Dian reached into the bag she'd been holding and pulled out some light yellow (yes, not purple) shards as well as a bottle of super-glue. After applying some of the paste onto the designated crystals, she pressed the shards onto them. Right away, silver specks flitted to the new additions, which in turn started to grow in size. Dian flicked a thumbs-up at her cousin, who returned the gesture and moved along.
Hunter couldn't help but frown as he pulled out a yellow shard out of his own bag. Their team had established an order in who would plant which shard next. "You sure this'll be enough?" He eyed the beast still hovering in the distance. Against the fake Peace Keepers, the cheetah had no doubt; against this new, way huger and more mobile target? Kinda suspect.
"Too much material is always better than too little," Madison whispered back in a smart tone. "Why do you think we doubled back to harvest Magnus's double? Besides, the fact we've got one big flying target instead of lots of smaller ones makes this even easier."
Hunter held back a shiver. First off, 'harvested' sounded so creepy; second, the cheetah couldn't shake off the feeling that at least one more nasty surprise lay in store.
"I just hope we had enough time to soup these little things up with our breath energies," Dian remarked. It would suck if their plan fell flat because of a lack of effort.
"Relax," Madison assured. "Even if we didn't, the nanites will make up the difference in no time." After all, nothing anyone reported so far indicated the little things could differentiate between different types of crystal. By the time Metal Crush noticed, it'd already be too late. "Besides, with eight trained warriors down there to keep it busy, that dumb flying beast won't bat as much as an eyelash at us."
And then the 'dumb flying beast' blasted away and halted right above them.
For a brief moment, it and the gang eyed each other in heavy silence, the former glaring down balefully at the interlopers while the latter stared back in wide-eyed shock. At last Madison offered a big and strained smile the rest of her team matched and gave an awkward wave hello.
"Eh-heh…whazzup?"
Their new company returned the greeting in the form of a bellowing roar before divebombing towards the group thanks to the fire combusting from its feet, club raised at the ready! The four hastily took to the skies to avoid getting squashed against the rocks, Kai snatching up Hunter.
"You were saying?!" Dian yelled out beside her.
"OK, OK, so I tempted fate a little! Nothing a quick change in plans can't FIX!" That unintended emphasis came from Madison having to dodge a swing. Dian took some of the heat off her cousin by delivering a swift tackle to Metal Crush's side, not doing much damage like she hoped but at least redirecting the machine's attention to her.
It's attention only divided even further thanks to a tackle from the other side, this time by Kallisto and Magnus, their combined might enough to send it spinning.
"D, your turn!" Kallisto called out.
The park ranger nodded and readied herself to deliver a fierce tail whip—only for Metal Crush to halt his twisting by amping his jet-boot feet, creating fiercer flames that forced her to dodge with a yelp.
What's worse, Metal Crush simultaneously angled himself and shoot off back towards Madison!
"Oh, come on!" the pale green dragon whined before resuming evasion, "can't you chase someone else?" Though she tried hard to bob and weave around the podiums to gain distance, her pursuer proved surprisingly nimble, not only staying close on her tail but also getting closer.
Up ahead, Madison could see Titan soaring toward her, Hunter riding atop the leader's back, an arrow fitted with an Electric Shard head pulled back at the ready, and Trondo and Ragnar right behind. The Ecologist side-rolled out of the way right as the cat let go, the arrow striking Metal Crush clean in the eye and causing him to spiral through the air, trying to pull the projectile out. This left him wide open for a quintuple aerial spin dash from not only Trondo and Ragnar upfront also Boris, Kallisto, and Magnus from behind.
That left quite a number of dents in Metal Crush's midsection, a nice match to the arrow sticking out of the crack his left eye now sported.
Trondo crowed far above at the sorry state of their opponent. "Ha, not so tough, is he?"
Before anyone could answer, Metal Crush ripped out Hunter's arrow and tossed it to the goo below. Then he let off a roar and radiated purple, more crystals flying from the canyon tops and phasing into him. Right away, his form grew several more levels in size before he undid the glow, all physical damage reversed.
"You had to say it," Ragnar drily quipped at his gobsmacked peer.
Metal Crush wasted no time charging once again, his new size doing nothing to affect his speed.
Though all the dragons scattered to avoid getting hit, Metal Crush surprised them when, as he rushed by, he held out his club and gathered dark energy around it.
Spinning around to face his moving targets, he thrust his weapon forward and called forth from the surrounding energy a slew of shadowy tentacles that shot out and ensnared all but Madison, the only one fast enough to avoid capture, and Titan thanks to Hunter keep the limbs at bay with his arrows.
"Where are the others?" Maddie called out. At Titan's dry look, she rolled her eyes. "Those of us not fighting for our lives."
"Enzo and Dian are helping Kai set up the rest of the Crystals," Titan paused his answer to evade a tentacle swinging at his wings, "Hunter managed to pass off his bag to them before we came after you. We need to keep this thing busy so that it doesn't go after them!"
Indeed, Madison could spot some of the tentacles start to reach up the walls.
Not on my watch. Madison reached into her jacket and pull out some yellow shards, glad she'd kept her own bag. "Follow my lead!"
The Ecologist banked hard right at a wall; Titan caught on and did the same, Hunter making sure to hang on for dear life. This maneuver caused the tentacles chasing them to crash into the rocks.
"Blox, energy pulse!"
Her cubic companion, who'd been hovering above Kai's group to provide protection, darted to her side. Right as the dragon tossed the shards into the air, Blox glowed cyan before releasing an arc of electricity that hit the shards, resulting in a small lightning storm that the tentacles could not dodge in time. Their resultant electrocution instantly spread across their lengths and reached Metal Crush, shocking him enough to make him lose focus on keeping up his spell and allowing the struggling dragons to break free.
In the time he convulsed, a cyan beam ran down his entire frame.
By then, Madison had ascended far above the former hideout alongside Titan and Hunter, Blox close behind while carrying the shards in their tractor beam. The other dragons involved in the tussle were quick to rejoin them per Titan's finger-whistle.
Boris pointed down at Metal Crush, who barely began to recover. "OK, question. What was supposed to be the plan here cuz I've mostly been following everyone's lead so far."
Ragnar and Kallisto nodded in likewise agreement. Due to all the action, there hadn't been much time to explain the situation beyond some snap orders from their leader.
"OK, since none of us can use our Breaths, we're using these depowered shards that Dian and I filled with electrical energy. Since all these Dark Crystals are relying on nanites (microscopic robots FYI) to grow and light contrasts most against darkness, we were hoping they'd have the same effect on our shards and disrupt the Crystals' influence, especially in your"—she briefly averted eye contact and finger-quoted – "well, 'former' copies."
"And make 'em easier to handle," Magnus finished, catching on. "Can't lie, that sounds like it would've been a good plan." Unfortunately, no effect could be seen on Metal Crush so far as the behemoth had shown no signs of wearing down.
Kallisto shrugged at her comrade. "Who says we still can't use it?" She looked to Madison. "We only need to rework some details, right?"
"Only how we use these." Madison extended a hand so Blox could deposit the yellow shards into it. "You guys may not have noticed, but some of the ones we planted wound up getting sucked up into that thing."
"Meaning these nanites should be making them grow in no time flat," Titan finished with a nod. "So how come nothing's happening?"
"Probably because they wound up so deep inside that the little guys can't reach them." And at their current sizes, they wouldn't have much of an effect on Metal Crush, especially after his little growth spurt. Madison stuck a finger up. "If we could damage him enough without destroying the Electric Gems inside, the nanites could reach them."
"In short, it's only a matter of precision," Conan spoke up, sparing a glance to Hunter and quietly lamenting the absence of Todor. "Even so, how are we to know where to strike so we may insure just that?"
Madison smirked before turning to Blox and nodding. The robotic cube darted over to Hunter's side where, much to the cat's surprise, it hovered over his face. Before cat could ask what's up, the assistant separated into rectangular thirds that arranged themselves in a curved triangular formation where they now fashioned an aqua holographic visor. The cheetah jerked his head back at the suddenness of this trick, only for his wonder to further increase when he noticed something else.
Through the screen, he noticed out of his peripherals Metal Crush now highlighted a deep purple, his outline and creases a translucent pink. What's more, the beast also sported various angular spots of gold that hadn't been visible to him before.
"Whoa," the spotted feline awed, "I-I can see 'em! Those shards we planted!"
Blox briefly darted over to Trondo and then Ragnar to demonstrate the same before returning to Hunter, startling the Peace Keepers.
Trondo blinked, taken back. Holy Terrador, that little block thing could do that? Without magic, no less?
Ragnar chuckled, impressed. "Well, well, looks like we've got our ace in the hole then. Hope you don't mind being the center of attention, Fearless Leader, cuz it won't gonna do us much good to hot-potato our little spotted friend here."
Hunter blushed beneath his fur, feeling stupid for not having brought his flight-race gear with him to simplify the plan. Golden knuckles nudged his underjaw, drawing his attention to Titan who sported his classic toothy grin at him.
"Keep that head up, soldier! No gloom is gonna help win this battle. Can I trust you to keep track of the weak points?" When Hunter managed a hasty nod and 'yes sir', salute included, the Peace Keeper regarded everyone else next. "And can I trust all of you to keep us covered?"
All the other Peace Keepers saluted their clan leader as well while Madison cracked her knuckles with a ready smirk.
"What about the others?" Magnus asked. "And that Ripto guy, too?"
The whole group looked down and spotted the Tyrasaur in question still where they left him, entangled by the vine tentacles and struggling in vain to break free, his scepter well beyond his reach hanging in another vine far above his head. It was a little hard not to feel sorry for the little man, seeing him in such a position.
Madison waved that concern off. There'd be time for pity later. "Dian and others can keep an eye on him from where they are." Not like Ripto could do much to escape anyway. "Besides, there's no way they didn't notice some of the shards get swallowed up from way up there."
Titan nodded. "And even if they didn't, your cousin knows that getting those yellow Gems grown and active can only work out for our side, no matter what tricks our enemy pulls. It's up to the rest of us to cause as much damage to that thing as possible in the meantime."
Speaking of which, below Metal Crush came to, baleful eyes darting back and forth before landing on the targets above him. Time to adjourn this meeting.
"Everyone knows their roles then?" A group nod followed. Titan returned it before holding his axe high and proud. "Let's roll out, troops!"
XXX
Meanwhile, back atop the craggy canyon walls, progress had been going well…more or less.
Thanks to everyone else keeping Metal Crush busy below, the rearranged upper team had done well to implant more of the Electric Shards unabated, evidenced by the golden minerals steadily growing into visibility. Of course, nobody had expected Metal Crush to start sucking in crystals for lunch. Kai, Enzo, and Dian had managed to brace themselves against each other and the rocks to keep the gale winds from sweeping them up.
The maturing Gems hadn't been as lucky.
Fortunately, this time the upper team went unnoticed thanks once again to the lower team, who seemed to be mobilizing in a more planned manner. Whatever they had planned, Dian had no doubt it would work out. After all, her cousin's ideas had a way of surprising you.
Too bad the same could be said about bad guys. Dian had gone through too many comic books, shows, and movies to believe otherwise.
Even if Ripto's whole 'I need to ditch my lousy overlords' bit wasn't an act, that didn't mean they could afford taking their eyes off him if they wanted to keep him around for questioning. In fact, as he pasted on the last of his shards, Kai peeked his head up to observe the Tyrasaur in question. "Why not get him now while the coast is clear?"
"Cuz, kiddo," Enzo whispered back, "Dark Crystals don't get organized this fast without taking orders from someone, and I've seen enough fake-outs to know when someone's trying to pull a fast one." Besides, no one could replicate the level of desperation and defeat on Ripto's face. "And somehow I doubt our big friend down there's got the brain to be doing it."
Dian, the one furthest ahead of her group but still close enough to overhear, narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Did that mean he was here? The park ranger huffed before resuming her work. If that were the case, there were going to be words.
"Hey, I'm all done over here," Kai suddenly hiss-whispered from behind.
Dian reached into her bag and smiled in satisfaction when she came up short. Good, she'd done did everything on her end. "Me too."
"Almost done here," Enzo murmured from behind Kai. He chuckled at Dian's stunned expression, considering the older dragon had been handling two bags. "What? I've had practice from helping Maximos seed his garden so often. Speaking of which, you should visit him after this. Buddy knows to make some serious lasagna. And the way he prepares roasted vulture…"
The Aztec-armored dragon couldn't help the urge to lick his chomps at the mere thought. Dian and Kai held back snickers despite the situation.
"Nice offer," the former chirped back. "Maybe we can even swap recipes. I know a couple my dad and even some of the rangers at Piney taught me."
Before Enzo could respond back, a dismayed roar from above cut him off. He and others stiffened at first, thinking Metal Crush had come after them (again in Dian and Kai's case). However, the subsequent sound of a whoop urged them to look skyward and discover the other dragons bobbing and weaving from Metal Crush's swings in between landing huge blows either physically or via energy blasts. Only Titan proved the exception as he flew out the perimeter beyond their enemy's reach, Hunter launching electric arrows whenever the others left marks.
Upon closer inspection, one could notice golden flecks in Metal Crush's exposed violet crystal innards, growing in size with each revealing blow. Not only that but the behemoth's movements were starting to get sluggish, like he was tiring out.
No, Dian realized, like he's losing power. She let out a triumphant whoop and fist pump, Kai eagerly joining in.
"Keep him on the ropes, cuz!"
"You've got this, uncle!"
"Give that freak what he deserves, guys!" Enzo barked.
Apparently Metal Crush did not appreciate that last sentiment. With another skyward bellow, he exuded a purple aura that called forth all of the remaining crystals within the vicinity into his body, increasing his size even further. That proved a mistake on his part right away for several reasons.
One, yellow Gems started protruding from him like misplaced quills, disrupting his 'Metal Crush' colors until he looked like a shoddy mineral pincushion. Two, the emergence of said Gems and their effects heralded the semi-return of the dragon's element breaths – not enough to leave as much damage as their weapons but by this point Metal Crush had already lost so much strength that even those could overwhelm him now. With each blow, the yellow grew even more and in turn his regeneration rate noticeably slowed to the point that his wounds could barely finish sealing up in between attacks.
Eventually, Metal Crush resembled a purple and yellow crystal version of Swiss cheese, left foot and whole right arm missing while various holes riddled his body, including his left eye and even club. What's more, the poor beast lost the energy to keep himself aloft, wings beating feebly one last time before he plummeted into one of the podiums, leaving a clear imprint and cartoonish dust cloud.
Seeing him no longer a viable threat, the others landed in front of their beat opponent to ponder how to best do the final blow. Dian, Enzo, and Kai flew down to join in as none of them wished to miss out on this.
"So," Magnus asked in smug wonder, "who should do the honors?"
Titan, grinning and hands akimbo, regarded Madison and Dian. "Ladies?"
The two Ecologists shared a knowing grin before marching over to Metal Crush, who weakly stood up and lifted his head at their approach. Smirking, the two cousins each raised a hand and flicked him clean on the nose, the combined force of these simple actions enough to tip him over. A few tumbles and he landed square into the surrounding purple ooze with a satisfyingly squishy splash.
Cue a hearty high-five between cousins.
"We did it!" Hunter cheered before fist-bumping Kai.
Now that only left a certain someone.
Up on the higher adjacent pillar, Ripto stumbled from the sudden disappearance of his vine prison and landed facefirst on the ground, groaning. Right away, he noticed his scepter and barely started to stand up before Magnus landed right before him, the hefty dragon's landing shaking the ground beneath Ripto's feet and sending the little guy falling onto his back.
Magnus wagged a mocking finger while his nephew literally swooped in to grab the staff. The others landed around the Tyrasaur in suit. "Not so fast mister. Didn't you say you need our guests' help?"
Ripto grumbled a swear under his breath. "Well excuse me for wanting some measure of security."
Madison and Dian, situated on either side of Magnus, stepped forward. "OK, Huff n' Puff," the former drolly snarked, "what was up with the self-lightshow? And why sic some copy of your old pal on us?" She had half a mind to ask why Crush and Gulp hadn't been with him either but held off on asking that. She could ask Hunter about the details later. "Granted, originality's ever been your strong suit, but—"
The humor cut off when Ripto tried to get up, only to gasp and spasm when his body lit up from another burst of electricity. Seeing this happen again in conjunction with the Tyrasaur's pained reaction made holding back the concern difficult even for Madison, whose face softened as the Tyrasaur fell to his knees.
"OK, look," the sea green dragon sighed, palms held out to show peaceful intentions. "This isn't me asking to bury the hatchet on my clan's behalf. This is me leaning into my better nature. It's pretty clear you're not in a position you don't want, so whatever the hell's going on with you" – she paused to take a deep breath – "we'll see what we can do to help…provided there's no backstabbing straight afterward."
Sheer surprise took Ripto; he could not believe the words meeting his ears. He even gaped as if to say something. The red reptile, however, thought better of it and aborted. Instead, he stuck out an arm and pulled back the sleeve, revealing his scrawny red arm. Nothing abnormal to note.
Then he tapped his forearm. Everyone gasped when that part of his body pulled back in panels via spreaders to reveal circuits of various colors interwoven about a synthetic rod where bone should have been. White lights flickered along the rod in erratic intervals, beeps and whirs sounding out.
Madison barely stopped herself from stepping back in horror, at an utter loss for words. "You're a…cyborg."
"If that's another word for 'freak'," the red lizard griped, "then yes. When those two damn dragons brought me back to life, let's just say they skimped on a few of the terms and conditions."
Hunter winced at the implications, the weird body shocks suddenly making frightening sense. For as much of a jerk as Ripto had been to him and the others back in Avalar, even he didn't deserve this.
Dian, on the other hand, felt her muscles tighten in anger at the statement of two dragon masterminds. Were there more rogue Ecologists acting as saboteurs? "The nerve of such people. What are their names?"
Ripto rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Nothing too spectacular if that's what you're hoping for. In fact, they're probably the most basic names anyone of your kind could pick for themselves." He stuck a hand up and raised a finger for each name. "Red and the Sorcerer."
Right away, Madison felt her breath hitch; Dian winced a hiss through gritted teeth. That one individual who'd been haunting their suspicions now stood out more than ever, especially in culmination with all the prior evidence.
Their reactions did not go unnoticed by the others judging by the questioning and sympathetic gazes from almost everyone. Titan and Magnus, however, narrowed their eyes at the second name for no one in particular came to mind.
Titan took a step forward and loomed over Ripto, all business. The Tyrasaur seemed more annoyed than intimidated by this act though. "What else do you know about them?"
"That one's some bitter Ecologist and the other"—Ripto shifted his face into a more thoughtful expression – "to be honest I haven't a clue where he came from. Thought at first he might be some crazy Magic Crafter, but he assured me he belonged to no clan, although that's about all I ever got out of him." He eyed his mechanical arm, innards still exposed, in distaste. "Not like I could afford to prod him any further. One thing I do know for certain, though: he possesses serious skill in dark magic."
"And their end goal?" Dian gently prodded. "We know…Red wants to dissuade our clan from reintegrating with the others, but how does this Sorcerer tie into it?"
Ripto opened his mouth to answer again—
Only for darkness to suddenly explode beneath him, sending everyone else flying back from the resultant wind. All the dragons barely managed to halt themselves midair, Kai catching Hunter in his free arm. Before everyone's eyes, a massive pulsating purple hand now held Ripto in a vice grip, the red reptilian struggling in vain to break free. The scepter in Kai's other hand flashed away much to the young dragon's shock and reappeared above the hand, gem gleaming magenta.
From nowhere and everywhere at once came a deep silky voice, distorted yet audible. Ripto, Ripto, Ripto. A drawling tsk dragged out. Impertinent as usual.
Conan bared his lance at whichever direction in which he tried to pinpoint the voice's source. "Reveal yourself, fiend! Only cowards dare hide themselves from justice!"
Nothing at first; then the voice chuckled in languid amusement. Such prose! Little Peace Keeper, you should consider a future in theatre. Conan blinked, unsure how to respond to such a backhanded response. In all seriousness, though, I have no qualms with you all this day. I only wish to collect my wayward 'friend' here. He's had my compatriots and I so worried after all. Ciao.
"Wait!" Madison cried out the moment she noticed the pool shoot up into a pillar that obscured the hand, scepter, and a distraught Ripto from sight. Despite everyone rushing in to save him, only empty air greeted them.
Trondo growled out a swear while throwing his hands up in frustration. So much for payback. Ragnar put a hand on his back in a gesture of comfort, understanding his comrade's feelings yet also well aware that throwing a tantrum would not do much to help at this point either.
Hunter regarded the spot where Ripto had been, unable to help a sense of pity for the warlock's plight. Huh, him pitying Ripto. What was this world coming to?
Dian regarded that same spot in disheartenment, feeling as though they (she) had just failed someone, villain or not. A solemn frown dominated as she regarded her cousin who'd been silent and pensive, arms crossed. "What do we do now?"
A few moments of silence settled over the group…until to both their surprise, Titan smiled.
"We celebrate of course."
Dian regarded the clan leader as though he'd gone nuts, Madison staring back more in wonder. "Really?" the park ranger stammered in confusion. "But sir, we—"
"Put a stop to the bad guy's plans for now and have more pieces to the puzzle. The war might not be over, but today's battle"— he draped an arm around each cousin's shoulders and pulled them in for a group hug, flashing a proud smile to each of them— "belongs to us."
Almost immediately, the other Peace Keepers joined in the sentiment, ranging from whoops to more sedate agreements yet all carrying the same tone of accomplishment. Even Hunter, who shared Dian's chagrin at losing Ripto, couldn't bring himself to resist the infectious optimism.
Dian bit her lip, still unsure how to assess her own feelings, until Madison lightly flicked her on the nose.
"C'mon, cheer up already! Alright, we lost the little shrimp, that sucks; it just means we get to pull off a rescue later on. You know you love getting to do stuff like that." A snort burst from Dian at the fair wisecrack. Madison smirked in triumph as she threw an arm around Titan's waist in return. "Besides, our tour is barely over yet, and I didn't even get to see their blacksmith work his magic!"
Kai bounced on the balls of his feet. "Oh, oh! We didn't even introduce you to Earth Ball yet! There's this move I've been working on…!" So lost in his excitement, he never noticed his uncle cringe, lips pressed as though holding back a groan (or murmuring under his breath 'be more supportive, Magnus, be more supportive').
Unlike Dian who did notice and felt her usual smile revived. Everyone was right: they succeeded and deserved to commemorate that. A clap her on her upper back returned her attention to Titan.
"First things first, we get the rest of the troops up to speed on today's craziness. Once everyone's squared away, I think a meal with fireworks will be in order."
Oh fancy, Madison mused, cocking a brow out of interest. "Another use of those bombs, I take it?"
"Another use of our gunpowder. Ever since we started looking into using weapon alternatives, there's been some supplies gathering dust." The general shrugged his horned shoulders. "Might as well put them to use. As for restarting the tour," he looked over to Dian, "how about saving it for tomorrow when everyone's back at 100%?"
Sounded good to Dian, who saluted heartily with a matching laugh. "Sir, yes sir!"
Titan chuckled and returned the salute before regarding his fellow warriors. "Alright everyone, time to head out! We have a party to start!"
With no further prompt necessary, everyone (save for Hunter who gladly hopped aboard Kai's shoulders) took off into the sky.
Only about a minute into the flight, Madison felt a clawed finger tap her shoulder. Her eyes shifted to discover Trondo beside her, sporting a surprisingly meek expression.
"Hey, um, I just wanted to apologize to you for earlier," he rubbed his nape. "All that talk about you being delicate because you're a scientist, I mean. That, uh, wasn't cool. Heck, all that stuff you and your little friend were pulling off was pretty wild actually."
"That?" Madison chuckled as she pulled a casual barrel roll. "Please, that's everyday stuff for us. The technical stuff by the way, not the fighting evil crystal monsters. Now if you wanna see real crazy stuff, drop in by our homeworld across the sea from here. That's where I keep my best work" – she threw in a challenging smirk – "assuming you're not too scared of being wowed by a little scientist."
Trondo huffed at the offer; he could see a beautiful friendship forming already. "You're on!"
Unbeknownst to the pair, Magnus had been listening to their conversation from nearby, not even bothering to hide his smile at the interaction. Good to know all this craziness brought out some good. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew his attention to Titan beside him, whose face bore a severe expression.
"What's up, Ti?"
"Can you cover for me on morning duties tomorrow?"
The sumo dragon blinked at this question. "Sure. What's the occasion?"
"I'm sending Sofia a message today, both about what happened and to see me then. It's high time me and her had a talk about armor upgrades."
XXX
Another failure, a tall lanky serpentine silhouette thought in tired disappointment.
Fortunately, Red had at least anticipated this one since Ripto still had something to show for it even despite his obvious attempt to abandon ship. He hummed in approval as he tapped some commands into the massive computer before him, various readouts and images projects out as holograms.
"Good, the data his systems gathered on the Shadow Clones remains intact. I was right to have his systems set up to the cloud, provided some administrator's' privileges on my end of course."
A deep silky chuckle, the same as during Ripto's forced departure, sounded from behind. "Yes, it would seem my contribution aided your plan a great deal."
Red rolled his eyes, monocle gleaming from the lighting overhead as he glanced over his shoulder at the voice's source. "A stage of my plan but yes."
A purple-hooded figure shorter than Red but taller than Ripto joined his side. "You mean you're still set on scaring away your own from the other clans?" Sorcerer continued in droll wonder. "Getting a tad repetitive, don't you think?"
"Oh, rest assured, that plan hasn't changed," Red responded placing his hand on a reader near the keyboard. "You just haven't paid attention to the main scope of it. Unfortunately, now that Ripto's ratted me out, we'll need to escalate certain aspects." To illustrate this point, he pulled up a neon-golden holographic model of a floating island. "Especially if the prophecy you foresaw comes true."
The Sorcerer tilted his head at the small surrounding pictures depicting tribal clad apes. "Ah yes, Concurrent Skies. And whether or not they agree to it?"
Red waved a dismissive hand. "Irrelevant. We will return to our rightful place. One way or another."
Regardless of whether his clan approved of the means or not.
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