Magma Breather
The dragons in the sleep cave were starting to wake themselves up one morning. They took their time, since their riders weren't due in for a while and Edelweiss was moving her campsite to the dragon world. But then; Wu, Wei, Feathers, and Plowhorn were suddenly alerted to a loud commotion. They looked over to see Thunder thrashing around in his sleep, growling and snarling and snapping his jaws like he wanted to fight something. Then he went limp, buried his face in his paws, and made soft crying sounds. Plowhorn went over and nudged him.
"Thunder, wake up!" She cried. "Are you okay?" Thunder opened his eyes and blinked. Then he sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said. He took a moment to catch his breath.
"Another nightmare?" Feathers asked. "About loosing your family?"
"Yes," Thunder admitted. "I've been having them ever since we got separated." He sighed again, and gave his friends an apologetic look. "Don't get me wrong, I like having all you guys as friends, and having such a loyal rider; but I feel like I'll never be whole again if I don't find my family."
"Don't worry Thunder, you'll find them," said Feathers, who was grooming herself. "I'm sure they miss you too." Thunder smiled at her. He got to his feet and stretched his limbs.
"When do our riders come?" Feathers asked, impatiently.
"I believe they have to go to something called school first," said Wu, who was getting a drink from the watering hole.
"So we have a few hours to kill," said Wei. "Maybe Edelweiss and Black Widow will come up."
"We could go visit them," Plowhorn suggested. "That's where the food is anyway." The others exchanged a glance.
"I suppose," said Feathers. "I am hungry." So they took off and headed down to the Crystal Realm.
When they got there; they landed at the entrance. They each found things to eat such as mushrooms, or cave fish. Plowhorn found a large pile of crystals. She walked over to it, and accidentally trod on another dragon's foot. He hissed in discomfort. Plowhorn looked at him; he was small than her, and very fat. Streams of lave were oozing out of his mouth like drool.
"Oh do excuse me," she said. "I don't see too well these days."
"No problem," the other dragon said. He spread his small wings, and flew away. Plowhorn went over to the crystals.
Edelweiss watched them from the ledge of crystals she'd set her campsite on. She didn't need a tent down here; so she just had her hammock, her desk, her chair, and small stove for cooking. She use the green heating crystals as her heating source, which Black Widow always lit up. Black Widow herself had a spot near the hammock where she slept. It had more heating crystals which she always warmed up just before she went to sleep.
Edel and Black Widow watched the other dragons grazing, as Edelweiss saddled up her dragon. When finished, they flew down to the others. Black Widow landed near where Thunder and Feathers were sharing a pile of cave fish. They looked up as Black Widow approached them.
"Morning," Edelweiss said. "I hope you all slept well."
"Thunder had another nightmare," said Feathers. Edelweiss dismounted.
"Oh, I'm sorry Thunder," she said softly. Thunder sat on his haunches and looked sadly at his paws.
"What if I never see my family again?" He said. Black Widow and Feathers exchanged a glance. Edelweiss hugged the sad Night Light.
"It'll be okay," she said. "You'll find them." She let go of him. "If they're anything like you, or the like the Great Alpha himself, they'll be just fine." Thunder smiled again, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"And in the meantime, you've still got us," said Wu, as he and Wei joined them with Plowhorn.
"And you've got Tom," said Black Widow.
"We'll all be here for you," said Plowhorn.
"Hopefully, that will help with my nightmares," Thunder said. Edelweiss hugged him again, and he purred with gratitude.
"I know a few songs that can help sooth nightmares," Edel said, letting go. Plowhorn turned towards the cave entrance.
"We should get back to our sleep cave," she said. "Our riders should be there soon. Perhaps a flight with Tom will help you feel better Thunder." The Night Light got to his feet. Edelweiss got on Black Widow and they all headed for the tunnel out. Thunder turned to follow them, but paused and turned to face deeper into the Crystal Realms. He considered heading in deeper to look for his family, he knew they must be out there. He knew he'd have to do go sometime.
"Thunder, you coming?" Feathers called. Thunder shook himself, then followed the others out.
When they all got back to the sleep cave, they waited for their riders. They soon heard them approaching. Jun, Alex, and D'Angelo came into the cave and greeted their dragons. Then Tom came in looking flushed.
"Guys we've got a problem," he said. He pulled out his tablet and used it to project a map onto the cave wall. "My mom's been ordered by Dr. Sledkin to check out caves in Sector 2." This worried the riders.
"Who's Dr. Sledkin?" Edelweiss asked, sharpening a small dagger with a red handle.
"She's the head of the Rekke Corp." Tom explained. "She really only cares about making money for the company. And she's asked my mom to explore the caves in Sector 2." Edelweiss slammed the blade the blade of her dagger into the rock next to her.
"Well, that's a problem," she said with a sinister look in her eye.
"This is bad," D'Angelo said. "Your mom's going to Sector 2. That's where the entrance to the dragon world is."
"If she find the dragons the secret will get out," Alex panicked. "The dragon's will be sold to the zoo."
"Or to the military, to be used as weapons," Edelweiss said darkly. Thunder flattened his ears nervously.
"Guys all you have to do is collapse the part of the caves that lead to the dragon world," said Tom, trying to keep is head. "So me and my mom will have to turn around."
"You're going with her?" Jun asked.
"I will try to stall her as much as I can," Tom said.
"How do you know she'll let you come?" Jun asked.
"Because, I'm her son," Tom said confidently.
"Divide and conquer," said D'Angelo excitedly. "I'm liking this. Time for me to show off my superior leadership skills."
"We're supposed to be a team," Jun pointed out.
"Right, Team D'Angelo," D'Angelo boasted, getting on Plowhorn.
"This is why I work alone," Alex said under her breath.
"Let get going," Tom said. "My mom's chopper leaves soon." They started heading for the hole. Thunder crooned anxiously at Tom. Tom smiled at his dragon. "Sorry pal, you can't come with me this time. You're no Feathers when it comes to stealth." Thunder frowned, and caught Feathers smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. He nudged Tom, who hugged his head. Then he followed his friends out. Thunder slumped sadly. Edelweiss and Black Widow came up beside him, wanting to be the last ones out. Thunder looked at them.
"You coming with the team?" He asked them.
"Yeah," said Edelweiss. "I'd like to remain a secret as well." She pointed at the scales on her face. "But I might watched Tom and his mom from the shadows, in case this Sledkin shows up." She pulled her dagger out of the rock, and sheathed it.
"What do you plan to do to them?" Black Widow asked.
"If Sledkin causes trouble, I have plenty of non lethal weapons I can use on her," Edelweiss said. "I'm going to make dam sure she never gets her hands on the dragons." She mounted her dragon. She saw the worried look on Thunder's face. "Tom'll be fine Thunder, he's just going with his mom."
"I know," said the Night Light as they flew out. "But I've already lost my family, and I don't want to lose my rider too. It would destroy me inside." He flew along side Black Widow. Tom headed towards town, and the other headed for the dragon world.
When they got to the cave entrance the gathered around it. D'Angelo stood at attention in front of the cave entrance.
"Listen up Team D'Angelo," he boasted. "We have an objective here. We need to collapse the cave entrance. So, Cadet Thunder, light it up." Thunder looked confused, and didn't obey. "I said light it up!" D'Angelo raised his voice. Thunder just flinched at the loud order.
"He only takes orders from Tom," said Alex.
"Okay, Edelweiss, Black Widow you blast the cave!" D'Angelo barked.
"We only take orders from our queen," Edelweiss said glaring. Black Widow trashed her tail in irritation. D'Angelo grunted annoyed.
"Cadet Feathers, give it a shot!" He shouted. Feathers squealed and vanished. D'Angelo looked shocked. "Where'd she go?"
"Hopefully far from here," said Alex, as her dragon rematerialized beside her. "And you need to stop yelling."
"I'm not yelling, I'm leading," D'Angelo bellowed. "Like my dad." Alex and Jun exchanged a glance.
"Typical military," Edelweiss said to Black Widow. "Only know how to communicate through yelling." Black Widow just snorted.
"Okay, Cadet Plowhorn, you blast the cave," D'Angelo said. The Gembreaker stepped up and blasted the cave entrance. But it only managed to make the hole bigger and blasted dust in their face.
"Um were we or were we not supposed to make the hole smaller not bigger?" Jun asked smartly. "Come on guys Tom's counting on us."
"Right, and how do we do that?" D'Angelo asked. "We use more fire power." He turned to all the dragon, minus Black Widow. "Wu, Wei, Feathers, Thunder." The dragons stood at attention.
"Um I think that's too much fire power," Jun said concerned.
"You can never have too much fire power," D'Angelo said. He turned back to the dragons. "Fire!" All the dragons fired at the hole. It exploded and almost brought the ceiling down on them. When the dust cleared they saw they'd made very little progress. Thunder sighed, and snuck away from the group. He went to look for Tom. Edelweiss followed him on Black Widow.
"You going to look for Tom?" Edelweiss asked.
"Yeah, I think he probably needs me more then they do," Thunder said. "And I can't help worrying about him." They slunk off into the dark shadows. "I'll show him I can be just as stealthy as Feathers."
Back at the cave entrance the rest of the group was just staring at the half closed hole. D'Angelo started staking the heavy crystals muttering to himself. Plowhorn went over to the two girls and looked at them with her good eye. She then made a gesture with her head, then took off.
"I think Plowhorn wants us to follow her," said Jun. So they left D'Angelo to his work and went after the Gembreaker.
In another part of the caves; Thunder, Edel, and Black Widow spotted Tom and Olivia near the exit. They both wore yellow hard hats. Both Thunder and Black Widow scuttled up the cave wall and hid in the shadows. Olivia led the way deeper, lighting the way with her flashlight. They stopped when they found columns with glowing bioluminescence.
"Just as I thought," Olivia said. "No gold, but there's a lot of magnetite." She pulled off her pack. "We should start mapping it."
"Oh good, then we should start at the entrance," Tom said. "We want to be thorough."
"That parts already been mapped," Olivia said. She pulled her mapping equipment. Then she smiled at Tom. "Remember the old days? When all we had were rock hammers, pick axes and blisters? Now look at us." Tom smiled back her.
"I'm glad to be doing this with you again Mom," he said.
"Want to do the honers?" Olivia asked. She tossed him a piece of equipment, but Tom didn't catch it and flew all over the place red lasers coming out of it which nearly blinded Tom. He stumbled backwards, rubbing his eyes. Thunder flared his wings anxiously. Olivia picked up the item, then looked at her son. She saw that he had gotten dangerously close to a deep crevasse behind him.
"Tom don't move," she said. Tom froze and saw the big drop behind him. Bursts of steam cam out of it. The edge was rounded and looked very slippery. Olivia carefully grabbed him and pulled him away without both of them going over. She hugged her son out of relief. Thunder relaxed as well.
"Wow, I think Olivia's growing on me," Edelweiss said.
"Yeah, she seems really responsible," Thunder said. "I'm just glad she's there to help Tom out of trouble, since I can't."
Jun and Alex flew after Plowhorn on their dragons, with D'Angelo following them on foot.
"Where you taking us Plowhorn?" Jun asked. Plowhorn just gurgled and picked up the pace. She looked around until she spotted what she'd been looking for; the Magma Breather she'd stepped on earlier. She landed next to it. The Magma Breather was sitting and minding his own business, streams of lava pouring out of his mouth and onto the floor around him. The two girls landed their dragons and dismounted. They took one look at the Magma Breather, and gagged.
"Uuhg, that's so gross," Alex said. The dragon paid them no mind. At that moment D'Angelo came panting up to them.
"Hey, didn't you hear me yelling?" he asked loudly.
"You mean right now, or all day?" Jun asked smugly.
"I have not been yelling," D'Angelo insisted. "I've been leading." Then he saw the Magma Breather. "What's with the barfy dragon?"
"Plowhorn led us here," Jun said. The Gembreaker looked proud of herself.
"Nice going girl," said D'Angelo beaming at her. "This dragon can fill the cave entrance up with lave that will harden into rock. Team D'Angelo does it again!" Plowhorn exchanged a glance with the other dragons, they all rolled their eyes. D'Angelo went up to the Magma Breather. The dragon growled uncomfortably. He'd stopped drooling for the moment. "We can drag him back to the entrance." D'Angelo grabbed onto the dragon's large fangs and tried pulling him. But it was like moving a boulder, only moving a millimeter. The Magma Breather snapped his jaws in annoyance, D'Angelo tripped and fell on his backside. The others laughed, including the dragons, even the Magma Breather chuckled. D'Angelo got to his feet and squared his shoulders.
"Maybe try pushing from the back," Alex suggested.
"Better leverage," said Jun, smirking.
"And less teeth," said D'Angelo. He went around behind the Magma Breather. He began pushing on the dragon's thick coiled tail. The dragon kicked out his tail, sending D'Angelo flying and landing on his backside again.
"Maybe we can go find Edelweiss," Alex said. "She talks to dragons."
"That might take too long," said Jun. "Besides, I've watched how her and see how she handles new dragons I think I got this." She walked up to the Magma Breather. "Hey there big guy." She cooed. "You're not such a bad dragon are you?" She scratched the dragon's chin. The Magma Breather rumpled with pleasure, and seemed to enjoy the attention. Alex tossed him a few Cheese Loops. However, the Magma Breather still didn't move. D'Angelo came back to them, and saw their attempt. He beamed mischievously.
"Okay, time for some tough love," he roared. He then jumped onto the Magma Breather's back. The dragon snorted smoke out of his nostrils in outrage. Then he started thrashing around, trying to buck D'Angelo off. He hung on, but eventually he lost his grip and went flying off again. He hit the ground again, winded. He then saw the Magma Breather charging at him, looking furious. D'Angelo jumped up and ran for his life. The Magma Breather gave chase. Though he could fly, he couldn't fly very fast. The two girls and the remaining dragons watched.
"I think I know how we can get the Magma Breather to the hole," Jun said. She then turned to Plowhorn. "Plowhorn, why don't you go scoop up your buddy." The Gembreaker took off and did just that. Jun and Alex got on their dragons, and they all headed for the hole.
The Kullersens were still making their way through the large cave. Edelweiss and the two dark dragons were watching from the shadows. Edel stayed mounted on Black Widow the whole time. They watched the two Kullersens approach another large crevasse with a tiny sliver of rock across it for a bridge. Olivia pulled out a rope and attached one end to her belt, then attached the other end to her son's belt. When properly secured, they started across the bridge. Edelweiss gripped the front of her saddle with suspense. Bursts of steam shot out of the crevasse regularly. The Kullersens made it to the halfway point. Olivia hung on to a large boulder on the bridge to wait for Tom. He reached her and they stopped to catch their breath.
"The rest of the way should be a cake walk," Olivia said. However, the top of the boulder she was leaning on slipped off. This caused Tom and Olivia to loose their balance and fell of either side of the bridge. Their tether prevented them from falling into the crevasse, and they dangled like rag dolls. They grabbed onto their tether and pulled themselves upright. Thunder took off and hovered near them, ready to help. But Tom waved him away, giving him a reassuring look. Thunder reluctantly flew away and circled over them with Black Widow and Edelweiss.
"Climb up," Olivia said. Tom did as he was told, Olivia followed suit. However the movement they were making was making their tether rub against the bridge's sharp edge. Just as the Kullersens were about to reach the top, the tether snapped. They quickly grabbed onto the side of the bridge, hanging there by their fingertips. Thunder was about to go help them.
"Thunder no," Edelweiss said. "Stay here." Thunder stayed, but fidgeted. However, the Kullersens pulled out their pickaxes and were able to use them to get up onto the bridge again. Once on their feet, they hurried to the other side of the crevasse. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"You think Olivia would object to me saving her life?" Thunder wondered aloud.
"I'm thinking she'd have the same reaction Tom did," Edelweiss said. "However, she has bigger and meaner people giving her orders." They flew after the Kullersens stay well out of sight.
"I'm wondering what will happen when ICARIS does find the dragons," Black Widow said. "I'm pretty sure it will happen, no matter how hard these riders try to keep the secret."
"Dragons will probably be hunted again," Edelweiss said. "Turned over to zoos, science labs for dissection, militaries to be turned into weapons. Or just killed for skin, bones, and blood." She took a deep breath. "But if the dragon world gets discovered and invaded by humans, Queen Avalon will close up the fissure so they can't take what isn't theirs."
"But that would mean Tom and I would be separated," Thunder said. "So would the rest of our friends."
"Yes," Edelweiss admitted. "But everyone will be safe."
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Black Widow said. "Hopefully Tom and his mother will be able to fight to keep our world protected. I've heard human governments set aside large expanses of land that humans can see and visit but can't hunt animals or cut down trees. I believe they call it a national park."
"I've heard of those," said Edelweiss. "It does sound nice." She smiled at the idea. Thunder liked the sound of it too. That way he and Tom could still fly together.
"But what if dragons want to invade the human world?" He asked.
"We'll let Avalon worry about that," Black Widow said. "She always sees a solution to things."
"With her magic?" Thunder asked.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "She believes this is what her magic was given to her for. So she could help maintain peace, without violence."
"You think you'll tell the riders about Avalon's magic?" Thunder asked.
"No," Edelweiss and Black Widow said in unison.
"We won't," Edelweiss said. "But she might. That is her secret to tell." Thunder looked back down at the Kullersens. He swooped down and landed on a stalagmite. Tom spotted him out of the corner of his eye.
"I know I go to slow her down," Tom said. "I'm doing the best I can." Thunder took off again. Tom then spotted something in the wall next to him. It had a slight green tint to it. "Mom, I think I found something." Olivia turned around. She hesitated, but then went over to see what he'd found. She looked at the spot on the wall.
"Looks like just calcite," she said. "Pretty, but nothing exciting." Tom pulled out his pick ax.
"I just have a hunch," he said. "And you've always told me to trust my gut." He smiled and began picking at the wall. Olivia sighed then pulled out her pick ax. They both began chiseling away at the rock. Tom watched his mom fondly.
"Just like old times," he said. Olivia smiled back at him. Just then the rock crumbled away, revealing a large green glowing crystal. Olivia's eyes went wide with amazement. She pulled the crystal out and admired it closer.
"Hey, I've seen that stuff before," Tom blurted out.
"Really, where?" Olivia asked, interested. But then Tom backpedaled a bit.
"Um, I don't know," he said awkwardly. "Probably on the internet."
"Well I've never seen it," Olivia said. "It might be phosphorescent quartz, but who knows it might be something new." She beamed at the idea. Tom smiled wider at his mom's excitement. He wanted to tell her about the dragons so badly. So he took a deep breath.
"Mom, there's something I've been wanting to tell you," he said shyly.
"I was wondering when you get to it," Olivia said. "Being out all the time, the long hikes. I knew you were hiding something, I know you too well." She smiled patiently and waited. Tom opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.
"Couldn't find a sitter Olivia?" A voice said behind him. They both looked to see Dr. Sledkin joining them.
Up in the shadows Edelweiss and the two dragons narrowed their eyes. Edelweiss slid her hand onto her first smoke bomb, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. Dr. Sledkin looked very annoyed.
"Tom is a more capable cave explorer then half your staff," Olivia said boldly, placing a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Yes, I've heard about your adventures," Dr. Sledkin said. "But may I need to remind you, it may be named after you but this is not your personal fissure."
"I'm proud to have my name on it," Olivia said. "But I know it belongs to the world."
"Wrong," snapped Sledkin. "It belongs to the Rekke Corp. as well as everything we find in it all the way down to the earth's core." Tom felt his blood run cold. He glanced up at Thunder who was hiding on a ledge above them with Edelweiss and Black Widow. Edelweiss felt her blood boiling with rage, her thumb gently caressing the button on her smoke bomb. Black Widow growled very quietly. Just then they heard loud rumbling coming from somewhere up ahead.
"Oh no," Tom said, pretending to sound scared. "We should get out of here."
"We should check that out," said Olivia and Sledkin at the same time. The exchanged a surprised glance. Then they took off running, leaving Tom in the dark. Thunder and Black Widow glided down and landed next to him.
"Let's hope those guys got that entrance sealed up," Tom said.
"Sounds more like they're blowing it up," said Edelweiss. They then took off after the other two.
Deeper in the caves the Magma Breather was still chasing D'Angelo on Plowhorn. The wild dragon was shooting lava everywhere. The two girls just watched from their dragons.
"Will you do something!?" D'Angelo screamed.
"No," said Jun calmly. "Plowhorn's using you as bait to lure the Magma Breather to the opening." D'Angelo looked horrified.
"It's not true is it girl?" He asked his dragon. Plowhorn just smirked. She picked up speed. When she saw the hole she flew lower and tossed D'Angelo off her back. He landed on the ground. The Magma Breather came barreling towards him, lava dripping from his mouth. He opened his mouth to blast again. But Plowhorn grabbed her rider and flew him out of the way just in the nick of time. The Magma Breather unleashed a huge flood of lava that sloshed through the hole plugging it up, and it kept going. It ran quickly through the rest of the caves.
The Kullersens and Sledkin were making their way towards the hole. But it didn't take them long before they felt something hot coming their way. When they saw the lava they quickly turned and ran the other way, away from the dragon world. They ran as fast as they could, the lava literally hot on their heels. Sledkin tripped, and was about to be consumed by the flow but Olivia pulled her up and they took off running after Tom, who was farther ahead. Tom had kept running, and soon lost sight of the other two. He suddenly felt something large boost him onto its back. He was still seeing spots from the bright lava, but a moment later his vision cleared and he saw he was now riding Thunder.
"Okay pal, get us out of her but stay hidden," he said. Thunder sped up and weaved through the stone pillars. It was pretty tight. "Let's cut a path for Mom and Sledkin." Tom suggested. Thunder instantly began blasting the pillars, which crumbled away and left the path clear. But they soon reached the crevasse Tom and Olivia had almost fallen into. The tiny stone bridge crumbled away. He felt the back of his neck heat up, but he couldn't tell if it was from stress for from the lava flow. "What do we do now?" Thunder spotted another rock hanging over the crevasse. He quickly landed on the ground, and Tom dismounted. Thunder smiled at him, then took off again. He focused his blast on the big rock. It fell and landed across the crevasse creating another bridge. Thunder then flew out of sight as Olivia and Sledkin came into view. When Tom saw them, he led the way over the bridge. Sledkin followed and Olivia brought up the rear. The lava was seconds behind them. Tom and Sledkin made it across. Olivia was half way across when the bridge started to crumble. She jumped the last little bit and landed safely, her heart racing.
"You okay?" Tom asked.
"I'm fine Tommy," said Olivia, getting to her feet.
"Looks like the rumors about you guys are true," said Sledkin. "Where ever you go, chaos follows." She turned and headed off. Tom and Olivia watched the lava flow into the crevasse. Olivia pulled out the glowing green crystal.
"If there's something big down here," she said. "We'll find it, and share it with the world." Tom smiled. Then Olivia put the crystal back in her pocket. "Oh and I haven't forgotten you secret boyo." She put a hand on Tom's shoulder. "I just want you to know that I trust you, and you can tell me when you're ready." Tom smiled wider, and he loved his mom even more. He vowed he would tell her about the dragons, and soon.
Sometime later Tom, Thunder, Edelweiss, and Black Widow met back up with the others. Alex, Jun and D'Angelo told Tom how the Magma Breather had been the one to seal up the opening. They all watched the Magam Breather rolling around in his puddle of lava.
"That's pretty gross," Tom said.
"Yeah, but he's not so bad," said D'Angelo, sounding weary. "Just yell in his face. He doesn't seem to like it." He caught sight of Jun and Alex staring at him expectedly. "I guess no one really likes that." He sighed and slouched. "I'm sorry I was so bossy."
"Hey, if the Magma Breather didn't hate you we would have never gotten that hole blocked," Jun said.
"And Sledkin would have discovered the secret," said Tom. He patted Thunder's neck. He then spotted more of the glowing green crystals. Two small dragons were breathing fire on them, and then stretching their limbs against them.
"Edelweiss, do you know what those crystals are?" Tom asked. Edelweiss looked to see what he meant.
"Oh those," she said. "Those are heating crystals. Dragons breathe fire on them, and they can hold the heat for a very long time. Dragons don't really get sunlight down here. I use them myself for cooking, they can get pretty hot too." She then got up and mounted her dragon. "I'll see you all later." She and Black Widow took off back to their campsite.