The Tangled Web
The riders and their dragons were in the Dragon World tagging a few dragons. Tom and D'Angelo were chasing a purple Tiny Terror all over the place. Jun and Alex were watching with their dragons. They watched the boys try and fail to catch the Tiny Terror over and over. Eventually he flew over to where the girls sat.
"Oh you're so cute," Jun cooed. The little dragon chirped happily. He sniffed about curious. While he was distracted, Alex placed a tracking collar around his neck then worked on her tablet. The tracker beeped.
"There, tracker paired," said Alex.
"We make a pretty good team," said Jun. "It's almost like two are becoming one." At that moment Edelweiss and Black Widow flew up to them. Splendor the Bubblehorn was riding behind Edelweiss's saddle. Black Widow landed near Alex and Jun.
"What are you guys up to?" Edelweiss asked. Tom and D'Angelo joined them looking a bit disappointed.
"We're tagging dragons," D'Angelo explained. "To learn about where they may migrate to."
"And to get an idea of how big this place is," said Tom.
"Hmmm, okay," said Edelweiss. "Is it going well?"
"Sort of," said Tom. "Hey, you could help. Since you talk to dragons."
"You don't need my help Tom, you're a natural with dragons," said Edelweiss. At that moment Jun pointed to a familiar cave.
"Hey isn't this where we found the Bubblehorns?" She asked. Then she grew excited. "Nibbles!" She ran to the cave entrance. The others just rolled their eyes. Splendor screeched in warning, and flew in fast circles. Tom, Jun, and Alex looked at him.
"He says this place is dangerous," Edelweiss translated. "The Bubblehorns used to live in that cave but were recently chased off by another species."
"What other species?" D'Angelo asked. But then Jun started screaming. They all looked at her. She was dancing and waving her arms frantically.
"Web! web!" She screamed. "There's a web on me." She flung off a piece of purple, transparent webbing. Once it was off Jun was still panicking. "Is there a spider?" She kept whimpering.
"How's that, the great Jun Wong is afraid of spiders," said Tom, amused. Jun glared at him.
"Of course I'm scared of spiders," she said. "I'm normal." Black Widow hissed, looking offended.
"You know you're more likely to hurt a spider than a spider is to you," Edelweiss said.
"Since when are you not scared of spiders?" Jun asked.
"Ever since I started riding a dragon named after a spider," Edelweiss said, patting Black Widow's neck. "Black Widow loves spiders, and keeps a few in her chambers back home." Jun looked at the big black dragon with distaste.
"Spiders are solitary creatures," said Alex. "All they do is build their webs in dark places, away from everyone." Jun stared at her.
"Really Alex?" She said. "You're afraid of everything except spiders?" Alex just shrugged. Tom and D'Angelo looked up at the cave entrance, and the webs inside it.
"There's a lot of web here," Tom said. "Should we get a closer look?"
"Right behind you Tom," said D'Angelo.
"What do you say pal?" Tom asked Thunder. The Night Light growled, gnashing his teeth. Dispute this, Tom and D'Angelo approached the cave.
"Tom, you should listen to you dragon," said Jun. "This is a bad idea." There suddenly came soft scuttling sounds from inside the cave. Thunder growled louder. Tom and D'Angelo paused.
"Maybe you're right Jun," said Tom nervously.
"There's no maybe about it," said Jun.
"It's getting late anyway," said Tom. He mounted Thunder. The others got on their dragons and headed for the exit. Black Widow looked at the cave again.
"You think there's spiders in there?" She asked excited. "A new species maybe?"
"Let's wait until tomorrow," Edelweiss said. "We don't know anything about them, we should take it slow. I'm not as used to spiders as you are."
"All right," said Black Widow.
"Let's get out of here," Splendor chirped. They headed back to their campsite.
Up at Rekketown; Tom and D'Angelo were walking home. Jun and Alex had already gone into their own domes. Suddenly they heard loud frantic chirping. They looked up. A small bird was sitting on her nest, right on top of a turbine. She sounded terrified.
"Oh no, that bird build its nest too close to the blades," said Tom. "We have to do something before it gets chopped in half." He ran to the ladder.
"I'll call my dad," said D'Angelo, pulling out his phone. But when he looked up again, Tom was already half way up the ladder.
"Come on, we don't need him," he said. "We can do this ourselves." He kept climbing. He soon reached the top. The little bird was chirping madly for help. She spotted Tom and calmed a bit. Tom reached out to her. She perched on the edge of her nest. But before Tom could grab her, his foot slipped. He almost fell but his foot caught on something. He looked down to see D'Angelo holding his foot.
"I got you," D'Angelo said. Tom smiled gratefully. He turned back to the bird. He reached out and was able to scoop her up into his hands. But now that he was holding onto the bird, he wasn't able to grasp the ladder. Then his other foot slipped. He and the little bird were heading to ground. But something grabbed the back of his jacket. Tom looked to see Chief Baker holding him with one hand.
"I seem to be making a habit catching you Tom," Chief Baker said. Tom felt the back of his neck heat up.
A few moments later Tom and D'Angelo were standing safely on the ground. Chief Baker stood before them, holding the little bird.
"You guys could have fallen to your deaths," the Chief scolded. "This isn't a playground, it's a billion dollar facility." Tom thought that was a bit much, after all saving a bird didn't really count as playing. Chief Baker glared at him. He looked scarier than any dragon.
"I half expected this from you," he growled. Then he turned to his son. "But you. I taught you better than this son." D'Angelo said nothing.
"Chief," Tom said bravely. "It was my fault. I made him do it." Both D'Angelo stared at him.
"He made you do it," Chief Baker repeated to his son. "I have nothing else to say to you." He turned and headed way. The two boys stood there taking deep breaths. D'Angelo looked so disappointed.
"Don't listen to him," Tom said.
"No, he's right," said D'Angelo.
"What's the big deal?" Tom said. "We saved the bird. So what if your dad's ticked."
"What if my dad's ticked?" D'Angelo roared.
"I wonder why he took the little guy with him," said Tom.
"Forget the bird," D'Angelo said. "We shouldn't have tried to save it ourselves, we should have called security."
"But that's not what we do," Tom argued. "Our mission is to save animals."
"Down there," D'Angelo pointed out. "Not up here. This is my dad's domain. We need to follow his rules." Tom glared.
"I follow my own rules, no matter what world I'm in," he said.
"And that's why you almost get yourself killed every day," said D'Angelo. "If it weren't for me and my dad, you'd be face down at the base of the turbine." Tom's hands curled into fists. "So from now on, you do you and I'll do me." D'Angelo turned and walked away. Tom sighed and headed for his dome.
The next day the riders rode down to the Dragon World. They entered and headed for Edelweiss's campsite. Tom and D'Angelo kept glaring at each other. The two girls were confused, as were all the dragons. Plowhorn and Thunder flew next to each other. They both sensed their riders were angry. They soon landed at Edelweiss's campsite. She was saddling up her dragon, with Splendor sitting on her shoulder.
"Morning guys," Edel said, tightening her saddle straps.
"Hey," said Jun. "You didn't see any spiders last night did you?"
"No, no spiders," said Edelweiss. She patted Black Widow's neck. "Just my spider loving dragon."
"Just how many spiders does she keep in her chambers?" Alex asked. "And what kinds."
"Oh, she's got a few huntsman spiders," said Edelweiss. "A few Goliath bird eaters, a few other large tarantulas, and of course three black widows which are the prize of her collection." Jun shuttered.
"Why anyone would want to keep spiders as pets I'll never understand," she said.
"She likes seeing how they hunt and catch their prey," Edelweiss explained. "And applies some of their methods to her hunting trips. The black widows she keeps for more obvious reasons." She got on her dragon.
"Does she actually hold them?" Jun asked shyly.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "She's immune to their venom, so she has no fear of being bitten." The riders took off. Tom and D'Angelo were still silent for a while.
"Do you mind moving over?" D'Angelo said cooly. "Plowhorn needs her space."
"Oh no problem," Tom shot back. "Thunder would rather fly next to Wu and Wei anyway." He steered Thunder to the other side of the girls.
"What's with you guys?" Jun asked. "You were all brotherly yesterday and all brooding today."
"Teenagers," said Edelweiss, rolling her eyes. At that moment they heard loud chattering from below. They looked to see a small spider looking dragons with small fluttering wings.
"A new dragon," said Alex.
"Yeah, a very spidery dragon," Jun whimpered.
"I need to get closer, it might be hurt," said D'Angelo.
"He looks fine to me," said Edelweiss. "Just wondering about."
"We should take it slow," said Tom glaring at D'Angelo.
"No, we can't take it slow in a medical emergency!" D'Angelo bellowed. The spider dragon seemed to hear them and chattered louder.
"Guys will you give it a rest before I have a medical emergency!" Alex said through her teeth. They all landed their dragons and dismounted. They looked out at the spider dragon.
"It doesn't look injured," Tom said.
"We won't know that until we give it a proper examination," D'Angelo hissed.
"It's probably just lost," said Tom.
"Just because your dragon's lost doesn't mean every dragon is," said D'Angelo.
"Guys, do you think this dragon came from that big spider web cave we found yesterday?" Alex said.
"Oh no," Jun whimpered.
"Right, we should get it back there," said Tom. Black Widow looked excited.
"I'm just going to watch from back here," said Jun, backing up. Tom and Alex got on their dragons and moved in on the spider dragon. It was crawling up the crystals. Tom and Alex got close enough to touch it, but D'Angelo rode Plowhorn in front of them.
"What is your problem?" Tom barked.
"What are you talking about, I need to examine my patient," D'Angelo snapped. The spider dragon back up, not wanting to get involved. Edelweiss got back on Black Widow and stood next to Jun. The two boys were still arguing.
"What's gotten into them?" Jun asked.
"Adolescents," said Edelweiss. "I'm sure it'll work out." Suddenly the spider dragon was so overwhelmed with all the arguing that it shot into the air and headed strait for Jun with its legs open wide. It latched itself onto Jun's head, wrapping its long legs around her face. Jun freaked.
"Get it off me!" She screamed. "It's on my head!" She tried to pull it off but the spider dragon held on tight. Jun ran screaming in circles. Wu and Wei had to used their ice and fire breath to bring her back to her senses.
"Calm down," Tom said.
"Calm!?" Jun howled. "There's a spider dragon on my head!"
"But you do wear it well," said Alex timidly. Jun just glared at her.
"Thunder give it a little zap," Tom said. "Just enough to get it off." Jun went ridged. Thunder zapped the spider dragon, but that only made it grip tighter. Jun whimpered.
"Let me give it a try," said D'Angelo. He went up and got a closer look at the spider dragon. "It doesn't look angry, it looks scared. Don't worry little Spiderwing, Dr. D will get you off." He beckoned Plowhorn over.
"Maybe if we bring it back to its cave it'll come off on its own," Edelweiss said. Jun whimpered again. The riders all got on their dragons and headed for the webbed cave.
Once they got there and dismounted, Alex walked with Jun to the mouth of the cave. However the Spiderwing still wouldn't let go.
"Oh why's isn't it getting off?" Jun cried.
"The dragons might be making it nervous," said D'Angelo. Jun looked over at Thunder who was right next to her, giving her a toothy smile.
"Try going inside," Tom suggested. "Maybe then it'll let go."
"You want me to go in there?" Jun wined.
"I'll go with you," said Alex. They both went into the cave. It was very dark inside. There were webs everywhere. The Spiderwing still held tight. Jun desperately tried to pull it off. It suddenly started flapping its wings and shooting flaming webs at the cave entrance, blocking it. Then it let go of Jun's head, and crawled over her face so she couldn't see. Jun went wild and started running. Alex followed. Suddenly they both tripped and fell right onto a large web. It was very sticky, Alex and Jun couldn't move.
"Are you guys okay?" Tom called from outside.
"Define okay," Jun answered hoarsely.
"Is anything trying to eat you?" D'Angelo asked.
"No," Jun and Alex answered in unison.
Outside Tom and D'Angelo were left with all the dragons. Edelweiss and Black Widow watched from atop a tall crystal.
"Thunder, get us in there," said Tom. Thunder blasted the webs, but nothing happened.
"Move aside Sparky," D'Angelo boasted. "I know you got this girl." Plowhorn blasted the webs too, but with same result. "They're dragon proof! We need my dad's bolt cutters they can cut through steel."
"Your dad isn't the answer," Tom argued. "My mom's blowtorch can melt anything."
"Plowhorn couldn't melt it," D'Angelo pointed out. "What makes you think your mom's blowtorch can?"
"Because I know how to use it," said Tom. At that moment Wu, Wei, and Feathers had had enough of their arguing and blasted them. That shut them up.
"Okay, we'll grab both," said Tom. They took off on their dragons.
Edelweiss was looking through her saddle bags. But all she found was her food, water, and medical bag.
"Oh, I think I left Apollo's dagger back at camp," she said. "It's been enchanted to cut through any type of binding."
"Let's go find it," said Black Widow. They took off at once.
Inside the cave Jun and Alex were still stuck to the web. The Spiderweb was still latched onto Jun's head. They'd heard the boys outside arguing, and them leaving to find something to cut the webs.
"Say something to make me feel better," Jun said to Alex.
"Like what?" Alex said.
"I don't know anything," Jun squeaked.
"Positive thinking isn't my strong side," Alex said.
"Just try, I'm freaking out," whimpered Jun. Alex thought for a few minuets.
"Um, I'm positive the sun will rise tomorrow," she said. The Spiderwing released Jun and crawled away. Jun relaxed a bit.
"Say something else," she said to Alex.
"I'm pretty sure the dragon's not poisonous," Alex continued. "Most spiders aren't. They're just misunderstood like me." Jun looked at her doubtfully.
"Are you sure the dragon's not poisonous?" She asked.
"Well one can't be too sure about anything," Alex answered honestly. Just then they spotted the Spiderwing crawling over a nest of crystals, filled with eggs.
"Unless that's the mother," said Jun.
"And those are the babies," said Alex, now getting nervous herself.
"And we're the first meal," Jun cried. They hoped the others would be back soon.
Tom and D'Angelo flew back with their tools. They landed and dismounted. D'Angelo tried to cut the webs with the bolt cutters, and Tom tried burning it with the blowtorch. However, neither worked. The dragons kept blasting it, but it did no good. Inside they saw more Spiderwings converging on Jun and Alex.
"How are you guys doing in there!?" Tom asked.
"Not good," said Alex. "We're about to become baby food." Tom and D'Angelo exchanged a look.
"We've got to get inside," D'Angelo said.
"Um, we've got bigger problems," Tom said. They looked up to see three Spiderwings clinging to the wall above the cave. The dragons fired at them, but that just triggered an attack. The Spiderwings dived a them, shooting flaming webs. Tom and D'Angelo dodged them. They quickly dashed into a hallowed out crystal. The second they entered the Spiderwings sealed it up with flaming webs, now they were trapped.
"Would have been nice to know about the sentries," Tom said catching his breath. The dragons were outside still fending off the Spiderwings.
"Let's cause a tactical diversion," D'Angelo said professionally. "Scenario 43-8, on my signal."
"I don't even know what that means," Tom said in frustration.
"Of course not," D'Angelo said. "Why would I expect you to know what that means." They looked out at the dragon fight.
In the cave Jun and Alex watched all the activity. The Spiderwings were creating more webs.
"I bet that web is for D'Angelo and Tom," Jun complained.
"At least will all be together," Alex said.
"Not very positive," Jun said. Then she started thinking. Then the light lit up in her head. "Anansi! Do you have anything to eat?"
"It's not the best time for a snack," said Alex.
"No, in West Africa Anansi is a spider character that's a trickster," Jun explained. She opened Alex's bag and pulled out cheese loops.
"We're along way from West Africa," Alex said.
Tom and D'Angelo were still watching the dragon fights. The Spiderswings kept trying to reach out their long legs to grab them.
"I can't believe I'm stuck in here with you," D'Angelo snapped.
"You think I like being stuck with someone who can't enjoy his life," Tom shouted over the noise.
"I loved my life," D'Angelo argued. "Then you came along and ruined it." He started pacing.
"Your dad's the one ruining it," Tom said. D'Angelo quickly pulled Tom out of the reach of a Spiderwing.
"You just don't get it man!" D'Angelo roared.
"Why, because my dad's not around I can't understand a father-son relationship?" Tom bellowed.
"You said it," said D'Angelo. "It's not my fault he disappeared and left you and your mom." Tom pulled him to the back of the hallow, where the Spiderwings couldn't reach them. There they sat in silence for a few minuets. Then D'Angelo took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "That was harsh."
"No, I crossed the line," Tom said sadly.
"We both did," said D'Angelo. "You don't understand what it's like to be me Tom. My dad's a military man; he expects me to walk the strait and narrow, follow all his rules no matter how small."
"So what's the problem?" Tom asked, as they got to their feet.
"Because I also love being a dragon rider," D'Angelo said. "But to do that I have to break everyone of my dad's rules no matter how big."
"That is a pickle," Tom agreed.
"I've got your back up there," D'Angelo said. "I need you to have my back here." Tom smiled and held his hand. But D'Angelo hugged him instead.
Outside the dragons were starting to run out of shots. Thunder knew they couldn't keep blasting the Spiderwings, there were just too many. So he thought a moment. Then an idea came to him. He landed next to his friends.
"Guys, lets combine our blasts," he said. "It might be strong enough to break the webs." The others exchanged a glance, then nodded their agreement. Then they lined up in front of the hallowed crystal. They all fired into the ground. The blasts converged into one, and hit the webs with astonishing power. The webs were ripped to shreds, freeing the boys. Tom and D'Angelo stepped out looked confused.
"Did our dragons just figure out a way to combine their powers?" D'Angelo asked.
"I think they did," Tom agreed, looking at the line of dragons. "They worked together." They rejoined the dragons, as Black Widow and Edelweiss returned.
"Where've you been?" Tom asked her.
"I had to go back to my campsite, for this dagger," Edelweiss explained. She held up a red and silver dagger with a gold sun in the hilt. "It was forged by dragons back home and can cut through any binding." They all turned to the mouth of the big cave.
Inside Jun was throwing cheese loops at the mother Spiderwing. She looked interested. She ate them, and ate more as Jun tossed them to her. The Spiderwing looked up at Jun, seeing that she was the source of the food. She left her nest and scurried up the web. Jun tossed a loop onto Alex's bindings. The Spiderwing started to chew through the web, trying to get the loop.
Outside the others were flying towards the cave, dodging more flaming webs. When they were close enough. Edelweiss flew Black Widow to the big web blocking the cave mouth. She cut the web with Apollo's dagger, which did the trick. Once the cave was clear they all flew inside as Jun and Alex managed to free themselves. The Spiderwings were outraged and unleashed their fury. Alex and Jun got on their dragons. They all faced they way out, only to find it blocked by millions of Spiderwings.
"We got to find a back door," D'Angelo said to Plowhorn.
"Lead the way D," said Tom. D'Angelo steered them deeper into the cave. They dodged flaming webs and blasted any Spiderwings that got too close. The riders stayed together, right behind D'Angelo and Plowhorn. They busted their way through all the obstacles. Suddenly a flaming web hit Black Widow in the face, causing her to stumble. The web blinded her, and covered her mouth so she couldn't use sonar. She paused mid air, leaving them venerable. The Spiderwings were coming at them.
"Hang on," Edelweiss said. She crawled up Black Widow's neck to her head. "Hold still." She used Apollo's dagger to cut the web off. Once Black Widow could see, she took off after the others. She used sonar to find them. They caught up just as they reached the exit. The Spiderwings were closing it up with more webs.
"Again!" Thunder roared. The dragons, including Black Widow, combined their shots and blasted the way clear. The dragons flew out to safety.
Once they were out, everyone relaxed. Thunder flew next to Black Widow. She hadn't been hurt at all by the web.
"You're able to use sonar?" He asked.
"Yes," said Black Widow. "I can show you how if you want. Night Lights have the capability."
"Oh, yes please," Thunder said excitedly.
"Was it your idea to combine the blasts?" Black Widow asked.
"Yes," said Thunder. Black Widow gave him a wise, mysterious look.
"It seems you have a bit of the Alpha in you," she said. Thunder beamed at the idea. Black Widow smiled and they all headed for home.