Dr. Catastrophe
D'Angelo and Chief Baker were riding their four wheeler through the woods to check out a disturbance. They soon saw two security guards hiding behind their van. Dr. Baker pulled the four wheeler to a stop beside the van. The two guards looked terrified.
"What happened?" Chief Baker asked, worried.
"It just came at us in a rage," said one guard. "We tried to scare it off but it was no use." Something was thumping against the other side of the van, making it shake. D'Angelo and his father looked around it to see a sheep ramming its horns into the van. D'Angelo recognized it as the Angry Sheep that had been running amok with vengeance. It baaed in outrage and turned to face the two humans, glaring.
"Stand back," Chief Baker said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "It's probably rabid." But D'Angelo was looking closer at the sheep. It appeared to be favoring one of its legs.
"No wait," he said. He calmly approached the sheep. Being around wild dragons everyday made this sheep look tame. He knelt in front of it, and gently lifted its hoof. The hoof was overgrown. "Can I have your multi tool?" He asked his dad. Chief Baker pulled his tool out of his pocket and handed it over. D'Angelo clipped the sheep's hoof. "There, just needed a trim." He released the hoof when he was finished. The sheep turned and ran off. D'Angelo got to his feet, standing a little taller. Chief Baker looked impressed.
"How did you know to do that?" He asked.
"Summers with Gramps," D'Angelo explained. "He helped animals, and I paid attention."
"You might be a fine army medic someday," said Chief Baker proudly.
"I want to help animals," said D'Angelo. "Be a veterinarian."
"Dr. D'Angelo, has a nice ring to it," Chief Baker agreed.
Later D'Angelo met up with his friends and their dragons. He was beaming with pride the whole time. They flew down to the Dragon World. They were planning to explore the Fire Realm some more. They landed outside Edelweiss's cave. It was quiet inside except for loud snoring. The Riders dismounted and went inside, then they froze. Edelweiss was asleep in her hammock, and all around her were a dozen sleeping dragons. Mostly Featherhides and Gembreakers; but there was also the Razorwhip Vortex and Heatwave the Monstrous Nightmare. Black Widow was asleep above in her web, and Apollo slept below her. Then the Riders noticed a large tapestry hanging behind the hammock.
On it was a large and beautiful white dragon standing in a field of grass and white flowers with gold centers. The dragon had a long slender body like an eastern dragon, long slender legs, and a narrow head and snout. Long white tendrils hung from its upper jaw. The dragon had long twisted golden horns, a row of golden spikes down its back, and golden horns. There was even golden sparkles highlighted in it mother of pearl scales. It had large white wings that took up half the tapestry. Its emerald eyes were staring back at the Riders.
Suddenly Edelweiss stirred. She sat up and saw the Riders.
"Hey guys," she said sleepily. "You off to the Fire Realm?"
"Why are you still sleeping it's nearly lunchtime," said Jun. Edelweiss got out of bed, being carful to not step on any of the dragons.
"Long night hunting," said Edelweiss. "But successful." She gestured to a row of dead ducks hanging on the wall. Then she went over to Apollo, stepping over dragon tails, and gently removed a gold lyre harp he had clutched in his talons. The red dragon woke up. "You guys go on ahead, I'll saddle up Apollo and catch up with you."
"What's that?" Alex asked, pointing to the tapestry. Edelweiss followed her gaze.
"Queen Avalon sent me that," she explained. "She had it made by a tapestry weaver she admires."
"Who's the dragon?" Jun asked. Edelweiss bit her lip nervously and exchanged a look with Apollo.
"I promise to tell you another time," she finally said. "I've only seen that dragon one time."
"You mean it's a real dragon?" Tom asked.
"It sure is," said Edelweiss. "But like I said, I only saw it once." She picked up Apollo's saddle.
A few minuets later they were all on their way again. Edelweiss and Apollo had agreed to let Black Widow sleep, as she too had been out hunting all night. They flew alongside D'Angelo and Plowhorn. Edelweiss noticed the proud look on D'Angelo's face.
"Ah, it's a great day to be a dragon rider," D'Angelo boasted.
"What's with you?" Edelweiss asked. D'Angelo then told everyone about the sheep.
"So I'm just leaning into those positive vibes," he finished. He looked around the Stormy Realm that they were now going through. "This place gets more beautiful every time we come here." Just then they heard loud gagging sounds. They looked down to see a few dragons grazing on the silver crystals. They munched the crystals then barfed them back up. The Riders flinched.
"I've seen those dragons before," said D'Angelo. "In the Fire Realm." They pulled their dragons to a stop.
"They're Gronckles," said Edelweiss. "Not the brightest dragons but they make me laugh sometimes." The Riders landed their dragons near the Gronckles and dismounted except for Edelweiss. The Gronckles were still eating the silver crystals and throwing them up, it wasn't pleasant.
"What's wrong with them?" Alex asked in disgust.
"It's the crystals they're eating," said D'Angelo. "These dragons are from the Fire Realm and are meant to eat volcanic rocks."
"Then why are they eating the crystals if they make them sick?" Jun wondered aloud.
"Probably for the same reason humans smoke cigarettes," said Edelweiss.
"We need to get these Gronckles back to the Fire Realm," Tom said. "But how?"
"Leave it to Dr. D," D'Angelo boasted. Edelweiss tried not to laugh.
She and Apollo watched in amusement as the Riders tried different things to get the Gronckles' attention. First they tried to jump scare them with Feathers, then Jun tried communicating with them, then they tried a sort of dragon rider rodeo. But nothing worked. Edelweiss almost fell of her dragon from laughing so hard. Even some of the Gronckles were laughing. Soon the Riders stopped, looking defeated. Jun noticed Edelweiss watching them.
"I'm sorry," Edel said. "But that was pretty funny."
"Maybe you can ask the Gronckles what's wrong with them," Jun suggested. Edelweiss was about to answer but D'Angelo came up to them.
"I got this," he said confidently. "Edelweiss won't have to do anything." Edelweiss shrugged.
"If you still have ideas D'Angelo go for it," she said. "I'll be around in case things get out of hand. I've got plenty of time and plenty of dragons to be friends with." With that they took off and headed for the Fire Realm.
When they got there D'Angelo explained his next plan.
"If we can't bring the Gronckles to their food source, we can bring the food to them," he said. "Then we can use it lure them back to the Fire Realm."
"Not a bad idea," Tom agreed. "What's on the menu?" D'Angelo looked around. He spotted a large stone basin between two pillars. In the middle of the basin were several small lava rocks the size of eggplants.
"Rocks," D'Angelo said. He headed for the basin and the others followed. Edelweiss and Apollo stayed in the air to keep an eye out for Flamethrowers. When the dragons landed, Plowhorn suddenly became very nervous and growled a warning. She nudged her rider as he was picking up the rocks.
"No girl these aren't for you," D'Angelo said. Plowhorn growled anxiously.
"Is Plowhorn okay?" Jun asked, concerned.
"She's fine, she's probably just anxious to get back to those Gronckles," said D'Angelo. He piled the rocks into his arms. Plowhorn stamped her feet and tossed her head. "They'll be fine. But we got to get these to the Gronckles." They took off again, D'Angelo held the rocks tight in his arms as they headed back towards the Stormy Realm.
When they got there; the Gronckles barely looked up from their grazing. Plowhorn landed and D'Angelo dismounted, still clutching the rocks. He headed towards the Gronckles who had noticed the rocks by now. Plowhorn tried to hold her rider back.
"Don't worry," he said, patting her horn. "Everything's going to be okay." But the Gronckles behind him were staring hungrily at the rocks in his arms.
"Um D'Angelo," Tom warned.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing," D'Angelo said confidently. Suddenly the Gronckles charged and almost ran him over. The rocks scattered and the Gronckles went crazy trying to get one. Most of them were gone in minuets. The wild dragons started shooting lava bombs in all directions, the Riders dodged them.
"We need to get out of here," said Tom. They all got on their dragons and took off. Plowhorn scooped up her rider and followed. They headed far away from the mad Gronckles.
They all landed to catch their breath. D'Angelo started pacing still holding the last rock.
"What was all that about?" Tom asked. "One minuet those dragons were chill, and next a feeding frenzy."
"Well that's most animals do when they see food," Edelweiss pointed out. Plowhorn tossed her head and stamped her feet, roaring loudly.
"Plowhorn seems to know something," said Tom.
"I know she's nervous," said D'Angelo. "But I know a lot about animals. I'm going to be a veterinarian someday."
"But Plowhorn lives down here, so she knows more about this place than you do," Edelweiss pointed out. Plowhorn croaked in agreement.
"No one's doubting your ability," said Tom. "But a good thought can come from anywhere, even a dragon." He stroked Thunder. D'Angelo got back on Plowhorn.
"Caring for animals is my specialty," he told the group. "Let me get back to those Gronckles so I can fix this. We know they'll come for this last rock. So I'll use it to lure them back to the Fire Realm." Meanwhile Edelweiss and Plowhorn were talking in their own language. Plowhorn turned and took off again, heading for Fire Realm. Tom looked at Edelweiss.
"What was she saying?" He asked.
"She says those rocks smell funny," Edelweiss explained. "Like they don't smell like normal rocks." Then a thought struck her. "Oh no." She steered Apollo after Plowhorn and others followed suit.
Plowhorn lead them all back to the Fire Realm. They were heading right for the stone basin.
"She's leading us back to where we found the rocks," said Jun.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Tom said. Thunder growled, as did Apollo. They all landed in the basin. The dragon were now all on alert.
"What has gotten into you Plowhorn?" D'Angelo yelled. Plowhorn nudged the rock in his hand.
"She's been trying to tell you that that's not a rock," Edelweiss said urgently. "It's a dragon egg." No sooner had she said that then the egg shook in D'Angelo's hand. Now all the dragons were growling.
"It's an egg?!" D'Angelo exclaimed. "I took an egg from its nest!? What kind of vet am I?"
"An amateur," Edelweiss said. Just then they all felt the ground shake, making the dragons restless.
"What was that?" Alex asked, trembling. Suddenly a large boulder dropped from above and rolled towards them. The Riders and dragons took off to avoid getting crushed. The boulder rolled on, but then stopped and rolled back the way it had come.
"Um when did a boulder turn around?" Alex asked.
"That's not a boulder," Edelweiss said. Tom looked at her.
"You know what that is?" He asked.
"I do now," said Edelweiss. "Catastrophic Quaken." The boulder burst open to reveal it to be a very angry dragon with a split bottom jaw. The Quaken roared with fury. She looked around her nest to find it empty. The very ground trembled with her rage.
"What do you know about them?" Jun shouted to be heard over the sound.
"They're very territorial and very bad tempered," Edelweiss yelled back. "She'll be the mother of those eggs." D'Angelo looked down at the Quaken.
"I'm sorry I didn't know!" He called to her. The Quaken roared again and stomped the ground with her feet. She then charged after them. The Riders scattered and she gave chase. But she wasn't as fast as they were.
"Looks like she can't catch us," said Tom. "And she realizes it." All the Riders pulled to a stop near Edelweiss. The Quaken stopped and glared at them "I think we're okay now."
"Brace yourselves," Edelweiss warned them. "She's not done yet." Sure enough the Quaken rolled into a ball again and hit the ground hard. A violent shockwave hit them all and they were all blown away. The Riders just barely managed to stay in the saddle. The dragons stabilized and flew back towards the Stormy Realm. The Quaken roared after them.
The Riders flew through the Stormy Realm. No one spoke for a while. Tom then spotted the disappointed and regretful look on D'Angelo's face.
"It's not your fault," Tom said. "There's no way you could've known."
"That's not true," said D'Angelo. "Plowhorn tried to tell me, and you guys tried to get me to listen to her. I'm not fit to be a dragon rider."
"We can still fix this," said Jun.
"I'd better not," said D'Angelo. "Take me back girl." He patted Plowhorn's head.
"D'Angelo wait," Tom protested.
"What for?" D'Angelo snapped. "A doctor is supposed to do no harm." He then reached into his backpack and pulled out the remaining egg. "See? I even failed to return her egg. Haven't I done enough damage." He pulled Plowhorn alongside Thunder and gave the egg to Tom. "Here take this, return it to her. I'm going back." And he took off before anyone could protest. Tom held the egg like a football.
"Should we go after him?" Asked Jun.
"No, give him some space," said Tom.
"So what do we do?" Alex asked.
"Damage control," said Tom. "We fix what we can. Those Gronckles are still loose back there."
"Aren't we going to return the egg?" Jun asked.
"Yes, but we're going to make it count," Tom said.
They flew back to the Gronckles. Tom landed Thunder near them and waved the egg around to get their attention. It didn't take long; soon the three Gronckles charged at him with their mouths open. Tom and Thunder took off and the Gronckles gave chase. But when they got too close, Tom tossed the egg to Alex. The Gronckles went after her, and she tossed it to Jun; then Jun tossed it to Edelweiss. They kept up the game of keep away, while heading for the Fire Realm. The Gronckles roared in frustration every time the egg changed hands. They soon reached the Fire Realm.
"Now we need to find a nice smorgasbord of volcanic rocks," Tom said.
"There," Edelweiss pointed towards a patch of dried lava on the ground. The Riders lead the Gronckles to the dried lava, who seemed satisfied and left the Riders alone. The dragons all landed to catch their breath. They suddenly heard load roaring and rumbling from the Quaken's nest high above. Tom lead the others up to the nest. They landed again, and Tom put the egg in the middle of it. The mother Quaken landed in front of them. She growled and stalked towards them. She saw the one egg, but wasn't satisfied. She glared ahead, still growling.
"What's she so focused on?" Jun asked. But then Tom looked behind him at the Gronckles below.
"No!" Tom yelled. "We took your eggs leave them out of it." But the Quaken ignored him. She rolled into a ball and dropped towards the Gronckles, making them scatter. The Riders hovered their dragon overhead.
"Can't you say something to her?" Jun asked Edelweiss.
"She's not doing anything wrong," Edelweiss said. "We're the intruders and we're invading her space. She's an angry mother dragon defending her nest, she's going to act aggressive to anyone she deems a threat. It won't matter that I can speak to dragons." The Quaken kept charging at the Gronckles.
"We need D'Angelo, he'd know what to do," said Jun.
"Leave him to me," said Alex. And she took off on Feathers.
Jun, Tom, Edelweiss, and all their dragons kept the Quaken busy while they waited for Alex and D'Angelo. Wu gave them a cloud cover. It halted the Quaken for the moment. Edelweiss circled hight above on Apollo. She could see the Quaken still chasing the Gronckles.
"When this get fixed, I'll make friends with that Quaken," Edelweiss said, she sounded giddy. "And this time Fishlegs won't be around to get jealous."
"Will this be the first time you've gotten to speak to a Catastrophic Quaken?" Apollo asked.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "Fishlegs always got jealous of my speaking to dragons, and Quakens were one of his favorites. So I didn't dare talk to one." Just then the mother Quaken flapped away the fog. Tom and Jun took off on their dragons to try and distract her but ended up colliding in mid air and falling to a nearby pillar. The Quaken glared down on them. Then D'Angelo and Alex flew out of the haze on their dragons.
"Just in the nick of time," Apollo said. D'Angelo threw several silver crystals at the Gronckles. The dragons ate them, and then threw it all up along with the rest of the mother Quaken's eggs.
"Right, lets got those eggs back to mama," D'Angelo instructed, his confidence restored. The Riders and their dragons reluctantly picked up the regurgitated eggs and piled them up back in their nest.
"There, they're all back where they belong," said Tom.
"Not quite," said D'Angelo. He pulled out the last egg and put it with its fellows. Just then the mother landed in her nest. She looked at her eggs then at the Riders. She suddenly growled again.
"I don't get it, why's she still mad?" D'Angelo asked. But then Plowhorn looked over at the Gronckles who were eyeing the eggs hungrily. "Oh, it's not us she's growling at." Just then Apollo dived out of the haze and shot ret hot flames at the Gronckles, that made them leave. The Quaken finally settled down with a snort.
"Why don't we leave her in peace now," said Tom. They all quietly got on their dragons and took off. Apollo landed on the rim of the nest. The Quaken looked at him and his rider.
"Having Gronckle trouble?" Edelweiss asked casually.
"Aye," the Quaken said, her voice was low and rumbly like an earthquake. "Them pests have been after me eggs ever since they came. I thank you for helping me teach them a lesson." Then she tilted her head. "You be the human that can talk to us dragons." It wasn't a question.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "I'm Edelweiss Dragonborn and this is Apollo. What's your name?"
"You can just call me Mother Quaken," said the Quaken. "You live near here?"
"In the Crystal Realm," said Edelweiss. "But I'll be coming here quite often to. I just moved see, and I want to explore my new neighborhood. But we should get back now."
"Aye," Mother Quaken agreed. "And I'm feeling like a nap after all that." She yawned. "And tell those other humans thank you for me." Edelweiss nodded. She turned Apollo around and took off after the other Riders. They reached them halfway back to the Stormy Realm. She relayed the Quaken's thanks to the Riders. Satisfied and exhausted, they headed out of the Fire Realm.