The storm raged outside. Reggie jumped and leaped at every crack of lightning, practically running to avoid people wanting to ask him questions, questions OH so many QUESTIONS- And without Claire to be his PR manager (whatever that means), he'd been suffering it on his own, and- And the doors all opened up, as the RING RING RIIIIIING of the evacuation alarm went off, and Reggie just froze, as the crowd just engulfed him. Eventually, the tiny jerboa person known as Kobbsleky, leaped up onto him and slammed some headphones onto his ears, and suddenly the world wasn't made of panic.

"The storm's gotten bad!" The VP said, "We're evacuating! Your class should be going to exit 6!" Reggie numbly nodded, starting to head that way. "Come along now, you've got yourself! Your jacket still, still green, still a school day, come on!" Kobbsley wouldn't have this kid having a panic attack during such a low-margin-of-error situation, that was just too dangerous.

Eventually he hopped off, right as Claire clung to him. "OH THANK THE GODS YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Reggie just clung to her, fluff filling his face.

"'m barely able to THINK right now, storm got bad, let's- Let's go!" He said, recovering slowly as he left. And outside it was... It was horrific. Reggie was tempted to pray then and there to whatever storm god caused this to just STOP, as the whirlwind tore through the valley, floodwaters spilling everywhere.

Rattlescale landed with a heavy thump, with a comandeered airbus in his arms. "RATTLESCALE AND AVALON STUDENTS, TO HERE!" The two got on without hesitation, barely avoiding being crushed by the crowd.

Claire held on to Reggie, squeezing him. "It's gonna be fine. Don't you have the Originator? Maybe you can help, once we land." Reggie nodded, and fiddled more with the watch.

"Search and rescue. Save people." He nodded. He was ready.

And then the bus shook. And shook again. And then it didn't stop shaking. "The turbulence is getting bad! We're gonna have a rough landing!" The airbus was buffeted by wind, left right and center, and- They were falling, fast. No draconis holding on anymore. Reggie knew what he had to do.

He opened the window. Slid the originator down. Before Claire could realize what was happening, before anyone could stop him, he climbed out, and up, and ONTO the Airbus, slamming down the originator and ignoring the ache of becoming a Draconis, as he flapped his new wings as hard as he could. They slowed, they slowed, but not ENOUGH, still falling down, down, down, towards the dirt. "Hold on tight!" He called out, lungs quaking the bus with their newfound power, and he... Got under it.

Crash. Darkness.

Did he... Die?

This didn't feel like being dead.

There were noises.

(What were noises?)

Those things in your ears.

His body... Was there.

(He tried to remember what it was supposed to be like.)

(He mostly failed.)

The wings hurt, a lot.

(Not supposed to, have those? Is he?)

And he was bigger. Like a...

(Draconis?)

He's supposed to be human-

[COMMAND CONFIRMED]

Reggie awoke with a start. He was human again, but his back was killing him, and his entire body hurt just, in general. A crowd was formed around him, children who he had... Saved. Claire was bullying her way through. "Gapple! Gapple for the hero! PLEASE MOVE SO HE DOESN'T DIE!" She called out, before shoving it into his mouth and-

Wow, wow, that worked. The aching sharpened, dulled, sharpened, and eventually settled into a firm 'don't exert yourself' warning from his entire skeleton. And he was inclined to agree. "What... What happened? Where's Rattlescale?" He asked, looking around.

"We dunno!" Said one kid, looking around at the sky, the raging, raging sky.

"He lost his grip! He got struck by lightning!" Another said, wrapped in a tinny blanket.

Reggie spoke up. "Everyone- Who knows where we are?" Reggie asked, looking around. He recognized that green-and-black treetrunk. "Uh- Ah- This- This is me and Claires cave! Go down the trail, past the empty spidernest, and turn left, there's the library. Stay! There! You, uh-" He held up the originator. "You don't have the fancy hero watch!" He called out, before changing into a Tengu, and gesturing for Claire to grab on. "I can sorta fly, not very fast. Let's go be heroes."

Claire nodded, and grabbed on. She only spoke once they were clumsily in the air, gliding around. "Are we... How do you know where anyone's gonna be?" She asked, looking around. "The library's at the outskirts of town, but anything towards the center, that's- Gone! Storm wrecked it."

Reggie shook his head. "We'll, we can- We can fix it. We can save everyone. We HAVE to."

Claire surveyed the ground below, until... "I think I see Rattlescale!"

He was landing an Airbus down by a building, a sturdy one- Someone on his shoulder?

Reggie landed by them. "RATTLESCALE YOU DROPPED THE AIRBUS!" He yelled, a second away from gouging the dragons eyes out.

"I KNOW AND I AM SO SORRY, THE STORM IS TOO STRONG TO FIGHT AGAINST!" He yelled back, as Kobbsley jumped down.

"What are you DOING?! Where are the kids from your airbus?!"

Reggie gulped in air, trying to calm himeslf. "Down- By the Library, waiting! This is centered on the town itself, storms don't act like this! We can stop it, we have to!"

Rattlescale grabbed him. "Calm yourself! Get as many people out as you can, you can't fistfight a superstorm!"

Reggie growled. "WATCH ME!" And he took off, again.

Claire never let go. "I- WHAT EVEN IS YOUR PLAN?!" She asked, frantic.

"WHAT COULD CAUSE A STORM LIKE THIS?! YOU TAKE ALL THE DIVINATION CLASSES, THAT'S LIKE METEOROLOGY MAGICS SISTER!"

Claire hissed a bit, staring at the storm. At the blue light within. "JANKED UP WEATHER CRYSTAL? SOME GUY TRIED TO BRUTE FORCE RAIN AND OVERDID IT?" She asked, pointing to it.

Reggie nodded. "GOT IT! LET'S DO THIS!" He said, flapping and flapping, rising and rising. The wind buffeted him, Claire drawing blood in her efforts to just cling onto him through the winds.

"WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" She sobbed out, staring at the storm they were- That they were just DIVING INTO.

But Reggie just screamed and flew... Into it. And for a few seconds, terrifying, terrifying seconds, Claire had to claw at him to keep ahold.

And then Reggie changed. She didn't know into what, or how, her eyes just caught the flash of amber through her eyelids. But there was a loud crunch, and then another change, and they were diving.

And the sounds of the storm slowly quieted and quieted... More and more. Reggie silently glided them down, to the ground, until he just... Faceplanted. He turned his head to the side so he could breathe and then just... Stayed there. Claire needed that support and he was too tired to do anything.

But the storm was getting quieter, less stormlike. He slowly turned to look, and it was clearing. He'd turned to Taotie mid-air and just... Bitten it. Shattered like glass. It tasted sour, cursed sour. He smiled to himself, and closed his eyes.

Gods his everything hurt.