It was another sunny day in the kingdom of Avalor.
Littlefoot was at the moment, walking among the halls of the palace, gazing in wonder at the architecture of the palace. Even though he had only been there a short time, he still marveled at what humans could do. He even wondered what kind of buildings dinosaurs would make if they wanted to.
It was then that he saw something that caught his attention. In the middle of the hallway, hanging on the wall, was a portrait in which Littlefoot could see Elena and Isabel, but there were also two people with them. He didn't know who they were, but he could see the resemblance between them and the two sisters, so surely they must be relatives.
Suddenly, he began to hear a voice in the distance, a familiar voice. Moving closer to the window, Littlefoot turned his gaze to the place where the voice came from and what he saw was Elena casting spells with her magic scepter. Filled with curiosity, he decided to head that way.
"Blaze!" shouted Elena shooting a blast of bright light from her scepter at a target that was destroyed on impact.
The crown princess was relieved to be able to use that spell much better thanks to the help of the sunbirds, but she also felt that that wasn't going to be enough to defeat Shuriki who was surely getting stronger with her scepter of night.
"Elena?" the crown princess startled at the call of her name as she quickly turned around to see her longneck friend.
"Oh, it's you, Littlefoot." said Elena.
"What are you doing?" asked Littlefoot curiously.
"I'm just practicing with the scepter. I need to be ready for when she shows up." said Elena.
"Show up who?" asked Littlefoot with more curiosity.
Elena let out a slight sigh. She wanted to keep him or any of the gang out of that serious threat to the kingdom, but no one knew when Shuriki and her kind would attack and she doesn't want any of her new friends to be in danger. So there was no choice but to tell.
"You see. The kingdom may seem peaceful, but it wasn't always so." Elena began drawing the longneck's attention. "Years ago, an evil witch named Shuriki took over the kingdom and ruled it with tyranny." continued Elena, not wanting to tell her friend about her terrible loss or the fact that she was locked in a magical talisman for 40 years. "Fortunately, my friends and I managed to defeat her and bring peace to the kingdom again, but recently, we discovered that Shuriki had returned with allies. And not only that, but she also has on her hands the scepter of night now."
"The scepter of night?" asked Littlefoot.
"It's like my scepter, but it's the complete opposite. While mine uses the power of light, the scepter of night uses the power of darkness. That's why I'm training, I need to be strong enough to face her and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else." said Elena with determination.
Littlefoot was a little surprised to learn that there is a witch with a scepter just like Elena's who took over the kingdom long ago and now wants it back. He could also see that Elena wasn't only determined to finish her off, but also worried. He had to do to try to cheer her up.
"Listen Elena." said Littlefoot drawing the attention of the crown princess. "I may not know anything about that witch or her scepter, but I want you to know that you are much stronger than you think. Although, if you need help, you can count on me." said Littlefoot with a smile.
Elena smiled back, impressed at what a good friend the longneck was. She bent down to be at his height and stroked his head.
"Thank you." said Elena before getting up. "You know? I could use a training partner, are you up for it?"
"I'd love to." said Littlefoot.
For a good while, Elena continued to train with the scepter of light while being watched by the longneck and occasionally helping her set up training gear or as much as possible. Regardless, it was fun for both of them.
In another part of the palace, Gabriel was walking around the palace grounds keeping watch in case of an unexpected attack by Shuriki. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard a strange sound, so he went to investigate and when he arrived at the place of origin, he not only discovered that it was coming from the training area, but that the cause was Cera.
Cera was standing half a distance away from a test dummy, she shuffled her foot and then started charging towards the dummy, when she was almost close, she jumped up and hit the dummy with her head, knocking it down in the process.
"Wow. That was a nice hit." said Gabriel approaching Cera who turned her head towards him as soon as she heard his voice.
"Ha. Thanks. I tend to practice sometimes." said Cera.
"No doubt you have a very hard head." said Gabriel.
"Well of course, threehorns are hardheaded. In fact, my dad is capable of smashing rocks with his head." said Cera.
"Uh. Gives a bit of a headache just thinking about it." said Gabriel.
"Yeah, a little, but you get used to it eventually." said Cera.
Gabriel put his hand on his chin, pondering something.
"Wait a minute." said Gabriel leaving the scene, confusing the threehorn in the process. A short time later, he returned with a dummy covered in armor.
"What's that for?" asked Cera.
"It's a test dummy we use with the more advanced members. Taking on a wooden one is simple, but one wearing hard armor is much less so. Do you think you can handle it?" asked Gabriel.
"Ha. Of course I can." said Cera with a cocky grin.
Cera took a couple of steps away and then, started running with all her might. When she was halfway there, she jumped with all her might and slammed her head into the dummy's armor, managing to knock it down in the process and impressing the member of the Royal Guard.
"Impressive. You knocked it down." said Gabriel.
"I told you I could." said Cera.
"You know? There's a couple more like that in storage. Can you handle them all?" asked Gabriel.
"Bring them here and I'll show you." said Cera.
Soon after, the area was filled with test dummies, some of them in armor. Cera spent the time knocking them all down. At one point, she even took down two at the same time, even knocking down several in rapid fashion.
Needless to say, Gabriel was impressed by the threehorn's skill. No doubt, if she were human, she would be one of the strongest members of the Royal Guard.
Naomi was at that moment strolling through the halls with Ducky over her shoulder.
"Did you really help him get back to his home in the ocean?" asked Naomi, as the swimmer was telling her about one of her adventures she had with her friends.
"Yep, yep, yep. We followed the current of the river until we got to the Big Water where he lived." said Ducky.
"I'm surprised you lived through all that. I'm a little envious." said Naomi.
"Why? Don't you and your friends live adventures?" asked Ducky curiously.
"We do. It's just that, ever since I was little, I've dreamed of traveling on a boat on all the seas and oceans of the world." said Naomi.
"Oh, that's a big dream. Yep, yep, yep." said Ducky.
"I know, but at the moment, with the Shuriki thing and my committee duties, I don't have much time." said Naomi.
"I'm sure you'll get to fulfill your dream." said Ducky.
"Thank you, friend. Although, if I'm honest, I'm glad there are no sea creatures like the one you faced that time." said Naomi.
"Hihi. Same here. I'd hate to run into that swimming sharptooth again while swimming. No, no, no." said Ducky.
"I guess we're both water fanatics, right?" asked Naomi.
"No doubt about it." said Ducky as she and the human clapped palms, but due to Naomi's strength, Ducky fell off her shoulder, though the human was able to catch her in time with her hands.
"Heh. I'm sorry. I overdid my strength." said Naomi.
"It's okay. No one was hurt. No, no, no." said Ducky.
"Still, I'll be more careful next time." commented Naomi.
After that moment, Naomi put the swimmer back on her shoulder and they continued their little walk around the palace.
Skylar, Luna and Migs were flying over the palace, doing some aerial surveillance. Although, in the middle of their patrol, Skylar performed a somersault.
"Skylar, take it seriously." said Migs very seriously.
"I am. All I'm doing is lowering the seriousness level a bit." said Skylar.
"Well bring it down by the time we've finished our patrol. I remind you that Cruz and Vesta are on Shuriki's side." said Migs.
"Oh, come on. We've already faced them and they're not half as good as us." said Skylar with small arrogance.
"Guys. Sorry to interrupt your friendly chatter, but we have an audience." said Luna pointing down.
The other two jaquins turned their gaze down to see Petrie on the roof staring up at them. Confused and curious, the three jaquins climbed down and landed next to him.
"Can we help you with anything?" asked Migs.
"Oh, me not wanna interrupt you. Me impressed how you fly." said Petrie.
"Don't be so modest. I'm sure you have your flying tricks too." said Skylar.
"Heh. It true. Me know several tricks that used on Day of the Flyers." said Petrie.
"Day of the Flyers?" asked Luna.
"It when little flyers fly together in formation so as show they learned to fly as grown-ups." said Petrie.
"Looks like dinosaurs have their habits too." commented Migs.
"That right. At first, me had trouble flying in formation with brothers and sisters, but my friends taught me that me don't need to be like others. Me Petrie and fly my way." said Petrie.
"You said it yourself, kiddo. It's okay to keep up with everyone else, but everyone has their own style of doing things." said Skylar.
"Hey, why don't you join us and show us those tricks you did that time?" asked Luna.
"Really? That wouldn't be problem?" asked Petrie.
"Of course not, right, Migs?" asked Skylar turning to the group leader.
The older jaquin stared at the three for a few seconds until he let out a sigh of defeat.
"I guess that won't be a problem, but we'll still continue our patrol." said Migs.
"That's good enough for me." said Skylar.
"Do you think you'll be able to keep up with us?" asked Luna.
"Me not know, but me try." said Petrie.
And so the four of them took flight, although Petrie had to try a little harder to keep up with the jaquins. At times, Petrie would show them some of the acrobatics he performed during the Day of the Flyers, which Skylar and Luna didn't hesitate to mimic. The two jaquins even showed the flyer some of their own tricks which Petrie tried to imitate.
That made Migs roll his eyes.
Isabel was in her room, working on one of her inventions, although now she was only looking at it with her arms crossed, thinking about something.
Suddenly, her train of thought stopped when she noticed someone touching her from behind, causing her to startle and turn around quickly, only to discover that the cause was Spike.
"Spike. Don't give me those scares. Next time, let me know you're coming." said Isabel.
Spike let out a groan in reply.
"Oh, right. I forgot you don't talk, but can't you talk or don't you want to?" asked Isabel.
Spike answered her with a shrug.
"The latter, then." said Isabel.
Spike walked over to the table and leaned on it with his front paws to see what the princess was doing.
"Do you want to know what I'm doing?" asked Isabel receiving a nod from the spiketail. "Well, I'm making something up to show in class, but I still need to make some adjustments."
Spike let out a groan, as if he was trying to say something.
"Mmm? What are you trying to tell me?" asked Isabel curiously.
Spike answered that by pointing to Isabel and the invention with his head.
"Do you want to help me?" asked Isabel, receiving a nod from the spiketail. The princess couldn't help but smile at his offer. "Well, okay. I could use a little help."
For quite a while, Isabel was working on her invention with the help of the spiketail. Even though he didn't speak, the princess could almost understand what he was saying, especially when he had his doubts about what she needed or what for.
In the end, working together, they managed to finish the job.
"There. Finished." said Isabel before bending down to stroke the spiketail's head. "You've certainly been a big help."
Spike responded to that with a lick on her face, something that made the princess laugh a little.
In the palace's magic study, Mateo was there looking through a book on magical objects, searching for the totem that brought the gang to his world. It was the least he could do, since they saved Elena.
"Hello." said a voice startling the royal wizard a little, who turned around to see Chomper and Ruby in the room.
"Oh, hey, kids, what are you doing here?" asked Mateo.
"We were just exploring the palace and ended up here." said Chomper.
"By the way, where is here that is where we are that is here?" asked Ruby.
"You're in my workshop, this is where I keep all the information about magic, as well as ingredients for magic potions." said Mateo.
"Wow. That's awesome, and all of this is yours?" asked Chomper.
"Well, it was my grandfather's, but now that I'm the royal wizard, yes, it's mine." said Mateo.
"What's that over there?" asked Ruby pointing to the royal wizard's tamborita.
"It's my tamborita, every wizard's weapon." began Mateo before picking up the tamborita to show it to the two dinosaurs. "We use it to channel our magic and expel it in various spells."
"Really? Could you teach us some?" asked Chomper.
"I don't see the problem." said Mateo before pointing his tamborita at a cube that was in the room. "Levalu!" shouted Mateo as he hit the tamborita, thus launching a magical sphere that upon impacting against the cube, caused it to rise before dropping it after a few seconds.
"Awesome! You're quite an expert at the magic you're an expert at!" said Ruby.
"Technically I'm still not quite an expert like my grandfather was, but I'm trying really hard to catch up." said Mateo.
"That's good. I'm sure you'll get there." said Chomper.
"Thank you." said Mateo.
"What were you doing before we came along and interrupted what you were doing?" asked Ruby.
"I was looking for information about the totem that brought you to this world." explained Mateo.
"And did you find anything?" asked Ruby.
"Not yet, but I won't rest until I do." said Mateo.
"You don't need to try so hard. Just because you're helping us is enough." said Chomper.
"I know, but I feel like I have to." said Mateo.
"Hey, can we stay here for a while? Just to observe what's here while we're here." said Ruby.
"No problem." said Mateo before turning away to continue the investigation, leaving the two dinosaurs to explore the room. "Oh, by the way, whatever happens, don't..." began Mateo before the sound of glass shattering rang out, causing him to quickly turn to the side to see that Chomper had accidentally knocked over an empty jar. "Touch anything dangerous." Mateo commented.
Meanwhile, in the cave of Shuriki and company, the witch was pacing back and forth waiting for her informants. Most of her mind hoped that that storm had been strong enough to take her down for good, but the rest of her mind, which she ignored, told her that Elena was tougher than she looked.
Fiero was lying on her side, as he still hadn't fully recovered after casting that storm spell.
Just then, Victor and Carla arrived on the backs of Cruz and Vesta.
"Any news?" asked Shuriki.
"I'm afraid they are bad. We have visualized princess Elena on the palace grounds." said Victor.
"Are you sure?" asked Shuriki holding back her anger.
"We have seen her with our own eyes. Unless she had a twin sister we've never heard of, she's alive and kicking." said Carla.
"Yikes. I don't know how she got out of that storm, but it just goes to show she's tougher than a rock." said Shuriki accepting that part of the mind she ignored.
"So what do we do now?" asked Cruz.
"Will you keep training until you master that scepter?" asked Vesta.
"No. I'm tired of waiting. I'm going to get this over with." said Shuriki.
"Wait, Shuriki, don't be hasty." said Fiero struggling to get up. "You're not ready yet. If you're going to fight her, you might lose."
"Exactly. I might, but I won't. I'm going to go to Avalor and wipe out Elena and her family and you won't be able to stop me." said Shuriki much to the malvago's frustration. "Will you go with me?" asked Shuriki to her other allies.
"You have turned us into malvagos. We'll go where you tell us to go." said Victor bowing, as did his daughter, in respect.
"Well, that would be better than being in a cave waiting for something to happen. So we're in." said Cruz referring to him and his sister.
"Good. Then, let's leave for Avalor." said Shuriki advancing towards the exit of the cave with the others following her and leaving the weakened malvago behind.