Nathan Charles and Luna Fang: Into the Dragon Realms
By Mutitoon90
Chapter Eight
Once the directed laughter subsided from the group, the group exited from the wrecked laboratory and was greeted by Blink, who had arrived a few seconds after the group left the laboratory.
"Hi, guys." The young mole greeted the leaving group, but then he saw his uncle's laboratory and shouted out in shock, "What happened here?!"
"Ripto kidnapped the Professor!" Agent Nine was quick to answer the question, "But don't worry; I plan on paying the squrit back with bullets, know what I mean?"
"As soon as we rescue the Professor." Nathan voiced in the more urgent part of the plan, which the others nodded in agreement with the human male, and this caused Agent Nine to be confused for a moment.
"Just a question," Crash inched over to Blink, "but is Agent Nine a little..."
"Screwed up?" Blink finished the statement for the Bandicoot, "Yes, and he's been like that for a while now, however, he's calmed down a lot since he was freed by Spyro."
"Calmed down!" Crash was in disbeilf upon hearing Blink's response, "If that's calmed down, then I don't want to know what he was like when he's hyper!"
"Same here." The mole nodded in agreement with the Bandicoot, "Besides, the info I'm giving to ya's stuff I've heard from my uncle."
"Oh, boy..." Nathan huffed out as he heard the information from Blink.
"You're lucky!" Spyro chimed into the conversation, "You didn't have to see him when he was more hyper!" Then, the purple dragon took a moment to think a little and recalled something else, saying, "Well, he did shoot at Moneybags for keeping him locked up until I paid him his asking price."
"Oh!" Laughed the she-rabbit, "I've completely forgotten about that, Spyro."
"Me too!" Hunter joined Bianca in the laughter, "I only wish that I had seen it for myself!"
"So," Luna turned her head towards the laughing duo, "scaring him's not a bad thing at all. Actually, it's more of a service than anything else."
"You can honestly say that," Elora spoke up, "as long as he doesn't get hurt... too much."
"Right!" Agent Nine laughed in a manic manner, "He'll get it too, if he tries to make us pay to reach Ripto."
"That depends on the asking price." Nathan stated, hoping to defuse the situation.
"You can't count on that!" Spyro sharply stated in response, "Moneybags rarely lowers his prices for anything or anyone."
"Expect if he's threaten by someone or something." Hunter chuckled a little as he spoke about the greedy bear.
"Right." Elora could hardly stop herself from laughing about the bear with a love for gems.
"Hey!" Blink shouted out, "What about my uncle?"
"Oops!" Hunter blushed a little, "Sorry about that, Blink."
Then, Luna spoke again; this time, the werewolf's attention was on the young mole.
"Blink, do you know which castle Ripto's hiding out in?"
"Yeah!" Blink answered boldly, "Just follow me!"
Then, the mole ran and hopped into the hole, and the others followed. However, the group halted upon reaching the hole in the hole.
Popping his head from the hole, Blink asked, "What the hold-up? We've gotta get goin'!"
"Down the hole?" Crash asked the young mole as he recalled the last time when he had entered a hole into the ground, and that was when Crash had to do battle with Koala Kong, when the rock-throwing marsupial was under the influence of Neo Cortex. The Bandicoot felt like he should ask Blink, and he did, "Are you sure about going down the hole?"
"It's the only way!" Blink replied, sounding eager to venture to Ripto's hideout and annoyed at the same time at the Bandicoot's inquiries.
"What's wrong?" Luna asked Nathan, since the human male had known the Bandicoot longer than she had.
Nathan sighed out, and he answered the werewolf's inquiry about the Bandicoot.
"It's a long story, but in short, Crash had fought Koala Kong in an underground cavern back when Neo Cortex ruled the Wumpa Islands."
"Gotcha." Luna laughed a little as she was lowered to the ground, causing her to be a little confused about the ex-Cortex's actions.
"Don't worry, Luna," Nathan stated he placed the semi-transformed werewolf to the ground, "I'll be back for you a little later."
"What?!" Crash exclaimed in shock of the human's words, "We're actually going down there!?"
"Yes!" Nathan announced as he passed the Bandicoot to Blink's hole. Once he was face-to-face with Blink, he asked politely, "Can you make the hole a little more bigger for us?"
"Easier done than said!" Blink announced to the dark-haired male before he started with his task, which was Nathan's request as well.
As Blink dug in the hole, Nathan looked at Crash and spoke to the orange-red marsupial in a stern tone of voice.
"Crash, I know you're not a big fan of going underground, espeically after the incident with Koala Kong, but we need to get to that castle and stop whatever plan that Ripto has conjured up in his warpped mind."
"Nathan," Crash gave his response to the human's words, "I know what we have to do; I'm not saying that I won't do it, but I'm saying that I just don't wanna do it."
"Don't blame ya!" Nathan nodded his head to the Bandicoot, "However, we've gotta do it for the sake of Luna and for our home islands."
"Right!" Crash nodded back at his friend with a smile on his face.
"The hole's ready!" Blink shouted to the group, teIling all that the hole was bigger than it was before the request.
"Good!" Luna spoke out, grabbing the attentions of Nathan and Crash, "Now, you two can kick Ripto's tailless behind."
"That is," Spyro announced to the werewolf, "if I don't torch him first."
"Don't worry about us." Elora spoke out to the males, "Bianca and I will make sure that Luna is safe from any threat."
"Right!" The rabbit nodded in agreement with the fawn, "Luna's in good hands."
"Thank you," the human smiled gratefully at the female natives, "both of you."
"Not a problem." Bianca responded to Nathan's words.
"Let's get going!" Blink shouted to the others.
"We're coming!" Hunter announced as he ran to the hole and hopped into it, but not before Blink ducked into the tunnel to avoid being landed on by the cheetah.
Once the cheetah was in the tunnel, the others soon followed; first Sparx, then Spyro, next Crash, who was pushed into the hole by Agent Nine before the monkey hopped in, and finally Nathan. As the human leapt into the dark earth, Nathan heard Luna's voice chase after him.
"Good luck, Nathan! Please, be careful!"
Nathan was moved by Luna's words of reassurance and concern as he fell deeper into the earth, and then he managed to brace himself for the impact when he reached for the bottom of the tunnel.
Then, he felt someone's furry and pawed hand on his wrist. Looking up, Nathan saw it was Crash, who was holding on to his hand tightly and red-faced from the strain of trying to keep Nathan from falling to his death. Luckfully for Crash, Hunter and Blink was quick to the Bandicoot's aid and helped to pull the human up to a cavern's ledge.
"Thanks for the help, guys." Nathan sighed out in relief, knowing that he was not going to die at that moment.
"Not a problem." The mole said before starting off to led the way to the hideout of Ripto.
"Let's go!" Hunter stated as he, Spyro, Agent Nine and Sparx followed the young mole.
Making no attempts to agure with the others, Crash and Nathan got to their feet and followed the males. In the cavern passageway, the duo watched for signs for any possible enemies that could attack the group at any moment.
Much to the group's relief, no enemies attacked the seven males by the time the group reached the location of the castle Ripto had managed to claim to himself and where the Professor was been kept against his will. Blink was the first to make his way upward, digging as he climbed up the tunnel.
Once the hole to the surface was finish, Blink returned to the others, saying, "Okay, guys! The tunnel's ready for you.
"Right!" Hunter said before making himself the first to climb up the hole.
Sparx flew up after Hunter, and the dragonfly was followed by Spyro. Agent Nine was quick to push Crash aside and climb after the purple dragon, and the Bandicoot went after the pushy monkey. Nathan was about to enter the slightly bigger tunnel, when he noticed Blink looking a little sad.
"What's wrong, Blink?"
"Well," the mole answered the human's question, "I'm worried about my uncle, but I'm still feeling scared of not being trapped underground."
"Don't about that, Blink." Nathan spoke in an attempt to comfort and calm the young mole, "It's not a problem; you can stay here and make sure that none of Ripto's goons, if he has any, try to use this tunnel as an escape route."
"Really?" Blink stared in disbelief at Nathan's words.
"Really." The human nodded as he confirmed his own words, "Also, when we escape with your uncle, you can help us get him out of Ripto's grasp."
"Yes, sir!" Blink saluted Nathan as he said, "I'll make sure that no one gets through here before you guys get back!"
"Good!" Nathan smiled at the mole and went off to start his climb, when Blink stopped him for a few moments.
"Thanks for cheering me up!"
"Not a problem." Nathan smiled at the mole before starting his ascention to the surface of the ground, following his friends to fight off Ripto and rescue the Professor.
Once above ground, Nathan rejoined his friend and allies, who have waited for the human to catch up with them.
"It took you long enough." Spyro was quick to complain about the human's slow timing.
"Spyro, back off." Hunter spoke to the dragon, "It's not his fault."
"Of course." The purple dragon rolled his eyes at the cheetah's words and fell silent for the time being.
"Let's go." Nathan rolled his dark eyes in response to the dragon's disapproval.
As the group looked at where they were, the grassy, lush area was wide and open, and the castle was large and beautiful despite its apparent age and the vine that covered it. The marble-hued walls with the purplish accents gave the old castle a sense of a personality all of its own.
"Whoa!" Crash looked at the castle with amazement.
"You sure can say that again, Crash." Nathan voiced out his agreement to the Bandicoot as he reached his oldest friend's side.
"Let's go!" Spyro shouted to the others, mainly at Crash and Nathan, and the whole group could hear the annoyance in the dragon's voice as well as see the fire fuming out of his mouth.
"Back off, Spyro." Sparx flew at the dragon's ear in a buzzing whisper, "They're still helping us!"
"All right..." Growled the purple dragon, still annoyed with the dragonfly's scolding words and with the unintention halts by Crash and Nathan.
"Hunter?" Crash asked the cheetah, who heard the marsupial's question, "What's up with Spyro?"
"I don't know." The large cat shrugged his shoulers as he gave his answer, honestly confused about his friend's attitude as of late.
"We better get going!" Nathan expressed his agreement with the dragon when it came to finding Ripto and stopping him, "Ripto's not going to stand around, waiting for us to attack him."
Then, the human ran off, followed by Spyro, Sparx, Crash and Hunter, and all of them were ready to fight Ripto and whatever the dinosaur wizard can send to them. However, the guys were seen by someone in the castle.
"I'm gonna get you, traitor..." The voice of the figure hissed out in a hush fury before the being vanished into the darkness of the castle.