Dragons
The Nine Realms season 2
Uniconned
Edelweiss was asleep in her hammock one night. It had been a day or two since the fight with the Fault Ripper. She'd been working around the clock on her project. It was all she had to do since she crashed her helicopter. She couldn't really go anywhere, and certainly couldn't get down to the dragon world to find a dragon to ride. So she rode on Wu and Wei with Jun whenever the riders went down. But she never rode the dragon alone. She already told Avalon and her friends.
Edelweiss suddenly heard something walking back and forth near her campsite. It sounded big, too big to be human. She woke up and got out of the hammock. She followed the sound and found Thunder pacing back and forth near her campsite, he looked really upset.
"Thunder, what's wrong?" She asked. Thunder paused and looked at her. He looked somewhat relieved.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said. "I just had a bad dream."
"Oh I'm sorry," Edelweiss said. She sat on a rock. Thunder sat on his haunches and hung his head. "You want to talk about it?"
"Tom and I were trapped in the Fault Ripper's talons," Thunder explained. "Tom got us free and we faced the bigger dragon again. He didn't attack, but Tom told be to blast him anyway. I did without question, and the Fault Ripper fell into the fissure."
"Is that what happened when the Fault Ripper grabbed you?" Edelweiss asked.
"Yes ma'am," Thunder said. "That dragon didn't hurt us when we got free, but we hurt him. I really feel bad about blasting him." He took a deep breath. "I really hope he survived."
"So do I," Edelweiss said.
"Maybe he could have been the dragon for you," Thunder said.
"You don't need to worry about me," Edelweiss said. "There's plenty of dragons out there."
"I've had this nightmare for the past two days," Thunder said. Edelweiss got off her rock.
"Everyone does things they regret," she said. "I'll bet you Tom has regrets too." She stroked his neck.
"You think the Great Alpha did things he regretted?" Thunder asked.
"I know he did," Edelweiss said. "But he didn't let that stop him from doing what mattered to him." Thunder smiled at her. Then he yawned. "You think you'll be okay now?"
"I think so," Thunder said. He gave Edelweiss a friendly nudge, then headed back to the sleep cave. Edelweiss went back to bed as well.
The next day the riders went down to the dragon world. They wanted to put motion sensors around the entrance. Edelweiss rode down on Wu and Wei, then helped set up the sensors on foot. Once she was done, she sat on a large crystal to watch. She noticed the troubled look on Tom's face, and guessed that she'd been right about also feeling guilty about the Fault Ripper. The other riders were in good mood. Alex was also sitting a large crystal with Feathers, with her laptop. Edelweiss wished she had a dragon to ride, but she was wiling to be patient. Tom put down the last sensor. Alex linked them to her laptop and all the sensors flashed from red to green.
"There," she said. "With these sensors in place we'll get a heads up when any dragon comes into the fissure, and we won't get taken my surprise like with the Fault Ripper." Tom looked guilty again. Just then they heard a commotion from a pile of crystals. The riders and their dragons headed over to see three Gembreakers cornering something.
"What are those guys up to now?" D'Angelo asked. The Gembreakers gave up and flew away, sounding frustrated. When they were gone the riders landed near the crystals, which formed a small cave. The riders looked inside, and out came a unicorn-like dragon, the size of a puppy. The dragons growled a warning.
"Oh, it's a baby unicorn," Jun cried. She ran up to him and it jumped into her arms squealing with excitement.
"It's unicorn adjacent," Tom clarified. "But I think it's a dragon."
"Oh, I call dragon dibs," Jun said, cradling the little dragon like a baby.
"Dragon dibs? Is that a thing?" D'Angelo asked. Wu and Wei looked downhearted. Edelweiss patted his side.
"Look Jun, I know he's cute," Tom said. "But we don't know this dragon."
"I know he's adorable," said Jun. She lifted the little dragon over her head, beaming at him. He suddenly shot two purple bubbles out of the horn on his forehead. "Oh, he has a bubble horn." Jun was beside herself with glee. But the two bubbles drifted towards Alex and D'Angelo. D'Angelo touched one and it exploded.
"Oh no, these bubbles are weaponized!" He exclaimed. "Watch your brows." Alex ran from the second bubble and hid behind Feathers before it exploded.
"What'd you expect?" Jun said. "He's so tiny, naturally he developed a way to defend himself." She cradled the little dragon again. Wu and Wei exchanged a glance.
"Are we about to get replaced?" Wu asked.
"I don't think so," Edelweiss said. Jun was still cuddling the little dragon, and it began to suck on her finger.
"Oh Nibbles is hungry," Jun cooed.
"Nibbles!?" Tom and D'Angelo both exclaimed.
"Does anyone have a snack?" Jun asked. Alex reached into her bag and pulled out a back of cheese snacks. The little dragon squealed in delight. Alex tossed the cheese snacks to Jun, but Nibbles caught it and ripped it open. Cheese loops scattered all over the ground. Jun picked him up again, and fed him the cheese loops.
"I'm going to take him home and feed him some real food," Jun said.
"What!?" Tom said, horrified.
"Rule number three," D'Angelo said. "What happens in the dragon world, stays in the dragon world."
"But he's so small," Jun argued. "No one will ever notice. Plus I have to protect him from the Gembreakers."
"I think he'll be fine," Alex said.
"He's small enough to fit into places the bigger dragons can't get to," Edelweiss said. Jun looked down at the little dragon. D'Angelo looked at his watch.
"It's getting late," he said. "We should head back."
"We'll come check on him first thing tomorrow," Tom said to Jun. The other riders mounted their dragons. Wei lowered his head to Edelweiss, who got on after another grateful pat on the neck. Jun put the Bubblehorn back into his little hole.
"You guys go a head," she said to her friends. "I'm going to tell him good night." Tom gave her a hard look. "Just good night." Jun assured him. Tom shrugged then steered Thunder towards the exit. Wu, Wei, and Edelweiss waited for Jun. She was in the small cave for a few minuets.
"Come on Jun," Edelweiss called. "I need to get to work on my project." Jun came running out, and got on Wu.
"Sorry," she said. "Got carried away."
"It's fine," Edelweiss said.
"When do we get to see this project?" Jun asked her as they followed the others.
"Soon," Edelweiss said. "It's just about done. I just need to test it out, make sure it's perfect."
They all soon landed in the sleep cave. Edelweiss patted Wei's neck again.
"I'm really grateful to you guys," she said. "For flying me back and forth." Wei nudged her.
"I hope we get to see you ride your own dragon soon," said Jun. "You must be really good."
"I guess," Edelweiss said. "Riding for me is as normal as driving a car is for your parents." D'Angelo looked at his watch again.
"Speaking of which, we should get home," he said. "Before they come looking for us." The riders bid their dragons good night, and headed out. When they were out of earshot, Edelweiss turned to the dragons.
"Can I borrow you guys for a bit?" She asked. "To test out my project."
"Sure," said Plowhorn.
"I'll run get it," Edelweiss said. "You guys wait here." She ran up and out of the hole.
She headed for her campsite. The sun had set already but the stars weren't quite out yet. When Edelweiss arrived at her campsite, her beloved dragon was there waiting for her. Edelweiss was speechless.
"Black Widow, you're here!" She cried when she found her voice.
"Yes," Black Widow said, getting to her feet. "I was starting to miss flying with you too."
"What about Apollo, and Eclipse?" Edelweiss asked.
"Apollo's staying to help his sister," said Black Widow. "And Eclipse dreamvisited me and said she wasn't planning on coming back anytime soon. She convinced me to come out here after she heard what happened with your chopper. She said I should wait for her here, and will dreamvisit me again when she wants to meet up. So I'm here for as long as you want me." Edelweiss felt tears in her eyes. She then threw her arms around her dragon's neck.
"Thank you," she said. "I've missed you so much."
"It's been too long since we went on dragon and rider adventures hasn't it?" Black Widow said. Then Edelweiss remembered why she came out here.
"I've been making something for those dragons in the cave below," she said. "And they're waiting for me to come test it out."
"Sure, I need to hunt anyway," Black Widow said. "I haven't hunted in a while. I'll meet up with you guys later. I'm still curious about this Night Light." Edelweiss hugged her again. Then she went to get her project.
Later after the project had been tested, and Edelweiss was satisfied with it, she turned in for the night. Black Widow was still out on her night hunt. A few hours later Edelweiss heard heavy footsteps near her campsite again. She got up and went to investigate. It was Thunder again, still looking upset.
"More bad dreams?" She asked him. Thunder paused and looked at her.
"Yeah," Thunder said. "The guilt's still eating at me." Edelweiss stroked his neck. He lowered his head humbly.
"I'm sorry you feel bad," she said soothingly. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Thunder purred at her touch.
"I don't know," he said. "I just hope this passes." He smiled at Edelweiss. "I like the gifts you made us. It's very generous of you."
"You're welcome," Edelweiss said. Just then their came a loud wailing sound, that came from Rekketown. Both Edelweiss and Thunder sat up in alert.
"Was that what I think it was?" Thunder asked.
"Did Jun bring back that Bubblehorn?" Edel asked at the same time.
"Tom must need our help," Thunder said anxiously. Then without warning Thunder boosted Edelweiss onto his back and took off before she could protest. The headed for Rekketown.
"Yeah, defiantly related to the Great Alpha," Edelweiss said under her breath. Thunder sped up as they circled over the town. They saw the riders below. Edelweiss jumped down to join them. She hit the ground making the riders jumped, startled.
"Edel, sorry to wake you," said Jun.
"Let me guess you brought back the little Bubblehorn," Edelweiss said.
"Even you and the dragons know I took him?" Jun asked, shocked.
"You don't have a good poker face Jun," said Alex. "Your eye twitches when you're hiding something."
"He was helpless and starving," Jun defended.
"Ugh, why do humans get so delusional?" Edelweiss asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"We have to find him before someone else does," said Tom. "Let's split up."
"Thunder and I will look from above," Edelweiss said. She scurried up the side of a nearby dome to the roof. The riders split up and looked all over the grounds. Edelweiss jumped from roof to roof, looking for the little dragon. She also kept an eye out for security guards. Thunder watched from above as well. Alex soon spotted an empty bag of cheese loops. She picked it up and smacked it between her hands sending a could of cheese dust into the air. The Bubblehorn emerged from the top of a bush.
"Guys, got him!" Alex called. She grabbed the little dragon as the others joined her. The Bubblehorn struggled and soon broke out of Alex's hands. D'Angelo managed to grab it, and the dragon bit him before taking off again. Tom saw him heading for the big dome. He led the others after him.
"Looks like he went into the big dome," Tom said.
"But how'd he get in?" D'Angelo asked.
"I think I know," said Jun. She went to the door of the convenient store where a hole was burned into it. "I think he burned his way in." Edelweiss jumped across to the roof of the big dome.
"How do we get in?" D'Angelo asked.
"Leave that to me," said Alex. She pulled out her laptop and unlocked the door. They went inside. The store was dark except the lights coming from the fridges. Edelweiss jumped inside from the skylight, and landed on top of the shelves.
"We should split into pairs," said D'Angelo. Jun spotted the disappointed look on Tom's face.
"You're mad aren't you?" She asked him.
"Why'd you do it Jun?" Tom asked firmly. "You know it's against Dragon Club rules."
"And you know I've believed in unicorns my whole life," Jun argued.
"He's not a unicorn," Tom said, frustrated.
"No, but it's close enough," Jun said. "I just wanted to spend some time with him, get to know him." Tom said nothing. "Do I regret it now? Yes. But haven't you done something you regret?" Tom still said nothing, but his face lightened slightly. The memory of the Fault Ripper flashed in his mind again.
"Yeah," he said. At that moment Edelweiss jumped down from her perch on the shelves and landed next to him.
"I hope you're not arguing," she whispered. Tom was about to answer.
"Who's arguing about what?" Came a strong voice from behind Edel. Quick as a snake she spun round and punched the person right in the face, they swayed and fell to the ground knocked out. They turned to see a teenage boy, older than the riders, in black jacket and jeans.
"Eugene!" Jun exclaimed. "He must have followed me over here."
"Who?" Edelweiss asked.
"My older brother," said Jun. Tom looked horrified.
"Oh whoops," Edelweiss said, guiltily. "Sorry about that. He startled me, and I reflexed."
"It's fine," said Jun.
"Did you know he was here?" Tom asked.
"I found out today," Jun grumbled.
"Is there anything else you're hiding today?" Tom hissed. Jun scowled at him.
"Let's focus on finding that Bubblehorn," Edelweiss said. She jumped back onto the shelves. Tom and Jun rejoined the other two, and they looked around for the Bubblehorn. Edelweiss spotted him among a shelf of more cheese loops. She silently waved at the other riders and pointed to a small trash can with a lid. They nodded in understanding and Tom grabbed it. Edelweiss prowled closer to the Bubblehorn, not making a singe sound. The dragon was too distracted by the food, and then he spotted the riders coming towards him. He growled and flared his tiny wings. Then he let out a loud screech that seem to carry for miles. When he wasn't looking, Edelweiss pounced on him pinning his wings with one hand and holding his mouth shut with the other. She leaped down from the shelf and over to the riders. The dragon struggled violently, but Edelweiss's grip was very strong.
"Sorry little one," she whispered to him. "But you don't belong up here. It's too dangerous for you." She put the dragon into the trash bin and Tom put the lid on it. Jun looked in at the little dragon.
"Oh, I hope he's okay in there," she said.
"He's fine Jun," Edelweiss said. "I barely scratched him."
"Let's get him out of here," D'Angelo said.
"What about Eugene?" Tom asked.
"We'll worry about him after we deal with Nibbles," said Jun. They all walked out of the store.
They left town and headed into the woods. Thunder soared overhead.
"I'll get him home on Thunder," Tom said. He waved at his dragon to get his attention. Jun hefted the trash bin in her arms to look at the Bubblehorn.
"Okay, I'll come see you tomorrow," she said. The Bubblehorn just glared at her. Suddenly Alex's tablet started beeping. She looked at it.
"The early warning sensors are going crazy," she informed the others. "Something's coming up from the fissure." They all ran to the edge and looked into the fissure. At that moment more Bubblehorns rose up out of the smoke. Nibbles squeaked at them, and they answered.
"Oh no, he called in the cavalry," said D'Angelo.
"I knew something that cute had to be evil," said Alex, glaring at Nibbles. Edelweiss reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a silver dog whistle carved in the shape of a dragon's head. She blew it but it made very sound.
"What's that?" Jun asked.
"In the heat of all this activity I forgot to tell you guys that my dragon Black Widow arrived earlier today," Edelweiss explained. "She's out hunting at the moment, but with this dragon whistle I can call her over here." Just then the Bubblehorns charged at them, shooting exploding bubbles from their horns. When they got closer to the riders, more spines emerged all over their bodies.
"Okay, so it's not as harmless as I thought," Jun said, clutching the trash bin to her chest. Thunder watched as the Bubblehorns advanced on the riders. He knew he couldn't tackle all the little dragon himself, so he went to the sleep cave to get his friends. The Bubblehorns got closer, blasting fire from their horns. Edelweiss jumped up into the trees, and blew her dragon whistle again. At that moment the riders' dragons came to their aid, Thunder in the lead.
"Thunder got us air support," said Tom, relieved. Encouraged buy this, the riders took off running. The Bubblehorns chased them. Jun clutched the trash bin, but then Tom ran alongside her waving his arms. Jun tossed him the trash bin, and he caught it before the Bubblehorns did. They chased Tom, but Thunder blasted them away. Tom spotted Alex ahead of him.
"Alex, go deep!" He called to her. He then tossed her the trash bin. Alex ran and held her arms out. She closed her eyes, hoping she wouldn't miss. But she caught it. She stopped at sighed with relief. The Bubblehorns came after her, and she took off running. Feathers blocked any advance the Bubblehorns made. Just when Alex was starting to tire from running, she spotted D'Angelo running ahead of her, waving. She threw it to him, and he caught it. He started running, the fissure was right ahead of him. Plowhorn blasted any Bubblehorn that got too close. But then D'Angelo tripped on a rock and dropped the trash bin. It rolled towards the edge of the fissure. It was then picked up by another dragon, that was almost as big as the Fault Ripper. The dragon was so black it was almost invisible in the dark except for its glowing red eyes, and the red hourglass shape on its forehead. It clutched the trash bin in its talons. The Bubblehorns swarmed it. The black dragon roared and blasted them with red plasma blasts. However they managed to free Nibbles. He flew out and joined his fellows. The bigger dragon growled and on a high tree branch. The riders looked over the edge and saw Nibbles reunite with his fellows.
"He's okay," Alex said.
"Crisis averted," said Tom.
"Now lets get our dragons back to the lair and get home before my dad busts us," said D'Angelo. He, Alex, and Tom turned away from the fissure. Edelweiss jumped down from her tree. Suddenly a giant bubble bomb rose up out of the fissure.
"What is that?" Alex asked anxiously.
"They've combined their powers into one giant bubble bomb," said D'Angelo.
"If that one pops, it'll blow up the whole town," said Tom. "We got to stop it." He and the others got on their dragons. They flew up to the bubble. It was drifting over ICARIS.
"We've got to get out of town without popping it," Tom said. "Thunder, lights out." Thunder sent out a power surge, and blacked out the lights.
"I have an idea," said Jun. "The rest of you get under it and get ready to catch."
"Again?" Alex complained. But nonetheless she and the others positioned their dragons around the bubble.
"Wu, freeze it up," Jun ordered. Wu shot his ice breath at the bubble, creating a layer of ice around the bubble's surface. It was now too heavy to float and fell right into the riders' hands. They awkwardly flew it away from the town, then heaved it into the fissure below. It fell and vanished into the smoke. Thunder then fired a lightening blast at it, making it blow up and vanished completely. The dragons hovered there to catch their breath. Then they landed where Edelweiss was waiting with the large black, red-eyed dragon.
"That dragon's yours?" Jun asked.
"Yes, this is Black Widow," said Edelweiss, stroking the dragon's black neck. "She's not always as scary as she looks." Black Widow cooed and flexed her elegant, black wings. Edelweiss got on her back, and followed them back to the sleep cave.
In the sleep cave the dragons and riders were lounging around. Black Widow looked over at Thunder.
"Nice trick with the lights young one," she said.
"Thank you," said Thunder.
"Edelweiss said you're looking for your family," Black Widow said.
"Yes ma'am," said Thunder. "You haven't seen any dragons like me around here have you?"
"I'm afraid not," said Black Widow. "But I do want to help you find them." Thunder looked bashful.
"Wow, you and your rider barely know me," Thunder said. "Yet you're willing to help me so quickly."
"Your ancestor, the Great Alpha, he and my parents fought a few battles alongside each other," Black Widow explained. Thunder stared at her.
"You knew the Great Alpha?" He asked.
"Toothless?" Black Widow said. "We did. He stuck his neck out for us so many times when we were younger. We owe him a lot."
"Wow, I dream of being like him someday," Thunder said.
"Looks to me like you've got a great start," said Black Widow. "You've already inherited his bravery and his charm." Thunder smiled appreciatively at her, which she returned. They looked towards the others.
"Okay, I'm adding a new rule," said D'Angelo. "No bringing cute, unicorn dragons back."
"We'll call it the Jun Rule," said Alex, sneering.
"Okay, I'm sorry," said Jun. "But what did you expect me to do? I couldn't just leave him down there to starve to death." They all rolled their eyes.
"Jun's right," said Tom. They all stared at him. "I mean she shouldn't have brought it home. But our mission is to protect the dragons." He stroked Thunder's snout. "And to never hurt another dragon. That's what it means to be a dragon rider." They all smiled and fist bumped in agreement.
"I'm so glad you said that Tom," Edelweiss said excitedly. "Because I have something for you guys."
"The thing you've been working on?" Jun asked.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "They're back at my campsite." She mounted her dragon bareback. "We'll meet you there." They took off out of the cave.
The riders met up with them again at Edelweiss's campsite. They found a blue tarp covering something in next to the saw horse with her saddle. Edelweiss got back off her dragon, and pulled the tarp off. It revealed five more collapsible saw horses each holding a saddle for each dragon(two for Wu and Wei).
"I've already tested them," Edelweiss explained. "So they work."
"Wow, where'd you get the materials?" Tom wanted to know. Edelweiss hunched her shoulders.
"I might have swiped them from ICARIS," she said. "I doubt they'll miss 'em." The riders examined their new saddles. Their names and their dragons' names were engraved in the back of each saddle.
"Thanks," said D'Angelo. Then he yawned. "We can try them out tomorrow, we should get to bed." They all agreed, and thanked Edelweiss as they headed out of her campsite and back to their respective domes.