Chapter 6

The Dracorex arrived at the Island of Crystals late the next day. Edelweiss and the Rescue Riders stood on the ship's bow to watch the island approach. The adults gathered up camping gear, they planned to camp the night on the beach.

"What do you plan to do when you get home?" Layla asked Edelweiss.

"I don't know," Edelweiss answered. "Perhaps learn new skills, explore new places." Then she stretched her arms and back, a dreamy look on her face. "It'll be so nice though; no more wars to fight, no more dragon hunters or pirates to worry about, no more bad dreams. Just us and the dragons." She patted Summer on the head.

"That does sound nice," said Cutter. "I like not having things to worry about."

"You think you'll come back someday?" Winger asked. He glanced over at Eclipse.

"Maybe, probably not for a really long time though," said Edelweiss.

"Guys, we're ready," said Chris. The riders all mounted their dragons, while the riderless dragons were loaded with camping gear. They all took off and headed for the beach.

They all pitched in with setting up camp in the shadow of the big cave. Tenor then noticed Winger perched on large clear crystal, scanning the area.

"What are doing?" Tenor asked.

"I'm scanning the perimeter for boars," Winger explained. "There's a lot of boars on this island, and they're pretty smart."

"Oh, I don't think we need to watch for boars," Tenor said. "We'll hear them coming, they're not exactly quiet and they smell."

"Mmmm, good point," said Winger, jumping back down. They turned back to the rest of the group. Burple was setting up the fire circle.

"We'll need firewood," said Serenity.

"Summer and I will go find some," Layla volunteered, patting Summer's head.

"We'll go with you," said Edelweiss. She mounted Eclipse and they took off.

They flew low over the island, looking for trees. The island seemed to be mostly made of rocks and crystals.

"Your parents are pretty cool," said Layla.

"Thanks, I really love them," said Edelweiss.

"You think they'll have more kids, give you siblings?" Summer asked. Edelweiss exchanged a look with Eclipse.

"I don't think so," Edelweiss said. "I personally wouldn't mind if they did, but I'm going to leave that decision up to them."

"Hey what's that?" Eclipse said suddenly. Everyone stopped and followed her gaze. They saw sunlight bouncing of something bright green on the other side of a small hill. They all went to get a closer look at it, and it turned out to be a clump of green crystals. They seemed to be glowing slightly.

"Wow, I've never seen those crystals before," said Layla.

"I have," said Eclipse. "In the underground realms. I've seen dragons heat them up with their breath and bask in the warmth. They'd be a great substitute for firewood."

"Cool, lets take some back," said Layla. Eclipse powered up a strong plasma blast. She fired it at the crystals, and they shattered. The shockwave from the blast also nocked a large clear crystal loose. The two riders and two dragons were gathering up pieces of the green crystals. Edelweiss suddenly saw the big clear crystal about to fall onto Layla and Summer.

"Guys look out!" Edelweiss shouted. She rushed forward and pushed her friends out of the way, just in time for the crystal to fall on her with a crash. The dust cleared as Layla and the two dragons looked back at Edelweiss. She was pinned from the waist down under the crystal. Layla and the two dragons ran over to her and inspected her. Edelweiss was covered in dust. There was a bloody bump on the side of her head, and her left eye was bruised. But she stirred when Eclipse nudged her.

"Are you okay?" Eclipse asked.

"Mmm, I think so," said Edelweiss. She moved her arms, but couldn't move her legs. She tried, and winced. "I'm stuck though." Eclipse looked at Summer and Layla.

"You guys go get the others, I'll stay here and try to dig her out," she said.

"You sure?" Layla asked. Eclipse nodded.

"We'll be okay," she said. "But hurry." Before they left, Summer splashed water on the dirt near the crystal, making it soft. Then she and Layla took off back towards camp.

While they waited; Eclipse dug around Edelweiss's trapped legs. She was about half way through when she suddenly hear loud snorting, and could smell boars. She glanced around on full alert.

"What's wrong?" Edelweiss asked, her voice was weak with exhaustion.

"Boars," said Eclipse. "Don't worry, they won't get you." She took up a fighting stance, and waited for the boars to show themselves. When they didn't, she went back to digging but kept listening for them. Soon she managed to dig a deep enough hole and pulled Edelweiss out from under the crystal. Edel moaned in pain. Suddenly a huge sounder of boars came out of the bushes, snorting and screeching. Eclipse took up a fighting stance again. They charged and Eclipse blasted them, but she knew she was outnumbered, low on shots, and she was still too young to unlock her titan wing. More boars charges, she knocked them back with her tail, and slashed at them with her talons. But they still kept coming. Suddenly a power blast hit the ground around the boars, and they paused. Eclipse looked up to see Winger and Dak flying towards them, the rest of the group not far behind. Dak suddenly jumped off Winger's back mid flight.

"Dak no!" Winger warned too late. And this time, Dak landed wrong. His foot landed on a piece of the green crystal and he slipped, landing hard on the rocky ground. The boars charged towards him, but they were knocked back by the other dragons.

With all the dragons and riders working together; the boars did not stick around. They ran off, disappearing as suddenly as they'd come. The dragons all landed and the riders dismounted. They took a moment to catch their breath. Serenity then turned with her medical bag to Edelweiss, who was fighting to stay awake.

"How are you feeling?" Serenity asked.

"Tired," Edelweiss said faintly. "My head hurts, and my legs have pins and needles everywhere." Serenity injected Speed Stinger venom into her daughter's legs, taking the pain away. Edelweiss worked on keeping her breathing steady, waiting for her mother to give her diagnosis. She looked over at where Chris and Layla were attending to Dak. He'd sprained his ankle and had gotten the wind knocked out of him in the fall.

"Well," Serenity finally said. "Your legs have a number of minor fractures. It's lucky your skin and bones are much harder and strong then other humans'."

"That's why I pushed them out of the way of the crystal," Edelweiss said. "I know it would cause less damage to me then it would to them." She took a deep breath. "What know?"

"It's getting dark, so we'll spend the night at camp, then head back to the ship," Serenity explained. "You'll need to stay off you feet for a while." Edelweiss nodded.

Once all the injuries were secure; both Dak and Edelweiss were loaded onto dragons and everyone headed back to the beach. Night fell when they reached their campsite. Dak and Edelweiss were laid down on sleeping bags, their dragons laid beside them.

"Thanks for what you did," Layla said to Edelweiss as she and Summer sat down.

"You're welcome," said Edelweiss. She leaned back against Eclipse and closed her eyes. Dak sighed sadly.

"Chris said I shouldn't walk or ride for a while," he said.

"Well, I won't be riding either," said Edelweiss. "But It's not forever. You'll probably be back on your feet by the time we get back to Huttsgalore."

"And when we get back, you and your parents will sail home?" Winger asked. "For good?" Edelweiss nodded.

"You guys can still come with us," she said. "Then we would have to say good bye." The Rescue Riders didn't answer, and thought it over. Serenity finished making them dinner. Aurora was sifting through the large different colored crystals she'd found in the caves. After everyone ate dinner, they turned in for the night.

Bright and early the next morning; the riders and dragons packed up their campsite. When everything was packed up and the injured loaded onto dragons; they all headed back to the Dracorex. Dak and Edelweiss were place in reclining deck chairs on the sun deck. The sails and anchors were raised, Chris steered the ship in the direction of Huttsgalore.