Break in case of Emergency
Tom and his friends were on the ICARIS helipad. Their parents were loading up the helicopter.
"Let's go people," said Phil. "ICARIS leadership succession series starts at 1500 hours."
"This is a waste of time," Dr. Sledkin complained. Phil ignored her as he and Olivia turned to the riders.
"We should be back early tomorrow," said Olivia. "So we're expecting you stay out of trouble while we're gone. What does that mean?"
"Um, stay out of the lab areas and clean up after ourselves?" Tom said nervously. "That's about it."
"I believe the answer she's looking for is no dragons on the surface while they're away," said Eugene, sneering. Tom looked disappointed.
"It's not that we don't trust you," said Olivia quickly. "It's just, this is all still new to us; and as smart as they are, the dragons are still wild animals. Dragons down there is one thing, but up here around our state of the art facility is different."
"So we can hang with them in the Lair?" Jun asked eagerly. Olivia and Phil exchanged a glance.
"Let's give the dragons a break," said Olivia.
"I'm sure Ms. Dragonborn can take care of them for one night," said Phil.
"If you guys are finished with your babysitting, can we get a move on?" Dr. Sledkin snapped. "I want to get this over with." Olivia headed around the helicopter to the pilot seat. Phil looked at D'Angelo.
"A moment please D," he said. D'Angelo went over to him while the other teens went off to talk amongst themselves. "I know the others can get a bit rambunctious sometimes, so I'm counting on you to be the voice of reason and keep them out of trouble."
"I won't let you down Pop," said D'Angelo confidently.
"I know you won't," said Phi. He headed for the copilot seat as the rotors powered up. The teens stood back as the helicopter lifted off the helipad. When it was out of sight the teens, headed for the domes.
Later in the evening; Tom, Jun, D'Angelo, and Alex were in Jun and Eugene's dome. Alex was on her tablet and the others were playing cards on the dining room table. Things were very quiet, until the front door was banged open by Eugene.
"Dragon party time!" He announced. Plowhorn followed him into the room, with Feathers perched on her back.
"Eugene," Jun said, annoyed.
"What are you doing?" Tom asked.
"Saving this from being the most boring night ever," said Eugene. There came roars from above. Everyone looked up to see Webbmaster clinging to the ceiling and Thunder on the roof looking through the open skylight. Then Wu and Wei stuck their heads in through the open window with Edelweiss sitting casually on Wu's saddle, barefoot.
"We can't have the dragons in Rekke Town while our parents aren't here," said D'Angelo. "They trusted us."
"What? We hang out with our dragons everyday," Eugene added. "And we've never had problems." D'Angelo folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Well, ok never major problems. If they go back to the Lair before our parents get back, they'll never know. And if they don't know we broke the rule, then it wasn't broken."
"It's not about them finding out," said D'Angelo. "It's about trust. Right guys?" At first no one spoke.
"Actually, Eugene might be right," said Jun. D'Angelo looked taken aback.
"I can not believe what I'm hearing," he said.
"What are you so worried about?" Edelweiss said. "The dragons promise to not break anything." The dragons all grunted in agreement.
"Our parents trusted us to be responsible," said D'Angelo.
"You think dragons can't responsible?" Edelweiss asked, her eyes narrowing.
"That's not what I meant," said D'Angelo. "Back me up Kullersen."
"D's right," said Tom, sounding more reasonable. "I want to hang out with them too, but our parents are still warming up to the dragons."
"Lame," Eugene interrupted. "We're going to hang out with our dragons, if you don't like it you can leave." Tom and D'Angelo exchanged a glance, then exited the dome. Both Thunder and Plowhorn looked disappointed. Jun looked over at Edelweiss.
"Where's Black Widow?" She asked.
"She and Apollo are out hunting," said Edelweiss. "They'll be gone until tomorrow." She jumped down from Wu's saddle, and gave him a grateful pat on the neck.
Some time later; Edelweiss was sitting cross legged on the dome roof with Wu, Wei, Thunder and Plowhorn watching the Jun, Alex and Eugene launch themselves at on of Webbmaster's larger webs. Everyone was laughing and cheering.
"Is D'Angelo mad at me?" Plowhorn wondered aloud.
"I don't think so," said Edelweiss. "I think everyone here is still nervous about you guys coming onto their turf, and being around all their fancy equipment. Heck, except for Olivia, none of them are too thrilled about me coming here either." Just then Thunder sat up in alert.
"Someone's coming," he said. Edelweiss and the other two dragons followed his gaze to see Tom running towards the dome.
"Hey Tom, you change your mind?" Edelweiss asked.
"I just thought I'd check to make sure things weren't getting out of hand," Tom said, though Edelweiss wasn't fooled. Tom went in and joined the party. Thunder jumped down to join him.
The party continued, until D'Angelo came in looking frustrated. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Tom had just jumped onto the big web and stuck there upside down.
"You've got to be kidding me," D'Angelo said angrily. "Is this how we earn our parents' trust?"
"Oh, come on we're just having fun," Eugene snapped back. "Right guys."
"No, he's right," said Jun shyly, as Tom eventually fell off the web.
"Yeah, sorry D," said Alex.
"I'm sorry too," Tom said, getting to his feet. "I guess I just got carried away. Let's call it a night."
"Oh come on, don't listen to the party crasher," said Eugene. But he was the one ignored. They all filed out of the dome.
"Well, at least these guys know when to stop," said Edelweiss. She jumped down from the roof; Wu, Wei and Plowhorn followed. Then everyone headed in the direction of the Lair
"Why did you have to ruin our fun?" Eugene snapped at D'Angelo.
"Fun!?" D'Angelo asked, shocked. "I was doing what was best for everyone. Our parents said no dragons, and they're trusting us to be responsible." Eugene glared at him.
"We had things under control," he said. Suddenly the dragons paused having spotted the Angry Sheep that was always charging at people. The dragons exchanged a mischievous glance, speaking to each other in Dragontongue. Even Edelweiss was leaning into a crouch, her eyes fixed intently on the sheep. Then, ignoring their riders' protest, they tore after the sheep which ran for its life. They ran all through the town. Edelweiss ran with unnatural speed and agility, she was even faster than a majority of the dragons. The sheep sped down a flight of stairs that led towards the hanger. Edelweiss, Thunder, Feathers, and Webbmaster jumped down after it, while the other two had to fly around. They chased the sheep into the hanger. The riders caught up to them, but only D'Angelo and Eugene went in.
"Close the hanger doors," D'Angelo ordered. He was about to run to the control panel, only to find Eugene already there pushing random buttons. Suddenly a siren blared, and the big hanger doors slowly started to close. Edelweiss and the dragons saw this and ran as fast as they could towards the exit. Thunder chased the sheep through first, Wu and Wei flew out after him, then Edelweiss slid through mere seconds before the big doors slammed shut behind them; Eugene, D'Angelo, and the remaining dragons were trapped inside. Edelweiss rose out of her crouch, she wasn't the least bit out of breath despite all that running.
"Were they going to lock us in there?" She asked, turning to Tom, Jun and Alex.
"You guys were chasing the sheep, and we couldn't get you to stop," said Jun, as the two dragons landed on the platform.
"We weren't going to hurt it," said Edelweiss defensively. "That's what dragons do for fun, they chase things." She let out a deep breath and leaned on the railing. "Man that felt good." Suddenly they heard shouting coming from inside the hanger, but couldn't make out what was being said.
"What do we do now?" Alex asked. Tom pulled out his phone and called D'Angelo, putting the phone on speaker.
"Tom, we're locked in here," said D'Angelo. "Eugene sent the hanger into lock down."
"Is there a way to disarm it?" Tom asked.
"Not with out the code," said D'Angelo. "And my dad is the only one who knows it."
"Wait, I can get us out," came Eugene's voice. "Webbmaster, blast the doors."
"No," D'Angelo protested. "That will leave scorch marks."
"Seriously?" Edelweiss said. "You're more worried about how the door's going to look then getting out?"
"If my dad sees scorch marks, he'll know the dragons were up here," said D'Angelo. Edelweiss rolled her eyes.
"There must be a non blasting way to get the door open," said Tom. Then he looked at Alex. "You think you can get it open by hacking the system?"
"I thought you'd never ask," said Alex, beaming. She went to pull her tablet out of her bag, but found she didn't have it. "Oh, my tablet I don't have it. It's still in my saddlebag." They heard D'Angelo and Eugene rummaging through the saddlebag.
"Got it," said Eugene. Tom held his phone out to Alex.
"You think you can walk them through hacking the system?" He asked.
"No way," said Alex firmly. "That tablet is means a lot to me, if they get so much as a smudge on the screen so help me I'll wipe Eugene's existence from social media." They heard Eugene gasp in horror.
"Please Alex," Tom begged. Alex sighed, and took the phone glaring.
"Fine, but I'm not kidding about the social media thing," she said. She then put the phone to her ear. "First you need the passcode." She then whispered the passcode quietly.
"Ok, we're in," said D'Angelo.
"Look for the app with a wrench on it," Alex instructed. They waited while Eugene and D'Angelo argued some more. Suddenly there came the sound of demonic laughter.
"That doesn't good," said Edelweiss.
"Hey, are you guys going through my stuff?" Alex glared.
"No," D'Angelo lied.
"You pressed the self destruct app didn't you?" Said Alex flatly.
"What, why do you have a self destruct app?" D'Angelo shouted with frustration.
"To keep people like you from going though my stuff," said Alex. "Now the tablet's frozen."
"Nice going Eugene," they heard D'Angelo shout. "That was our only way out. Now my dad's going find us in here and probably ban dragons from the surface for good." Then he hung up.
"Maybe Thunder can help," said Tom. He beckoned his dragon over to the outer control panel. "Just give it a little zap, not too big, just big enough to shout out the locking mechanism."
"Will that work?" Jun asked.
"I don't know," Tom admitted. "But it's worth a try." Thunder turned to the door panel and squared his shoulders. He shot the smallest lightening bolt at the controls. From the other side there came a loud bang, then a thud. However, the door remained closed.
"Whoa I said a little blast," said Tom. "You call that little?" Thunder crooned sheepishly.
"He said that was small for him," Edelweiss translated. Just then Tom's phone rang again and he answered it. D'Angelo said something to him.
"Great," Tom said, then he hung up. "Bad news, Eugene got a little toasted from Thunder's blast, but don't worry he's fine."
"Good boy," Jun whispered to Thunder, patting him on the shoulder.
"The good news is, D'Angelo has another way to get the door open," Tom continued. "His dad keeps a spare key in his work boots. If we can find it and get it to him, he can open the door."
"But how do we get it to him?" Jun asked.
"Yeah that's a bit of a design flaw," said Alex. Jun turned to Edelweiss and the dragons.
"Do you guys have any ideas?" She asked.
"Well, I could track down Brimstone," said Edelweiss. "He could drill a hole right through the door."
"We can't damage the door," said Tom. "Then our parents will know we brought the dragons up here. They could get banned for good."
"I'd be better then being trapped in there starving to death," said Edelweiss with a shrug. Then she spotted something. "But if you guys are dead set on doing this the hard way, you could try that air vent." She pointed to an air vent that was next to the hanger door. They all looked up at it. It was too small for any of them to fit through.
"Wait I think I know how we can get the key through to D'Angelo," said Jun as she got on her dragon. "You guys get the key, I'll be right back. Edelweiss, I'll need your dragon talking skills." Edelweiss got onto Wei's saddle, after another grateful pat on the neck. They took off while Tom, Alex, and Thunder ran off in another direction.
They all met back up a short while later. Jun, Edelweiss, Wu and Wei got back first. Edelweiss now had a Tiny Terror perched on her shoulder. Shortly afterwards; Tom, Alex and Thunder landed next to them. Tom and Alex dismounted.
"Did you find the key?" Jun asked.
"Yup," said Alex, holding out the key. "Grossest boots ever."
"Yeah, a little warning about the smell would have been nice," said Tom. "Did you find a way to get to D'Angelo?"
"We did," said Jun. She pointed to the Tiny Terror on Edelweiss's shoulder, nibbling her ear.
"So your solution for not getting in trouble for bringing dragons up here, is to bring more dragons up here?" Alex asked.
"We can put the key around the Terror's neck and send him through the vents," Jun explained.
"I said a Spiderwing would work better," Edelweiss said. "But Jun still won't go near them." Jun handed her the key. Tom called D'Angelo and explained their plan.
"You want to do what!?" D'Angelo exclaimed. "No way, there are too many was that can go wrong. Think of something else."
"Wow, so picky," said Edelweiss securing the key around the Terror's neck.
"I just got a text," said D'Angelo. "Leadership succession ended early, on our way home, Uh ho."
"Excellent," said Edelweiss. "Since you don't like any of the ideas we've come up with so far, we can wait for them to get back and they can bust you out." Everyone looked pale at this.
"Send the Terror through the vents," Eugene called through the phone. "Come on D'Angelo, do you want to get out of here or not?" D'Angelo said nothing. Wu and Wei gave Edelweiss a boost up to the air vent. She gave instructions in Dragontongue to the Terror, then sent it into the vent. They all waited. At first nothing happened. Then suddenly a siren blared and red lights flashed.
Inside the hanger; all the drones suddenly activated and buzzed all over the place. D'Angelo, Eugene, and the three dragons took cover under the ramp that led to the interior door.
"What are they doing out there?" D'Angelo asked. Then he heaved a huge sigh, it was clear the Terror plan hadn't worked. "I should have just triggered the fire alarm and accepted the consequences." Eugene stared at him.
"What would that have done?" He asked.
"When the fire alarm is triggered, it causes all exits to open automatically," said D'Angelo.
"You mean that's been an option this whole time?" Eugene asked. "Why didn't you mention it?"
"Because setting of a false alarm is the ultimate breach of trust," said D'Angelo. He sighed again. "But I don't see another option." He patted Plowhorn on the head. "Let's set of the fire alarm."
"Wait, maybe you shouldn't do it," said Eugene. "I want to get out of here too. But I don't have a very good relationship with my dad. You do though. Your dad trusts you, and that's pretty cool. So if you don't want to trigger the alarm, I won't push it." D'Angelo looked surprised, but grateful.
"Well, you are only supposed to tigger the alarms in case of an emergency," he said. "I'd say this qualifies. You want to do the honors?" Eugene beamed.
"Webbmaster, light it up," he ordered. Webbmaster fired a flaming web at the ceiling. More sirens blared, more lights flashed, and the big hanger doors opened at last. They all ran out, followed by all the drones. The riders and dragons met back up and assessed the situation. All the lights were flashing, sirens blared.
"What's going on, what happened to the Terror?" D'Angelo asked. His phone buzzed and he looked at it. "My dad got an alert about the fire alarm, he wants an update. They're landing any minuet."
"The Terror probably got lost," Edelweiss said.
"It's got to be in the control room," said D'Angelo.
"You know your way around the control room better than we do D," said Tom. "You think you can get the Terror out?"
"I can, but I will need a second set of hands to contain it," said D'Angleo. He looked at Eugene.
"Why're you looking at me?" He barked.
"You got us into this mess, and I want you where I can see you," said D'Angelo. "Edel, will you come too?"
"I sent the Terror into the vent," said Edelweiss. "So, sure."
"The rest of us will round up these drones," said Tom. "Hopefully we can resolve this before our parents get back." They all split up to take on their respective assignments.
Edelweiss, D'Angelo, and Eugene entered the building and headed down the corridors towards the control room. Doors were opening and closing on their own.
"Is everything here hooked up to your computers?" Edelweiss asked.
"Pretty much," said D'Angelo. They soon reached the control room and saw the Terror perched on the center console.
"There it is," said Eugene.
"Edel, you wait out here in case it gets passed us," said D'Angelo. Edelweiss nodded. Eugene and D'Angelo entered the room and closed in on the Terror. Edelweiss rolled onto the balls of her feet, ready to run again. The two boys tried to grab the Terror but it dodged them and flew out the door.
"Get that Terror," D'Angelo ordered. "I've got to stop all this." He turned to the center console and started pushing buttons, as Edelweiss ran after the Terror. The lights stopped flashing, the sirens were turned off, and the doors stopped slamming. Edelweiss eventually caught up to the Terror in the laboratory. She grabbed the little dragon and held his mouth shut with her hand. D'Angelo and Eugene came a few minuets later.
"Thanks," said D'Angelo.
"No problem," said Edelweiss. "I should get this one home." They all headed for the exit, only to see Phil heading their way.
"Oh, my dad is here," D'Angelo whispered.
"Great, we're dead," said Eugene. Edelweiss looked towards the lab window. D'Angelo could guess what she was planning.
"The windows don't open," he said.
"Dam!" Edelweiss snarled through her teeth. Phil was getting closer. Suddenly Eugene stepped out to face him.
"Hey, Chief you're back from your retreat," he said innocently.
"Eugene?" Phil said, confused. "What are you here. This place is off limits to unauthorized personnel."
"I had to reset the fire alarm I triggered," Eugene explained.
"You triggered the alarm?" Phil asked.
"I thought I smelled smoke earlier," said Eugene. "I get panicky when my mom's not around. So I set of the alarm. Turns out there was no smoke, just my overactive imagination." Phil's eyes narrowed.
"False alarms are serious business Eugene," he said. "They violate trust. I hope you learned your lesson."
"I did," Eugene assured him. "This won't happen again." Phil turned and headed for the exit, and Eugene followed. D'Angelo and Edelweiss exchanged a surprised look.
"Well, that was unexpected," said D'Angelo. "Looks like Eugene can be responsible at times." Edelweiss murmured in agreement.
"Let's get out of here," she said. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a good night's sleep." She pulled the key off the Terror's neck and handed it back to D'Angelo. Then they headed for the exit.
Once they were outside they met back up with Eugene. Phil was heading for his dome. Edelweiss met up with the other dragons, and they headed back to the silver cabin. D'Angelo approached Eugene.
"You didn't have to do that," he said. "But thanks anyway."
"Well, I was the one who brought the dragons up here in the first place," said Eugene, shrugging. "If I'd listened to you, we never would have gotten stuck in the hanger. Following the rules is much easier, boring, but easier."
"I guess bending the rules is kind of fun too," D'Angelo said. They then headed back to their respective domes.