Undercover
Jun was heading toward the Silver Cabin and the Lair. The rest of her friends were still having breakfast. She was going to meet them there. She approached the Silver Cabin to find the front doors wide open. Jun walked through the cabin to the back patio. All the dragons were there, happily basking in the warm sunlight. Edelweiss was in her porch swing reading a Nat Geo magazine on volcanoes.
At first Jun didn't recognize the two dragons at her feet. But then she realized it was Black Widow and Apollo. They were both wearing armor, made from an unfamiliar metal. Black Widow's armor was black engraved with spiderweb patterns and a big red hourglass shape on her lower abdomen. She was also wearing a bran new carbon fiber saddle, that was also engraved with a spider web pattern. Apollo's armor was also black painted with red and golden flames that seemed to be radiating out from a large golden sun on his chest.
The dragons all sat up when Jun came out onto the patio. She ran to Wu and Wei who both greeted her.
"Morning Edel," Jun said.
"Morning Jun," said Edelweiss. "The others still at breakfast?"
"Yeah, where did that armor come from?" Jun asked.
"My queen sent it with my new saddle," Edelweiss explained. "What do you guys have planned for today?"
"I've made an appointment with my mom later today," Jun said. "Now that she's seen that dragon's exist, I was hoping she'd take me more seriously about believing in myths and legends. I have a whole speech prepared, and I want to run it by Tom and the others before I talk to my mom."
"Hmm, okay," said Edelweiss casually. She leaned back in her swing and went back to reading her magazine. Jun spent the next few minuets, pacing and going over the notes she had on her phone.
Soon the other riders joined her and the dragons on the patio. Their dragons greeted them happily.
"Whoa cool armor," said Eugene, spying the armor on Apollo and Black Widow.
"Did you make that yourself?" Tom asked Edelweiss.
"No," said Edelweiss. "Avalon had that armor forged, from a meteorite that hit our lands few years ago. She turned it over to her blacksmiths to see what they could make with it. Recently they turned it into a suit of armor for each member of Avalon's team. The metal is lighter than aluminum and tougher then diamond."
"Awesome," said Eugene. "We should totally get that for our dragons. Webbs would look so cool."
"Well, the rest of the meteorite was forged into a statue of Hiccup and Toothless," said Apollo. "Which my sister had placed in the center of our capital city, there's nothing left of the meteorite."
"Hey guys," said Jun. "I'm meeting with my mom later today. I've written down what I'm going to say to her. Can I read it to you and see what you think?"
"Sure," said Tom. They all settled beside their dragons and Edelweiss put her magazine down. Jun then began, and they all listened.
"Yes they are fantastic," Jun said, reaching the end of her speech. "And it goes to show that myths are actually real stories, or at least based on them. And we can look at these stories to better understand dragons. In that spirit mom, I hope you'll consider me as an advisor in our quest to learn more on these great creatures." She stopped and looked at her friends nervously. "How was that?"
"Whooo, you nailed it Jun!" Tom exclaimed.
"Yeah, you almost convinced me," said Eugene. "Almost."
"You sure it wasn't too fast?" Jun asked. "I want this to be perfect. I want to convinced my mom that studying myths hasn't been a waste of time."
"So you want to convince your mom to let you use your knowledge of myths to help in the scientific study of dragons," Edelweiss said.
"What did you think Edel?" Jun asked.
"I think you were very professional," Edelweiss said. "If you said all that to my queen I know she'd hire you as her mythologist."
"Does she have a mythologist?" Jun asked.
"Yes, it's me," said Apollo. "Our mother wanted us to learn as much as we could about the big invisible world we're apart of. I read up on Greek and Roman mythology. As well as paranormal stuff like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Avalon was more into wizards and witches." Just then Jun's phone beeped. She pulled it out and looked at it.
"Oh no I'm going to be late!" She exclaimed. "I got to go." She took off running.
"Good luck!" Tom called after her. When she was out of sight; the riders headed down into the Lair with their dragons. Edelweiss sat up.
"Well, I have my own armor to try on," she said gloomily.
"We know you don't like covering your scales," said Black Widow. "But the armor is really comfortable, feels like a second skin. And the metal is quite flexible." Edelweiss sighed heavily and got to her feet.
She went into the house and over to a large, flat crate in the middle of the main floor. She lifted the lid and studied its contents. It was a jumpsuit made of the same meteorite metal as the other dragons' armor. The arms, legs, and shoulders were completely covered in a layer of small iridescent white dragon scales, the bodice was covered in gold dragon scales. The boots had individual toes tipped with metal claws dyed gold. The gloves also had metal claws on the end of each finger, dyed gold. There was also a matching full face helmet with glaring eye sockets.
Edelweiss took the armor out and put it on, it had a thin lining of kevlar. Once she put it on she felt it magically adjust to fit her perfectly. She then put on the matching boots and gloves, which did the same. She then looked at herself in her mirror. There was a row of small, metal, golden spines running down her back. She pulled on her utility belt, and put on the helmet before stepping outside. Both her dragons looked over at her as she stepped into the sunlight.
"Dang, you look breathtaking in that," said Apollo, his eyes wide. "Those blacksmiths really outdid themselves."
"Do you like it?" Black Widow asked.
"Yes, surprisingly," said Edelweiss. "You're right, it is very comfortable. I feel like me in it."
"Then lets go for a flight, and break it all in," said Black Widow. "We've nothing else happening today." She and Apollo got to their feet, and Edelweiss ran to them.
Jun entered the ICARIS facility and ran towards an elevator that was about to close. She ran and jumped aboard before the doors shut. She took a moment to catch her breath.
"If you left earlier you wouldn't have to rush," said a voice behind her. Jun spun round to see her mom also in elevator. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"I was coming to see you," Jun stammered. "I made an appointment."
"Ah, yes, I was surprised to see your name on the list," said Director Wong, looking at her clipboard. "My schedule is a bit full today, so lets to the meeting right here."
"Here?" Jun repeated, getting more nervous. "Okay, let me get my visual aids." She pulled out her phone, but dropped it in her haste. "I didn't need those anyway." She turned to her mom and tried to repeat what she'd rehearsed in front of her friends, but it came out all wrong and by the time she could get a full sentence out, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Jun face palmed in embarrassment.
"Look, I get this is important to you," said Director Wong. "But I have bigger issues to deal with right now. Let's circle back around to this, put a pin in it okay?" She then exited the elevator. Jun leaned against the back of the elevator, feeling like a complete failure. But then just as the doors were about to close again, a gloved hand stopped them and Dr. Sledkin slid into the elevator.
"Circle back around," she muttered. "Might as well say we'll never talk about it again."
"Yeah pretty much," said Jun gloomily.
"For what it's worth," said Dr. Sledkin. "I feel like you're onto something. We should look at stories and myths in an historical content to better understand history, science, nature, even dragons."
"Yes!" Jun said, cheering up.
"Don't let your mother discourage you," said Dr. Sledkin. "She's underestimated me on several occasions." The elevator came to another stop and the doors opened. Sledkin stepped out then turned back to face Jun. "You know, I could use someone with an intimate knowlage of the world down there. Think you're up for the task? I mean you are an expert are you not?" They both smiled at each other.
Back at the silver cabin; the riders and their dragons were waiting for Jun. Edelweiss landed her dragons on the patio, returning from testing out their new gear. She removed her helmet and hooked it over the front of the saddle.
"Whoa that's pretty cool armor Edel," said D'Angelo,
"Thank you," said Edelwiess, as she dismounted. "Is Jun still at her appointment?"
"Yeah, she should be back soon though," said Tom. Edelweiss patted Wu and Wei on their snouts then sat back in her porch swing.
"Um, are those your own scales on that armor?" Alex asked.
"No, actually," said Edelweiss. "These are actually molted Night Light scales." She smiled at Thunder. Just then Wu and Wei sat up in alert, as Jun came through the back doors of the cabin. They all looked over at her.
"Jun, you're back," said Tom. "How'd it go?" Jun told them all about what had happened in the elevator. At the mention of Sledkin, everyone looked shocked.
"You want to what!?" Tom exclaimed, horrified.
"Some one get this guy an ear swab," said Eugene. "She wants to take Sledkin to the Hidden World."
"I'm just going to show her some dragoncite, we'll be in and out," said Jun. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal!?" Tom repeated. "How Sledkin to the Hidden World not a big deal?"
"Because ICARIS is literally a science facility built to study the fissure," Jun shot back. "And now that they know about the Hidden World they're going to want to study that too."
"But this is Sledkin," said Alex.
"It would be different if it were one of our parents," said Tom. "But bringing someone like Sledkin down there."
"Someone like Sledkin?" Jun glared. "What does that even mean, and it's Dr. Sledkin. She's brilliant, she's an accomplished scientist, she's determined and focused."
"Dr. Jekyll was a scientist," Edelweiss pointed out calmly. "And he was secretly a monster."
"You have no right to call Dr. Sledkin a monster," Jun snapped. "You don't know anything about her."
"No," Edelweiss agreed, still calm. "But Olivia does."
"My mom has known Sledkin for many years," Tom added. "And she always says Sledkin is more interested in herself than science."
"Well, we had a conversation that was all about science," said Jun. "Maybe you two are letting Dr. Kullersen's feelings for Sledkin cloud your judgement."
"I don't know Tom, maybe she's right," said D'Angelo. "Everyone deserves a second chance. I should go with you guys though, so there's a doctor on hand."
"All right Jun," said Tom. "You guys head down to the Hidden World, the rest of us will stay here and relax, maybe go swimming." Jun looked at her dragon.
"You hear that Wu Wei, we're going on a scientific expedition," she said excitedly. D'Angelo mounted their dragons and headed for town. When they were out of sight; Tom turned to the remaining riders and dragons.
"I still think they're something off about Sledkin," he said. "What's she up to and why is she suddenly friendly with Jun?"
"And why is Jun falling for her lies?" Edelweiss asked.
"While Jun and D'Angelo are distracting Sledkin, we'll do some investigating," said Alex, looking shifty.
"Will you come with us Edel?" Tom asked.
"Yes," said Edelweiss. "Apollo, why don't you shadow those guys, in case Sledkin turns into Ms. Hyde." Apollo grinned and nodded. He spread his wings and took off.
Tom, Alex, Eugene, Edelweiss, and their dragons headed for ICARIS. The riders snuck into the building, while the dragons waited outside. The riders tip towed through the hallways to Sledkin's lab. Edelweiss volunteered to be lookout, while the others went inside.
"Look around for anything suspicious," Tom instructed. They split up, Tom and Eugene looked through the cupboards while Alex went to Sledkin's laptop. At first they found nothing except Eugene finding a bag of sour gummies.
"I found something," Alex announced. The two boys headed over to her. Alex typed away at the laptop. "There's an email from Sledkin to Linda." Tom read the email over Alex's shoulder.
"Found new deposit, will go back for more later," Tom read.
"There's a picture," said Alex. She pressed a key and a photo came on the screen. It showed a dragon nest with bits of dragoncite scattered around it. Tom recognized it at once.
"Sledkin must have been the one that raided the dragoncite from the Nadder's nest," he said. "It wasn't Buzzsaw."
"But if she already has dragoncite, why does she need more?" Alex asked.
"I don't know," said Tom. "We should get a picture of this." Eugene pulled out his phone, and snapped a picture of the image on the screen. Then they left the lab and headed outside. The sun was starting to set as Tom, Alex, and Eugene met back up with Edelweiss and the dragons.
"Did you find anything?" Edelweiss asked.
"Sledkin's the one that raided that nest of Nadders we saw," Tom said. "And an email saying she wants to get more." Edelweiss growled at this news.
"I knew she was Ms. Hyde," she said.
"We've got to tell Jun what we found," said Tom. Just then Wu, Wei, and Plowhorn landed and their riders dismounted. Apollo landed beside Edelweiss and Black Widow.
"What happened down there?" Edelweiss asked him.
"Sledkin's really, uncomfortably interested in the dragoncite," said Apollo. "She tells Jun it's in the name of science, and Jun falls for it hook line and sinker." They turned to watch Sledkin getting off Wu's saddle.
"Thank you again," she said sweetly. "You've been an enormous help." She left and Jun beamed when her friends approached her.
"Guys it went so great," she said euphorically. "Dr. Sledkin was supper nice."
"Yeah, well that's because she's using you," Tom said, his eyes narrowed.
"Using me, for what?" Jun asked, glaring.
"I'm not sure, but I do know she's not being honest," said Tom.
"Yeah, I found undeniable evidence on Sledkin's computer," said Eugene, but then caught Alex glaring at him. "I mean we did."
"What, you snuck into Sledkin's office while we were away!?" Jun scolded.
"Yes, but it was to protect you," said Tom. Eugene turned on his phone and showed Jun the picture he'd taken. Jun only looked irritated.
"Right, how else would you convince me that Eugene is a big dufus?" She said. Eugene and the others looked at the picture only to find it was of Eugene and not of the dragon nest.
"You forgot to turn the camera around," Alex grunted, annoyed. Tom face palmed.
"Okay, so we don't have the photo," he said. "But we found an email from Sledkin admitting she's the one took the dragoncite from Nadder's nest."
"So?" Jun said, glaring.
"What you mean so?" Tom shouted back.
"She's a scientist, she does scientific research," said Jun. "And that can mean collecting samples."
"She's not collecting samples, she's stealing," said Edelweiss. "And it's messing up the dragons' ecosystem."
"And how many times have we accidentally done that?" Jun pointed out. Edelweiss glared back at her.
"Accidentally yes, but she's doing it on purpose," she growled through her teeth.
"If she can get down to the realms on her own, she could have gone whenever she wanted," said Tom. "She didn't even need you." Jun narrowed her eyes.
"Gee Tom, did you ever think that she wanted me there," she said coldly. "That I had something to offer." Tom didn't answer. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She turned and headed for her dome.
"You've taken dragoncite from the realms," D'Angelo pointed out at Edelweiss.
"I've only taken small amounts," Edelweiss said. "I have never taken more then I actually need." She mounted Black Widow and put on her helmet. "I'm going to be patrolling the town tonight, and keep a look out for Sledkin." Black Widow and Apollo took off. The riders headed for their domes.
Later that night; Jun was sitting in her room sulking. Her phone kept buzzing, but she ignored it. Just then Eugene marched in.
"Why aren't you answering my texts?" He asked.
"Tom keeps texting me trying to apologize, and I'm ignoring him," Jun said, then spun her chair around to face Eugene. "And why are you texting me from six feet away?"
"I was on a very comfortable spot on the couch," Eugene answered. Suddenly there came a knock on the door. Jun stomped to the door and opened it. Tom, Alex, and D'Angelo stood there.
"Oh, great," Jun said sarcastically. "I'm really not in the mood."
"I know you're mad," said Tom. "But it's about the dragons." That got Jun's attention. She and Eugene followed the others outside.
The dragons were all going mad. The riders tried to calm them, but they kept roaring and snapping their jaws in irritation. Then suddenly, they stopped and went back to normal.
"What was that all about?" Tom asked.
"Over there," D'Angelo said, pointing to Linda in the distance running towards the facility.
"Kind of late to be doing research," Tom said suspiciously. Thunder crooned and gurgled looking at the facility. "Thunder seems to think whatever's bothering the dragons is in there, we should check it out."
The riders headed into the facility, leaving the dragons outside. They stalked Linda through the corridors. They ended up in the lab which was mostly dark and deserted. At one end of the room was a large test tube that held a large chunk of dragoncite, and a sleeping Tiny Terror.
"What's it doing in there?" Jun asked, with a sense of foreboding. Suddenly the door to Sledkin's office cracked open.
"Linda, take that one out and put the fresh one in," came Sledkin's voice. The riders quickly hid under the consoles. Linda entered the lab carrying two cages. She placed them on the ground and opened the test tube. She pulled out the limp Terror and put it one of the cages.
"Poor thing's exhausted," D'Angelo whispered. They watched as Linda opened the second cage, and pulled out another Terror. It tried to escape but she wrestled it into the test tube and locked it in. Linda went back into the office and everyone waited. Suddenly the Terror screeched in irritation and blasted the chunk of dragoncite. Jun felt a chill run down her spine.
"It's just like what we saw in the Nature Realm," said D'Angelo. They all looked curiously at him.
"What do you mean?" Tom asked.
"Tell 'em Jun," said D'Angelo. They all looked at Jun.
"When we were in the Nature Realm," Jun explained. "We saw a Scuttleclaw and told Sledkin about its silent screech. How it effected the Terrors and cased them to blast."
"So she has a Terror and a Scuttleclaw?" Alex asked.
"I don't see a Scuttleclaw," said Eugene. They watched as Linda and Sledkin came into the lab and approached the test tube. Sledkin held up her phone and pushed button on it. The Terror in the test tube stopped blasting and landed on the floor panting.
"She doesn't have a Scuttleclaw, she must have used her phone to record its screech," said D'Angelo.
"Which would explain why our dragons were so agitated," said Tom. Jun put her face in her hands.
"So she was just using me," she said glumly. "I guess you and Edel were right." She sat on the floor and hugged her knees. "I just wanted someone to take me seriously, and now those dragons are suffering because of it. My mom doesn't have time for me, and Sledkin was just using me. Maybe I should take the hint and stop trying."
"What, no," Tom protested. "Don't stop trying. It could have happened to any of us. Right now we need you. Lets go save some dragons." But then Sledkin found them, having heard their conversation.
"Maybe you should discuss your nothings more quietly," she sneered. The riders jumped to their feet as Sledkin advanced on them. "How dare you interrupt my work." She growled. Suddenly she was hit in the head by the bag of gummies Eugene had found. While Sledkin and Linda were distracted by the gummies, Tom and the others headed for the test tube. Tom grabbed the Tiny Terror and they headed into Sledkin's office. Jun rescued the other Terror from its cage. However their escape was blocked by Sledkin. She pulled out her phone and activated the recorded Scuttleclaw screech. The two Terrors went wild, and blasted all over the place. The riders tried to catch them, but had no luck. Then on of the little dragons knocked Sledkin's phone out of her hand and it smashed on the ground, getting rid of the screech.
"At least the phone's smashed," Tom said. "That should calm them down." But the Terrors were still blasting like crazy, and the riders had to take cover. The Terrors eventually flew out of the room. Linda ran after them at once, Sledkin slammed the door behind them, trapping the riders inside.
The riders took a minuet to catch their breath. Alex got right to work picking the lock. Two minuets later, she succeeded and the door opened. The riders ran out of the building and over to their dragons. Thunder roared happily as Tom reached him.
"Did you guys see Sledkin?" Tom asked. Thunder turned his head and growled. They followed his gaze to see Linda loading up an ICARIS van. She quickly jumped into the driver's seat and drove off. The riders jumped onto their dragons and chased it. They followed the van out of town and into the woods. Thunder put on a burst of speed and shot lightening at a tree ahead. The tree fell across the road, forcing Linda to slam on the breaks. The van stopped and the dragons instantly surrounded it. Linda jumped out of the driver seat.
"Where are the dragons?" Jun demanded.
"What dragons?" Linda asked innocently. "No dragons here."
"This is a big waste of time," said Tom. Jun glared back at Linda.
"Where's Sledkin?" She asked. At once Linda went ridged and stubbornly said nothing. D'Angelo opened the back door of the van.
"There's nothing in here," he said.
"Oh, the van was a decoy," said Jun. "To distract us while Sledkin looks for the dragons." The riders got right back on their dragons and flew back towards town.
Sledkin managed to find both of the Terrors, and cornered them at the base of a turbine. Suddenly Black Widow dropped out of the sky and landed between Sledkin and the Terrors. She flared her wings and roared, the back of her throat glowed as red as her eyes. Edelweiss sat in her saddle, aiming her Deathgripper crossbow at Sledkin.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sledkin spat. "You better get out of my way."
"Or your'll what?" Edelweiss hissed, her voice full of venom. She raised her crossbow.
"You going to kill me?" Sledkin asked, glaring.
"I haven't decided yet," Edelweiss threatened. "Her on the other hand." Black Widow roared again. Just then the riders landed their dragons around Sledkin.
"Leave them alone Sledkin," Tom ordered, landed Thunder next to Black Widow.
"Out of my way Thomas," Sledkin growled.
"Stop," Jun cried. Sledkin glared at her.
"I expected this kind of behavior from those two," she said, pointing at Tom and Edelweiss. "But I thought you were smarter."
"I'm smart enough to know that what you're doing is wrong," said Jun. Then she got off her dragon. "I know how you feel. You're upset that you've been overlooked. But hurting dragons to prove yourself, is just awful."
"You don't know how I feel," said Sledkin. "You're just a child. Where as I am a world renown scientist. I will do whatever it takes to make my mark, which means using those dragons as I see fit. Now get out of my way."
"Try and make us Ms. Hyde," Edelweiss challenged, as all the riders steered their dragons alongside Thunder and Black Widow. Sledkin looked outraged.
"What is all this commotion about!?" Came a new voice. Sledkin stepped aside to reveal Director Wong standing there looking stern.
"Director Wong, I'm so glad you're here," said Sledkin. "I was running a few experiments, you know my job, when I caught these children breaking into my lab."
"What!" Director Wong exclaimed.
"They even broke some of my equipment," said Sledkin. "They should be punished immediately."
"Is this true?" Director Wong asked, looking at her daughter.
"No, it's not true," said Jun. "She wasn't just running experiments, she was torturing these dragons." She pointed at the two Terrors at Black Widow's feet.
"It's true Mom," said Eugene. "She was totally messing with these guys." Director Wong took a deep breath.
"There have been zero authorization on any experiments involving dragons," she said, pointing a finger at Sledkin. "So I suggest you get back to your actual job, Doctor." Sledkin looked furious.
"This outrageous," she spat. But then she turned and stomped off. As soon as she was out of sight, everyone relaxed. Edelweiss lowered her crossbow and slipped it back into her saddlebag. Director Wong then turned on the riders.
"There will be consequences for this," she said sternly. "Ms. Dragonborn, will you kindly take these dragons back where they belong." The two Terrors were rubbing gratefully against her legs.
"Yes ma'am," said Edelweiss. She then let out a dragon call. Apollo answered as he swooped over them. The two Terrors flew after him, then Edelweiss steered Black Widow after them as they all headed for the fissure. The riders steered their dragons towards the Lair, Jun was about to follow him.
"Jun, a word," said Director Wong sternly. Jun faced her mother, with hunched shoulders.
"I know you're disappointed in me," she said. "But you didn't see Sledkin."
"Don't worry," said Director Wong, waving her hand. "I will be keeping a closer watch on Dr. Sledkin, anyone could see those little ones were upset. But right now I'm more concerned with you and your safety. It's dangerous out here at night." Jun relaxed.
"I'm okay," she assured her mother.
"Good," said Director Wong, adjusting her glasses. "Now if I'm going to keep track of Dr. Sledkin, I need to understand dragons. Perhaps you know a consultant." Jun beamed with delight.
"I think I know someone," she said.
"Excellent," said Dr. Wong. "And I'm sure, whoever it is, will fill me in on dragons after she finishes her homework." With that, she walked off towards her dome. Jun was so thrilled she danced on the spot. Then she caught sight of Tom, Thunder, Wu and Wei all grinning at her. She smiled back at them, then ran to catch up to her mother.