This one's fun for a number of reasons. One: shenanigans. Two: a new character with some interesting lore by yours truly. Enjoy!

On a particularly quiet day, Dipper and Mabel had gone with Teeth and Shade to Telmak through the forest portal. They had walked all the way to the edge of the Great Plains where the land turned into flat grassland with dry grasses so tall that they could hardly see over. From what the twins remembered, this grassland area separated the Great Plains from the dull area that dragons avoided. They found out later that that area was simply known as the Badlands, and it was where the Nightshade Amaranths grew in great clusters. But they had no intention of going back there. Instead, they were walking along the edge of the tall grasses and trying to flush out the strange mouse-like animals that Dipper had seen scurrying around.

"Why are we looking for mice again?" Mabel asked as she followed her brother.

"I don't even know if it was really a mouse," he said as he shook some of the tall grass. "I mean, it looked like a mouse, but it was purple and had curly antennas."

"Maybe it was a bug?"

"But it had a fluffy tail like a chinchilla or something! I just want to know what it was and get a good look at one."

Shade suddenly halted, his feathery antennas standing up and quivering. "What is it?" Teeth asked him.

"Someone – no – two are near."

"Two what?" Dipper stood up straight and turned to look at him.

Before Shade could answer, a red-furred lion suddenly leapt from the tall grass with a terrifying roar, scaring them all. The lion had practically landed on Mabel, who screamed the loudest out of them all, but it stepped back and suddenly began to laugh jovially.

"Dionysus?!" Dipper yelped.

"That's me!" He grinned, showing large pearly fangs.

"Oh," Mabel breathed. "I thought I was gonna die… Death by murder mittens."

"What are you doing here?" Dipper asked. "I thought you didn't want to be in Telmak in case you encountered Gaia?"

"I thought that too," someone else said.

Dipper jumped with a shout at the voice behind him. "Bill! You're here too?"

He crossed his arms. "I came here to get away from him, but he's so drunk right now that he followed me anyway."

Dionysus shifted back into a man. "Oh, come on. I'm not that dr- whoa!" He tripped over his own foot and nearly fell on Bill but pushed himself off of him instead.

"Agh! You've got me covered in muck!"

"Heheh, whoops! Sorry."

"Is that mud?" Dipper asked. "Dionysus, why are you covered in mud?"

"I tried to lose him in the marsh nearby," Bill said as he tried to wipe at his shirt. "Unfortunately, nothing ate him on the way."

"Hold on, hold on," Dionysus stumbled again then righted himself. He held his hands up to Bill. "I can fix it."

Bill flinched. "What? No! Don't –"

Too late… Dionysus had already cast some kind of spell. There was a great puff of sparkling purple smoke that caused everyone to hack and cough before it dispersed. When they looked, Bill was now in his dragon form, but he was smaller. Much smaller. In fact, he was only about the size of a large housecat and his spikes and spines and other features looked far less sharpened and grown-out. They stared down at him for a long time. He stared up at them in silent shock before looking down at himself and letting out a startled yelp.

"What have you done to me!?" He sounded much younger now.

"Oh, whoopsie," Dionysus said with a smirk. "Wrong spell."

"What is this!?" Bill demanded.

Shade was the one who answered. "It appears that he accidentally cast a de-aging spell on you."

"What!?"

"You have the scent and aura of a yearling dragonling."

"WHAT!?"

The Pines twins snorted, trying to hold back laughter. "Aww," Mabel said. "You're a widdle baby dwagon!"

"I'LL TEAR YOUR EYES OUT OF YOUR SKULL!" His wings were spread up and out as much as they possibly could be and he was standing on all of his toes and fingers with his tail erect. It somewhat resembled a very furious kitten.

The twins burst with laughter.

"YOU!" The dragonling hopped in place to face Dionysus.

"Huh?"

"This is YOUR fault! First, you turn me into a rabbit, and now THIS! Turn me back this instant so I can skin you alive!"

"Okay, okay, relaaax. It'll be fine."

Before Dionysus, or anyone, could do or say anything else, a loud screech was heard that caused them all to look at the sky for the source.

"Um, what was that?" Dipper asked.

"I dunno," Teeth replied.

Bill glanced around. "Hm. Sounded like a –" He turned around in time to see a massive feathered reptilian beast swooping down at them with outstretched claws. "SKY TERROR!"

The blue and green monster snatched the three smallest members of the group up in its talons before taking off at high speed over the tall grasses. Dionysus, Teeth, and Shade watched, stunned, as it flew out of sight.

"You're gonna be in so much trouble when Amy finds out about this," Teeth told Dionysus.

"…Shit."

…

"Well this is just great," Bill said with an annoyed huff. "I got turned into a tiny, pathetic, baby, AND THEN I got snatched up by a Sky Terror for lunch. And the worst part is… I'M STUCK WITH YOU TWO!"

The two humans struggled in the beast's grasp but to no avail. "Let us go!" Mabel shouted.

"Ah give it up," Bill told her. "There's no point in trying to get out of its claws right now. Look how high up we are!"

She craned her head around to look and yelled in shock and fear at the height they were soaring at. A fall from their current height would surely kill them if the beast dropped them.

"Never mind," she called up to the creature. "Do not let go!"

"What is this thing?!" Dipper shouted. "Is it going to eat us!?"

"For the third time," Bill growled, "it's a Sky Terror! And yeah, probably."

"What the heck is a Sky Terror?!"

The little dragonling pointed a claw up at the creature carrying them through the sky. "That."

"You know what I mean!"

"It's a four-legged avian-reptile hybrid that lives on tall craggy mountains. They're most common in the Badlands and around the Thunderstruck Savannah, which is connected to the Badlands, which is what we're flying over now."

Dipper looked down to see the Badlands far below. Even at this distance, he could still make out the big red-glowing patches of Nightshade Amaranths that plagued the land. He turned his head to see where the Sky Terror was heading and saw a large gray mountain in the distance.

"So," he said. "Why exactly is it known as a 'Sky Terror'?"

"Oh, that. Well, it tends to swoop down and snatch up anything it can carry. That includes small and young dragons. And apparently teenage humans… They're also strong enough to take on most adult dragons and their hide doesn't pierce easily."

"Great…" He looked down again. "Guess we'll have to wait for it to land first."

"What gave that away?" Bill asked sarcastically as he rolled his eye.

Dipper growled but said nothing else as the Sky Terror carried them to the distant mountain.

As they neared the mountain, the Sky Terror tilted itself and flew down through a gap in the craggy mountain. It skillfully dodged the sharp stone walls and dove and turned and finally ascended again to a ledge high up on the mountain where it roughly dropped its prey into a huge nest of branches and feathers. The bones of past victims littered the edges and ranged from small creatures like rabbits to larger ones like deer and cattle of some kind. There was also a skull that greatly resembled some kind of triceratops-like dinosaur.

After dropping them into the nest, the Sky Terror landed on the outer ledge of the nest and reached with a forepaw to try and pin down the tiny yellow dragon.

"Hey!" Bill leapt out of its reach and spread his wings up. "I'm not gonna be your first snack!"

The Terror growled and climbed further into the nest after him.

"I'll show you! Get ready to eat fire, you stupid beast!" He took in a deep breath, but when he went to exhale, he choked and coughed on his own flames and only smoke came out. "Ack! Stupid - *cough* - underdeveloped - *cough* - body! Can't - *cough* - handle own fire!" He wheezed.

"Look out!" Mabel grabbed him out of the way as the Sky Terror swiped at him. Its large claws barely caught her sweater and sliced a clean gash in the back of the fabric. Mabel squeaked with fear, relieved that it had not managed to actually catch her flesh. "My sweater!"

Annoyed now, the Terror snarled and leapt fully into the nest. Mabel shouted, thinking that it had caught her, but really it was her brother who had snagged her by the sleeve and yanked her roughly over the edge of the nest with him, Bill still being held tightly in her arms.

"Whoa!" She stumbled at the rocky ledge but managed to catch her balance. Still, she reached back with one arm and grabbed a tight hold of her brother's vest. "What do we do?!"

"Um!" Dipper glanced quickly around. In front of them was a sheer drop into a dark cavern that they could not see into, and behind them was the hungry Sky Terror growing ever nearer. In his current form, Bill was far too small to carry even just one of them. In fact, if he was a yearling dragon now, that meant he couldn't fly yet at all. "Just – jump!"

The Sky Terror lunged at them but just barely missed snapping its jaws into the boy's arm as they suddenly threw themselves from the ledge with a scream. The Terror peered over the ledge, cocking its head to the side to watch as they fell into the dark pit below. It had never gone into that pit and certainly had no desire to do so now. The wild beast snorted with annoyance at the loss of its meal then took to the skies to hunt once more.

In the darkness of the pit, they could see absolutely nothing and only heard their own screaming. The twins fully expected to feel the pain of landing on hard stone and breaking bones, but instead they felt an odd sweeping feeling and heard a strange sound. Suddenly, they were somewhere else, but they were unaware of this due to the new location being just as dark. Without warning, they landed with a loud splash into icy cold water that was so cold it stung. Struggling, they could not figure out up or down as they were forced along by the harsh current. It was freezing, they could not see, and they could not breathe.

Suddenly, Dipper jolted awake on the bank of a forest river. He gasped for air as all of his senses reawakened and overwhelmed him with light and noise. The birds and rushing water sounded so much louder than they should. When he settled down a bit and his vision became clear and the noises became tolerable, he shakily got to his feet and glanced around, spotting Mabel running over to him.

"You're alive!" She hugged him.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked. They were both sopping wet and shivering.

"Yeah," she sniffed. "I'm okay."

"Oh." They turned to see the tiny yellow dragonling climbing over a large rock. "You're both still alive. Great, I guess."

"Bill!" Mabel ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," he growled. "I can hold my breath longer than you, even as a pathetic dragonling!"

"Hey, Bill," Dipper said. "Do you have any clue as to where we might be?"

"Not really," he said, more calmly now. "We fell through a natural portal in that pit and it dropped us into a cavern river. We should see if there are any dragons nearby that can tell us where we are."

"Right. But first, Mabel and I need to warm up. We're freezing."

Bill scoffed and rolled his eye but did not protest.

Since Bill apparently could not use his fire, the twins had to try to make fire on their own. It took a few tries, but Dipper finally managed to get a spark from some stones and lit the pile of twigs and dried leaves they had gathered. He and his sister huddled closely to the fire as it grew to a more decent size, and Mabel removed her drenched sweater and placed it to the side.

While the two of them tried to warm themselves, Bill stood up on his haunches like a meerkat and sniffed at the air. After a minute, he jumped down from the rock and began to scurry around on all-fours, keeping his nose low like a hound dog trying to find a scent. He paused to sniff at a particular spot of grass when a red butterfly flitted past him and caught his attention. Distracted now, the playful instincts of a baby dragon kicked in and he turned all of his attention to the insect. As it landed to rest on a blade of grass, he lowered himself to the ground, his pupils widening, wiggled his haunches, then leapt at the butterfly. But the insect had been keenly aware of its bright yellow stalker and flitted safely out of the way before he could catch it. As if toying with him, the butterfly fluttered only a few feet away before landing again and waiting for his next pounce before taking to the air once more.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Dipper asked, confused by Bill's behavior.

"I am compelled to catch this butterfly," Bill replied, not removing his gaze from the brightly colored insect.

Mabel snickered and whispered to her brother, "It's like a kitten."

"Huh," Dipper said and watched Bill a little longer. "I guess if you're stuck in a dragon form, you start to behave like a dragon. Even if you're not really one."

As Bill went to pounce again, something large stepped out from the trees and scared the butterfly away. The little dragonling stood up straight and stared up at the much larger adult. Dipper and Mabel stood up too, and, after taking in her presence and aura, Bill suddenly turned tail and dashed over to hide behind them. He was irritated that he let himself succumb to fear, but the adult dragon's aura and his current form's weak magic struck him with a familiar feeling that he had not felt since he was actually a child. It was a feeling he did not enjoy.

"Whoa," Dipper said. "Um, I mean… Hi." He paused to take the newcomer in.

It was a female, a dragoness. She was about Ghost's size but a bit thinner. She also stood up tall and proper, unlike Ghost, who was prone to keeping his head down. The dragoness was a bright green in color with black horns protruding from her head and black triangular spikes down her spine. The end of her tail was tipped with a sharp black spade. Two of her large horns pointed upwards and curled in slightly, while two others curled to point downwards. Two smaller horns grew in front of the upper two, and she had something like sharp fins on either side of her head like ears. Her body was covered in hardened plates and chitin very similar to Bill's. But there were two things about her that stood out the most to Dipper. First, her eyes. Or, rather, eye. Her yellow left eye stared down at them with a slit pupil while the right was merely a black socket with a big old scar running across it as if something had gouged it out. The other thing that stood out to him was how, despite being an immortal, she almost looked old and worn in a way. Every adult dragon he had met so far, no matter how old they were, no matter how long they had been alive, none of them really looked their age. They always appeared to be in their prime. Perhaps she had just been through a lot, he thought.

"So, um," he figured he should say something, "I'm Dipper. This is my sister Mabel. Um, the little yellow dragon is Bill. He's, uh, normally…bigger. A-Anyways, we got snatched up by a Sky Terror then fell into a dark hole and woke up here. Could you maybe, like, tell us where we are or something?"

The dragoness stared down at Bill for a long time. For the most part, her expression was unreadable, but Dipper thought that she had an almost…haunted look in her eye. Was she a dragon that actually did not like Bill? Or was she confused by his current state? She had yet to speak or even make a sound.

"Um, so, do you mind helping us?" he asked again carefully.

Whatever look he thought he had seen in her eye disappeared and her expression was now completely unreadable to him as she turned to gaze at him. Without a sound or word, she turned to head back into the trees and kept walking for a bit before stopping to look back at them and flicking her head in a gesture for them to follow. Dipper and Mabel exchanged looks before Mabel scooped up Bill and they followed after the big dragoness.

The forest she led them through was alive with birdsong and shafts of soft light shone through the treetops. Every now and then, a small forest creature like a squirrel or a rabbit darted away to climb a tree or find cover beneath bushes as they passed. After a while of walking, the dragoness finally spoke.

"You said you were captured by a Sky Terror, correct?" She did not look back at them as she spoke.

They were surprised to hear her speak. Her voice was full of a sort of solemnity and properness, similar to Gaia's, but there was a slight hint of melancholy to it as well. Bill thought that her voice sounded vaguely familiar, but as for how or why, he could not be sure. It was like a distant memory, one that he had locked away long, long ago.

Dipper was the one who answered. "Uh, yeah. It carried us over the Badlands and to its nest on a mountain there."

"To escape getting eaten," Mabel chimed in, "we jumped off a cliff into a big pit. There was a weird 'whoosh!' and suddenly we were almost drowning in a freezing cold river!"

"I see," the dragoness said as she continued walking. "…You must have fallen into a portal just before the river's current swept you away. You are rather far from the Badlands, after all."

"Really?" Dipper asked. "Oh man…"

"Do you know a way we can get back?" Mabel asked. "Are there any portals around?"

"Yeah," Dipper said. "Any portals that lead to the outskirts of the Badlands? Or maybe just straight to the tether tree? We could even find our way home from Maashva."

The dragoness did not reply right away. Instead, she continued walking ahead until they exited the forest and found themselves standing on a cliff ledge and looking out over a massive open land of dry grasses and acacia trees with the odd pointed boulder dotting here and there. The scene stretched as far as the eye could see and the sky over it was dark with thunderclouds that rumbled and flashed with bluish light. They could make out the moving shapes of animals that looked strikingly similar to Earth's African creatures.

"You are currently in the wilds of Telmak," the dragoness finally spoke again; she still did not look at them and only stared out at the distant horizon. "There are no portals where dragons do not live. …What you see before you is but one corner of the broad landscape known as the Thunderstruck Savannah. It is a land of wild animals and violent lightning storms. The nearest dragon residence is the storm dragon city called Hyal-Belrai, or 'High Lightning'." She pointed with her snout. "That black mountain with the swirling storm clouds you see on the horizon is the location of that settlement. The nearest portal will be there." She suddenly turned and began to head in the opposite direction, saying, "I bid you farewell and good luck."

"What?" Mabel flinched. "That's it? Can't you like fly us over there or something?!"

"Yeah," Dipper agreed. "It'll take us days us to cross that savannah. And that's if we don't get attacked by something on the way!"

The dragoness stopped and turned her head just enough to peer at them from the corner of her eye. "…I cannot help you any further. I have no right to even…" she trailed off. "…The zebra-like animals called Swifthooves are docile enough to let you ride them. They can travel great distances at great speeds, so it should only take you the rest of today and the next day to reach the mountain. But be wary. When night falls, the storms begin. Do not remain on or near Swifthooves or Lightning Eaters when a storm is occurring. Staying out in the open is dangerous as well, since the lightning often lights the grasses on fire and the animals become violent. Find shelter beneath the stones and never beneath the trees. …Goodbye."

"Hey, wait!" Dipper called, but the dragoness had already disappeared amongst the forest trees. "Dang it. What the heck is a Lightning Eater?"

"It's those weird giraffe-looking things you see walking around down there," Bill piped up, causing Mabel to jump. He had not spoken a single word from the time the dragoness arrived until now when she had gone.

"Did you know that dragon?" Mabel asked him.

"No. Er, maybe? I don't remember."

"What do you mean? You can forget things?"

"Shut up and start walking!" He paused a moment then began to thrash around in her arms. "And put me down! I don't need you to carry me like a child!"

"Ouch!" She dropped him and looked at the small cut on her arm from his spikes. "But you are a child," she said. "At least, right now you are."

"Shut up!" He growled. "When I get my hands on that drunken bastard –"

Dipper interrupted him. "Come on already. Let's get moving." He had already found a safe enough looking path down the cliffside.

"Don't interrupt me!" Still, Bill followed after them, grumbling and muttering to himself all the while.

When they finally reached the bottom, they paused a minute to scan the area. The grass reached up just above the twins' knees, but for Bill in his current state, he was unable to see. So, he leapt up onto Dipper's hip and clawed his way up to perch himself on the boy's shoulders and place his forepaws on Dipper's head so he could look around.

"Ouch! Ow! Hey! Watch the claws!" Dipper told him. "I thought you didn't want to be held?"

"I'm not being held," he told him. "I'm using you as a perch so I can see."

"And so you don't get lost in the grass?" Mabel said with a smirk.

Bill snorted irritably.

As they continued forward, they saw strange creatures not unlike ones they knew but, at the same time, vastly different. There were herds of antelope-like animals with crystal horns and blue fur grazing on fresher grasses around a watering hole. Drinking from the water was a large blue and green beast with yellow horns and a mane of spiked white fur down its neck and spine. It looked like some frightening cross between a lion and a werewolf. They were careful to give it a wide birth even though the nearby grazers did not seem to mind the beast's presence. Further away walked tall gray creatures with long necks. They resembled giraffes but had reptilian faces and broad paws instead of hooves. They were ash gray with vividly glowing blue stripes all over their bodies, and they each had a pair of horns that twisted upwards towards the sky.

"Those are Lightning Eaters," Bill said after he noticed Dipper looking at one. "They walk around waiting to get struck by lightning and use the energy from it to stay alive. Most of the animals around here survive by absorbing electricity. Or eating each other." He glanced back in the direction of the beast by the watering hole. "Good thing that Raijus don't hunt until nightfall."

"Is that what that beast was?" Mabel glanced back at it too. It was lying beside the water and observing them casually from a distance.

"Let's hurry and hitch a ride on one of those Swifthooves." Dipper said. "I see a few up ahead."

The animals known as Swifthooves were horse or zebra-like in appearance. They were a deep blue color, almost black, with white, glowing, jagged stripes on their bodies and white mohawks for manes. There was a small herd nearby of about eight, and they were relaxing as they awaited the coming storm.

"That dragoness said they're docile, right?" Dipper asked as they watched the herd from a short distance. They had gotten pretty close but decided to stop and wait a moment before advancing. The Swifthooves had noticed them but did not appear bothered in any way. "Do we just go up and climb on one's back?"

"Yup," Bill said with a nod. "They're passive and friendly in the daytime."

"What are they at night?"

"Lightning rods."

"Huh?"

"The animals around here attract lightning bolts and become supercharged and crazy when they get struck by one. Lightning Eaters and Swifthooves attract lightning the most. It would be very bad for us to be on or near one when the lightning storm starts. But we'd end up making a pretty easy meal for that Raiju."

Dipper ignored his last remark. "Come on, Mabel. We'll get one and ride it 'til evening then take shelter like that dragon told us to."

She followed him as he walked closer to the herd. "Will it be able to find its way back to its friends?"

"I don't know, probably. I'm sure it'll be fine."

They carefully approached the nearest adult Swifthoof, which was grazing peacefully on the grass. As they neared, it flicked its ear and lifted its head to look directly at them. They froze, expecting it to flee, but the creature actually began to approach them itself. It sniffed and snorted at their heads, which caused Mabel to giggle. She reached and stroked its neck, finding that its dark fur was velvety while the stripes were coarse.

"I'll call you, Sparky," she said with a smile.

"How original…" Bill muttered.

Sparky remained still and did not protest in any way as the humans climbed up onto its back.

"Okay," Dipper said. "Let's see here… Maybe if I –" He lightly tugged a handful of its mane and the animal turned and began to walk in that direction. "Okay, okay. Good. Now, to get you to go faster, maybe I can just…" He tapped the Swifthoof's sides with his heels but the animal did not react.

"Kick it again," Bill told him. "Harder."

Dipper did just that, but perhaps a little too hard, and Sparky bolted forward so fast that they nearly flew off. He clung to the animal's mane while his sister clung to him. The dragonling on his shoulders laughed but was digging his claws into Dipper's clothes to avoid flying off himself. After a minute or two, Sparky slowed to a gallop that was much easier for them to handle.

"I definitely get why they're called Swifthooves," Dipper breathed.

"You don't even know the half of it," Bill laughed. "You should see them when they're charged up!"

"As cool as that sounds, I think I'll have to pass on the account that I might get trampled or electrocuted."

"Eh, suit yourself," the dragonling said with a shrug.

After hours of traveling on the back of Sparky, the Savannah began to grow darker. They could not see the eye of Starpelt with the storm clouds blocking the sky, but the growing darkness along with the more frequent thunder sounds above told them that both night and the storm were drawing nearer.

"We should find shelter," Dipper said. "Sparky's starting to get…sparky."

Sure enough, there were sparks beginning to form around the Swifthoof's mane and legs. The static was making its mane stick out wildly in all directions, and it kept making odd noises in its chest and throat in anticipation of the storm.

Dipper pulled back on Sparky's mane to get it to slow to a stop, then jumped down and went to help Mabel. "Ouch!" they both said and withdrew their hands from each other. Static had built up from Sparky's fur into their clothes and caused them to accidentally shock each other. Bill chuckled.

"Come on," Dipper said as he rubbed his hand. "There's a big rock over there."

They left Sparky and went over to the pointed black stone standing tall before them. Before either sibling could question Bill about how it was supposed to provide them shelter, the little dragon jumped down from Dipper's shoulders and disappeared amongst the grass at the rock's base.

"Down here!" he called, his voice echoing slightly.

They stepped forward and suddenly fell with a shout. The tall grass had been concealing a large hole in the ground that tunneled beneath the rock. It was like a large den of some kind.

Bill watched them pick themselves up from the dirt and look around. "The stones in the Thunderstruck Savannah mark spots that are safe from lightning and fires," he explained. "They were dug and marked by earth dragons a long time ago."

The siblings sat against the dirt wall of the shelter, and it did not take long before Mabel fell asleep leaning against her brother. Dipper was tired too, but he could not get himself to sleep. There was just so much happening. So many new and interesting things. He jumped a little at the sudden and loud sound of thunder outside then looked to his sister to see if it had woken her up. He figured she must have been really tired, because she did not even make a sound and continued to sleep.

Finally, after however long it took, he began to tune out the loud sounds of thunder and doze off, but something woke him up again. He felt something moving on his other side and looked to find Bill curling himself up against his leg before seeming to fall asleep. Dipper was pretty sure that the only possible reason why Bill would do such a thing was because he was currently in a young dragon form, which, as they saw earlier that day with the butterfly, meant he was prone to behaving like one. As such, either his current form made him desire physical interaction and comfort from others, or perhaps he was just cold. Either way, Dipper found it amusing and he did not really mind. He leaned his head against his sister's and finally let himself slip into sleep.

In the morning, Bill was the first to wake. He uncurled himself in a stretch then rolled over onto his paws and lowered his front half to stretch some more. After, he glanced over to see the Pines twins still sleeping. He then crawled out of the den and poked his head through the grass to survey the area. A fire had not started last night and no predators seemed to be anywhere nearby. He had honestly expected the Raiju they had seen to come hunting for them, but it must have settled for the Crystal Antelopes instead. An odd feeling suddenly panged his insides and he ducked back into the den. He stared for a moment at the humans sleeping against the wall then suddenly dashed forward, leapt with his front paws outstretched, and tackled Dipper in the stomach.

"Oof! Hey!"

"Wake up!" Bill shouted.

Mabel grumbled and sat up, rubbing her eyes; Dipper held his stomach. "Why'd you have to tackle me awake?!"

Bill did not bother answering. "I'm hungry!"

"H-Hungry?!"

"Hungry!"

"Mm, me too," Mabel said.

"I require sustenance!" Bill continued shouting. "I must feed! Find me food!"

"Okay, okay!" Dipper got up now. "Just stop yelling at me! What do you even eat, anyway?"

"It varies," he replied.

Dipper rolled his eyes and exited the den, Mabel following. "Looks like we lost our ride," he said as he scanned the area for the Swifthoof. "Figures. What the heck are we supposed to find to eat around here though? There is literally nothing." He walked in a circle around the big rock, looking for any signs of where there might be something to eat. "Nope," he said as he rejoined Mabel and Bill. "Nothing. We'll just have to eat when we reach Hyal-Belrai."

"But I'm hungry now!" Bill said.

"Well, there's nothing here! You'll just have to wait."

"Ugh!" He threw himself backwards onto the ground, rather dramatically.

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Tch. Let's just hurry up and find another Swifthoof so we can get there. The sooner we get there, the sooner you can eat."

"Ugghhh!"

Mabel ended up having to scoop up the dragonling as he refused to get up or even move. Even after she picked him up, he just laid limply in her arms without protest. After some time of walking in the direction of the mountain, they finally encountered a herd of Swifthooves and hitched a ride on one. Once again, the animal did not seem bothered and complied without protest to carry them across the Savannah at great speeds. Mabel had dubbed the new Swifthoof "Sparky Number Two" to which Bill's only response was, "Ugggghhhhh!"

It took the rest of the day for them to finally reach the base of the mountain. The Thunderstruck Savannah had proven to be vaster than they had originally assumed it to be. At the base, they found a lake of fresh water from which a wide river extended out towards what they believed was west. A waterfall flowed into the lake and stretched so high up the mountain that the swirling clouds made it impossible to tell just how tall the mountain and its waterfall were.

"Okay," Dipper said, staring up at the mountain. "Now what?" He could not make out any pathway or trail up the mountain.

"I don't know," Mabel said, "but we'd better figure it out, 'cause it's getting late and I don't see any rocks other than the mountain." She dismounted the Swifthoof and carried Bill over to the water. They had not found anything to eat the whole day. He had spent most of it complaining about being hungry, but a while ago now he had gone silent and appeared almost faint. "I'm hungry, too," Mabel told him as she gently laid him beside the water's edge. "We'll find something to eat soon. Here, try drinking some water."

He did not respond and hardly moved to drink the water.

"How often do you think baby dragons need to eat, Dipper?" Mabel asked.

"I don't know." He was still looking for a path up the mountain. "He's just being overdramatic."

"Mm, I don't know…" She turned back to look down at the dragonling. He had stopped drinking but barely moved his face from the water. He was laying with his wings limply spread out on the ground instead of folded against his back and looked like he was going to fall asleep at any second. She carefully scooped him up again in her arms and went to join Dipper. Overhead, the thunder rumbled warningly.

"Let's hurry," Dipper said.

The jagged stones of the mountain's base were impossible to climb, at least for humans. They were far too steep and far too rough. Dipper was sure that there had to be some kind of pathway or something for those who could not fly. After all, not all dragons were capable of flight. As they searched, the Savannah grew darker and darker and the thunder and lightning became more frequent. Behind them, the Swifthoof was becoming agitated, snorting and kicking at the dirt. Suddenly, without warning, a bolt of lightning struck down upon the animal with a terrifying sound. The force of the bolt cracking the sound barrier knocked the siblings over.

The Swifthoof reared up with a horrifying sound like a whinny mixed with a roar. Its appearance had altered slightly. Its mane was spiked and pointing in all directions, sharp fangs had sprouted from its upper jaw, the stripes on its body were glowing brightly, and its muscles and veins bulged beneath its static-filled hide.

The twins expected the furious-looking animal to attack them, but were surprised when it bolted away as something bigger landed before them. It was a Raiju, even bigger than the one they had seen yesterday. This beast must have been struck by lightning as well, as it also looked somewhat different and appeared furious and wild.

The Raiju let out a loud howling roar as lightning struck several times across the land and thunder threatened to shatter their eardrums. The beast lunged, claws outstretched to tear through them, but a sonic boom cracked and sent the Raiju flying back. As the beast scrambled to its paws, it looked up to find its new opponent was a large white and blue dragon. With another powerful and almost invisible flap of its wings, the dragon sent another sonic boom to it that knocked the beast back again.

Before the Raiju could recover again, the dragon turned and scooped them up in his arms then took to the air in one quick motion. They had hardly even realized what had happened before they were dropped roughly onto a smooth stone brick path.

"What in all of creation are you idiots doing here?!"

They lifted themselves from the ground and looked up at him. "Zephyr?" Dipper was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He snorted. "I was on official business for Mother Gaia, if you must know. I had just arrived when I saw you fools about to get mauled and eaten by a wild Raiju. Now, explain yourselves! You're not supposed to be wandering around Telmak without a dragon for a guide, if I recall!"

"Er, about that…"

Mabel spoke up. "We were with dragons, but then some big scary thing called a Sky Terror snatched us up and carried us all the way to a mountain. Then we jumped in a big hole and got thrown into a freezing cold river and washed up in a forest just outside the Savannah where a dragon we never met before told us that the nearest portal was in a dragon city on this mountain."

Zephyr seemed to have to process all of what she had just speedily told him. "I…see. Well, that's as good a reason as any, I suppose… They were right, whoever that dragon you mentioned was. Hyal-Belrai is rather remote." He suddenly noticed the limp dragonling in her arms and looked surprised. "Is that Bill?!"

"Oh," Mabel looked down at him. "Yeah. Dionysus accidentally turned Bill into a baby dragon right before we got kidnapped by that Sky Terror thing."

Dipper honestly expected Zephyr, of all people, to find the situation hilarious. Much to his surprise, though, the dragon seemed more concerned than anything.

"What?!" Zephyr lowered his head to look at Bill. "What is wrong with him? What did you do?"

"We didn't do anything," Dipper told him.

"He's hungry," Mabel said.

"When's the last time he ate?"

She shrugged. "We weren't sure if he actually eats at all. We couldn't find anything to eat today."

Zephyr looked appalled. "What?! Dragonlings that young need to be fed nearly every two hours when they're awake!"

"R-Really?"

He let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Ugh, humans are such – Tch. Okay, look. He may not really be a dragon, but the way magic works is…strange. Therefore, in his current form, he needs to be cared for the same as a dragon!"

"Well, there wasn't anything to eat," Dipper told him.

"Nonsense!" Zephyr sighed then leaned forward and carefully grabbed the dragonling in his jaws by the scruff and carried him away to a feathery dragoness resting outside of her home. She had been keeping an eye on her own dragonlings as they played together and looked up curiously when Zephyr approached. He gently placed Bill down to speak. "Tempest, could you please feed and take care of this one? I must speak with the alpha right away, and those two," he gestured with a wing at Dipper and Mabel, "are completely incompetent when it comes to dragons."

Tempest nodded and lifted Bill to carry him into her home. She paused at the entrance and turned to call her offspring with a strange clicking sound to which the two dragonlings immediately responded.

"You two go with them," Zephyr told Dipper and Mabel. "I will come by in the morning to take you back with me."

The twins obeyed and entered the home of the dragoness called Tempest. Her home, just like the others in the city, was large and round, made with perfectly cut and shaped stones. It was like a large den, but it had walls and strange circular doors that separated the rooms from the main area. Dipper was fascinated by how diverse the homes of different dragons were.

He and his sister watched from the side as Tempest carried Bill into what appeared to be like some kind of equivalent to a kitchen, her two offspring bouncing behind her. She gently placed Bill down and walked away somewhere behind a wall. Meanwhile, her two children sniffed curiously at Bill while they waited for their mother. When Tempest returned, she brought with her a large stone bowl and a basket and placed them down in front of the dragonlings. Her own two dragonlings did not hesitate to grab their fair share of goodies from the basket then happily accepted smaller bowls that their mother had filled with something from the larger bowl. While they set about eating their dinner, Tempest scooped a third bowl full of the larger bowl's contents and brought it over to Bill.

"What's that?" Mabel asked. "Smells good."

"A simple broth," Tempest replied as she carefully coaxed Bill into drinking some. "It is meant to go with the bread and vegetables, but this one is too weak to eat anything more solid right now." After making sure that he was actually consuming the broth, she turned to look at them and flicked her tail. "Come. Help yourselves."

"Thanks!" Mabel immediately set upon the food as eagerly as the little dragons had done moments before.

Dipper joined her and examined the contents of the basket. It was filled with freshly cooked vegetables: carrots, potatoes, and some other vegetable he did not recognize and assumed was a Telmak exclusive. (Mabel had grabbed three of those.) There were also fresh loafs of bread that smelled very enticing.

After eating, Tempest and her dragonlings moved into one of the other rooms, leaving the guests in the living area. There were large cushions that the twins assumed must be used like sofas and chairs, which they themselves used as beds for the night. Tempest had given them some sheets to use for cover and placed Bill on one of the smaller cushions to rest before she had gone with her children to their room.

For a while, Dipper laid in the dark, staring up at the curved ceiling. The only source of light left on was a lantern of sorts in the kitchen area. The sounds of thunder from the clouds below were muffled by the stone walls but other than that, everything was silent. He turned onto his side to look at Bill. The dragonling was laying curled up and facing away from him.

"…Hey, Bill…are you awake?"

He did not stir or respond right away. Just when Dipper was starting to think that he must have been asleep, he responded with, "What do you want?"

"Oh." Dipper was surprised. "Er, well, I wanted to say…sorry. I thought you were just being overdramatic or something but it turned out you were actually getting sick… So, sorry."

Bill was silent and motionless for a long time before lifting his head to turn and look at him. "…Don't worry about it." He turned away again and rested his head back on the cushion.

In the morning, Dipper was awoken by Tempest's two dragonlings clambering over him and sniffing intensely at his face and hair. Mabel laughed as he struggled beneath them, their breaths tickling him.

"Okay, stop, stop!" he cried between laughs.

Finally, they jumped off of him, giggling as they ran over to Bill. Bill looked startled and tensed, standing on his claws with his tail erect and wings spread out. The other dragonlings stopped and stared at him in surprise.

"Bill," Mabel scolded. "Why are you being so mean? They just want to play with you."

"Play?"

"Have you, like, never done that before?"

"…No!"

The smaller of the dragonling siblings approached Bill closer and suddenly reached out to poke him with a claw. Bill jumped and stared at him. "Tag! You're it!" the dragonling squeaked before he and his sibling took off in different directions.

Bill remained where he was, looking stunned and bewildered as he watched them. The older one stopped to look back at him and stuck her tongue out in a playfully teasing manner. "If you can't catch us both before Mom comes back with breakfast, you're gonna have to eat a pepper snail!"

"What?!"

Dipper and Mabel watched, amused, as Bill suddenly darted after the other dragonlings. He jumped and climbed over furniture in his pursuit, the other dragonlings laughing all the while. The younger one squealed with delight when he was finally caught as Bill pounced on him from a chair, then they both began to chase after the older one.

"Betrayal!" she shouted as they cornered and pounced her, pinning her to the floor.

Bill let out a triumphant laugh. "Ha! Now who's gonna be eating a pepper snail?"

"What even is a pepper snail?" Mabel asked.

"Disgusting!" the young dragoness replied.

Her brother wrinkled his snout and said, "Yuck!"

Tempest then returned from the room in back of the kitchen and called them all over to eat breakfast. Shortly after they had finished, there was a knock upon the front door. Zephyr had returned to collect them, just as he had said he would. After saying their goodbyes to Tempest and her children, they followed Zephyr through Hyal-Belrai all the way to the heart of the city. It was there where the stone portal was located, and they passed through it to find themselves now standing before the grand tether tree.

"Great Mother Gaia," Zephyr said as they reached her carved throne. "I have returned. I have also found the young Pines twins and Bill, who was turned into a yearling by Dionysus via what I assume to be one of his drunken 'accidents'."

"Welcome back, Zephyr, and greetings to you three." Gaia reached out with her tail tip to touch Bill's forehead. With a flash, he was back to his true age and size.

"That's more like it!" He shook himself then transformed into his human form. "Thanks."

Gaia nodded then turned to Zephyr. "Zephyr, please escort them home, would you?"

The white and blue feathered dragon nodded and bowed before turning to lead the way.

When they finally reached Valor's clearing, Bill immediately hurried over to the front of the old barn where Amy was and practically lifted her off the ground. "Amy!"

"Bill!" She had been caught off-guard and startled at being suddenly grabbed and picked up from behind, but she laughed after realizing that it was him and hugged him. "You're back!"

"Did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me!"

"I did. I went to look for you guys but Gaia told me that she would have Zephyr find you."

Dipper looked up at Zephyr. "You didn't say that."

He turned his head away, looking embarrassed. "Well, I had to go there anyway, so!"

"Hey, you're back!" They turned to see Crusade exiting the old barn, followed by Teeth and Shade. "And you're alive!"

"Mabel!" Teeth smiled.

"Teeth!" She ran over and hugged his head. "Where's Rawly?"

"Er, I am here…" He walked over to meet them; he was in his human form. "Um, I am glad that you are all safe. And that you've returned. I was rather worried…"

"Really? You were worried about me? I mean, us?"

"Well, yes. Of course I was!"

Crusade suddenly seemed to notice Zephyr and looked excited. "Zephyr!"

"Oh no," Zephyr said.

Crusade ran over to him and stopped very close to him. "Well, what a pleasure to see you here!"

Zephyr was trying not to look at him. "Yes, well, Mother Gaia asked me to escort them here, so…"

"Aw, you mean you didn't come just to see me?"

"Of course not! Why would I?!"

Crusade wrapped his tail around Zephyr and pulled him up against himself, causing Zephyr to let out a surprised yip. "Oh, come on Zephy."

"Don't call me that!"

"When will you just admit your feelings, hm?" Crusade teased. "Come on, admit it. You dream of passionate nights with me, don't you?"

Zephyr's feathers bristled with embarrassment. "As if I would ever! Get off of me, you heathen!"

"Oh, I'll show you a heathen," Crusade growled, but it was more seductive than aggressive.

This caused Zephyr's feathers to bristle even more, if that was even possible, and he looked absolutely flabbergasted. "Crusade! L-Let go of me this instant!"

He unwrapped his tail from him and moved away. "Fine, fine!" He sighed. "One day, Zephy, one day…"

"I will be going now!" Zephyr announced, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat. "Good day!"

To be continued…