In Too Deep
The riders were in the Giant Realm where they were watching Buzzsaw and his goons lifting a large water dragon that looked like a cross between a giant crocodile and octopus out of a fast body of water. The dragon was all tied up. The riders looked out from their hiding place.
"What is that, a Kraken?" Jun asked.
"I think it's an Octofin," said Tom. "Buzzsaw must have seen it in the dragon book."
"Bet you feel pretty guilty for handing Buzzsaw the how to manual for the entire dragon world," Eugene sneered. Tom slouched sadly. Jun glared at her brother with her fists clenched.
"It doesn't matter how he got the book," she said. "We're going to get it back."
"Let's get in the air," Tom said. The riders got on their dragons and flew at Buzzsaw and his goons. Buzzsaw was so busy gloating he didn't see the riders coming. Thunder shot lightening at the Timberjack, almost dislodging Buzzsaw.
"Give me back my book!" Tom demanded. The other riders surrounded the two henchmen.
"Blast these middle schoolers," Buzzsaw ordered. However his henchmen were still holding up the Octofin and couldn't really do anything.
"Looks like your stooges have their hands full huh?" Alex taunted. Buzzsaw scowled, then he sneered as though an idea came to him.
"Drop the dragon," he ordered.
"What?" One of the henchmen asked.
"Do it, we need a distraction you dopes," Buzzsaw barked. The henchmen dropped the ropes they were holding. The Octofin fell back towards the water. The riders and their dragons quickly grabbed the ropes. The Octofin was very heavy and took all the dragons to hold it up. Tom saw Buzzsaw and his goons flying away.
"Oh no the book!" Tom cried. "Thunder after them." Thunder reluctantly let go of the rope and went after Buzzsaw, leaving the others to bear the Octofin's weight. The dragons held on as best they could but the Octofin was just too heavy, and the ropes slipped from their grasp. The Octofin hit the water with a big splash, and disappeared. The riders all landed on a ledge and dismounted. Tom paced along the edge, not taking his eyes off the water.
"We almost had it," he grumbled. Just then Edelweiss and Black Widow flew down and join them. They hadn't been seen all day.
"Where've you been?" Eugene asked crossly.
"Raiding Buzzsaw's camp," Edelweiss said. "I've freed all the dragons he's captured, so he's got that to deal with. What's going on here?" Tom quickly explained to her about the Octofin, as she dismounted.
"And Buzzsaw still has the book," he finished. He sat on a giant barnacle with his head in his hands. "I don't know how long the Octofin can last down there all tied up."
"Okay one problem at a time," said Edelweiss.
"The book can wait," said D'Angelo. "We need to focus on saving the Octofin."
"How?" Jun asked. "We don't know how deep that water is." Thunder nudged Tom.
"What about the dragons?" Tom asked.
"They can't stay underwater for extended periods of time," said D'Angelo. Tom got to his feet, thinking. He looked over at Edelweiss again.
"Can you get down there in your dragon form?" He asked. Edelweiss looked out at the water.
"Yes I can," she said. "I've spent my spare time testing my strength underwater. I can swim quite well, I can hold my breath for along time, and I can communicate with dragons underwater. However I can't breathe fire, and I'm not as strong as I am in the air. I can get down to this fellow just fine, but I don't think I can pull him back up. He's going to be twice as heavy underwater. Then there's the slight problem of predators. I would need an extra set of hands down there."
"We could steal the bathysphere," said Alex suddenly. Everyone looked at her.
"What's that some sort of fancy washing machine?" Edelweiss asked.
"You've seen it," said Jun. "When we fought the Fault Ripper." Edelweiss scanned her memory.
"Oh, that thing," she said. "And it can go underwater like a diving bell?"
"Yeah," said Tom. "It's perfect for this."
"No, it's a bad idea," said D'Angelo. "That's an expensive piece of ICARIS equipment. Even if we do steal it, who's going to drive it?"
"Sounds like you know an awful lot about it D," said Tom. D'Angelo looked like he wanted to protest.
"That's settled then," said Edelweiss. "You guys go get the dive bell, and I'll stay here and find the Octofin, I can at least keep scavengers off him." She jumped onto a different ledge and shifted into her dragon form. The riders all got on their dragons and headed for the surface, Black Widow followed them. Edelweiss watched them go, then she dived into the water.
Under the water; she swam around the vast, dark world. There were lots of strange looking fish. So far Edelweiss didn't see any other dragons. She quickly slithered through the water like a sea snake. Soon she reached the bottom. She saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see the Octofin lying nearby, still tightly bound. Edelweiss swam over to him. He seemed to be asleep. Edelweiss inspected the ropes that bound him. She tried to bite through them, but they were very thick and very tight. The Octofin was roused by all the tugging. He squirmed away from her, looking scared.
"You're okay friend," Edelweiss said, using an underwater dialect of Dragontongue. "I'm here to help." The Octofin relaxed, he was muzzled so he couldn't answer. Edelweiss used her talons to try and pulled the muzzle off. She suddenly realized she was about to run out of oxygen. She used all the strength she had and managed to get the muzzle off. The Octofin flexed his jaws.
"Thank you miss," he said.
"That's all I can do for you at the moment," said Edelweiss. "I need to go up for air, and I have some friends coming to help too. Just sit tight."
"Do what you have to miss," said the Octofin. "I'll be okay." Edelweiss nodded. Then she turned and swam back towards the surface.
A few minuets later she reached the surface. She expelled the water from her stomach and breathed in fresh air. She used her wings to tread water. She then saw that the riders and their dragons had returned with the bathysphere. It was dangling over the side of the highest ledge. Tom, Jun, and D'Angelo were filing into it. Alex, Eugene, and the dragons were high on the ledge. Edelweiss swam over to them.
"Did you find the Octofin?" D'Angelo asked.
"Yes, he's right below us," said Edelweiss. "No predators so far." Tom looked up at Alex and Eugene.
"We're all set here," he said. "Once we find the Octofin and secure it, we'll send up a flare then you guys pull us up."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," said Eugene.
"Sure you don't want to join us Alex?" Jun asked. "We've space for one more."
"No thanks," said Alex. "I don't really feel like being a tin can a mile under pitch black water. I'll stick with the safe job this time."
"Okay," said Tom. He, Jun, and D'Angelo went into the bathysphere's small cabin. D'Angelo secured the hatch. He took his seat at the controls and dropped the bathysphere into the water. Edelweiss dived down after it.
She slithered in circles around the bathysphere as it descended through the dark water. Edelweiss occasionally peeked through its port holes. The three riders were looking through another window at the fish swimming by, and the occasional water dragons. D'Angelo made eye contact with Edelweiss and gave her a thumbs up. Edelweiss nodded then swam in the direction of the Octofin. D'Angelo steered the bathysphere after her. They soon reached the bottom, and spotted the Octofin. He smiled when he saw Edelweiss swimming towards him.
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"No one's bothered me," said the Octofin. He looked over at the Bathysphere. "What's that thing?"
"It's an underwater vehicle for humans," said Edelweiss.
"Humans?" The Octofin asked. "Like the humans that put me in these ropes?"
"These aren't the same humans," said Edelweiss. "These ones want to help." The bathysphere came closer. It reached out a robotic arm towards the ropes. The Octofin was nervous, but kept still. "I'm Edelweiss by the way, what's your name?"
"I'm Bunyip," said Octofin. "Nice you meet you." The bathysphere released a small blinking light that sped towards the surface. A few minuets later the bathysphere started slowly ascending. The robotic arm held fast, and the Octofin rose with it. Edelweiss followed them, keeping an eye out for danger. At first things were going fine. Then the bathysphere jolted to a stop. Edelweiss was about to head to the surface to investigate, when she felt something swimming towards them fast. She spun round to see a massive Shelfire dragon, heading right towards the bathysphere. Edelweiss swam as fast as she could. The Shelfire bashed the bathysphere around with his long horns. The bathysphere and the Octofin swung around wildly. Before Edelweiss could reach them, the Shelfire cut the line with his horns. The bathysphere fell back towards the floor. Edelweiss quickly snatched it in her talons, however with the added weight of the Octofin she couldn't hold it up. All she could was slow it's fall so it didn't break on the sea floor. It landed on his roof and the Octofin landed next to it.
"You okay Bunyip?" Edelweiss asked.
"I'm fine," said the Octofin. "What about the humans?" Edelweiss swam over to the bathysphere and looked inside. Tom, Jun, and D'Angelo were laying on the bottom of the upturned bathysphere, all unconscious.
"Are they okay?" The Octofin asked.
"I think so," said Edelweiss. "They're unconscious." Both dragons could hear the Shelfire nearby. "Shelfire's don't like trespassers. He'll be back I'm sure."
"Here," said the Octofin. He ejected a thick cloud of black ink. It completely surrounded the bathysphere. Edelweiss casually circled the bathysphere, staying well within the black cloud. Bunyip watched her. "Is there a way to get those humans to the surface?"
"I can't lift the Bathysphere," said Edelweiss. "I loose half my strength underwater."
"Can you get them out of it and swim them to the surface?" Bunyip suggested.
"No," said Edelweiss. "We're pretty far down and humans have to take their time getting back to the surface when they go this deep. If they try to go too fast it hurts them, or even kills them. I can't remember why though. They'd run out of oxygen long before I could them out. We'll have to wait and see what they come up with."
Inside the Bathysphere; Tom and the other started come around. Tom sat up and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Everyone okay?" He asked, winded.
"I think I am," said Jun getting to her feet.
"Can't say they same about the bathyspere," said D'Angelo. "My dad is going to kill me if I survive this." Tom and Jun looked out the window, all they saw was black and the occasional flash of white from Edelweiss's scales.
"I can't see anything," said Jun. "The Octofin released some sort of cloud."
"Great, now we can't even see the Shelfire coming," said Tom.
"That might work in our favor," said D'Angelo. "Cephalopods like octopuses release black ink as a form of camouflage."
"How are we going to get the surface?" Jun asked. "Could we just swim for it?"
"We're too far down, we'd never make it," said D'Angelo. "Even if Edelweiss carried us out."
"And what about the Octofin?" Tom asked.
"I told you we should have asked my dad first," said D'Angelo, frustrated. "But as usual you didn't listen to me, always having each other's back."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tom asked. D'Angelo said nothing. He saw on the floor, looking woebegone. Tom and Jun exchanged a look. Then Jun went and sat beside D'Angelo.
"Yeah, telling our parents is starting to sound a lot easier right about now," she said.
"I'm sorry D," said Tom. "It's no one's fault but mine. This all goes back to me giving the book to Buzzsaw."
"Oh come on, don't make me feel guilty for being right," said D'Angelo. "We all know you were trying to help the Octofin, I'm sure he knows it too." Tom looked out the window. The ink had cleared a bit and he could now see the Octofin laying nearby. Tom caught his eye, and he had a sorrowful expression on his face.
"Actually I think he does know," said Tom.
"That what I just said," said D'Angelo.
"Why do you think he released that cloud of ink?" Tom asked.
"Like D said, to protected itself," said Jun.
"But the Shelfire wasn't attacking the Octofin, he was attacking us," Tom said. "I think the Octofin released that cloud of ink to keep us safe. If I can go out there and cut him free, he might help us to the surface." Jun looked at him horrified.
"You want to go out there?" She asked. "But you'll flood the bathysphere."
"Actually I don't think so," said D'Angelo. "We're upside down so he'll be be able to swim out without the water getting in, like a diving bell." Jun marched over to Tom.
"Okay, but the Octofin could still eat you," she said. "Or the Shelfire could come back and eat you, or you could drown."
"We're the only chance the Octofin has," said Tom. "And he may be the only chance we have. Plus Edelweiss is out there, she'll keep me safe." Jun opened her mouth to protest, but then sighed. She and Tom looked back out the window. Edelweiss was circling the bathysphere. Tom banged on the window to get her attention. Edelweiss stopped circling and looked at them. She seemed relieved to see them up and about. Tom pulled out his pocket knife, pointed at it, then pointed at the Octofin. Edelweiss looked over her wing at said dragon, then back at Tom and nodded. Then she pointed at her mouth, then up at the surface indicating that she had to go up for air. Tom nodded. Edelweiss swam upward and out of sight.
Edelweiss swam as fast as she could. Luckily the Shelfire didn't bother her. She reached the surface to find Alex, Eugene, and the dragons circling. Alex steered Feathers over to Edelweiss and hovered there.
"What happened down there?" Alex asked.
"Big Shelfire dragon cut the line," Edelweiss explained. "I just came up here for air. I need to get back down there and help them. Don't worry, Tom has a plan." With that she dove back down.
She reached the bathysphere and looked back through the window. The three riders smiled when they saw her. Tom pulled the knife back out and headed for the hatch. D'Angelo and Jun got it open. Tom took a deep breath then jumped into the water. Edelweiss swam over to him. He gave her a thumbs up. Edelweiss nodded then swam over to the Octofin, and Tom followed her. The ink was starting to fade away. They could now see the Shelfire circling the area. Tom swam to the Octofin's side and started cutting at the think ropes. Edelweiss drifted nearby. She kept her eyes on the Shelfire and on Tom. At first nothing happened. Tom cut away at the rope, ignoring his lungs begging for more air. He felt the Octofin watching him, looking concerned. Suddenly there came a loud bellow. The Octofin nudged Tom who turned to see the Shelfire coming at him with his mouth open wide. He was about to swallow Tom whole, when Edelweiss charged out of the ink cloud and knocked the Shelfre back. She flared her wings between the Shelfire and Tom. The Shelfire glared at Edelweiss, sizing her up. But then retreated a short distance. Tom quickly sawed away at the ropes, and soon they came loose. The Octofin lifted himself off the sea floor, happy that he could move his limbs again. He swam over to Edelweiss.
"Nice to be free again," he said. Edelweiss was about to answer when she spotted Tom, he lost consciousness.
"Oh no Tom!" She exclaimed. Bunyip turned to see the boy just hanging there, not moving.
"I've got him," Bunyip said. He swam over to Tom and gently pushed him back towards the bathysphere. Edelweiss looked through the window as D'Angelo and Jun pulled Tom back inside. Tom saw up looking winded, but alive.
"He's okay," said Edelweiss.
"Great," said Bunyip, with more gusto in his voice. "Out of the way sky dragon. I've got this." Edelweiss did as she was told. Bunyip grasped the bathysphere with the tentacles on his tail. He headed up towards the surface, dragging the bathyspere behind him. Edelweiss followed him. She got a head of him a bit. Suddenly she heard Bunyip cry out in alarm. She turned to see the Shelfire ram the Octofin hard into a nearby wall. He dropped the bathysphere as he tried to get the Shelfire off him. Edelweiss was about to go after the bathysphere when Wu, Wei, Feathers, Plowhorn, and Thunder came out of no where and caught it. Edelweiss paused.
"Good to see you guys," she said, beaming.
"Likewise," said Wei. Edelweiss quickly spun around and went to help the Octofin, who was still trapped by the Shelfire. Edelweiss used her talons to shove the Shelfire off. Bunyip swam free and headed back towards the bathysphere.
"Hey friends," he said to the other dragons.
"Edel!" Thunder cried, bubbles erupting from his mouth. They all turned to see Edelweiss wrestling with the Shelfire. He pinned her against a sharp chunk of coral, her head struck the sharp edge of broken giant barnacle, small red clouds of blood bloomed around her head. Edelweiss roared in pain and tried weekly to get the Shelfire off her.
"I'm coming hang on!" Bunyip cried. He swam as fast as he could over to them. He got the Shelfire off Edelweiss, who struggled to get back up. She looked up to see Bunyip and the Shelfire clashing near by. The Shelfire knocked the Octofin to the sea floor. Bunyip smacked him with his snout. The Shelfire collected himself. This gave the Octofin time to get back up. But eventually the Shelfire got him down again, and was about to pin him to the floor. The three riders and their dragons watched helplessly. Edelweiss swam as fast as she could and managed to get between them. She knocked the Shelfire off course. He roared in outrage and rammed his head into her neck, then his jaws snapped shut on her head like a bear trap.
"NO!" Tom cried. Jun clapped her hand over her mouth in shock. The Shelfire shook his head back and forth, his teeth cutting into Edel's scales. She was screaming and tired to wriggle free. The Octofin was trying to get the Shelfire off her, but he kept moving out of the way. He even used Edelweiss's struggling body as a weapon, which caused her more damage. Tom spotted Thunder outside the window. He banged on the glass and Thunder looked round at him. He made a hand gesture and Thunder nodded.
"I've got to go help them," Thunder said to the others.
"Go head, we've got it," said Plowhorn. Thunder detached himself from the bathysphere, and Feathers filled in for him. Thunder swam at the Shelfire, and shot it with lightening. The Shelfire instantly released Edelweiss. Thunder blasted him again, and the lightening stunned him like a giant taser. The Shelfire looked at the Night Light. He knew how dangerous electricity in water was, so he turned and swam away. Both Thunder and Bunyip watch him go.
"Nice thinking young Night Light," said the Octofin.
"He's lucky I didn't do a full power surge," said Thunder. He looked back at the bathysphere. "Now we've got to get them back up."
"I'll do it," said Bunyip. He swam over to the bathysphere and grasped it in his tentacles, and started to pull it towards the surface. The others followed him.
When they reached the surface at last Tom opened the hatch. He climbed out as Thunder flew over to him. Tom leaped into his saddle and they flew over the water. The Octofin jumped out of the water, clean over them. Then he splashed back down and vanished. Tom steered Thunder over to the ledge and joined the others. They looked back at the bathysphere, just as it sank out of sight.
"So much for bringing the bathysphere back in once piece," said D'Angelo. "My dad is so going to kill us." At that moment the Octofin resurfaced again, supporting a very battered looking Edelweiss. He gently pushed her towards a beach. The riders and their dragons hurried over there, with Black Widow right behind them. Edelweiss managed to crawl onto the shore and laid on the stone. Her body was covered in dark bruises and her head had shallow punctures that were bleeding. She looked over at the Octofin.
"Thank you," she whispered. Bunyip nodded, smiling. Then he dove back down into the water.
"Edel are you okay?" Jun asked.
"Yes," Edelweiss said hoarsely. "Just give me a minuet." She took several deep breaths, then she shrank back to her human form. She sat up, clutching her head. "I'll be okay, but I would like to get out of here."
"Yeah," said D'Angelo. "I think it's time we told our parents about Buzzsaw." They all agreed. Thunder, who was closest, helped Edelweiss to her feet. She hugged him.
"Thank you Thunder," she said. "Thanks a bunch."
"You're welcome," said Thunder. Edelweiss then limped over to Black Widow clutching her ribs. Black Widow knelt down.
"You got lucky, again," she said. "If you weren't bonded to Avalon you'd be dead."
"I know," said Edelweiss as she climbed into the saddle. "I really need to get better at fighting in my dragon form, I keep losing." Black Widow got to her feet.
"How's your head?" Black Widow asked.
"It hurts," said Edelweiss. "I also feel nauseous and dizzy. But Avalon's got me for now." The riders had gotten onto their dragons. They took off and headed for the fissure.
It was night time when got out. Edelweiss cleaned herself up as best she could, she had a tourniquet around her head to stop the bleeding. But she was still feeling dizzy.
"You think you can make it back to Rekketown?" D'Angelo asked.
"Sure," said Edelweiss. Suddenly Plowhorn stopped and sniffed the air looking worried. She roared in alarm.
"She smells something," said Tom. The other dragons sniffed the air.
"Guys, what that orange glow on the horizon?" Jun asked. They all followed her gaze. There was a bright orange light beyond the trees.
"That's Rekketown," Edelweiss said. The dragons sped up and headed for the town.
They reached the town, to find it on fire. Domes were solid concrete so they weren't burning; but the grass and trees were ablaze. The riders landed their dragons near their parents. Suddenly there came loud evil laughter. Everyone looked up to see Buzzsaw and Old Jack perched on a dome.
"Greetings citizens of Rekketown!" Buzzsaw taunted. "Judging from your shocked expressions, I'm guessing my existence comes as a complete surprise to you. I guess your kids don't tell you everything." The parents looked at their children in shock. "You have now tasted my wrath. Take this as a warning. I am the king of dragons, and you are no longer welcome in my domaine. The Dragon World and all the dragons in it are mine. Any trespassers will be shown no mercy." Suddenly there came a loud whistling sound, then Old Jack was shoved off his perch by Black Widow. He managed to catch himself with his wings, and Buzzsaw managed to not fall off. They turned to see Black Widow now perched on the roof of the same dome, Edelweiss on her back, covered in dried blood.
"How dare you!" Buzzsaw roared.
"You've made your point Leonard," Edelweiss said firmly. "Now run along." Black Widow snarled and gnashed her black teeth. Old Jack growled but he didn't dare get any closer.
"You're going down for this!" Buzzsaw threatened. "If I catch you in my domain again, I swear I'll knock you out of the sky."
"Oh, I am so scared," Edelweiss said sarcastically. "Now you can go crawling back into your little hole." Buzzsaw glared at her, and she glared right back. Buzzsaw turned his dragon around they headed back into the fissure. Olivia turned to the riders in shock.
"Tom, you knew about this lunatic and you didn't tell us?" She asked. None of the riders answered. Black Widow glided down to the ground. Edelweiss steered her dragon over to the people.
"Thank you," said Carla. "For that."
"Not a problem," Edelweiss panted. "Sorry about your town." Then she fainted, and fell from her saddle.