One of Alex's mothers, Carla, was carrying a plate of cookies to Alex's bedroom.
"Lex, mija," she said, opening the door. "I brought you some…" However, when she entered the room, she found that Alex was nowhere to be seen. "…treats."
"She's off with her friends," said Hazel, joining.
"Again?" Carla sighed. "Ever since she made these new friends, I feel like I never see her anymore."
"Right?" Hazel smiled. "Why can't you sit inside, on a screen, all day, like a normal kid?"
Carla chuckled. "I know it's not a bad thing."
"You've always encouraged her to be more social."
"I just miss her being around all the time. The house feels…" Carla looked around the house. "…empty."
"Look on the bright side—at least she's out having fun," said Hazel encouragingly.
"I am not having fun!" Alex yelled.
The Dragon Riders were now exploring the Fire Realm as a whole team now that Alex had finally finished all their fire suits. Alex's fire suit was read, and she was currently on Feathers on a rocky ledge, looking down at the fiery inferno below.
D'Angelo then flew by wearing a green fire suit. "Come on, Alex, you design these fire suits so that we can explore the Fire Realm."
"I designed them so we wouldn't burn to death," said Alex. "Ugh, I'm sweating like an armpit."
Feathers then sniffed and quickly backed away, indicating that she did smell rather right.
"Ah, don't you think it's beautiful, Alex?" Jun asked as she, Tom and James joined them.
Alex sighed. "I guess so if you enjoy a fiery, end-of-the-world aesthetic."
"At least you can say this place is one-of-a-kind," said James.
"Yeah, take it all in and explore," said Tom. "But keep your eyes peeled for those Flamethrower dragons. We don't want any trouble."
They then flew off exploring more than Fire Realm.
"Woohoo, let's go!" D'Angelo cheered.
"Woohoo!" Tom yelled.
As they flew past, D'Angelo noticed a group of dragons. These were bulky, with tiny little wings and bludgeon-like tables on their backs. He noticed that they were also eating rocks and could crush them in their mouths with their sharp fangs.
Tom flew right into a geyser, and Thunder blew out some smoke once through it. Jun was more interested in the plant life, thriving despite the humility and a lack of fertile soil.
Then something caught her eye. "Uh, guys, what's that?"
They looked ahead and saw something glowing; at first, it could easily be mistaken for the sun if it weren't for the fact they were underground. However, when they got closer, they saw that he was getting brighter and it was moving.
"Are those Flamethrowers?" D'Angelo asked.
"I don't think so," said Tom. "But whatever it is, it's coming this way, and it's picking up speed."
"Okay, looks like the fun I wasn't having is over," said Alex.
"They're coming in too fast," said Tom. "Brace yourselves!"
The Dragon Riders braced themselves for whatever was coming; D'Angelo even screamed. However, they soon discovered it was a tyre swarm of tiny little dragons, the smallest they'd seen. These little dragons resembled worms but had several pairs of legs and tiny little wings.
"It's a whole swarm of little fire dragons," said D'Angelo.
They all stared in, mesmerised by the little dragons as they flew around; one of them even approached Thunder curiously.
"They're amazing," said Jun.
"Hmm, I'll see them later, I guess," said Alex. "I have sweat in my eyes."
"It's… It's like they communicate with one another—where they are, where they go," said Tom.
"Like a flock of birds," said D'Angelo.
"Then maybe this is some sort of migration," said James.
"Ah, anyone sense where I want to go?" Alex asked.
"Air-conditioning?" Jun assumed.
"Bingo."
"All right, all right, let's head home and cool off," said Tom.
They began making their way back home, but none of them noticed that one of these tiny little fire dragons had accidentally entered Alex's bag.
In the forest, Buzzsaw was still searching for Thunder, but he had found nothing so far.
"Ugh. I am done searching the forest," he said. "That lightning bird came from somewhere, and I'm going to find out where."
He was now making his way to ICARUS Station with a broad smile.
Jun had finally made it home and instantly made her way to her bedroom, but no sooner had she sat down at her laptop than Eugene entered the room.
"I saw it with my own two eyes," he said.
Jun sighed. "Saw what?"
"A dragon," he said.
Jun rolled her eyes and looked back at her laptop but instantly became anxious.
"A dragon. A real dragon," said Eugene.
"Are you feeling okay?" Jun asked.
"Uh, in the forest. A wingspan of 30… no, 50 feet wide, long, terrifying fangs, flying through the air, scales. You know what a dragon is."
"Probably just a drone," said Jun, going to her bookshelf.
"A drone that breathes fire? Pfft, come on," Eugene scoffed and looked at her suspiciously. "You know something. So don't play dumb because if anyone knows dumb, it's me." It took only a few seconds to realise what just set. "I mean… you."
"Well, yeah, I know about dragon myths, made-up stories, folklore, but I don't, like, actually think they're real," she said, trying to maintain her composure.
Eugene looked immensely frustrated and seemed to be fighting the urge to strangle her. "Are you kidding? You have a dragon journal, huh? You are in a dragon club. And you're telling me you don't believe? What are you hiding?"
Jun then grabbed a random book and smiled at him innocently. "We just play games and makeup stories, you know, kid stuff."
Eugene didn't look convinced as she made her way to the door.
"Maybe you should get some rest," she advised.
She then closed the door and became anxious; she knew she had to tell the others about this development.
Alex had also made it home and immediately sat down on the sofa.
"There you are, finally," said Carla from the kitchen, grabbing the plate of cookies. "Did you see I made you treats this morning? Cookies. Move your pack, and I'll get you a plate and some milk."
Alex beamed and reached for her bag, which he had placed on the table. However, as she reached out, it suddenly moved and rolled off the table.
"What?" she stared.
She had no idea what was happening but suspected that she had picked up a hitchhiker in the Hidden World. Now, her bag was rolling towards the kitchen towards her mother.
"No, no, no, no," she said, chasing after it.
She followed the bag until she saw her mother's feet and immediately sat up straight as she turned to look at her.
"Something the matter?" Carla asked.
"No, nothing, why?" Alex asked calmly.
Carla shrugged and turned her attention back to the kitchen table.
Alex looked down and saw her bag bumping into the cupboard door, and when her mother wasn't looking, she quickly dived down towards it. She grabbed it, sighed in relief, and turned back to her mother.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived as she turned; the little dragon had escaped from her bag and landed on the tap.
"Here you go," said Carla, handing her the plate of cookies.
Just as she turned, she noticed the little fire dragon on the tap and instantly screamed.
"What is that?" Carla stared.
"Uh…" said Alex, unable to speak.
Carla grabbed a jam jar and slowly approached the little fire dragon.
"It's okay, don't be afraid," she said gently, placing it inside. "There you go."
Hazel then entered the room. "Carla, is everything okay? I heard a…" She stopped when she saw the little fire dragons. "Oh. What is that?"
"Some kind of worm-like lizard," said Carla.
"Ah, it… glows," said Hazel, stunned. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Alex!" said Carla, looking at her.
Alex was still too stunned to speak. "Huh?"
"Isn't this little guy amazing?" Carla asked her.
"Uh-huh," Alex nodded.
"Ho-ho, she's more shocked than we are," Carla noticed.
"This could be a major breakthrough," said Hazel, looking at the little dragon.
"We should get him to the lab."
The two of them then left the dome to make their way to the lab, leaving a whimpering Alex behind.
The Dragon Riders immediately had an emergency meeting in the Dragon Lair, where Alex explained what had just happened.
"Sorry," she said.
"That's it, game over," said D'Angelo.
"Rakke Corp knows about the dragons," said Jun.
"No, they don't, just my moms for now," Alex assured them. "They think it's some strange species of lizard."
"Well, they're not wrong," said James.
"This means we have time to get it back before they figure out what they really have," said Tom.
"And I thought telling you guys Eugene saw a dragon would be the worst part of this meeting," said Jun.
They instantly all stared at her.
"What?!" Tom yelled. "When…?! When were you planning on telling us?"
"Well, I was going to say something right away, but then Alex had way worse news, so…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't throw me under the bus," said Alex.
"Could this day get any worse?!" D'Angelo moaned.
James groaned. "It will now."
As if on cue, D'Angelo's boot suddenly caught fire and immediately began dancing around, trying to extinguish flames.
"Ah… what is…?" he yelled.
Then, suddenly, flying in front of him was a tiny little fire dragon.
"Another fire dragon?" Alex blinked.
"Wu, a little help?" said Wu.
Wu then fired his ice blast at D'Angelo, dousing the flames on his boot, and D'Angelo screamed.
"What? Still too hot?" Jun asked.
"No, too cold!" he said.
Then another little fire dragon appeared.
"Look, another one," said Tom. He reached out to touch it but winced as it burned red hot. "Whoa, yikes!"
"What are these things doing here?" Jun frowned.
Plowhorn then growled.
"What is it, girl?" D'Angelo asked her.
Plowhorn then began following the little fire dragons, and they followed her and saw the cave was lit up with more little fire dragons.
"A swarm," said D'Angelo. "They are like a flock of birds—they sent one another."
"They might be looking for the one that's missing," said Tom.
"If they are, they're going to look through every single realm; they might even go to the surface," said James.
Tom nodded and looked at Alex. "Alex, your moms are the ones that have it—think you can get back?"
Alex nodded.
"I'll go with her," Jun offered.
"Good. Me, James and D'Angelo will try to wrangle these guys and hold them until you return," said Tom.
The girls nodded and immediately ran off, leaving the boys behind to deal with the mess of the fire dragons.
"We're going to need supplies," said D'Angelo.
Jun and Alex didn't waste any time reaching the surface and immediately went to ICARUS Station.
"Hey! Uh, Alex, do you have a plan?" Jun asked. "You can't just walk in there, pick up the dragon, then walk out."
"Of course, I have a plan," she said, pulling out her tablet. "Before we left, I collected Phil's security protocols. He's got this playset up for everything—life support failure, contamination lockdown, missile threat preparedness drills. All I have to do is activate one, and this whole place will evacuated."
"You're going to trigger a missile attack drill?" Jun stared. "Don't you think that's a little over the top?"
"No."
"Come on, let's do it the old-fashioned way."
"Ugh. I never get to have any fun."
They waited outside until a scientist used a key card to open the front door, and then they quickly rushed inside. They then carefully began making their way to the lab, ensuring they were not spotted.
In the lab, Carla and Hazel were examining the little fire dragons.
"The specimen presented bioluminescent as well as endothermic properties," said Hazel.
Carla reached into the ball to touch the little dragon, but her fingers burnt. "Ah! Fascinating. The subject is unusually hot to the touch. Can't attribute this to any other specimen of lizard I'm aware of."
Alex and Jun crawled around the floor and hid beneath the table when they entered the lab.
"Plus, he's pretty cute," Carla added.
"Accurate observation," Hazel laughed. "Particularly cute are his small claws. Or, more accurately, his… wittle feets."
"Word of caution, though, the specimen may elicit feelings in humans such as admiration and/or the urgency care of him, forever and ever."
"Get ready," Jun whispered. Jun then noticed that Alex was looking rather reluctant. "You okay?"
"I just feel bad," she said. "They seem to be forming a real connection with him. What if someone took Feathers from me or Wu and Wei from you?"
"It's the only way to make sure that this dragon and all of our dragons will be kept secret. Your moms mean well, but others won't."
Alex sighed. "I know."
"Hazel, do you see this?" Carla asked, looking at the little fire dragon. "Does his glow seem… dimmer to you?"
"It does," Hazel agreed. "That's concerning. Maybe we should take him home. I don't like the idea of leaving him unsupervised overnight."
"He should sleep in our room."
"Hm. Good idea."
Alex and Jun quickly realised they were getting too attached to this dragon. To that end, Alex immediately pulled out her tablet and attempted to start a missile attack drill.
"Missile drill," she said.
Jun forced her tablet down and shook her head.
Meanwhile, the boys chased the small group of small fire dragons using nets and an oven glove.
"Oh, yeah!" said D'Angelo, scooping a fire dragon with his net. "Like catching butterflies in the summer." Sadly, the heat from the fire dragon caused the net to ignite, and it flew out of it. "A very hot summer."
"This one might be out of here, folks," said Tom as he chased a fire dragon. "It's back, back, way back… and…" He then managed to grab the fire dragon, which immediately ignited the oven mitt. "…he's out-ow-ow-ow-ow."
Tom quickly removed the other net, causing the fire dragon to fly away.
"You know this is a lot harder than I thought it would be," said James, showing off his netless net.
Thunder began chasing the little fire dragons towards Plowhorn, who slammed into her horn. This knocked out the fire dragons, and Plowhorn remained unfazed by their heat.
"And that's how you get it done, Pal," said Tom, patting Thunder.
"Ugh. If that was just three, I have no idea how we'll catch the rest of these little guys," said D'Angelo.
"Yeah, these little guys are incredibly hot," James agreed.
Tom suddenly noticed the three fire dragons glowing even brighter than normal.
"Whoa," he said. "Take a look at this."
James and D'Angelo leaned over, and they saw that the fire dragons were indeed glowing brighter the closer they were to one another.
"They glow brighter the closer they get to one another," Tom observed as they flew away. "Weird. It's like they live off of each one another's heat."
Jun and Alex had reached Alex's dome and saw her moms fawning over the little dragon.
"Aw, look at him," said Hazel and then looked at the two of them. "Girls, come see Glowmer."
"Glowmer?" Carla frowned. "I thought we were going with Pojito?"
"Glowmer is way cuter. Plus, he kind of… glows."
Carla marked. "Pojito works, too."
"Ugh, they named it; we're in trouble," said Alex to Jun.
"It's not that bad," said Jun.
"What about treats?" Carla asked. "What kind of treats do you think he likes?"
Hearing this made both girls a little apprehensive.
"Can you excuse us for a minute?" Jun asked, pushing Alex to her bedroom.
Though neither Carla nor Hazel seemed to notice as all their attention was on Glowmer.
Once inside Alex's bedroom, Jun began pacing up and down in a panic.
"They're all over this dragon," she said. "Ugh! It's like the new baby. Then they'll share it with everyone, and then Sledkin will get a hold of it and…" She stopped when she realised Alex wasn't listening and was more focused on her tablet. "Are you listening to me?! What are you doing?"
She leaned over Alex's shoulder and saw she was about to activate the missile attack drill.
"The missal drill thing again?" Jun moaned and grabbed her hand. "Alex, no."
"It's… the… only… way," she said and tried to press on the tablet with her free hand, but Jun grabbed that one as well.
"No… it's… not," said Jun as she pulled Alex away from the tablet and tried to touch it with her foot. "Why does Phil even have a missile attack emergency drill?"
Alex then gave up and looked at her. "Okay, fine. What's your plan?"
Jun thought for a moment and got an idea.
They re-entered the living room moments later and quickly approached Alex's moms.
"My mom just called me on my cell," Jun announced, holding her phone out. "She needs both of you down the lab immediately."
"What? Why?" Carla asked.
"She said there was no time to explain and sounded pretty upset, so I didn't question it," said Jun, thinking on her feet. "Oh, you know how she can get."
Carla and Hazel looked at one another and then looked down at Glowmer.
"Don't worry, we'll watch…
"Pojito," said Carla.
"Glowmer," said said Hazel.
"Right. Hurry!" said Jun.
The two women immediately ran out of the dome, leaving Jun and Alex alone with Glowmer.
"See, easy as pie," said Jun, rubbing her hands together.
Alex then approached Glowmer and looked a little reluctant about taking him.
"I know you don't want to do this, but look at him," said Jun. "His like is going out—he probably needs to be with his swarm."
"I know why we have to do it; I just don't want to hurt my moms," said Alex, then sighed. "Let's just get this over with before they figure out that your mom never called."
The girls then grabbed Glowmer and snuck out.
"Coast is clear," said Jun.
However, no sooner had Alex stepped outside Eugene appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Glowmer.
"Eugene!" Jun yelled.
"What do we have here?" Eugene smiled as he looked at Glowmer. "Whoa! Are you serious?"
"Eugene, it's not…"
"Oh, it is, it's a dragon," he said. "Some lame, mini kind of dragon, but it's a dragon."
He then immediately jumped onto a nearby quad bike and drove off. "Mom's going to want to see this."
"Eugene, no!" Jun yelled, and she and Alex began to chase after him.
Meanwhile, Buzzsaw was calling on the ground as he slowly approached the station.
"Stay low, Buzzsaw," he said to himself. "Who knows who you might run into? Wait, am I talking to myself too much? No, it's perfectly normal. Good, that's what I thought."
He then continued to crawl across the ground.
Meanwhile, the boys were still trying to contain the little fire dragons. They had successfully led them to the Crystal Realm, and all three were now wearing fire suits.
"There's a bunch of them over there," D'Angelo pointed.
Tom then flew over to the little fire dragons holding out a cage containing three of the same fire dragons hooked around his silver sword.
"Go to the light," he said to them, and they immediately flew over towards the cage. "Yeah, that's it."
D'Angelo then captured the little dragon with a net. "Uh-oh, little guys, this one's coated in dried dragon gel."
He then dumped the little dragons into a basket on Plowhorn's side.
"Not bad," said Tom. "At this rate, we'll have them all wrangled in no time."
"Let's not put ourselves on the back just yet; we still have a long way to go before that," said James.
Sadly, things got even more complicated when a little fire dragon escaped from the basket and set it on fire. Plowhorn smelled the smoke and quickly panicked, throwing D'Angelo off and causing all the little fire dragons to escape.
Tom and James quickly landed next to D'Angelo, and all three of them saw the fire dragons swarming all over the Crystal Realm.
"They're spread out, covering a lot of ground," said Tom. "It looks like they're searching for the lost fire buddy."
"And they're bugging everything in their path while at it," D'Angelo added.
D'Angelo was right. The little fire dragons were annoying every dragon in the Crystal Realm, showing no signs of stopping.
Eugene had finally reached home and entered excitedly with Glowmer in his hand.
"Mom! Mom! I have something I think you should see," he said.
"Eugene, get that back!" Jun demanded as she and Alex entered.
"I don't think so," said Eugene smugly. "You know it's bad to keep secrets from your family, right? Now you pay the price. Mom's going to find out, and I'll get credit for the discovery. That's what you get for trying to make me like an idiot, idiot."
"I was just trying to… protect you," said Jun.
"Protecting me?" Eugene scoffed. "Heh, I don't need protection. Protection from what?"
"You know, dragons are a symbol of luck, right?" said Jun.
"Of course I knew that. Heh, everyone knows that."
"Well, one you're holding is a bad-luck dragon. Anyone who holds that dragon is said to be unlucky in money and love. So no cool cars, or trendy clothes, no dates."
"Wha…? No dates? Ever?" said Eugene, looking generally concerned.
"Only terrible ones," said Alex.
"Oh, and hair loss," Jun added.
"Hair loss?!" Eugene panicked.
"Don't worry, you'll look pretty good with a shiny dome," Alex assured him.
Eugene then gave Glowmer to Jun and grabbed a spoon to look at his reflection.
"Did my forehead get higher? It seems higher," he panicked. "Dandruff, I never had dandruff. Did I have dandruff?"
He heard laughter and turned to see that Jun and Alex had left with Glowmer. He then looked out the window and saw the two girls running off, and it dawned on him that Jun had lied to him, though he was still concerned about his hair.
Outside, Jun handed Glowmer to Alex, who was not looking too healthy.
"We need to hurry; his glow is getting weaker by the minute," she said.
"The longer he's away from his swarm, the worse he seems to get," said Jun. "Come on."
"Alex?" said Carla behind them, making the two girls jump.
They turned around and saw both Carla and Hazel standing there.
"We are so busted," said Alex.
Carla then approached them angrily, saying something in Spanish.
"Listen, it's not Alex's fault," said Jun. "I…" However, the two women merely narrowed their eyes at her. "But whatever you decide is called."
"You lied to us," said Hazel, looking at Alex disappointingly in her eyes turned to Glowmer. "And you're taking Glowmer? Why?"
Feathers reappeared directly behind Alex's moms, making Jun and Alex gasp.
"I-I-uh," Alex stuttered.
The two women turned to look behind them, but thankfully, Feathers cloaked before they spotted her. However, they soon looked back at Alex, waiting for an explanation.
They were then interrupted by the honking of a horn. They looked around and saw Linda had stopped on a quad bike.
"So glad I found you," she said, approaching the two women. "Dr Sledkin heard about the new insect thingy you found, and she wants to see it."
She reached out to Glowmer, but Carla stopped, and Hazel pulled Glowmer back.
"He seems as if he's in distress," said Hazel. "We need to keep an eye on him."
"That won't be necessary," said Linda. "Dr Sledkin is at the lab now."
She then attempted to take Glowmer, but Hazel maintained a firm grip on the container. Linda looked at him suspiciously, making her laugh nervously before releasing him. They watched as Linda placed him in a crate and drove towards the station.
Alex's moms then escorted both girls away.
"We are so disappointed in you two," said Hazel. "Lying to us? What were you thinking?"
"It's her friends," said Carla. "That's what it is."
"She's right. Ever since these new friends came along, you've changed."
"I'm not changing," said Alex firmly, causing the two women to stare at her. "Glowmer needed to be set free. He doesn't belong in a tank. Look, I know he means a lot to you, but he isn't doing well in captivity. You saw it yourselves. I just wanted to return him to his natural habitat. But you were so gaga over him, giving him treats, and I didn't know how to tell you, so I just… Sorry."
"I didn't think of that," said Hazel, looking at Carla. "She could be right."
"I guess we were just so excited to care for little Pojito," Carla agreed. "Or maybe we were missing having someone else around to take care of."
Alex smiled at them.
"It doesn't excuse the lying," Carla continued. "But we know that your heart was in the right place, mija. Like always."
The three of them then hugged one another.
"But we can't just give up," said Alex, looking at them. "We have to get him back."
"I don't know, sweetie," said Hazel doubtfully. "Once Sledkin sees him, good luck getting him back out of that lab."
Jun and Alex looked at one another in new what they had to do.
Linda had reached the station but was having trouble scanning her key card. Jun and Alex had planned to use this opportunity to get Glowmer back, but then Sledkin opened the door and stepped outside.
"Linda, nicely done," she said.
"Sledkin!" Alex gasped.
Jun quickly pushed Alex and then quickly hit behind Linder's quad bike.
"Should I call May and Olivia?" Linda asked.
"And share the credit?" Sledkin scoffed as they made their way inside. "We found it. What did they do?"
"We're too late," Jun groaned as the doors closed. "It's over."
"Not necessarily," said Alex as she played with her tablet.
"What are you doing?" Jun asked.
Alex pressed down the tablet, and seconds later, they heard alarms, and Jun realised that Alex had just activated the emergency missile attack drill.
Sledkin was just about to open the crate when the alarm sounded.
"Attention," said the computer's voice. "This is a test of the missile attack emergency protocol. Please proceed to your assigned station."
"What is going on?" Sledkin asked.
"Erm, this is a test of the miss…" said Linda.
"I heard what it said," Sledkin snapped.
"Why did you ask, then?" Linda muttered under her breath.
Buzzsaw was almost at the station when he suddenly heard the alarms, thinking they had discovered him.
Soon, everyone in ICARUS Station left the facility, including Sledkin, who didn't look too happy.
"You!" Sledkin snapped at Philip. "What is going on here? This is a lab. Why do we even have a missile emergency attack drill?"
"This is a state-of-the-art facility, Dr Sledkin. I have prepared us for every scenario," said Philip.
Jun and Alex were still hiding behind a quad bike, but there was no way they could get to the station without being spotted.
"Okay, but the dragon is still inside," said Jun.
"Is it?" Alex smiled.
Jun looked at her confused and saw floating out of the station was Glowmer's tank with him inside.
"Luckily, she's faster and more invisible than us," Alex smiled as Feathers became visible after placing the tank on the ground.
"Feathers!" Jun beamed.
"Good girl," said Alex, rubbing Feathers, making her purr.
She then performed a hand signal telling Feathers to cloak, which she did.
"Now, let's get him back to the Lair," said Jun, picking up Glowmer's tank.
However, before they took a single step, Eugene shot right past them and grabbed Glowmer.
"Uh-oh! Look what I got," he said smugly. "Sorry. Looks like your secret's about to come out. Loser!"
He then ran to the crowd laughing.
"Feathers," Alex commanded and then whistled.
While still cloaked, Feathers placed herself in Eugene's path, causing him to trip over and somersault in the air before landing on the ground. This made him drop Glowmer, who rolled across the floor where everyone could see him.
Meanwhile, the boys were still trying to contain the fire dragons, now using their flame suits to grab them by hand.
D'Angelo managed to grab one and then saw a second flyby. "Where are you going?"
He chased after it, trying to grab it, but he was completely exhausted and missed. Then, if that wasn't enough, the fire dragon he had caught slipped out of his hand and flew away.
"Argh! This is impossible!" he groaned.
Tom chased after one of the little fire dragons and jumped off one of the crystals, but he wasn't watching when he was going. He slammed chest first into one of the crystal formations, knocking the wind out of him and falling to the ground.
"Kind of starting to feel that way," Tom groaned.
"I don't know if we can keep this up," James panted. "There's just too many of them."
They then saw the fire dragons flying away.
"Oh, that's not good," said Tom. "They're moving on."
"Where are Alex and Jun?" D'Angelo asked.
"If they don't get here soon, it'll be too late," said Tom.
"It might already be too late," James grimaced.
Jun and Alex were slowly making their way to Glowmer, and Sledkin was still arguing with Philip.
"Dr Sledkin, please report to your designated safety station," said Philip, a little agitated.
"Ugh! Fine," Sledkin groaned. "But I want a full review of these protocols you…" She stopped in midsentence when she saw Glowmer on the ground.
She was about to retrieve him when Carla and Hazel blocked her path.
"Dr Sledkin, can we have a moment?" Hazel asked.
"We realise we haven't properly briefed you on observations of the specimen," said Carla.
"Thank you, but now is not a good time," said Sledkin, trying to push past them.
"Oh, I realise that," said Hazel, grabbing her and forcing her to turn around. "But the specimen's safety is of the utmost importance."
Jun and Alex stared at them, and Carla winked at them and gestured for them to hurry up. Getting the idea, the two girls immediately grabbed Glowmer and ran out of town.
Eugene had just gotten back up when he saw them run by and was about to chase after them when his mother grabbed him.
"What are you doing out here?" May demanded. "Get your safety station, Genie."
"No, Mom, you don't understand," said Eugene as he got back up. "It's Jun and Alex and a dragon."
"This is no time to play dragon show with Jun," said May, pushing him away from the girls.
"But, Mom…"
"Your safety is all I care about," said May stubbornly.
"Look, just listen to me, please. No! Argh!"
Jun laughed at the scene as she and Alex left town.
Once they were in the forest, Feathers became visible, only quickly mounted her. She then cloaked again and took off, heading straight back to the Lair.
At the same time, Buzzsaw was leaving the station's perimeter, still thinking the alarms were about him.
"Okay. Those dopey scientists are smarter than I thought," he admitted.
He then heard a noise behind him and turned around, and to his astonishment, he saw Alex and Jun flying by, floating in midair. He instantly rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him, but they had already disappeared into the trees.
"Did you see that?!" he asked himself. "See what? Maybe I am going crazy. No!"
In the Lair, the boys were very depressed; little fire dragons had finally given up searching for their friend and had vanished.
Thunder then growled to get Tom's attention.
"I know, Pal," he said. "I'm sad, too." Thunder then nuzzled him. "What?"
Thunder then looked towards the entrance to the Lair, and Tom looked up to see Jun and Alex climbing down.
"We got him!" Alex cried triumphantly.
"Where are the others?" Jun asked.
"They gave up," said Tom. "Moved on. How is he?"
Alex opened the tank, and they saw Glowmer lying on the bottom, not moving immediately, fearing the worst.
"Oh no," said Jun.
D'Angelo gasped as he and James looked up, and Alex pulled Glowmer out of his tank. Tom then looked at D'Angelo and James and shook his head, and the two of them closed their eyes with regret.
"Oh, I'm sorry, little one," said Alex. "We tried."
Even the dragons growled sadly, and then, appearing out of nowhere, was a little fire dragon. It flew in front of Thunder and nuzzled his snout, and he immediately cheered up when he saw it. It then immediately flew over to Alex and began flying around Glowmer.
"Wait. Look," said Tom as a second appeared.
The two of them began flying around Glowmer, and his body started to glow. Everyone's faces lit up as he began to move.
"He's okay!" Jun beamed.
"Go on, find your home," Tom encouraged.
D'Angelo suddenly hugged Tom and looked him off his feet while James touched Alex's shoulder, smiling.
They watched as Glowmer flapped his wings, took off with the other fire dragons and flew away. They all embraced one another, smiling as the fire dragons disappeared into the distance, no doubt to join the rest of their swarm.
The next day, Alex ate a cookie at the kitchen table with her moms.
"Going to see your friends today?" Carla asked.
"No," she said and hugged the two of them. "I already have plans with my moms."
Her moms then hugged her back and smiled.
