Chapter 3: Into the Fire
(Intro)
Artha and Beau were entered in another Street Race. 2 of the other racers pulled ahead of them. As they entered a tunnel, their 2 Dragons bashed into each other, causing them to lose their gear. "Artha, we have incoming." Beau said as the lost gear was coming towards him and Artha. "Don't worry, Beau. I got you." Artha said. He activated his Blue Balance and Turning Gear. That made Beau maneuver around the gear by turning and running across the tunnel. Artha then got a call from Parmon, Connor, Kitt and his siblings on his vid-gear. "Nice maneuvering, Artha." Kitt said. "Yeah. Nice use of your Blue Balance and Turning Gear. And I'm impressed by your Draconium Energy consummation." Parmon said. "Well, Beau and I did have a lot of practice with Kitt and Wyldfyr." Artha said. But then he noticed an Orange Gear coming at him and dodged to the side. "Well, you could use a bit more practice." Kitt said sheepishly.
Suddenly, a Green Gear nearly knocked him completely off Beau. "Artha!" Beau exclaimed in worry. Artha struggled to pull himself back up. Just then, the racer behind him, Pyrrah of the Dragon Flares Crew, and an old friend of Connor and Fira, raced up beside him and helped him back onto Beau. "Thanks, Pyrrah." Artha said. "Anything for Connor and Fira's kids." Pyrrah said before riding ahead. "Careful, Artha. You're heading for the Snake's Tail." Connor said from the vid-gear. Artha saw the Snake's Tail ahead. It was a tunnel shaped like a snake's head. "Yeah. I've had some tough races in the Snake's Tail. Heavy mag-jumping, breaking, smashing, the works." Kitt said. "Then Beau and I will have to watch ourselves in there." Artha said as he and Beau entered the Snake's Tail, using their Red Thrusters to jet across a big gap.
"Stick to the plan, Artha. Let the other racers have at each other for a while. If you get involved, Beau could quickly lose his energy and you could lose all your gear." Parmon said. "You hear that, Beau?" Artha asked. "Loud and clear. Though it may not be enough. Look." Beau said. Artha turned and saw one of the other racers on the left side. His Dragon's tail was equipped with Green Gear as he tried to swat at Artha and Beau. "What do we do?" Artha asked. "We got to get ahead of him." Beau said. "Right. Let's do it, partner." Artha said. They both closed their eyes, concentrated and activated their speed boost, shocking the racer.
Meanwhile, Pyrrah was tapping a piece of Black Draconium Gear on her saddle before calling someone on her vid-gear. "Paynn, this is Pyrrah. What's the deal? Is the Black Dragon Gear working? It isn't making Phorrj any easier to control." She said, revealing to be calling Word Paynn. "Nobody ever thinks you're very easy to control." Word said as he pushed a red button, activating the Black Gear. Just then, the gear released a pulse that started affecting Pyrrah's mind. "What's…happening…to me?!" She asked as she struggled against the pulse. "Pyrrah, listen to me. The other racers are after you." Word said. Pyrrah looked at the other racers with pure rage. "You must eliminate them. Now! Release your anger." Word ordered. Pyrrah activated her Green Gear and started bashing through the other racers. "First, I will control the Dragon Flares, and then all the Down City crews. Then I will use them to bring chaos and fear to Dragon City." Word said.
After trashing the other racers, Pyrrah turned her attention to Artha and Beau, and started bashing into them. "Guys, Pyrrah's trying to run us off the track!" Artha exclaimed. "That doesn't make any sense. Pyrrah and the Dragon Flares are supposed to be the cleanest racers on the street." Parmon said. "They are. You're mother was the most honorable Dragon Flares she ever was when I met her, Artha. The others always looked up to her long before she disappeared." Connor said. "That's really sweet to hear that about Mom, Dad. But why is Pyrrah so angry now?" Artha asked. Pyrrah fired an iron ball from the Green Gear and took out Beau's Blue Balance Gear. "Oh, come on!" Beau exclaimed.
Kitt turned to Sparkk, Pyrrah's younger brother and one of her Dragon Flare crewmembers. "Sparkk, what's your sister doing out there? All that crashing and smashing, what's wrong with her?" She asked. Sparkk couldn't answer. He'd never seen his own sister act this way before. He called her on her vid-gear to find out. "Pyrrah! Can you hear me? Pyrrah! What's wrong?" He asked. "I…don't…know!" Pyrrah exclaimed, trying to regain to control of herself. But no avail. As she closed in on Artha and Beau, she drew a Red Energy Saw. Suddenly, Artha and Beau got a weird vibe as Pyrrah got closer. "Beau, do you feel that?" Artha asked. "Yes. There's something off about Pyrrah." Beau said. "It's coming from…that Black Gear on her saddle." Artha said, seeing the Black Gear. "We have to knock that gear off to snap her out of it." Beau said. Phorrj magged Pyrrah off to deliver her attack. "Beau, mag me up there. I got an idea." Artha said. "Already know it and you got it." Beau said as he magged Artha up towards Pyrrah. Artha knocked the saw out of Pyrrah's hand, causing it to fall towards the Black Gear and knock it off Phorrj, severing Word's hold on Pyrrah's mind. "What?" Word said in shock. As Pyrrah landed back on Phorrj, the effects of the Black Gear started wearing off. "What in blazes?" She asked, not remembering what happened.
Meanwhile, Lance noticed the Black Gear through his binoculars near the finish line where it landed. "Hey, Dad? What's that in the middle of the finish line?" He asked, handing the binoculars to Connor. "That looks like Black Control Gear." Connor said. "Black Control Gear? Where'd that come from?" Holly asked as she took a look. "Dad, what does this mean?" Benny asked. Everyone looked at Connor as he put this to thought. "It means that Word Paynn must be taking great measures to bring his Human-Dragon War into the light." He said. Kitt looked back at the race and saw Artha and Beau neck-and-neck with Pyrrah and Phorrj as they raced towards the finish line. "Come on, Artha." She said.
Artha and Beau managed to get an inch ahead of Pyrrah just enough to win the race. The audience cheered as Artha and Beau won the race. Kitt, Parmon and Artha's siblings ran over to them and congratulated them, hugging Artha and petting Beau. Meanwhile, Lance walked over to the Black Gear. "Who is the tiny insect in my web? Come, boy. Come and get me." Word said as he saw Lance through the secret camera on the gear. Lance picked up the gear and slowly succumbed to its mind control. Pyrrah walked over to Artha and shook hands with him, congratulating him on the win. "I look forward to a rematch one day, Pyrrah." Artha said. "So do I, Artha." Pyrrah said. As the Penn family walked away, Pyrrah noticed Lance was still there and holding her Black Gear. "Hey, I think that's mine. How'd that get down here?" She asked as she took back her gear. Lance slowly shook off the effect. "I'm Lance. I was helping Artha." He said. "Ah, Lance Penn, Connor and Fira's youngest son. Perhaps he will be the perfect bait to draw out his brother and the Gold Dragon. Take him, Pyrrah!" Word ordered as the Black Gear took hold of Pyrrah's mind again. "Are you and your brother trying to burn me, you little thief?!" Pyrrah exclaimed. "No one steals from the Dragon Flares!" Nearby, Derek gasped as he watched Pyrrah grab Lance and hauled him away.
"That was probably your best win ever, Artha." Parmon said. "I know. Kitt's got some catching up to do." Artha said. "Oh, I certainly do." Kitt agreed. "Wait. Where're Lance and Derek?" Artha asked. His siblings, Connor, Parmon and Kitt noticed that Lance and Derek weren't with them. "ARTHA!" Derek shouted as he limped over as fast as he could with his injured leg. Charlie and Erika rushed over to help him before he nearly fell over. "Derek! Where's Lance?" Artha asked. "It's Pyrrah! Pyrrah took him!" Derek exclaimed. That shocked everyone. Especially Connor. Before anymore questions could be asked, Artha received a vid-call. It was from Pyrrah. "Your little stunt has cost me the race, Penn! And I caught your little brother trying to steal my gear! If you want him back, come to my Under City Fire Cave and trade something for him. You have 2 hours!" Pyrrah exclaimed, ending the call. Now Artha, his siblings, Connor, Parmon and Kitt were really worried.
Later, they returned to Penn Stables. "Why are we at Penn Stables?" Parmon asked. "There's someone here who can help us." Artha said. Connor nodded, knowing who his son had in mind. "Not to question your decision, Artha, but shouldn't we be making plans to rescue Lance?" Kitt asked as they entered Beau's stable. Beau flipped the bracket and opened the secret elevator. Artha, Parmon and Kitt entered first since they had Beau, Cyrano and Wyldfyr. Connor, Artha's siblings and the Drag-Box Dragons followed as the door closed. "Where are we going?" Parmon asked. "Down." Artha said. The elevator brought them down to the ancient temple. Parmon, Kitt and Artha's siblings were amazed by the mere sight of the temple. "What is this place?" Charlie asked. "Could this be the ancient Dragon City?" Holly asked. "It is! This is an ancient Dragon Temple!" Parmon exclaimed. "We've only seen pictures of these places." Erika said. "Parm, doesn't your mom teach about the ancient times in Tech Academy?" Gwen asked. "Yes. About the days where humans and Dragons lived together and worked together." Parmon said. Just then, Mortis appeared out of the shadows and shushed Parmon, playfully scaring him off Cyrano. Kitt and Artha's siblings gasped at Mortis' sudden appearance. "An ancient Dragon Priest? A living ancient Dragon Priest?" Kitt asked in surprise. "This is Mortis. She's who we came to see." Artha said.
A while later, Artha explained everything to Mortis. "And then Derek said he saw Pyrrah take Lance. And she said that I had 2 hours to come to the Fire Cave." He explained. "Strange. I am familiar with the Dragon Flares. It is not like them to attack other racers so harshly." Mortis said. "We have reason to believe that Word Paynn has something to do with this." Charlie said. "Then tell me. Did either of you see any strange devices on Pyrrah's Dragon? A black pod of sorts?" Mortis asked. "Yes. I saw one just like it on her saddle. Beau and I could sense some bad vibes coming from it. We knocked it off as she started to attack us." Artha said. "Could that have been the same pod Lance found at the finish line?" Kitt asked. "I believe it was." Connor said. "You are right to believe that Word Paynn is behind it." Mortis said. "For years, we believed that Word's been trying to create Black Draconium Control Gear that goes beyond helping humans control Dragons." Connor explained. "And that helps him control humans!" Artha realized. "Word's using that Black Gear to control Pyrrah!" Fallon exclaimed. "Oh man. We know that he's been trying to restart the Human-Dragon War, but we never expected this." Derek said. "I'm afraid so. If Word controls all of the Down City Crews to cause fear and chaos, he'll bring the planet closer to achieving his dream." Mortis said. "Then we have to find a way to get close to Pyrrah and grab the Black Control Gear. That will sever Word's hold on her." Artha said. "But how? With Word controlling her, we won't be so lucky as we were in the race." Beau said. "I don't know. But we'll find a way, Beau. All of us." Artha said. Kitt, Parmon, Connor, Artha's siblings, Cyrano, Wyldfyr and the Drag-Box Dragons nodded. "Here. Take this map. The Dragon Flares' Fire Cave lies in the Wastelands beyond the Temple Ruins." Mortis explained as she handed Artha a map to the Fire Cave. "Alright, team, let's go save Lance." Artha said.
Thanks to the map, the team reached the Fire Cave in record time. As they entered, they looked to see that the cave had a lava pool complete with a volcano inside. "You actually won a race here, Kitt?" Derek asked. "Believe it or not, I actually did." Kitt said. Just then, Holly gasped. "Artha, look." She said, pointing at something on the ground. Everyone looked to see Lance's communicator, busted up. "Lance." Artha said with worry. "Oh no!" Jessica cried. "Word is going to pay for this." Connor said venomously, clutching his fist. "Let's go." Artha said. They continued on to the hangout of the Dragon Flares. But when they got there, they saw that they were outnumbered. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Artha said.
Pyrrah and Sparkk approached the team. "Welcome to the cave of the Dragon Flares, Artha Penn." Pyrrah said. She and Sparkk stepped aside to reveal Lance on one of the Fire Cave's Dragons. "Lance! Are you okay, little bro?" Artha asked. "No! This place smells worse than a Dragon stall!" Lance exclaimed. "That's my boy." Connor sighed as the others chuckled. Artha and Beau sensed the bad vibes again after seeing the Black Gear on Phorrj. "Nice Control Gear. A little gift from Word Paynn?" Artha asked. "Very perceptive, Artha Penn. But enough talk. Now that you're here, where is the Gold Dragon?" Word asked through Pyrrah. "The stables were destroyed when Word sent his Down City Crew to attack it, and the Dragon's missing." Artha said. "You lie! You will tell me what I want to know or I will keep your youngest sibling as my newest crewmember." Pyrrah demanded. "How about a race for Lance? I win, you let us go. If you win, I'll tell you what we know about the Dragon." Artha bargained. Parmon, Kitt, Connor and Artha's siblings looked at him with concern, knowing that he was taking a big risk here. "How deliciously reckless. You basically just sold your entire being to me." Word said.
"We shall race through my Lava Course. You and Wonn against me and Sparkk. But if you lose, we get you and your Dragon as well." Pyrrah said. Artha, Beau and the others were worried about that last part. "Are you insane? Where's the honor in that? We're Dragon Flares. Ever since the race today, you've been acting weird." Sparkk said. The other Dragon Flares silently agreed. "My race, my terms! You don't like it, find a new crew to run with!" Pyrrah exclaimed. Sparkk and the other Dragon Flares flinched at that. "Finish first through the Far Gate and you are free. Lose the race, and you lose everything. And to make sure there are no tricks, your youngest brat rides with me!" Pyrrah exclaimed as she grabbed Lance and put him behind her. "For the last time, my name is Lance!" Lance exclaimed. "Enough! Race on!" Pyrrah exclaimed as she and Sparkk started the race with a head start. "Hey! You got a head start!" Kitt exclaimed. "The race won't matter, Kitt. We just have to catch up to Pyrrah and break Word's control over her." Artha said. "Right. I've raced the Lava Course before, so I'll take the lead and try to get you as close as I can." Kitt said. "Thanks, Kitt. You ready, Beau?" Artha asked. "Ready and willing, Artha." Beau said. "Then let's go kick some Word Paynn butt!" Artha exclaimed as he, Beau, Kitt and Wyldfyr raced after Pyrrah, Sparkk and Lance.
As Pyrrah rode up ahead, Artha and Kitt raced to catch up to Sparkk. But then, Sparkk smiled at what was ahead. There was a rock path on a lake of lava. "Careful, Artha. These stones can rise up from the lava's heat pressure." Kitt warned. "Thanks for the head's up, Kitt." Artha said. True to what Kitt said, the stones began to rise from the lava's heat pressure. Just then, as they rode to avoid the stones Beau started slowing down. "Beau? Beau, what's wrong?" Artha asked with a worry tone. "It's…the heat. I can't…take it." Beau said, panting heavily due to the heat. Kitt and Wyldfyr slowed down and headed back as Beau came to a full stop. "Artha, Beau, you guys alright?" Kitt asked. "No. Beau can't take the heat." Artha said, petting poor Beau's head as he panted hard. Wyldfyr gently nudged Beau's head with his own out of concern and comfort. "I was right. This was a bad idea. We'll never catch Pyrrah." Artha said. "No. We…can't…give up!" Beau exclaimed as he struggled to resist the heat. And then all of a sudden, he and Artha started to glow gold. "What's happening?" Kitt asked. When the glow died down, Artha and Beau no longer felt the heat getting to them. "Hey. I can't feel the heat from the lava anymore." Artha said. "Neither do I." Beau said. "Wait. You guys can't feel the heat of the lava? How?" Kitt asked. "The Great Dragon Phoenix. Its powers must be able to protect us from major heat temperatures." Artha guessed. "Which means we still have a chance." Beau said. "Then let's go catch Pyrrah, free her from Word and save Lance." Artha said. Beau and Wyldfyr roared as they got back into the race.
Pyrrah saw them coming and contacted Sparkk on her vid-gear. "Sparkk, I want a heat blast on those cowards!" She ordered. "But that's not fair!" Sparkk objected. "Use it NOW!" Pyrrah demanded. "No! I won't do it! This isn't you, Pyrrah! It's that gear! It's controlling you!" Sparkk exclaimed. "Then you are of no further use to me. You will BURN LIKE THEY WILL!" Pyrrah exclaimed. She activated her Red Thrusters and fired a heat blast at one of the stalactites on the cave ceiling. The stalactite started to heat up, causing a small rockslide that nearly took out Artha and Kitt. "Pyrrah! Stop! You can't do this!" Sparkk exclaimed, trying to reason with his sister. But Pyrrah wouldn't listen. Word's control was way too strong. And when the stalactite was hot enough, it broke off and shattered the land bridge Sparkk was on. The impact scared Sparkk's Dragon, Ferno, causing him to throw him off. As Beau and Wyldfyr leapt across the newly created gap, Artha and Kitt saw that Sparkk landed on a small island and was knocked unconscious. "Sparkk!" Artha called. "We have to go back for him!" Kitt exclaimed. But suddenly, a shadow flew over their heads. They looked to see Decepshun land on the island. "Moordryd?!" Artha and Kitt exclaimed in surprise. "I heard about the Black Gear and got here as fast as I could! You guys keep racing! I got Sparkk!" Moordryd exclaimed. Artha and Kitt nodded and continued after Pyrrah. As Sparkk slowly woke up, he looked up and saw Moordryd. "Alright, kid. Let's get you out of here." Moordryd said as he picked up Sparkk and gently placed him on Decepshun's back.
As Artha and Kitt continued to race, they saw that Pyrrah was too far. "Pyrrah's too far ahead! We'll never catch her!" Kitt exclaimed. "But maybe we can." Artha said. "There is a way we can." Beau said. "We just need to concentrate." Artha said. "And use the Great Dragon Phoenix's powers." Beau said. Artha closed his eyes and focused his power. "Fury of the Great Dragon Phoenix!" He shouted. He and Beau became surrounded in a gold vortex and sped off after Pyrrah with full speed of force. "Wow! Go, Artha!" Kitt exclaimed in awe. As Pyrrah started making her way to the finish line, Artha and Beau caught her by surprise and sped past her and Lance. "Yeah, Artha!" Lance cheered. "NO!" Pyrrah exclaimed. As Artha and Beau crossed the finish line, they skidded to a full stop. Connor, Parmon and Artha's siblings, having already gotten there, cheered at their victory. "We did it, Beau. That was a heck of a move." Artha said. "It sure was, Artha. It really was." Beau said with a grin of victory.
But as Pyrrah caught up with them, she was not happy. "SURROUND THEM!" She exclaimed. Artha and Beau weren't surprised to hear that, and neither were Connor, Artha's siblings or Parmon. But the Dragon Flares were shocked. "But they won the race. We have to let them go." One of the Dragon Flares protested as Kitt and Wyldfyr caught up. "Do not QUESTION ME! SURROUND THEM! NOW!" Pyrrah demanded. The Dragon Flares looked between Artha and Pyrrah. They knew what they had to do. Instead of surrounding Artha and Beau, they surrounded Pyrrah. "What are you doing?! I gave you a direct order!" Pyrrah exclaimed. "You're not the true Pyrrah. The true Pyrrah would accept her defeat with honor!" One of the Flares said. "Now, Artha! The Black Gear!" Lance called. "Go get it, buddy." Beau said. He magged Artha and sent him flying over to Pyrrah. Artha managed to snatch the Black Control Gear off Phorrj and free Pyrrah from Word's control. "Pyrrah, are you okay?" Lance asked with worry. "What…What happened?" Pyrrah asked as she recovered.
Artha ran over to the lava pool to destroy the Black Gear. But suddenly, the gear started trying to take his mind. "You are mine, Dragon Booster. Now tell me where the Gold Dragon is. Tell me! TELL ME WHERE IT IS!" Word exclaimed as he tried to take over Artha's mind. Suddenly, Artha's eyes started to glow gold. "You will not have that Dragon, Word Paynn!" The Great Dragon Phoenix's voice exclaimed through Artha. "The Great Dragon Phoenix!" Word realized. "Yes. You won't take Artha's mind. Because his mind and mine are one of the same." The Great Dragon Phoenix said. "And this is where your mind games end!" Artha exclaimed as he tossed the Black Gear into the lava, destroying it. "No! NO!" Word shouted angrily.
With that all over, Artha walked back to his family as Lance embraced his other siblings and Connor tightly. "Are you okay, Lance?" Artha asked. "I wanna go home!" Lance cried. Artha joined in the hug. Kitt and Parmon looked happily at this family moment. "That gear. What happened?" Pyrrah asked. "My father had you under mind control with that gear. He was forcing you to cause harm to Artha's family. And your own." Moordryd explained as he and Decepshun rode up. "Sparkk?!" Pyrrah said in worry. "Pyrrah!" Sparkk called as he hopped off Decepshun and ran over to his sister. Pyrrah dismounted Phorrj and embraced her younger brother in a big hug. "Thank you, Moordryd Paynn. You saved my younger brother's life. I cannot thank you enough." She said. "Happy to help." Moordryd said with a smile. "And thank you, Artha. You saved me from Word's control." Pyrrah said. "And to reward you and your heart, take this Level 4 Red Thruster Gear." Phorrj magged one of his Red Gear off and gave it to Beau. "And to young Derek, to help with your injury, take this Dragon as your own." Pyrrah said as a Magma-Class Dragon walked up to Derek and nuzzled him. "For me? I don't know what to say. Thank you, Pyrrah." Derek said as he gave his new Dragon a pat. "And as of today, you can count the Dragon Flares as your friends and allies on your journey to stop Word Paynn. May our hearts of fire help yours light your way to your destiny…Dragon Booster." Pyrrah said. "Thank you, Pyrrah." Artha said, shaking Pyrrah's hand.
Meanwhile, Word was not happy upon losing another chance to capture Artha and Beau. He was extremely frustrated that Artha resisted his Black Control Gear due to the Great Dragon Phoenix. "I swear, one day, the power of the Great Dragon Phoenix and the Gold Dragon will be mine, and Dragon City will kneel before me!" He exclaimed.
Wow! Talk about crazy, right? Pyyrah of the Dragon Flares Crew just had her mind ensnared by Black Control Gear made by Word Paynn, making her kidnap Lance. But thanks to Artha and Beau, they managed to free her from Word's control and destroyed the Black Gear. And as a reward, Pyrrah gave Artha a new Red Gear, Derek his own Dragon to help with his injured leg, and the Dragon Flares become allies to the Penn Crew. But what other plans does Word have for conquering Dragon City? Will he catch on to learning that his son is working with his enemies? What other powers will Artha and Beau unlock? Leave a review if you want.