The Dragon Riders were currently in the visitor centre having a class with Angela as their teacher.
"Okay, class, do remember that learning from our history, specifically the mistakes of the past, can be used to make a better future," she said. "Though sadly, not many people seem to learn this and keep on making the same mistakes."
"You mean with the environment," said James.
"Exactly right; despite knowing the harm that mankind is doing to the planet, there are those who continue doing harm to this planet just to make their own fortune."
"Miss Baker, does that also include Rakke Corp?" Tom asked.
"We are doing research on to make this planet a lot greener, but it is true that we are also looking for profit," Angela admitted. "Which is why, for your next assignment, I am asking all of you to design ways that could lessen the impact on the environment."
"But if all the smartest brains on the planet haven't been able to solve this problem, how do you expect five kids to solve it over the weekend?" Alex asked.
"I'm not suggesting that you're going to solve it; I just want to see what kind of ideas you come up with," said Angela gently.
After class, the Dragon Riders made their way into the Lair and began planning the assignment.
"The most obvious ways to stop people from using fossil fuels as gas," said D'Angelo. "We should be using more renewable sources of energy like electricity."
"The problem with electricity is that most of it comes from the mains, and they still use fossil fuels," James pointed out.
"What about using less plastic," Jun suggested. "Replacing the stuff that's biodegradable or able to be recycled."
Eugene scoffed. "But what about all the plastic that is already in the ocean?"
"We could try designing CO2 scrubbers," said Alex as she played with her tablet. "They could suck up all the common dioxide and convert to oxygen like plants."
"But where do we build the scrubbers, and how many would we need?" D'Angelo asked.
"What do you think Tom?" Jun asked.
"I think if we start thinking like that, then we're not going to solve anything," said Tom.
"Tom's right; if we just keep shooting down ideas, we're not going to go anywhere," D'Angelo agreed.
"Then what do you suggest, Tommy?" Eugene asked as he leaned back against Webmaster. "Haven't heard an idea from you yet."
Tom sighed. "I don't know, but maybe we should look at this problem differently."
"And what angle do you suggest?" Alex asked.
"Maybe we'll get some inspiration if we live with the Dragon World."
Eugene snorted. "You mean you want to ditch the assignment so that you can explore and expect us to do all the work."
"No, but we're not going to get anything done if we keep on arguing," said Tom.
"I don't know, Tom," D'Angelo frowned. "What about the Dragon World would inspire us? I mean, it's the one place in the entire world that's not suffering from pollution or global warming."
Before Tom could answer, Alex's tablet immediately beeped.
"What is it, Alex?" Jun asked.
"The motion sensors in the Crystal Realm are active," she informed them.
"Buzzsaw?" said James, looking at Tom.
"But he's in the Ice Realm; how could he get all the way over to the Crystal Realm?" Tom frowned.
"More than likely as those Flamethrowers," said Jun.
"Looks like we're going to the Dragon World after all," said D'Angelo.
"Mount up, Riders!" said Tom, and they quickly mounted their dragons.
They immediately made their way to the Crystal Realm and made their way to the motion sensors that had been activated, but they didn't find anything unusual.
"I don't see any Flamethrowers," said Eugene and turned to Alex. "You sure that gizmo yours is working?"
"My gizmo is high-quality technology; it is anything but faulty," said Alex, looking rather insulted.
"Let's just check the sensors, just in case," said Tom, looking down at Thunder. "Take us down, Pal."
They flew down towards the sensors and began to examine them, but they seemed perfectly all right and functional.
"Nothing appears to be broken," said Jun.
"False alarm?" James asked.
"The sensors definitely registered something big," said Alex as she looked at her tablet.
"Well, I don't see anything," said Eugene as he hopped off Webmaster. "Looks like we completely waste our time."
"Not so fast, Eugene," said D'Angelo as he bent down. "Something was definitely here, and it was definitely big."
They all made their way over to D'Angelo and saw some muddy footprints on the crystal floor. They were indeed big.
"Mud?" Jun frowned.
"Clearly, whatever made these claw marks is not a native to the Crystal Realm," said Tom.
"Aren't we close to the Dark Realm? James asked.
"Please tell me it's not another Spiderwing?" Jun pleaded.
"No, whatever it was, it was definitely bigger than a Spiderwing," D'Angelo assured her.
"Is that good or bad?" Eugene asked.
"So long as it ain't a spider, I'll consider that good," said Jun.
Plowhorn then began to sniff the ground.
"Got something, girl?" D'Angelo asked.
Plowhorn roared and began to follow a trail.
"Plow's picked up the trail," said D'Angelo.
"So we're purposely going to look for a giant dragon?" said Alex. "And we think this is a good idea because…"
"Because this dragon might be invading the Crystal Realm, and we've already got enough to deal with the Sky Torcher," said Tom.
They then began to follow the trail.
On the surface, Olivia was still obsessing over the strange green crystal.
"Olivia, maybe you should take a break?" Clara suggested as she entered the science lab with some new equipment. "You've been obsessing over a crystal for weeks now."
"Clara, you know just how important this discovery could be; it's a whole new mineral," said Olivia. "It's stronger than a diamond and can withstand incredible temperatures; we've never encountered something remotely like this."
Clara sighed. "Olivia, I do not disagree that this is an incredible discovery, but you're getting as excessive as Wilma."
Olivia looked at him dumbfounded. "You're not comparing me to her."
"Of course not; you're the exact opposite of her," said Clara gently. "But you know how she would like nothing more than to one-up you. She already tried to take credit for that new lizard that the Gonzalezs discovered."
Olivia blinked. "What new lizard?"
Clara stared at her. "You mean you haven't heard. Apparently, both Hazel and Carla discovered a new type of lizard. They told me that this new lizard could generate a massive amount of body heat, and it even had little wings. However, he wasn't doing so well in captivity, so they were forced to release them back into the wild, but not before Wilma took the little guy."
"Did you say this lizard was able to produce a massive amount of body heat?" Olivia frowned.
"Yeah, nothing in the animal kingdom is able to do that. It's a shame I never got to see it. Anyway, you're missing the point; Wilma's obsession with one-up you is detrimental to our goal of saving the planet. All she cares about is getting famous and being rich, and I'm afraid if you have set over this rock, you might become a different person."
Olivia then looked back at the green crystal. "But I'm so close to discovering what this crystal is."
"I'm not asking you to stop your research completely, and I'm just saying that perhaps you should spend time with your son. That said, he and the other children don't seem to spend a lot of time in town."
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked curiously.
"I mean, they just disappear after school and ain't to be seen until late in the evening."
"You don't think that's something we should be concerned about?"
Clara laughed. "Olivia, need I remind you the number of times we spent out late at night during college."
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "And I also remember the amount of trouble you got us in."
"Me, you always the one that jumped right in, something which your son seems to have inherited."
The two women laughed.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Riders were still following the trail and now in the Dark Realm.
"This place is so creepy," said Eugene.
Webmaster growled an agreement.
"Are we sure that we're on the trail?" Jun asked as she looked around for Spiderwings. "Because we haven't really found anything yet."
"Plow is an excellent tracker; there's no way she's lost," said D'Angelo, but then quickly leaned over to Plowhorn. "You're not lost, are you, girl?"
"Is it strange that we haven't encountered any other dragons yet?" Alex asked. "I mean, the last time we came down here, the last time we were attacked from every angle."
"Last time, we were flying blindly trying to find Thunder," Tom reminded her.
"And yet we're still still trying to find the elusive dragon," Alex muttered under her breath.
"At least it beats doing the assignment," said Eugene.
"Which we still have to work on," James pointed out.
"And we will once we find this dragon," said Tom.
"But we don't even know this dragon is endangering the Crystal Realm; I mean, it wouldn't be the first dragon that wandered out of its own territory by accident."
"James does have a point," said Jun.
"We can't take that risk," said Tom. "Look, we'll just find this dragon and see if it poses a threat; if it doesn't, we just go back and do our homework."
"That sounds totally lame," said Eugene and looked at Webmaster. "Right, Webs."
Webmaster merely growled.
"Do we have any idea what kind of dragon we're looking for other than it's big?" Alex asked.
"No idea," said Tom. "The Dragon Book is filled with pictures of different kinds of dragons, some big, some small. Until we get a good look at it, I can't say for certain what we're looking for."
"So we're wandering in the dark in the Dark Realm," Eugene snorted.
"How am I even related to him?" said Jun, looking at Wu and Wei.
Wu and Wei gave a small growl, no doubt wondering the same thing themselves.
They kept following the trail until they came across what appeared to be a graveyard filled with bones.
"Uh, is anyone else creeped out by this?" James asked.
"Yep," said Jun.
"Same here," Alex nodded.
"Good, I don't want to be the only one," said James relieved.
"These dragon bones?" Tom asked.
D'Angelo was quick to examine the bones. "Yeah, and from what I can tell, there are different kinds of dragons."
"Did we accidentally stumble in the place where they go to die?" Eugene asked, looking rather creeped out.
"A bunch of teenage kids wandering a graveyard that never ends well," said Alex dryly.
"Yet the dragons don't seem creeped out as we are," James noticed.
It was true the dragons looked perfectly calm and not at all anxious.
"So we're saying this place is totally normal," said Jun, looking a little dubious.
"Animals do sometimes choose a place where they die; maybe this is where the dragons go to take their final rest," said D'Angelo.
"Well, I think these bones are completely awesome. Do you think we can take some back with us?" Eugene asked.
"No, Eugene!" said Tom firmly. "If this is indeed the place where dragons go to die, then we shouldn't disturb this place."
"Why? It's not like they're going to stop us?" said Eugene obliviously.
"Can you be any less insensitive?" Jun groaned.
"Okay, okay, no souvenirs," said Eugene, looking rather disappointed.
Tom looked at D'Angelo. "Is this where the trail ends?"
Plowhorn sniffed around and then shook her head.
"Seems like it, Plow can't seem to pick up the scent," said D'Angelo.
"So we came all this way for nothing," said Eugene, crossing his arms. "Great show of leadership, Kullerson."
Tom sighed. "Let's get back to the Lair, trying to come up with something for our assignment and then head home."
No wonder cider to argue, and the Dragon Riders began to mount their dragons. However, Eugene then noticed a strange-looking dragon, and without anyone noticing, he took it.
They then took off, unaware they were being watched from a nearby cave, and whatever was inside it didn't look too happy.
The Dragon Riders were soon back in the Crystal Realm and continued to make their way back to the Lair.
"Well, that was a complete waste of time," said Eugene.
"I don't know, we did discover something new about dragons," said D'Angelo.
"Yeah, like where they go when they pass on," said Jun.
"I'm just glad we're nowhere near that graveyard," said Alex. Feathers then growled in agreement. "And Feathers agrees with me.
"Still wish we could have found the dragon, though," said Tom.
"We'll find it tomorrow, don't worry about it," said James.
Tom smiled and then heard what sounded like a sort of jingling sound. "Do you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?" D'Angelo frowned.
A split second later, something large struck Plowhorn, sending her and D'Angelo flying.
"D!" Tom and Jun yelled.
Plowhorn crashed into some nearby crystals.
"Did anyone get a license plate on that dragon?" D'Angelo moaned.
"What just happened?" Alex asked, looking around.
"Form up around D!" Tom ordered.
The Dragon Riders quickly positioned themselves around D'Angelo, but they still had no idea what had happened.
"D, what happened?" Jun asked.
"I don't know, but I think some kind of dragon struck me," said D'Angelo, rubbing his head.
"I didn't see anything," said James.
"You sure you just didn't lose control of your dragon?" Eugene asked.
D'Angelo narrowed his eyes. "No, me and Plow were definitely hit by something, Eugene. Something big."
"I did hear some sort of noise before D'Angelo was attacked," said Tom.
"What kind of noise?" James asked.
"I don't know. It sounded like some sort of jangling noise."
"You're not saying that we're being attacked by Santa Claus?" Eugene scoffed.
Tom glared at him. "I never said they were bells, Eugene."
"And something tells me whoever attacked D'Angelo wasn't particularly jolly either," James added.
"The dragons do seem to be a little on edge," Jun noticed.
Sure enough, the dragons were growling somewhat anxiously as if they knew something was close by.
"Stay alert, Riders!" said Tom.
Eugene scoffed. "Come on, if there were something big here, we would have heard it by now."
Then suddenly, something struck him from behind, sending both he and Webmaster flying. They collide with the same crystal that D'Angelo and Plowhorn crashed into and landed on a heap on top of them.
"You were saying?" D'Angelo groaned as he pulled himself free from beneath Webmaster.
"Okay, something is definitely here," said Jun.
"But what is it?" Alex asked, looking afraid.
"Maybe we should think about getting out of here," said James.
Tom shook his head. "Not until we know what we're dealing with. The last thing we want is for whatever this thing is to follow us to the surface."
While he was talking, everyone's eyes widened as the dragon in question emerged from the shadows directly behind Tom. It was very large, probably as big as the Fault Ripper, and covered in head-to-toe bones; it looked like a giant walking skeleton.
"Okay, I say that we set up a perimeter and…" Tom stopped when he saw the looks on everyone's faces. "It's right behind me, isn't it?"
Everyone nodded slowly.
Tom slowly turned around and came face-to-face with the skeleton dragon. "How do we not notice this thing sneaking up behind us?"
The skeleton dragon then roared, but it sounded more like a small squeak.
"It doesn't have a roar?" Jun stared.
"That might explain how it snuck up behind us," said James.
"Open fire!" Tom yelled.
The dragons immediately fired upon the skeleton dragon, but the bones it was wearing acted like some armour shielding it from every single one of their breath attacks.
"No effect?" Tom stared.
"It's like it's wearing a suit of armour," D'Angelo gasped.
"So it's giant, stealthy and practically invincible," said Alex. "We're so dead."
"Everyone scatter, let's try and lose it!" Tom yelled.
Everyone immediately flew in different directions, but the dragon followed Eugene.
"Wait, it's chasing Eugene?" Jun noticed.
"But why?" Tom frowned.
James looked at Tom. "Don't suppose there's anything in that Dragon Book of yours that could explain something?"
"Is this really the time to look through the dusty old book!" Eugene yelled in protest.
Tom ignored him, pulled out the Dragon Book and began to look through it. There, he found the picture of the dragon in question, but of course, he couldn't read the Viking runes.
"It would be so much easier if I could read runes," said Tom.
"Maybe the pictures can give us some guide?" D'Angelo suggested.
"Well, from what I can tell, this particular dragon is born without scales," said Tom, looking at the picture of the skeleton dragon without its bone armour. It looked weak and frail, nothing like the dragon before them. "I guess it protects itself by using dragon bones to make itself a suit of armour."
"Makes sense; hermit crabs look for shells to protect themselves," said D'Angelo.
"But here's a strange thing: it seems as if this dragon does possess a roar," said Tom, showing a picture of the dragon and unleashing a powerful roar.
"But this dragon barely squeaks," James frowned.
"Yeah, that doesn't really make any sense," Jun agreed.
"Will you guys hurry up!" Eugene yelled.
The skeleton dragon then suddenly unleashed a powerful burst of flames at Eugene, who screamed as Webmaster flew around some crystals to avoid the flames.
"He looks like he might need some help," said James.
"You and D help them before he gets roasted," said Tom.
"On it," said D'Angelo.
The two boys quickly mounted their dragons and took to the air.
"Let's give the dragons something else to think about," said James.
"Let's do it!" D'Angelo yelled.
They immediately fired upon the skeleton dragon, who glared at them and swung its club-like tail. They quickly dodged, but the skeleton dragon was able to smash through the crystal tower with one single swing.
"Okay, let's try and avoid the tail," said James.
"Good plan," D'Angelo nodded.
"Why is this thing chasing me?" Eugene wailed.
James began to wonder the same thing, and then suddenly, he noticed that the skeleton dragon's armour was incomplete. It was missing a section within its armour on its side.
"Why would he attack if his armour is incomplete?" James frowned.
"What are you getting at?" D'Angelo asked.
James's face then suddenly lit up as something dawned on him. "Keep checking Eugene. I need to check something."
"Check what?" D'Angelo asked, but James and Blade had already left.
James quickly landed next to the others and immediately approached Tom.
"Tom, is the armour on that skeleton dragon complete?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" Tom frowned.
"The drawing does it picture the dragon wearing its full armour?" he asked.
"Why does that matter?" Tom asked, confused.
"Just humour me."
Tom shrugged and looked at the picture; it looked like the dragon was covered head to toe in bones. "Yeah, it looks like one giant walking skeleton."
"Okay, but what about the picture of the Dragon with the incomplete armour?" James asked. "Is that dragon able to roar?"
Tom was now even more confused, but he looked at the picture and saw that James was right. "Yeah, it looks as if its armour is incomplete."
"Just as I thought," said James, looking back at the skeleton dragon, who was still chasing Eugene.
"Care to share?" Jun asked.
"Yeah, I'm a bit in the dark myself," Alex nodded.
"Clearly, this dragon has a roar, but maybe with his armour incomplete, he is unable to," James explained.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Alex.
Jun's eyes then lit up. "No, I think James is onto something. It could be some subconscious oppression because it makes him feel safe."
"Okay, but why is he chasing Eugene?" Tom asked.
"If you were collected and discovered that someone had stolen something important for your collection, what would you do?" James asked.
"I would hunt them down," said Tom, suddenly his eyes widened. "Oh, I see we're getting at."
Eugene was still screaming as Webmaster flew around, trying to get away from the giant skeleton dragon. Plowhorn continued to fire loogy bombs, but they merely bounced off its armour.
"Somebody do something!" Eugene yelled.
"We're on it!" said Tom's voice.
Eugene turned and saw the other Dragon Riders had arrived.
"Well, it's about time!" he yelled.
"We could just leave you," said Jun.
"No, no, I'm grateful for the help," said Eugene quickly as Webmaster barely dodged another flame blast.
"Jun, think you can give us some cover?" Tom asked.
Jun nodded and looked down at Wu and Wei. "Wu! Wei! Steam cloud getaway!"
Wu and Wei then unleashed their ice and steam blasts, creating a thick fog that hid them from view.
Tom and James then flew over to Eugene, narrowing their eyes.
"What? Why you can me like that?" he asked.
"Eugene, you don't happen to take something from the graveyard after we specifically told you not to?" Tom asked.
"W-Well, I did find this cool-looking bone," Eugene admitted, showing them the bone he took.
"Give it here, Eugene!" said James, extending his hand out.
"Hey, I found it, it's mine!" Eugene protested.
"Actually, it's his," said James, gesturing to the skeleton dragon, who had just blown away the fog. "That's the reason he's been chasing you. He's looking for the perfect bone to complete his armour, and you got it!"
Eugene looked at the bone. "You mean he's going to chase me down until he roasts me just for this bone?"
"That's about the size of it," Tom nodded.
"Here, take it; I never wanted it anyway," said Eugene, quickly giving the bone to James.
Tom looked at James, a little uneasy. "You sure about this?"
"No, but it's the only way," said James and then patted Blade. "Take us down, boy."
Blade nodded and flew towards the ground. The moment they landed, James quickly dismounted Blade, who looked rather worried for him.
"I'll be fine, boy," said James, unsure whether he was trying to reassure Blade or himself.
The skeleton dragon then suddenly landed before James, glaring down at him. On the other hand, James remained perfectly calm and then held the bone to the dragon.
"I believe this is yours," he said.
The skeleton dragon looked at him suspiciously but reached out for the bone. When he took it from James, he inserted it into the missing slot within his armour and then roared so loud that it forced everyone to cover their ears.
"Man, this dragon has a good set of lungs on him!" Alex yelled.
"It feels like my ears are going to explode!" D'Angelo yelled.
The skeleton dragon then stopped abruptly and looked down at James, and for a brief moment, the Dragon Riders thought he was going to attack him.
"James, get out of there!" Tom yelled.
"I can't watch," said Jun, covering her eyes.
"We've got to help him!" D'Angelo yelled.
"Uh, I don't think you need any help," said Alex.
They all looked down and saw she was right; the skeleton dragon was now nuzzling James like an overgrown puppy.
"You're not so fierce, are you," said James as he scratched him beneath the chin, which the dragons liked.
The Dragon Riders then escorted the skeleton dragon back to its habitat in the Dark Realm. He kept on roaring in a very cheerful manner.
"He seems pretty happy to get that bone back," Jun laughed.
"I just wish he would dial it down a bit," said Alex, covering her ears.
"I think he has every reason to be excited," said Tom, pointing.
They then saw more skeleton dragons arriving the moment they landed before the first one they encountered; they began to nuzzle him.
"Oh, it's mating call!" said D'Angelo, slamming his fist into his palm. "That's why he was so anxious to get the perfect armour to attract a mate."
"You're saying all those dragons are female?" Eugene stared.
"Respect the gender," said Alex.
Tom looked at the skeleton dragons and pondered. "You know, maybe we should try to be a bit more like them."
"You want to be a dragon?" Eugene frowned.
"No," said Tom, rolling his eyes. "I mean, we should pick up after ourselves and reuse the materials we pick up."
"Yeah, and whenever we take something, we should always give something back," said D'Angelo.
"And make sure everything we take is spread out evenly and make sure we don't pollute more than that can be recycled," said Jun.
"This sounds unnecessarily complicated," said Eugene.
"Actually, it is perfectly simple," said Alex.
"It may be simple, but we still have a lot to work out," Tom smiled.
"Then let's get to work," said D'Angelo.