Science vs. Nature
Avalon was sunning herself on the roof of the big dome. Just then Apollo and Eider landed on either side of her.
"How's Edelweiss doing today?" Eider asked. Avalon sat up and stretched her wings.
"She's certainly feeling stronger today," she said. "She could wake up any day now." Suddenly the dragon riders ran passed, chasing a green Speed Stinger. Avalon jumped to her feet. The Speed Singer ran all over the place. Thunder landed on the roof of the big dome.
"What did the Speed Stinger do?" Apollo asked.
"We're rounding up the fostered dragons," Thunder explained. "And taking them back to the Realms. After that Rekke guy came, Olivia and Director Wong think they should go back below."
"I can see their point," said Avalon. She looked down at the riders chasing the Speed Stinger.
"We should help, I'm feeling pretty bored," said Eider. Avalon nodded and they all took off. They followed the Speed Stinger from the air and got a head of him. Suddenly Apollo dived and managed to cut off the Speed Stinger, and used his long thin tail to trip him. The others instantly surrounded the Speed Stinger, just as the riders and Pete the security guard joined them.
"Thanks guys," Tom said. Pete ran to the Speed Stinger, looking worried.
"You okay Jerry?" He said. "They didn't hurt you did they?" Jerry got to his feet and chirped reassuringly.
"Relax Pete, I barely touched him," said Apollo.
"Why can't he stay up here?" Pete asked, looking at the riders. "I thought it was too dangerous for them down there with that monster."
"It is," Tom agreed. "But it's too risky for him up here too."
"Well can you at least wait and come for him last?" Pete asked. "It's my birthday tomorrow." Tom exchanged a look with his friends.
"Okay, we do have several other dragons to round up," he said. Pete lit up at once. He and Jerry ran off happily.
Later; the riders and Draconians flew through the Nature Realm. They kept their eyes open for dragons in trouble.
"We got to find somewhere for the dragons to go," Tom said.
"Somewhere with lots of cover," said D'Angelo.
"So defiantly not there then," said Alex. She pointed to a patch of dead plants. The dragons landed to get a better look. All the plants and trees were rotted.
"The World Serpent isn't just poisoning dragons, it's also poisoning their world," said D'Angelo.
"In Norse Mythology Jörmundgandr is said to bring about the end of the world," Jun said.
"Why does mythology always have to be so negative?" Eider sighed.
"Yeah that's why I gave it up," said Apollo. "It was really getting me down. Especially regarding our kind."
"You're named after a Greek myth," Jun said.
"It's true," Apollo agreed. Just then Avalon heard a sickly cry from the other side of a near by tree. The others heard the sound as well. They followed it and found a Nader that was barely alive. D'Angelo knelt beside the dragon to examine it.
"He's showing the same symptoms our dragons did when we went up against Jörmundgandr," said Jun.
"Wu and Wei diverted most of that blast," said D'Angelo. "This Nader wasn't as lucky." Tom knelt beside the Nadder.
"No sign of the other Nadders," he said sadly. D'Angelo pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the Nadder's heart beat.
"We need to get her back to the hospital at once," he said.
The Draconians took up the task of hauling the sick Nadder back to the surface. Apollo looked around at the dead plants below them.
"Can we fix all this with magic?" He asked his sister.
"Not with these guys watching," said Avalon, gesturing to the riders. "Once Jörmundgandr is defeated, then we can fix it all at once." Apollo nodded. They followed the others out of the Realms and towards the ICARIS infirmary.
Once they were all gathered in the infirmary and D'Angelo hooked the Nadder up to the heart monitor. The others watched, and Tom paced. D'Angelo examined the Nadder again.
"She's in pretty bad shape," he said. "It's best to let her rest."
"What would be best is if we can defeat Jörmundgandr," Tom said angrily.
"Yeah good luck with that one," Alex said unhelpfully.
"We can't fight it head on," Tom said, ignoring her. "We tried Hiccup's way and it failed, and Edelweiss is still unconscious so she can't fight it."
"We'll think of something Tom," Jun said, smiling at him. Suddenly they heard a commotion outside. They all rushed out to see Pete chasing Jerry. The Speed Stinger had just stung a man in a blue uniform.
"I'll get the antidote," said D'Angelo. Tom looked at the paralyzed man, deep in thought.
"That's it, what if we get enough Speed Stinger venom," he said. "We can use it to immobilize the World Serpent long enough to get him back behind the gate."
"That's brilliant," said Apollo. "You'd need a lot of it though."
"If it was so brilliant why didn't the Vikings do it?" Eugene asked.
"Because they didn't have a state of the art laboratory at hand," Tom said, gesturing to the station.
"And they didn't have the two best biologists either," said Alex.
"They also didn't get along that well with Speed Stingers," said Avalon. "However, you'll need a way to inject the venom into Jörmundgandr." Tom thought a moment.
"Buzzsaw has that giant harpoon thing," he said. "A ballista, if we can get our hands on it. We can use it get the venom into Jörmndgandr from half a mile a way."
"We should split up," said Jun. "Tom, Alex and I will get the ballista. While you guys work with Carla and Hazel to get the Speed Stinger venom."
"Eider and I will help get the ballista," said Apollo. "Sis, you can wait with Black Widow and Eclipse back at the Lair." Avalon glowered but didn't argue. The riders and dragons split up and headed to take on their respective assignments.
Down in the Ice Realm; Tom, Alex, Jun, and their dragons snuck into Buzzsaw's camp. They hid among the caged dragons. A yellow Tiny Terror looked out at them curiously.
"Who are you?" He asked. "Have you come to free us?"
"No," said Feathers. "We actually came to steal a weapon from here, to used agains the World Serpent."
"But I've heard that the only dragon big enough and old enough to defeat the World Serpent is the Silver Lining," said the Terror.
"Well we're going to give it a try," said Feathers. "We might get lucky." Just then Alex placed a hand over Feathers's mouth.
"Feathers keep it down," she whispered. They looked out at the camp, and it seemed deserted.
"No sign of Buzzsaw," said Jun.
"Or his two stooges," said Alex.
"I'm not so sure," Tom said. He pointed to two sleeping Gronckles.
"I'll get a closer look," Jun said. And she snuck off before anyone could protest. She kept to the shadows and kept her senses sharp. She suddenly heard Buzzsaw's two henchmen talking to each other. Jun hid behind a tree and peeked around the trunk. She saw the two henchmen, playing with the ballista. She cursed silently and snuck back towards the cages.
Tom, Alex, and the dragons waited. The yellow Terror turned back to Feathers and the other dragons.
"So what do the humans plan on doing?" The Terror asked.
"They plan on shooting Speed Stinger venom into the World Serpent," Thunder explained. "Then once it's paralyzed, we'll all carry it back to the Gronckle Iron Gate."
"That's going to take a lot of venom," the Terror said. "What if that fails?" Apollo took a deep breath.
"Then I think the humans will be about out of options," he said. "However, Edelweiss isn't the only dragon with the guts to take on the World Serpent." He then looked at Thunder, who stared back in shock.
"Me?" He asked. "I can't defeat the World Serpent, I'm not powerful enough. I'm not Toothless."
"Don't underestimate yourself Thunder," Eider said. "Toothless was your age when he defeated the Red Death, he wasn't even King yet. No you're not powerful enough, at least not by yourself. Toothless had plenty of help from his friends." Thunder considered this. Just then Jun came back.
"Good news, Buzzsaw's not here," she reported. "Bad news is, Ford and Winston are and they're messing with the ballista." Tom and Alex exchanged a look.
"Well that's not a problem," Apollo said. "Those two have no fight in them."
"I've got a plan," Tom said suddenly. Then he ran off. He returned with a large net, grinning.
"A dragon net?" Jun asked.
"Yes, but today it's not for dragons," Tom said.
"I guess the trappers' trap can trap the trappers," Apollo said.
"Where did you get that from?" Alex asked.
"I think Hiccup might have said it once," said Apollo. They then all listened to Tom as he told them his plan.
A few minuets later the three riders and the dragons hid among the trees watching Ford and Winston. Feathers then let out Tiny Terror sounds, alerting the henchmen. They headed in the direction of the sound, towards the net Tom had set out. But then suddenly Tom and Jun broke into an argument, a loud one.
"Oh come on, not now," Feathers said, frustratedly. "What's up with them?"
"They're still mad at each other I think," said Wei. Ford and Winston heard the argument, and altered their course. Tom suddenly slipped and landed on the ice, in full view.
"It's Dragon Book Boy!" Ford said. They moved towards him.
"Way to go Kullersen!" Jun snapped.
"Me!?" Tom exclaimed. "You went and made it awkward." Alex smacked her forehead.
"Feathers, Wu, Wei, get the ballista," she ordered. The dragons instantly sprung into action. Thunder and Feathers landed on either side of Winston and Ford, cutting them off from the ballista. Wu and Wei then dropped the net onto the two henchmen.
"Not exactly my plan, but I'll take it," Tom said.
"Very quick on her feet this one," Apollo said, gesturing to Alex.
"Let's just get the ballista and get out of here," Alex said.
"Wait," Ford said. "Don't leave us here."
"Buzzsaw will kill us when he finds out you stole his harpoon thing," said Winston. The riders and dragons exchanged a look
"Fine," Tom said. "We should also free those dragon."
"I'll do it," Eider said. He trotted of in the direction of the dragon cages, while the rest got the ballista and the henchmen.
Back at ICARIS; the ballista was resting on one of the platforms outside the hanger. Ford and Winston were hanging from a crane in the net. D'Angelo, Eugene, their dragons, and Avalon came rejoined the group. Avalon happily reunited with Apollo and Eider.
"You're back!" Eugene exclaimed. "How'd it go?"
"Good news, we got it," Tom said triumphantly, holding up the ballista's only spear.
"Excellent," said D'Angelo. "I've got good news too. I've extracted enough Speed Stinger venom to take down the serpent, hopefully." He then spotted Ford and Winston hanging from the crane, still in the net. Alex and Feathers landed on the platform after making sure everything was secure. "What'd you bring them up for?"
"They agreed to turn themselves in," Alex explained. "So I alerted Phil. They'll hang around until he comes for them."
"Things are starting to look up for once," Feather said to her friends.
"Well, lets not get ahead of ourselves," said Thunder. "We still have to actually defeat the World Serpent. This ballista only has one spear." Just then Alex's tablet beeped. She pulled it out and looked at it.
"Jörmundgandr's in the Nature Realm," she said.
"Let's get a move on," Tom said.
In the Nature Realm; the riders and dragons had the ballista on a tall rock, well above the tree line. Tom pulled out his binoculars and looked through them at Jörmundgandr, who was currently chasing Tiny Terrors.
"There it is," Tom said. "You guys go over there and get his attention, lure him in. When he's in range, I'll hit him with this." He put the spear into the ballista. The spear was loaded up with a massive dosage of Speed Stinger venom. The riders got on their dragons and flew towards Jörmundgandr, with the Draconians right behind them. They blasted at the serpent. He hissed angrily and snapped his jaws at them. The riders and Draconians started flying back towards the ballista. Jörmundgandr slithered after them, staying right on their tails. Tom stood behind the ballista, ready to fire. The serpent came closer and closer, but then suddenly he stopped. He looked around and spotted the ballista. He glared and hissed.
"What's wrong with it?" Eugene asked.
"He senses danger," Apollo said. Jörmundgandr turned and headed back the way he'd come.
"We're loosing him," D'Angelo said. Alex steered Feathers after the serpent, and hit him with a sound blast. Jörmundgandr spun around and snapped his jaws at the Featherhide. Feathers kept blasting him, and this got him riled up again. He chased after Feathers, who led him back towards the ballista. Tom aimed the ballista at the serpent as he came with in range, his hand no the trigger. But then just as he was about to fire, he heard a cry of outrage. He turned to see Buzzsaw barreling towards him on Old Jack. They knocked Tom off his feet. He bumped into the ballista, causing it to fire. The spear missed the serpent by a mile. Tom faced Buzzsaw angrily.
"Buzzsaw you fool!" He shouted. "That was our only shot." Buzzsaw furiously grabbed Tom by the front of his jacket.
"No one raids Buzzsaw's camp and steals his weapon without getting away with it!" He roared back. "I'm going to make you suffer." Suddenly he heard loud hissing behind him. Buzzsaw whirled around, letting go of Tom. Jörmundgandr glared down at him, and the ballista he was standing next to. Buzzsaw threw up his hands innocently. "No it wasn't me." But clearly the serpent didn't care. Buzzsaw ran back to his dragon and they flew off. Jörmundgandr chased after them, crushing the ballista to kindling. The riders and dragons landed around the damaged weapon. Tom looked so defeated, he didn't say anything or look at anyone. Jun went over to him.
"It's no your fault," she said kindly. But Tom didn't look at her.
"Let's just go home," he said so quietly they barely heard him. The riders all got on their dragons and they headed back towards the surface.
They landed back at ICARIS. Carla and Hazel came out, having heard them return.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Carla asked. Alex said nothing and just through her arms around her moms. Carla and Hazel quickly caught on to everyone's mood.
"The dragons have to stay up here for the time being," D'Angelo said. "It's not safe for them down there." Carla and Hazel nodded in agreement. They all looked over at Tom and Thunder, who were a shot distance away. Tom leaned his head on Thunder's snout. The Night Light nuzzled him comfortingly. Tom then turned and walked passed his friends.
"Tom wait," Jun called after him. He turned and looked at her.
"Thanks Jun," he said with a half smile. "But I don't want to talk about it. Or anything else." He then walked off with his head down and his hands in his pockets.