In the Ice Realm, some Snowtails were running for their lives as something chased them. However, no matter how fast they ran, the creature could catch up with them until they eventually reached a dead end.
They turned to fight the creature but were struck by a sting of some kind and immediately frozen in place.
Meanwhile, Tom and Olivia were having dinner and discussing their family history.
"All right, all right," Tom laughed. "Another random cool Granpa fact. Ready? Go!"
"Um… okay, okay," said Olivia, thinking of something. "His favourite food was steak and potatoes."
"Eh, that's not very cool," said Tom, a little disappointed. "Steak and potatoes is every grandpa's favourite food, okay? Something good! Come on!"
"Yeah, but sometimes he would leave some in his beard for later."
"Ew!"
"This coming from a kid who keeps fish in his backpack."
"Those are treats!"
"Your grandpa said the same thing!" she chuckled.
"I can't remember the last time we sat down having dinner together," said Tom as he ate. He then noticed Olivia looking at him and realised there was another purpose for this meeting. "Oh. Uh… I'm guessing there's another reason you wanted to hang out."
"We need to talk about the dragon secret," she said. "I have to tell the other parents what's going on."
"Mom, no!" Tom pleaded. "If you tell the other parents, the secret is as good as out. There's no way we can keep a lid on everyone. And if one of them tells Rakke Corp, what's stopping the world from knowing?"
"I understand your point of view, Tom, but you have to understand mine."
"I do!"
"You can't possibly."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you don't have kids!" she said, rising to her feet.
Tom sighed and leaned back on the sofa.
"Having a child is like allowing your heart to walk around outside of your body," Olivia explained.
"Gross analogy," said Tom.
"Even if I were okay with you flying around on a dragon—which, for the record, I am not—I can't make that same decision for the other parents. It's not fair to them. They deserve to know."
"But, Mom…"
Tom was interrupted when they heard a knock on the door, and when Olivia answered it, to her surprise, she found Sledkin standing there.
"Wilma."
"Have I got you at a bad time?" Sledkin asked.
"Well, actually…."
"Great. This won't take a minute," said Sledkin, entering the dome. "Hmm. Your dome feels bigger than mine. I thought they were all the same size."
"They are," said Olivia.
"Hmm. I'll cut to the chase. A while back, we took readings by that sinkhole in the woods. I'm going to need your notes from that day."
Sledkin then noticed Tom sitting on the couch.
"Can you excuse us for a moment, Tom?" Olivia asked.
Tom sighed and made his way to his room but kept the door ajar so that he could listen to their conversation.
"I'm confused," said Olivia, looking back at Sledkin. "Why do you need my notes? We determined there was nothing of interest there."
"I'm not so sure. Remember that crazy lumberjack we ran into the woods?"
"How could I forget?"
"I think he knows there's something in that sinkhole, and I'm willing to bet my Vetlesen Prize it's Dragonsite."
Tom's eyes widened in horror, knowing they were talking at the entrance to the Ice Realm.
"I'm going on an expedition in the morning down that sinkhole," said Sledkin. "I need everything you have. Tonight."
Then, before Olivia could respond, she exited the dome and closed the door behind her.
"Mom, we can't let her go down there," said Tom. "It's a direct path to the Ice Realm and the dragons."
"But you know better than anyone that once Wilma is set on something, she won't be stopped," Olivia pointed out.
"What if me and the Dragon Riders go down there first and get some Dragonsite?" Tom suggested. "You can give it to Sledkin, and then she won't need to go."
"Tom…" Olivia warned.
"Come on."
"No."
She then made her way to her bedroom without saying another word.
Tom met with the other Riders in the visitor centre the following day regarding Sledkin's expedition.
"Tom, we have a major emergency," said D'Angelo as he and the other Riders, except Eugene, exited the elevator. "Sledkin called my dad. She is planning on going into the sinkhole to look for a Dragonsite."
"She also got my mum roped into this," James added.
"She's not going into the sinkhole," Tom assured them.
"Yes, she is! I just told you!" said D'Angelo with a loud whisper.
"She's not going into the sinkhole because we're going there first," Tom explained.
"I sense another Tom idea on the horizon," said James, folding his arms.
"We'll bring Sledkin the Dragonsite, and then she'll have no reason to go," said Tom. "That's why I called everyone to meet up."
"We're just going to walk up and hand Sledkin some Dragonsite?" Alex questioned. "Won't that be the blowing our little secret?"
"Nope. I'll ask my mom to give it to her and cover for us," said Tom. "I'm sure she'll do it. Even though she only said no."
"That would be a great plan… if anyone knew where your mom was," said Jun. "My mom has been looking for her all morning. She didn't show up for work, and she's not in your dome."
"Oh, no," said Tom, fearing the worst. "I bet she decided to go down there before us."
"Because she didn't want to put us in danger," James assumed.
"And now she might be in danger," Tom sighed.
Eugene then exited the elevator humming. "I'm late. D'Angelo's dad just made me help you move a bunch of boxes for some stupid expedition. Tell him to use his own kid!"
"Looks like Sledkin was again this expedition underway sooner than we thought," said James.
"Okay, okay, change of plans," said Tom. "Me, James, Eugene, Alex and the dragons will go find my mom and bring her back with the Dragonsite. In the meantime, D, Jun, you have to stall the chief, James's mom and Sledkin."
"Stall him?" D'Angelo stared as Tom and his group walked away. "How? He doesn't listen to me!"
"Just think of something!" said Tom. "Whatever happens, don't let them go into that sinkhole."
The elevator door closed, and D'Angelo and Jun looked at one another uncertainly.
In no time at all, Tom and his group had entered the Ice Realm with the dragons.
"Dr Kullersen!" Alex called.
"Mom!" Tom yelled.
"Dr Kullersen!" Eugene yelled.
"Dr Kullersen!" James yelled.
Tom looked at Alex. "Alex, any movement on your sensors?"
Alex pulled out her tablet. "Nothing."
"She couldn't have got too far on foot," said Tom.
"Maybe see, don't even come out here, Kullersen," said Eugene. "I mean, it's not like hiking across an ice cube is a total blast."
Plowhorn then looked as if she had picked up a scent.
"Plowhorn smell something… I think," Alex noticed. "Eh, sometimes it's hard to tell."
"It might be my mom," said Tom. "Come on!"
They then followed Plowhorn towards the ground and began searching the area.
"Well, I don't see anyone," said Eugene, looking over to Plowhorn. "Maybe get that nose checked, gem-biter."
Plowhorn growled at him indignantly.
"We did just get here, Eugene; one needs to make a proper search before giving up the ghost," said James.
"Found something!" said Alex.
Alex quickly rushed over and found a deactivated sensor lying on the ground.
"This could explain why we weren't getting any sensor pings," said Alex, picking it up. "Something knocked it off-line."
"Ha! No way you can fix that, Gonzo," said Eugene.
Alex gave him a dry look before reactivating the sensor within five seconds.
James smirked at Eugene. "You must hate it always being wrong."
"Never underestimate my genius," said Alex triumphantly.
Eugene just looked at her, stunned, and James raised an eyebrow.
"I just turn it off, then turn it back on," she admitted.
Plowhorn then growled, telling them she had found something.
"Guys, this way!" Tom yelled.
They followed Plowhorn over the hill, and that's when they discovered a cluster of Dragonsite.
"Dragonsite," said Tom. "And it's been chipped away."
Thunder then growled, saying that he had found something. Tom quickly rushed over and saw that he was fumbling with a pickaxe.
"That's my mom's rock hammer!" said Tom, picking it up.
"Uh, she probably just dropped it," said Alex.
"Unless she got eaten by something. Or worse," said Eugene.
James and Alex then cleared their throats, glaring at him.
"Oh. Uh, I mean, I'm sure she's fine. And, thankful, there's not really any worse than being eaten, so… yeah."
Alex facepalmed herself.
James shook his head. "I would close that mouth before your foot gets wedged in there."
"Whatever happened, we have to find her," said Tom.
Alex's tablet then beeped. "Wait. I'm getting some movement on my sensors up ahead." However, she then lost the signal. "Ugh. False alarm." The beeping then suddenly continued. "Wait! It's back!"
Tom didn't waste a second and immediately rushed towards the sensor, but they lost the signal no sooner had he left.
"Now it's stopped again," said Alex. "Something weird is definitely going on."
Tom reached a clearing, looked around, and saw his mother standing near an archway.
"There she is. Mom!" he said and immediately rushed over to her, but he noticed she wasn't moving or saying anything. "Mom! Is everything okay?"
When he walked around to look at her face, his eyes widened as she was completely frozen in place.
"Mom? Mom!" Tom panicked, shaking her, but the only thing moving was her eyes. "What happened?" He then looked at the others who had just arrived. "Her eyes are moving, but she's not!"
"Maybe the same thing that happened to those dragons?" said Alex, pointing to some Snowtails.
Tom looked at the Snowtails and saw they were just as frozen as his mother.
Meanwhile, at ICARUS, Sledkin was preparing everything for her expedition, with Philip and Clara working on the winch.
Jun and D'Angelo just exited the elevator and approached them.
"Hey, Dad!" said D'Angelo. "Whatcha doing?"
"Looks pretty important, Clara," said Jun.
"We're just prepping equipment," said Philip. "Figured you two'd be off playing Dragon Club right about now."
"Yeah, you kids seem to be doing nothing else but that," said Clara.
"Yeah. Maybe we'll, uh, go do that," said D'Angelo awkwardly.
He then walked away, but Jun quickly stopped him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"I can't do this!" he said. "I'm not good at lying!"
"Who said we have to lie?" Jun asked. "We just need to stall them long enough for Tom to come back with his mom and the Dragonsite. Come on. We got this."
"Okay," said D'Angelo, taking a deep breath. "Just keep them busy."
He then cautiously approached his father, who looked at him suspiciously. "Can I help you, son?"
"That's a pretty sweet winch," said D'Angelo. "What's it pull? I'm going to say one ton?"
"Oh-ho! You know your hardware, D," Philip smiled.
"Learn from the best," he said, laughing nervously. "So, how long since you were last safety certified on this thing?"
"Come on, D. I've been running winches since before you were born."
"And I can guarantee that this winch is in perfect operational order," said Clara.
"Of course. What was I thinking?" said D'Angelo, looking at his father. "I bet you've taken the online certification class twice already, am I right? I mean, you've always taught me that rules and laws exist for a reason, but I guess they're not all important."
Philip looked as if he was about to say something but closed his mouth and looked at Clara for support.
"He's your son," she said with a small smile. "Also, I need not remind you that I was against this expedition to begin with."
Philip sighed.
"Are we ready to go?" Sledkin asked.
"Slight hiccup," said Philip. "Going to have to wait till I complete an online safety course. Shouldn't take too long."
"Are you serious?" Sledkin asked in disbelief.
"Rules are rules," he said, looking at his son and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Right, D?"
He then made his way to the elevator.
"Yes!" D'Angelo whispered to Jun.
Sledkin then approached the two of them and glared, making them more than a little nervous.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" D'Angelo smiled nervously.
"What's the matter, Wilma? We are just checking out a simple sinkhole, are we not?" Clara asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sledkin said nothing and walked away.
Tom's group, meanwhile, was still trying to figure out what was going on in the Ice Realm.
"Are they dead?" Eugene asked as he waved a hand in front of an Snowtails' face.
"Sh! No!" Alex hissed. "They're alive but seem to be in some kind of stasis."
"It's like they're completely frozen in place," said James. "And yet this seems strangely familiar somehow."
Tom continued to shake his mother. "Mom! Can you hear me?"
Olivia moved her eyes, showing she was alive and could hear him.
"Her eyes moved," he said. "She can hear me. Okay. Let's get on to Plowhorn and get out of here…"
Olivia then grunted as if trying to say something.
"What? What is it?" Tom asked her. "What's wrong?!"
Olivia continued pointing her eyes in the same direction, clearly trying to say something.
Alex's tablet then beeped again. "Tom, I'm picking up some movement again." Then she lost the signal light before. "Nope. Now it's gone."
"What's the deal with your sensors?" Eugene asked. "Ha! Guess you're not as good at fixing as you thought."
Alex glared at him.
Then they suddenly saw movement, but whatever it was was moving so fast they could get a good eye on it.
"What was that?" Eugene asked.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was fast," said James.
The dragons reacted clearly. They, too, could sense something was surrounding them, and that's when they all saw them. Stepping out into the open was a dragon resembling a velociraptor, only with a scorpion-like tail and fins on its head, back and legs. Then, more began to appear until they were utterly surrounded.
"Kullersen? I'm freaking out here!" Eugene yelled.
"Everyone, freeze!" said Tom calmly.
"Uh, I think considering what they did to your mom, not freezing is the goal here," said Alex.
"Guess we now know why the senses kept on activating on and off," said James.
The dragon slowly advanced towards them, growling viciously.
"Enough of this!" said Eugene. "Webs, blast these dudes!"
"No, Webs, don't!" Tom yelled.
Too late, Webmaster had already fired a blast at these speedy dragons, who quickly dodged it. Immediately considering a threat, the dragons began running across the ground with unbelievable Speed.
Thunder had to jump on a nearby frozen boulder to avoid one of them and began firing lightning blasts, but they were moving so fast he could not hit any of them. The other dragons were having much better success; no sooner had they fired a blast than these speedy dragons got out of the way at the last second.
"Fall back!" Tom ordered, grabbing his mother.
He quickly carried her to Plowhorn and placed her on her back with Eugene's help.
"Okay, Plowhorn," said Tom. "Lift off!"
Plowhorn began to fly away when one of the speedy dragons struck her with its sting-like tail. Plowhorn bellowed and collapsed no sooner had she taken off from the ground.
"No," Tom gasped and rushed over to them. "Plow! Mom!"
"They're everywhere!" Alex yelled. "We have to find cover!"
Tom saw an ice gorge with a single opening. "Over there! Come on!"
Plowhorn tried to crawl to the gorge, but the venom was starting to affect her. Tom, Alex and James quickly got behind and helped her up the hill while the dragons lay down, covering fire.
One of the speedy dragons then zoomed in towards them and would have struck Tom with its sting if Wu hadn't blocked it with his head. Wu instantly froze, and Wei fired a heat blast to drive the dragon away. He then placed his head beneath Wu and carried themselves towards the gorge.
Everyone was now in the gorge apart from Eugene and Webmaster, who were now surrounded.
"Eugene! Over here!" Tom waved and turned to Thunder. "Thunder! Cover them!"
"You too, Blade," said James.
Thunder and Blade took to the and began firing blasts at the dragons to give Eugene and Webmaster an opening to the gorge. Webmaster managed to reach it, but one of the dragons managed to graze Eugene with its sting up.
"Uh, Tom?" said Eugene as his joints became stiff. "I feel kind of weird."
He then found that he could not move his body and fell over. Webmaster quickly rushed over to him and picked him up, carrying him into the gorge.
Alex quickly rushed over to examine him. "Looks like they only grazed you."
"Only?" said Eugene. "I can't move my legs! Or my arms! At least I can still talk."
"We can't catch a break today," Alex muttered.
"Hey! My ears still work!"
"Well, you can't have a thing, can you," James shrugged.
On the surface, Philip had just completed his certification on the winch.
"Congratulations," said the computer's voice. "Your winch certification is complete. Enjoy pulling your own weight and then some."
"Huh," said Philip as he closed the laptop. "Who knew there could be so much continuing education for a winch?"
"No one knew, and no one cares," said Sledkin. "Now, let's finally get this mission underway."
"I would still be comfortable that Olivia was here to help," said Clara.
Sledkin turned on her. "Well, no one has been able to find, and we don't need her. Now, if you don't mind, I want this mission finished by tonight."
She then turned around and came face-to-face with Jun.
"Dr Sledkin!" she said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."
"There's nothing more I would love to do than stand here and talk to you all morning, but I have no time," said Sledkin, starting to look impatient.
"Darn," said Jun as she walked away. "I was hoping you would answer some questions about your book.
Sledkin then came to a stop and looked at her, smiling. "My book?"
"Dr Sledkin? Are you coming?" Philip asked.
"Can't you see I'm conversing with a child?" she said as she walked up to Jun. "Go on."
"Great!" said Jun. "Well, in chapter six, you mention studying rocks in the Mediterranean Sea, which revealed the existence of a lost continent known as Greater Adria."
"Mm. Well, yes, that was quite the expedition," Sledkin smiled.
"Anyway, I was wondering what your theory is about the existence of mythological cities like Atlantis. My mother says it's nonsense."
"Well, your mother says a lot of things, but he didn't hear that from me," she said, guiding her away. "Let me point you to my favourite passage in the book. I'm sure I have a copy with me somewhere."
"I think I'm going to be sick," said Clara.
Philip looked at D'Angelo, who shrugged.
Back in the Ice Realm, Tom was looking for the Book of Dragons and found out more about the dragons that just attacked.
"They're called Speed Stingers," said Tom. "Their stingers release a very potent paralysis venom."
"No kidding," said Eugene sarcastically. "So glad to have that book tell us these things. How long does it last?"
"And will it spread to his mouth?" Alex asked someone, hopefully.
"It doesn't say anything about how long the venom lasts… or if it's permanent," said Tom.
"No need to worry about that," said James. "I just remembered well-recognised those dragons. Apparently, the Speed Stingers attacked Hiccup's home of Berk once, paralysing a good majority of the island, including his father. From what I remember, the venom does wear off over time, but it could be several more hours."
"So you mean I have to stand here playing statue for hours," Eugene groaned.
"Just stand there and look pretty; you never had a problem doing that before," said James.
Thunder then growled, informing them he could no longer hear the Speed Stingers.
"Yeah. I don't hear them anymore either, Pal," said Tom, joining him. "Maybe we should make a run for it."
"That's a long way to go carrying two frozen dragons and two frozen humans," said Alex.
"She's right, Tom. Those dragons are unbelievably fast. We will get anywhere close to the entrance," James agreed.
"Then, what do you suggest?" Tom asked.
"The sensors were the only advantage we had, but those went dead right before they attacked," said Alex. "Without the sensors, those dragons are virtually invisible.
"Then we have to get the sensors back online," said Tom.
"Good luck!" said Eugene. "Even if those dragons triggered the sensors, they'd be honest so fast, we'll never make it!"
"Unless… we reversed their function," said Alex. "Then we could set off a sensor ping that would hopefully draw their attention! Is the best chance we've got."
"Outta the way. I'll show you how it's done," said Eugene. He then tried to move but only accomplished falling over face first. "Just kidding. My body doesn't work."
"Even if it did work, there's no way we would let you handle this sensitive mission," said James.
Alex then mounted Feathers. "Come on, Feathers."
"Alex…" said Tom.
"Don't worry, Tom. We got this."
She then took off and exited the gorge.
"Let's get this done quickly and get out of here," she said to Feathers.
They landed on the ground and began moving, watching for Speed Stingers. Alex then found one of the sensors, but unfortunately, it was damaged.
"Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought," she said, taking up the broken pieces.
Back at the gorge, Thunder looked at Plowhorn, Wu and Wei, who were still frozen from the Speed Stinger venom. James and Blade were keeping a lookout in case any Speed Stinger came to visit.
Tom sat down next to his frozen mother. "I just… I can't believe you did this, Mom. You should have trusted me. We could have come down here to get the Dragonsite ourselves. We have dragons! Don't you understand how risky and irresponsible you were being? And how worried I was?"
Tom then remembered what his mother had said last night and started to understand what she meant by it. "I guess that's how you feel about me being down here. Okay, okay. I get it. It is like your heart walking around outside of your body. But we're going to have to figure something out so we can still protect the dragons without feeling this way any more. But first, let's get you out of here."
"I… love you, boyo," said Olivia in a strained voice.
"Mom! You talked! The venom must be wearing off," Tom beamed and instantly hugged her. "I love you, too."
"Uh… uh, Tom?" Eugene sniffed. "Could you or James, uh, wipe away this liquid on my cheeks? Ha! Leaky eyes must be a side-effect from the Speed Stinger venom."
Tom and Olivia merely smiled while James rolled his eyes.
Meanwhile, Alex had finished fixing the sensor and was now reprogramming it.
"Come on, come on!" she said frantically.
Feathers then screeched when she heard something nearby, no doubt a Speed Stinger, which meant more were on the way.
"Faster!" said Alex. "Almost…"
A Speed Stinger appeared out of nowhere, and Feathers quickly jumped in and blasted it with a sonic blast.
Alex continued her work on the sensor. "Uh… Ah! We're online!"
She then quickly mounted Feathers, intending to fly back to the others, but a Speed Stinger struck her arm just as she put her tablet away.
"Let's go!" she said to Feathers.
Feathers quickly took off, heading back to the others.
At the gorge, everyone could hear Alex's screams.
"Is that…?" said Tom.
"Who else screams like that," said James.
They quickly rushed over to the entrance and saw Alex flying towards them.
"Alex! They made it!" Tom smiled.
"Uh, not quite," said James.
Tom then saw a couple of Speed Stingers chasing after them.
"Blade, let's give some covering fire!" said James.
"Thunder! Webmaster! Let's help out, too!" said Tom.
The three dragons quickly rushed forward and began blasting at the Speed Stingers, forcing them to retreat. Once Feathers entered the gorge, they quickly followed.
Tom and James quickly approached Alex, who was slowly starting to suffer from the Speed Stinger venom.
"Alex! You okay?" Tom asked.
"Uh, not… exactly," she said as she pulled out her tablet from her bag. "But I reversed the sensor. Now you can create pings using… my… tablet… and… draw… the Stingers… away. Good lu…"
The Stinger venom then took effect, and Alex froze in place.
"And then there were two," James sighed.
Tom looked towards the gorge and could hear several Speed Stingers.
Back on the surface, Sledkin was talking to Jun.
"And with only 5% of the ocean floor having been explored, it's preposterous, especially given this evidence, to deny the possibility, let alone the probability, that these societies existed."
"So interesting," said Jun.
Clara was leaning against the wall, rolling her eyes. "I'm not sure how much longer I can listen to this."
"Dr Sledkin! We're burning daylight," said Philip.
"Yes, yes! I am aware," Sledkin nodded and looked back at Jun. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
"Wait! Uh, I… I still have more questions," said Jun.
"Ask the Internet," said Sledkin as she joined Philip and Clara in the elevator.
Jun tried to stop them, but the elevator door closed on her.
By the time she got outside, they had already ended the van and drove off towards the sinkhole.
"Couldn't hold her back any longer?" D'Angelo asked.
"She's a woman on a mission!" Jun pointed out. "Any word from the others?"
D'Angelo shook his head.
"We've got to stop them from going down that sinkhole."
They then quickly ran after them.
In the Ice Realm, Tom and James were prepping everyone for their attempt to escape. They tied Olivia and Alex onto Wu, Wei and Eugene onto Webmaster.
"Okay, as soon as I send a ping, we'll only have a couple of minutes to get out of here before the Stingers realise they've been tricked," said Tom.
"It would take us that long just to get down the hill; we'll be cutting it pretty close," said James.
Tom nodded and looked at Thunder, Feathers and Blade. "Which is why we're going to give our guys a really good push."
"Oh, nice going, doofus!" said Eugene, who was facing the wrong way. "You faced me the wrong way! Who's going to save our butts if I can't even see?!"
"We need someone watching our backs, and to be honest, that is about as much as you're good for," said James.
"Hey!" Eugene yelled.
"Everyone ready?" Tom asked.
"Ready as much as we're going to be," said James.
"Now!" said Tom, pressing down on the tablet.
Instantly, all the sensors began sending beeping noises, which distracted the Speed Stingers.
"Go! Go! Go!" Tom yelled as they ran down the hill.
The speed stingers had already reached one of the sensors and realised they had been tricked. One of them was so frustrated that it swung its tail, smashing it.
"Uh-oh," said Tom, noticing that he had lost the sensor.
"Uh-oh? What's the uh-oh?" Eugene asked.
Eugene then saw a blur coming from the ice pillars and saw the Speed Stingers heading towards them. "Uh-oh! Tom! James! We got company!"
"We're almost there!" said Tom. "Thunder, hold them off!"
"You as well, Blade," said James.
Thunder and Blade began following blasts at the Speed Stingers as they skidded down the slope.
"Webmaster! Two behind us!" said Eugene.
Webmaster spun around and blasted the Speed Stingers behind them.
"Okay. Just a little further!" said Tom as they reached the bottom of the slope.
The dragons continued unleashing covering fire as they approached the entrance until they reached the bottom of the slope.
"Good work, but we don't have a long," said Tom.
"Tom! In coming!" Eugene yelled.
A Speed Stinger then appeared out of nowhere and struck Webmaster, and within seconds, he froze up.
"Oh, no! Webs!" Eugene panicked.
"Tom…" James warned as the Speed Stinger slowly advanced towards them.
"Thunder! Boom, boom, goodbye!" Tom ordered.
Thunder then charged off the Speed Stingers, unleashing a lightning blast in front of him, and dove right into it. The moment he did, he vanished completely, confusing the Speed Stingers until he appeared directly behind them. Two of them ran off; the third slowly approached until it stopped suddenly.
Unfortunately, just as Thunder was about to move, he suddenly found he couldn't as he had a small gash on his left rear leg.
"Thunder! No!" Tom yelled and ran up to him.
"What happened to that one?" Eugene asked, gesturing to the frozen Speed Stinger.
James carefully approached the Speed Stinger, examined it, and saw a small gash. "He's been hit as well."
"His friend must've missed and stung him by accident," said Tom.
"Seriously? His own team-mates stung him?" Eugene stared. "Wonder how that feels."
James narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry. I'm sure that'll never happen to you."
"They're not immune to their own stings," said Tom.
"So we get them to sting each other, but how?" James asked.
Tom smiled and turned to Feathers. "Feathers, I've got an idea!"
Feathers walked out into the open a few moments later, and the remaining Speed Stingers instantly rushed towards her. They surrounded her, and then one of them charged at her, but at the last second, she went invisible and jumped out of the way.
The Speed Stinger was moving too fast and couldn't stop, so he stung his compatriot, who had been standing behind Feathers. The moment the Speed Stinger got struck, it immediately froze in place. The Speed Stinger that struck him looked at him apologetically, and Feathers reappeared a few feet away.
"All right, Feathers!" Tom cheered.
"What am I missing? I can't see!" Eugene yelled.
"Oh, nothing much, just Feathers kicking some Stinger tail," said James.
Two Speed Stingers came at Feathers at the same time, but just like before, she cloaked at the last second. The Speed Stinger on the right-hand side had already swung its tail as she disappeared and accidentally struck its partner on the left, instantly freezing it.
Feathers then reappeared, and Blade swooped in, growling. The Speed Stinger soon realised it was now outnumbered and quickly ran off.
"What is happening?!" Eugene yelled impatiently. "Did we win?"
The Speed Stinger then ran past him and entered the cave that led outside.
"Oh, no," said Tom. "Not the cave to the surface!"
At the same time, Sledkin was being lowered into the sinkhole by Philip and Claara.
"Dad!" D'Angelo yelled as he and Jun arrived. "Maybe that's not a good idea."
"We don't know what's down there," said Jun.
"What is it with you two today?" Philip asked.
"It's almost like you're trying to delay this expedition," said Clara.
"Just let the adults do our jobs," said Sledkin from the sinkhole.
D'Angelo and Jun remained silent, knowing that there was no way they could stop them now.
"Finally, I'll get my hands on some more Dragonsite," said Sledkin as she shone her torch.
She eventually reached the bottom of the sinkhole but then heard a noise.
"What was that?" she gasped.
Then something struck from behind, making her drop the torch, and whatever it was was quite large. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything, but she could hear the unknown creature.
"Phil? I think there's something down here," said Sledkin, slightly terrified. Then she heard a roar and could hear something approach. "Argh! Bring me up! Bring me up!"
Then, jumping out of the dark was a Speed Stinger, which struck her with its stinger.
"Dr Sledkin! Are you okay?" Philip asked as we drew the winch. "What happened?"
Sledkin didn't respond, and when they winched her out of the sinkhole, they saw why. She was completely frozen in place, unable to move or speak.
"Dr Sledkin?" Philip stared.
Clara looked down the sinkhole. "What on earth happened down there?"
Back in the Ice Realm, Tom and the others could hear the Speed Stinger returning.
"Here it comes again," said Tom as it came charging towards them.
However, the moment it exited the tunnel, Feathers fired off a sonic blast, pushing it back. She was later joined by Wu, Wei and Plowhorn, who had recovered from the venom.
"Yeah! The venom wore off!" Tom cheered.
The Speed Stinger soon realised it was outnumbered and ran off just as the dragons unleashed their blasts.
No sooner had the Speed Stinger left than the Snowtails could move once more.
"Tom!" said Olivia, who could now also move.
"Mom!" Tom yelled and immediately rushed over to her to give her a big hug.
"Great job, boyo," said Olivia.
"I told you I'd get it out," said Tom.
Thunder, who had also come from the venom, approached the both of them, and they immediately stroked him. They then looked back at the frozen Speed Stingers.
"We should go before that venom wears off," Tom suggested.
"Yeah, about that," said Eugene, who had also recovered from the venom but couldn't move because he was tied to his saddle by rope. "A little help over here! I can feel my kidneys. Oh, I have to pee."
Both Tom and Olivia then laughed.
Later that night, everyone had returned to Rakke Town, and D'Angelo just exited the infirmary.
"How's Dr Sledkin?" Olivia asked.
"Frozen and mumbling," he said. "My dad's pretty sure some kind of cave snake got her."
"Hopefully, she didn't see that Speed Stinger," said Tom. "They do move pretty fast."
"Speaking of that, we should consider taking a sample of your blood, Dr K," said D'Angelo, looking at Olivia. "The venom in your system could help us develop a Speed Stinger antivenom. You know, just in case we run into them again."
"That's a great idea, D'Angelo," said Olivia.
"Catch you later, Mom," said Tom, walking off.
"Uh, Tom? A moment," said Olivia.
D'Angelo looked back at Tom, who nodded, and he left, leaving the two of them alone.
"We still have some stuff to talk about, don't we?" Tom assumed.
"Look, boyo, I'm sorry for underestimating all of you," she said. "After seeing what you did today, there's no denying you can handle yourself."
Tom smiled. "Oh. Well, that's what I've been trying to get you to see."
"But!"
Tom groaned. "There's always a but."
"I can't keep this secret any more, Tom," she said. "It's not right. I'm telling the other parents about the dragons."
She then walked on, leaving a deeply concerned Tom behind.