Pete was shopping in the general store, but when he grabbed a bag of cheesy loops, he saw that his basket was empty.
"Thaaat's weird," he said.
He then put the cheesy loops in the basket and continued shopping, but everything disappeared once again.
"Hey, what gives?!" he said. He then turned his basket upside down and then looked around. "This isn't funny."
He then turned around the corner and found the culprits: the Dragon Riders' dragons minus Thunder. All of them were eating anything they could get their fangs in, and they only stopped when they saw Pete.
Thunder was currently outside licking at himself when the dragons rushed out of the general store carrying Pete's shopping.
"Hey! Come back!" Pete yelled, running after them. "My groceries!"
Thunder immediately stopped when he was doing and chased after them, but he and Pete weren't having much success in stopping the dragons. Plowhorn somehow got the basket latched onto her horn.
"Buzzsaw's got really good at snatching dragons and disappearing into the Hidden World," said Tom as he and the others walked through town. "But he's going to slip up eventually, and then we'll grab the Dragon Book."
"Or he'll just continue to outsmart you every step of the way," said Eugene.
"Not helpful, Eugene," said Jun.
"And Tom has outsmarted Buzzsaw a number of times," James reminded.
D'Angelo then heard screams coming from the general store. He noticed Pete chasing after the dragons, who had stolen his shopping.
"Uh, guys?" he said. "What's going on over there?"
"Oh, boy," said Alex.
They immediately rushed to wrangle their dragons.
"Hey, hey, hey!" said Tom. "Calm down!"
"Plow, Plow, Plow! Easy, girl!" said D'Angelo, removing the basket from her horn.
"Feathers… Enough," said Alex.
The dragons then dropped all of Pete's shopping.
"Aw! Webs just wants to play," said Eugene. "Let them all get the wiggles out."
"They got into the general store," said Pete as he picked up his shopping. "You should really keep a leash on them." He then looked at his craft shopping. "Looks like it's mashed cheesy loops for dinner."
"What happened?" Tom asked, turning to Thunder. "I thought you were going to keep an eye on them until we got back."
Thunder whimpered slightly.
"It's okay. It's okay," said Tom gently. "We shouldn't have left you guys alone for that long. But you have to assert yourself, Pal."
Thunder then roared at the other dragons as fiercely as possible, but it had absolutely no effect on them, and they walked away.
Tom chuckled. "Keep working on it."
"Uh, guys?" said Alex, looking at her tablet. "Buzzsaw might've just come out of hiding. Sensors are going off in the Nature Realm."
"It's got to be him," said Jun.
"Riders! Mount up!" Tom ordered as he mounted Thunder. "Time to get the Dragon Book back."
He then took off, and the others began to follow him.
"Right behind you!" said D'Angelo. He noticed the mess on Plowhorn's horn and traced his finger over it. "Plowhorn is a mess."
He then licked his finger and soon followed Tom.
It didn't take them long to reach the Nature Realm, and they began making their way towards the sensors.
"The sensors didn't set themselves off," said Tom. "He's around here somewhere."
"I love how sure you are, Tommy, even when you're wrong," said Eugene.
Jun glared at him.
"What?" he said. "That was a back-handed compliment!"
"Smell anything, Plow?" D'Angelo asked, looking at Plowhorn. She gave a small growl and began pointing towards the trees. "Guys, she's got something."
"Wait… listen," said Tom, holding his hand out.
They stopped and heard a buzzing sound, and Tom smugly looked at Eugene.
Eugene groaned. "Fine. You were right. Get over yourself."
"Is he building more traps?" D'Angelo asked.
"Or perhaps he's building lethal weapons, and we're walking to our doom," said Alex.
"No matter what he's doing, we have to stop him," said James.
Tom and Thunder then jumped out from behind a rock to confront Buzzsaw.
"Okay, Buzzsaw!" he said, and his eyes widened as he discovered it was not Buzzsaw but Sledkin with a drill. "Dr Sledkin?!"
"Ha! I was right!" said Eugene smugly. "It wasn't Buzzsaw!"
"Okay, you were right now. Get over yourself," said James.
Sledkin glared at them as Linda showed up.
"And Linda?" Alex blinked.
"Oh, yeah. I kind of work for her now," she said. "Bennies aren't great, but it beats unemployment."
"Did you really think I would return to claim what belongs to me?" Sledkin asked.
"Nothing here belongs to you, Sledkin," Jun glared.
"Oh, I beg to differ," she said. "I discover the unique properties of dragonsite. That makes it mine."
"That's not true," said Tom. "My mother discovered that."
"In conjunction with me," she countered. "Then she abandoned the research to play zookeeper while I carried it over the finish line. I won't let dragonsite's value go to waste."
"We'll see about that," said Tom.
"Please. You have no claim to anything down here," she scoffed.
"Only because you discovered something doesn't make it yours," said James, folding his arms. "And you're not the first person we've encountered who seems to think the Hidden World belongs to them."
"You can't intimidate me," she said, not looking impressed. "Just beat it. I have important work to do."
"No way," said Tom and began to advance towards her. "You're coming with us."
"I knew something like this would happen," she said. "That's why I brought along an insurance policy to guarantee that my operation would not be deterred."
"What is she talking about?" Alex asked.
Sledkin then pulled out a stick of dynamite.
"Dr Sledkin, please put down the explosives," said Tom.
"Gladly," she said, smiling.
"Wait! No!" D'Angelo yelled, realising what she was about to do.
She then activated the detonator and then dropped the dynamite onto the ground.
"Oh, I hate this part," said Linda, covering her ears.
Sledkin then quickly pulled into one side.
"Everyone! Take cover!" Tom yelled.
Everyone quickly scattered, and moments later, there was an explosion. Thunder managed to shield Tom with his wings.
"Is everyone okay?" Tom coughed.
"We're fine… I think," said Jun.
"Apart from my ears ringing from the explosion, I'm fine," said James.
"It's okay, girl," said D'Angelo as he looked at Plowhorn.
"Well, my old intervals which places, but other than that, I'm perfect," said Alex.
"Did anyone see where Sledkin and Linda went off to?" James asked.
Everyone looked around and saw that the two of them were nowhere to be seen.
"Where did they go?" Jun asked.
Thunder then suddenly dashed forwards, and they saw a new cave had been created, no doubt due to the explosion.
"Whoa," Jun gasped. "Th-This wasn't there before."
"The blast must have opened it," said D'Angelo.
"And I bet you anything Sledkin and Linda went inside," said James.
Tom immediately mounted Thunder. "Come on."
"Right behind you," said Jun mounting Wei.
"Thanks," Tom smiled.
"Ah! To be young and in love," said Alex.
"Come on, Gonzo," said Eugene, looking as if he was about to be sick. "Don't make me ralph on the mission."
They soon made their way into the new cave.
When they reached the other side of the cave, they found themselves in a completely new area. It was a vast desert with strange structures covering its surface.
"What is this place?" D'Angelo asked.
"My maps of spinning," said Alex as she looked at her tablet. "We're totally off the grid."
"You can say that again," said Tom.
"Something about this place feels familiar," Jun frowned.
"Dark… twisted… I like it," said Alex.
"I think we just discovered a whole new realm," said James.
"Yeah, I'd love to explore too, but we need to find Sledkin and Linda before they get too far away," said Tom.
They immediately took to the air and began flying over the surface of the desert but then left to the strange structures that covered the sand.
"These things are all over the place," said Jun as she traced a hand of one of the structures. "What are they made of? Another form of dragonsite?"
"Or crystal?" said D'Angelo.
Alex tapped the structure and immediately began to glow. "I think they're… glass?"
"So glad you shard that information," Eugene laughed, and the girls just gave him dull looks. "That was a glass joke."
"We know," said Jun. "You're transparent!"
The girls then laughed as they walked away.
"Good one," said Alex, giving Jun a high five.
"But glass isn't made naturally; it is formed when sand is superheated," said James, scratching his head. "So, how did it get here?"
"I don't know, but we need to focus more on finding Sledkin and Linda," said Tom.
They then heard a roar that sounded as if it was pretty close.
"We should probably focus on whatever that was," said D'Angelo.
They then heard screams and saw Sledkin and Linda running for their lives.
"Check it out! They're giving themselves up," said Eugene. "Guess my menacing stare earlier worked."
The two women then run past them, screaming.
"I don't think they're surrendering," said Tom.
"Something is out there!" said Sledkin, hiding behind Jun.
"Something big!" Linda added, hiding behind Alex.
"We have to leave. Now."
"Sorry, Sledkin," said Tom. "We're not falling for that one."
They then heard the roar again and saw, appearing from over the hill was, a dragon. The dragon was troll-like in appearance and actually had hair on its head.
"Is that a dragon?" Tom stared.
"It's…" said Jun.
"Ugly! That's what it is!" said Eugene.
"Great idea, Eugene," said Alex, narrowing her eyes. "Let's offend it and see what happens."
The dragon opened its mouth, which began to glow.
"I think it's time to bug out!" said D'Angelo.
"Run!" Sledkin screamed.
The dragon then blasted them, and the dragons immediately took off. The Riders quickly scattered along with Sledkin and Linda. The dragons landed behind the troll dragon, who turned to face them and snarled at them.
Thunder growled at the other dragons to stand their ground, but they slowly retreated behind the glass structures. The troll dragon then blasted at Thunder, forcing him to retreat as well and began to chase after him.
"Get your beast to blast that thing, would you?!" Sledkin yelled. "Then we might survive!"
"Maybe they would if you ask them politely," said James.
Thunder had backed away towards one of the glass structures, and the troll dragon tried to pounce on him. Fortunately, Thunder was rather nimble and could avoid getting grabbed, but sadly, the other dragons didn't seem to be offering any assistance.
"Not only is it big, but it's also really fast!" said D'Angelo.
"And ugly. Don't forget ugly," said Eugene.
"Thunder! Over here!" Tom waved.
Thunder smiled and dashed towards him, but the troll dragon blocked his path.
"Thunder! Keep the dragons together!" Tom ordered.
Thunder then quickly ran away towards the other dragons, who were panicking and flying all over the place. He roared at them, and they quickly flew back down and hid among the glass structures. The troll dragon then roared loudly, and the glass structures began to glow in response.
"What's it doing?" Alex asked.
"Its roar is vibrating those glass structures," said D'Angelo.
The troll dragon somehow tracked down the other dragons and began to advance towards them. Tom, D'Angelo, and Alex quickly rushed over to warn them.
"Feathers! Look out!" Alex yelled.
The dragon saw the troll dragon and quickly took off before it had a chance to bite down on them. It then blasted Feathers in the back, and she crashed down somewhere in the desert; it then turned to the Riders, who quickly dashed to safety.
It then roared again, causing the crystal structures to glow, and all the dragons apart from Thunder quickly hid. With no other choice, Thunder was forced to hide himself, and the troll dragon turned its sights on the Riders and began chasing after them.
"Giant, angry dragon coming this way!" said Jun.
"We need to find cover!" Tom yelled.
"Tom, this is a desert!" D'Angelo reminded him.
"Over there!" said Sledkin, pointing to a large glass structure with a cave nearby. "We can make it!"
"She's right," said Tom. "Keep running!"
"Sounds good to me!" said Eugene, pushing on ahead.
"How did that dragon find us?" James asked.
"I think it's using these glass spires like my sensors," Alex theorised.
"Of course," said D'Angelo, stopping in his tracks. "The echolocation acts as an early warning system if a predator enters a territorial."
"Or prey—like us," said Alex, dragging him along.
"Thunder will rally the dragons," said Tom confidently. "We have to save ourselves!"
Linda then tripped, dropping her bag. "My pack!"
"Leave it, you fool!" said Sledkin, dragging her away.
They reached the cave, but it only led to a dead end.
"It's a dead end!" said Jun.
"Wonderful!" said Eugene, narrowing his eyes at Sledkin. "Great hiding place, Doc!"
The dragon appeared before the entrance, but Thunder swooped in and blasted it with a lightning blast.
"Yeah! Go, Thunder!" Tom cheered.
Jun frowned, noticing the lack of the other dragons. "Where are the rest of the dragons?"
Thunder continued firing lightning blasts at the creature, who then blasted Thunder, causing it to crash to the ground.
"Thunder!" Tom cried and began to chase after him. "He's hurt!"
Sledkin stopped him and pulled him back. "Get a hold of yourself. He's a wild animal. He's fine."
The dragon then turned to face and prepared to fire.
"Tom!" Jun yelled.
Upon noticing the dragon preparing to attack, they quickly retreated within the cave as far back as they could. The dragon fired a more complicated blast straight at the cave entrance, launching black sand into the air.
Thunder picked himself up and discovered his right wing had been injured, preventing him from flying. He took a moment to gain his bearings and then looked at the troll dragon and growled at it, turning its attention away from the glass structure. Unable to fly, he had no choice but to run off, and soon the dragon chased after him.
Tom managed to pick himself up and saw that a huge block of glass completely barred the entrance.
"Glass?" Tom stared. "It turned the sand to glass?"
"Of course," said Alex. "He'd plus sand equals glass."
"Whoa, what an amazing dragon," said Jun.
"Guess we now know what created all those glass structures all over the desert," said James.
"Can we admire its artistic abilities another time?" Sledkin asked.
"Don't worry, everyone," said Tom. "Thunder's heading back to wrangle the dragons and get us out of here."
"You mean like earlier at the general store when Thunder couldn't handle any of them?" said Eugene, raising an eyebrow. "We should all take this time to update our wills. Seriously."
"I hate to agree with him, but Eugene's got a point," said James. "He did fail to rally the dragons to take that Glass Caster down."
"Trust me… Thunder can do it," said Tom confidently.
He then looked through the cracks within the glass into the open desert, hoping that Thunder would prove him right.
Thunder was limping away right now, and his roars were making all the crystal structures he walked by glow. He quickly hid behind a glass structure and kept quiet as the Glass Caster looked for him.
Once it moved on, he took that moment to get some rest; it would be a while before you would be able to fly again. He heard a faint growl, assumed it was the Glass Caster, and was ready to fire a lightning blast. However, it turned out that it was Plowhorn.
He was immediately happy to see her, but the glass structures began to glow, and Plowhorn instantly took off. Thunder quickly grabbed her tail, pulled her back, and growled at a, telling them they should stick together.
Plowhorn agreed and began to sniff around to find the other dragons, but unbeknownst to them, the Glass Caster was nearby searching for them.
Back in their glass prison, Tom was still hoping that Thunder would come to their rescue.
"You really think they're going to be all right, Tom?" Jun asked. "Out there without us?"
"I hope so," said Tom.
Sledkin laughed.
"What's so funny?" Tom asked.
"Sweet, I suppose, but foolish nonetheless," she said. "They're just animals. They don't care about you."
"They're not just animals," Jun glared. "They're smart, emotional, and…"
"You think they will save you?" Sledkin scoffed. "Look, they've run off. It's self-preservation. Survival of the fittest. The first law of the animal kingdom. You could all stand to learn a little from them. That's why I am not going to bank my survival on waiting around for a bunch of scared lizards to rescue me. You would be best served in joining me to figure a way out."
"Why should we believe you after all you've done?" D'Angelo asked.
"Yeah, you're not exactly a pillar of trust," Eugene agreed.
"And you're half the reason why we're stuck in this situation in the first place," James added.
"That wasn't an invitation to spew your juvenile judgment!" Sledkin glared and then gestured to Linda. "Linda!"
Linda looked at the Riders. "For the record, I think your dragons are kind of cool sometimes."
"Linda!" Sledkin snapped.
Linda then made her way over to the far end of the cave.
"I don't know about you guys, but I want nothing to do with those two," said D'Angelo.
"Neither do I, but she does have a point," said James regretfully. "We can't just sit here and hope that our dragons will rescue us. We have to do something."
Tom then turned back to the cracks and looked out into the desert.
Thunder and Plowhorn were still looking for the other dragons, but then they heard a faint growling sound. They turned and saw Blade with Wu and Wei standing in the small glass cave. Wu currently had his head inside the cave, and when he spotted it, Thunder gestured for him to help him out.
Wu then pulled something out of the cave, which turned out to be Feathers. However, for whatever reason, she refused to step out of the cave and quickly went back in. Thunder growled at the two-headed dragon, telling them that he will take over.
He looked into the cave and saw Feathers called up, looking terrified. She then raised her wounded wing and began licking it, clearly not wanting to leave until it was healed. Thunder then showed her his injured wing and told her they couldn't just sit around waiting to be healed.
Feathers then stepped out of the cave and sniffed his injured wing. Feeling far less afraid, she stepped outside, and Thunder caressed her with his wing. The other dragons growled and approached them, and that's when they heard the sound of the Glass Caster.
Thunder growled the dragons, telling them they had to stand, and they quickly followed him.
The Riders were attempting to escape their glass prison. Both D'Angelo and Jun cupped their hands together to form a lift for Eugene. Eugene then jumped into their hands, and they launched him into the air, hoping to give him an uplift so he could reach the edge of the glass barrier.
Unfortunately, Eugene didn't quite make it and fell back to the ground with a painful thud.
Sledkin and Linda watched them from a distance, and Sledkin sneered at them.
"Look at those idiots," she said, somewhat amused. "There must be another way out of here."
The Riders attempted again to launch Eugene onto the barrier, having the same result as before.
"I think that was closer this time," said D'Angelo.
"I don't think my head can take getting any closer," Eugene moaned.
"Watch it, guys," said Tom as he looked through the cracks. "We don't want to call the Glass Caster." He then noticed something within the cracks and looked at the others. "I think I know a way we can get out of here. Look."
Jun looked through the cracks and saw Linda's pack, incited that she could see a rope. "Linda's pack!"
"Newsflash, Tommy," said Eugene. "That's out there, and we're in here."
"Well, we build a human ladder," Tom explained. Alex climbs up and over, throws us the rope, and then we climb to freedom and meet our dragons."
"But the wall is too high for the six of us," D'Angelo pointed out.
"Not six. Eight," he said, looking towards Sledkin and Linda.
The Riders looked at the two of them and looked at Tom as if he had lost his mind.
D'Angelo then pulled out his phone and played his recording. "Are you crazy?!"
"Do we need to remind you of everything she's done to us and our dragons?!" Jun asked.
"Okay, fine. I get it," said Tom. "But she did find a safe cover from the Glass Caster."
"Oh, yeah. And that's worked out great," Eugene pointed out.
"Mining for dragonsite caused a swarm of dragons to overflow Rakke Town," said James.
"Don't forget the explosives!" Alex added.
"She does have a history of trying to blow us up," said D'Angelo.
"I know, I know," said Tom. "But this time, it was just a distraction."
Everyone just looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Okay, probably!" said Tom. "But, look, if it wasn't for that, we never would've found this new realm."
"Again, that's worked out great, by the way," said Eugene.
"What choice do we have?" Tom asked. "We need them."
The Riders looked at one another, and Jun approached Tom.
"For the record, I don't trust her," she said. "But I trust you."
Tom smiled at her, and Eugene pretended to throw up.
Jun quickly turned on him. "Look… Tom's right. What choice do we have? Our dragons might need us."
The Riders looked at one another and nodded somewhat reluctantly.
Tom then turned to Sledkin and Linda. "Dr Sledkin! We need your help."
"Of course you do," she smirked.
Webmaster was currently face-to-face with the Glass Caster and quickly dodged its last. He quickly flew into the air to avoid it, counting him and firing his fire webs at hit. However, he easily overcame the attack and pinned him to the ground.
It was then that Thunder and the rest of the dragons arrived. The Glass Caster then unleashed his flames around Webmaster, encasing him in a cage of glass. It then turned to face the other dragons and charged at them.
Thunder was ready to fight it head-on, but the other dragons took off. Thunder tried to order them back, but the Glass Caster tackled him to the ground and began to move in for the kill.
Meanwhile, the Riders were now attempting to escape from their glass prison. Jun had just reached the top of the pyramid and was trying to maintain her balance.
"Tom…" she said, looking down at him.
"Just keep your balance," said Tom as he attempted to stabilise her. This is going to work."
"Will it work? Maybe," said Eugene as he held on to Tom. "But does it look cool? No."
"Don't worry, Eugene, nobody can see you," said Jun, looking down at him.
"I can see you," D'Angelo groaned as he supported Eugene. "I can definitely see you!"
"We see a lot of the bottom of this human ladder," James groaned as he supported D'Angelo.
"Dr Sledkin!" said Linda as she and Sledkin grasped each other's arms at the bottom of the ladder.
"Quiet, Linda," said Sledkin. "Survival requires extreme measures. Now let her use your face as a foothold!"
Linder then turned ahead to Alex. "Okay."
Alex then began climbing and accidentally stepped on Linda's face.
"Hey!" she yelled with her glasses, now screwy.
"Sorry, accident," Alex smirked.
She then continued to climb up the ladder until she reached the very top.
"Okay, Alex, now up and over," said Tom.
Alex lifted herself onto the ledge of the glass barrier and landed on the other side. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed Linda's pack and tossed it over the glass barrier while still holding onto the rope.
"Mission accomplished," she smiled and then her phone began to buzz.
"What is that?!" Tom yelled on the other side as Alex fumbled with her phone.
"It's a reminder to take my vitamins!" she yelled.
"Shut it off!" Tom yelled as the others yelled at her.
"I'm trying!" she said and managed to switch it off, much to her relief.
However, that relief quickly subsided when she saw a nearby glass structure began to glow, no doubt due to the buzzing of her phone.
"Oh, that's not good," she said.
Thunder, meanwhile, was completely at the mercy of the Glass Caster, who looked as if he was about to finish him off. However, he heard the ringing from the glass structures and rushed over to investigate.
Thunder picked himself up and saw that Plowhorn was already rescuing Webmaster. She dug her horn at the bottom of the cage and lifted it up, freeing him.
Meanwhile, the Riders were preparing to escape from their prison; Eugene pulled on the rope to check whether it was secured and gave everyone the thumbs-up.
"Okay, everyone, let's go," said Tom.
"Good work," said Sledkin. "Linda and I will go first, then pull you up."
Tom stopped her before she could get to the rope. "No. The Riders should go first. Then you and Linda. We can deal with the dragon if it returns."
"We're adults," Slekdin reminded him. "If we go first…"
"Is Linda going to take on the dragon?" Jun asked.
Sledkin looked at Linda, who was currently trying to remove wax from her ears. She sighed and looked at Tom, gesturing for him to go.
The Riders began climbing up the rope with her permission, but Linda was still slightly concerned.
"Uh, Dr Sledkin, should we, um, you know, have let them go first?" Linda asked. "How can we trust…"
"Oh, little Linda, Tom would never leave us behind," said Sledkin as Tom climbed up the rope. "He's one of those heroic types, a do-gooder like his mother. Okay. After we climb up and they keep themselves busy with the dragons, we make our escape." She then began to approach the rope confidently. "See how that works? It's called thinking ahead."
However, before she could grab the rope, it was suddenly pulled right out from under her.
"Sorry, Dr Sledkin," said Tom through the cracks of the glass. "But you can't be trusted. Once we get our dragons, we'll be back for you. And then I'm taking you to Rakke Town Security myself."
He then left.
"So, not like your mother after all," said Sledkin, looking somewhat impressed.
"Dr Sledkin, they left us!" said Linda. "Did you think ahead for this part?!"
"Oh, put a cork in it, Linda!" Sledkin snapped and then pulled out a shard of dragonsite.
The Riders were now free in the middle of the desert, but they could hear the Glass Caster approaching them.
"That Glass Caster is on its way," said D'Angelo.
"Is it too late to go back to the cave?" Eugene asked.
"Not for you," said Jun.
"We won't be able to run it, that's for sure," said James.
"Do we have a plan, Tom?" Alex asked.
Tom stepped forward and heard a faint, familiar growling sound.
"This," he said, smiling.
"This?" Eugene scoffed. "This is nothing. Anyone can come up with a nothing plan."
He then turned his head, and everyone stared as Thunder arrived, hovering over the sandy desert with the other dragons in perfect formation. They then slammed on the ground and skidded before coming to a stop with their rear ends facing towards them.
"Why is that, Eugene?" Tom smirked.
"Okay, fine. That was a pretty cool entrance," Eugene admitted.
Tom then rushed over to Thunder and smiled. "I knew you'd bring them together, Pal."
Then they saw the Glass Caster heading towards them, and the glass structures began to glow as they ran. Tom looked at the glass structures, which were glowing, and it gave him an idea.
He then pulled out his lightning sword. "Now blast those glass formations. We need to throw the Caster off our trail."
Thunder roared at the other dragons, telling them to follow his lead. He then fired a lightning blast at one of the crystal structures, and the sound began to affect the Glass Caster. Webmaster slammed into another one, as did both Plowhorn and Blade. Wu and Wei roared as loudly as they could at one of the crystal structures, and Feathers unleashed a sonic blast at one of them.
The humming sound from each of the glass structures disoriented the Glass Caster, and it could no longer tell which way to turn.
"It's confusing him!" said Alex.
"He won't stay like that forever!" said D'Angelo.
"Thunder!" Tom called. Then, Tom turned to face him, and he raised his lightning sword. "Light it up, Pal!"
Tom then tossed the lightning sword, which struck the ground at the Glass Caster's feet. Thunder then fired a lightning blast at the sword, which was called a small explosion. When the dust settled, they found that the Glass Caster was now trapped within a cage of glass.
The Dragon Riders immediately cheered upon seeing this.
The Glass Caster wasn't as cheerful as it attempted to break free.
"Now that we've got one from behind glass, we need to get our other problem out," said Jun as they mounted their dragons.
They returned to the cave but found that Sledkin and Linda had escaped. They had found a massive hole cut through the glass, wide enough for someone to escape.
"A clean cut," said Jun.
"How?" Tom asked.
"Dragonsite," said Alex simply. "It's harder than a diamond, remember? Which means…"
"It can cut through glass," Tom finished.
"Wow. Duped again," said Eugene. "I can't believe you just let her get away. Oh, wait, yes, I can. This is classic Kullersen. I mean, really, did…"
Thunder then roared at him to be quiet.
Eugene then looked at Webmaster. "Webs, you just going to let and treat me like that?"
Webmaster looked at Thunder, who narrowed his eyes at him and just remained quiet.
"Pfft. Typical!" Eugene grumbled.
Tom then watched as the other dragons gathered around Thunder, seeing him as their leader.
Later that night, both Tom and James hung around in Jun's room, going through her Norse books. She seemed to think there was something familiar about the Desert Realm in her books, so she asked them to work through them.
"Are you sure about this, Jun?" Tom asked. "It seems kind of far-fetched."
"More far-fetched than an entire world of dragons under our feet?" she smirked.
"Point taken."
"Trust me, Kullersen. I know in I've seen that place somewhere before."
"You would be nice if we knew exactly where to look," said James as he closed the book he was reading. "I mean, you've got so many myth books that it could take us a while to find anything."
"Uh… guys?" said Tom.
Jun and James then looked over his shoulder and saw a picture that resembled the Desert Realm.
"Yes! I knew it!" Jun beamed. "Svartalfheim from Norse mythology. It was said to be a strange land of wealth and riches, inhabited by large, nasty trolls who forge weapons in fire and smoke."
Tom then turned his gaze to the other page, which had a picture of the troll-like creature that resembled the Glass Caster. "Or a large nasty, troll-like dragon that forges glass."
"Do you know what this means?" Jun smiled. "Whoever started the Norse myths about the Nine Realms was talking about the worlds of dragons."
"My ancestor's journal mentions that Hiccup frowned the world by following old sailor tales of the dragon homeland," said James. "I guess the way they describe them to the Vikings is that they must've pictured all different worlds, and over time, it got distorted. Chinese whispers Viking style."
"Nine Realms?" said Tom as he flipped through the pages. "Fire. Ice. Giant!"
"The Crystal Realm could be a reference to Alfheim, the home of the light elves, due to the fact that it's always so bright down there," James assumed. "The Nature Realm is also clearly Vanaheim, and I bet Thunder's home mirrors Asgard."
"Today's realm makes seven, which means…" said Jun excitedly.
"There are still two more left," Tom finished.