Disclaimer: Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and Legends of Chima are both own by LEGO Company.
Another day comes to the lands of Chima, outside the Lion Temple a great shadow approaches. Hundreds of screeching bats make their way to Mount Cavora for another chi raid. The black cloud covered the skies over the temple, as the frenzied horde neared their desired prize.
Suddenly a bat is blasted from below. All the tribes of Chima, now united shoot rapidly at the bats. "Protect Mount Cavora! Hit that cloud with everything you've got!" Lagravis ordered the united force, manning one of the cannons to add to the assault. The combined force of the Serpentine added to the onslaught, as venom-laced blasts laid waste to the enemy. "Keep firing, show them the might of the Serpentine!" Arcturus cried from the front lines, assisting the other leaders in the defense of the mountain. A blade-copter manages to launch a net at the lead bat, entangling it and sending crashing down.
The bats, now completely lost in what to do, flutter uncontrollably until a spider by the name of Sparacon flows towards Mount Cavora with the help of one of the bat's Wing Striker flying machines. "FLY TO THE CAVE!" he ordered as he was dropped on his stomach on Mount Cavora, two spiders picking him up and their commander wiping the dust off. They notice a small streak of chi water coming from the end of the tunnel, so they walk towards it to steal.
"It's finally ours!" Sparacon says maliciously, then using their spider arms, they open the web that's in the way of a pile of chi, with Sparacon making a web-made bag. "Let's fill it up," he orders, as the others fill the bag up with the chi, as the bats screeching can be heard outside.
Outside the Lion Temple, the blasting continues as chaos erupts in the skies. Yet through this chaos, Lagravis noticed exactly what they were up to. "I don't believe it. First, they stopped the falls and now they're harvesting the orbs inside them." he cried in outrage and disbelief. Once they had filled their bags with the chi, the spiders jumped and were caught in the air, preparing for their next mission. Escaping with it!
"DON'T LET THEM LEAVE WITH OUR CHI!" Lagravis voice boomed across the battlefield, as most of the firepower was focused on the escapees. But alas, it is not enough, as the firepower is beginning to lessen. "There's not enough chi left to power our blasters!" Crunket told him, noting just how diminished they truly were, as soldiers hit their cannons just to get them back up and running. And even though they're able to eliminate some, Sparacon is still flying.
"We're too late. They're getting away with the chi." Lagravis said, defeated and falling to his knees. But not all is lost, as Queen Crunket points to the skies and says, "No, wait! Look! As far in the horizon the distinctive shape of an eagle jet could be seen, and not alone as it was flanked by dozens of Rattlercopters. The eagles and the serpentine working together in this time of need, though not without problems.
"Alright, you freaks! Follow my lead and we MIGHT just make it!" the eagle pilot said, still holding some resentment for the Spires. Then with a screech, he drove his jet to the escapee's vehicle and grabbed the driver with the jet's claws. Sparacon is taken completely off guard as his bat is now screaming while he's pulled away. Breathing heavily, he screamed at the sudden free fall he found himself in, unceremoniously falling to the ground.
Roaring was heard across the battlefield, as the tribes lay witness to the aerial assault above them, celebrating at finally turning the tides. "Good news! We've taken down those chi thieves. Queen Crunket will lead a team to recover the orbs." Lagravis proclaims contently, as the tribes of Chima cheer. "Now all we have to do is stop the rest of them." He reminds them, halting the celebration as the tribes are left shocked that there's still a giant amount they have to take care of.
Back in the Outlands, all our heroes walk by themselves in between the predator plants, without the legend beast, but now equipped with armor for protection. The predator plants growling at Laval as he passes by, one launching itself towards him before being hit away by his sword, no longer the threat they once were.
"Ugh. How much farther?!" Cragger complains from behind him, tired from the long trek. "Well, according to Lavertus's map, there are two legend beasts trapped in a canyon, somewhere around here," Laval says, stopping to check his location. Not quite satisfied, Cragger asks, "And you trust that kook job? I didn't even wanna leave our crocodile beast with him. But even legend beasts need to rest sometimes." he admits, with care and concern for his faithful beast.
"Hey! Lavertus is a lion, and you can ALWAYS trust a lion," Laval reassures him, slightly offended at the thought. While Cragger and Woriz both growled in disagreement, their experiences said otherwise. "Plus! Check out this armor he made for us! Keep those plants away." he reminds them, just as a predator plant takes a giant bite at the armor and backs off in regret. Laval laughs in pride, before carrying on his way, but not all shared his sentiment.
"Yeah, but I agree with, Cragger. Lavertus is hiding something." Eris tells him, already suspicious about the exiled lion. "Probably sending us into a trap! I say we ditch him and make our way to that snake temple!" Cragger tells her, preferring anything to Lavertus's company. But before he could further discuss it, a grunt from Woriz drew everyone's attention. "AH!", he cries swinging a strike at multiple predator plants, "He doesn't have to "send" us! WE'RE ALREADY TRAPPED!" he yells as the group realizes they are surrounded.
The predator plants let out a low growl as they near, their jaws snapping the closer they got. Suddenly, a loud rustling is heard amongst the trees and branches, Laval and Cragger shrugging in confusion. Rogon's truck turns from the corner and charges straight for them, "LOOK OUT!" Laval yells as he pulls his screaming friends to the side. The truck continues to drive forward, running over the predator plants and making an opening.
Everybody cheers, glad to be intact and happy for making progress on their mission. "GO, ROGON!" Laval cheers, glad that his friend had thought to bring the truck. "Yeah! go, Rogon!" Rogon himself cheers, not noting the problem with that. Gorzan however does, "Dude! If you're here. Who's driving your truck?" he asks, causing everyone to abruptly stop celebrating as they let the information sink in.
Rogon stops dancing in surprise before responding, "Hm... good question." before all of them enter the truck. "Huh? Ah, just as I thought! The autopilot was driving." Rogon said as he turned the front seat with a smiley-faced rock sitting on it. "Huh?" the others responded dumbfounded, just wondering when exactly they had slipped out of reality. "Don't worry! Behind the wheel, he's solid as a rock." Rogon assured them, unaware of the pun, thinking that would explain it all.
Leaving the oddness behind, the eight heroes reach the canyon, hiding from a whole bunch of spiders who have the gorilla legend beast trapped. The gorilla legend beast roars while his feet and power-crazy punching hands are trapped by super sticky webs, spiders monitoring him 24/7. Gorzan looks on at his tribe's beast suffering, "Legend dude?..." he says brokenheartedly, a deep sorrow in his soul. The gorilla legend beast roars once more, glaring at the one who had put him in such a position.
A large spider stapes forward, different than all the rest. A female, black hue and adorned with golden armor, and most striking of all her lower body had not legs like the others of her tribe, but the distinctive shape of her ancestors. Six long legs sprouting from her abdomen, brown and sharply tipped, lifting her high above her subjects. This was Spinlyn, queen of spiders!
"My trap, it is a work of art. Me?" she brags while looking at her reflection in a mirror a spider is holding, "I am a work of art too." She says, as the mirror breaks in half, the spider rushing to put it back together. The vain Spider-Queen says beauty is power and that's certainly how she became the boss. But while the other spiders are awe-struck with her gorgeousness, she's "hideous" to everyone else!
Back with the gorilla legend beast, continues roaring while he tries to free himself. But alas, it's no use as all the spiders holding on extremely tight so he doesn't break free. Gorzan can't help but shed tears at the sight, "Legend dude!..." he says in distress, looking on at the cruel actions done upon his beast. Laval tries to comfort him, but notices something else before he can, "That's not all. Check on the other end of the canyon!" He draws their attention to the other side, where the rhino beast is trapped by a barrier of SUPER sticky webs, growling while he charges his horn against it.
Eris notices her friend looking sad, so she goes to comfort him, "Oh, Rogon. I'm so sorry you have to see your beast like this. Can I get you some rocks for comfort?" she says with sympathy, unfortunately, it seems her words have fallen on deaf ears. For Rogon is busy mumbling to himself before responding with a resounding, "Yes, perhaps some random geological byproducts would be advantageous in reverse engineering this incarceration mechanism." before he goes back to his truck, all while mumbling various mathematical equations and calculations.
"Uh... Rogon. Are you okay? You sound almost... brilliant." Eris asked, confused by this turn of events. "It's just your basic hypercognitive proximity paradox." He explains nonchalantly, as he rides out of the door with his Rocking Rolling Rogon Roller. "A hypa what?" Eris asked, even more confused than before as he ran after him. "When a rhino is near his legend beast, he gets really smart. Now, if you'll excuse me," he explains, before riding his Rocking Rolling Rogon Roller all around the place and pushing some rocks to specific places, "I must commence extraction effort with an idiosyncratic induction method." he says, carrying on his mission, leaving a still baffled Eris behind.
Hidden among the rocks, the group watches the scene before them, Gorzan still crying at the sight. "Bummer..." he says between sniffs and gulps, "but... I'll figure out a way to free my legend dude, right flower?" he says to a flower, sniffing its goodness and calming down. "Flowers hold all the answers," he says, almost euphorically, before a fly lands on his nose and makes him sneeze. Meanwhile, the gorilla legend beast roars as he manages to get one of his feet free. "That gorilla beast is really strong! It looks like the only way the spiders can keep him trapped, is by constantly spinning new webs!" Cragger explains to the others as a spider vehicle spits another web at the legend beast's leg. The beast roars in anguish and rage as Bladvic, Cragger, Gorzan, Laval, and Razar take a knee.
"If we can just distract those spiders long ago, it might give old chunky monkey down there, some time to completely break his web!" Woriz tells them, already thinking of a plan. "Yeah, but... How do we distract a bunch of spiders with a giant spider web?" Laval asks, but nobody replies as they are unsure of how to do it. They all stop to think of a way, while Gorzan continues to try to wave away the fly. "I'm working on a plan, dudes! but, this fly, keeps distracting me." He mentions irritated, but his actions have served their purpose. "THAT'S IT!" Laval cries out, an idea already forming in his mind. "Uh... What?" Gorzan asks his friend confused, while Laval jesters for them to huddle up as he whispers his plan to them. "Y'know! That might just work!" Cragger exclaims excitedly, as they begin working on their master plan.
As this is happening, Rogon carries a big rock over and adds it to an abacus. Eris watched him work, unsure of what the rhino was up to, Rogon. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked concerned, still unclear about what exactly was going on. "Aside from custodian conundrum, I am superlatively sanguine!" he responds calmly, continuing with his work. Eris chuckles awkwardly, still not quite understanding before saying, "Right. Y'know, you usually just bang your head against rocks. You don't build weird... Counting things with them." she replied, weirded out by her friend's behavior. "But how else would I compute a multidimensional algorithm to reverse the trigonometric angles of the incarceration causation," he asks intelligently, going up to slide a rock down to another rock. Eris just sighs while turning away, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I miss the old Rogon." she says absentmindedly, missing the bumbling idiot she had come to know.
Meanwhile, Cragger and Laval are carrying a log to the others, almost slamming Woriz's foot with it in the process. While Bladvic, being held by Gorzan, is trying to reach a beehive full of bees buzzing around. They mess around with Gorzan's thoughts and cause him to lose balance, both screaming as they fall. Laval cuts down multiple bamboo with his sword, Cragger catching them all, until Laval cuts down a big round of bamboo that falls and proves too heavy for Cragger. Woriz cuts three pieces of curved wood from a big piece of wood, letting out a hardy laugh as he does so. Razar collects some leaves but drops them all in excitement when he finds one giant leaf and drags it away. Finally, Laval chops down a mushroom with Cragger catching it, then they both take a single mushroom to Rogon's truck where they end up turning it into a fly using only what they have. Bending the bamboo into massive wings, stuck together with the honey from the hive, covering the truck with wings, and using the mushroom caps as eyes.
Laval: So, what do you think? Can we distract some spiders on a giant web with... a giant fly!" he says, high-fiving Cragger as he does so. "I don't get it," Gorzan says confused, not quite understanding their point. "Spiders love to catch flies in their webs! So, look! Wings, legs, eyes, antenna, it's a fly!" Cragger explains eagerly, pointing out the features they had added to the truck. "Uh... y'know, Rogon built some kind of super-advanced calculating device to save his beast, my friend," Razar says with skepticism, pointing out the stone abacus as Eris shrugs at them while Rogon does his work. "Yeah. Not to knock the big, big, bug, but maybe we should see what rhino brain over there thinks." Woriz suggests as they all join Eris and Rogon.
"Quick question, Rogon! Since your legend beast makes you so smart, can you take a look at your truck and tell us what you think?" Cragger asks the intellectual rhino with glee. "Holy sedimentary! How could I have missed this?!" he exclaims, looking away from his calculations. "You mean the goofy WINGS and EYES?" Woriz asked, wondering how he could have missed something like that. "No." Rogon responds, hurriedly leaping from his abacus and rushing back to his truck, "The anomalous weight differentials and autopilot in probability statistics." he explains nonchalantly, as he nears his vehicle. "Huh?" Laval grunts in confusion, voicing everyone's thoughts as they see the rhino run. Rogon enters his truck, explaining things as he goes, "That was no autopilot commanding my mechanism of steering earlier." he says as he carries a rock and drops it on the ground by a blanket. "It was just a rock with a very pretty face painted on it. The real-time operational activities were actually executed by... "he begins, removing the blanket to show a female rhino underneath it, "A stowaway rhino by the name of Rinona." Said stowaway chuckling nervously before replying, "Hi, Rogon..." as the whole crew is taken by surprise.
Back outside the Lion Temple, the bats continue to swarm Mount Cavora but no one is firing. "Steady. Save what little power you have left when they try leaving with our chi." Lagravis tells his troops, laying in wait like a predator on tall grass. While in Mount Cavora, Sparacon, and the spiders exit the tunnel with their plunder, unaware of the danger lurking below. "Fire!" Lagravis gives the order, as all the tribes of Chima fire once again, the eagles helping from above and doing their job well when they take down Sparacus and the group of escapees, sending them screaming towards the forest below. "Direct hit!" Arcturus exclaims proudly, "Alert the ground team to pick up the stragglers!" he commands his soldiers as they dutifully carry on their orders, victory almost at hand.
Meanwhile, in the Crocodile Swamp, a group of Crocs and Venomari are dutifully gathering the fallen orbs. Acidicus netted up an orb of chi from the swamp water before approaching Crunket, "A brilliant plan I must admit! Using the current of the river to our advantage, transporting the orbs to us while rendering our enemies useless! Most impressive!" he complements his fellow leader. Crunket is unsure of how to react, not expecting the former general to be so cooperative with her kind, especially after hearing of their former occupation of her home. "Our new enemy is too powerful. We must work together, not against each other if we wish to triumph." She replies simply, before giving the chi to Crawley who tosses it in a space filled with a whole load of bags before rushing towards the others. Acidicus just smiles in understanding, sharing a light chuckle with the monarch, "I know the tension between are people might be bothersome for you, but I assure you that I intend to make up for all the wrong we made during the war." He says to her, his gaze falling on the distant figure of Crunch, the surprisingly gentle giant helping his fellow Crocs gather the orbs that had become stuck to the trees. Crooler instructs her people in their efforts, while also keeping the peace between the two tribes. The old snake could not help but smile at the sight.
"You have a beautiful home here," he says melancholy, something that catches the queen off guard. "Yes, it truly is!" she replies with a smile, looking upon her kingdom and her daughter. "I've never seen her so happy before, I believe I might have you thanked for it," she says, grateful towards the snake. "All I did was advise her if she is this way it is because she learned it from you. That said, I do wish to speak to you about her." He tells her, his expression now switching to a more serious one. "Is that so? Well, I would be happy to do so." She answers calmly, taken aback slightly by the sudden change in topic. "She claims to be firstborn, yet she was not the heir. She claims to have tried to earn your favor yet receives only caution and distrust. You don't seem like a bad mother, yet the girl seems hurt by neglect. I don't wish to overstep, but I believe I have heard only half of this tale and so wish to hear the rest." He says eloquently, looking her straight in the eyes.
Crunket returns his stare, outraged at his accusations, yet relents with a sight, " You have done much for my daughter, more than I have, I believe it's only fair you know my side of the story." she says melancholy, "In truth, I'm not sure who truly was the first to hatch, the fear and worry I felt that day clouds much of my memory. But I assure you that I loved my children equally. But Crooler has always been… difficult. She is driven, but ambitious in such a way that I can't help but worry. She could be possessive and even bratty at times. I believe the throne would be ill-suited for her, something my husband agreed. Yet I always wished to be proved wrong, yet only until recently have I seen that change. Perhaps I haven't been the best mother, maybe I did pay Cragger too much attention in her youth. Maybe if I had been better, she would have been happier." She finishes sadly, looking at the ground below.
Acidicus couldn't help but feel quilt, he had grown fond of the girl, seeing her as a daughter figure of sorts, but to accuse her mother in such a way was wrong. He could see she had tried, she obviously cared for the girl, so with a hand on her shoulder and a smile on his face he said, "Don't say such things! As I said, she is as she is because of you! We all make mistakes; I know that more than others. The important thing is that we learn from them and strive to grow stronger from them. You have a beautiful chance here, the chance to change your relationship with your daughter, the chance to try again. Don't let your self-doubt stop you from seizing it!" he advised her sagely, earning a small smile from the queen.
"You're quite tight! Tell me, do you have any children." Crunket asked him kindly. Acidicus thought deeply, then answered in truth, "No, not for some time now." He said with a sad chuckle, "I had a daughter once, back when I was younger." He began to explain. "I was just an alchemist back then, spending most of my days working on ways to improve our venom, barely ever at home. I saw her little during those days, except at night. At that time, I would always read to her before bed, retailing the thrilling tales of our people's past, feeling her mind with fantastic legends and lessons of times gone by. She was always so enthralled in them, inspiring and awestruck at every word. She would often tell me that one day she would be a legend too." he told her fondly. "I would always smile at her, indulging her in her fantasy, until it was too late." he stopped briefly, his features changing to one of sorrow. "She would join the fighting, chasing her dreams, only to be lost like so many. It was then that I realized the real reason behind her dreams, why she wanted to become a legend! So that I would pay attention to her." He finished solemnly, turning to look Crunket in the face.
"It was then that I realized I had to change my ways, at first, I concentrated on helping my people, on making sure that no others would be lost. Eventually, this led to earning my position as leader once I challenged my predecessor for the staff. Since then, I have seen all my tribe as my children and have promised to never lose any of them again!" he explained, the resolute in his eyes. "But still I linger on my real child, wondering what would have been if I had shown her how much she meant to me. If I could have told her that all I did was for her, I would have just been there when she needed me. If I had simply let her know that I loved her with all my heart." He spat out, the figurative venom thick on his voice, as the pain became palpable. He then stopped, and looked upon the queen once more, "But my chance has passed, yours has not. Don't waste this opportunity to make things right. I can assure you, all your daughter ever truly wanted was to be seen, and right now…" he says leading her gaze, "you can do just that"! he said, as they looked at the far side of the swamp, where Crooler was leading the others. No more words were shared amongst them, as Crunket allowed herself to smile.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the swamp, Crawley and Crug drive their boat through the water to some more chi. "Ah, finally! Some new chi! I can't wait to use it to power up our gear!" Crawley happily said netting up an orb. "Right, Crug?" he asked, not noticing Crug's being pulled away by a web before he could answer. "Crug?" he asked bewildered, as one by one, he and all the crocodile troops except for the Crooler are snatched. "Hey, dunderheads! Less talking, more working! I'm trying to concentrate here!" she ordered, back turned to their direction, as she was plucking an orb from the river. "Thank you for understanding-" she began, before looking back and being confused to see no one anywhere. She goes to search but is surprised to see Sparacon show up with some spiders. "No! Not again!" she cried out, as two spiders web her, trapping her once again. Painful memories of her incarceration replayed in her mind, before she yelled out, "HELP!"
Back in the Outlands Canyon, the crew including Rinona stand together in a circle. Deciding to break the silence, Woriz spoke first, "Not only do we have to save the legend beasts. But now we have to babysit some stowaway rhino!" he said in annoyance. "Babysit? I've already saved your hides plenty! Remember yesterday?!" Rinona cried out indignantly, recounting the previous day's events. Rinona was in the driver's seat driving through the predator plants when Gorzan and Laval were trapped. "That was me driving!" she revealed to them sternly, "Did you really think that rock was an autopilot?!" she asked sarcastically, much to the embarrassment of the others. In taking things at face value, they had acted as foolishly as they claimed the Rogon to be. "But what are you doing here?" Eris asked, saying what they were all thinking. "Protecting, Rogon. He's very special to me and I wanna make sure he doesn't get hurt," said Rinona heartfeltly, hugging Rogon warmly. "Special how?" Eris questioned, feeling uneasy at the newcomer's words, though she didn't know why. "Look! We need to get moving! Since Rogon's figuring out how to free the rhino, think you can drive us down to the gorilla?" Laval interrupted, driving their attention back to the matter at hand. "WHAT?!" Eris cried out outrage, displeased with the mere thought of the notion.
Soon after, Rogon's truck disguised as a fly was driving towards the spiders, Rinona at the wheel. While the rest of the group laid watch from the cover of the canyon. "She's a stowaway, and now she's driving their whole mission?!" Eris exclaimed, still displeased with the notion. "Hm... sounds like someone is jealous, yes?" Razar teases her, taking the time to have fun at his fellow avian expense. "Me!" Eris cried out indignantly, "I'm not jealous! I'm concerned! She just showed up out of nowhere, and were supposed to just trust her?" she exclaimed, making a good point, though one whose intention was questioned by the others.
"She's Rogon's "special" friend!" Bladvic reminded her, noting it as a valid point in her favor. "What does that even mean!" Eris cried out in exasperation. "Technically, a special friend is one who bares a unique attachment or affection for his subject," Rogon answered intelligently, not noting his friend's annoyance. "Ugh! Stop being so smart and just finish your rescue math!" she said frustratedly, once more unsure of the reason behind her reaction. Rogon merely nodded, "Temptation is imminent. Just collecting some final embers." he explained as he slid three rocks down the abacus, leaving Eris alone with her thoughts.
Back at the Crocodile Swamp, Crooler, Crug, and Crawley are being watched by the spiders while they're restrained from the webs. The Spiders chuckle while they collect the chi, watching amusingly as their captures try and struggle to break free. "Ha, now just sit back and get comfy, we're not done here just yet!" Sparacus said mockingly, as he and the others hid in the canopy, waiting for more prey to arrive.
Further back in the swamplands, Crunket and Acidicus desperately search for their missing compatriots, a group of Venomari watching their back. "CROOLER! CRUG! CRAWLEY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Crunket yelled out, desperately looking for her missing daughters and members of her court, worry seeping into her very core. "Do not dread your majesty, we WILL find them!" Acidicus assured her, signaling for his soldiers to fan out. "I know, I'm just so worried! It's not like them to just disappear, and who knows just what took them! I just got her back; I can't lose her again!" Crunket said hysterically, her breath rising as anxiety took hold. "Breath, Crunket. Just breathe in and out. Calm yourself." Acidicus comforted her, putting a hand on her back. As Crunket began to take deep breaths, the old general heard something.
All Serpentine were great trackers, and when I came to swamps no were better than the venomari, and Acidicus was no exception! He heard the faint rustling of leaves and the faint snapping of branches, suddenly looking upwards he shouted, "Look out!". No sooner did he say this, than two large lines of webbing were shot out in front of them! "Up above!" he said, the two looking up to see a group of spiders waiting for them. "Spiders!" Crunket said harshly, the vile in her voice thick with anger. "Where is my daughter!" she demanded, the visceral tone only increasing as she stared them down. 'Don't worry, you'll find out soon!" Sparacus said, a wicket grin on his features as he prepared to attack. With a twitch from one of his extra legs, more spiders came from the treetops surrounding the pair. Wasting no time, Acidicus got in front of Crunket and said, "Quickly, to the water!" before shooting a stream of venom straight at the assailants' faces. The spiders fell to the floor as the venom reached their eyes, the hysterical screams confirming the hallucinogenic effect was working, while the duo made it to the bank.
Looking ahead, the two spotted a boat, probably the spot the other had been held at. "Up ahead, a boat!" Acidicus cried as the two wasted no time heading towards them. Reaching the edge of the boat, the pair tried to climb aboard. "Need a hand!" a voice asked, a hand outstretched towards them, as its arachnid owner smirked. Within seconds the two were bound and brought up to the boat, landing harshly on the floor they looked up to see not only the missing Crocs but the rest of the Venomari warriors.
Sparacus laughed victoriously, looking at his catch with predatory eyes, "You fools thought you could beat us, we knew you would come here eventually." he said proudly. Switching his gaze to Arcturus, he walked over to the serpent and punched him in the gut, "That was for blinding half my squad, gramps!" he said maliciously, pointing at several dazed spiders with glowing green eyes. "They'll live!" Acidicus said smuggling, wincing between grunts at the pain. Ignoring him, he turned his attention to the queen, "Can you really see with only TWO eyes?! Ha!" he laughed mockingly, holding out his humanoid arm to confuse her, "How many arms am I holding up?" Crunket looked up at him baffled before answering, "One. NO! FOUR!" she said confused, the spiders laughing at her expense. "UGH! Enough already! My vision is fine, you got what you came for now go." She ordered, having had enough of their presence for the day. Sparacus just smiled wickedly once more, before he grabbed a gun and aimed.
"What are you doing?!" Crunket asked in a panic before the spider shot a massive hole in the ship that made a whole bunch of water come out of it. Crawley and Crug scream while trying to get out, as the spiders laugh at their feeble attempts. "WE'RE SINKING! WE CAN'T SWIM IF WE'RE TIED UP!" Crunket screamed, pleading with them to let them go. But the spiders only laugh while walking away until they hear a roar. A large shadow encompassed them, turning around fearfully, they were met by the massive shape of Crunch. "CRUNCH SQUISH PUNY SPIDERS!" screams the giant mutant, jumping into the boat and sweating the spiders away. "Crunch! You're here!?" Crooler cried out, her voice a mix of happiness and confusion. Many shot their crude weapons at him, many missing due to the venom in their system, those that hit only making him madder. He swatted many of them overboard, the others were pummeled where they stood.
Having enough of the freak, Sparacus decided to join in, weaving around the beast, he managed to get him to fall overboard! "Web him up!" he ordered, the other spiders webbing his arms to the ground as the croc struggled to get up. "So long beast!" he said smugly before he heard the distinctive sound of an engine. From the forest a lone rider approached, launching from Crunch's back, he landed aboard the sinking ship. "No! Not THAT guy again!" one of the spiders yelled in fear, the others tried to stop the masked rider with their webs but ended up screaming when he used it against them by spinning round and round until they were completely tangled. ShadoWind grabs a spear and sets Crunket free, "You, saving me again. I hear they call you... ShadoWind." she said softly as she reached for his helmet, but he refused and rode away. "You may be a mystery rider, but somehow... I feel like I know you," she said tentatively before a grunting sound caught her attention. "Uh!... A little help here?!" Crug asked, the others looking at her expectantly. Crunket goes to set them free, but the thoughts of the mystery rider still haunts her mind.
Back in the Outlands canyon, Cragger, Gorzan, Laval, and Woriz peek out of the door of the truck, not yet noticed by the spiders. To catch their attention, Gorzan begins buzzing, "Good idea, buzz everyone!" Laval said quietly. "FORGET IT! This wolf doesn't buzz!" Woriz retaliated in annoyance. While Cragger, Gorzan, and Laval begin buzzing, giving in Woriz starts buzzing with them as all the spiders take notice. Spinlyn was the first to notice it, "Oh my! A giant buzzing fly!" she cried out excitedly. "Uh... If it's a fly. Why isn't it flying?" another spider questioned, suspicious of the whole thing. "Well obviously Sparratus, it's paralyzed by my ravishing beauty. Right?" she affirmed casually, daring him to object. "I-I would nod my head in agreement if I wasn't paralyzed by your ravishing beauty.", the now-named Sparratus said hesitantly, before relenting to his queen's wishes. "Splendid! Now, devour that fantastic fly!" ordered Spinlyn, the spiders charging toward the truck while the gorilla legend beast used the time to break one leg and one hand out of its capture.
The two spiders left guarding it gasp as the gorilla breaks free, screeching for the spiders to come back, which they do. But before they can get far, Gorzan hops into battle crying, "FOR THE LEGEND DUDE!" as Cragger, Laval, and Woriz follow him out to battle. Curiously, Woriz is still buzzing while charging to battle, "Uh... you can stop that now y'know?" Cragger tells him, much to the wolf's embarrassment. So, amongst growls and hoots, our heroes battle away in the hopes of buying the beast more time.
The gorilla legend beast growls while he tries to break free again, but a spider puts more effort into that determination. Gorzan takes notice of his legend beast's capture while putting his weapon away, he tries to go help but is held back by Laval. "Dude! I need some chi!" he pleaded to his friend; desperation cleared in his eyes. "BUT WE ONLY HAVE A FEW ORBS!" Laval reminded him, unsure of how to handle this. "BUT DUDE! IT'S MY LEGEND DUDE!" he pleads again, Laval seeing this as a worthy reason gives him an orb. Gorzan plugs the chi, letting out a primal roar that sends the spiders running in fear.
Ashamed at her subject's actions, Spinlyn decides to take matters into her own hands, "Guess I'll have to take care of this one myself. But I do so want to look my ravishing best while I destroy him. So..." she tells herself, going into a cave with a golden chi in it. "To the beauty hole!" she exclaims as she disappears into her lair.
Meanwhile, Gorzan fights at his best, letting his beast have enough time to set himself free and save Gorzan from a spider machine by jumping on it. "Dude," he said awestruck, finally face to face with his beast of legend. The gorilla beast silently hoots before he fist-pumps him, "You are the great mallow." he exclaims in wonder, hardly believing he is in the presence of the greatest figure of his people. The beast nods with a smile while letting out a little sound as both it and Gorzan roar while beating their chests before they jump and punch away.
Back atop the canyon, Eris runs to Rogon, "NOW'S OUR CHANCE TO FREE THE RHINO BEAST, ROGON!" she yells quietly, if not impatiently. With his back to her, he continues his work while saying, "Just one more calculation and...," before he breaks the abacus and lets the rocks fall. Eris gasps worriedly, "OH NO! Now you'll never figure out a solution!" she exclaimed in sympathy. "Correction. That IS the solution. It's a simple spiritual contradiction system. Which some of you may refer to as, bowling." Rogon said confidently, as the rocks travelled through different routes heading down to the rhino beast's barrier and eventually the beast broke itself free. "YES! STRIKE" Eris and Rogon both cried out in excitement while the rhino legend beast roared. Eris joins Rogon in riding down into the canyon with his rocking rolling Rogon roller. "Impeding vertical deployment at non-synchronous geological strata." Rogon states knowingly, much to Eris's confusion; "I'm jumping into the canyon by that rock." he calmly clarifies. "Huh?" Eris says in bewilderment, as Rogon jumps off into the canyon and onto his legend beast. "No way! He did not just do that!" she says in astonishment, before abruptly screaming while she goes the wrong way and into a web.
Meanwhile, the rhino and gorilla legend beasts tag team the spiders and easily win. With both roaring away the spiders Laval goes back to the truck, "Everyone! BACK INTO THE FLY!" he says jokingly as he ushered the others inside. "Can we just call it a truck again?" Woriz asked in annoyance, Cragger stopping to tease him by buzzing, laughing while he went back to the truck as Woriz growled angrily. Rinona drives the crew away with Rogon and Gorzan taking a ride on their legend beasts, the others cheering at their arrival. Rogon hops off his beast and walks towards the truck, stopping when he notices something, "Hm... The speed and ground clearance of our mobile transport indicates a shortage of personal capacity." he informed the others, perplexed. "Huh?" both Laval and Cragger asked confused before Rinona clarified, "The vehicle is too light! Are we missing anyone?!" she said franticly. Everyone looked around in a hurry before they realized something, "Guys, where's Eris!" Laval cries out worried.
Back at the bottom of the canyon, Eris is currently trapped in a web guarded by a bunch of spiders. "Release my aviary companion fiends! or face the unbound fortitude of my well resolve!" Rogon proclaims resolute, the spiders having no idea what he just said. The rhino beast jumps down and frees Eris with its horn, scaring away the spiders. She looks at him with gratitude while he goes to ride his rocking rolling Rogon roller and eventually jumps in, starting the engine and escaping.
Finally coming out from the cave, Spinlyn witnesses the commotion and intervenes, "Battle is easy, beauty is hard. Today I shall triumph at both." She says smugly before she hisses and shoots a web at the escaping couple but misses all two of her shots. Reaching the top of the canyon, Rogon hops to the top of the fly-truck and flings up a catapult that shoots up the rock with a smiley face on it towards Spinlyn. "Huh? Is that rock... Smiling?" she said confused before she was hit with it in the face. "Yes!" Rogon said gladly, pumping his fist in celebration. Spinyln grunts a little bit and finds out the rock cracked her tooth. She goes to see her reflection in the mirror and screams while shattering it into pieces, "UGH! I'VE BROKEN A TOOTH! Oh, my perfect face... I'M RUINED!" she cries as she crawls away.
Back in Chima, outside the Lion Temple, a crocodile soldier is seen taking the captured spiders to prison, with every else being given some chi. "Just in time. Our blasters were dying without chi. But now, we shall save Mount Cavora!" Lagravis informs Crunket, as the soldiers place the orbs upon the large cannons lining the temple. The blasters now powered up in chi, shoot away at the enemy, the black cloud dissipating as the bats fly away. The armies of Chima cheer as their home remains safe for another day, "Thank you, ShadoWind. Whoever you are..." Crunket says solemnly, thinking about the mysterious rider that saved her life.
In Lavertus's lair, the heroes return to the base and see no Lavertus anywhere in sight. "HELLO?!" Laval calls out, searching for the lone lion, "Lavertus! Anyone home?!" he asks, opening a door. "Where does he go all day?" Woriz wondered aloud, looking around the place. "We really need to find out more about him!" Cragger says firmly, still unsettled by the exiled lion. "Including what's behind that locked door." Eris agrees, pointing at the door she had kept from the other day. At that very moment, Lavertus comes right out of it, with no one seeing the golden chi, patting the fur on his arms as if he had recently gotten out of a suit.
"Oh, hey! You're back! Didn't expect you home so early." he said surprised, abruptly stopping patting his arms. "Well, yeah! We rescued two more legend beasts!" Laval said excitedly, pride washing over him. "I know, I saw them out there!" Lavertus replied casually, sharing a smile with the young lion. "You did? But we just got here! Did we... pass you in the jungle?" Cragger asked apprehensively. "Me? Nah!" he said while chuckling, "I haven't left the house all day. Busy, busy, busy." Lavertus said hurriedly. "Doing what?" Cragger asked suspiciously, not trusting the lion. "Uh... you know! important stuff." he deflects, pulling out a steaming batch of cookies, "So, how about some cookies?" he offers, placing the plate on the table. Bladvic quickly gulps a cookie, "Mm! Delicious!" he exclaims delightfully before the others join him in eating a cookie. But before that, Laval took a moment to talk to Cragger, "I think you may be right, Cragger. We should keep our eye on..." he begins before he eats a cookie, "Mm! These are amazing!" he says delighted, overwhelmed by the flavor. "I know! Things don't add with this Lavertus guy, but one thing is for sure..." Woriz adds before Gorzan finishes for him, "He makes the best snacks ever dude!" he exclaims as the rest of the cookies are quickly eaten by the group.
Later that night, the rhino beast goes for a little walk, as Rogon watches him from afar. Eris walks up to him, "So, Rogon. Are you enjoying those, exquisite confectioneries?" she asked, making sure to use a more intelligent vocabulary, as a form of joke. "Uh... huh?... I-I don't know about that. But these yummies are awesome! And they taste even better with rocks!" Rogon says to her before he chomps some rocks and goes away.
Eris is left dumbfounded as Rinona approaches, "What happened to him?" Eris asks her, keeping an eye on her friend. "The rhino beast is too far away to boost Rogon's intelligence now," Rinona explains simply, joining her in keeping an eye on Rogon, who is now laughing after cracking open two rocks by beating them against his head, going to do the same thing again. "So, are you sad Rogon's back to his simple old self again?" Rinona asks casually, curious to hear her response.
Eris smiled gently, "Naw! I kinda like him better this way." she said, happy to see her friend back to his old self again. "Yeah. Me too." Rinona says heartfully, as she and Eris share a laugh as they watch Rogon laugh while cracking some rocks with his horn.
Unbeknownst to them, far above, the raven legend beast crows while flying past. His eyes flash a bright green, as it looks towards a particular room, gleaming with golden light.
Author's Note:
Well, looks like things are getting interesting for our heroes. This chapter was more difficult than I had anticipated, and I have to thank all of you for helping me with it. After reading your comments I have decided to keep Eris and Rogon's subplot, but with a twist. Eris is still suffering from the loss of her home, remember this takes place almost evidently after the first season, so the spires are still in ruin, so romance isn't on the front of her mind. She still cares for him, and that care may or may not blossom into something more. As for Acidicus and Crooler, their relationship is still as strong as ever, and I hope you enjoy that little piece of extra lore I made for him.
But enough about that! I now need your help, as I mentioned in this and the previous chapter, the team is going to visit the old snake temple. So I have decided to let them experience a slither pit, and as a little fun, I want you guys to suggest what the obstacles of the pit should be! Remember, the only rule is THAT THERE ARE NO RULES, go nuts! I'm also going to bring back a certain alchemist back, and I need a new more serpentine name for him, if you have any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
Like always, thank you for reading! It fills me with joy knowing that my work is appreciated, you guys rock!