Buzzsaw stepped outside of his hut and looked down at his camp. He then took a deep breath as he took in the view.
"Ah! My glorious dragon kingdom," he said.
Jack merely snarled.
"Perk up, Jack," said Buzzsaw. "You belong to the Dragon King. The crowd and drink it up." He then frowned when he saw the number of empty cages in his camp. "Ah. But you do have a point, old boy. My progress has slowed."
He then smiled when he saw Ford and Winston returning on their Gronckles. "Aha! Here they come. My favourite working-class minions. Welcome back, boys. Good hunt."
"Uh… Well, boss, uh…" said Winston as they dismounted their dragons.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you did go dragon trapping, right?" Buzzsaw asked.
"Yeah," Ford nodded.
"Then, where are the dragons? Do I have to hold your hands every step of the way?"
"It was those kids again," said Ford.
"'Those kids again,'" said Buzzsaw, looking annoyed. "You blame your failings on pimple-popping teenyboppers?!"
"Yeah. Teenboppers on dragons," Winston pointed out.
"Oh, they're all dragons," he said as he approached them. "Forgot. So are you two!"
"Yeah, but they got this book right, Winston?" said Ford.
"Yeah, yeah, right," Winston nodded. "It's a manual or a dragon instruction book or something."
Buzzsaw scratched his chin, looking intrigued. "A book about dragons, you say? I'm sure it's full of secrets, weaknesses, tricks of the trade." He then grabbed the two of them from the helm of their shirts. "I'm the king of dragons! I should have that book. And I'm going to get it, whatever it takes."
Tom, meanwhile, was lying back on Thunder's back as they flew across the air, looking up at the clouds.
"What about that one?" Tom asked. "What's that cloud look like?"
Thunder roared.
"Oh, come on!" said Tom. "Another dragon? They can't all look like dragons. Wait a sec. That one actually does kind of look like a Gronckle."
He then patted Thunder on the head, and they flew higher up into the sky. "This is the best. Soaring through the open skies, just you and me, not a care in the world."
He then heard the sound of a sheep, followed closely by the sound of a quad bike. He looked down and saw Pete on his quad bike being chased by a sheep.
"Leave me alone," he cried.
Tom and Thunder then dived down to offer some assistance. Thunder then gently swatted the sheep with his tail, knocking it off balance and giving Peter a chance to get away.
"Top of the morning!" said Tom.
He then flew back towards the sky with the sheep bleating at him.
"Never gets old, does it?" Tom smiled at Thunder.
He turned to leave and suddenly came face-to-face with Feathers, making them jump. It only took a few seconds to realise the Dragon Riders had assembled.
"If you're done playing duck, duck, sheep, I've got senses pinging in the Nature Realm," Alex informed him, holding out her tablet.
"Buzzsaw again?" said Tom.
"Could be," said D'Angelo. "All those two lackeys that work for him."
"Oh, when will those bozos learn that they are no match for Eugene Wong and the Dragon Swoopers," he said.
Everyone groaned, and Jun facepalm herself.
Thunder gave a displeasing growl.
"Thunder doesn't like that name," said Tom.
"In fact, none of us like that name," said James dryly.
"Well, me and Webs love it, ao there," said Eugene, blowing a raspberry while pointing his finger down.
"All right, game faces on, everyone," said Tom, looking at Thunder. "Come on, Pal."
They all then headed off towards the Nature Realm.
Within moments, they reached the area where the sensors pinged, but they didn't find any evidence of Buzzsaw.
"You sure this is the right place, Alex?" Tom asked.
"Weird," Alex frowned. "A minute ago, I sensors going off like crazy. Maybe just a sensor malfunction?"
D'Angelo saw a cage out in the open with a Hobgobbler trapped inside it. "Over there!"
They all quickly rushed towards the cage.
"Buzzsaw," said Alex.
"Kind of weird that it's right out in the open like this," said Tom as Jun began to pick the lock. "His traps are usually more hidden." He then bent down to the Hobgobbler. "Hey, little guy. Don't worry; we're going to get you out of there."
Plowhorn then grunted, sniffing something.
"Uh, D, something's going on with Plowhorn's nose," Eugene noticed.
D'Angelo watched as Plowhorn approached the canopy of trees. "What is it, girl?"
He looked out towards the trees and saw something shine. He gasped when he realised what was going on.
"Got it," said Tom as Jun managed to pick the lock.
"It's an ambush!" D'Angelo yelled, tackling Tom and Jun to the ground.
A split second later, darts flew out of nowhere from every single direction.
"Evasive manoeuvres!" D'Angelo yelled as they tried to avoid it and hit.
Buzzsaw then emerged from behind a tree with a blowpipe. "Looks like we got you kiddies caught in a little crossfire."
"Retreat, Riders. Retreat!" Tom ordered.
They quickly mounted their dragons, trying to fly high up into the air to avoid getting hit.
"Wait!" said D'Angelo as Tom mounted Thunder. "The Hobgobbler."
D'Angelo quickly rushed towards the cage and grabbed the Hobgobbler but quickly hit the dirt to avoid getting hit by one of the darts. Buzzsaw then fired a dart that struck Thunder, and he instantly screeched.
"Thunder!" Tom cried.
"Gotcha!" said Buzzsaw.
Winston and Ford then emerge from the trees laughing.
"Blast him!" Tom ordered.
Thunder opened his mouth, getting ready to fire at Buzzsaw.
"Ah-uh-uh!" said Buzzsaw. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Tommy. That little dart on the Lightning Bird's side is coated in poison."
Tom quickly jumped off of Thunder and removed the dart. "Oh, no."
"Nice try, but too late," Buzzsaw smirked. "The good news is I have the antidote. But you'll never get it if you blow us to smithereens. But… being the genuineness dragon King that I am, I'm willing to give you the antidote… for a price."
"What do you want?" Tom asked.
"Your book with all the dragon stuff in it."
"I… I can't give you that."
"Not even to save the life of your dragon?" said Buzzsaw and looked at Thunder. "Something you've got there."
"No! I mean, I can't give it to you because I don't have it with me," Tom explained. "It's over 1,000 years old. I don't just bring it everywhere."
Buzzsaw looked at him suspiciously, but Tom quickly turned to Thunder, who looked as if he was about to topple over.
"Okay. Okay, I got you," he said, supporting him.
"What kind of monster poisons dragons?" Jun glared.
"The rich kind," said Buzzsaw. "You see, I have a lavish lifestyle to maintain."
"He does have a sophisticated palate," said Winston.
"There are more important things than money, you know," said James.
Buzzsaw laughed. "I can't believe you actually said that. Money is the most important thing in the world, but I don't expect a teenager to realise that."
"Just give me the antidote," Tom demanded.
"You're in no position to make demands, middle schooler," said Buzzsaw. "You have until sundown to give me the book. Look for the smoke in the Ice Realm. We'll make the exchange of there. The antidote for the Dragon Book."
Thunder groaned painfully.
"And come alone," Buzzsaw added. "I don't want any funny business. I'd hate to see your electric skunk short out for good."
He then laughed evilly and left with his underlings.
The Riders quickly returned Thunder to the surface and immediately entered the infirmary.
"What do we do?" Tom asked.
"Get him on the gurney," said D'Angelo. "We need to take his vitals."
James and Tom helped Thunder onto the gurney while D'Angelo went to grab some medical equipment. Eugene, who had been carrying the Hobgobbler, placed him down and immediately began to make a mess of things.
"Eugene, keep the Hobgobbler entertained," said Jun.
Eugene immediately grabbed the Hobgobbler and placed him on the room's far end. "Sit. Try not to drool on anything."
Hobgobbler merely just licked its eye.
Tom dropped the dart on a nearby tray and walked up to Thunder.
"Hang in there, Thunder," said Alex.
D'Angelo then attached the medical monitor to Thunder to check his vitals.
"What's it say?" Tom asked.
"Pulse is a little irregular," said D'Angelo as he examined the machine. "Temperature seems low. First step in triage is to dress the wound. Stick with me, Thunder. I'm going to get you through this."
"Will that ointment help?" Tom asked as Eugene handed D'Angelo the ointment.
"Not for the poison," said D'Angelo regretfully. "We need something else. Maybe the Speed Stinger antivenom." He gave Eugene back the ointment and quickly rushed towards a medical cabinet. "Your mom and the Gonzalezes helped develop it." He quickly retrieved the antivenom and returned to Thunder. "Okay, Thunder. Under the tongue."
Thunder opened his mouth, and D'Angelo dropped a few drops of antivenom into his mouth. Everyone waited and looked at Thunder, but he didn't seem to be improving.
"Well?" Tom asked.
"Given the minute, Tom," said Jun.
"I can't believe Buzzsaw would do this over the Dragon Book," said Tom frustratingly.
"Have you looked him in the eyes?" said Alex. "Nothing he does surprises me."
"Yeah, I'm more surprised he didn't do this soon," said James.
"And just think how much stronger he'll be with that book," Alex added.
"Alex is right," said Jun. "Even if he can't read it, a picture can be worth a thousand words."
"If this antivenom works, we won't have to give Buzzsaw the Dragon Book," said D'Angelo. "Right, Thunder?"
Thunder growled in pain, indicating he was not getting any better.
"I don't think it's working, D," said Jun.
"The problem is we don't know what kind of poison Buzzsaw used," said James. "We don't know if this came from a plant or some sort of animal in the Hidden World."
"Not getting any better?" said Eugene as he walked over. "It's too bad we don't have some sort of Dragon Medical book. That sure would come in handy right about now."
Tom, D'Angelo and James looked at one another, and the same thought came into their heads. A split second later, they quickly ran out of the infirmary.
"What his vitals!" said D'Angelo.
"Be right back!" said Tom.
"Uh, what'd I say?" Eugene asked, looking at the girls.
The three boys quickly made their way to Tom's room, and Tom instantly grabbed the Book of Dragons.
"Night Lights, Night Lights, Night Lights…" said Tom as he skimmed through the book. "Here it is."
"What's it say? Anything?" D'Angelo asked.
"No, nothing about poison," said Tom regretfully.
"I can't remember anything in my ancestor's memoirs about this kind of poison either," said James. "However, he did write them before entering the Hidden World, but I'm sure there is some sort of antidote down there."
"James' right, this got to be something that we're missing," said D'Angelo. "If I can just figure out, we won't have to…"
"D, I know you're really smart about this stuff, but Thunder is running out of time," said Tom. "I have to give Buzzsaw the book."
"I understand," D'Angelo nodded. "I would do the same thing for Plow."
"And I would do the same for Blade," James added. "But I still think we should look for another solution. We don't even know if Buzzsaw would uphold his end of the deal."
"Come on," said Tom. "I'll go on Feathers. I need you to watch Thunder while I'm gone."
They rushed out of Tom's dome, but no sooner had they got outside than they saw Pete being chased by the Hobgobbler.
"Hey! Stop! Get away from me!" Pete yelled. "Why am I always being chased?"
"What?!" Tom stared. "Wasn't Eugene supposed to keep an eye on the Hobgobbler?"
"Eugene is about to do a lot of things," said D'Angelo.
"And nearly all of them end in disaster," said James.
Peter climbed up a nearby lamppost to escape the Hobgobbler, and D'Angelo rushed over to help.
"Hey, hey! Chill out, Pete," said D'Angelo, picking up the Hobgobbler. "I got him. Come on, little dude. Let's get you…" He stopped when he saw one of Buzzsaw's darts underneath its wing. "Tom, James, look!"
"She was hit, too?" Tom gasped.
"But he seems to be perfectly fine," James noted.
"How is that possible?" Tom asked.
They immediately returned to the infirmary, where D'Angelo began to examine the dart and the Hobgobbler.
"This doesn't make any sense," said D'Angelo. "This dart is the same size as Thunder's. Considering the Hobgobbler's size, it should affect him much more, but he's fine."
"He must have the antidote," said Eugene, leaning towards the Hobgobbler. "Where's the antidote, huh? You holding out on us?"
The Hobgobbler merely chirped.
"I don't think he has it, Eugene," said Jun.
"Yeah, well, I don't trust that face," said Eugene.
"Could it be he has a built-in immune system to the venom?" James asked, looking at D'Angelo.
"Possibly, but it's more likely that something gave him immunity," said D'Angelo, looking at Tom. "Let me see the book."
Tom handed him the Dragon Book and began to flick through the pages until he found the chapter on the Hobgobbler. He saw a picture of a pack of Hobgobblers eating some flowers and judging from the way they would wrongly seem to be glowing.
"Ah, these flowers seem to glow just like the darts," he said.
"The Hobgobblers must eat those flowers," said Jun.
"if I can find and feed them to Thunder, they might cure him."
"Then we would have to hand over the Dragon Book," said Alex as the Hobgobbler snapped at Eugene.
Tom looked at Thunder with deep concern and knew time was running out. "I don't know."
"Give me a chance, Tom," D'Angelo pleaded. "It's not sundown yet."
"I'll go with D," said Jun.
"Me too?" Eugene added.
"Really?" Jun asked dubiously.
"Well, I'm not babysitting him," said Eugene, gesturing to the Hobgobbler.
Tom sighed. "Okay. But if Thunder starts to get worse or it's taking too long, I am finding Buzzsaw and making the trade."
"Army Ranger vow," D'Angelo nodded. "You can trust me. I got this."
"And me," said Eugene, placing an arm over D'Angelo's shoulder. "I got this."
"Uh, yeah," said Tom, not looking totally reassured. "Thanks, Eugene."
Jun shoved Eugene away, and D'Angelo followed them, leaving Tom alone with James and Alex to tend to Thunder.
D'Angelo and his team soon made it to the Nature Realm towards the glowing flowers in the Book of Dragons.
"You ever wonder how smart dragons are?" Eugene asked. "Like definitely smarter than dogs. Smarter than some people…"
"Smarter than you," Jun smirked.
"Very funny," said Eugene dryly. "How about dolphins, Webs? Are you guys smarter than dolphins?"
"How about less talking, more looking?" D'Angelo suggested.
"It's hard to focus when I'm not talking," said Eugene.
"Wow. You must always be focused," said Jun.
Eugene responded by blowing a raspberry.
"Come on," said D'Angelo, sounding a little aggravated. "Tom is trusting me, us, to save Thunder's life. And that depends on finding those flowers."
"Do you even know where you're going?" Eugene asked.
"Yes. Back to where we found the Hobgobbler. If those flowers are all their food source, there should be some nearby."
They soon came into view, with the clearing filled with glowing flowers.
"Ah, down there!" D'Angelo gasped.
"Webs saw it first!" said Eugene as they flew down. "Smarter than a dolphin."
They soon landed on the ground next to the flowers when they saw Hobgobblers eating them.
"Glowing flowers. Check," said Jun. "Hobgobblers. Check."
"Thunder's cure. Check," said D'Angelo.
Eugene bent down to pick one of the flowers, but then a glowing slug landed on his hand.
"Huh? Eugh! Nasty!" said Eugene, tossing the slug off his wrist. "No one said there was going to be slimy things on the mission."
"And yet here you are," said Jun.
"Come on, we have to harvest as much as we can," said D'Angelo as he reached for a flower.
However, a Hobgobbler didn't appreciate it and snapped at his hand.
"It's okay, little buddy," said D'Angelo, backing away from the Hobgobbler as it flew up towards his face.
It then flew back towards the ground and joined its pack, which growled at them viciously.
"This is going to be tricky," said D'Angelo, looking at Jun. "It's trying to protect its food source."
"Okay. Well, we need to protect our fingers," said Jun. "How do we get rid of them?"
"Oh, these two are making this so complicated," said Eugene, rolling his eyes and cracking his fingers. "I got this. Watch the master."
He then walked past D'Angelo and Jun, who quickly backed away from a Hobgobbler, who snarled at them as Jun attempted to grab one of the flowers. Eugene merely bent down and picked one of the flowers casually.
"There. Was that so hard?" he said, looking at them.
"Eugene…" said Jun slowly.
"I'm not falling for that one, Jun Bug," said Eugene.
However, unbeknownst to him, the pack of Hobgobblers harbour directly behind him. He only became aware of this when he heard some vicious growls behind him. He panicked and ran away as the pack of angry Hobgobblers chased him.
"That works," said Jun.
"Nice job, Eugene!" said D'Angelo, grabbing his backpack.
"Just hurry!" he yelled. "Get the flowers before I'm a hot lunch."
Jun watched as the Hobgobblers chased after Eugene as D'Angelo began picking some flowers and placing them in the backpack.
D'Angelo then looked up at her. "Jun?"
"Sorry. Was kind of enjoying that," she said, walking up to him and helping him pick some flowers.
They kept on picking into the backpack, which was full of them.
"Okay, I think we're good," said D'Angelo as they stood up. "Now, let's get back to Tom and Thunder."
They then mounted their dragons and flew off as the Hobgobblers were still chasing Eugene.
"Aren't you forgetting somebody?" Eugene yelled.
Webmaster then flew down and grabbed him, carrying him off with one of the Hobgobblers biting down on his boot. Eugene was able to flick the tiny dragon off his foot and then flew down to rejoin his pack.
Back at the infirmary, Tom was still worried about Thunder and James and Alex could only comfort him.
"Just hang in there a little longer, Pal," said Tom.
"How is he?" Alex asked.
"His breathing is kind of slow," said Tom. "His skin feels a little clammy."
"And what about you?" Alex asked.
"I'm just worried about him."
James then placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're all worried about Thunder."
"Yeah, and they'll be back soon with the flowers," Alex added.
"If this one thing I've learned about from my sister is that you shouldn't keep those feelings inside, it's not healthy, and it's okay to let them out," said James.
"You know, guys, I thought I had a pretty great life before I got here," said Tom, looking at the two of them. "I ventured all around the world. I did exciting things, you know, stuff kids only dream about. But then I met Thunder. Then, none of that other stuff mattered. He means everything to me. I don't know what I'll do if… if this doesn't turn out okay."
"You know we all understand," said Alex.
"Yeah, we would feel the same way if it was one of our dragons," said James.
Thunder then growled in pain, and they could hear the machine beeping radically.
"Thunder!" Tom cried.
Thunder looked as if he was going to be sick, and it was clear that he was getting much worse. Eventually, the machine stopped beeping as Thunder's heart rate calmed down.
"That's it," said Tom. "I'm sorry, D'Angelo. I'm going to get the antidote." He then looked at Alex. "Are you okay with me taking Feathers?"
"Of course," said Alex. "Whatever you need."
"We'll stay here and try to keep Thunder stable until you get back with an antidote," James promised.
Tom grabbed the Book of Dragons and made his way to the door, but no sooner had he opened it than he saw D'Angelo standing there.
"Have no fear, Dr D is here," he said.
"We got the flowers," said Jun.
They then all quickly rushed into the infirmary.
"Mostly thanks to me," said Eugene. "You're welcome."
"You hear that, Pal?" said Tom as he put the book down. "You're going to be okay."
D'Angelo then emptied his backpack and grabbed a flower. Then, he noticed that some of the flowers had some of those glowing slugs. However, he didn't pay much mind to them as he picked some petals from the flowers.
"Guys, look out," said Alex as D'Angelo made his way over to Thunder. "Give him some room."
"Here you go, Thunder," said D'Angelo, offering the petals. "Open up."
"Go ahead, Pal. It's okay," Tom encouraged.
Thunder ate one of the petals.
"Yeah, that's it," said Jun.
"Just give it a minute," said D'Angelo.
Everyone waited to see the results and were rather hopeful. At first, it looked as if he was recovering, but then Thunder cried out in pain as the monitor beeped frantically.
"What's happening?" Tom asked.
"I don't know," said D'Angelo.
"What is that? How bad is he?" Alex asked.
"I don't think the flowers cured him," said James.
"I don't get it," said D'Angelo confused. "Why didn't this work? I was so sure it had to do with those flowers. Why else were they in the Dragon Book?"
"I should have made the trade with Buzzsaw already," said Tom. "I never should've waited."
"Tom, I'm sorry," said D'Angelo.
"Just hold on, Pal," said Tom to Thunder. "I'll be back."
Thunder gave a weak growl, and Tom dashed off with the Book of Dragons.
"It's not your fault, D," said Jun, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You did everything you could," said Alex.
"Tom trusted me, and I let him down," said D'Angelo.
"I just hope that Buzzsaw honours his end of the deal," said James, though we did not look too hopeful.
Tom rode on Feathers, making his way to the Ice Realm. It was already sunset, and he was running out of time.
Buzzsaw was waiting for him at a makeshift campsite he made. He had just sat down when Tom arrived with the Book of Dragons.
"Right on schedule," he smiled. "I see you brought the book. Good, dragon boy. Doing what you're told."
"Here," said Tom, handing out the book. "Now, give me the antidote."
"Not so fast," said Buzzsaw, gesturing to his stew. "Timing is everything with something like this. You wouldn't want me to mess it up now, would you?"
"No," he admitted.
"I'll never understand why you care so much about these flying lizards anyway," said Buzzsaw.
"You're right," said Tom. "You'll never understand."
"But I must say, today I'm happy you do. And…" He then sniffed the pot. "…there. I think she's ready."
He then pulled out a flask and filled it up with the contents of the pot. He then held out towards Tom, who reached out towards it, but he quickly pulled it back.
"Now give me the book, and I'll give you the antidote," he said.
Tom narrowed his eyes and held out the book Buzzsaw snatched from him. He then tossed Tom the flask and made his way back to the fire. Tom was just about to leave when he heard Buzzsaw laughing.
"What's so funny?" Tom asked, looking back at him.
"Once again, little Tom, I made a fool of you," he said, smirking. "Ha! It's so easy."
"What? What do you mean?" Tom asked.
"That's not an antidote. It's just an artisan vegan stew," he said, laughing. "But I promise that flask will keep it nice and hot for you."
"Give me the real antidote!" Tom demanded, tossing the flask away.
"Sorry, no can do. Because there is no antidote."
Tom gasped in horror.
"You fell for the oldest trick in the book, and then you lost the book!" said Buzzsaw smugly.
"There's no cure?" said Tom horrified. "Thunder!"
Tom was about to launch himself at Buzzsaw, but Winston grabbed him from behind.
"Oh, where are my manners?" said Buzzsaw as Ford walked over to help Winston. "I should have invited you to stay for stew. Maybe we'll have your skunk for dessert."
Ford and Winston then pinned Tom to the ground as he struggled to free himself.
Meanwhile, D'Angelo was kicking himself for not helping Thunder.
"I know I like you and Tom down," said D'Angelo, stroking Thunder's head. "I was just so sure that the Hobgobbler being immune had to do with those flowers. I never meant to make things worse; I was just…"
Thunder gave a weak growl, trying to reassure him.
"I know, I know," D'Angelo nodded. "Save your strength."
Thunder then snipped something and looked towards the corner.
"What is it?" D'Angelo asked, following his gaze. He saw that the Hobgobbler was pulling a flower out of his backpack. "Doesn't matter anymore. He can have them now."
However, he then noticed that the Hobgobbler didn't seem interested in the flower itself but the slug on it. His eyes widened when he saw that it then ate the slug whole.
"They eat the slugs!" he gasped.
He then quickly grabbed a flower with the slug on it before the Hobgobbler had a chance to eat it.
Meanwhile, Tom was tied up and forced to watch Buzzsaw and his men eat this stew that Buzzsaw had made.
"You're not going to try the stew?" said Buzzsaw, looking up at Tom. "It makes a great last meal. Oh, I forgot. Your hands are tied behind your back. Sorry."
"You might want to eat faster," Tom advised. "My friends and their dragons will be here soon."
"Oh, I doubt that, Tommy," he said, standing up and holding out his blowpipe. "Now that we have these, I don't think they'll bring their favourite dragons around just so they can get poisoned, too. Come to think of it, I wonder what the effect of these poison darts will have on humans."
Tom tried to back away but tripped over the rock behind him as Buzzsaw approached him.
"What do you say we find out, Tommy?" Buzzsaw smiled, loading the blowpipe.
He was about to fire at Tom when Feathers fired a sonic blast completely out of nowhere. Buzzsaw was taken completely by surprise and fell over, and the blowpipe landed on Ford's head.
Feathers appeared directly next to Buzzsaw and fired off another sonic blast, sending him flying. Ford and Winston pulled out their blowpipe and began firing darts at her, but she quickly dodged them and then tackled them before they had a chance to fire again.
"Feathers, bite the ropes," said Tom.
Feathers quickly ran after him and bit down on the ropes around his hands.
"Ford, Winston, dart to those two!" Buzzsaw ordered.
Feathers had just it through the ropes when Ford fired a dart which struck her side. She groaned in pain and then collapsed.
"Feathers!" Tom tried grabbing her head.
Buzzsaw chuckled as he and his men approached them, preparing to finish them off when suddenly a lightning blast cut across them. Tom looked up and saw the other Riders had arrived with a now healthy Thunder.
"Thunder!" Tom cried.
Thunder landed on the ground and growled at Ford and Winston; he then ran around Tom joyously as Tom himself cheered in excitement. He then hugged Thunder, firming around his neck, relieved to see that his friend was alive and well.
"I cracked the case, Kullersen," said D'Angelo. "The miracle of not-so-modern medicine."
Buzzsaw then fired a dart at them, but they quickly ducked in time to avoid it.
"How about we explain this miracle after we deal with them?" James advised.
"Good plan," said Tom as he quickly mounted Thunder.
"Take them down!" Buzzsaw roared.
Ford and Winston fired their darts at Tom and Thunder, and the two of them managed to dodge them. Buzzsaw then fired a dart, which would have struck them if Plowhorn hadn't used her horn to block it. She then prepared to fire a loopy blast at Buzzsaw, who quickly ran away from her.
"Thanks," said Tom. "You're saving lives left and right today."
"Nothing new for Dr D," said D'Angelo as they took to the air.
Ford and Winston aimed at them with their blowpipes, but Jun suddenly swooped in and blocked their shot with a shield. She then jumped off Wu and Wei and landed directly in front of them. The two fired at her, but she blocked the shot with a shield and dashed in between them.
Winston fired a dart at her, but she quickly spun around, and the dart struck Ford instead. Ford was soon overcome by the venom and collapsed, but not before accidentally blowing on his blowpipe and causing a dart to land on Ford. A split second later, Ford collapsed, but Jun quickly raised his shield as Buzzsaw fired at her.
He kept firing darts at her; she kept blocking them with a shield, and then James came flying in, firing a flaming missile at Buzzsaw. The missile struck Buzzsaw's feet and hit with so much force that he was sent backwards, and Wu and Wei grabbed Jun. Buzzsaw growled in frustration as he got back up and continued to fire.
"Woohoo!" Eugene cried as he swooped in. Webmaster then fired a shot that disarmed Buzzsaw. "Most wicked shot, Webs!"
Buzzsaw then quickly grabbed the Book of Dragons just as the Riders landed in front of him.
"It's over, Buzzsaw," said Tom. "Now give me back my book. Or else."
"I don't think so," said Buzzsaw, pulling out his whistle.
He blew it, and within moments, everyone saw Jack cut through a tree behind them.
"Get me out of here, Jack," Buzzsaw ordered.
Jack swooped in, and Buzzsaw grabbed his tail. The Riders watched as they flew away.
"Come on," said Eugene. "We need to go after them."
"No. Feathers was hit," said Tom as he knelt beside her.
"What?!" Alex gasped.
"Don't worry, Alex. I'm on it," said D'Angelo as he pulled a handful of slugs from his backpack and fed them to Feathers. "Sorry. I know it's gross."
"Well, they do say good medicine tastes terrible," said James.
"She'll be okay," D'Angelo assured Alex.
Alex then approached and hugged her, and she was already recovering.
"Slugs?" Tom blinked. Thunder then suddenly tackled him to the ground and began licking him furiously. "Okay, glad to see you too, Pal."
"The slugs were actually…" said Jun, but stopped upon seeing the happy reunion between the two of them. "We'll fill you in later."
"I thought I was going to lose you, Pal," said Tom, resting his head on Thunder's. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Is that the antidote?" D'Angelo asked, noting the stew.
"Nope. It's just Buzzsaw's dinner. There was an antidote."
"I knew we couldn't trust him," said James.
"He is one sick individual," said Alex.
D'Angelo examined the stew and stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"If it wasn't for you, D, Thunder wouldn't have made it," said Tom.
"Well, I'm just doing my job," D'Angelo shrugged.
"No, no. I should have trusted you. Instead, I gave away the book and put more dragons in danger."
"It's all good," said D'Angelo, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You were desperate. For a minute there, even I didn't think I could trust me. The most important thing is that Thunder and Feathers are okay."
"And there's little chance Buzzsaw we use that poison now we know the antidote," James added.
"And don't worry about the book, Tom," said Jun. "We'll get it back."
"Way before Buzzsaw deciphers its secrets and uses them to put the entire dragon world in danger," said Alex and everyone stared at her. "What? I said wait before he does that."
Ford and Winston groaned in pain, still poisoned by their darts. D'Angelo then walked up to them and tossed them a couple of slugs.
"Eat those two, and don't ever call me," he said as he made his way back.
Ford and Winston grimaced, but they ate the slugs regardless, and apparently, they tasted disgusting.
"Let's head home, Pal," said Tom as he mounted Thunder.
Thunder roared loudly and took off. He was soon followed by the other Riders, who began making their way home.
Buzzsaw, meanwhile, had made it his camp and began looking through the Book of Dragons, and to his dismay, he found it written in a dead language.
"No. No!" he yelled frustratingly. "What is this? This entire thing is written in some stupid other language? What kind of idiot does that? Useless!"
He then tossed the book aside in frustration but saw that it had opened up, showing a picture of a tattooed man standing behind several fearsome-looking weapons.
"Whoa. Look at all those weapons," he smiled. "Now that looks like the Dragon King." The