Tom and the others just looked at the massive hole in the wall.
"Look at the size of that hole," said Tom.
"It's not just a hole; it's a tunnel," said James.
"It looks like something buried its way through like a machine," said Jun.
"Or a dragon," said Tom rubbing Thunder's head.
"You're saying that the dragon did this damage?" said Jun incredulously.
"So far, we've seen a dragon with two heads, the ability to shoot lightning and able to eat crystals. I don't think there's anything they can't do," said James.
"James' right and I don't think we want to find out what caused this, so let's get out of here before it comes back," said Tom.
With that agreed, they began flying away from the hole, and then they heard a roar close by.
"You guys heard that too, right?" Tom asked.
Jun and James nodded.
They looked around the area for the source of the noise, and that's when Jun saw a Gembreaker dragon below them.
"Tom! James! Look!" she said. "It's another Gembreaker."
Tom looked at the Gembreaker and could easily tell that it was hurt.
"It looks hurt; come on, maybe we can help," said Tom as he flew down towards it.
"Help?! Tom, no, wait!" Jun yelled as chasing after him.
Once they landed, Tom instantly hopped off Thunder and began making his way to the Gembreaker, but Jun quickly stopped him.
"Kullersen! Gembreakers are not friendly, remember?" she reminded him.
"I remember, we just fought off three of them five minutes ago, but I can't leave the injured dragon alone, can either of you?" said Tom looking at both Jun and James.
"No, but I would sooner leave it to an expert," said James.
"There aren't any other experts except me," said Tom and began to approach the injured dragon.
Thunder didn't think this was a good idea as he grabbed him and pulled him back away from the dragon.
"Look, I couldn't leave you trapped under those rocks either. Could I, Pal?" said Tom. "I know you're concerned, but trust me, I've got this."
He then slowly approached the Gembreaker, who immediately fired a firebomb at them. Thunder instantly grabbed Tom and Wu, and Wei grabbed Jun and James and quickly carried them behind a crystal.
"Okay, maybe I don't got this," said Tom.
They then looked back at the Gembreaker and watched as it attempted to fly, only to fall and cringing pain.
"Oh, you poor thing," said Jun.
Tom and James then raised an eyebrow at her.
Jun sighed and looked at Tom. "Okay, okay, you're right. We should help it."
"Rakke Town has a hospital in the Big Dome; maybe we can find something there," said Tom.
"To help a dragon?" said Jun sceptically.
"I don't know, not a lot of other options," said Tom.
"I'll say this it's been one crazy weekend," said James.
They then mounted their dragons, and James got onto Wei's neck.
"Don't worry, little dragon, we'll be right back," Jun promised.
"You do realise there's nothing little about that dragon," said James as they took off.
The Gembreaker just lay on the ground helplessly.
A few moments later, they were flying through the fissure and making their way back to Rakke Town.
Thunder then sensed something up ahead.
"What is it, Pal?" Tom asked.
They then heard a noise that grew louder the closer they got.
Jun looked at the others. "That sounds like a—"
Then suddenly, turn round the corner with the drone scanning the fissure.
"An Icarus drone," Tom finished. "Thunder! Boom!"
Thunder then fired a lightning blast at the drone, destroying it.
"Did it see us?" Jun asked.
"I hope not," said Tom cutting Thunder on the head.
They then continued, but Jun was nearly flung off Wu as they moved.
Meanwhile, in the command centre, Linda just lost the connection to the drone.
"Oh man," she moaned and turned to Olivia, May and Clara. "We just lost another drone."
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
"Let me check the footage," she said, bringing up the last according. "Nothing but fissure then is zap. See ya."
"Perhaps operator error?" May suggested.
"Wait, what?" said Linda looking at her. "Who is an operator? It's all automatic; I just push the buttons people tell me to push." She then began pushing random buttons until she pushed the button that restarted the system. "Uhh, I don't think I should have pushed that one."
"If this is too much responsibility for you, dear, just say so," said May as he pushed it back, and that got the screen back up.
"She's doing fine, May; something is happening out there, not in here," said Olivia, playback the last thing the drone caught. "See, there is a flash just before the drone goes off-line. There is some bizarre electro and geomagnetic normally happening."
"If we don't do something about it sooner, then we are going to run out of drones very soon," said Clara. "The question remains what could be causing it?"
Olivia then found some sort of shadow, unbeknownst to any of them, was Thunder.
She then looked at the others. "What is that?"
In her room, Alex was playing some loud music while spying on the security cameras around the entire town. She saw sheep, D'Angelo helping his mum, but then she saw Olivia looking at the strange shadow that one of the drones caught.
Intrigue, she began hacking into the drone footage and looked at the image herself. "What is that?"
Tom, Jun and James had reached Rakke Town and were now making their way to the hospital.
"Remember, when we get to the hospital, we can't tell anybody what we're up to," Tom reminded them.
"You do realise that none of us have any medical expertise," James pointed out. "So, how will we know what to look for?"
Before Tom could answer, they experienced a massive earthquake.
"Earthquake!" Tom yelled and quickly knelt down. "Okay, stay calm!"
They watched as they watched one of the wind turbines shaking, and there was a real concern that it would topple over. Fortunately, the earthquake began to die down at the sheer power that was causing concern.
"That was the most powerful one yet," said Jun.
"Easily as seven or more," Tom agreed and then gestured towards the hospital. "Come on!"
At the hospital, all the boxes that D'Angelo and his mum, Angela, have been stacking toppled over; some of them even landed on top of D'Angelo. Angela was completely wheel bound to a wheelchair and was the chief medical officer for the facility.
"D'Angelo! D'Angelo!" she cried.
"Over here, Mom," said D'Angelo beneath the boxes.
"Are you all right?" she asked as he pulled himself free.
"Yeah, I'm good," he said and then winced, clutching his head. "Ow! Mostly good."
"Okay then, let's get this place cleaned up," she said as she reached up one of the boxes. "Box brigade, double-time! One… two! One… two!"
She then passed him some boxes, and he quickly stacked them. "By the way, it's Saturday. How come you're hanging out with your mom and not the other kids?"
"I don't think anyone wants to hang with me," he said as he continued to stack. "Tom, Jun and James always disappearing."
"What about Alex Gonzalez?"
"She's best friend with her tablet. I just really thought this place was going to be cool."
Angela then made her way towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, this place is different, yes. But people are people, you let down your guard, and you will find some way to connect; you always do."
"Thanks, Mom," D'Angelo smiled.
She then kissed him on the forehead and left the storage room, leaving D'Angelo the last few boxes. Tom, Jun and James then entered the stockroom and quickly crawled around the floor past D'Angelo, who turned once he heard the door open. When he saw nothing, he merely shrugged and continued stacking the last of the boxes.
"What we really need is some herbal candles or, better yet, healing crystals considering the dragon has crystals in its—" Jun whispered.
"Jun, just grab a first-aid kit and let's go," said Tom.
"And try to keep your voice down; you want to be spotted," James hissed.
Jun then located a first-aid kit, and they were just about to leave when he came face-to-face with D'Angelo.
"What are you two doing?" he asked.
Tom gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh hey, D'Angelo. We were just—"
"We needed a first-aid kit," said Jun. "We found an injured lizard and wanted to help it."
"A very large lizard," said James under his breath.
"What they said," said Tom.
"An injured lizard?" said D'Angelo sceptically, but then his demeanour changed. "Awww, I want to help too! Why don't you ask Doctor D?"
"Doctor D?" they said blankly as they got to their feet.
"Yeah, I spent my summers with my grandpa; he's a veterinarian," he explained. "I picked up a few vet skills along the way. I'll come with you."
"I don't know," said Tom.
"Yeah, not the best idea," James admitted.
"I think it's a great idea," Jun interrupted.
Tom and James looked at one another and then looked at Jun.
"Can you give us a sec?" Tom asked.
Then he and James pulled Jun to one side.
"What are you doing?" Tom asked.
"I thought we agreed to keep it secret," said James.
"We don't need D'Angelo. I've got this," said Tom.
"What you got was getting loopy blast to pieces?" Jun reminded him. "Look at neither of us knows anything about injured animals. I mean, I know a few things about unicorn horns, but that doesn't really apply right now."
"Bad idea," said Tom. "His dad is the head of security for the Rakke Corporation; remember the secret?"
"What secret?" D'Angelo whispered.
The three of them quickly jumped and stood upright.
"Dragon Club!" said Jun quickly.
Tom and James stared at her.
"Dragon Club?" D'Angelo blinked. "Oooh, that sounds cool."
Tom and James gave Jun a sceptical look, but she just merely smiled.
With no other choice in the matter, they lead D'Angelo to the cave.
"Okay, so listen up the first rule about Dragon Club is that you don't talk about Dragon Club," said Tom. "It's a secret. Can you keep a secret, D'Angelo?"
"Can I keep a secret? Of course, I can keep a secret," he said, gesturing to his ranger badge. "I vow on the Army Rangers."
"See, guys, nothing to worry about," said Jun. "He made a vow on the Army Rangers."
"What is that even mean?" Tom asked.
"Dude, Rangers are only the bravest and most loyal airborne units," said D'Angelo. "You know my pops was a ranger. Our word means a lot." Then he grimaced as he looked around. "But he would not approve of being this far beyond our perimeter even to help an injured animal. It is a violation of numerous Icarus safety codes."
"Wait until he sees the lizard," said James.
They eventually reached the cave, and D'Angelo looked as if he was about to have second thoughts.
"The lizard is down there in the hole?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, way down," said Tom as they began climbing down.
When they reached the bottom, D'Angelo looked as if he regretted coming with them.
"Oh man, pops knew you were trouble," he said.
"Oh, he is, with a T," said Jun. "This is worth it."
"Just brace yourself; you're about to find just how big this lizard actually is," James warned.
D'Angelo then immediately jumped when he heard a noise and saw movement in the shadows. "What was that? I heard something!"
"Prepare yourself to never be the same in three… two… one…" said Tom as he counted off his fingers.
Then stepping out of the shadows was Thunder, who spread his wings out and channelled lightning from his body.
D'Angelo just stared at him open-mouthed. "That is a big lizard."
"Yep, this is Thunder," said Tom as he scratched him beneath his chin. "And he's a dragon."
D'Angelo slowly backed away and then collided with Wu's head.
"And that's Wu," said Jun. D'Angelo screamed and turned to run in the opposite direction, only to come face-to-face with Wei's head. "And Wei."
"We're surrounded!" D'Angelo screamed quickly, backing away from Wu and Wei.
He backed away until he backed into Thunder, who then began to nuzzle. He then ran away into Thunder and then collided with the stalagmite, and knocked himself out cold.
"Well, that's a promising start," said James.
Tom nodded. "So glad that we reveal the secret to him. He's been so helpful."
Jun began to ponder what to do next and smiled when she got an idea.
D'Angelo finally came to immediately assume everything that happened had been a bad dream.
"Oh man, I have the craziest dream," he said.
He then heard a growling sound and looked up to find that he was lying down on Wu's head as they were flying several thousand feet within the fissure.
"I mean nightmare!" he cried as he immediately grasped hold of Wu's neck.
"Just relax, D'Angelo," said Jun, who was sitting next to him on Wei's neck.
"Relax? I'm on a dragon, a huge giant dragon!" D'Angelo reminded her.
"Isn't it awesome," said Tom as he flew above them on Thunder.
"It certainly beats walking," said James as he rode behind Tom.
"Did I mention I'm afraid of heights!" D'Angelo yelled.
He then slipped and nearly fell off Wu's neck; if he hadn't wrapped his arms and legs around him, he was now dangling beneath Wu, which was just as terrifying.
"Now I know why no one talks about Dragon Club because no one survives Dragon Club!" D'Angelo screamed.
"These dragons are friends; they're not going to hurt you," Jun assured him.
Wei then grabbed D'Angelo and tossed in the air back onto Wu's neck.
"This is a direct violation of everything!" D'Angelo yelled. "I've got to report this."
"No, you can't," said Tom as he flew beside him. "We have to keep this secret to protect the dragons. If anyone finds out, then—"
He was interrupted when his phone rang; he pulled it out and looked at the others who grimaced.
"Hello?" he said, answering it.
"Tom, it's Alex. I caught an image of something in the fissure; it looks kinda wingy."
"Wingy? Uh, I'm kinda busy right now, Alex, but I'll come by later, and we can talk about it," said Tom. "Okay, see ya!"
He then entered the call and looked at the others. "This is starting to get out of hand."
"Let's focus on one hurdle at a time, shall we?" said James.
They then headed straight towards the crystal cave.
Once there, they showed D'Angelo the cave with all the dragons flying around massive crystals. Upon seeing it, he then immediately fainted.
"And there he goes again," said Tom.
"At least he didn't himself out this time," said James.
"D'Angelo! Do not go into the light!" Jun yelled.
"He's passed out, not dead," said Tom and then looked at Thunder, who was busy scratching behind one of his flaps. "Thunder, give him a little juice."
Thunder then excitedly dashed over to them and sent a small jolt of electricity into D'Angelo, causing his eyes to shoot wide open instantly.
"Where are we?" he said.
"Same place you were before, a giant world of dragons," said Tom.
Jun then put D'Angelo offering him her hand. "Now let's hope that injured dragon before—"
"No! No! Na-huh!" he said, getting to his feet. "You said lizard; you didn't say anything about an injured dragon. I knew you were all crazy; why did I even listen to that little voice inside? 'Those kids might seem cool, son, but they're going to get you killed.'"
"That little voice sounds like an awful lot like your dad," Tom pointed out.
"And hearing voices is the first sign of madness," James added.
"Please, D'Angelo, you're the only one who knows anything about injured animals," Jun pleaded.
"Nope, not doing it," he said. "I'm already trying to figure out how I'm going to tell pop."
"I'll help you figure that out; you're not," said Tom.
"Oh, and how are you going to stop me?" D'Angelo smiled confidently.
"We could just leave you down here," said Tom and D'Angelo's smile immediately vanished.
"You've already come this far. You might proceed to the end," said James.
Jun then began pulling D'Angelo along. "Come on; the dragon is right over here. She has a hurt wing."
They took D'Angelo to the place with you last saw the Gembreaker, but she was gone.
"Was right over here," said Tom.
"She must have flown way," said Jun.
"Not with a hurt wing, she didn't," said D'Angelo as he bent down and picked up the crystal fragments. "An injured animal won't lay out here in the open. It's going to find cover from potential predators."
D'Angelo then began to track the Gembreaker, and Tom and the others followed him. Then they saw the Gembreaker nestled between some large crystals.
"See, there she is," said D'Angelo, then he looked at her more closely. "Whoa, that dragon looks like a wounded warrior."
The Gembreaker roared at them and then attempted to spread her wings, only to wince in pain.
"And she needs your help," said Jun.
"Are you really going to be okay just leaving a wounded animal here?" James asked.
D'Angelo sighed, knowing they were right, and Jun held out the first aid kit. "Okay, fine. The first thing we have to do is triage. Figure out exactly what's wrong."
He then began making his way towards the Gembreaker gently. "Shh, it's okay." However, the Gembreaker growled at him and looked as if she was about to attack. "That doesn't sound good!"
The Gembreaker then fired off some firebombs.
"Run!" Tom yelled, and they instantly ran for cover.
D'Angelo then looked. "Did you know it could do that?"
"I mean, her, I guess we kinda knew… sorry," said Tom.
"I'm sorry too, even though it's not his fault but mine," said Jun gesturing to Tom.
"We're so used to the dragons that it slipped our mind," said James.
"Is there anything else I need to know about the angry, bomb-blasting, armoured dragon?" D'Angelo asked.
"Hmm, I think that about covers it," said Tom.
"Yep, yep, that's the main stuff," Jun agreed. "Oh, they're faster than they look."
"Right, an important point after it healed," said Tom.
"Any other ideas on how we can get close enough to help it?" Jun asked.
D'Angelo pondered for a moment. "Uh, double flanking manoeuvre works every time. Tom, you, James and Sparky cover the right flank. Jun and I will take the Wonder Twins and cover left. We'll overpower the dragon from both sides, then when we have it under control, we will administer aid."
They then began putting D'Angelo's plan into action. Both Tom and James got onto Thunder's back, who growled with concern.
"I'm with you, Pal," said Tom. "I wanted to keep Dragon Club the secret."
"We can worry about D'Angelo once we finish helping this dragon out," said James.
They saw the others on the other side of the crystal, and D'Angelo gave them a wave. Jun then took to the air, and Tom and James did the same and began to hover over the Gembreaker.
"Now!" D'Angelo yelled as he ran out.
Only to find that the Gembreaker had disappeared. A split second later, they heard the explosion behind them, and they spun around to find that the Gembreaker had somehow snuck behind. She then began firing more firebombs at them.
"Did I mention that dragons are also smart," said Tom.
"Fallback! Fallback!" D'Angelo yelled.
Thunder quickly dived down and grabbed him, and they quickly flew back to the crystal, using it as cover.
D'Angelo immediately glared at Tom. "What did you get me into?"
"We got you into helping a wounded animal," said Tom.
"Well, now you can get me back into my home!"
His eyes then turned to the Gembreaker, who attempted to fly only to fall back down to the ground. From this distance, he could tell that she was in great pain.
"So, you're just going to leave?" Jun asked.
"I will admit that the animal we're trying to help is a little bigger than something you used and a bit more dangerous, but she is still hurting," said James. "And I get the feeling that you can't turn away from an animal in pain."
"You're right; I'll stay and help," said D'Angelo looking back at them. "Nobody, not even a grouchy old dragon, should be left out here injured and alone."
"We're going to need another plan, though," said Tom.
"I think I have another plan," said Jun as she opened the first aid kit and pulled out a tranquiliser.
"A tranquiliser?" said D'Angelo. "Who's going to do that?" He then saw all eyes fall upon him. He sighed and took the tranquiliser. "Why didn't I listen to that little voice inside?"
"It makes you feel better outcome with you," said James as he took the first aid kit.
D'Angelo nodded and looked at Tom and Jun. "Okay, after I give the injection, we'll have to work fast, bandage and splint the wing, so be ready."
"We will be," Jun promised.
"Let's do this," said James.
D'Angelo and James then began moving from crystal to crystal to get as close as they could to the Gembreaker. Unfortunately, her current location was wide out in the open with no cover, so they would have to make a run for it.
D'Angelo then turned to James. "I'll go in first, and once I give the okay, you move in the first aid kit."
"You got it," said James.
D'Angelo looked back at the Gembreaker, which was still wincing in pain and then took in a deep breath.
"All right, you gorgeous dragon, time for you to get some D'Angelo!" he yelled and then rushed out.
The Gembreaker then quickly fired firebombs at him, but he performed quite a few sweet moves and avoided all of them.
"I can't watch," said Jun as she covered her eyes.
"How did we ever think this was a good idea?" Tom asked.
D'Angelo managed to avoid all the firebombs and then placed the tranquiliser against her body, but he didn't inject her. He looked at the Gembreaker but suddenly became more docile and lowered her guard. He then noticed that there was a massive scar across her left eye was also blind.
"Oh, you poor girl," he said as he bent down towards her. "You seen your fair share of battles, huh?" He then turned to James and signalled him.
James carefully approached them, and the Gembreaker didn't make a single move against him. Once there, he handed D'Angelo the first aid kit and began implying it.
"Let's see if I have something here," he said and pulled out some ointment. He then rubs the ointment over the scar. "There you go."
The Gembreaker smiled, and D'Angelo patted her horn.
"You're not such a bad girl," he said. "It's just like mama says, 'You just have to let your guard, and you'll find some way to connect.'"
James then turned to Tom and Jun and gave them the thumbs up.
"They did it," said Jun.
"Yeah, and D'Angelo survived; his parents will be so happy," said Tom.
"You hurt your wing? I'm going to take a look, okay," said D'Angelo made his way to the wing.
He then lifted the shell, and the Gembreaker winced in pain.
"Hmm, doesn't seem broken," he said as he examined the wing itself and then spotted a Crystal shard wedged in beneath the shell. "Aha, I think we found the problem."
James winced upon seeing it. "If I had something that sharp stuck in me, I would be cranky too."
"Hold still now," said D'Angelo as he began pulling the shard out, making the poor dragon wince. "Got it!"
The Gembreaker got to her feet and began flapping her wings, discovering that she was no longer in pain. She then landed on the ground, and D'Angelo rubbed her horn.
"You're all done," he said. "You know you're not such a bad patient; we're lucky I don't have a cone big enough to put on your head."
She then moved towards him and nuzzled him, and he hugged her back. James patted D'Angelo on the shoulder, followed the others, and made their way over to them.
"You did it," said Jun.
"Nice job," said Tom.
"I think D'Angelo deserves all the credit," said James.
"Doctor D saves the day," said D'Angelo proudly.
The dragons then sensed something and growled apprehensively.
"Uh, what does that mean?" D'Angelo asked.
"It's never good," said Tom.
"And it might have something to do with them," James pointed.
They followed his gaze and saw flying overhead were the three Gembreaker they had encountered earlier.
"Those guys again," said Tom.
"Again?" D'Angelo frowned.
"Yeah, we had a little running with them before, and they can be a bit territorial," said Tom.
"And they probably won't be too happy seeing us," said James.
They watched as the Gembreakers then flew down to the one on the ground.
"Wait, they must be coming back for the little one," said Jun.
"Quick height before they spot us!" said Tom. "We don't want them rejecting one of their own."
D'Angelo frowned as the look on the Gembreaker he just treated was off. "I don't know; something doesn't feel right."
He then ran after the others and hid behind some crystals.
"Ah, they recognise her," said Jun as the Gembreakers surrounded her.
Unfortunately, their response was not what they expected, as they began attacking the poor Gembreaker from all sides.
"Oh man, what are they doing?" Jun gasped.
"Those must be the bullies who beat her up in the first place," said D'Angelo.
"Explain why she was all alone," said James.
D'Angelo then rushed out and charged them. "Hey! Stop that!"
"No, wait!" Jun yelled, but it was too late.
"Get away from her!" D'Angelo yelled, and then the three Gembreakers turned on him, and he soon realised his mistake. "Oops."
He then ran away, and the Gembreakers chased after him.
"Help me!" D'Angelo yelled.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere, hitting the Gembreakers and knocking them back. D'Angelo looked up to see Tom in the air, riding on Thunder with James sitting behind.
"Run, D, get on with Jun!" Tom yelled.
D'Angelo quickly ran over to Jun, who was already sitting on Wei's neck, and he quickly mounted on Wu's.
"Go! Go! Go!" he yelled.
They then quickly took to the air and followed Tom as he flew around, but the Gembreakers were hot on their tail.
"Where did that little Gembreaker go?" D'Angelo asked, looking around.
"She's long gone, and we've got our own problems," said Jun.
She wasn't wrong as the Gembreakers began firing firebombs at them.
"Jun, look out!" Tom warned.
"They seem to be after you!" James yelled.
Sure enough, the Gembreakers were chasing after Jun and D'Angelo relentlessly. Wu and Wei had to perform a few fancy manoeuvres, and D'Angelo almost fell off.
"Okay, Wu iced them up," Jun ordered.
Wu then fired his ice blast at the Gembreakers, hitting one of them and forcing it down onto the ground.
"No, Wei, bringing the heat!" Jun commanded.
Wei then blasted the downed Gembreaker with his hot steam weakening it even further.
"Yeah, Jun!" Tom cheered.
Then they were almost hit by a firebomb completely out of nowhere. They looked behind them to see a Gembreaker chasing them.
"Let's crash them into the crystals," said Tom.
He then flew up towards some crystal spikes sticking out of the wall and began zigzagging their way through them. Sadly the Gembreaker smash through every single one with its massive horn.
"Okay, that didn't work," said Tom.
"Then let's find something that does work before we're knocked out of the air," said James.
Tom looked at Jun. "Head for the fissure!"
There were making their way to the exit but then blocking their path with the Gembreakers. The child straight at them, forcing them to separate, with one chasing after Thunder and the other two after Wu and Wei.
"They're not letting us get away," said D'Angelo.
"Yeah, they're like that," said Jun.
Wu and Wei then tried flying in opposite directions, only to find that it was impossible. They snarled at one another but deemed it was no time to argue and kept flying away from the Gembreakers.
"Watch out?" D'Angelo warned.
A Gembreaker then fired a firebomb at them, and Jun had to manoeuvre rather suddenly. This sudden shift caused D'Angelo to lose his grip, and he fell off Wu and began to plummet towards the ground.
"D'Angelo!" Jun cried.
Then the Gembreaker they held flew out of nowhere and flew towards D'Angelo.
"Catch me!" D'Angelo cried.
The Gembreaker attempted to do that only to miss, and D'Angelo bounced off her. He then began bouncing off crystals until he hit the ground, but he managed to survive the fall just.
"I'm all right; she broke my fall… kinda," D'Angelo groaned as he picked himself up, and the Gembreaker landed next to him. She then nuzzled him, and he hugged her back. "Thanks for trying to save my butt, girl."
The Gembreaker then lowered her head, and D'Angelo took this as an invitation to mount her. He climbed on just behind her horn, and then she suddenly took off into the air.
The Gembreakers were still chasing after the others.
"Jun, let's split up and try and find D'Angelo," said Tom.
Unfortunately, before they could do that, they were shot down by the Gembreakers and hit the ground.
D'Angelo watched this and quickly looked down at his dragon. "We've got to help."
However, instead of flying down to them, the Gembreaker flew upwards.
"What are you doing? We can't pull out. Our team needs us; no ranger left behind!"
The Gembreaker were now on the ground and were advancing towards the others.
"Tom think of something," said Jun.
"I'm thinking you're the brains of this outfit," said Tom.
"I don't care who the brains are, but someone needs to think of an idea," said James.
D'Angelo was still trying to rein in the Gembreaker, but nothing he did worked. "Slow down! Where are the brakes on this thing?" He then saw there were heading straight towards a large crystal spike on the edge of the wall. "What are you doing?"
He closes his eyes bracing himself for impact, and the Gembreaker struck the crystal with her horn causing it to crack. D'Angelo opened his eyes and looked down to see that would directly below the others and the advancing Gembreakers, and he realised what she was trying to do.
"Attacking from above… Ranger style!" D'Angelo beamed and patted her on the side. "I like the way you think, girl. Hit it again!"
She did just that, striking the crystal with everything she had, causing it to fall down towards the ground.
The Gembreakers were advancing towards the others, and Tom was ready to stand up to them, but Jun pulled him back, knowing this would get him killed. Then suddenly, the crystal spike fell directly on top of the Gembreakers.
The Gembreakers pulled themselves out of the rubble just as D'Angelo landed. Knowing that they were defeated, their ring leader roared at the others they flew off.
"And don't come back unless you want some more D'Angelo!" D'Angelo yelled at them. He then turned and looked at the others. "Whoa, did you see her out there? She went full Gemzilla and ploughed her horn right into the crystal, sending those bullies flying for the hills."
"You two were great," said Jun.
"And we appreciate you saving our lives," said James.
"All right, I have to admit you were right," said Tom turning to Jun.
"You said it yourself; I'm the brains of this outfit," Jun smiled.
"No argument from me," said Tom.
"Or me," James added.
Tom then raised his fist to D'Angelo. "Welcome to Dragon Club."
"Get in there!" said D'Angelo, suddenly pulling him into a bear hug.
"Okay, you're a hugger; that's cool," said Tom, rather surprised.
"Well, now that you're bonded, you have to give her name," said Jun gesturing to the Gembreaker.
D'Angelo looked at the Gembreaker and placed his hand on her head. "Plowhorn, her name is Plowhorn."
Plowhorn roared happily, indicating that she was happy with a new name.
"I think he likes it," said James.
Jun then elbowed Tom, and they all smiled.
They then got on their dragons, and James mounted Wei and began flying around the crystal world, laughing and outright enjoying themselves.
Later that night, Tom, Jun and James were invited to D'Angelo's place for dinner. Philip cut the potatoes, and Angela kissed him on the forehead as they made dinner.
"Are you sure Plowhorn is okay?" D'Angelo whispered.
"Totally, Thunder and Wu and Wei will make her feel right at home," Jun assured him.
"After she stood up against those bullies, I don't think there's anything to worry about," said James.
"She'll be fine," said Tom. "And remember, this whole thing is a secret."
D'Angelo's parents then showed up with dinner.
"Thanks so much for dinner," said Jun.
"Yeah, this is great," said Tom as they placed the food on the table.
"Thanks for having us," said James.
"You're always welcome," said Agatha.
"Yeah, we think it; with your moms working late, you would use up a home-cooked meal," said Philip as he sat down.
"I'm just happy to D'Angelo got to spend some time with you three."
Philip chuckled. "So what do teenagers do on a Saturday in the middle of nowhere?"
"Well, pop, first I met some dragons which kind of crazy and went deep underground and almost got killed trying to rescue this other dragon," said D'Angelo and Tom, Jun and James, then suddenly sat up straight rather awkwardly with their mouths full. "Then we had this insane sky battle. I mean, it was boom boom explosions everywhere. It was sick."
He then looked up and saw his father looking at him funny.
"What?" he said.
"It's called Dragon Club, Phil," said Angela. "It's a role-playing game, right?"
Tom swallowed his food and looked to the others, who nodded.
"Oh well, that sounds okay, I guess," Philip shrugged.
"Yeah, it's all fun and games until you get eaten," said Tom.
D'Angelo then laughed, which was rather unconvincing, causing his parents to give him strange looks.
"Just your ordinary Saturday," James shrugged.
"Please pass the potatoes," said Jun.