This is my own episode, and I may add a few more. I created this episode to introduce James and his dragon, which is a creation of my own design.

Everyone was down in the lair having some quality time with their dragons, all except James, who just sat there watching everyone else. Tom was playing with Thunder, Jun was reading to both Wu and Wei, and D'Angelo had a stethoscope checking Plowhorn's heartbeat.

"I'm shocked that your dad is letting you hang with us," said Tom.

"You mean you're shocked that he is letting him hang with you," Jun corrected.

"I think half expect that he's that D'Angelo is going to be a good influence on resident troublemaker," said James.

"Hey, I only got into trouble two times," said Tom.

"Which is enough to have you pegged to be a troublemaker."

"I think my mam convinced him; she did want me to make friends after all," said D'Angelo.

"And we've made more than a few friends, isn't that right, Pal," said Tom as he scratched Thunder behind his flaps.

Thunder purred happily.

"I'm still amazed that dragons actually exist," said Jun as she looked up at Wu and Wei. "And all of them are different kinds."

"You said it yourself, Jun; dragons appeared in some shape or form in every single culture around the world," said James as he leaned back. "I bet you we've only scratched the surface on these creatures."

"Yeah, I just hope all of them are just as friendly," said D'Angelo.

"If those Gembreakers we fought off the other day are anything to go by, I don't think so," said Tom honestly.

D'Angelo then began scratching Plowhorn's belly. "I think they were just territorial, most animals are, but we showed them, didn't we, girl?"

"And now we have our own dragons," said Jun excitedly.

"Not all of us," James muttered under his breath. "Anyway, shouldn't we be a bit more worried about Alex?"

Tom frowned at him. "Why would we worry about her? When she's not at school, she's in her room."

"Didn't she call you the other day saying that she found something weird on the security system?" James asked.

"Well, yeah, but…"

"James does have a point," said Jun. "Even if she doesn't leave her room, she might tell someone what she found."

"I guess you have a point," said Tom rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe I should go talk to her."

"Not alone; I'll come with you," said James.

"Why?"

"Because you're a terrible liar."

Jun and D'Angelo nodded in agreement.

Moments later, both Tom and James were back at Rakke Town and began making their way into Alex's dome. Unsurprisingly, they found her at home sitting in a room, playing around with her computer.

Tom then tapped on the window, and she opened it.

"Tom, I was wondering if you would ever get back to me," she said, and then she looked at James. "But I did expect you to bring a friend."

"It's a small town word gets around," Tom shrugged.

"Except I only told you," said Alex suspiciously.

"I was with Tom, and you called," said James. "You mention that you found something?"

"Yeah, I was going through the security cameras when I spotted something strange," said Alex.

James looked at Tom. "Should we be at all concerned that the most state-of-the-art security can be hacked by a 14-year-old girl?"

"She is pretty smart," said James.

"And I have nothing better to do than to examine every single scientific endeavour going on at the base," Alex added.

"You really should get out more," James advised.

"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine staying here," she said bluntly. "But back to the reason you're here before a drone was destroyed, it caught an image of something."

"You sure it wasn't a shadow?" Tom asked hopefully.

Alex shook her head. "No, it was definitely some sort of creature, maybe the same one you encountered a few days ago."

"It was dark; I only got a glimpse," said Tom.

"And I'm sure there are plenty of bats living in the caves," James added.

"If it was a bat, it was a pretty big bat," said Alex.

"Do any of the grown-ups know what it is?" Tom asked curiously.

"I don't think so, but you know they not going to stop until they find out what it is."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Alex gave him a strange look, and James quickly coughed. "I think what Tom is saying is that he hopes it's not been too dangerous."

"Tom worried about danger; I believe that when I see it," said Alex.

"Hey, I do care about safety, just not my own," said Tom.

"The fact you've proven time and time again."

"What can I say? I'm a lone wolf?"

James rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why your mum is so protective of you?"

Tom then looked back a Alex. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Alex."

"Well, I'm going to keep on looking into it," she said. "Also, while you're here, I've noticed that you've been sneaking out of town quite a bit."

"I like the countryside," said Tom.

Alex didn't look convinced but said nothing as she closed her window.

"You think she's on to us?" James asked.

"No, but I don't think we have much to worry about. Our parents already know about Thunder's shadow."

"You do realise you got rid of one concern and replaced it with another," James pointed out.

"Look, so long as we play it cool, we have nothing to worry about."

"And what if she tells Chief Baker that you've been sneaking out."

"Then should get herself in trouble; she was the one that gave me the app that allows us to sneak out."

"Technically, it's Cinnabot538 that gave you the app."

"Same difference."

James then looked at his watch. "I have to get back home; Mum is probably waiting for me."

"It's a Sunday," Tom reminded him.

"Don't you remember what day it is?" James asked.

Tom blinked, and the realisation dawned on him. "Oh, sorry. Today is your dad's birthday."

James nodded. "And mum will be really upset if I miss it."

Tom nodded. "I'll tell the others that you will be back later."

"See ya soon then."

Tom then dashed off, and James made his way to his dome.

Once James returned home, he went inside and found that his mother was already there.

"James, I was wondering if you would ever show up," said Clara.

"Sorry, I was hanging out with the others and lost track of time," he said.

"Tom got himself into trouble again?" she teased.

"No, we were just having fun."

"Well, I've got the cake and the candles," she said, gesturing to a birthday cake on the table. "Now we just need your dad."

James nodded, made his way to the shelf, and grabbed a picture of his father, who was wearing an RAF uniform. He then placed it on the table behind the birthday cake.

"Happy birthday, Dad," said James with tears in his eyes.

Clara walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

At the Lair, Tom explained to the others why James was delayed.

"I completely forgot," said Jun.

"Wait, James' dad was in the RAF," said D'Angelo.

"Yeah, he was shot down in Afghanistan trying to lay down cover for the troops and crashed into enemy territory," said Tom as he rubbed Thunder's head.

"I remember hearing the news in kindergarten," said Jun as she hugged her legs. "They had just moved overseas because of his mom's job, and a few days later, they heard the bad news."

"That's terrible," said D'Angelo.

Tom nodded. "So he and his mom celebrate his birthday every year to honour him."

Jun looked to the floor. "I rarely get to see my dad, but at least he's still alive. I can't really imagine what James is going through."

"I don't think any of us can," said D'Angelo as he rubbed Plowhorn's horn.

"I can sympathise with him a little," said Tom. "My dad left my mom and me; I don't even remember him."

"I think we should wait for James before we go exploring," said Jun.

"Yeah, it's the only decent thing to do," D'Angelo nodded.

"He said he'll get back as soon as he could," said Tom.

James and Clara were having birthday cake at the table as they discussed James' father.

"Your father would make me laugh so many times it hurt," said Clara. "In fact, his commanding officer said that he did a good job keeping the troops' morale up."

"Yeah, I remember him picking me up and flying me around the living room," James smiled. "He also said the best part of the air force was knowing that his fellow pilots had his back."

"He always did try to make sure that everyone got home safe," Clara nodded.

"Shame he couldn't get home safe," said James under his breath.

Clara reached out, grabbed his hand, and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sure he did everything to get back home to us."

"I know, I just miss him," said James as he got out of his seat. "Is it okay if I go and join my friends? They're waiting for me."

"Go ahead and take some take for them," she said.

James nodded and grabbed some birthday cake, putting it in his bag. He then made his way to the door as quickly as he could, but when he looked back, he could see the sad look on his mum's face.

"Is something wrong, Mum?" he asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. "No, nothing at all."

James shrugged and closed the door behind him.

The moment the door closed, Clara's face fell once more. "I just want to spend the day with you, that's all."

James managed to reach the lair without incident and began climbing his way down.

"Sorry, I'm late, guys," he said.

"It's cool, man, we understand," said D'Angelo.

"You know you can go back to your mom if you want," said Jun.

"It's fine. I have her blessing," James assured them. "And speaking of which, I got some birthday cake for all of you."

He then reached into his bag and gave them each a piece of birthday cake.

"Thanks," said Tom and ate his instantly.

D'Angelo looked at the cake weary. "You sure it's okay for us to have this? I mean, it is your dad's birthday cake."

"I don't think he'll mind," said James.

Plowhorn made her way over to D'Angelo and sniffed the cake, licking her lips.

"Oh no, girl," said D'Angelo pulling the cake away from her. "This stuff is not good for you."

"Well, what is it we get going?" said Tom as he licked his fingers. "We've got an entire world to explore."

"Thought you'd never ask," said James.

They soon mounted their dragons, and James mounted Wei and moments later, they were flying through the fissure.

"I wonder what was going to find today," said Tom excitedly.

"Maybe a new dragon," said James.

"Who knows, maybe we'll find a dragon for you," said Jun.

"Already sick of me flying co-pilot with you?" James asked.

"No, no, just be nice if we all had dragons," said Jun.

"It would be nice to bond with a dragon just like the rest of you guys," James admitted.

Clara was making her way to ICARUS Station when she bumped into Olivia.

"Oh, Clara, what are you doing here?" Olivia asked. "I thought you had a day off."

"Change of plans," she said.

"But isn't today that day?" Olivia asked.

"It is, but James decided to hang with his friends instead."

"Oh, I see."

"But in his defence, I did encourage him, but now I'm starting to regret it."

Olivia then placed her hand on her shoulder. "Look, Clara, I couldn't possibly understand what you're going through."

Clara gave a small smile. "I know, and I also know that yours left you and your son."

Olivia nodded. "But we both have our sons, and as much as we want to weaken and hold onto them forever."

"But it would still be nice if they could spend some time with us, though, couldn't it?"

"Come on, let's take our minds up about wayward sons and look at the new readings that we received."

The two of them began making their way into the station itself.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Riders had reached the crystal world and were now exploring the place more fully on the back of the dragons.

"Man, how big do you think this place is?" D'Angelo asked.

"Big enough to be home to several thousand dragons," said Tom.

"There's so many different kinds of dragons," said Jun.

"Well, many animals, like cats and dogs, do have different breeds," said D'Angelo.

"I still can't believe that they have been hiding down here so long, and we never even realised," said James.

"Well, they must have been on the surface at one point; otherwise, we wouldn't have all these stories," said Jun.

"Considering that most of the stories led to humans killing dragons, it's no wonder they decided to hide," said Tom.

"But every single trace of their existence disappeared. Not a single bone or tooth was left," James pointed out.

Tom looked back at him. "What, you think that someone helped them disappear?"

James shrugged. "I don't know, but all of this just leaves more questions than answers."

They then flew down towards the ground to give the dragons a chance to rest.

"Question, if this entire place is full of crystal, what do the dragons eat?" D'Angelo asked.

"When I found Wu and Wei, I found them in a small lagoon under the surface of these crystals, and there were some fish," said Jun. "So maybe somewhere there's a water source for them to feed."

"We've only scratched the surface of exploring this place," said Tom. "Who knows what else is out there."

"Let's just hope we don't find any more dangerous dragons like those bullies from yesterday," said D'Angelo as he rubbed Plowhorn.

James groaned. "We're bound to now."

Then, as if on cue, they heard a roar and saw a new dragon emerging from the top of a crystal. The first noticeable thing was the fact that its scales looked like they were made of metal, and it had no wings. On its front legs, they could see long blades protruding from its knees, and it had small protruding spikes running down its tail.

The dragon looked down at them, growling angrily.

"He looks friendly," said D'Angelo.

The dragon opened its mouth and fired what seemed like flaming missiles directly at them.

"Incoming!" James yelled.

The flaming missiles hit the ground and exploded, and immediately they ran to their dragons.

"That dragon doesn't seem to have wings to the air!" Tom yelled.

They then quickly flew up into the air, as much distance between them and the dragon as possible. However, they soon learned that the dragon was able to fly as it curled its legs inwards and then, shooting out of its long blades, were a set of wings.

Within moments it flew up into the air and continued to fire flaming missiles at them.

"Okay, so it can fly," said Tom.

"But why is he attacking us?" Jun asked.

"Maybe we entered into his territory, and he thinks we're trespassing," said D'Angelo.

"In fairness, we are," said James.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" Tom yelled and looked towards several crystal spikes protruding from the ground. "Maybe we can lose him through those crystals!"

They quickly flew in different directions of the crystal spikes, zigzagging through them.

"There's no way he can fly through these crystals. His wings are too big!" said Tom.

"I wouldn't be so sure," said James.

Tom turned around and saw the dragon had folded its wings in and was flying through the crystal spikes. If that wasn't bad enough, they also sought the blades on its wings were cutting through the crystals like butter.

"Great, as if those flaming missiles one bad enough it's got razor-sharp wings," said D'Angelo.

"Huh, Tom, any ideas?" Jun asked.

"Nothing that comes to mind," said Tom.

"Then maybe we should start thinking of going on the offensive?" James suggested.

"You mean attack?" said D'Angelo.

"Well, running away doesn't seem to be working," James pointed out.

"I hate to do it; we don't have much of a choice," said Tom and then looked down at Thunder. "Okay, Pal, but just enough to fend him off."

Thunder then fired a lightning blast at the dragon, but it quickly avoided and began to climb.

"Wei, bringing the heat!" Jun commanded.

Wei then unleashed his steam blast upon the dragon, hitting it dead on. However, there had very little effect on the dragon as it began to spin around.

"Try not to hurt him, girl," said D'Angelo patting Plowhorn.

Plowhorn fired several firebombs at the dragon, but it proved to be rather agile, zigzagging through the crystals using them as cover.

"That dragon is fast," said Tom.

"He's like a fighter pilot," said James.

"Only with knife-like wings," said D'Angelo.

"Knifewing!" Jun announced.

Everyone then turned and looked at her.

"What we had to call it something," she said.

"Now is not the time, Jun," said Tom.

"Here he comes again!" James warned.

The Knifewing flew down towards them with its wings outstretched; they barely managed to get out of the way in time. However, with the sudden movement, James fell off Wei and began falling down towards the ground.

"James!" Tom yelled.

D'Angelo quickly swooped in and grabbed him.

"Nice catch, girl," D'Angelo smiled at Plowhorn.

"Thanks for the save," said James, relieved.

The Knifewing then spun around and began firing more fire missiles at them, and they narrowly avoided them.

"He just doesn't seem to want to give up," said Jun.

"I know, but the way he's attacking is a bit strange," said Tom.

"What do you mean?" Jun asked.

"Well, he doesn't seem to want to hurt any of us," said Tom.

"He has a funny way of showing it," said D'Angelo, this workaround to avoid the Knifewing.

"No, Tom's right, his attack happened exactly hit is dead on," said James. "If he was protecting his territory, he would have done whatever it took to push us out."

"You think you might be protecting something?" Jun asked.

"What else could it be?" said Tom.

"We're not going to find out if we continue dancing around like this," said D'Angelo.

James then turned towards the crystal when they first met the Knifewing and then turned to the others.

"Perhaps I can go and check for you guys to keep him occupied," James suggested.

"On your own?" D'Angelo stared.

"No, James, that is too risky," said Tom.

"It's no more risky than anything else we've done so far," said James.

"I'm not sure that's a good argument," said D'Angelo.

"Well, does anyone else have any ideas?" James asked.

Nobody answered, as none of them could think of one.

"Just be careful," said Tom.

"I'll be fine," said James.

D'Angelo then flew close to the ground long enough for James to jump off Plowhorn; he then went off and joined the others in battling the Knifewing.

"Now let's see what you're hiding, boy," said James and began making his way to the crystal.

Tom and the others were having a hard time fending off the Knifewing; while clearly, they had him outnumbered, he was using the surrounding territory to his advantage. He also didn't seem to be focused on one of them as he kept on changing his attack target during the battle.

"Man, this dragon is fast," said D'Angelo.

"Not faster than Thunder," said Tom as he dodged another fire missile.

"Yeah, but this dragon seems to be rather skilled in tight turns," said Jun.

"Look, all we have to do is keep them occupied long enough, James," said Tom.

"Then I hope he hurries up because we're not going to last long," said D'Angelo.

James had reached the crystal and looked around, trying to figure out why the Knifewing suddenly attacked them. Then he heard a very weak roar nearby that sounded similar to the Knifewing's.

"What do we have here?" he said and went to investigate.

The Knifewing quickly spun around in order to avoid Plowhorns firebombs and then quickly spun around to counter Wu's ice breath. Then he fired a fire missile straight at Tom, who quickly countered with a lightning blast.

Thunder gave a weak roar, telling Tom he was starting to get tired.

"I know, Pal, but just hang in there a little longer," said Tom.

"Tom, I don't think we can keep this up," said Jun.

"Yeah, Tom, the dragons are at their limit," said D'Angelo.

"Just hang in there a little longer. We need to buy James more time," said Tom.

"Uh, I think out of time," Jun pointed.

Tom looked up and saw the Knifewing had performed a U-turn and was heading back towards the crystal where they first found it.

"Oh no, James," Tom panicked and quickly looked down at Thunder. "Give it everything you've got, Pal."

They quickly flew after the Knifewing, but they knew there was no way they could overtake him in time.

"No choice," said Tom and looked at Thunder. "Thunder, do it."

Thunder opened his mouth and began to charge a lightning blast.

"Stop!" a voice yelled.

They quickly stopped what they were doing and looked down to see James waving at them.

"James, what are you doing?" Tom yelled.

"Just trust me!" he yelled.

The Knifewing landed in front of James, growling at him angrily, but he just remained perfectly calm.

"I don't mean you any harm; none of us do," he said gently. "All we want to do is help; just let us."

"Tom, what do we do?" D'Angelo asked.

"That dragon is going to kill him," said Jun.

"No, he isn't," said Tom.

Sure enough, the Knifewing relaxed and became much more docile.

"Uh, what just happened?" D'Angelo asked.

"You guys better see this," said James began making his way to the back of the crystal.

The three of them soon landed on the ground and began to make their way around the crystal. It was then that they saw hiding amongst the crystals behind it was an injured Knifewing.

"Another Knifewing," Tom gasped.

"He looks hurt," Jun observed.

"He is; that's why he attacked us because he thought we were going to hurt his friend," James explained.

"Of course, he was astride of frighten us off," D'Angelo realised. "It doesn't look too bad, but I need to examine it more closely."

D'Angelo began making his way to the wounded Knifewing, but the other one snarled angrily. Fortunately, James quickly intervened and began to calm him down.

"Easy, boy; D'Angelo just wants to help. We all do," said James calmly.

D'Angelo bent down to the injured Knifewing and began to examine its leg. "It looks like it's just a sprain; he'll be fine in just a few days." He then pulled out some ointment and began to dab it on the leg. "This may sting at first, but it should ease the pain."

The moment he doubted, the injured Knifewing roared in pain, and his friend quickly snarled. However, the injured Knifewing quickly calmed down and roared at his friend, telling him he was all right.

"See, nothing to worry about," said James gently.

The Knifewing looked at James for a few moments but then began to nuzzle him.

"I think he likes you," said Jun.

"And I think he wants to go with you," Tom added.

James looked at the Knifewing, stunned. "Is that true, boy?"

The Knifewing roared and then lowered his head.

"I would take that as a yes," D'Angelo smiled.

James then mounted the Knifewing, who immediately took him into the air and began flying around.

"This is amazing!" James yelled.

"Looks like we all have dragons now," said Tom as they landed back on the ground.

"So what are you going to call him?" D'Angelo asked.

James thought for a moment and then looked down at his dragon. "Blade."

Blade roared happily, clearly pleased with his new name.

"Well, he seems to like it," said Jun.

"And just like that, we've got a new friend," said Tom.

James made his way back home later that afternoon and found his mother was only preparing dinner.

"Hi, Mum," he said as he put his bag on the couch.

"Have a nice time with your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was a wild ride," he said.

He then sat down, and there was a bit of awkward silence for a few moments; then, he looked at his mother.

"Mum, I'm sorry that I bailed earlier," he said.

Clara looked at him and smiled. "I perfectly understand wanting to hang out with your friends. And I'm sure your father would as well."

"No, it's not all right," said James as he got up. "Today is the day we celebrate. Dad and I just left."

Clara made her way over to him and hugged him. "I miss him too, and I'm very sure that your father will be very proud of you."

James smiled. "Thanks, Mum."

The two of them then hugged one another as tightly as possible.