Jun was in her bedroom reading a book her father had given her.

"Jun. Jun!" her mother yelled.

"In my room," she said.

Seconds later, May entered her bedroom.

"Mom, did you know that Medusa had snakes for hair and if you look into her eyes, you turn into stone?" said Jun excitedly.

May narrowed her eyes. "More stories books? I hope you finished your homework."

"It's not a storybook, Mom," Jun sighed. "It's a book of Greek myths. Dad gave it to me a long time ago."

"Hm. Have you opened the book I gave you?" May asked. "Ten Pillars To A Successful Life."

Jun sighed, which answered her question. "Yeah, I didn't think so. I'm pretty sure the first pillar is to put down the fantasy mumbo-jumbo and face reality."

"These myths came from somewhere real, Mom," she said as she continued to look at her book. "I promise."

May sighed. "Oh, Jun, you're starting to sound just like your father. He was a dreamer, too."

"What's wrong with following your dreams?"

"Dreaming is what you do while you're asleep. It doesn't put you on a path to a successful life. To that end, I've signed you up for a junior CEO course. It's an online group that meets three times a week, starting tonight."

She then started to leave her bedroom, but Jun quickly jumped out of bed.

"I don't want to be you," she said. "That's not me."

"Jun, how do you expect to survive out there in the real world if you refuse to actually live in it?" said her mother, now looking cross.

Jun gasped and was upset, but her mother scoffed and left the bedroom.

Afterwards, Jun went to the Dragon Lair, where the other Riders gathered. When she arrived, she immediately embraced Wu and Wei, who, in turn, were happy to see her.

"Is it almost ready?" D'Angelo asked.

"I'm not sure how much longer we can stand the anticipation," said James.

"What's going on?" Jun asked as she approached them.

"Oh! You're here!" D'Angelo beamed. "She's here! We can start."

"Start what?" Jun asked.

Alex then appeared with a fire dragon in tow. "Friends and dragons, after many tries and many fails, I am proud to present the first fully functional Dragon Rider fire suit."

Tom jumped out from behind some rocks in the newly reconstructed fire suit.

"All right!" D'Angelo cheered.

"Now, nothing will stop us from exploring the Fire Realm," said Tom confidently.

"The drive dragon gel works perfectly as a fireproof adhesive," said Alex. "I'm 80% sure there's a 50% chance it's perfect."

The fire dragon landed behind Tom and launched his fire breath at him. Everyone was slightly nervous, afraid that Tom was about to be burnt to a crisp. However, the moment the fire dragon spot they saw Tom standing there looking completely unfazed.

"Not a scratch," he said.

"Woohoo! All right!" D'Angelo cheered.

"Okay, let's all suit up," said Jun excitedly. "I need some adventure today."

"I heard that!" said D'Angelo. "Fire Realm, here we come!"

"I'm ready to use some exploring too!" said James.

"Slow down, everyone," said Alex. "I've only built three suits so far." She gestured to two other suits, one purple and the other yellow. "Kullersen just couldn't wait to try his on."

Jun, D'Angelo and James raised their eyebrows at Tom as he removed his helmet.

"What?" he said. "I get excited. You know this."

"Well, how long will it take you to build all five?" Jun asked.

Alex then started to perform some calculations on her tablet. "Uh, hm… well, I might need more dragon scales, and we'll have to harvest another batch of gel, let it dry… Probably a few days."

"A few days?!" Jun snapped. "Aw, come on, Alex."

Alex gulped nervously, shielding herself with her tablet.

"Sorry," Jun apologised. "I didn't mean to snap. The suits are amazing. Take all the time you need."

The Dragon Riders then watched as she approached Wu and Wei and hugged the two-headed dragon heads.

"Uh, Jun? You okay?" Tom asked.

"Fine," she said, not looking at them. "I just really needed to get out of here today. You know, clear my head."

The Riders looked at one another, and Alex stepped forward.

"Well, we have three fire suits," Alex pointed out. "Why don't you, James, and Tom just go?"

"Yeah! Why don't you…" D'Angelo then stopped in his tracks. "Wait, what?! Without us? But I've been dying to see…" He stopped again when he saw the looks on the others as they gestured to be unhappy Jun and got the intent. "Oh, I-I mean… that's a, that's a great idea. You three go."

"What are you two say?" Jun asked, smiling at Tom and James. "You up for it?"

"I'm already dressed for the occasion," Tom smiled.

"And I'm more than up for it," said James.

On the surface, Olivia examined the strange green crystal she and Tom discovered in the caverns.

"What are you?" she asked, holding the crystal up towards the sun. "And what secrets do you hold?"

"I thought I might find you out here," said a voice behind her. Olivia quickly spun around, hiking the crystal as standing there was Sledkin. "You always did prefer field work to the sterile environment of a laboratory."

"Not all questions can be answered in a lap, Wilma," said Olivia.

"Hm. Any particular question you're wrestling with?" Sledkin asked. "We are on the same team. Remember?"

Olivia did not believe that in the slightest; they had two different ideologies. While she cared about the benefit of mankind, Sledkin only cared about making herself famous.

"Come on, Olivia," said Sledkin, sensing her reluctance. "Let me in."

As much as Olivia heeded to admit, two of them did work for the same company. She was going to find out about the crystal. Eventually, she would complain to their superiors that she was hiding something, allowing her to be placed as science chief. If that happened, Sledkin would no doubt push for further exploitation, not caring about the environment or people's lives.

"I found this crystal in Sector Two," she admitted, handing her the crystal.

"It's a magnificent specimen," Sledkin admitted as she examined it.

"The molecular structure is unlike anything we've ever seen," Olivia explained.

"A new discovery. Exciting."

"Wilma, it's harder than a diamond."

"That's impossible," said Sledkin dismissively, giving her back the crystal. "Nothing in nature is harder than a diamond."

"I didn't believe it myself, but it's been tested and confirmed."

Sledkin then turned her gaze towards the fissure; she knew very well that Olivia would not make such a claim unless she were positive. And there was one crystal. There could be many waiting to be discovered within the fissure.

"You found that in Sector Two, you say?" she asked.

Olivia nodded, and Sledkin smiled ambitiously.

Meanwhile, Tom, Jun and James explored the Fire Relam in the new fire suits. It was even more amazing than they imagined; there was an entire sea of lava below them, but there were several rocky ledges above them, home to several strange plants and several strange animals that they had never witnessed before.

There were even creatures living in the lava sea, swimming through like fish in the sea. Of course, the most shocking thing was that there was breathable air, which was impossible.

"I can't believe how much wildlife lives in this furnace," said Jun in amazement.

"Me neither," said Tom.

"It should be impossible for life to survive here," said James

"And yet it's thriving," said Jun.

"We might actually find some answers out here, Pal," said Tom, patting Thunder. "Keep your eyes open for that dragon symbol."

"Hey, guys… thanks," Jun smiled. "I needed this today."

Tom chuckled as he held out his fist. "Ride or die."

Jun and James held out their fists in response.

"But, man, it's hot out here," said Jun; she reached for her backpack and removed a water canister. She then drank some, but Wu and Wei growled, informing her that they, too, were thirsty. "Stop it, you two. Here you go, Wu." She then dumps some water into Wu's mouth, and Wei moved his head closer to her. "Hold on, Wei. You're next."

"Hey, drink up, boy," said James, giving blades and water.

Tom then pulled out his canister and gave some water to Thunder; he then looked at Jun. "So, you want to tell us what's going on with your mom?"

"Yeah, it's not wise to bottle it all up," James agreed.

Jun stared at the two of them.

"You don't think we don't know you by now?" Tom smiled.

"You always get that frowny face when you argue with your mum," said James.

"Do not," said Jun and sighed. "Where should I start—birth?" He then put her canister back into her bag. "It's like we're from two totally different worlds. She doesn't care what I want out of life, only what she wants for me."

"She's only looking out for you," said James.

"Doesn't give her the right to decide what I want in life," Jun grumbled.

"She'll come around. She's your mom," said Tom confidently.

"Doubt it," Jun sighed. "She never believed in my dad. 'Dreams are what you do while you're sleeping, Jun. And why are you sleeping? You should be a CEO by now!' She's never going to get me, no matter what I achieve."

Tom and James looked at one another, not sure what to say.

They kept flying through the Fire Realm, but then they almost got barbecued by a flaming vent.

"We should probably land and give the dragons a rest," Tom suggested. "It's getting really hot out here."

Jun then saw something reflecting in her visor. "Huh?"

She turned to the source of the reflection and saw something shining in the distance near a rocky ledge.

"What is that?" she asked, shielding her eyes. "Ah, it hurts my eyes to look at it."

"I don't know," said Tom. "Well, let's find out. Come on, Pal."

The three of them then flew towards the shining light. Once they were close, they jumped onto the rocky ledge and found the source. Their resting on the ground was a shield that was so reflected that it was reflecting the light from the realm.

"Oh, a shield?" said Jun.

"Yes!" said Tom excitedly. "More proof that people have been down here."

Meanwhile, D'Angelo and Alex were relaxing in the hot spring within the Lair in the Dragon Lair with their dragons playing Marco Polo.

"Marco!" D'Angelo yelled as he wandered through the spring with his eyes closed.

"Polo," Alex called.

"Marco."

"Polo."

"Marco."

"Polo."

"Marco."

D'Angelo heard movement behind him; he turned around and opened his eyes to see Plowhorn leaving the spring.

"Plow out of water!" he announced. Plowhorn then jumped back into the spring, performing a massive belly flop. "I got you girl. You're totally it! Wait, how's that going to work?"

Alex snorted when they suddenly heard her tablet beeping.

"I guess playtime's over," she said.

The source was Sledkin, who had coerced some miners into digging up one of the blocked-off entrances to the Hidden World.

"What are we looking for, Dr. Sledkin?" one of the miners asked.

Sledkin sighed. "A brilliant green crystal. You'll know it when you see it. Now, dig."

The miners grumbled as they continued hacking away.

D'Angelo and Alex observed a small crack within the blockade.

"They're coming this way," D'Angelo whispered. "What do we do? The tunnel leads right to the Dragon World."

"When I'm hacking into mainframes, the security bot will create virtual walls to slow me down," said Alex.

"We don't have any security bots," D'Angelo pointed out.

"I know, but we have dragons," Alex reminded him, gesturing to their dragons, and then they began climbing their way back down. "We need to create some real walls to slow these miners down."

"Hm," D'Angelo pondered. "This sounds like a job for Plowhorn. Come on, girl. Give us a bomb loogie."

Plowhorn walled to the cave-in and fired a loogie bomb at the ceiling. This instantly caused everything to shake, frightening the miners, who quickly backed away as more rocks fell, some of which landed on top of them and Sledkin.

"What was that?" Sledkin asked, coughing from all the dust.

"This cave's not stable," said one of the miners.

"We've got to get out of here," said the other miner.

Sledkin then noticed the green crystal shining within the landslide, but it got covered up by some of the following rocks.

"You're not going anywhere until you get me through that wall," she said.

The miners grumbled; they kept hacking away, moving faster than before.

"Well, that didn't work," said Alex. "Now they're digging faster."

At the Fire Realm, Jun and James studied the shield while Tom looked to see if anyone was nearby with his binoculars.

"Huh! I can't believe how light this shield is," said Jun as he lifted the metal shield with these. "What kind of metal is this?"

"No clue, but it's certainly not made of iron, and I don't think it's made of steel," said James.

Jun then slammed it to the ground and saw it didn't chip. "Hm! It's strong, too."

"And I don't think it can rust either," said James, noticing the shine on the shield.

"I don't see anyone anywhere…" Tom informed them. "…just fire and lava… and no other signs of people."

"Who knows how long this shield's been down here, Tom, or the spearhead you found," said Jun.

"If we're working on the assumption that they were made by Vikings, then they both have to be over 1000 years old," said James.

When Jun went to grab some more water, Tom held the shield. "I can't believe there isn't a symbol or marking on it."

"It was painted on the paint could have faded away," said James. "The Romans painted their statues, but the paint faded over time."

"At least this proves we're on the right track, Pal," Tom smiled at Thunder. "We have to find whoever left the shield. Then maybe we can get some answers about the dragon symbol and our connection."

Jun then tossed him his canteen of water.

"Thanks," he said.

"We should probably head back," said Tom as they drank. "We're almost out of water."

They then suddenly heard a strange sound close by. They immediately put down their canteens and rushed towards the ledge. Tom then pulled out his binoculars and looked down.

"What is it?" Jun asked.

Tom looked down and saw all the small dragons from the Crystal Realm huddled in some rocks. Judging from the way it was moving, it seemed to be injured.

"Looks like an injured dragon," he said.

"Here, let me see," said Jun, taking the binoculars from him. "There's another dragon down there, too. An angry-looking fire dragon."

Tom could see from where they were entered the binoculars back. "Let me see! Now, there are two more fire dragons."

"Oh! Let me see," said Jun, shoving him to one side.

"Remind me next time to get me to pairs of binocs," said Tom, looking at James.

"At least you got to see what's down there," said James.

Jun gasped; she could see the fire dragons were starting to surround the smaller dragon. These fire dragons were much larger, about the same size as Thunder, and they seemed to have gill-like openings on their necks, but flames shot out of them. Additionally, they had rather skinny legs and two pairs of fangs sticking out of their mouths, pointing upwards.

"Guys, we have to do something," said Jun. "That little dragon's going to get torn apart."

"I know, Jun, but… isn't this just nature?" said Tom. "I mean, who are we to pick sides inside which dragon gets to live and which one starves?"

"Tom's right, Jun," said James. "If we disturb the food chain here, who knows what consequences it will have to the species in general."

"But that little dragon looks like it's from the Crystal Realm, and it might have just stumbled in here, and if that's the case…" said Jun.

"Then it's not the natural prey for those fire dragons," Tom finished.

"Which does give us ample reason to say that little dragon," James added.

"How much water do we have?" Tom asked.

"Three bottles," said Jun.

"Okay. Let's help it," said Tom. "What's the plan."

Meanwhile, the miners were still digging towards the Hidden Realm, but they stopped when they heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the wall.

"You heard that, too, right?"

The sound was Feathers howling like a wolf.

"Now, this has to freak them out," said D'Angelo.

Alex then performed a quiet howl at Featers, who then mimicked the sound only much louder.

On the other side, the miners were starting to get anxious.

"Dr Sledkin?"

Sledkin was busy with her laptop but closed it reluctantly and approached the miners to see what was wrong.

"T-There's something in there."

"And it doesn't sound friendly."

Sledkin heard the howling but didn't look too concerned. "I'm sure it's just the wind whistling through a carven. And if there's a cavern, there's probably more green crystals. Redouble your efforts!"

She then returned to her laptop, and the miners grudgingly carried on hacking away.

"Now, would we do?" D'Angelo asked.

Alex pondered for a moment. "I think it's time for them to come face-to-face with a dragon."

D'Angelo looked at her, confused.

Meanwhile, the fire dragons surrounded the tiny dragon, who was cringing in fear. However, before they could pounce, Thunder fired a lightning blast out of nowhere, quickly followed by one of Blade's fire missiles.

Seconds later, both Tom and James flew over the fire dragons.

"Come and get us, you Flamethrowers!" Tom challenged, raising the shield.

"How about you pick on someone your own size!" James yelled.

Two of the Flamethrowers chased after them, leaving the third one behind. Then, while its back was turned, Jun moved to rescue the tiny dragon. She was hanging upside down, wrapping her legs around Wei's neck and reaching for the tiny dragon.

"Come on!" she whispered. "Come on!"

Sadly, the tiny dragon was still terrified and backed away from her.

"No, sh!" Jun hissed. "I'm trying to save you."

It was then that the Flamethrower spotted her and then pounced at her.

"Wei!" Jun yelled. Wei quickly scooped Jun away from the Flamethrower. "Wu! Grab the dragon!"

Wu grabbed the tiny dragon before the Flamethrower had a chance to grab it. They then quickly took off away from the Flamethrower, who instantly chased after them.

Meanwhile, Tom and James were still dodging the Flamethrowers, who were unleashing their fire breath upon them.

"These guys are fatter than I expected," said Tom.

"And persistent," James added.

"We need to shake them."

"After you."

They tried to shake the Flamethrowers off their trail, but they just kept chasing after them.

"Lose them around the rocks," said Tom as they approached some stalactites.

Once they got to the stalactites, they instantly split up and began zigzagging their way through them, but they continued to stay on the trail. Then the Flamethrower chasing James pulled away, headed straight towards Tom, and fired a stream of fire.

Tom barely had time to raise his shield to block the flames, but then he lost his grip on the shield, and it fell onto a rocky ridge. Unfortunately, they couldn't retrieve it, so they quickly joined up with James as the Flamethrowers pursued them.

"We can't keep up this song and dance forever," said James as they dodged the flames.

"Then let's switch tactics and fight these guys off," said Tom.

James nodded, and they quickly performed a U-turn, and their dragons released their breath attacks. Thunder struck one of the Flamethrowers, but the other dodged Blade's fire missile and fired at them. They could dodge the attack, but the Flamethrowers were back on their tail again.

Jun had just as much trouble with the single Flamethrower on her tail. The situation was a bit more complicated, considering they were carrying an injured dragon. Jun managed to swerve out of the way in time to avoid the Flamethrower's fire attack, but its range looked too close for comfort.

"Wei, steam cloud getaway!" Jun ordered.

Wei quickly lowered his head and fired a cloud of steam at the Flamethrower. The Flamethrower flew right into the steam and could now not see what was in front of it. Eventually, the steam disappeared, but there was no sign of its prey.

Jun and use the opportunity to dive down and hide amongst the rocks below. The little dragon was clearly in pain, and she was trying to calm down.

"Sh…" she said gently.

They heard shouting above them and saw Tom and James arrive with the two Flamethrowers on their tail. If that wasn't bad enough, the third Flamethrower joined in with their pursuit.

"Tom! James!" Jun yelled.

"Come on, Thunder!" said Tom.

"Move it, Blade!" said James.

The two dragons flew as fast as they could, but the Flamethrowers finally hit them. James was able to hold onto Blade, but Tom lost his grip and slid off Thunder. He probably would have fallen to his death if Thunder hadn't grabbed him a split second later.

However, both dragons could not keep themselves aloft, and they were falling towards the ground rather fast.

"This is going to hurt!" said Tom.

"Brace yourselves!" James yelled.

The two of them then landed on the rocky ledge where Jun was hiding, and they hit the ground rather hard. The Flamethrowers then landed beside them, preparing to finish them off.

"Wu, Wei, everything you've got!" Jun ordered.

Wu and Wei fired their heat and ice blasts at the Flamethrowers. The combined attack was enough to force them into retreat.

"You guys okay?" Jun asked as they crawled there towards her. "Is anything broken?"

"Apart from our pride, no, I don't think so," said James.

"Just remind me never to pick a fight with those guys again," said Tom, looking at Thunder. "You all right, Pal?"

Toothless softly moaned.

"Blade looks a little banged up, but otherwise fine," said James and Blade roared in agreement.

"At least they're gone," said Jun.

"For now," said Tom. "They hunt in packs like hyenas, splitting up to save their energy. They probably went back to get some friends. We should get out of here."

Tom tried to stamp, then immediately winced, grasping his leg.

"You all right?" James as he reached up and then winced and grasped his arm.

"Here, let me," said Jun as she examined them.

"It's okay," Tom winced. "Just banged it. Knees and lava rocks don't mix."

"Neither do elbows," James added.

"Phew! Man, it's hot in here," said Tom, then drank some water. He then gave some to Thunder. "How's that little guy doing?"

"I think he has a broken wing," said Jun.

"Perfect. He has a broken wing, and I lost the shield," Tom sighed. "And these were all feeling crummy, right?"

"Oh, you lost the shield?" said Jun.

"Yeah, just around that ridge," Tom nodded.

"In fairness, we were being attacked from all sides," said James.

Tom then petted Thunder. "Don't worry. We'll find another clue, Pal."

"This whole thing is my fault," Jun sighed.

"Don't say that," said Tom, then touched her shoulder. "All of us made the decision to help that little dragon. Ride or die, remember?"

"My mom said I couldn't survive in the real world," said Jun sadly. "Guess I can't survive in any world."

"Hey, we're not dead yet," said Tom encouragingly.

"The heat in the battle drained Wu and Wei, and look at Thunder and Blade," said Jun.

Tom looked as James tended to the worn-out dragons.

"We all just need to rest for a minute, catch our breath, then we'll fly out of here," said Tom.

They then heard a number of dragon roars and the sore number of Flamethrowers flying around in a circle like vultures.

"And, while we wait, why don't you tell us a story?" Tom suggested.

"What?!" Jun stared.

"Why not? Anything to take our minds off that pack of Flamethrows," said Tom as he pulled some popcorn from his backpack. "Your mom might hate your stories, but I always love them."

"Same here," said James. "And he's right; it's better than sitting around and doing nothing."

Tom nodded and looked back at Jun. "What's the last one you read?"

"Um, the Greek myth about Medusa," she said.

"The creepy snake lady, right?" Tom smiled. "Every day was a bad hair day."

Jun chuckled, looking mildly impressed. "Not too shabby, Kullersen. I didn't think you could read."

"I saw the movie," he admitted. "Can't remember how it ends, though."

"Uh! That's the best part," said Jun.

"Perseus was actually one of the few heroes who actually had a happy ending if I remember correctly," said James.

Jun smiled, but then she noticed something in the corner of her eye. When she looked out into the horizon, she saw something reflecting and realised it was the shield Tom had dropped.

"Hey, Pal," said Tom as he made his way over to Thunder. "You doing okay?"

"Just sit tight, boy," said James as he rubbed Blade. "We're going to need your full strength."

Jun looked at the two of them and looked back at the ridge.

Meanwhile, the miners had stopped digging and were having lunch, but Feathers, while cloaked, made her way to the cave. The miners thought they heard movement but saw nothing and continued with their lunch.

Then, one of the miners noticed one of the pickaxes floating in midair. He immediately reached out to his buddy and pointed at the floating pickaxe.

D'Angelo and Alex sniggered as they knew it was Feathers, but the miners had no idea. They stared speechless as the pickaxe floated towards them, knocking off one of the miners' helmets.

The pickaxe then fell to the ground, and the miner, who still had his hat on, suddenly saw his sandwich shooting out of his hands. They then stared in terror as the sandwich was devoured by something invisible.

"That's it!"

"I quit!" they yelled in unison and ran off.

Sledkin had just returned and stared as the miners ran right past about saying a word.

"Score!" said Alex as she and D'Angelo bumped fists. "Another one for Feathers!"

"I wonder if the others are having as much fun," D'Angelo pondered.

Tom and James were still tending to their dragons, who still haven't completely recovered.

"You feeling a little better, Pal?" Tom asked Thunder. "The Flamethrowers are getting closer. Think you can fly?"

Thunder rose to his feet, and Tom smiled. "That's my dragon."

"Blade seems to have regained his strength as well," said James as Blade got up as well. "But I wouldn't want to tangle with those Flamethrowers. We need to get out of here."

Tom nodded. "Okay, Jun. Let's…" He stopped as Jun was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?" James frowned.

Tom looked at Wu and Wei. "Wu! Wei! Where's Jun?"

The two-headed dragon looked as confused as them.

"Jun!" Tom yelled.

Unfortunately, they couldn't track her down as the Flamethrowers had arrived and started surrounding them.

"Grab the little dragon," said Tom, looking at James.

James nodded and immediately grabbed the little dragon before mounting Blade.

"Hope you guys are recharged," said Tom as he mounted Thunder.

They quickly flew off, and the Flamethrowers immediately pursued them.

"Thunder fine, Jun," Tom ordered.

As Tom and Thunder focused on locating Jun, James, Blade, Wu, and Wei fended off the Flamethrowers.

"Where did she go?" Tom asked, looking around.

He then suddenly saw three Flamethrowers on their tail. Clearly, there had been too many of them for the others to fend off.

"Thunder, boom-boom, goodbye," said Tom. Thunder attempted to use his cloaking technique but was out of juice. "Oh, no."

Then, suddenly blocking their path were two Flamethrowers, leaving them completely surrounded. Tom could see that James and the others were still trying to fend off the remaining Flamethrowers to no avail.

The Flamethrowers were just about to attack them when, suddenly, a blind light blinded them. Tom turned and saw running down the rocky ridge was Jun, who somehow recovered the shield. She used the shield to reflect the light to blind the Flamethrowers.

Tom immediately used this opportunity to fly down towards her. "Jun!"

Tom held out his hand and grabbed her. "Are you crazy?"

Jun just smiled. "For saving you? Maybe."

Then she saw Wu and Wei had landed on a rocky ledge, fending off Flamethrowers. James and Blade have their own hands to back them up.

"Come on, Pal," said Tom, noticing this. "It is almost over."

They then quickly turned around and headed towards Wu and Wei.

"Wei!" Jun yelled as Tom dropped it directly above him.

She landed on Wei's saddle and quickly used her shield to knock back one of the Flamethrowers.

"Time to go home," she said.

"You'll get no argument from me!" James yelled.

Jun then used the shield to deflect the light upon the Flamethrowers, but there were still too many of them, and it looked like they were about to be swarmed. Then suddenly, they heard a thunderous roar in the distance, and the Flamethrowers seemed to respond to it. They then watched as they took off and flew off into the distance, more or less ignoring them.

"What was that?" Jun asked.

"Right now, I don't care," said Tom. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, we need to get to D'Angelo and have him take a look at this little guy," James agreed, just into the tiny dragon in his arms.

Then he and Tom took off, and Jun followed them soon after.

Once they go back to the Lair, the dragons immediately fall asleep. D'Angelo immediately tended to the little dragon while the others marvelled at the shield.

"Did you wander into that Fire Realm and get yourself into trouble?" said D'Angelo in a babyish voice as your appointment on the little dragon wing, who responded by licking him. "Let Dr D fix you up."

"Another clue to the mystery," said Tom. "Someday, we're going to find the answers to my connection to Thunder."

"What kind of metal is this?" Alex asked as she examined it.

"I don't know, but that she had a lot of uses," said Jun.

"Yeah, you really saved our butts with it," James nodded.

"Well, we didn't need it to scare off the miners," said Alex. "Right, D?"

"Nope!" D'Angelo agreed. "Just needed a little disappearing dragon trick."

"By the way, Jun, how did it come up with the idea of using the shield to blind the Flamethrowers?" Tom asked curiously.

"Simple. Greek myth," she said, taking the shield from Tom. "Perseus used the reflection in his shield to defeat Medusa."

"I am so happy you finished that book," said Tom.

"Guess this proves you can make practical use of myths and legends," said James.

"So, where are you going to keep it?" Tom asked.

Jun then placed it down against the rocks. "This is a good spot for it until I need it again."

"Keep an eye on my patient, girl," said D'Angelo, placing the little dragon beside Plowhorn.

The little dragon then immediately nuzzled up to Plowhorn and fell asleep.

"We should be getting back," said D'Angelo, turning to the others as he looked at his watch. "It's late."

"Jun, hang on," said Tom. "I've been thinking about what your mom said, but you can't survive in the real world. You did more than survive today. You save my life—maybe the dragons', too." He then jested over to the sleeping dragons and grabbed the shield. "So, next time your mom comes at you about reading your stories, just pretend like you have your shield with you and deflect her words."

Jun smiled. "Who wants to live in the real world anyway?"

"Not me!" said Tom as he put the shield down and the two out of the Lair together. "As long as I can be a Dragon Rider by day, I'll happily be a French fry cook by night."

"Me, too, but I'll be cooking the cheeseburgers."

"Oh, okay. I see how it is. The great Jun Wong is too good for French fries. She's got to be the CEO of cheeseburgers. All right."

They then laughed as they climbed out of the Lair.