At Rakke Town, Tom knocked on Pete's dome, who answered.
"Hey, Pete!" said Tom. "We need to bring your Speed Stinger back to the Hidden World."
"Huh," Pete frowned. "Not sure what you're talking about. Thanks for coming by, though."
He then closed the door on them.
"That's weird," said Eugene. "I could have sworn Pete fostered a Speed Stinger."
"Eugene, Pete is clearly lying," said Jun. "He doesn't want to give up his dragon."
"He was lying?" said Eugene, then glared at the door angrily. He then marched up towards the door and began knocking on it. "Hey! Hey! Open up, you lying liar. Hand over that Speed Stinger!"
Pete then opened the door and crossed his arms. "Would you stop it? I told you…" Then suddenly, shooting out of his home was his Speed Stinger. "Jerry, wait!"
"Quick!" Tom yelled. "Surround him before he gets away."
Thunder quickly jumped at Jerry but missed and was then blasted by Wu's ice blast. He then sprinted towards Alex, and Feathers quickly shielded her and cloaked.
"Webs, stick that thing!" Eugene ordered as he rode past on Webmaster.
Webmaster then fired his fire web, and they definitely hit something.
"All right!" Eugene smiled, but when he looked up, he winced as he had accidentally caught D'Angelo.
"I am not Jerry!" D'Angelo yelled.
Jun then dashed towards Jerry, as did Tom, but at the last second, Jerry moved, and they collided with one another.
"Sorry! Sorry," said Tom, quickly approaching her and placing a hand against her cheek.
"Are you all right?" Jun asked, concerned.
"Are you okay?" Tom asked.
"I'm fine," said Jun, looking a little awkward. She then rose to her feet. "I was, I was just…"
"Yeah, yeah, me… me too," said Tom, looking away from her.
"Well, this is not a little awkward," said James as he attempted to free D'Angelo.
Jerry shot past Tom, and Jun began running around Plowhorn but then collided with an invisible Feathers who reappeared.
"Nice job, girl," said Alex.
Pete then rushed over to Jerry. "Jerry, did they hurt you?"
Jerry then got back onto his feet, not looking too worn.
"Pete, I know how you feel," said Tom, placing a hand on Pete's shoulder, "but after the close brush we had with Mr Rakke, my mom and Director Wong think the fostered dragons need to go back to their realms."
"But it's dangerous," Pete argued. "You brought them up here to keep them safe from the killer dragon down there."
"We're figuring it out," said Jun. "Don't worry."
"Yeah, we have sensors in place that will warn us if danger is approaching," said Alex.
"Yeah, and maybe we can put down, like, extra sensors, so we know extra early of any attacks, huh?" Eugene suggested. "Maybe before it even knows it's going to attack."
Alex looked at him dryly. "You have no idea how sensors work, do you?"
"Can you at least bring him down last so I can have a little more time with him?" Pete pleaded. "Tomorrow is my birthday."
"Well, we do have to make a few trips together with the other dragons, so…" said Tom.
"Thanks!" Pete beamed. "Okay, Jerry, let's go for a jog."
Jerry then suddenly took off, and Pete struggled to keep up with him.
"Hey! Slow down!" Pete yelled. "Wait for me!"
Alex laughed at the sight.
Meanwhile, in the Ice Realm, Buzzsaw was still catching dragons.
"Jack and I are off on another scavenging run," Buzzsaw informed Ford and Winston. "Business has been booming since the arrival of the Death Dragon."
"Don't you think we've got enough of these things?" Ford asked.
"Enough?" said Buzzsaw, turning on him. "How do you expect me to build an empire of dragon goods like boots and dragon teeth jewellery if I rest on the laurels of enough?"
"You, uh, need us to go with you?" Winston asked.
"You two?" Buzzsaw scoffed. "Hunting has never been easier. The beast knocks them down, and I fly in behind and scoop them up. I'm better on my own."
He then made his way to Jack. Before he could mount him, Winston grabbed his arm.
"Wait a minute, boss," he said. "What if that thing comes back here while you're gone?"
"Yeah, the sound of all these dragons is like ringing the dinner bell," said Ford.
"Stop acting like a couple of mewling cowards," said Buzzsaw. "If it comes here, fight it off. Use the ballista."
Ford and Winston frowned at one another.
"The ballista?" Ford frowned.
"The giant harpoon firing weapon, you idiot," Buzzsaw snapped, turning his head towards the ballista. "It can blast that Death Dragon long before I get anywhere near you. Jack and I will be back soon." He then climbed onto Jack's saddle. "Come on, Jack."
They then took off, leaving behind a very concerned Ford and Winston.
Winston looked at the ballista and then looked at Ford. "Do you remember how that thing works?"
Ford shook his head, and they both turned towards Buzzsaw as he flew away in the distance.
The Dragon Riders were now surveying the Nature Realm, trying to find safe locations to relocate dragons.
"We need to find safe areas for each dragon," said Tom.
"Someplace with a lot of cover, maybe some thick foliage," D'Angelo suggested.
"So not there," said Alex, pointing ahead of them.
They looked down and saw what can only be described as a wasteland filled with dead plants.
"Oh, no," said Jun.
"Jörmungandr," said Tom.
They then flew down and landed on the ground.
"Spread out," Tom ordered. "There's got to be dragons down here that need our help."
They spread outward, and all they could really find were dead plants.
"Look at this," said D'Angelo as he knelt next to a batch of dead plants. "The World Serpent isn't just harming dragons; it's killing their environment."
"This is exactly as it's described in Norse mythology," said Jun. "Jörmungandr would poison land, water and air alike. His coming signified the end of all Nine Realms."
"Starting to understand why Hiccup decided to lock Jörmungandr away," said James. "Not only was he a danger to the Hidden World, but can you imagine the damage he would do if he ever got to the surface."
"Should have put down those extra sensors," said Eugene as he stood next to Alex.
Tom then heard a weak roar. "D! Over here."
Tom and D'Angelo immediately rushed towards the source of the raw and found an injured Deadly Nadder.
"Hey, hey. It's okay," said Tom gently. "We're here to help."
D'Angelo pulled out his first aid kit and made his way over to the Deadly Nadder, but in all honesty, it didn't look good.
"She's experiencing the same symptoms our dragons did when they were blasted by Jörmungandr," Jun noted.
"Yeah, but Wu Wei diluted that blast with their steam," said D'Angelo. "This Nadder wasn't so lucky."
"There's no sign of the other Nadders," said Tom. "They must have…"
Everyone looked at the sight with concern, and D'Angelo began to examine the Deadly Nadder.
"We need to get her back to the hospital now," he said.
"You heard Dr D. Let's move," said Tom.
Moments later, they were in the Dragon Hospital, and D'Angelo was working overtime on the Deadly Nadder.
"She's in bad shape," said D'Angelo. "It's best to let her rest."
"What would be best if we could defeat Jörmungandr," said Tom.
"Good luck with that," said Alex.
"Yeah, that thing is practically unstoppable," James agreed.
Eugene then approached Alex. "Gonzo, what if we…"
"If you're going to suggest more sensors, please stop right now," she said.
"Okay, you guys are your ideas first."
"What ideas?" said Tom frustratingly. "We can't take it in a straight fight. We tried Hiccup's way, and it failed."
"We'll think of something," Jun assured him. "We just need time." Tom smiled at her, and she smiled back until she remembered that they had broken up. "Or, you know, one of us will."
Tom smiled and immediately disappeared after that.
Then, suddenly, they heard yells outside.
They rushed outside to investigate and found Murray frozen in place by Jerry, who was running around frantically.
"Sorry, Murray," Pete apologised. "Jerry isn't normally aggressive. Have you had garlic recently? That triggers him. Don't worry, though. This happens all the time. It'll wear off… eventually."
"I'll get the antivenom," said D'Angelo, making his way back into the hospital.
Tom looked at Murray and then at ICARUS Station, and an idea began forming in his head.
"What are you thinking?" Jun asked, recognising the look.
"If we can hit Jörmungandr with a big dose of Speed Stinger venom, it could freeze him long enough to get him into the Gronckle Iron Gate," said Tom.
"That might work," said D'Angelo as he arrived at the antivenom. "But how do we get that much venom?"
"Yeah, genius," said Eugene. "If that was a good idea, why didn't the Vikings do it that way?"
"Because they didn't have a billion-dollar state-of-the-art lab at their disposal," Tom smiled, gesturing to ICARUS Station behind him.
"And a pair of the top biologists in the world," Alex added, and Eugene gave her a blank look. "My moms. I'm talking about my moms."
"Okay, sure," said Jun, looking a little concerned. "So we extract Stinger venom. Great. But how do we get close enough to inject it?"
"Yeah, I very much doubt he's gonna stand still for an injection," James agreed.
"Maybe we don't actually need to get close to it," said Tom and mounted Thunder. "Buzzsaw's got a long-range harpoon. A ballista. With that, we could hit the World Serpent half a mile away."
"That's actually not a bad idea," said Eugene. "A mile would be better, though."
Jun nodded. "Okay, you and I can go get Buzzsaw's blister and…"
"First post-breakup pairing!" Eugene snickered. "Buy some popcorn. It's going to get juicy."
"Oh, it's not just me and Tom," said Jun, grabbing Alex. "Alex will come, too."
"Yeah. Right," Tom agreed.
Alex looked at the two of them and walked away. "I want no part of this post-relationship awkward sandwich."
"Is not an awkward sandwich," said Jun, pulling her back. "It's a regular sandwich. It is only awkward if there are just two ingredients because what salmon just has two ingredients? No sandwich. Two slices of bread are technically two ingredients, right? But you need something in the middle, you know; otherwise, it is just a big pile of bread. So, really, Alex, you're like a big old slice of baloney."
Everyone just stared at Jun after a lengthy explanation.
"Wow," said Alex. "Never been referenced to as baloney before. I think D'Angelo might need my help."
She attended and made her way over to D'Angelo but was instantly pulled back by Jun.
"Nah, I'll be all good working with your moms on my own," said D'Angelo.
"And me. I'm not getting caught in the middle of all that," said Eugene.
James rolled his eyes. "I'll come with, I'll be the cheese in your regular sandwich."
"Thank you," said Alex gratefully.
"Great," said Tom. "The four of us are going to steal that ballista. You guys get the Stinger venom. Then we'll take down the World Serpent."
D'Angelo soon got suited up in his armour and wrestled with Jerry, trying to get him into the main lab.
"What's with the suit?" Peter asked, looking concerned.
"It's made of dragon scales, so it protects me from this guy's stings," said D'Angelo.
"What the heck, Pete?" said Eugene. "Relax with the questions, okay? Jerry is in good hands."
At that point, Jerry began slamming D'Angelo into the wall, trying to free him from his grip.
"I don't get it," said Pete, looking at Eugene in confusion. "Jerry is so small. How is he going to be able to stop that monster?"
"We're going to milk him!" Eugene smiled.
"Eugene, that's not the scientific term," said D'Angelo. "We're extracting its venom."
Jerry then attempted to strike him with his Stinger, nearly hitting Eugene in the process.
"Hey, watch it with that thing," said Eugene.
"It's okay, Jerry," said Pete, walking up to him and trying to calm him down. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay."
"Wow," said D'Angelo, impressed. "Way to go, Pete."
"Do you think I should be in there?" Pete asked.
"Nah, we've got this," said Eugene as he and D'Angelo made their way into the lab. "You wait outside. It's for the best if you don't see."
He then closed the door in front of Pete.
"I'll be right out here, Jerry," said Pete.
Tom and his group had infiltrated Buzzsaw's camp and were now looking for the ballista. However, Feathers appeared to be having a conversation with a caged Terrible Terror.
"Feathers, sh!" Alex hissed. "Keep it down. You're going to blow our cover."
"No sign of Buzzsaw or his stooges," said Jun.
"Looks like we arrived at the perfect time," said James.
"Not necessarily," said Tom, noting Ford and Winston's Gronckles.
"If they're here, Stupid and Stupider can't be far behind," said Alex.
"No sign of Jack, which could mean Buzzsaw is a home," said James.
"We should make sure it's clear," said Jun.
"Good idea," Tom smiled, walking up to her. "Just like old times playing spy."
"I've got this," said Jun. "Hang back with Alex."
"Oh, sure," said Tom, slightly disappointed.
"I'll be back soon," Jun promised.
"Right. Yeah. Good luck."
Jun then walked off, leaving Tom with James and Alex, and Tom sat down next to them.
"So, Alex, you're a girl," said Tom.
"You're very observant," James chuckled.
"And here I thought I was baloney," said Alex.
"Has Jun, like, asked about me at all?" Tom asked hopefully.
Alex groaned. "Why?"
"I just want to make sure she's doing okay… since the breakup," said Tom. "Is she sad? Does she have trouble sleeping? Not that I do or anything. I sleep fine. Like a baby. But does she? You know what? You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. Or if she told you not to say anything. Did she tell you not to say anything? Blink once for yes, two for no."
Alex groaned; this was exactly what she feared would happen if she went on a mission with those two.
James then placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I'll take it from here."
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
James looked at Tom. "Tom, I think the bigger question is, are you okay since the breakup? I know that you feel responsible for what happened."
"I broke her trust," he said solemnly. "And I'm not sure I'll ever get it back."
"Just own up to your mistakes and try to do better," James advised. "Or so these are questions you should be asking her, not us. I'm very certain that she still cares about you if the awkwardness between the two of you isn't any indication. Everyone has these rough patches, especially at the beginning of a relationship, so you're not alone."
Meanwhile, Jun was sneaking across the camp trying to find the ballista, Ford, and Winston. She managed to circle around the Gronckles without being noticed but was nearly hit by a harpoon when she looked around a tree.
The harpoon continued flying over the ground until it hit a rock, and she quickly pressed her body against the tree.
"All of them trees, you can't hit one of them," Ford laughed.
"What?" said Winston. "Oh, man. That's why it's called target practice. If I was good at it, I wouldn't need to practice now, would I."
They then began to search for the harpoon, but Jun remained absolutely quiet.
"Man, you see it?" Winston asked.
"No," said Ford. "Must out there somewhere."
Jun panicked as she heard the footsteps approaching the tree she was hiding behind.
"Oh, no," said Winston. "Well, we'd better find it. The boss comes back, and one arrow's missing; oh, man, we're dragon food."
Once they walked past the tree, Jun ran to return to the others.
Meanwhile, D'Angelo and Eugene were in the main lab, and Jerry was inside the office.
D'Angelo gave a sigh and closed the door before looking at Eugene. "Watch the door."
"You watch the door!" said Eugene.
D'Angelo then folded his arms and looked at him.
"Fine," Eugene groaned as he made his way to the door. "I'll watch it."
D'Angelo then approached Carla and Hazel, who set up their preparations.
"The centrifuge is programmed to run all the necessary parameters once the extraction is complete," said Hazel.
"I'll still need additional venom analysis," said Carla.
Hazel then handed D'Angelo a beaker. "But we are well on our way to start rapidly synthesising a large dose of Speed Stinger venom to take that nasty World Serpent down."
"What are all these tubes for?" Eugene asked, grabbing a few test tubes. "Is there actually anything on here?"
"You're supposed to be watching, Jerry!" D'Angelo reminded him.
"That's boring. He's in the other room, and the door is…"
They turned around and saw that the door was wide open and that there was no sign of Jerry.
"Uh-oh," said Eugene.
They looked around for him, and then suddenly Jerry tackled Eugene, making him drop all the test tubes he was holding.
"Keep him away from me!" Eugene yelled. "I don't want to get stung."
D'Angelo then quickly moved in and grabbed Jerry. "If you wore your armour like I told you, maybe…"
"Maybe you have no idea what that helmet does to my hair," said Eugene.
D'Angelo practically wrestled with Jerry and then began dragging him across the four.
"Go get Pete!" D'Angelo yelled.
Meanwhile, Tom and the others were still waiting for Jun.
"Anyway…" said Tom, making Alex groan. "I want things to be normal like they used to be, you know, but…"
"I'm afraid that ship has sailed; let's face it, nothing we do is normal," said James.
Feathers then sat up, and Tom saw that Jun was approaching.
"Sh, sh!" he hissed. "Jun's coming."
"Thank goodness," said Alex, relieved.
Jun arrived panting. "Okay, the good news is Buzzsaw's not here. The bad news is Ford and Winston are and they're messing around with the ballista."
"Great," said Alex as she rose to her feet. "Well, whatever we do to get it away from them, we should probably all go together to do it."
"Hold up," said Tom. "I've got an idea. Be right back."
"I could've sworn I said something," said Jun, looking at James.
James merely shrugged.
"What did you guys talk about while I was gone?" Jun asked. "Did Tom mention me?"
Alex groaned and then saw Feathers chirping at the Terrible Terror from earlier. "Feathers. Stop it with the Ice Terror chirping!"
"He did!" said Jun, looking at her and James. "What did he say? Is he okay? Is he… is he feeling sad?"
"Why don't you ask him?" Alex asked.
"Just because… Ah, I want to make him feel weird, you know?"
"So make us feel weird," said Alex. "Got it."
"Jun, Tom regretted how things ended between the two of you, and he's sorry that he betrayed your trust," said James. "You know Tom, when he sees dragons and shall we just can't help himself, he feels as if it's his responsibility, like he is carrying the entire world on his shoulders."
"But he's not. He has us," said Jun.
"I know, but you need to understand that just to Tom is. If he sees a dragon in trouble and knows that he has the power to save them, he's going to jump at the chance. Besides, I have a feeling you didn't mean everything you said to him about him being selfish."
"Okay, I didn't mean everything I said," Jun admitted. "But with him being focused on the World Serpent, I think we should get back together."
"Perhaps, but this awkwardness between the two of you is not healthy for anyone," said James.
Jun then saw Tom returning. "Wait, sh, sh. He's coming back. Don't say I said anything."
"No one's listening to me anyway," Alex muttered.
Tom then returned with a net. "Check it out."
"A dragon net?" Jun frowned.
"Yeah, but today, it's going to be used for something else."
Back at the lab, D'Angelo was not distracting the venom from Jerry while Pete was calming him down.
"Ah, who's the good big boy?" said Pete. "You're a good big boy! Yes, you are. Yes, you are."
"Pete, can you keep it down?" D'Angelo asked. "I'm trying to concentrate here."
"Pete! Callese la boca," Carla snapped.
"I'm calming Jerry's nerves," said Pete and looked back at Jerry. "Who's got their nerves calm?"
"Eugene, hold the tail," said D'Angelo, giving Jerry's tail to Eugene. "Beaker's full."
"You do," said Pete. "Yeah, my Jerry Berry. Who's the boo? You're the boo. Yes, you are. Yes, you are."
Eugene was getting a little sick of Pete and looked at him and then at Jerry's tail, which gave him an idea. D'Angelo was busy retrieving another beaker, and Pete stopped talking as he made his way back.
"Ah, thanks," said D'Angelo, taking Jerry's tail from Eugene.
"No problem," said Eugene.
"And thanks for keeping it down, Pete," said D'Angelo as he extracted more venom. "I appreciate it."
Pete had little choice in the matter, as Eugene had struck him with Jerry's tail, paralysing him.
"No problem," said Eugene, mimicking Pete's voice.
Meanwhile, Ford and Winston were still fiddling around with the ballista when they heard chirping.
"Wait a minute," said Ford as he looked up. "That ain't coming from the cages."
"It sounds like one of those little Terror Squawkers got out," said Winston.
"Oh, we'd better get it!" said Ford.
They quickly rushed over to the sound of the chirping, which was actually Feathers mimicking a Terrible Terror while hiding behind a tree with the others.
Tom then skidded and landed right next to Jun. "Traps all set?"
Jun looked at him awkwardly. "Ooh, could you maybe…?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry," said Tom, noticing how close he was to her. "I didn't mean to… I know you need…"
"No, you're standing on my foot," she said.
Tom looked down awkwardly. "Oh, uh, I can go next to James and Alex."
"Tom, just stay," said Jun. "It's fine."
"No, no, no, no," said Tom as he backed away. "It's cool. Let me just… I'll just scooch…"
Then, as he backed away, he stepped on a twig that snapped.
"Hear that?" said Ford as he and Winston heard the sound. "There it is."
"Are you two serious right now?" Alex groaned.
"Can't you two save this awkwardness when we're not on a mission," said James, facepalming himself.
"Okay, just let me…" said Tom, then slipped on the snow.
He skidded down and landed right in front of Ford and Winston.
"It's Dragon Book Boy!" said Winston.
Ford then noticed the others on the hill. "There's more of them. It's an ambush! Man, the ballista."
"Nice going, Kullersen," Jun groaned.
"Hey, you're the one that got all awkward about this," Tom pointed out.
"Me?"
James rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you guys are arguing about this now!"
Alex facepalmed herself. "Do we have to do everything?" She then quickly turned to their dragons. "Wu, Wei, Blade, Feathers. Stop them!"
The dragons quickly jumped into action, with Thunder landing on the ballista, and when Ford and Winston tried to run away, Feathers appeared right in front of them. Then, dropping a ride on top of them were Blade, Wu and Wei.
"Not exactly my plan, but I'll take it," said Tom.
"Was being totally awkward the plan?" Jun asked.
"Can you two the old, bickering married couple vibes?" Alex yelled. "Let's get the ballista and get out of here."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," said Winston. "Don't go."
"You've got to take us with you," Ford pleaded. "We surrender."
"Yeah, Buzzsaw's going to kill us when he sees that you stole his… harpoon thing."
"Let's release the caged dragons first," said Tom.
"You two get the ballista," said Alex. "We'll grab the goons."
Tom and Jun then ran towards the ballista, leaving Alex and James with Buzzsaw's henchmen.
They soon returned to ICARUS Station, where D'Angelo and Eugene met them.
"You're back," said Eugene. "How'd it go?"
"We got it!" said Tom.
"Oh, right," said D'Angelo. "I have good news, too. I have just enough Speed Stinger venom to incapacitate the serpent. I hope."
"We," Eugene corrected him. "We have enough venom. Team Eugangelo, baby. Up high."
He raised his palm, but D'Angelo was rather reluctant to high-five him. He was then pulled away when he heard the sound of machinery and certain yells. He and Eugene went to investigate and saw that Alex and James had hung Ford and Winston on a crane directly over the fissure.
"Help!" Winston yelled.
"You two stay put," said Alex.
"And try not to move if you know what's good for you," said James.
"Uh, what are they doing here?" D'Angelo asked as Alex and James landed on the landing pad.
"They've agreed to turn themselves in and own up to their mistakes," said Alex. "So I alerted Phil. They'll hang out until he gets them."
"When that might be, we don't know," said James.
Alex then high-fived Eugene.
"Buzzsaw didn't let us have very much breakfast this morning," said Ford.
"Yeah, have you got any human food?" Winston asked.
Alex's tablet beeped, and she saw that several sensors had just pinged into the Nature Realm.
"Jörmungandr's in the Nature Realm," said Alex.
"Sensors for all the win," said Eugene. He then raised his palm. "Team Eugonzom, up top." However, no one was rushing to high-five him, and he was forced to high-five himself.
"We've got to move fast," said Tom. "It's time to go serpent hunting."
Meanwhile, Buzzsaw had just returned to camp and discovered it was completely empty.
"Ford! Winston!" Buzzsaw roared. "Get out of here now."
However, he can only find their Gronckles, who are no longer wearing their harnesses. Buzzsaw approaches them, but they merely narrow their eyes and smile at him before walking off.
"Hey, wait!" he yelled as they flew off. "Someone is going to pay for this, Jack, and pay dearly."
In the Nature Realm, the Dragon Riders were getting ready; they had already found a good vantage point for the ballista.
Tom was looking for his binoculars and watched as Jörmungandr was now attacking a pack of Terrible Terrors.
"There it is," said Tom. "The plan is simple. You guys blast him, get his attention and draw him in." He then walked over to the ballista and grabbed the harpoon filled with Speed Stinger venom. "Once he's in range, I'll hit with this. When he's knocked out, we haul him back to his cage in the Dark Realm. Got it?"
"I miss the part where you explained why you get to stay back here," said Eugene.
"Why don't you worry about Eugene?" D'Angelo suggested.
"I am worrying about Eugene," Eugene argued. That thing is a brutal killer."
Apart from Tom, everyone mounted their dragons and made their way to Jörmungandr.
"Remember, you only get one shot at this, Kullersen," Jun reminded him and raised her fist. "Make it count."
Tom bumped fists with her, and she quickly mounted Wu and Wei and went after the others.
"Okay, Riders," said Jun once they were in range. "Here we go. Remember, hit them fast and get out of there."
"Oh, I won't forget that second part," Eugene assured her.
"Wu, Wei, blast that snake," said Jun.
Wu and Wei then unleashed their ice and heat breath attacks.
"Bombs away, girl!" D'Angelo yelled, and Plowhorn fired her loopie bombs.
"Open fire, Blade!" James yelled, and Blade fired his flame missiles.
Their attack struck Jörmungandr, and Alex added a sonic blast from Feathers for good measure.
"He heard that!" said Alex.
Jörmungandr then turned toward Eugene.
"Hit it, let's go, Webs," said Eugene.
Webmaster fired at Jörmungandr, who then swung his tail straight at them.
"Look out!" Eugene yelled as they moved out of the way.
"Time to bug out, team!" D'Angelo yelled.
Then, they quickly started to fly towards the cliff, where Tom mounted the ballista, and Jörmungandr began to follow them.
"It's working," said Eugene. "The World Serpent's taking the bait. Oh, wait, we're the bait. Oh, this sucks!"
"You get used to it," D'Angelo shrugged.
"Everybody, watch a distance," said Jun. "We can't get too far ahead."
"Jun's right," said D'Angelo. "We need to be close enough to keep interested, but, you know, out of eating distance."
On the cliff, Tom watched as the Riders brought Jörmungandr towards him.
"There they are," he said. "Good work, team."
The Riders continued to lead Jörmungandr to the cliff, and he began knocking down trees as he slithered across the ground.
"Almost there," said Jun.
However, Jörmungandr immediately came to a stop, no doubt realising that he was being lured.
"What's it doing?" Alex asked.
"What's he waiting for?" Tom frowned in confusion.
Jörmungandr looked at them suspiciously and began to slither back
"It senses something," said Jun.
"Or suspect something," said James.
"It must know it's being lured into a trap," said D'Angelo.
"It's impossible," said Eugene. "Dragons aren't that smart."
Webmaster snarled at him.
"Except for Webs," Eugene added.
"It makes sense," said D'Angelo. "Jörmungandr remembered the staff and how it was trapped."
"Oh, so glad we're about to be eaten by the world's smartest dragon," said Alex.
Jörmungandr then began to slither away.
"We're losing it!" Jun yelled. "We have to do something."
"Maybe if we make him angry," said James. "People don't often think straight when they're angry."
"Come on, Feathers," said Alex.
Alex then flew straight towards Jörmungandr.
"Alex!" D'Angelo yelled.
Jörmungandr saw Alex come in and immediately snarled at her.
"Feathers!" Alex yelled.
Feathers then unleashed a powerful sonic blast at Jörmungandr, who tried to snap at her. However, she was able to dodge his attacks, continued unleashing sonic blasts, and began guiding him back towards the cliff.
Eugene looked immensely impressed. "Gonzo, that was…"
Alex then shot right past him. "I know. I'm awesome. Let's go."
The other Riders saw that Jörmungandr was closing in, and they quickly followed her towards the cliff.
"Here they come, pal," said Tom as he manned the ballista. "This is it."
"Do it, Tom!" Jun yelled as she flew overhead.
"Don't mess this up, Kullersen!" Eugene yelled.
Tom aimed carefully at Jörmungandr, waiting for it to get as close as possible, and aimed. Then suddenly, he heard screaming and saw Buzzsaw flying down towards him like a maniac. Thunder attempted to stop him, but Jack tackled him. Buzzsaw jumped off Jack and landed on the ballista, tackling Tom.
This caused Tom to misfire, and the harpoon filled with Speed Stinger venom hit Jörmungandr's side. However, his scales were too hard in a particular area, so they bounced off and hit the ground.
"No!" Jun cried.
Tom pushed Buzzsaw off of him and looked at him furiously. "Buzzsaw, you idiot! That was our only chance."
Buzzsaw ignored him and grabbed his shoulders. "Nobody trashes Buzzsaw's camp, steals his weapons, and gets away with it. Nobody! I'm going to enjoy making you suffer."
He stopped when he heard a loud growling sound behind him, and a giant shadow covered him and Tom. He turned around and saw Jörmungandr looking down at him angrily. Tom quickly backed away, leaving Buzzsaw alone beside the ballista.
"Wait, wait, it wasn't me!" Buzzsaw panicked. "I didn't…"
Jörmungandr roared at him furiously, not interested in his explanations. Buzzsaw quickly ran for it and mounted Jack.
"Jack, get us out of here!" he yelled. "Go, go!"
Jack took off, and Jörmungandr began to follow the Dragon Riders watched. To say Tom was devastated by the entire department would have been an understatement.
"It wasn't your fault," said Jun.
"Let's go home," said Tom, walking past the others.
Jun sighed, knowing that Tom blamed himself for the entire thing.
The Riders soon returned to ICARUS Station, where Alex's mothers met them.
"How'd it go, milja?" Carla asked.
Alex looked at them, shook her head, and then gave them a big hug.
"Don't feel bad, Alex," said Eugene. "Our part of the mission went perfectly. Kullersen, on the other hand…" He then looked at Tom, who looked crestfallen. "Well, he did his best."
"The dragons need to stay up here for the time being," said D'Angelo. "It's not safe for them down there."
"At least until we can come up with another way to tackle the World Serpent," said James.
Tom then walked away.
"Tom," said Jun.
Tom gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Jun, but I don't want to talk about it. Or anything else."
The Riders looked at Tom concerned, unable to think of anything to say to cheer him up.