It had been several weeks since Buzzsaw's attack on the town, and it took a lot of convincing for the Riders to convince their parents to let them return to the Realms. D'Angelo was also permitted to set up the dragon hospital in the infirmary, where he tended to injured dragons.

"There you go, little guy," said D'Angelo to a Vine Tail. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just want to make sure that cut is healing properly." He then checked the dragon's wing. "Ah, looks pretty good. Could use a dab of antibacterial ointment, though. Nurse Plow?"

Plowhorn made her way to the ointment but accidentally knocked over several gurneys and not some trays.

"That's okay, girl," D'Angelo laughed as he grabbed one of the trays that held the ointment. "I got it."

Plowhorn attempted to pick up the water drip, but it slipped from her mouth.

"Sometimes it's not easy having a giant horn on the front of your head," said D'Angelo as he applied the ointment onto the Vine Tail. "Here we go. Now, you just need a little more rest, and then it's back to the lush landscape of the Nature Realm."

He placed the Vine Tail on a bed and examined his other patients, a Snowtail and a Terrible Terror.

"D'Angelo?" said his father's booming voice.

"Pop!" said D'Angelo and saw him enter the ward.

"Here you are, I should've guessed," he said disapprovingly.

"Check it out," said D'Angelo, proudly gesturing to his dragon hospital. "The Dragon Hospital is really coming along. This is the new healing centre where my patients can rest and recharge."

"Uh-huh," said his father, not looking too impressed. "That's nice, but…"

"This is our double gurney for my more robust dragons," said D'Angelo as he continued showing off his work.

"D, listen, I…"

"And over here is where I keep the cutting-edge homoeopathic treatments I've been developing from the Hidden Realms. You think they should be alphabetised?"

"D'Angelo!" his father yelled at the top of his voice. "Do I have to remind you about Buzzsaw, the hatchet-wielding lunatic with the giant dragon who attacked a town a few weeks back?"

"Of course not," said D'Angelo. "I just…"

"As head of security, it's my job to keep everyone around here safe, and I need you as my First Lieutenant."

"First Lieutenant?" D'Angelo frowned. "But, Dad, this hospital is really important."

"Not as important as securing the facility. You're spending way too much time here playing Dragon Doctor! Now, I need you out in the field setting up sensors and patrolling the perimeter."

"But I need to keep an eye on my patients," D'Angelo argued.

"Playtime is over," said his father stubbornly. "The more eyes we have watching for Buzzsaw, the better. Do you read me, son?"

"Loud and clear," said D'Angelo, crestfallen as his father walked away.

In the Dragon Lair, Tom and Jun were practising taking out Buzzsaw and his men by flying around and knocking down cardboard cutouts of Tom.

"Woohoo!" Tom cried. "Come on, Pal. Let's do this." Thunder then head-butted one of the cardboard cutouts. "Yeah! Not close Dragon Hunters of their dragons!"

Thunder continued flying around, knocking out a cardboard cutout of the cardboard cutout.

Jun then swooped in, and Wu grabbed one of the cardboard cutouts, tossing it aside.

"Wei! This one's all ours!" said Jun. "Clean him and fry him!"

Wei then incinerated one of the cardboard cutouts with his heat blast.

"Hey! Hey!" said Tom, flying up to them. "We're supposed to be knocking the Hunters off their dragons. You incinerated me!"

"Just keeping you on your toes, Kullersen," Jun smiled. "And where did these Tom standees come from anyway?"

"My mom," he said. "It's a long story."

They laughed as they landed.

"Speaking of your mom, I can't believe she trusts you enough to let you go back to the Realms now that she knows about Buzzsaw," said Jun, surprised as they dismounted their dragons.

"Come on, I'm her son. Of course, she trusts me," he said, and Jun raised an eyebrow. "Okay, it took a lot of convincing. And she probably trusts Thunder more than she trusts me, but whatever, that works, too!"

James, Alex and Eugene then arrived.

"Look at this, guys," said Eugene dryly. "Shocker. Jun and Kullersen sneaking off again."

"We're just getting a jumpstart on training," said Jun.

"Mm-hm," said Alex, not convinced.

"Clearly," said Eugene.

"You two have been getting a jumpstart on training quite recently," James noted.

"Where's D?" Tom asked, wanting to change the subject. "It's time for us to plan a raid on Buzzsaw's camp. We need to get the dragon book back and free those captured dragons once and for all."

"Ah, so you can finally clear your conscience?" said Eugene. "Since, you know, you're the one who handed Buzzsaw the dragon book in the first place." This earned him a few glares from the others, and Alex punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"Tom did it to save Thunder's life, Eugene," Jun reminded him.

"And if the situations had been reversed, you would have done the same thing for Webmaster," James added.

"Okay, sure," said Eugene.

D'Angelo then arrived on Plowhorn, but he didn't look particularly happy. In fact, he looked downright miserable.

"D! Just in time," said Tom.

"You okay?" Jun asked.

"I'm fine," D'Angelo lied.

"You don't look fine," Alex noted. "You look deflated."

"Is something bothering you?" James asked.

"It's nothing," D'Angelo assured them.

"Okay. In that case, let's plan the raid on Buzzsaw," said Tom. "If we can hit his camp this afternoon…"

"I don't think I can go today," said D'Angelo.

"What?" Tom stared. "What do you mean you can't go? We need you."

"Let me guess," said Eugene, resting his arm on his shoulder. "You're too busy working on your new boring dragon hospital?"

Jun, James and Alex then punched him.

"Ow!" he snapped. "What did I say?"

"Helping injured dragons isn't boring, Eugene!" D'Angelo yelled furiously. "And yes, I have patients in my care. I need to keep an eye on them."

"But getting the book back from Buzzsaw is important, D'Angelo," said Tom.

"The dragon hospital is important too!" he snapped. "Why can't anyone understand that?"

Everyone was a little taken aback by D'Angelo.

"Just forget it," he said as he made his way to Plowhorn. "I have to do my rounds."

"D," said Tom.

"I'll see you guys later," he said and looked down at Plowhorn. "Come on, girl."

Plowhorn then took off.

"I don't know about you guys, but if D'Angelo's going to be that much of a downer, I'm glad he left," said Eugene and then laughed. "Can I get a yup-yup?!"

Everyone glared at him, and then he punched himself in the arm.

"Okay. I deserve that," he said.

Tom looked at James. "What do you think is the matter with D?"

"I don't know what I'm willing to bet it's his Dad," James assumed. "You remember how furious he was with us for keeping Buzzsaw a secret."

Later that night, Philip was sound asleep in bed when his sensor alarm went off, waking him up.

"D'Angelo! Code red!" he yelled as he got out of bed. "Could be Buzzsaw! Move, move, move!"

D'Angelo then got out of bed and soon joined his father.

They grabbed a couple of quad bikes and reached the sensor.

"Stay on my wheels, D," said Philip.

Eventually, he stopped and signalled D'Angelo to stop as well.

"Remember what I taught you," he said, looking at him. "The Ranger always expects the unexpected."

They then moved out in separate directions, trying to be as quiet as possible, but so far, they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But then suddenly heard a noise which didn't sound like a woodland creature and immediately drove towards it for throttle.

"I got you now!" he yelled.

Suddenly, he struck something and flipped across the ground with his quad bike.

"Pop!" D'Angelo cried as he stopped and rushed over to help. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said as he got up. "I must've hit something."

That something turned out to be a damaged sensor.

"I knew it!" said Philip when he saw it. "Someone's been messing with those sensors."

They then heard the shrieks Philip had heard earlier, which sounded like they were coming from the bushes.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh," Philip whispered and pulled out his torch.

They slowly went to investigate, but when Philip shone his torch at the source of the noise, they discovered that it was a Hobgobbler.

"A Hobgobbler?" D'Angelo blinked.

They then noticed that it seemed to be choking.

"Oh, no!" D'Angelo cried, picking him up. "He's choking! How do you give a dragon the Heimlich?"

"Here," said Philip, grabbing the Hobgobbler. He then gave one good pat on its rear end and immediately spat up a piece of the damaged sensor from earlier.

"Guess we know what's been chewing on the sensors," said Philip, slightly annoyed and growled at the Hobgobbler. "These things are a menace!"

He then saw that the Hobgobbler was giving him a strange look.

"Whoa, why is it looking at me like that?" he asked D'Angelo. "Is it dead?"

"No," said D'Angelo. "It… It must still be disoriented." He then took the Hobgobbler away from him. "Here. Let me see him."

Philip watched as D'Angelo looked the Hobgobbler over. "Is he going to be all right?"

"I'm not sure," said D'Angelo. "He might've injured his oesophagus." The Hobgobbler then suddenly screeched and squirmed in his hands. "Whoa, whoa! No, no, no! Be careful, be careful!"

He then dropped him and then began to nuzzle Philip's leg affectionately.

"Now, now, calm down, dragon, or you might hurt yourself more than you already have," said Philip, picking him up. The Hobgobbler cooed and then flew up and rested on his shoulders. "What? Hey! Get this thing off of me!"

"We need to get into the Dragon Hospital STAT so I can run more tests," said D'Angelo. "Something's not right."

"Fine," said Philip, handing him the dragon. "You take him."

However, just as he walked away, the dragon flew out of D'Angelo's hands and perched on top of his head. D'Angelo couldn't help but laugh, but his father was not in a lapping mood.

They finally made it to the dragon hospital, where D'Angelo examined the Hobgobbler, which wasn't easy as he kept squirming out of his hands.

"So, what's the word?" Philip asked, grabbing some ointment.

"His oesophagus is okay, but…" said D'Angelo, touched the little dragon's front right leg, and he winced in pain. "…it looks like he has a sprained leg and a sprained wing. He must've tangled with something before he choked."

"Well, whatever he fought with, he took out his frustration on my perimeter sensor," said Philip, putting the ointment back on the tray.

"I'll need to keep them for observation for a few days, make sure he can fend for himself before returning him to the wild," D'Angelo informed him.

"Might be time to restrict dragons from being in town," Philip grumbled. "Then you won't have to waste your days in this hospital. You will be on the front lines where you belong…"

"Dad, no," said D'Angelo, rising to his feet.

"All these dragon distractions and sensor issues are leaving the station vulnerable to attacks from Buzzsaw."

"Buzzsaw is one of the reasons this dragon hospital is so important! You can't shut it down!"

"D'Angelo. Now is not the time to have this conversation," said Philip. "I'd like to get a little shuteye before my day starts all over again. So, can you please finish up with your little pal so we can get to bed?"

The two of them then walked away from one another, with D'Angelo carrying the Hobgobbler to the beds. However, the Hobgobbler looked over D'Angelo's shoulder and looked at Philip.

"I'll be back in a few hours," said D'Angelo, the blanket over the little dragon. "Try to get some sleep."

D'Angelo then left the hospital.

Early that morning, Tom arrived at the Dragon Lair and woke Thunder.

"Hey, Pal," he said.

"This had better be important, Tommy," said Eugene as he and the other Riders, minus D'Angelo, climbed their way down into the Lair. "I don't need beauty sleep, but I sure do enjoy it."

"It is a little early for a Dragon Rider meeting," Jun admitted.

"Sorry, guys. I couldn't sleep," Tom apologised.

"That makes one of us," said Alex.

"Where's D'Angelo?" Jun asked, noting his absence.

"Still in bed if he's smart," James yawned.

"Um, I didn't invite him," said Tom.

"You didn't invite him, like, intentionally?" Alex asked.

"D'Angelo is completely wrapped up in his new dragon hospital right now, and I totally respect that, but every day Buzzsaw has that book is another dangerous day for dragons," said Tom.

"What are you saying, Tom?" Jun asked.

"I'm saying we should raid Buzzsaw's camp without D and Plow," said Tom.

Everyone stared at him and gasped.

"Why not?!" Tom frowned. "There's five of us and three of them. We can do it! And Jun and I have been training on the side."

"Tom, we're a team, remember?" Alex reminded him. "No Rider left behind?"

"This is different."

"For an attack on Buzzsaw like that, we need to be at full strength," Jun argued.

"Listen to my sister, Tommy boy," said Eugene. "She's weird, but she's smart."

"I'm with Jun, too," said James. "D'Angelo is our medic; it's not a good idea to attack without him, and Plow is our strongest dragon. Without those two, we'll be in a much weaker position against Buzzsaw."

"Okay," said Tom. "W-What if instead of going in dragons blazing, we do it covertly? Create some kind of distraction and then sneak in and get the book? He'll never even know we're there."

They all looked at one another, clearly still unhappy with this idea.

"Come on," Tom pleaded. "I-I need this."

Jun sighed. "Okay, Tom."

"But if things start to go sideways, we book out of there," said Alex.

"If?!" said Eugene. "'Sideways' is Kullersen's middle name."

"I'm still not happy about this, but I'm in," said James.

Back in his dome, Philip was fast asleep; he rolled over and was awakened to hear a noise. He opened his eyes and jumped as staring at him was the Hobgobbler, who then licked him.

"D'Angelo!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

After getting dressed, he handed D'Angelo the Hobgobbler.

"Get this thing out of this house!" he ordered.

"I can't believe he snuck out of the hospital and found his way here," said D'Angelo. "I've never seen this kind of devotion from a Hobgobbler before."

Philip was about to sit at the table, but when he moved the chair back, he found the Hobgobbler sitting on it.

"What?" Philip stared.

Angela laughed. "Look. He likes you, Philip."

"I would think you'd be more upset," he said, looking at her. "He did steal your spot in the bed."

"Of course he did," she smiled. "I left it nice and warm."

D'Angelo's eyes widened. "This Hobgobbler must have had a moment with you after you saved them from choking. A connection was made!"

Philip then looked back at the Hobgobbler, tipped him out of the chair, and sat down on it. "Nothing was made. A sensor was broken. Now, I don't care about all this dragon mumble jumbo. I need him gone."

D'Angelo then watched as the little dragon rubbed against his father's leg. "You know, Pop, the Hobgobbler's recovery might go faster if he stays here with us. Then I can give them round-the-clock care."

"Absolutely not," said his father stubbornly as he read his book. "You know your mother's allergic to cats. Probably allergic to dragons, too."

"Nope, I'm fine," said Angela as she ate some toast.

"Well, I have a 'no pet' rule, so…"

"He's not a pet; he's a patient," D'Angelo pointed out.

"The dome is too small to have…"

"Come on, Philip," said Angela. "He's really cute. It might be nice to have a little dragon around here for a few days."

Philip looked at them as they both smiled at him and knew instantly that he was outnumbered.

After that, he made his way to the bathroom to shave.

"The two of them double-teaming me; that's what happened," he grumbled as he implied his shaving cream. "Not a fair fight. All I know is, D had better clean up after that thing cos if I step in dragon poop, I'm going to…"

He then heard the sound of a dragon noise and jumped back when he saw the Hobgobbler sitting in the wash basin with shaving cream over its face.

"Oh…" he growled and tried to grab them.

Sadly, the Hobgobbler they were playing with began jumping around the bathroom.

"Get over here now!" Philip ordered as he chased him around. "You slippery little wiggler! D'Angelo!"

D'Angelo winced as he saw the mess and slowly backed away into his bedroom.

Philip then began making his rounds and approached Pete as he inserted new sensors to replace the ones that had been damaged.

"How are we looking, Pete?" he asked as he got off his quad bike.

"Spectacular, Chief," said Pete.

"Once you get this sensor activated, we'll run a check to make sure Buzzsaw…" He stopped when he noticed that Pete wasn't looking at him. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, uh, yes, it… Chief, it's just…"

Pete then pointed behind him, and when Philip turned to look, he found the Hobgobbler sitting on his quad bike, drooling all over it. That wasn't bad enough; his jaw immediately ignited upon contact with the bonnet of the quad bike.

"D'Angelo!" Philip yelled.

D'Angelo was currently hiding behind a tree and saw the entire thing.

Philip then returned to his dome for lunch.

"Yo?" he said, looking around the living room for any trace of the Hobgobbler. He kept looking every nook and cranny, but it appeared he wasn't there. "All right. Peace. Quiet. And lunch!"

He then opened the fridge and saw that the Hobgobbler was inside eating his lunch.

"No," said Philip, horrified. The little dragon merely burped, and the whole kebab of sweetcorn fell out of his mouth. "Not my taco meatloaf!"

The Hobgobbler then jumped at him and began licking him constantly.

"Get off me, you lunch thief!" he yelled as he fended him off.

Philip had now reached his limit and immediately placed the Hobgobbler outside. "Consider yourself dishonourably discharged. Have a nice life."

He then made his way back inside and slammed the door shut.

The Hobgobbler looked upset and then limped away.

In the Ice Realm, Buzzsaw was feeding Jack at his face while looking through the Book of Dragons.

"I'll tell you this much, Jack," he said. "Whatever idiots wrote this book in this crazy old-timely language sure knew a lot about dragons."

Jack then notched the feeding bowl, informing Buzzsaw that he was still hungry.

"Still hungry?" Buzzsaw smiled and tossed him another fish. "Here you go. When you're done, maybe we'll take an afternoon flight."

Unbeknownst to him, Tom was observing him through his binoculars.

"He's alone, and he's got the book," Tom informed the others.

"Let me see that," said Eugene, taking the binoculars from him. "If by alone you mean he's sitting right next to that giant dragon, you're right."

"You know it's not too late to go back to the Lair, sit in the hot springs, plan a future that doesn't involve death and dismemberment," said Alex.

Tom took the binoculars from Eugene and looked back at Buzzsaw. He then saw him demanding Jack and took off, leaving the Book of Dragons next to a tree.

"Now's our chance," said Tom. "I'll sneak in and grab it alone."

He then handed Jun his binoculars and began to make his way into the encampment.

"Tom…" said Jun.

"I'll be fine," Tom assured her. "You guys just… just keep your eyes open and cover me."

He then continued to make his way to the encampment.

Philip was sitting back at the table and began writing something down.

"Eat all my tocco meatloaf…" he grumbled.

"Hey, Pop," said D'Angelo as he entered the dome. "I've been looking for you. Figured you might be having lunch." He then saw his father writing something down. "What are you doing?"

"Signing an edict banning dragons in Rakke Town and shuttering your little hospital," he said.

"No. Dad! You… You can't!" said D'Angelo.

"I can, and I did. These dragons are a nuisance, D'Angelo. And the only service a distraction from the real threat."

"Dad, please," D'Angelo pleaded. "I-I thought if the Hobgobbler stayed with us, you would see how loving and loyal dragons can be." He then reached out a place to handle his father's shoulder. "You just need more time to…"

"Sorry, D," he said, brushing away his hand. "Time is up."

D'Angelo then noticed that the Hobgobbler wasn't around. "Wait. Where's the Hobgobbler?"

"I put him outside, where animals belong."

D'Angelo gasped and immediately went outside, but there was no sign of the Hobgobbler.

"I don't know what the problem is," said Philip as he stepped outside. "I'm sure he just went home."

D'Angelo turned around and glared at him. "The problem is his leg and his wing haven't healed yet. He'll be defenceless within the Realms and easily picked off."

"Well, I…" He then stopped and realised the consequences of his actions. "… didn't think of that."

D'Angelo then smelled something burning and saw small traces of fire on the ground. It didn't take long to realise that it was the Hobgobblers burning through, and there was a trail of it.

"Follow the drool," said D'Angelo. "He went that way!"

D'Angelo then ran off before his father could stop him. His father's side reluctantly followed him out of town.

They followed the trail until they reached the entrance to the Ice Realm.

"Just as I thought," said D'Angelo. "He's heading back to the dragon world. There is no time to get Plowhorn. I'm climbing down."

He began making his way to the hole, but his father stopped him. "Just stop right there, D'Angelo. You know the rules. No lone wolf missions. I'm coming with you."

D'Angelo was a little surprised but nodded.

D'Angelo began to climb his way to, and his father offered him a hand to help. However, D'Angelo narrowed his eyes, and he refused to take it. Philip sighed and began to climb down after him.

Meanwhile, Tom carefully approached the Book of Dragons, ensuring Buzzsaw's men wouldn't spot him. Jun observed him through the binoculars and watched as he got to the tree with the book he was leaning against.

"Okay," she said. "He has a clear path. He's going for it."

Tom then grabbed the book.

"Look, I'm just saying, Buzzsaw likes Jack more than he likes us," said Winston's voice.

"Buzzsaw likes paper cuts more than he likes us," Ford pointed out.

Ford then heard a rustling noise caused by Tom when he hid behind the tree.

"Shh!" he hissed and went to investigate. "You hear something?"

At the same time, D'Angelo and Philip had just entered the Ice Realm, and Philip just stared in amazement at the surroundings.

"So, this is the dragon world," he said, astonished as he watched several dragons fly by. "You were right, D. It's amazing."

"Stay on task," said D'Angelo as he examined the ground. "You look for predators while I look for tracks."

"Attaboy!" said Philip proudly. "An Army Ranger never deviates from the mission. Now…"

"That's what this is all really about, isn't it?" said D'Angelo, turning to face him. "Banning dragons? Shutting down the hospital? You only pretended to support my passion, but the truth is, you hate the fact that I want to be an animal vet and not an army vet."

"That's ridiculous!" he said, and D'Angelo raised an eyebrow. "Okay, yes. I thought all this animal stuff was just a phase, that you would ultimately follow in my footsteps."

"I knew it! I knew it!" D'Angelo yelled frustratingly.

"But you've got to understand, D, my job as a father is to help you reach your potential."

"Then start helping me. I have the potential to become a great veterinarian!"

They stopped the argument when they heard a familiar squeal. When they turned round the corner, they saw the injured Hobgobbler limping away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said D'Angelo, rushing over to him. "Where are you going, little guy?"

"Come on," said Philip as he reached out to him. "We got to get you someplace safe."

The Hobgobbler then snapped at him, clearly not forgiving him for casting him outside in the first place.

"So, that's how it's going to be," said Philip.

They then heard a roar, and D'Angelo recognised it.

"That's a Speed Stinger," he said.

"A what, now?" Philip asked as D'Angelo picked up the little dragon.

"It's a dragon," D'Angelo explained. "Very fast. Potent venom. We have to find cover now."

They then saw something rushing past and slowly backed away.

"There!" said Philip, pointing at the tree behind them.

Tom, meanwhile, was still hiding behind the tree as Buzzsaw's men closed in.

Ford thought he saw something behind a tree and went to investigate, but he found nothing. He then returned to Winston, and the two of them decided that they had just heard things.

Tom had circled around the tree that Ford looked behind and emerged still holding the Book of Dragons.

"Phew!" he said and then quickly dashed off.

It was moving too fast. It wasn't watching when he was going. Then he tripped over some wires with bells attached. He instantly tripped, and the book fell out of his hands, but still, the bells jingled, alerting Frod and winced into his presence.

"Intruder!" Ford yelled.

"Fire at will!" said Winston as they grabbed some crossbows.

"Uh-oh," said Tom.

He then quickly dashed towards the book, but an arrow shot right in front of him before he could grab it. He saw Ford and Winston, who began firing their crossbows, pinning him down.

Ford chuckled as he aimed at Tom and fired. However, a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere, destroying the hour before it made contact with Tom. Thunder then swooped in and grabbed him up into the air.

"Wait! Pal! The book!" Tom yelled, looking back.

"I think this qualifies as going sideways, Kullersen!" Eugene yelled as he pulled up next to him.

"And it's just about to get worse. Look, was joining the party!" James added.

Tom looked down and saw that Buzzsaw had returned with Jack.

"Middle schoolers! Didn't know we were playing today," he said and then jumped off Jack. "Boys! It's time for the secret weapon!"

Ford and Winston then ran off and returned with a ballista. Tom gasped as Buzzsaw aimed it straight at them.

"Hey, lightning bird!" Buzzsaw smirked. "Zap this!"

He then fired the bolt straight at them.

"Look out!" Tom yelled quickly, shoving Alex away.

However, this resulted in her being thrown off Feathers.

"Alex!" Jun yelled.

Tom flew down in court Alex before she hit the ground. "Retreat Riders. Retreat!"

They quickly flew away, and Buzzsaw bent down to retrieve the Book of Dragons.

"I don't have to read the words in order to follow the pictures!" he yelled at them. "Come back anytime, middle schoolers. You're always welcome!"

D'Angelo and his father hid behind a tree, watching for the Speed Stinger.

"Hmm. So what do you know about this Speed Stinger dragon?" Philip asked.

"I know I have an antivenom for their stings back at the hospital, but that doesn't really help us now," said D'Angelo.

Philip looked at him, surprised. "You, um… You developed an antivenom?"

"Yes. With Dr Kullersen's help."

"Look, D, I just think you would make a better…"

"I have my own life. My own goals," D'Angelo snapped. "A person doesn't need to wear a Ranger pin on their shirt to make a difference or have honour."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

They were then interrupted by the sound of the Speed Stinger's roar and then saw a shadow in the distance.

"It found us," said D'Angelo.

"We have to go!" said Philip.

They quickly ran for it, but suddenly, the Speed Stinger blocked their path.

"Run, D'Angelo! Save yourself!" Philip yelled.

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"Go!" Philip yelled.

D'Angelo reluctantly ran away, leaving Philip to tangle with the Speed Stinger.

"All right, dragon," he said as he took a fighting stance. "You're messing with the wrong, Ranger. You want to tussle… let's tussle."

The Speed Stinger then head-butted him, and he collided with an ice wall.

"Dad!" D'Angelo cried as he looked back.

The Speed Stinger then approached Philip, who was winded by the blow, but before it attacked, it cried out in pain. Philip was confused when he looked down and saw that the Hobgobbler had bit down on its tail. D'Angelo rushed towards him, and they stared as the little dragon pulled the Speed Stinger back.

The Speed Stinger screeched painfully as it fell on its back and ran away the moment the Hobgobbler released it. He then hobbled his way over towards Philip and jumped into his arms.

"You… saved my life," said Philip shocked.

"I told you, Pop," said D'Angelo. "They're loyal. Just like the Rangers."

"I guess… if you want to stay with us until you're healed up, that's fine by me," said Philip, looking down at the little dragon.

The Hobgobbler roared excitedly.

"But you're going to have to sleep in D'Angelo's room," he said and then saw that D'Angelo was approaching the Speed Stinger, which was currently licking the wound on its tail. "Wait, D…"

"Shh," D'Angelo hissed and approached the Speed Stinger, which growled at him. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to check on that injured tail."

The Speed Stinger growled at him suspiciously and sniffed him. It then pulled its tail towards D'Angelo, who then pulled out the ointment and rubbed it on the tail. Philip watched the entire thing and couldn't help but feel proud.

Later that afternoon, they returned to the Dragon Hospital to tend to the wounded after Tom's botched mission.

"Don't worry, guys," said D'Angelo. "These are all superficial wounds."

"You hear that, Feathers?" Alex smiled, hugging her. "You're super."

"Pop passed me the anti-inflammatory ointment," said D'Angelo.

"You got it, Dr D," said his father, tossing him the ointment.

"I am sure glad that we have this dragon hospital," said Tom. "You were right, D. It is important."

"Wouldn't be as necessary if Kullersen didn't almost lead us to our doom," said Eugene and Jun punched him.

"Seriously, Tom, you should have waited for Plow and me," said D'Angelo, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, okay," said Tom. "You're right. And now that Buzzsaw has reinforced his camp, we're going to have to figure out another way to get the book."

They then all watched as the Hobgobbler played around with Philip, who laughed.

"Looks like you got a new friend, Chief," Jun noted. "What's his name?"

Philip pondered for a moment. "Hobs. I'm going to build him a perch on top of the big dome so he can be our lookout dragon."

"That is a great idea, Pops," said D'Angelo.

"The more eyes we have watching out for Buzzsaw, the better," he said, and Hobs fell on the floor and ignited. The Philip then quickly started out with his boot. "I just hope he doesn't burn this place to the ground."

He then chuckled as he walked away.