Chapter 5: The Jungles
The Trux and Tools have decided to take a trip outside the Crater to explore the outside lands. "Ty, I don't get what we're doing leaving the crater." Dozer said. "It's simple, Dozer. We're taking our first trip to the outside of the Crater." Ty said. "He's right. We have to explore what else lies out there beyond the crater." Revvit said. "Oh, dude! I love a brand-new adventure! Woo-hoo!" Ton-Ton cheered as he drove wildly across the land. "I don't know, Ty. Remember how well we did the first time we traveled outside the Crater? The North, the Outlands, the Endless Desert, and the Dark Forest?" Skya asked. "Sure. I always considered those places quite an adventure." Ty said.
The Trux stopped at the bridge. "Here we go, Trux. You ready for a new adventure?" Ty asked. "I'm ready!" Click-Clack cheered. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Click-Clack, you're excited for taking a new adventure outside the Crater?" Waldo asked. "Why not? So many new fears to discover and conquer." Click-Clack said. "Well, you heard the Tool. Let's Trux it up!" Ty cheered. The Trux cheered as they crossed the bridge and drove out into the unknown territories.
A while later, the Trux and Tools had just entered an unknown region filled with jungles. "Look at this place." Skya said. "Where are we? Another forest?" Dozer asked. "No. It appears to be a jungle. Jungles are lands covered in dense forests and tangled vegetation." Revvit said. "Have you ever been here, Revvit?" Ty asked. "No, but I have studied jungle areas with Xee during our time as renegades." Revvit said. "You'd be surprised at what kinds of flora and fauna you might find in these areas." Xee said. "Speaking of which…" Ty started to say, picking up a familiar scent in the air. "I smell…ore!" He swung his wrecking ball into the ground and uncovered an ore vein. The ore was a light green and yellow color mixture. "Dude, check out the pretty colors." Ton-Ton said. "I've never seen ore like this before." Shredda said. Dozer picked up a chunk and ate it, sampling the taste. "Whoa. Whoa-ho-ho-ho! What a taste!" He exclaimed happily. "Dozer, are you okay?" Skya asked. "You better believe it! This Jungle Ore is delicious!" Dozer said. Click-Clack tried a piece. "Whoa! He's not kidding. This stuff is so good!" He said happily. The Trux and Tools all tried the ore, savoring the excellent taste. But unknown to them, something was watching them from deep within the jungle.
Later, after having their fill of ore, the Trux and Tools continued to trek through the jungles. On the way, swarms of unknown Bit Bugs flew by. "Whoa. I've never seen Bit Bugs like those before." Ace said. "Yeah. We're definitely in uncharted territory." Waldo said. "This is amazing, Rev. I wonder what other kinds of things we'll see out here." Ty said. "One can never be too sure what we might see out here, Ty. Unknown flora and fauna can be unpredictable. Especially if they have talents that we are not familiar with." Revvit explained. "Revvit has a point. There's always so much to learn wherever we go." Xee said. "Thankfully, there aren't any signs of Scraptors or Scrapadactyls." Skya said. "Except for Scrapy here." Waldo said. Scrapy chirped happily. Suddenly, about half a dozen Scraptors with dark green paintjobs leapt out of the foliage and surrounded the Trux. "You just had to say it, Skya." Dozer said. "Oops." Skya said.
One of the Scraptors leapt onto Dozer's blade and started biting on it. "HEY! GET OFF MY BLADE!" Dozer exclaimed, dozing the Scraptor into a tree and knocking it off. "Whoa!" Garby said as he dodged one of the Scraptors. "These guys are everywhere!" Shredda cried, swatting it with her tail. "And they seem to be more ferocious than ours! No offence, Scrapy." Revvit said. Scrapy chirped, not feeling offended. Tailwind knocked another Scraptor aside with his left wing. "Persistent is more like it. I've never met a more dedicated Scraptor looking to scrap something." He said. "We've had our fair share of different kinds of Scraptors, Tailwind. Desert Scraptors, Arctic Scraptors and Sand Scraptors." Ty said, knocking another Scraptor away with his wrecking ball. 3 more Scraptors surrounded the Tools. Click-Clack shouted as he fired his bits at the Scraptors, scaring them off. "Click-Clack, what's gotten into you today?" Waldo asked. "What? My excitement hasn't worn off yet." Click-Clack said.
The Trux kept up their defense against the Scraptors, but they just kept coming. "They're not giving up!" Skya exclaimed. "Dudes, take a hint!" Ton-Ton exclaimed, throwing a Scraptor out of his bed. "Keep up your defense! They gotta give up sometime!" Ty exclaimed. "I'm afraid that these Jungle Scraptors are more dedicated than our usual Scraptors! They won't give up until we're scrap!" Revvit cried. Suddenly, there was a loud roar in the air, startling everyone. "What was that?!" Dozer asked. The Jungle Scraptors shrieked and drove off. "Whatever it was, it scared off our friends." Shredda said. "Skya, can you see where that roar came from?" Ty asked. "I'm afraid not, Ty. These jungle trees are too thick for me to see anything." Skya said. "Then maybe we should get going too. Whatever that was, it sounds way scarier than those Scraptors." Waldo said. "Probably for the best. Let's get going, Trux." Ty said. As the Trux drove off, the mysterious creature from earlier continued watching them.
As the Trux continued driving through the jungle, Ton-Ton started slowing down. "Dude…I'm not feeling…so hot." He said. "Ty, Revvit, Ton-Ton's slowing down!" Dozer called. "That would be due to the humidity of the jungle, making you run low on water as fast as if we were in the Endless Desert." Revvit said. "He's not the only one. I'm getting thirsty too." Shredda said. "We're all getting thirsty." Skya said. "We'll have to find a water source and drink up. Where would we find the nearest lake or river, Rev?" Ty asked. "Hmm. Judging from the humidity of the jungle, we must head due-east. We should be able to find a fresh water spring at some point if we do that." Revvit explained. "Well then, it's a good thing I brought the only ones who can find water." Dozer said as his Tortools appeared on his back. "You brought the Tortools?" Dill asked in surprise. "Yes. After the last time we found water, I figured they could help us again." Dozer said. The Tortools chittered excitedly before the rolled ahead. "Follow those Tortools!" Revvit called. The Trux and Tools followed the Tortools.
A while later, the Trux and Tools were drinking from a fresh water spring that the Tortools found. "Dude, that is so refreshing." Ton-Ton said, feeling relieved. "Oh, that is so good." Skya said. "Fascinating. It would appear that the water in the spring has twice the refreshing taste as the water in our aqueduct." Revvit said. "Probably has to be for the creatures that live in this jungle." Ty said as he kept drinking. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the foliage, startling everyone. "What was that?" Taziri asked. "Whatever it is, it's coming our way." Shredda said. "Defensive positions!" Ty exclaimed. The Trux and Tools got ready for whatever was coming. Just then, a strange Trux that resembled a Smilodon with a forest green paint job emerged from the bushes, staring at the Trux and Tools peculiarly. "What the heck this that thing?" Tailwind asked. "I have no idea. I am not familiar with this type of Trux." Revvit said. Ty drove up to the unknown Trux. "Hey. Name's Ty." He introduced. "Sabre." The Trux, named Sabre, introduced. "Oh, he can talk." Revvit said. Sabre looked at the Trux and Tools. "You're not from around here, are you?" He asked. "No. We're from the crater just outside the jungle." Ty said. "Hehe. I figured. We don't get many crater Trux here in the jungle." Sabre said. "Well, it's nice to meet a friendly face, aside from those Jungle Scraptors." Skya said. "Ah, so you've met our resident Scraptors. They're quite a mean bunch aside from my kind." Sabre said, driving off. "And exactly what kind of Trux are you?" Shredda asked as she and the others followed him. "I'm a Dunelodon. We're the swiftest Trux in the jungle." Sabre said.
As they followed Sabre to his den, he presented them with jungle ore. "I saw you guys feasting on this ore earlier. I figured with all the driving you've been doing, along with fighting those Scraptors, you'd be feeling hungry again." He said. "Sure. Fighting Scraptors always gives me an appetite." Dozer said as he dug into the ore. The others soon joined him. Sabre watched with a grin as they ate. "It's not common to see so many Trux and Tools travelling together." He said. "Well, you never expect such hospitality from a Trux that appears so…intimidating." Ty said. "So true. I guess we have that in common." Sabre said. "So, tell us more about your kind, Sabre." Revvit said. "Well, we Dunelodons are known to be some of the most fearful Trux in all the lands. We hunt in packs like Scraptors. But I would prefer to share with others rather than take. So, I left my pack to start anew. And I wound up here in the jungle." Sabre explained. "Dude, that is some story." Ton-Ton said. "Yeah. You fit right in with Ty with the way he does things." Skya said. "They're not wrong. T-Trux are known to be feared by many. But I've made friends with every known Trux and Tool in the crater." Ty explained. "It does sound like a nice place to live." Sabre said. "It could be if you wanted to come back with us." Ty said. "He's right. We've got plenty of room and ore in the crater." Revvit said. Sabre thought about it.
Suddenly, there was a screech in the air, startling everyone. "Uh, what was that?" Shredda asked. "Scraptors." Sabre said. "But you scared them off before." Dozer said. "I did. They're easily startled. But they'll be coming back. And with greater numbers." Sabre said. "That's a lot of Scraptors." Waldo said. "Even more than what we usually deal with." Ton-Ton said. "Uh, not to make things worse, but they just showed up." Skya said, seeing the Jungle Scraptors coming at them. "You Scraptors, no matter where we go, you guys always show up at the worst times." Ty said. One of the Scraptors shrieked and leapt to attack. But Ty knocked it away with his wrecking ball. "It's dozing time!" Dozer exclaimed as he dropped his blade and dozed into several Scraptors. "Get back, you creepy Scraptors!" Tailwind threatened as he knocked a Scraptor away with his right wing. But every time the Trux knocked away one Scraptor, more just came right at them. "There's too many!" Shredda exclaimed, swatting one with her tail.
"We can't keep this up for much longer!" Ty exclaimed. "Then we've got to think of something that'll scare these Scraptors off once and for all." Revvit said. "My roar's the only thing that scares these Scraptors. But I won't be able to scare off this whole pack by myself." Sabre explained. "Maybe you won't have to." Revvit said. "Maybe we can build something to help." Ty said. "Something that'll amplify the volume of your roar." Revvit said. "Like how our sound rocks amplified the sound of my bits whirling to scare off the Gearwigs." Click-Clack said. "Yes. And like the roar horn on the Scaretrux." Revvit said as he hopped onto a rock and sketched the idea. "But much larger." Ty said. "And when you roar into it…" Revvit started to say. "It'll be loud enough to scare off this entire pack of Scraptors." Sabre finished. "Boom!" Ty exclaimed, slamming another Scraptor with his wrecking ball. "I've got the parts you'll need to make this thing in my den." Sabre said. "Skya, Dozer, you guys help me and the Tools build our new build. The rest of you, keep those Scraptors back until it's ready." Ty instructed. "We're on it, Ty." Ton-Ton said.
Ty, Dozer and Skya started gathering the supplies from Sabre's den and helped the Tools put it together. The others did their best to keep the Scraptors back. Dozer used his jackhammer to curve a few pieces of scrap as the Tools put them together with Skya holding them up. "Uh, guys, we can't hold off these Scraptors for much longer!" Shredda cried as she basked a Scraptor with her right saw. "Not to worry. Our build is finished." Revvit said, showing their latest build. It was a big horn, similarly larger that the one on a Scaretrux. "Sabre, roar at them through this! Quickly!" Waldo exclaimed. Sabre got behind the horn and roared as loud as he could. The Scraptors shrieked in a panic and scattered off. "Whoa! That was louder than I thought it was gonna be." Dozer said. "But at least it scared off the Scraptors." Skya said. Sabre stared at the horn and the Trux who made it, smiling proudly.
Later, after cleaning up the mess that the Scraptors left behind, the Trux and Tools prepared to head out again. "You sure you Trux have to get going so soon? There's so much more to see in these jungles." Sabre said. "We know. That's why we're heading out." Revvit said. "Yeah. We want to know what else is out there beyond the world of our crater." Ty said. "Now that I can understand. I always wonder what's out beyond this jungle." Sabre said. "You know, you're welcome to join us on our journey if you want to." Ty offered. "Yes, you'd be a big help with our builds and fighting off our enemies." Revvit said. "Yeah, we're always looking for new friends to help us, dude." Ton-Ton said. "I used to be very skeptical about making friends, but I've learned from past mistakes." Dozer said. "What do you say?" Skya asked. "Maybe someday. But I'm not quite ready to leave my home here yet. But when I'm ready, I'll make the journey to your crater." Sabre said. "Then this is goodbye then, Sabre." Ty said. The Trux drove off with their Tool friends and Tailwind soaring behind them. "Take care, Trux!" Sabre called. But unknown to the Trux, a large shadow flew over them.