A few hours later, the Destiny's Bounty was making its way through some mountains, on its way to Shintaro, with very strange birds, almost looking like bats, flying around it as it moved along the mountains.
Everyone was on the bridge, observing and admiring the view around them, except for Dragon, with Nya at the helm. "Though my optic circuits are inputting full visual data, somehow the zeroes and ones of my code cannot convey the grandeur of this moment." Zane said, admiring the view.
"Yeah, it's like..." Jay tries to think of what to say next while rubbing his stubbled chin. "Like..."
Blake puts his left arm around him. "Totally super cool!" He said.
"Definitely!" Jay chuckles.
"Wish Cirrus were here to see it."
"That really captured the moment beautifully, guys." Nya said, winking at them. "Thanks."
"I should've brought a camera along." Geoff said. "These views are worthy of being on postcards."
"Certainly." Maggie replied.
"I have never seen such beautiful colours on a mountain before." Hayden said as he held a copy of Boobytraps and How to Survive Them before Gewuji wraps an arm around him.
"Now you have." She replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. "More beautiful than in the First Realm, don't you think?" He nods to her in agreement.
"It really is beautiful, isn't it, Master Wu?" Lloyd asked, hoping to get him to look at it.
Dragon simply sighed, not at the least interested. "Yeah, beats doing chores back at the monastery, that's for sure." Cole said, making Lloyd shake his head, annoyed at his excuse.
"Oh, there'll be chores when we get back home, Cole." Hayden replied, also annoyed. Growling was soon heard, surprising everyone.
"What..." Jay stuttered a little as Zane takes the book from Hayden to read a chapter in the book. "What was that?"
"There is something you should know." Zane replied, looking at the book. "Early accounts of the mythical city of Shintaro claimed that the mountains surrounding it were home to a vicious species of bat, called a Dire Bat."
"Dire Bat?" Cole asked.
"There is much debate among historians as to whether Dire Bats are real or fiction."
Jay blows a raspberry and turns away, laughing. "That's gotta be made up." Gewuji said, disbelieving the claim as well.
Suddenly, pair of claws grabs Jay and flies away, bringing him along. "Dragon's turd!" Hayden yelled.
"Not made up, not made up, not made up!" Jay yelled in a tongue twist as he was held by the flying creature before screaming and the creature growls as it ascended.
"Jay!" Nya yelled, scared for her husband before another creature grabs hold of her as it flies past and throws her onto the deck.
"I guess those are Dire Bats!" Gewuji yelled before another one grabs onto Geoff from behind by his waist and flies away, bringing him along. "Geoff!"
On the deck, the Dire Bat that struck Nya soon lands in front of her, causing her to scream before Lloyd jumps from the bridge and stomps on it before backflipping to kick it off the ship. On the bridge, Blake runs over to the port side railing to see the Dire Bat with Geoff, who struggles to get out of its grip. "Let go!" He yelled, hitting its leg.
"Hey, let go of my friend!" Blake yelled before holding out his left hand to fire a gust of Wind, hitting the Dire Bat at the side, and it turns to him. "Oh, crap." It started to come at him.
Kai looks up to see more Dire Bats ripping at the sails before some had managed to knock one down. "Ugh, they're trying to take us down!" He said, somersaulting over the railing to the deck as Hayden did so as well before they jump onto the mast to fire their Elemental Powers at them. "Shoo! Shoo, bats!"
Some of them get hit by the shots and fly away as Hayden climbs up further before noticing a Dire Bat coming at him before he fired a shot of Uranium at it. "Scram!" He yelled as he did so. "Scat! Go on, shoo!" The Dire Bat squeals in pain before flying away.
The Dire Bat holding Geoff flies over to Blake, who falls down as it tries to get at him. "Get back!" He yelled, trying to kick it, to no effect as it kept trying to come at him.
Gewuji soon conjured a spike of Glass and charged at it. "Take this!" She yelled and struck its leg to make it let go of Geoff, who lands on the deck before crawling away from it.
Cole looks at the Dire Bat holding Jay before noticing another one about to fly by. "I'm coming for you, buddy!" He said, vaulting over the railing and lands on top of it. Cole holds onto the Dire Bat tight as it tries to shake him off before he forces it to turn to the right.
The Dire Bat keeps flying high while holding onto Jay. "Wait, hold on!" He said, nervous about what it's gonna do next. "Can we be friends?" The Dire Bat then turned around and throws Jay forward, and he starts to fall, screaming as he does so, until Cole manages to catch him.
"You... owe me!" The Dire Bat soon shook more before it moved, forcing Cole off, and he, alongside Jay, started to fall, both screaming as they do so.
Kai was on top of the mast as he shoots balls of Fire at the Dire Bats to try and keep them away from it before noticing Jay and Cole falling. "Mantis!" He yelled.
Hayden, who was halfway up the mast, sees the two before grabbing a nearby rope, swings it and throws it towards them. "Jay, Cole, grab the line!" He yelled.
Jay and Cole manage to grab hold of the rope as it dangles from the starboard side before it swung over to the port side, and they land on the deck, on their feet, just as Geoff blasted back the Dire Bat that held him with some Sand. Jay and Cole soon sigh before another Dire Bat comes up behind them, but they manage to duck down as more fly by. "What do we do?" Maggie asked, holding her arms out to some metal scraps and moved them forward, which strikes one of them, making it squeal in pain.
"How do we stop them?" Nya asked.
"Use your Elemental Powers!" Dragon replied as another Dire Bat comes at him from behind.
"Master Wu!" Lloyd yelled. Hayden drops down from the mast and forces Dragon down as the Dire Bat passed by over them.
"How many times do you owe me again?" He asked.
"I can't keep count." Dragon replied.
The Dire Bat soon grabbed of the mast and scratches it to the point it was about to break, and it starts to turn as it did so while the Dire Bat flies away. Kai, who was on top of the mast, tries to hold on, as the mast soon falls down, but leans on the starboard side of the Bounty. The weight of the mast, combined with it not being up, starts to make the Bounty tip over, resulting in everyone falling. "Nya!" Jay called out to his wife.
"Hang on!" Cole yelled as they all place their backs to the deck with Maggie and Dragon holding onto the broken mast pole and try to hold onto something while the cargo not secured started to fall off. Some Dire Bats land on the port side hull of the Bounty before something makes them shriek in fear and fly away as the mast breaks off, and Blake holds out his left hand to catch Kai with his Wind before bringing him up to grab hold of the railing.
The Bounty starts to tilt as everyone screamed out of fear. "Brace for impact!" Lloyd told them before they close their eyes.
Suddenly, they stopped moving, and the Bounty starts to tilt upwards, surprising them all as it was soon straightened up. "How?" Nya asked, looking over the starboard side railing.
"Uh, guys, you're not gonna believe this." Kai replied, looking down at the hull. The others soon came to see what he was talking about and were immediately surprised.
There were literally white skinned people in purple uniforms and gold armour with gold wings, holding the Bounty by the hull and were carrying it with all their might, like it was no big deal, as they fly forward. "They must be Shintarians." Geoff said. "They do exist."
Pretty soon, another one descends down to them. "Greetings, honoured guests." He said as they turn to him. "I am Hailmar. Right hand of King Vangelis." He lands on the deck. "I welcome you to the Kingdom of Shintaro." He bows to them.
"You just saved our lives!" Lloyd said.
"It is the least we could do. The Dire Bats are a damn plague. They are one of the many reasons we discourage visitors, for their own safety." They start to pass through some clouds. "But come. Let us put our woes behind us and welcome you to the Ivory City of Shintaro!"
He holds his hand out to something behind him before the clouds start to clear away, revealing a city on a mountain, with buildings of white and gold.
"Well, you don't see that everyday." Cole said as he and everyone else were surprised.
The guards carry the Bounty over the city as many more were passing by over or around it. "Wow!" Nya said.
"Whoa!" Gewuji said.
"It's beautiful." Hayden said.
"I wish Cirrus was here to see it." Blake said.
"The view from up here is an eyesore." Maggie said.
"I really should've brought a camera." Geoff said.
Everyone soon looks over the railing, smiling at the sights of the city below. "See, I told ya." Jay said. "Amazing."
"I'll admit, I wasn't sure it could live up to the legend, but... it's even more beautiful." Nya said, turning to her husband.
"The Ivory City of Shintaro..." Dragon said. "Incredible."
The guards bring the Bounty to a building that looked like it was in the middle of a palace before lowering it for the Ninja, Maggie, Dragon and Hayden to get off and look around, completely amazed. "Come along, we must not keep King Vangelis waiting." Hailmar said as he hovers over them to move ahead, and they start to follow him.
(A/N: Sorry that this is done in the afternoon, but I was with my brother before he leaves to return to Melbourne. Anyway, Hayden saving Dragon, how many times has it been now? I forgot)