//------------------------------// // Adventure: Rock the Dragon // Story: My Own Wings // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Dragon Rock proved to be a desolate wasteland at first glance, with neither plant nor animal life visible from the air as the group settled down on a particularly blasted patch of dirt that looked almost like a crater. As they landed, they saw that the first impression wasn't too far off, as the only plant life that wasn't desiccated was oversized weeds that looked like they'd been drastically mutated, as did the extremely hostile wildlife. The group decided to keep their distance from both - and the floating sentry pods - unless it became necessary to do otherwise. Fox didn't need to tell Sunset and Tricky to stay close. Despite the intense heat, Sunset did not feel a magic boost and shuddered oddly whenever she used her magic. "There's...darkness here," she muttered the first time, despite the bright sun shining unceasingly down on them all. It didn't take long for the group to find their first objective, an Earthwalker locked up inside a large building behind a cage door. A quick bit of reconnaissance revealed the controls behind a mess of machinery parts that the heat and odd energy of the place had fused together. With a bit of work, a fuel barrel was moved into position to blast the path clear, letting Fox open the gate. As they approached, the warrior briefly nodded to the group. "You've done well to find me," he stated firmly, his voice somewhat gravelly, "but there are others." "We know," Fox replied readily. "Your Thorntail friend told us about it." "I'm glad to hear of his safety," the Earthwalker responded, "but the High Top, Koh'sole, is not so fortunate. Together, we can free him." "Together, we will free him," Tricky corrected firmly. The Earthwalker warrior grinned. "Your confidence honors me, my Prince." "What's your name, anyway?" Sunset asked curiously as Fox - at a silent direction from the warrior - climbed onto his massive back. "Mmo," the warrior responded readily. Sunset gasped in shock. "I've heard of you!" she declared excitedly. "You're the most decorated warrior of the Earthwalker Tribe!" "Decorations are for houses and holidays," Mmo countered dismissively. "A warrior is more than that!" "So what do we do?" Fox asked, deciding to ignore the continued 'pattern' he'd noticed in Earthwalker names. "Each security drone has its own shield generator," Mmo explained. "While the shield's up, they're invincible, and Koh'sole would be helpless against them. Destroy the generator..." He jerked his head, bringing his sharp horns to bear on the air in front of him. "And they're helpless against us!" Sunset crowed eagerly. "Let's show them!" "That's the spirit!" Mmo declared aggressively. "Let's do some damage!" They immediately began a charge around the open field where the cages were. Mmo kept his head down and horns bared for maximum impact damage. Fox focused on steering, indicating with gentle tugs when and which way Mmo needed to turn. Sunset used her magic - focused additionally through Krystal's staff - to deflect any incoming projectiles. It wasn't long before the four generators were destroyed, at which point they turned the charge on the security drones with Fox using his gun to strike them down with lightning as they rushed through. Once all four drones were down, a new gate opened up, allowing the four to enter the cage where Koh'sole was locked up, bound by collars on his neck linked to four pillars by energy tethers. Fireballs flung at appropriate switches from the high catwalk disengaged the tethers, and once all four were disengaged he wrapped his long neck around one of the pillars and squeezed until the collars broke off. "I guess we're ready to go," he spoke, firmly but calmly, to the group. "Where to?" Tricky asked curiously "We're crossing the plain to where Pea-shi is caged, and you're going to have to protect me," Koh'sole explained firmly as he walked under the catwalk. Fox and Sunset readily leapt to his back as he forced the walled exit opened. The central tower - an obvious Sharpclaw installation - fired missiles at Koh'sole as he walked, but Fox and Sunset easily took them out before they could get near, Fox relying on the 'chain shot' from his lightning gun while Sunset launched fireballs from both hands and horn. Eventually, Koh'sole reached a switch high up on a massive gate, causing it to lower to reveal a long path. "That's what I was looking for," he said firmly. "I can't go any further, the path's too narrow for my bulk, but I'm sure you'll be able to find Pea-shi and set him free." It didn't take long before the group could hear Pea-shi screaming, "Help! Get me out of here!" repeatedly, telling them he was close. A bit of cleverness with a fuel barrel, some fireball switches, and wind tunnels allowed them entrance to the place where he was caged, in an actual cage held up by an ordinary rope. Sunset quickly leapt across to the cage, clambered up to the rope, and surrounded herself with flames as she grasped it. The rope burned through, and the cage dropped to the ground and burst open, allowing Pea-shi to catch her as she dropped. "Geeze, you're as crazy as Krystal!" he declared excitedly as he settled in for landing. "I like it!" "You know Mom?" Sunset gasped in shock. "That certainly explains a lot," Pea-shi joked. "I'm the one that helped her get onto General Scales' galleon...but I was captured shortly after that, and I've been stuck here ever since." Leaning forward, he spread his wings wide. "Climb on, all of you. I need to stretch my wings!" Once everyone was on, he took to the air and explained the plan. "The Spellstone is hidden beneath the great tower, but to get in you'll need to destroy the four spires that protect it. They can only be destroyed from the air, but have potent anti-air defenses." "I'm on shields!" Sunset declared eagerly as she grasped Krystal's staff. "I'm on weapons!" Fox agreed as he primed his gun. "I'm on snacks!" Tricky offered helpfully as he pulled a few sandwiches out of Fox's pack and toasted them with his flame breath, much to the amusement of all. As they approached the spires, swarms of missiles came their way. Fox dealt with those using the 'chain shot', switching to the 'discharge' when the missiles stopped firing as they got close to the spire. Sunset added her own blast at that point, which was enough to destroy each spire's focus crystal in a single pass. "It's all up to you now!" Pea-shi stated excitedly as he settled at the top of the tower, where a deep pit showed a path deep into the land. "The Spellstone is inside, but General Scales has it guarded by a terrible creature, a mutated dinosaur shaped by dark energies! You must be care-" "Geronimo!" Fox and Sunset declared eagerly as they leapt into the pit. "-ful..." Pea-shi sighed ruefully. "So very much like Krystal..." As they descended, Sunset felt her magic blaze forth as they approached intense magma flow. To Fox's surprise, he felt his own magic starting to flare from the intense electricity generated in the Dark Geothermal Plant that they were approaching. Both slowed to a halt above a floating platform, Sunset surrounded in a heat aura, Fox bristling with lightning. Above was a horribly mutated monstrosity. Bipedal with massive limbs and bat-like wings, thick claws, red skin, and heavy steel armor...it looked like Scales had tried to forcefully graft the strongest qualities of each of the Tribes onto a single creature, getting a result that looked more demon than dinosaur. It flapped away into the plant...and Sunset and Fox followed, zooming through the air as their magic exploded from their bodies. The Drakor quickly found itself outmatched in terms of firepower, and instead focused on staying ahead of them as they zoomed around. As they moved through, Sunset had a sudden realization. "Dad, keep going!" she declared before zipping back the other way. Taking Sunset's directive, Fox continued to follow the Drakor, harrying it with his lightning so it kept moving forward. Before long, a complete circuit of the plant had been made...and the Drakor found its path blocked by a wall of magma as Sunset waited for him in the original chamber. Now cornered, Fox and Sunset unleashed their magic power on the Drakor, tearing its body apart until the Spellstone broke free of its flesh to drop onto the platform, and its body fell into the magma to be destroyed. Fox and Sunset landed easily on the platform, which raised them and the Spellstone back to the surface.