//------------------------------// // Camp Everfree // Story: Skylanders X MLP // by Skylander545 //------------------------------// Camp Everfree, a summer camp in the EQG universe is now anticipating the arrival of the Echo Squadron to investigate the bizarre activity around the camp. The two people who were waiting for their arrival were Gloriosa Daisy and her brother, Timber Spruce, Counselors and Co-Directors of the camp itself. But another reason why they called the squadron was of a personal matter involving their number six. Gloriosa sighed, “I don’t know what to feel now. But they did everything right, more than we could hope for.” Timber nodded, “Putting an end to the Traptanium War, even Spike becoming a Trap Ranger. He came far after becoming human.” His sister shook her head, “But still it’s not enough.” Timber spoke, “Cadance called us to let us know that they are coming, but Spike is a big concern for her now.” The co-director walked towards the dock as she said, “But he’s only started to get those images after Equestria Shores even questioned the camp as if he's been here before.” Timber stated, “And we know why he’s getting those images and questions. But I still keep going back to that night.” Gloriosa’s face turned grim as she looked to her brother, “That night has haunted us ever since and Celestia left that gem with us ‘until the time is right,’ Timber.” Timber pointed towards the forest, “Those creatures are still out there and if it wasn’t for Cadance’s donations, we would’ve lost the camp to Filthy Rich and there would've been a spa right where we're standing. But he’s the least of our concerns.” Gloriosa was about to speak when a thump of energy occured as a large rift portal appeared over the camp. What they saw next astonished them, they saw a large airship exit from the rift as it closed behind it. The two could see that the ship was designed for combat, but they also noticed the docking and launch bays on the ship as well. But what they noticed was the name of the zeppelin on the rigid envelope, ‘Wings of Freedom.’ On the vertical stabilizer on the back of the ship showed a distinct emblem of a dragon skull with a ghostly tail breathing fire with six arrows in a delta formation. The co-directors of the camp knew all too well that this was the Wings of Freedom, the mobile platform and base for Echo Squadron. As the ship passed over them, two objects launched from the launch bay as the ship shot an energy beam towards a nearby clearing as the ship itself began to descend towards the ground as the beam essentially anchored it to the ground. The objects that launched made their way towards the camp as the second object fell to its destination. The first object, revealed to be a tank flew to the ground and turned to a ground vehicle while the second, revealed to be some sort of scout car fired its thrusters to soften its landing. The tank’s hatch opened up as the leader of the squadron hopped out while the door of the scout car opened as several girls and members of the squadron jumped out. The cockpit of the car opened as the number six of the squadron jumped out sporting the traptanium gauntlet on his wrist. The ship soon settled down in the clearing and powered down as Gloriosa approached the leader of the team, “Are you the leader of the squadron?” The boy with the spiky yellow hair and red eyes looked at her, “That’s me, I’m Leg. Spyro, Spy for short. Echo Squadron’s leader and captain of the Wings of Freedom.” He pointed to a select few that were among the passengers of the scout car, one of them being a boy calibrating a pair of cybernetic wings on his back from his mechanical gauntlets. “That’s Dro, he's Echo 2…” He pointed out the brawler of the team, the gardener and the only female member of the squadron, “Ter, Camo and Sonata are 3, 4 and 5.” Gloriosa pointed to the boy with the Traptanium gauntlet, “And that's Spike, your number six?” Leg. Spyro nodded, “That's correct.” Timber asked, “We were told that the squadron was coming, not a whole group. Is there a reason?” The leader of the squadron sighed, “They helped us shoot down the Heavy Command Cruiser over Equestria Shores. We also have an Orc, an ape and a Light Trap Master among the crew.” Gloriosa watched as most of the arrivals interacted with each other and looked in awe of the sight of the campground. As mentioned by Leg. Spyro, a winged Knight was with Sonata, a large gorilla with a necktie with the initials ‘DK’ fist-bumped with Ter, and an Orc in a tribal warrior’s gear with a dragon skull on his head was with a girl that was recognized as Twilight Sparkle. She was amused, “That's...quite the crew you have.” A boy who had orange eyes and two pistols holstered on his hips spoke with a Russian accent, “We're just temporary, most functions were controlled by Blaster-Tron.” Leg. Spyro sighed, “Thank you, LT for telling her.” He motioned him to move as he asked Gloriosa, “Cadance told us about bizarre activities being reported around the camp?” She answered, “Yes, just recently the camp has been hit with an influx of strange sightings, strange energy distortions coming from the forest and eerie echoes emanating from the woods.” Timber spoke, “We don't know what's going on and with the camp’s opening, we can't go out there to investigate the occurrences.” “So you decided to call in a team that has experience with magical occurrences on an everyday basis to investigate.” said Spike as he approached the team after shutting down the Road Avenger. Gloriosa looked at him, although in his eyes she was hesitant on talking to him as she said, “Yes...that's why we called. We...figured that if anyone could figure it out...it's Echo Squadron.” Timber spoke to Spike, also possessing that hesitant look, “Your victory over Equestria Shores...was proof of it...despite being an air battle. You have powers which benefit you in combat.” Spike, although curious about their hesitation in talking to him replied, “Okay, we'll find out what’s causing these occurrences.” Gloriosa nodded as she said, “In the meantime, it's best that your team get settled. We have tents set up for you and your companions.” Leg. Spyro asked, “What about the MBT and the Road Avenger?” The directors knew that he was talking about the tank and the scout car that their airship deployed. Timber spoke, “There’s a workshop behind my cabin, it’s big enough to hold those two.” Leg. Spyro nodded as he hopped into the tank while Dro jumped into the cockpit of the Road Avenger as they followed the co-director to the cabin while the others decided to get situated for their stay at the camp. They knew for certain that they need to find the source of this magic occurrence. So instead of taking to the skies like at the island, it’s a ground game now. The team had to at least set up a base camp before they do anything else. Except for Spike, who didn’t go with the others as he continued looking and scanning his eyes around the camp, specifically at the lake and the nearby cabin near the director’s cabin. At that instant, those three images appeared in his mind again, the same images that he saw when he was struggling to regain control of his plane after destroying the command cruiser. “Camp Everfree…” ,thought Spike. “This place… so familiar, but why?” He soon heard a voice coming from the direction that the others went, “Spike?” He turned and saw Gloriosa looking at him in a concerned way. Soon enough, after looking at her, Spike’s eyes widened as he gasped as he began to see, not an image but a memory. It was at Camp Everfree during a camping trip as a young boy walked out to the docks as he looked out to the lake and sighed at this. Although he wasn’t alone as he thought, the boy turned and saw a girl whom he remembered, “Gloriosa? What are you doing here?” The young Gloriosa chuckled, “My grandparents run the camp, remember?” She stated, “You always tend to forget that my great-grandparents founded it.” The boy smiled with a small chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head, “Well, it goes without saying.” The girl asked, “Is it weird that you’re here on a school camping trip and the teacher in charge happens to be your mother?” The boy turned red with embarrassment as he said, “It’s weird to have her looking over me and having to share her cabin.” Gloriosa reassured, “She does let you off the hook to join a group from time to time.” The boy nodded and saw a group in the distance as he said, “That she does, Gloriosa. That she does.” Spike’s mind was soon back at Camp Everfree in front of Gloriosa as he gasped at what he just saw. Spike was panting until he said, “What’s going on with me?” The co-director asked, “What do you mean?” Spike looked at her and stated, “These images, that memory, this familiarity… nothing makes sense!” Gloriosa now had a sad look on her face as she confessed, “I… I know what you’re going through.” Spike realized that he’s going to get answers to his questions and listened to what she had to say, but she asked him, “What do you remember when you were a dog?” Spike explained that he believed that he was born a dog and was adopted by Principal Celestia until he met Twilight and was with her throughout the Fall Formal and the Battle of CHS. He was turned human after the battle was over, but when he was walking on two legs it felt like it was natural for him. It was almost like he walked on two legs before. Gloriosa heard what he told her and explained, “Those images and memories are actually secrets of your past, Spike.” Spike, confused by this revelation asked, “My...past?” She nodded as Spike tried to push it back, “But...that’s impossible. Are you saying that I wasn’t a dog at all?” Gloriosa sadly said,”It’s true, but there’s an...artifact somewhere in the woods outside the camp. It contains a fragment of the truth.” Spike was shocked as he thought, “The truth about my past?” He also asked her, “Then why did you call the rest of the team here?” The co-director stated, “The bizarre activity around the camp is real. Ever since CHS, there has been an increasing number of sightings of those creatures and magical activity. Those creatures are after the same artifact that holds the truth. We called the team here specifically for it.” Spike finished, “And you didn’t want them to find out about the other half of it.” Gloriosa stated, “Exactly.” She motioned him to follow her as he said, “This can't remain a secret forever.” Gloriosa nodded as she heard of the many abilities and talents that Spike’s friends have. She looked at him and stated, “But it will give you time to find the truth.” Spike reluctantly understood, the idea of keeping a secret from his friends isn’t something he’s proud of. But whatever is going on with him had something to do with his memories. Gloriosa spoke, “You’ll find what you’ve been searching for, eventually.” As the team reached the tent area, the MBT and the Road Avenger were placed in the workshop behind the co-director’s cabin as the team set up a base camp while settling in for their stay. Meanwhile, the girls were settling in and getting themselves situated. Twilight looked around the camp and said, “This is an interesting place to be.” Rainbow Dash had set up the tent with Applejack as she said, “First, we go to tropical island and now we’re at a summer camp.” Applejack nodded, “Even if we’re here just to find out about these things happening near the camp. Those boys always take us to the nicest places.” Rarity noticed, “Spike stayed behind when we left the courtyard.” Indigo, who was setting up a tent with Lemon recognized it, “I noticed that he wasn’t himself since that suicide run on the cruiser.” Lemon added, “He is kinda strange despite him being Megaman.” A voice in the lime-haired girl’s head spoke, “Both of them were a bit strange if you ask me.” So looked around for the source of the voice as the others noticed it and the Mane 6 knew from personal experience what this meant as RD asked, “Hearing a voice in your head, Lemon?” Lemon looked at the athlete and asked, “How did you know?” Twilight stepped in, “Spike began hearing Drago’s voice in his head before activating the gauntlet for the first time.” The voice chuckled, “I guess they already know. It figures since I almost make you act crazy.” Lemon’s face went red since the voice was slightly teasing her. But kept it to herself as she heard Pinkie Pie speak, “I’ve noticed that Gloriosa went back to the courtyard to check on Spike. Although my Pinkie Senses are tingling every time she's around.” Rarity looked at her fun-loving friend, “What gives you that idea?” Pinkie stated with a hint of confusion, “It feels like we should already know both her and Timber before. Twilight spoke, “But we just met.” Pinkie didn't know as she said, “It's like an itch in the back of my head. All of us knowing them is a doozy.” “I also noticed how they paused before talking with Spike.” Spoke LT as he approached. Twilight guessed, “They're hiding something.” The smart girl spotted Gloriosa passing by with Spike following behind. It made her curious as to why she went back for him to begin with. It began to further her suspicions that the directors were hiding something. On the other side of the campsite, the team was busy setting up a base camp using supplies and materials from the airship. Dro had set up a table with the latest map of Camp Everfree and the forest surrounding it. While Spy and the team were setting up the tents for their stay. Even flipping a coin to see who bunks with who and the order followed with Spy with Dro, Ter with Camo much to the brawler’s dismay because he would be dealing with ‘wake-up pranks’ and Sonata and Spitfire would bunk with the girls, leaving Spike the only one who doesn't have a tent-mate. Gloriosa and Timber watched the group set up camp as they saw how connected they were. But most importantly was how connected Spike was to his friends, he would help them out in any way he could. But still the events of Equestria Shores is still fresh within everyone’s mind. Timber looked at his sister, “You told him, didn’t you?” Gloriosa nodded, “I did, after his first memory flash in the courtyard he wanted to find out what’s going on. I told him what I know and of the gem.” Timber looked out into the woods, “This is going to be difficult with those creatures returning and everything that’s going wrong in those woods. If we sold the camp, this would’ve been Flithy’s problem.” “We would’ve been arguing on and off about it.” “But we didn’t because of Cadance’s donations.” “I’m not going lie to you, Timber. The way everything is going, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” “And my stories about Gaea Everfree wouldn’t cut it.” Gloriosa chuckled about that legend that her brother made as a means to scare campers during his ghost stories. But as time goes on, what’s happening is not the result of a vengeful forest spirit. As a matter of fact, it’s much more darker than that. The counselors soon noticed Spy approaching them as he said, “We’ve set up our base camp and set up our tents for our stay. Although Ter isn’t too happy with having Camo as a tent-mate.” Timber chuckled, “Camo’s a prankster, right?” Spy rubbed the back of his head as he sighed, “He used several pranks involving Ter and he responded with throwing him at a wall or pinning him to the ground.” Gloriosa brought up another member of the team, “Your mechanic, Dro is one of the first to be created following the battle of CHS.” Spy knew that his brother was a chance result, just like the others, “Dro was also in love with the captain of the Wondercolts, she's now my XO on the ship.” Timber chuckled, “A mechanic and a team captain, I can imagine what it meant for her teammates.” Leg. Spyro knew what this meant since he knew about Dro’s little fight with Soarin’ when he was just discovering his powers. That was before he and Camo were discovered and Dro and Ter were just discovering their powers. But he decided ask about what this is about, “So what do you think is going on with the camp?” Timber spoke, “Well, when I was on the hiking trails last week, I saw some sort of creature. It was looked like a large fly made of moss and bone. When it saw me, it attempted to attack me until I ran back to the camp. When turned around to see if it was following me, it was gone.” Leg. Spyro knew all too well what that was, “A Grublin Fly, most likely a scout.” Gloriosa cautiously realized, “If that's a scout, that means…” Leg. Spyro finished, “The Grublins are planning an attack on the camp.” Leg. Spyro was going to discuss this with his team until Timber stopped him, “It wasn’t alone.” The leader asked the counselor, “What do you mean it wasn’t alone?” Timber added, “Something else was with it. I only got a glimpse of it, but it was like that fly, but it was completely covered in what looked like a liquid shadow. It’s purple eyes glared at me which sent shivers down my spine.” Leg. Spyro was concerned for a moment, he fought Grublins before, even those Shadow Apes, but these new Shadow Grublins? Something is going on at this camp and for better or for worse, it had to take place before the start of the summer. As far as he knows, no one would like to go to a summer camp with Grublins stalking the woods and most likely Malefor’s Cultists are behind this. Leg. Spyro decided to say, “We’ll scout out the hiking trail where you first saw those two.” Gloriosa spoke, “You don’t just have to scout the trail right now. You just got here.” “I guess you’re right. I mean, we did just shoot down a Heavy Command Cruiser last week.” Timber understood this, “Just get yourselves settled, if you want we could show your group the many activities around the camp.” The leader of the squadron accepted, “That would be a nice change of pace from last week.” With that, he left them to rejoin his team. After getting themselves situated for their stay, he told them about the tour that Gloriosa and Timber would be giving them. Everyone agreed to take the tour since Camp Everfree was a new environment for them and they need to know this place to and the many points of interests. As the directors took them on a tour, they approached a few areas that Gloriosa pointed out when they started out in the courtyard, “The courtyard was technically where you landed your tanks, but you only needed a place to set up back at the tent area. The courtyard has a view of the cafeteria building, the center gazebo and a view of the lake...” While Gloriosa was talking, Spike looked around again since he didn’t see much of the courtyard the first time. That was when he saw something near the totem pole and the gazebo. At first glance, it looked like a regular old sundial used for knowing what time is it. But to Spike, it felt familiar… “This sundial, staring at it more closely… have I seen it before?” Suddenly, Spike’s eyes shot open as he flashed into another memory… He was in the boy’s point of view again, he was walking away from the Archery Range with a young Timber. It was clear that they were talking to each other as Timber pointed out, “Sheesh, five bullseyes in a row! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’re a natural at archery.” The boy chuckled, “Says the supposed ‘awesome kid who should get invited to do fun things.’” Timber felt a blow to his ego, “That hurts, you know.” The two chuckled at this as they approached the gazebo, but the boy stopped as he turned to the nearby sundial. Timber noticed this as they approached the sundial. Timber spoke, “My grandpa said that this sundial was built by your Mom and Aunt when they attended the camp. It was a contributing gift to the camp itself.” The boy looked closely at the sundial and saw the sun and moon insignia as the boy smiled, “I guess that’s why they brought me here aside from making friends.” Timber decided to ask, “I know your Mom and Aunt, but...where’s your Dad?” The boy paused as he pondered his memories of his father until he said, “All I know is that he disappeared. Mom doesn’t like to talk about it. She only said that she’ll tell me when I’m older.” Spike soon came back to reality from that memory flash. He opened the gauntlet and asked, “Did you get all of that?” The spirit nodded, “I stored both memories in case you want to view them later.” Spike noticed that the group was moving on, he looked at the sundial again and saw the same sun and moon insignias carved into the sundial. After that he took off after the group as the approached the boathouse and docks. Dro pointed out, “The docks are seriously in a state of disrepair, if there was too much pressure on the docks, it would crumble.” Gloriosa sighed, “It’s been like that ever since. We haven't been keeping the camp in a good condition since we became the directors.” Dro had an idea, “What if we pitched in to help get the camp back on its feet?” Timber looked at his sister for a moment before they agreed to having Echo Squadron, the Mane 6 and the two Crystal Prep girls to help get the camp on its feet and buy time in between for the Squadron to investigate the Grublin presence in the forest. Dro’s wrist comm started to beep as he opened it and realized, “I received a transmission from Mom, she’s going to be sending one our friends here to help us out. She also needs Knight Light to report back to Cloud Cracker Base.” Knight Light sighed as he said, “Duty calls.” Dro threw down a portable portal chamber and turned it on, Knight Light entered the portal as a familiar ex-nemesis emerged from the portal, decked out in Camp Everfree gear, “Hey guys, mind if I lend a hand?” Leg. Spyro smiled, “I’ve never been so happy to see you again, Sunset.” Everyone knew that Sunset Shimmer has reformed from working with Malefor, but she did warn them about Malefor's plans for bringing war to Equestria. But now she wants to help out the Echo Squadron with getting the camp back on its feet. Leg. Spyro now had a new priority at Camp Everfree as he turned to Dro and said, “Take Sonata and Ter back to the ship and get some supplies. Be sure to tell Blaster-Tron that he’s going to join us in fixing the camp.” The three nodded and left for the ship as Leg. Spyro asked Gloriosa, “Are there any old blueprints to some of the buildings here?” The director nodded as she explained, “Our great-grandparents founded the camp, so they might have some of the old blueprints in the cabin.” Twilight decided to ask, “What about the Grublins?” The team knew that they can’t get the camp back on its feet with the Grublin sightings in the forest. If they were to focus solely on rebuilding the camp, those things will take the advantage and catch them off guard. Leg. Spyro decided, “We’ll split into two teams. Alpha Team will focus on repairing the camp while Bravo Team will set up a perimeter around the camp in case any grublins try to attack the camp.” Spike asked, “Who should be Alpha and Bravo?” That’s when he had to think hard on choosing which members of their group would be fixing the camp and which members would keep a lookout for any signs of activity involving the rumored grublin activity. So Leg. Spyro turned to Twilight, “Twilight, you and the other five can help with fixing the camp. Dro, Sunset, Indigo and Lemon will also be part of Alpha.” Twilight looked at the others who would be part of the repair team, “We’ll set up a workshop once Dro and the others return. Who should be the Patrol Team?” Leg. Spyro now had to decide on who would be Bravo Team. These people would ensure that if any grublins approach the camp, they would make sure that they didn’t get too close. After looking over the remaining members of the team, he decided, “Voodood, Donkey Kong, Spike, Ter, Sonata, Camo and I will set up a perimeter around the camp. We’ll make sure that they don’t get through if they decide to attack.” Gloriosa spoke, “I don’t know why those things have set their sights on the camp.” Spike looked at her, “Well, I guess we better find out why they’re here.” After the remaining members of the team returned with Blaster-Tron and the supplies, the repair team began setting up a workbench and a drafting board to look over the schematics of the camp’s structures. They would also work on the motor boats and most of the camp’s aquatic activities and go for a test run. The directors pitched in for renovating the camp so they could give the team a few pointers on certain structures. Meanwhile, the Patrol team would guard the perimeter of the camp, Voodood would use his axe to set a magic tripwire near the hiking trails in case any grublins come that way while Blaster-Tron sets up a sensor to ensure that if those monsters make a move underground, it will alert the team. Camo threw out Chili-Pepper bombs and Exploding Watermelons around the perimeter and the hiking trails while Ter used his powers to erect a wall to serve as a watchtower. Donkey Kong was mainly the muscle and as a gorilla, he can travel by tree. He used the strongest tree there is to watch for any movement, not before setting up a few barrel mines that was stocked with explosive powder. He kept his bongos with him since the powder would only ignite with a bongo tune. He also kept a few bananas with him (most likely from the airship's pantry) just to sate his appetite. But if those grublins ever show themselves, he would give them a Kong Knuckle Sandwich. While the team began their patrol, Spike took it upon himself to look over the memories of the boy. He wanted to know if these memories have anything to do with the artifact that Gloriosa mentioned as he looked up from his gauntlet and gazed at the forest. If the artifact is something related to his past, he needs to find it without wanting the others to be suspicious. He asked Drago, “Drago, can you scan for any magic anomalies in that forest?” The spirit stated, “I can try, but something rubs my dragon head the wrong way about it.” The gauntlet flashed briefly as a horizontal light moved vertically down the length of the forest. This happened for a few seconds until it stopped as Drago spoke his results, “I don't know about you, kid. But there are definitely grublins hiding in that forest. But there's also a very familiar magic somewhere close to the camp, something that should be avoided.” “Should we find out where it is?” “We still have to patrol the perimeter. But we'll look into it once we know more about the grublin presence.” Spike couldn't shake the feeling that whatever that Drago found, had something to do with the Grublin presence. Back at the camp, the others were fixing up the place, starting with the boathouse. But among them was Lemon Zest, the girl from crystal prep, helping Dro with refurbishing the boathouse. Back at Equestria Shores, she was determined to find out who Megaman was until that plant grabbed her and RD, forcing the Echo Squadron to take on their elemental forms. Her eyes were closed when they morphed, but she knew right then and there that Spike was Megaman. Over the next few days, she began to hear the Trap Master’s voice in her headset. Dean Cadance told her to keep it with her. Lemon knew right then and there that with her Traptanium Headset and the Trap Master’s voice, she’s going to be like Spike - She’s going to be a Trap Master. But her thoughts were interrupted when the voice spoke, “Lemon, We are being watched.” Lemon decided to ask, “What do you mean?” The voice replied, “A nosy human is spying on us with a nearby drone and it’s not from the ship.” Lemon slowly scanned the skies until a visor appeared from her headset, “This will help you find the drone. I apologize for updating the headset.” She didn’t mind as she spotted a gold outline near the camp gate. After further examination, she realized that it was a drone with a camera attached to it. The voice was right, someone is spying on them, so Lemon has to do something about that drone. The voice spoke, “You’ll need three stones and string to build a bolas.” The green haired girl found three stones and strings as the voice instructed. After that she tied the strings to the stones and connected them together. After the bolas was complete, she looked up at the spy drone and knew, “I’ve only got one shot.” She closed her eyes as she felt the ground beneath her shift, the bolas spinning in the wind as she aimed for her target. She was once a Shadowbolt during those competitions which made her know that throwing a bolas was easy for her. At an instant, her eyes snapped open as she threw the bolas at the hovering drone. The bolas wrapped around the drone as the weight of the stones dragged it to the ground, causing it to crash right in front of her. The drone’s crash caught the team’s attention as Dro approached Lemon, “Lemon, what's going on?” The lime haired girl pointed to the wrecked drone and said with distaste, “Spies.” Gloriosa approached the two while Lemon was recovering the surprisingly intact bola from the wreckage. Lemon explained, “Someone is using that drone to spy on the camp. I had to destroy it.” The director moved close to the drone as she looked at the damage. After examining the drone, the rotors were destroyed in the crash, it's landing gear was blown off, but the chassis is still intact. But her curious face turned suspicious when she said, “And I may know who that someone is.” There was venom in her voice as she pointed out an insignia on the drone - which showed three moneybags. As the drone’s footage went to static due to it being destroyed, the man behind the desk sighed at the fact that his investigation into Camp Everfree turned up nothing on why the directors have not sold the camp as well as the presence of the Echo Squadron. As he became curious of their presence at a supposed failing summer camp, his office door opened as a secretary approached him, “Mr. Rich, I came to inform you that…” She paused before continuing, “Someone broke into R&D and made off with one of our files.” Filthy Rich looked at his secretary with a curious and questioning look and asked, “Which file was it?” His secretary reported, “It was one of the ‘Top Secret’ files under Aviation, sir.” She held up a calling card in the shape of a crystal dragon skull that looked like it was on fire, “The culprit also left this in the R&D department.” The businessman sighed, he knew that calling card and he’s been trying so hard to find anything on him. He only knew of one name, one title as he sighed in anger, “Artemis!” He was angry that this thief is causing problems for him like he always does. He would like nothing better but to see ‘Artemis’ caught. He thanked his secretary for the information and she left. He looked at the drone’s footage again and noticed something in the forest near the camp, he saw a grublin scouting close to the camp until it was shocked by a shock trap set up by the squadron. He knew the camp had a few reports of unusual activity. The businessman was curious ever since his recent visitors in the hoods gave him an amulet in the shape of a dark dragon skull as a token of cooperation. He never expected to see them move on the site of his future spa, if the owners weren’t persistent. Meanwhile at a secret base, a cloaked figure walked up to his command computer with his recently acquired file and sat down as he began to type away. His cool purple eyes that peered through the hood had a look of anxiousness as he opened a communications array as he said with a voice of an experienced fighter, “Artemis to Crystal Heart, come in, Crystal Heart.” A female voice spoke, “I hear you, Artemis. The hooded man stated, “I managed to secure the file from Filthy’s R&D Labs. I need you to get this to Echo Squadron once the situation at the camp is dealt with.” ‘Crystal Heart’ nodded, “I’ll be sure to get it to them.” ‘Artemis’ knew that he would be taking a big risk and he did much to hide in the shadows and as far as he knows, only a few know his real name. He looked at a heart picture of a certain principal as a small tear formed in his eye. He turned to the screen and said, “Once the camp is safe, I need you to send the reactivation codes to my outposts. Authorization 3566728-SDF.” ‘Crystal Heart’ was shocked, “You want me to reactivate the outposts?” ‘Artemis’ chuckled, “That squadron has always been itching to get out of the airship since their vacation.” ‘Crystal Heart’ nodded, “You also know about…” ‘Artemis’ understood, “The boy… Spike. I also know you sent him there on a different mission of his own.” ‘Crystal Heart’ assured, “She misses you, you know.” ‘Artemis’ glanced at the picture again and at the ring on his finger, “I know.”