//------------------------------// // The LightFoot Tribe // Story: The Legend of Spike: Krazoa Island // by DiabloGuapo //------------------------------// The Great Fox descended from the sky and landed on the beach of Cape Claw. Tricky ran down the ramp as Spike walked behind him. In his backpack was the SpellStone of Water. “Okay Fluttershy,” Spike said as he turned to the Pegasus that was looking down at him from the airship. “We’re going to drop the SpellStone back at the temple and then we’ll head back to ThornTail Hollow. Be sure to tell Pinkie Pie and Applejack that you’ve found me and that I’ll see them soon.” “Please be careful and hurry back,” she pleaded as the airship started to take off once more and head back north to ThornTail Hollow. As the ship flew away, Fluttershy looked down at Spike with a sorrowful expression. She had just found her dear friend again and she didn’t want to leave him so soon. Spike felt the same, but he had a job to do. He watched as the vessel disappeared over the rise of the cliff. “Alright Tricky, let’s hurry and return the stone,” he said to his dinosaur companion as he started to head to the Ocean Force Point Temple. “So what was it like in the CloudRunner Fortress?” the yellow and purple EarthWalker asked. “If you had come with me, you would have seen for yourself,” Spike responded. “I told you, I wasn’t going near one of those nasty overgrown bats.” “Honestly, you shouldn’t be so prejudice against them,” Spike scolded his partner. “But Spike,” Tricky protested. “The EarthWalkers and the CloudRunners have always been rivals!” “Well, your tribes are going to have to work together if you want to stop Scar. That’s how he took over the island in the first place. The tribes were too busy fighting amongst themselves to anything to stop him. ‘Divide and conquer,’ as my mother would say.” As they were talking, they heard a commotion coming from the Diamond Dog outpost up ahead. Spike saw a figure running across the beach from the wooden buildings with two angry Diamond Dogs in pursuit. As the figure came closer, Spike noticed it was a bipedal dinosaur with a thin build and a long stiff tail. On each foot, there was a sickle shaped claw and a row of feathers adorned the top of its head. Spike recognized it as a dromaeosaur, or better known as a raptor. In one clawed hand, it carried a spear and a large gem in the other. It was orange and it glowed like fire. The dromaeosaur spun around and waved its spear to keep the dogs at bay. The two dogs started to flank the dinosaur and it kept looking back and forth between the two. Spike decided to even the odds and ran to help the dromaeosaur. The Diamond Dogs weren’t expecting Spike, so they were caught off guard when the dragon rammed into one of them. The dog was knocked down to the sand and Spike whirled around to roundhouse kick the other before it recovered from the shock. Once both dogs saw who it was that had attacked them, they fled back to the outpost. Spike laughed at the retreating dogs and turned to speak to the dromaeosaur only to have a spearhead shoved right in front of his face. “Hey, you stay away you stinking dragon or me smash you good!” the dinosaur threatened in an odd accent. He wore a bronze collar and matching armbands. His scales were orange with red stripes running down his back. His face and limbs were painted with blue tribal symbols. “What?!” Spike couldn’t believe how ungrateful this guy was. “But I just saved you!” “Me trust no one!” the dromaeosaur claimed, possessively holding the orange gem close to his body. “Dogs say I steal their things, but they stinking liars!” They were interrupted when they heard a distant noise and then a cannonball crashed into a tree nearby. Spike, Tricky, and the dromaeosaur yelled in surprised and jumped away from the blasted tree and looked to the source of the noise, realizing it was cannon fire. Back at the outpost, Spike could see the two dogs had pulled out a cannon and were preparing for another shot! The raptor nearly dropped the orange gem that it was carrying and then saw that the cannon was pointed at him. He looked down at the gem and then screamed as he tossed it to Spike. The dogs then pointed the cannon towards the dragon. Spike’s eyes widened and he tossed the gem back to the raptor. “Me get out of this place!” he tossed the gem back to Spike and then sprinted away. “Adios!” Spike shook his head in disbelief and then ran to get out of the range of the cannon. Sand was kicked up as another cannonball crashed into the beach where Spike and Tricky had been standing. They made their way to the stone building at the north end of the inlet. The front of the building was shaped like a Krazoa Spirit. Its eyes were the windows and its gaping mouth was the door. Inside was a large foyer. The ceiling was supported by large pillars, torches hung on the walls, and there was a sealed door on the other side of the room. On either side of the sealed door was a statue of a Krazoa with its mouth opened. Sunlight shone through the windows and fell on the basins inside the statues’ mouths. Spike held up the orange gem and hummed curiously as he studied it. It seemed to be the exact size and shape as the Krazoa’s opened mouth. Testing out his theory, Spike placed the gem in the basin and stepped back. The sunlight caused the orange gem radiate a bright light as though it was on fire. “That must be a fire gem,” Tricky told Spike. “They’re supposed to glow like fire when light hits them.” “They must be the key to open the door to the temple,” Spike guessed. “But the other one is missing,” Tricky pointed out as he stood by the other statue. “That dinosaur said that he got it from the Diamond Dogs,” Spike said, remembering what the rude dromaeosaur told him. “What was he anyway?” “That was a LightFoot.” “So that is what they look like,” Spike said to himself. They had passed through their home in the woods when they first came to Cape Claw. “Anyways, we need to find the other one and I have a feeling that I know where it is.” “You don’t mean…” “The outpost,” they said in unison. Spike and Tricky stood just outside of the Diamond Dogs’ beach-side camp. It was only a couple hours earlier that morning when they were last there and saved the Queen CloudRunner. Tricky crept behind Spike as they moved in between buildings. They took cover behind a building when they heard a few dogs coming. The Diamond Dogs looked around, but didn’t see the two adventurers sneaking behind them. Ever since the LightFoot had robbed them and the CloudRunner had escaped, they’ve been on the alert. Spike quickly knocked out the two dogs by the good old “knock their heads together technique,” and he and Tricky moved on. They didn’t know how many dogs were stationed here, so they remained as quiet as possible as they check each building for the gem. “Spike, over here,” Tricky whispered as he peaked into a building. When Spike looked inside himself, he saw three Diamond Dogs guarding the fire gem. To Tricky’s surprise, Spike opened the door and walked in. “Spike, what are you doing?!” The dogs perked up when they saw the dragon and two of them raised their clubs to attack while the third grabbed the gem. One of the dogs swung their club at Spike, but the dragon caught them by their wrist and kicked the dog in the stomach. Spike pried the club from the falling dog’s paw and used it bash the second dog against its helmet. Seeing the other two dogs knocked out on the ground, the third dog backed away with the fire gem. “Do you know who I am?” Spike asked the dog while starring into eyes, activating the dragon-spell. The third dog nodded his head in the affirmative. “Have you an idea how many anonymous Diamond Dogs I’ve beaten to a pulp since I’ve arrived on this island?” The dog nervously nodded again. “And look at you, you haven’t got a nametag.” Spike pointed at the dog’s standard issued armor that only consisted of sport equipment. The Diamond Dog self-consciously looked down at nametagless armor as Spike chuckled as he spoke. “General Scar has his own custom made monogrammed armor, but not you. You’ve got no chance. Why don’t you just give me the stone and then fall down?” Under the influence of the dragon-spell, the Diamond Dog handed the fire gem over to the dragon and then quietly laid face first onto the ground. Tricky was laughing his head off all the way back to the temple, where Spike placed the fire gem in the second statue. When the sunlight from the window illuminated the gem, the sealed door slid open. After passing through a corridor lit by blue magical torches, Spike and Tricky came to an open-air sandy area. There were streams of fresh water flowing over the rocky walls to form pools of clear water along the side a trail that led to the temple. Two parallel rows of palm trees and tall pillars with fire braziers on top of them lined the sandy path. The temple was supported by pillars made from enchanted water and the stone walls were decorated with blue stained glass windows. Walking up the stairs to the door, Spike noticed the door to the temple was a circular gate with an altar in front of it just like the bridge that led to the Volcano Force Point Temple. Also like the other temple, the glowing blue altar had an image of a SpellStone engraved on it. Spike pulled the SpellStone of Water out of his bag and sparks shot of it, activating the gate. It spun around to reveal the entrance and Spike and Tricky went inside the Ocean Force Point Temple. They walked down a staircase that led them to the main foyer of the temple. More water pillars lined the foyer and Spike could see a hallway at the other end. The hall had large panels on the floor in a six by four pattern and there was space between the rows. Sparks of electricity crackled from the plates, revealing the booby trap. To confirm it, Spike pulled a bit from his bag and flicked it down the hall. When the coin landed on a panel, the hall was filled crackling bolts of electricity. If someone stepped on the wrong plate, they’ll be electrocuted to death. “Hey Spike, check this out,” Tricky called to him. Spike turned around to see the dinosaur looking at the wall on the other side of the foyer. It too was decorated by tiles arranged in a six by four pattern. The tiles were navy blue, but Spike noticed that each row had a tile that had a white border. “One, four, one, four, three, three,” Spike recited the pattern. The dragon then headed to the first panel. He stopped and looked back to Tricky. “Let me go first.” “Are you sure this will work?” Tricky asked, cringing with nervous anticipation. “Only one way to find out,” Spike responded as he raised a foot over the left most panel of the first row. He closed his eyes and bit his lip as he brought his foot down on the panel. When nothing happened, he opened an eye and looked around. He then sighed with relief and headed to the next row. This time, he stepped on the right most panel. Again, the dragon didn’t get shocked. “Alright, I’ve got it. Follow me and step where I step.” With Tricky behind him, he went across the left most panel of the third row, the right most panel of the fourth, and then straight across the fifth and sixth rows over the panels one from the right. On the other side, there was a pool of water with a narrow walkway rose up to platform. On the platform was a door that slid open as they approached it. On the other side of the door was a round room with a pool of water in the middle. They exited through an arched hallway to the right and came to a room that was filled with water. The only thing in it was a tall pillar in the center. They swam to the next arched hallway to the right and came to a shrine that contained statues of the six Krazoa Spirits. The statues rested on platforms overlooking the room, and water flowed out of their mouths like fountains. Below the fountains was a round platform with six empty urns resting on it. Spike looked to the right and saw that the next hallway was blocked by a round slab. Looking back at the urns, Spike saw that the fountains of waters were pouring onto the spaces in between the urns. The dragon grabbed the side of the platform and gave it a push. He turned the heavy wheel until the urns were directly under the fountains. The water filled the urns, causing the platform to sink into the floor. Like a giant key, the platform unlocked the giant round door and it rolled away. In the fourth room, they found a staircase that to a terrace that ran along the inside of the four rooms, connecting them. Following the balcony, they passed through the statue room and back the chamber that was filled with water. Once there, they saw that the pillar in the center was in fact a platform with two unlit altars on it; one blue and the other yellow. Walking across a stone bridge that connected the balcony to the platform, Spike pulled out the SpellStone again. He guessed that the blue altar must be for the SpellStone of Water just as the green altar was for the SpellStone of Earth in the other temple. “Come here Tricky,” Spike said to his partner as he held the SpellStone over the altar. “Only you can activate the portal to the Force Point.” Tricky nodded and stepped onto the blue altar, causing it to glow. Magical sparks from the blue gem activated the altar and a blue glow of magic transported Spike and Tricky deep beneath the island. Once again, they reappeared on the platform over the abyss. They could see that the green SpellStone was still in its place, doing its job to help restrain the flow of the vortex of magical energy that rose up from the planet. Spike placed the SpellStone of Water in the blue framed slot in the central pillar and the gem glowed. With two of the four SpellStones in place, the vortex of swirling magic was now reduced to half of its maximum output. Once they had returned the SpellStone of Water to its proper place, the dragon and the dinosaur were transported back outside the Ocean Force Point Temple. “Yeah yeah! We’re halfway there!” Tricky cheered. “Let’s head back to the Hollow,” Spike suggested. “My friends are waiting for me. Oh, I can’t wait to see them again!” “And we can get directions to the next SpellStone too!” Tricky added. Spike tapped the communication stone on his wrist and it glowed blue. “Spike here. We’ve returned the second SpellStone and we’re on our way back.” Slippy’s head appeared and started to say, “That’s great news, Spike. We’ll…” “Is that Spike?! Ooh! Ooh! Let me talk to him! Let me talk to him!” an excited voice interrupted and Pinkie’s head replaced Slippy’s over the communication stone. “Spike!” “Hey Pinkie,” Spike laughed, amused by her antics and overjoyed to see another one of his friends. “Fluttershy told me that you’ve been running around saving dinosaurs! That sounds so exciting! We’ve also been running around trying to find you! First, we went up north to see some wooly mammoths, but they don’t call themselves wooly mammoths. Instead, they call themselves SnowHorns. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever? Get it; the ‘coolest?’ All of the dinosaurs here have cool names like that. There’s the EarthWalkers, the ThornTails, the…” “Alright, he gets it Pinkie,” Applejack’s voice said to cut off the barrage of words coming from the hyperactive pony’s mouth. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Applejack’s here too. Say ‘hi’ Applejack!” Pinkie’s head vanished and Applejack’s took its place. “Now how does this here do-hickey work?” she asked, looking around with a confused look. “Ah can see Spike, but can he hear or see me?” “Yes, I can Applejack,” Spike answered, chuckling. “Well, howdy there Spike,” the farm pony greeted. “Ah’m glad to see that you’re alright.” “My turn again!” Pinkie declared. “Now hold your horses. Ah’m talkin’ here!” Applejack said as she looked to an off screen Pinkie Pie. “But I want to use it again.” “Pinkie, let go. Just wait your turn!” As the two fought over the communication stone, Spike and Tricky laughed. “Alright, I’ll see you when we get back. Spike out.” He tapped the stone, deactivating it. Excited to see his friends, Spike, with Tricky following him, ran along the road that led through the woods south of ThornTail Hollow. As they hurried, they heard the sound of something whimpering. Up ahead, they saw a small dinosaur in the middle of the road. Approaching it, Spike saw that it was a baby LightFoot. The poor little thing was trembling as tears ran down its cheeks. “Hey there, little fella,” Spike friendly said to the small raptor as he took a knee in front of it. “Oh… I don’t like this, Spike,” Tricky said uncomfortably as he looked around. The Prince EarthWalker heard the sound of rustling leaves and looked up at the trees. Up in the trees, a bunch of LightFoot warriors were hiding among the red and gold leaves. “Spike, look out! It's a trap!" Tricky’s warning came too late, for six grown dromaeosaurs jumped out of the tree and landed on the dragon. As Spike came to, he saw the blurred image of orange and red bodies in front of him. He tried to move, but found that his body couldn’t move. “That’s the one,” one of the figures told another. Spike’s vision cleared and he saw the LightFoot that he had encountered on the beach. “That’s the stinking beast that took my treasure!” “What happened?” Spike groaned. He then saw that he was tied up to a totem pole. “Untie me right now!” “I am Chief LightFoot and we don’t like thieves,” the other dromaeosaur with a raspy voice hissed as he brought his face close to Spike’s. Unlike the others, his scales were yellow with red stripes and his crest had more feathers. His armlets, crown, and collar were silver and he his tribal patterns were green. “Thief?” Spike exclaimed, insulted by the claim. What are you talking about?” “You take our treasure and give it to the stinky dogs!” the Chief accused. As the Chief spoke, Spike saw Tricky tied up on the ground with a gag in his mouth. “Yeah, tell him Chief!” cheered the other LightFoot. “Kill the stinking dragon!” “I didn’t take your treasure! You gave it to me!” Spike shouted. “Let me show you what we do to thieves!” The Chief stepped back and his warriors came forward carrying their spears. “Boy, you made a big mistake,” Spike growled. He flexed his arms, stretching the ropes until they snapped from the strain. He took a breath and started to breathe green fire in the air over the LightFoot warriors’ heads. The warriors dropped their spears and covered the feathers on their heads. The dragon then shot little flames at their feet, making them dance to avoid getting burned. “Ah! Ah! Ah!” the Chief screamed as he hopped about. “Stop! Stop! Look, I’ll untie your friend. Just please stop!” He went over and undid the knots on Tricky’s ropes. After releasing the EarthWalker, the Chief and his tribe fled from the totem pole. “Tricky, are you okay?” Spike asked as untied the gag around the dinosaur’s mouth. “Blah! Yeah, I’m okay,” he said as he spat out the gag. When Spike stood back up, he took a look at his environment. The totem pole stood atop of a large mound that appeared to be some sort of sacred ground for the LightFoot Tribe. Around the mound was a misty swamp with moss covered trees rising out of the water. In the trees were huts that had bridges running between them. In the water were reeds and large lily pads. “Come on, I want to give those LightFoots… er… LightFeet… whatever they are… a piece of my mind!” Spike growled as he headed towards the village. In the center of the trees was a large gazebo with a little bridge leading up to it. As Spike and Tricky approached the pavilion, they could see the Chief was reclining on a throne surrounded by guards. To the Chief’s left was a huge muscular LightFoot with brown scales and black stripes. Spike determinedly marched up to the throne, but was blocked when two guards crossed their spears in front of him. “Aw, not you again!” gripped the Chief as he sat with his legs hanging over an arm of the throne. The crowned LightFoot waved his claw as though he was trying to shoo the dragon away. “We know you didn’t take our treasure, just go away!” Spike knocked with the spears blocking his way with impatient grunt. The Chief frowned and sat up straight in his throne. “So, you looking for Krazoa Spirits, eh?” “Yes, I am,” Spike answered, surprised that the dinosaur knew about his quest. “So, maybe I’ll help, eh?” the Chief with a sly grin. “You see, we keep a secret. Under our village is a mighty chamber. Some say it was built by the Krazoa. It started whispering when you came by. Do you want to see for yourself, maybe?” “Duh, stupid question,” remarked Tricky. Spike looked back and grinned a bit. The small EarthWalker reminded Spike of how he was when he was younger. “Of course we want to see that!” “Not so fast!” the Chief interjected. “Only if you complete the LightFoot tests can you enter.” The LightFoot Tribe then looked to each other and started chuckling. Whatever these test were, Spike had a feeling that they wouldn’t be easy judging by their laughing. “Well, uh…” Spike hesitated. “They’re laughing at you, Spike. You’ve gotta do it now,” Tricky tried to coax him into accepting. “Fine, I’ll do it,” Spike declared. “Very well. There are two tests. The first is the Tracking Test,” the Chief explained. “There are four totems with CloudRunners on top. Activate all of them within two and half minutes.” “Ha! That’ll be easy,” Spike claimed as he spread his wings. “I’ll just fly over and…” “Not so fast!” the Chief stopped him. “If you do test, then you must do it as a LightFoot. No wings. Your test begins… now!” Spike was disgruntled from being forbidden to use his wings, but he hurried out of the Chief’s gazebo. He found the first CloudRunner totem right off the bat. It was just a stone’s throw away from the gazebo. Spike climbed up to a tree hut and crossed the bridge to a round platform where the totem pole stood. He pulled the lever on the back and the wooden CloudRunner’s wings extended. From the platform, Spike spotted the next totem pole off in the trees just outside the village. Spike dove off the platform and swam to the totem. The third totem was on a small island in the middle of the swamp. Spike hopped across stepping stones to reach it. The last totem overlooked the village on a large rock that stuck out of the water. Spike quickly climbed up the rock and threw the last switch. As Spike crossed the bridge back to the throne room, the Chief laughed and said, “Well done, Spike. You have completed the Tracking Test. Very good. Now, follow me.” Spike looked to Tricky and they shrugged to each other. They followed the tribe outside to a totem pole that had long arms sticking out of it. In front of the totem was a pit. The LightFoots excitedly chattered as they surrounded the totem to watch the challenge. The Chief laughed again and turned to Spike, “Let’s see how strong you are.” The burly brown LightFoot unfolded its arms and punched another LightFoot in the face, knocking it out. The huge dromaeosaur must have been eight feet tall! His biceps were large and his chest was broad. He stood in front of Spike, and grinned down at the dragon. Spike’s jaw dropped a little as he gazed up at the massive LightFoot and looked to the Chief, who gestured to an arm of the totem. The huge dinosaur took his place on the left arm and Spike took his place on the right. The Chief gave the signal to start just as Spike took his place, catching him off guard. The large LightFoot pushed against his end and the totem spun into the purple dragon. The totem’s wooden arm smacked into Spike’s chest, knocking the air out of him. The rotating totem dragged Spike closer to the edge and the watching tribe cheered. “Pathetic,” the Chief gloated as he saw Spike teeter on the edge of the pit. However, Spike planted his feet on the ground and pushed back. The tribe gasped and the large LightFoot exclaimed in confusion when the totem stopped dead in it tracks. “My turn,” Spike said with a smirk. He used his draconic strength and shoved against his end of the totem. The arms started to spin in the opposite direction and the big LightFoot yelled as he landed in the pit with a thud. The other raptors jumped up and down as they cheered. “Incredible, Spike. No one has ever beaten MuscleFoot before,” the Chief congratulated as he clapped his claws slowly, impressed by the teenaged dragon’s strength. Spike grinned and nodded his head as he raised a claw triumphantly in the air. The Chief then beckoned Spike and Tricky to follow him back to the sacred mound. “Well done, Spike. You are now honorary member of tribe.” The Chief of the LightFoots stood before the cobbled wall of the mound and rolled away a round slab that was blocking an opening. “I do not know what you’ll find inside, but if you really are chosen one of Krazoa, then they will guide you.” “Thank you Chief,” Spike said as he was about to head inside. “One more thing,” the Chief stopped him. “I am sorry for trouble that tribe caused you. Good luck, friend.” Spike smiled in appreciation and then went inside the mound. There was a circular platform that went around another totem pole and a ladder that went down to it. Since Tricky couldn’t enter the Krazoa Shrines and he couldn’t climb ladders, being a quadruped, he waited atop the platform as Spike climbed down. As he reached the bottom of the inside of the mound, he saw yellow light coming from a tunnel that led to a small underground shrine. Sure enough, there was a warp altar waiting for the dragon. He stood on the glowing altar and he was teleported away to face the next Krazoa test.