By the time they had found the river and followed it, the sun was high in the sky. Firetail was very bored. He swished his tail through the underbrush as he walked.

“Can you do the tail-on-fire thing while your tail is underwater?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes,” Firetail said. “Although it takes so much more energy.”

Slangfang approached him and whispered into his ear. “Do you think we can trust them?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” Firetail whispered back. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Well, I think all of the invading dragons can’t be trusted,” Slangfang said.

“That is what you thought about Avis dragons, wasn’t it?” Firetail asked.

“Well, that’s different!” Slangfang said.

“Not really,” Firetail said. He hit Slangfang with his wing playfully.

“What are you two talking about?” Kryptonite asked.

“Nothing,” Firetail and Slangfang said at the same time. They looked at each other and blushed.

“Wait a minute,” Rainbow said. “Are you two… Together?”

“Yes!” Firetail said.

“No!” Slangfang said at the same time. They both looked at each other again. Rainbow raised her eyebrow at them.

“Okay, we are,” Slangfang relented. “But it’s not a bad thing!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Kryptonite said. “I get it.”

“We’re here!” Rainbow said. They had arrived at the huge waterfall’s base. The colorful water plunged into the pool at the base and sent splashes high into the air.

“Where’s the entrance again?” Kryptonite asked.

“Over this way,” Rainbow said. She walked into the underbrush near the base of the cliff and then pulled aside some hanging greenery. A tunnel was hidden underneath.

“So, at the end of this tunnel is this friend of yours?” Slangfang asked.

“Yep!” Rainbow said. “Now, onwards!” She marched into the tunnel, humming. The rest followed her into the sloping corridor. It twisted in a downward spiral. That eventually straightened out. They finally emerged into a huge underground cavern with cobwebs strewn all across it.

A sudden growl echoed across the cavern as a huge, eight-eyed, furred head swung around to face them. Firetail and Slangfang froze, staring up into the golden eyes.

“Who’s there!” A voice called. A long, serpentine green dragon dropped off of the huge furred dragon. They looked at the group and stopped in apparent shock.

“What are you two doing back here?” She said in a southern accent. “And who are these two?”

“We need some help, Stryker,” Rainbow said. “There’s a big problem, and you both can help.”

“Well, let’s hear this story,” Stryker said.

…

“So, you need Spinner and me to help you take down these ant dragons?” Stryker asked ten minutes later.

“Yes,” Firetail said. “If we don’t, they will take over this jungle and then the world.”

“That’s serious!” Stryker said.

“Yes, it very much is,” Slangfang said. “All of our homes are in danger.”

“I guess we could help,” Stryker said. “Let’s do this!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow said. “Let’s go beat up some ant butts!”

“Spinner!” Stryker shouted. “We need to leave!” Spinner made two clicking sounds followed by a whine and a whistle.

“Out of the cave,” Stryker said. “Let everyone on.” Spinner lay down on the ground and spread out one leg. The five dragons climbed onto his huge back.

“Hold on tightly!” Stryker said. They all complied. “Spinner! GO!” Spinner crouched down and launched himself at one of the cave walls that had a massive covering made entirely of silk. It exploded outwards. As they continued on, Firetail realized that the wall had been just silk holding together a bunch of rocks.

The huge passageway led upward for a short while.

“Okay, everyone, hold your breath!” Stryker said. She inhaled deeply and her throat and chest ballooned with the air. The others inhaled as well. Stryker then tapped one of her extra appendages on Spinner. Spinner dove forward and plunged into a pool of water. He swam through the underground river and up, up, up to the surface. His head burst forth from the depths of the lake.

When they surfaced, Firetail recognized the massive lake that he knew was right next to the Avis village. Spinner launched into the air, his massive wings pumping the air and sending waves across the surface of the lake.

“Wahoo!” Firetail yelled.

“This is amazing!” Slangfang said.

“Awesome!” Rainbow shouted. “So cool!”

Spinner rose into the air quickly. He hovered there, waiting.

“Where do we go now?” Stryker said.

Firetail surveyed his surroundings. In the distance, he saw the vast mountain where the central point of the ant colony was.

“Over there,” he said, pointing.

“Ok,” Stryker said. She climbed forwards along Spinner’s neck. She talked in his ear and pointed towards the mountain. Spinner nodded and Stryker climbed off his neck.

Spinner lurched forward and turned to head toward the mountain. He flew on surprisingly silent wings above the canopy of the jungle. As they got closer, Firetail thought about their plan.

“We should probably get some help,” he said.

“From who?” Slangfang asked. “There’s no one who would help us.”

“If we could convince our tribes…”Firetail said.

“Nah,” Slangfang said. “That won’t work. They’d attack each other.”

“What if we get the leaders of our tribes to meet?” Firetail suggested. “I could get Goldfleck to come and you could get whoever is in charge in your village.”

“Maybe,” Slangfang said. “Although they still might attack each other.”

“What if we bring them to the meeting and tell them that they shouldn’t attack each other?” Firetail said. “Then we could tell them about our situation and see if they’ll cooperate.”

“That’s a good plan,” Slangfang said. “But where should we meet?”

“The place we first met,” Firetail said.

“Works for me,” Slangfang said.

“Hey, Stryker!” Firetail said.

“Yeah, what is it?” Stryker asked. Firetail and Slangfang presented their idea.

“We need all the help we can get,” Stryker said. “Let’s do it.”

“Once we get to the mountain, you two can go off and do it,” Rainbow suggested.

“Agreed,” Stryker said. Suddenly, Spinner lurched to one side.

“Aah!” Kryptonite yelled.

“What’s going on!” Slangfang shouted. Stryker held on to Spinner’s fur with her back legs and then stood up. She looked behind them and saw that four dragons were tailing them.

“We’re being followed,” she said when she dropped down. “We have to find a way to take them out.”

“I’ll handle this,” Rainbow said. She opened her mouth and began sucking in the air around them to form a ball of energy. She then sent the energy out in a beam at the dragons. They scattered to avoid it and then regrouped. Again, Rainbow sucked in the air and shot out a laser. The blast slammed into an invisible shield that flickered blue momentarily.

“Aargh!” Rainbow yelled. “They put up one of those annoying blue shields!”

“Let me,” Kryptonite said. She held out her talon and dark swirling shadows formed into a ball of energy in her palm. She threw it at the shield. It passed straight through and exploded. The dragons fell and were swallowed up by the jungle.

“Woah,” Slangfang said.

“I know,” Rainbow said. “It’s so cool.”

“We’re here!” Stryker said. Spinner rotated his wings to slow down and then glided to the mountain. He landed nearby and folded his massive wings against his body. He opened his mouth in a huge yawn.

“We should do our plan now,” Slangfang said.

“You two do that, and we’ll observe,” Rainbow said.

“See you later,” Kryptonite said.

“Bye,” Firetail said. He and Slangfang flew off in two directions. Firetail approached his village and landed on the outskirts. He walked down the main entrance path, humming.

“Who’s there!” one of the guards called.

“Just me,” Firetail said as he turned the corner.

“Oh, there you are,” the other guard said. “Where’ve you been?”

“Off doing a bit of scouting near the lake,” Firetail responded.

“Did you see the demon?” the first guard asked.

“Demon?” Firetail said, confused.

“Yeah,” The second guard said. “There was this huge dragon-demon-thing that came out of the lake and flew away.”

“Crazy…” The first guard said. “One dragon said she saw dragons on top, and another said that it had fur.”

“Fur?” Firetail said, thinking fast. “Maybe it was a wolf.”

“Naw,” the second guard said. “Way too big.”

“Hmm,” Firetail said. “Well, I didn’t see it.” I did, but I was riding it. He thought.

“Oh,” The first guard said. “Well, come on in.” He opened the gate and Firetail walked through it into his home.

Luscious greenery was everywhere, and the shouts and calls of the markets filled the air. He wandered through the streets, breathing in deeply the smells of the roasting berries and monkey jerky.

When he was done immersing himself in his home village, he walked over to Goldfleck’s house.  He knocked on the door and waited. After waiting for several minutes, Firetail knocked again, but the door opened just before he did.

“What do you want?” Goldfleck said.

“Well, there’s something I need to show you,” Firetail said.

Goldfleck sighed. “Come on in,” he said. Firetail stepped inside and looked around. The workroom was sparsely decorated, with a hanging golden lamp and a small table. There was a closed door and an open doorway. Goldfleck walked through the doorway, and Firetail followed.

“Want some tea?” Goldfleck asked.

“No thanks,” Firetail said. He looked around the room. It was spacious, with the room almost directly connected to the living room, separated by a single post to support the roof. The living room had two cushioned chairs and a small table in the center.

“Oh, hi,” a voice said. Firetail turned and saw Flower standing in a doorway he hadn’t seen.

“Hi,” he said.

“What did you need to show me?” Goldfleck asked. “You brought it with you, I hope?”

“No,” Firetail said. “It isn’t something I can bring.”

“Well, is it a serious deal?” Goldfleck asked.

“Yes, very,” Firetail said.

“Well, I guess I gotta go,” Goldfleck said. “See you later, Flower.”

“Bye,” Flower said. Firetail and Goldfleck left the house and flew up and away. Firetail flew ahead of Goldfleck, leading him to the clearing in the trees. He landed nearby and walked the remaining portion. Suddenly, Goldfleck hissed. He pushed Firetail behind him and leaped forwards, his body shimmering as it melted into a living golden statue.

Firetail looked up and saw Gila, the infamous head of the Reptiliks. His mottled orange and black body had a deathly aura that radiated off him.

“Goldfleck,” Gila said. “What might you be doing here?”

“That is something I’m choosing not to share,” Goldfleck said, his voice metallic.

Firetail and Slangfang, coincidentally, jumped forward at exactly the same time.

“Stop!” Firetail said.

“Do not fight!” Slangfang said. Gila and Goldfleck both stopped and stared at the two dragons in front of them.

“Oh, Firetail,” Goldfleck said. He sighed. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”