Cryo the dragon, Before the Storm

Prologue

In the last book, Cryo was attending class in school during his 5th grade year. It seems that Cryo’s work had earned him quite a bit of popularity at school, as he had taken up tutoring for the kids at school and had also repaired and upgraded many different electronic items for his classmates. The bell rang for the end of the school day, and Cryo would begin to walk home with several of his classmates and his “big brother,” Noble, and his best friend, Cameron. Cryo had hoped that they would both be able to spend time with him today. However, Noble and Cameron had some stuff to do at home, but would be back to spend time with him later in the day. Cryo headed back to his room in the residential building within the facility and was greeted by his mother, Tide. He would then spend time doing some of his homework, and then would decide to take a nap after it was completed.

His dream though, had some… interesting events within them. Cryo saw when he opened his eyes in it that he seemed to be in a very cold area, with snow falling from the heavens above at night. He strangely didn’t feel cold from some reason though… He then realized that his paws and arms had changed form. He found a body of water nearby, and looked at his reflection. His scales had turned full white, and his talons had been completely frozen over, with the snow falling around him seemingly being caught in some type of wind currant and rotating around his talons like a planet moves around a sun. His belly scales and turned into a light grey. He saw that his wings had grey linings and seemed to be almost transparent. He saw that his rigid scales across his back also seemed to have snow circulating around them and seemed a bit sharper then before. His tail also seemed to be a bit shorter and smaller. He quickly become curious as to why he was transformed, as he never had transformed in snowy conditions before, even back on the mountains. He saw that his head’s shape had also changed. It seemed to be a bit more rounded and more condensed. There seemed to be a small layer of ice over his yellow eyes, almost like glasses, except it didn’t seem to make it harder for him to see. His horn had been covered in ice as well, with snow circulating around it.

As he continued to observe his reflection, he began to hear jets behind him. Suddenly, he would be attacked by several assailants! The managed to bind his limbs and muzzled him, and took him into a large ship in the distence… They then pulled out a needle with a sedative in it, and injected Cryo with it, causing him to fall unconscious…

Not long after, Cryo finally woke up from his bad dream! He was relieved he was back in his room and not somewhere else entirely. It was getting close to when Cameron said he’d come to see him. Cryo decided to spend a bit of time flying outside. He left a note for Tide, who was not in the room at the time, that he would be flying outside for a bit.

But… It seemed that as he was soaring around for a bit, he would get caught in a black net! Confused at what was going on, he then felt a sting in his leg! He found a tranquilizer dart stuck in his leg! As he began to fall into unconsciousness, he would look up, and see a fleeing airship, with the net beginning to rise into a compartment on the bottom of it. Soon enough though… his mind fell to the dark…

When he woke up, he realized he had his legs and arms bound, and was muzzled, in a small pen. Even worse, he had a collar around his neck… A collar that he realized was there to block the signal of his gps tracker chip inside of him… Not long after, a group of assailants would maneuver themselves in front of the bars of Cryo’s pen. He quickly realized they were Commander Mick, and others from his traitor military unit… The same ones who’ve made several attempts to kidnap him and his mother before.

Mick chastised Cryo and would inform him that they were moving him to a “new home,” where he would be working with them to create revolutionary technology. There was only just a few hours left before they would arrive… And even worse… they were going to “punish,” him for the trouble he caused them. Mick left the room, leaving Cryo with a very limited amount of time to figure out a way to escape!

Cryo would spend that time trying to cut the bindings around his wrist with his talons, hoping that eventually, they’d break and allow him to untie his hands. As he continued to try and sever them though, some strange things began to happen around the ship. At first, he thought they were flying into a storm. But suddenly, the walls of the ship began to break off from where he was! Cryo was launched from the ship and hit the ground below, where he quickly fell into unconsciousness…”

He would wake up later, in the basement of a dwelling. He would realize that someone had seemingly been watching him as he slept… When he opened his eyes, he saw a small, white wolfy, named Lily. The young wolfy seemed to have been very worried about him and had stayed with him for some time. Cryo looked at his body and seemed to have had his injuries treated and more importantly, seemed to not be bound, muzzled, and in relative comfort in the dwelling. Not long after checking around, the Wolfy would begin to bark and summoned one of the homeowners. A man named, Eli Erinson. He lived with his wife, Arianna and his son, Seth.

Eli explained to Cryo what had been happening since he fell unconscious. The ship he was being transported in had for some odd reason knocked into a rock formation on the outskirts of the city, called Winterfell, located much farther north in the colder region of the continent. It had begun to fall apart as it continued forward. He was jettisoned from the ship and landed in a park, where Eli and a bunch of the townspeople would stand in shock at what they’d find inside. Him. Cryo become nervous at the thought at the whole town knowing about his existence…

But it turns out the town had worked together to help Cryo and make sure he’d survive. He had the bars to his pen melted to get him out of it, and then had been rushed to the veterinarian clinic, when many of the townsfolks would wait to hear the news of his survival. It turns out during that moment at the clinic, a report was made about the ship, which was found downed in the snow away from the town… The ship held information that shocked the town, including Cryo’s kidnapping and how they planned to punish him for resistance… And the crew of the ship were nowhere to be found around the crash site…

The town afterwards decided to work together to supply items to aid in his recovery and keep him in comfort. Eli would brought it upon himself to take care of Cryo until they could figure out what they could do to get them home. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get his collar off safely and the communications tower for the town had been hit during the crash as well, so they couldn’t try to make a call to his home. The people would agree to keep his location secret in the event the perpetrators would return looking for him. Cryo learned though that the items he was wearing, including his bandanna, had been taken to look more into it. Cryo tried to explain that he really needed it back, but unfortunately, they couldn’t give it back to him right then, even as he tried to explain to them how they were made. Eli didn’t believe him, and would leave it to the seamstresses in town to try to find out themselves how it was made…

Time passed, and Cryo would find life very hard to live with them and the residents of town. They failed to understand that he was more then just a “wild animal,” and more or less treated him like a dog. He found that Seth, would want to always interrupt him during naps to play, giving him much less sleep during the day. But one afternoon, as he was being walked on a leash outside, He would hear something… interesting, from a conversation between Eli and his neighbor, Clarence. He learned that Eli’s van had stopped working. After the small conversation, they continued on…

Night fell on the town, and Cryo was about to go to bed for the night. But… he decided that despite the treatment he’s been getting, he’d repair Eli’s vehicle and the communications tower, using parts from the local junkyard to fix said items. As he stepped outside in the cold though, he began to transform again, just like in his dream before he was taken. But even better, the cyantrinian collar, despite being resistant to cold, had frozen around his neck! With a good tug, he broke the collar into pieces! Feeling happy that his loved ones could track him again, he began to head to the communications tower to look into fixing it first, before Eli’s van.

As Eli and the other woke up the next mourning, they realized Cryo left the basement. They were about to call the police to help find him, when Lily was scratching and Barking at the Garage door. As they turned to open it and see what was inside, they found Cryo, fixing up the van under the hood. He had apprently stayed up all night repairing it and the communications tower. After testing his phone by calling Clarence. Sure enough, the phone connected with Clarences phone, leaving them shocked. Cryo informed them that he had called his family after fixing the tower. It seems that Mick had also destroyed the runway of the base, meaning that they would have to get new ships and repair the runway before they could pick him up. Cryo asked Eli after to test and see if his car was working. He turned it on and saw that it was working perfectly. Feeling tired after a long night of work, he asked his caretakers to let him get a little bit of sleep, and headed out of the room, absolutely dumbfounded at what they had witnessed. Clarence told them to call the mayor…

A couple days passed, and there were new plans being arranged for Cryo. But on that day, the family wanted a “distraction,” to keep Cryo out of the house for awile. So the mayor agreed to take him in for the day and watch him and try to keep him entertained. They drove to the mayors estate, and dropped Cryo off.

Cryo would meet the family eat breakfast at the table with them. Nia, the mayor of the city, would introduce Cryo to her family. There was her husband, Wake, and her daughter Sara, who seemed VERY interested in the young dragon. After breakfast they would take Cryo to their family room to watch some tv on the home theater. Sara would come into the room later and tell Cryo a bit about herself. She was very lonely, as Nia and Wake’s duties made them work nearly all the time, and really couldn’t spend time with her. Cryo decided he’d try to cheer her up by playing with her. She began to take Cryo to her room.

Cryo realized though, that Sara wanted to play “house,” with him being her baby! He refused to play at first, as he didn’t want to be treated like a baby. But… he then decided that he’d swallow his pride deep down and play house with her anyway, just to make her happy. He was changed into training pants and went about his day with Sara. After a while though, after seeing how happy she was, he didn’t mind as much anymore on being the baby.

The day would pass, and soon Cryo would finally be able to go home. Nia wanted to arrange some more “play dates,” between Cryo and Sara, which he agreed to. Soon, Eli would arrive and take him back home. When Cryo got home though, he realized that the basement had been completely changed. It was now… his own bedroom. Eli had contacted Cryo’s mother and caretakers at home and learned a great deal about the dragon. The townspeople were also informed of this discussion. So they came together and made a “home away from home,” for Cryo while Research Base Omega works on getting ships and repairing their runway. They had made cloths for Cryo, using Greg’s techniques, gave him a nice tv system and workbench to work on creating devices for himself, with parts coming in from the junkyard once a week so he could be supplied for said devices. This nice surprise excited Cryo, and soon he would be tucked into bed for the night, in some new pajamas. Before turning on naptunes to help Cryo sleep, they informed Cryo that he would be going to school for the semester in their school building instead, and his work back at home would be carried over here. Finally, Arianna turned on naptunes and Cryo quickly fell into a deep sleep. But as he slept, a familiar voice would try to call to Cryo over the radio… Realizing he was asleep, the voice decided to instead wait until he wakes up the next mourning…

Ch 1

Dreaming of the Dojo

Cryo’s eyes slowly opened up. He saw that he seemed to be somewhere… different. He looked around and saw he was laying in snow, with the winds whispering its tune all around him. It was dark out, and there was a low mist circling around the area. He picked himself up a bit, and quickly saw he was transformed again, with his scales coated in white and his talons and horn covered in ice. He also realized that his bandanna still was around his neck as well. “Wait… What in the world? Where…” “Do not be alarmed, Cryo.” said a feminine voice which echoed around the area a bit. “Huh…” Cryo looked around to see if someone was there. He couldn’t see anyone though… “I see you’re having a bit of time adapting to a bit of a “colder climate,” Isn’t that right my little grandson.” “G… Grandson? Wait…”

Cryo could hear footsteps stepping in the snow behind him. He turned around, and saw a white dragon approaching him, her form similar to his. She stopped a few feet in front of him and sat down. “Grandma? Is that… really you?” “That’s right, grandson. Its nice to see you after your recent ordeal. It seems you ended up getting into a rather dangerous situation with some old foes back home, didn’t you?” asked Wave. “Well… Y… Yea. I… got kidnapped again…” “Yes… Seems that even before the real fight begins, your finding yourself being targeted by those who want you for themselves.” “Yea… I suppose that’s kind of what ended up happening…”

Wave began stroking him across the head a few times, and smiled at him. Cryo felt comforted by this gesture. “I think you realize all too well your not out of danger yet though…” Cryo tilted his head down and gave a sigh. “To be honest… I haven’t felt really all that safe in my… um… new temporary home. I know everyone in town is looking out for Mick and the others within his squad. But… I know he won’t be stopped just by that alone. I’ve… been worried about the others who’ve been looking out for me… Anyone of them could be targeted by Mick if they know I’m here. I don’t want to end up getting them involved in this. Mick… He’s… incredibly dangerous. I know he’d stop at nothing to take me. I’ve seen all to well how far he’s willing to go to take me.” Wave nodded her head and gestured Cryo to walk with her through the snowy expanse before them. Cryo nodded and began to head forward with her.

“You have heart, my grandson. You care about the others within this town. Despite the fact that not everything you’ve experienced in town has exactly been… happy for you.” Cryo gave a sigh and a nod. “Yea… I admit… It’s been really hard for me since I’ve been here.” “But… like at Firebase Omega, the people in town just needed a small reminder, that just because you might look like a beast, doesn’t mean you are one, huh?” Cryo turned his head toward her and smiled. “Yea. I think… things have really changed for me around here. I have my own room. My own workbench. I’m going to be going to school. Things are looking to become far better for me.”

They continued walking forward as snow fell around them. Strangely, the snow itself seemed to now be taking a more silverish color as they continued forward. “Yes. You seem to be getting settled in for the time you’ll spend at this town. And you’ve already made a new friend, I see.” “A new… friend?” Wave chuckled a few times and smiled at him. “Oh yes. Susy seemed to have a real fun time with you my “little grandson.” “Wait… You… Oh that’s… embarrassing…” Cryo’s face began to become a little red. “Oh don’t worry about that grandson. You were willing to make a sacrifice for someone else. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I hear that Nia wants to set up more “play dates,” correct?” “Well…” Wave chuckled again and smiled at him. “You saw she was lonely, my grandson. And you know that feeling all too well. It’s why you were willing to do it. Don’t be so upset at being given a little “child care.” Remember why your doing it, and you’ll feel much better. Cryo looked back and smiled at Wave. “Yea. Your right. I just hope I can help her not feel as lonely at home. “That’s the way to think, my grandson. Just relax and keep a “cool head, and you’ll be able to handle some “tough spots.” Now, we have just a little further to go before we arrive at our destination.” “Destination? We… are heading somewhere?” “That’s right.” “Where are we going, Grandma?” “That building right there.”

She pointed ahead and Cryo looked forward and saw a small building. He saw a large array of stony steps leading to the top of what appeared to be some type of dragon temple. The dwelling seemed to be similar to how some of the foreign homes back on Cyriss would look like. The walls were translucent white frame with wooden rectangle frames separating it into segments. The roof was very flat, with a red, arching frame surrounding it.

“This looks like homes from the Asiaga culture back on Cryiss. I’ve never seen one in person before,” Cryo said. “This, is the dojo, Cryo.” “The… dojo?” “That’s right.” “What are we here for, Grandma?” “You’ve undoubtable noticed that you’re transformed right now, haven’t you?” “Well… Yea Grandma. I know I look quite a bit different then before.” “This transformation is known as Winter Whiteout.” “Winter… Whiteout?” “That’s right. When dragons are introduced to an element connected to their own, their bodies adapt and transform to better suit itself in it.” “Really?” “Yes. You’ve seen yourself transform in water as well.” “Yea. I know that since I was a hatchling.” “This place right here is meant to help better teach you and harness your elemental energies when within an area of your own element. Seeing as how your now currently in an area in your world where its relatively cold and snowy, this is is good opportunity to help train and hone your skills in both forms. Considering that Mick is still a rather serious issue, you might find yourself needing one or both forms to better counter what he has planned for you.” “Really? That sounds pretty nice.” “Yes. I think you can guess this temple is back on our home world. But… truthfully… this is not what it looks like on it now…” “What do you mean?” Wave looked at Cryo and gave a sigh. “That might be something to tell at another time, but for now… why don’t we head inside?” They both nodded and headed up the steps.

They soon made it to the top, and saw a sliding door similar to the walls of the structure. Wave slid the doorway to the left and they both stepped in. The floors were similar style to the walls, except it was brown squares with a red border dotting the floor. There was a large stony ferrin dragon statue to the right of the room. It’s hands were outstretched towards the center. In each hand were two rather large gemstones cut in a diamond shape in both hands. One had a white gem and the other a deep blue gem.

“This place reminds me of fighting dojos I’ve seen in a couple movies. Though… How can I use this place to train my abilities here? And… this is inside, right? Won’t I just go back to normal being in here, in a warm building?” “This building resonates with elemental energy from Ferrin dragons. It’ll allow free transform between all forms of the ferrin dragon. “Really?” “That’s right.” The dojo can transform itself to help better practice your special abilities within it.” “Really. So the dojo… can make a pool of water come up out of nowhere?” “That’s right. Take a look.”

Wave began to head towards the dragon statue to the right of the room. She put her hand over the blue gem and closed her eyes and seemingly began to focus in it. Suddenly, the whole dojo seemed to grow and extend itself outward! The floor began to sink in the center around the room, and water filled it in only a few seconds!” Cryo stood over the side of the now large pool of water and looked over it.

“Wow! That’s incredible!” As he continued to look, he suddenly began to feel his body changing. He looked at his hand, and saw that the white scales seem to be turning back to its normal Cyan color. He saw his entire body beginning to smooth out and he fins beginning to grow out of his back head, and around his arms. He realized quickly he had transformed into what was similar to when he’s in a deep body of water! “Whoa… I’m… in the water form again…” Cryo said. “This dragon form is known as the Sea Serpent,” said Wave. Cryo looked to her, and saw Wave had been transformed as well. “This is amazing! How is all of this possible!? The temple looked like it grew right in front of me!” “The temple didn’t exactly grow on the outside, Cryo. The temple’s inner structure is special. While it looks like it grew on the inside, if you were to step outside of it now, it’ll still look the same size as before. “Really? But how?” “This place is filled with the energies of the ferrin dragon. Dragon’s power can do things that may seem impossible in normal circumstances. “That’s… incredible!” “Yes… You’ll have time to acquainted with it, but for now… it seems… mourning has come, and it’s time for you to wake up, my grandson.” “Wake up! But…” “I’ll be waiting for you to begin your training the next time you fall asleep. Now… wake up, Cryo.” “But! No! But!” Suddenly, Cryo’s vision began to grow a thick white, and he felt like he was fading from the dream “Good mourning, Cryo,” he heard Wave say as the white haze took over.

Ch 2

AI Answers

“Cryo… Cryo… Wake up… Wake up!” said a familiar voice. “Huh?” His eyes slowly opened up. He saw he was back in his room at Eli’s house. He saw Arianna standing over him and nudging him a bit. “Oh. Good mourning Arianna,” Cryo said. “Good mourning Cryo,” Arianna replied back. He heard the alarm blaring over his radio as well. He pulled the covers down from his bed and began to stand up and step down from it. “There we go. Ready for your for day of school at our campus?” “Oh! I completely forgot I was going to school today! Did I oversleep?!” “Oh. No. No you didn’t. You woke up right on time.” Cryo turned his head to face his radio. He saw the radio read 8:02 A.M. “Oh…” He quickly switched off the radio alarm and looked back at Arianna. “When does school start for the day?” Cryo asked as he began to carefully remove his pajamas. “School begins in town at about 9:00. You’ll be taking a bus to the campus.” “Huh? A… bus?” “That’s right.” “Huh… I’ve never taken a bus to school before. Then again… I’ve never had a need to considering the base itself has the school directly inside.” “It won’t be that bad. The bus will arrive at about 9:45 A.M. to take you.” “Well… Ok then.” “Now come on. Come upstairs and have some breakfast with us. We bought some fruit frenzy cereal for you.” “Oh! Ok!”

Cryo looked at himself for a second. “I should… probably wear a jacket or something. It’s really cold out with the snow. Despite the Winter whiteout transformation adapting me to cold temperatures, I think its better to stay as myself and not transform in the public if I can. I like the fabrics feeling anyway. He looked at Arianna. “Umm… Can I get myself a jacket for school? It’s going to be pretty cold in the snow.” “Why of course you can. Do you need any help changing into one?” “I’ll be fine, Arianna. Just let me pick something from my closet.” “OK. I’ll see you upstairs.” Arianna began to head out and up the steps.

“Alright… Let’s see what is in the closet.” As he was about to look, he heard something behind him. “Good mourning, Creator,” said a slightly distorted and mechanical voice.” “Wha… Huh?” Cryo looked around the room, but saw no one. But then the voice sounded again. “How are you today? I believe I heard this is your first day of school in this district, correct?” Cryo realized that the voice was coming from his radio, and he believed he knew exactly who it was. He began to head to his radio. “C… Craft? Is that… you?” “That’s right, creator. It’s nice to hear from you again.” Cryo looked at the radio in disbelief. He looked towards the steps to see if anyone was listening in or watching. He saw no one was there. He then sat himself down in front of his radio. He began to speak in a whispered tone.

“Craft! What are you doing here?! How in the world did you get in my radio?!” “Well… You see creator. I’ve… been trying to track you for awhile…” “Wait… You’ve been trying to track me!?” “Correct. I realized something was wrong immediately after my sound sensors at home detected what sounded like detonations. Unfortunately I wasn’t connected to security during the incident, due to the System Safety command in place. “System Safety command?” “That’s right. The one where I am not allowed to log into security and database servers without your go too.” “Oh… That’s right…”

“Yes… I would be informed later between a conversation within your living quarters between your caretakers and mother. It was here I learned a great deal of the incident and your disappearance. Apparently, the runway was attacked, destroying the ships and the runway. I also learned that an escape ship in the model of a Commando Carrier class was seen fleeing the airspace, with something caught within a net attachment. You…” “Umm… Yea… That… sounds about right so far.”

“Yes… Anyway. It seems that tracking you was already impossible. Your gps locater chip seemed to have been disabled somehow. After combing over the previous kidnapping document, I deduced that a gps jamming collar must have been attached to your neck, like before.” “Yup… That’s right.” “Realizing you were in danger, I began to… turn to emergency measures to try to locate you.” “Wait a minute… Emergency measures? What do you mean by that, Craft…?” “Well. First… I revealed to your caretakers of my existence.” Cryo’s eyes shot up! “What!? They know about you!?” “Please understand creator. The situation was dire, and I knew they would need my help to try and find you!” Cryo gave a sigh and shook his head. “That’s… Ugh…” “Now now, creator. Their reaction was rather positive at best.” “Positive?” “Yes… They were amazed that you made me. We began to try to pool resources in trying to find an alternative way to perhaps find you.” “Well. Alright then. That’s at least… good.” Cryo looked at the time on the radio. “Hmm… I should probably start getting prepared for school. I still need a jacket.”

Cryo faced his radio again. “Umm… Can you continue your story craft? I would like to change into some cloths for school.” “Yes. Very well creator. Adjusting volume to extend voice range.” “Umm… Thank you.” Cryo began to head towards his closet and began to open it and take a look. Craft continued.

“When we realized what type of ship it was, we believed that maybe… I could be… uploaded into the ship itself and perhaps take control of it and try to send it back home to us.” “Wait? Take control of the ship?!” “Correct. One thing in particular about the kidnapping is the use of military grade ships. Mick should not have access to virtually any after the first incident. Yet… Somehow… He had quite a few at his disposal to not only take you hostage, but also perform a light bombing run of the runway to prevent any ships from tailing him. However, it seems that Gerald finally had a breakthrough with the investigation thanks to me of course. “Huh. Gerald?” “Correct. It seems that Mick and his group is involved in a larger conspiracy. Me and him were able to quickly gain access to a wealth of information on his old computer here at Research Base Omega. He tried to erase everything after the first attempt. But… I was able to find it all. Emails. Names and individuals involved, possible locations. And most importantly… military stock information.” “Military stock? You mean…”

“That’s right. Id tags and numbers on ships. The conspiracy runs deep within their group. There are some politicians who are involved. They funded and helped with gaining the hardware and ships. It was here that I combed over information with the military stock that allowed me to pinpoint which ship they were using to transport you. And… well…” Cryo immediately felt uneasy about the fact that Craft paused the conversation here… “Craft… Please don’t tell me you…” “Y… Yes creator… I’m… I’m so sorry…” “You… caused the ship to crash… Please tell me that was NOT your original intention.” “Please Creator! I swear! It was NEVER my intention!” Cryo thought for a moment at this.

“…Craft is telling the truth… I know it. He wouldn’t act out in such an aggressive and rather irrational manner to crash an entire ship with me still on it. He wouldn’t willingly put my life in such danger just to disable an aircraft. But… that does raise the question…” Cryo thought to himself. He turned back to his radio again. He picked out a lime green jacket with a couple pockets on the front of it from his closet and began to step back towards his radio. He untied his bandanna around his neck and placed it on his bed. He then went stepped a few feet in front of his radio and looked at it.

“What went wrong Craft?” “There… seemed to be someone else attempting to hack into the ship…” Cryo’s eyes shot up! “Wait! What!? Someone else tried to take control of the ship!?” “Yes…” Cryo gave out another sigh.” “Do… Do you know who it was?” “No… But one thing was for sure… They couldn’t have wanted to take control of it for good purposes…” Cryo’s eyes narrowed and he felt a knot forming in his stomach a bit. “…What do you mean… Craft?” “This… other party… it was… bizarre.” “Bizarre…” “Correct… It’s codebreaking techniques on the ship were… different… I can’t explain it… But… It was trying to take the ship much higher in the planets atmosphere. Almost… close to outer space…” Cryo’s eyes shot up again!

“WAIT… WHA… OUTER SPACE! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” “Yes… I… was basically in a tug of war match with this unknown entity for a bit of time… I… was able to eventually completely expel him from the system and lock him from interfacing anymore… but…” “But it was too late by then… By the time you’ve finished… the aircraft probably hit that rock formation. It… tore apart while flying… and… sigh… ejected me into the town below at high speed.” “Ye… Yes… I’m… I’m truly sorry creator… I really am… When I saw on the security camera on the ship with the image of you being ejected… I… I… I thought you’d be lost…” Cryo nodded his head and tapped his radio on top a few times.

“It’s alright Craft. None of this is your fault. You at least were able to pilot the ship away from the town as it began to break down. Truthfully Craft. You probably nonetheless saved my life and thousands of others within the town.” “Wait… Really?” “Yes. While the outcome was… not exactly ideal, if you hadn’t had hacked into the ship or prevented the other party from taking control… I might not be here right now… And not just me…” There was a short moment of static from the radio. “You’re… You’re a hero, Craft. Despite the setbacks… you’re a hero. Thank you.” “Yo… Your welcome, creator. I… always happy to serve your needs and wishes.”

Cryo smiled at the radio and put on his green jacket. He then took his bandanna on his bed and wrapped it around his neck again. “Well, Craft. I have to get ready for school. Arianna is probably wondering why its taking me so long to get dressed. I… I better get going. I still need to eat breakfast before school. I won’t be able to focus without food in my belly.” “Very well. I look forward to when you return.” “I’ll see you later, Craft.” “Have a pleasant day at school, creator.” Cryo began to walk forward towards the steps when he remembered something.

“Oh, Craft. Could you not make it obvious while I’m here that your sentient as well. Despite the people at home accepting you, you probably don’t want everyone here knowing there’s a sentient AI in my radio… One of them might destroy the radio out of fear of… um… a robotic uprising or whatever…?” “Understood. Will engage with you when situations are ideal, creator. Actually creator. There’s one more thing I should inform you about as well.” “What is it?” “Do you by chance, have a computer? Your mother and the other caretakers back at home would like to set up video calls on the CompCall app.” “Oh. Really?” “Yes.” “Umm… well…” Cryo looked around his bedroom, but saw that there wasn’t one available to him. “I… don’t think I actually… have one in here. I’m… going to need to get one, from somewhere…” “Well… Alright then, creator. I’ll have to inform them of this.” “Will it be hard for you to contact them? Your… not at home right now.” “It will be really simple for me. I’m connected here and to the devices back home. I should have no trouble informing them.” “Well. Alright then. See you later, Craft.” “Goodbye, creator.” Cryo continued up the staircase, into the kitchen.

Ch 3

Breakfast and Bus

Cryo entered the kitchen and found the family already eating breakfast together. They turned his head to face him. “There you are Cryo. I was wondering where you were. What kept you?” asked Arianna. “Oh… Umm… I… couldn’t figure out what to wear.” “Well. Alright then. Here. Come sit down at the table with us.” Cryo could see the family finally got a new seat at the table for him to sit and eat with them. It a rather plain wooden seat with a cushion with a water pattern. It was also wider and raised closer to the table. Cryo smiled and pulled his seat out, and set himself down on it. He saw a plain white bowl on the table, and saw his cereal had already been poured in, but with no milk. He also saw a cup next to his bowl with some orange juice in it. Cryo searched for the milk on the table. He saw the milk bottle in the center of it, and quickly opened it up and poured his milk on it. It soon was filled with milk and cereal. He smacked his chops a few times and began to eat happily. Seth watched Cryo as he ate his cereal.

“How’s your cereal, big brother?” he said. Cryo paused for a minute. “Big… brother?” he thought. He looked at Seth and smiled at him. “Oh. My cereal tastes good. This is my favorite cereal back home you know.” “Yea… Its mine too, big bro!” “Oh… Umm… That’s good Seth.” He continued to eat for a bit. “So… What grade are you in at school, big brother?” “Umm… 5th grade currently.” “That’s cool! I’m taking kindergarten right now!” “Umm… That’s nice, Seth. I do remember when I was in kindergarten.” “Really?” “That’s right.” “What do you remember big brother?” “Well… I remember my first day was… really hard and difficult for me to cope with at first…” “What! Really, big brother!?” “That’s right…” “But… WHY?” “Well… I was… bullied quite a bit on my first day…” Seth gave out a gasp. “You were bullied!?” “Unfortunately, that’s right Seth.” “But… Why would other bully you!”

“Well… You have to understand Seth. I’m not like others like you and your parents. I’m not a human. I’m a dragon. That… didn’t rub off that well with the others in class…” “But dragons are so cool! I don’t understand!” “Being a dragon in an all human setting wasn’t exactly ideal at the time. I don’t think the other kids could accept having someone so different from them in the same class setting. But… it wasn’t all bad…” “Why, big brother?” “Well… Because one of the kids decided to break off from the others and… help me through that.” “Who?” “Cameron. He’s actually Ty’s son. Ty’s one of the two humans who raised me at Research Base Omega. Back when my mother was… well… in a deep, deep sleep. Cameron gave me something I absolutely needed at the time.” “What big brother?” “A friend. He helped me through many years of school life after. However… after an… incident, at Research Base Omega, the other kids… realized that they might have been far to hard on me. Now, I’m friends with many of them and pretty well liked within school.” “What was the incident, big brother.” “Well… That’s probably a story for another time. We both have to get ready to attend school today. And the story is… a rather long one.” “Ahh… Ok…” They continued to eat together.

Soon their bellies were filled, and 2 school buses arrived to pick up Cryo and Seth. One, heading to Winterfell middle school. The other heading to Winterfell elementary school.” Cryo and Seth walked out the door, with backpacks with them, containing all their much needed supplies for the trip. “Alright you two boys. Have a good day!” “Thanks Mom!” said Seth. “Alright. See you later Arianna!” Seth quickly boarded the elongated yellow hover bus.

Cryo slowly and nervously wandered over to his. He saw a huge amount of kids staring at him as he approached… “This… feels a bit worrying…” he thought. He remembered the conversation he had with Seth earlier. He stopped in front of the door to the bus and waited for a few seconds. Soon, the bus’s doors opened and he saw the bus driver, wearing a thick blue coat, black pants, and wearing a bus cap. “Ahh… Cryo! Come on in! Everyone has been dying to see you for themselves!” “Really now…?” Cryo said. He became even more nervous at this comment. “I… hope I’m not… stepping into this thing to get made fun of again… I… haven’t had that feeling for a long time. And… Cameron is not here,” Cryo thought. “You coming, son?” the bus driver asked. “Oh! Uhh… Yea! I’m coming up!” Cryo replied.

He began to slowly make his way up the steps and into the bus… The bus’s frame on the inside was all grey metal alloys. The seats were blue and extended all the way to the back of the bus. He immediately realized every single person on the bus was immediately staring at him. His heart began to sink quickly…” “Oh no…” he thought. “Well. Find yourself a seat, Cryo.” said the bus driver. “Umm… Yea… Ok then…” Cryo replied. He quickly darted his head around to find a seat by itself. He saw one… all the way to the right of the bus. He slowly walked his way to the seat, and looked back at everyone else. Every single one of them was still staring at him in silence. Cryo gulped and climbed himself into his seat and sat down. His heart was beating faster then a base drum… “Alright. “Let’s get everyone to school now,” said the bus driver.

Ch 4

Riding and Requests

The bus began to start up and move towards its destination. Cryo sat in his seat as everyone was still staring at him. He felt like at any point, something really nasty would happen to him. “I really wish I had my stress ball and puzzle twist cube right now..” Cryo thought. Then, a voice began to speak near the back of the bus.

“Well… Looks like the freak has finally shown himself…” someone said in the back, in a black leather jacket, black hair, shaggy brown hair, and green eyes. “Oh no…” Cryo thought. But to his surprise, one of the other teens, wearing red jacket, blue pants, had brown hair blue eyes, and darker skin, immediately got up and threw a punch at that jokers head, knocking him out of his seat! “OW! What in the…” he said. “Don’t talk to that dragon that way you reject! You better show him some respect, Tanner!” “Come off it, Miles!” He got up and looked like the fight would escalate further, when the bus driver stepped in. “Hey you two! Cut that out! No fighting is allowed on the bus or school grounds!” They looked at each other a went back to their seats. Cryo looked behind, and could see that it seemed that everyone on the bus seemed to be casting a rather angry gaze on the teen who he believed his name was, Tanner. “This… isn’t what I expected to happen on my first day of school here…” thought Cryo. He took in a deep breath in and out… One of the other kids on the bus, began to lean over towards, Cryo’s seat, making Cryo nervous…

“Hel… Hello… Your name is… Cryo, correct?” said kid in a green and blue winter jacket and wearing a rounded snow cap. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, white skin, and blue pants. “Umm… Ye… Yea… I’m Cryo… Cryo the dragon…” The kids on the bus stared intently at the conversation… “Ok… This feels… incredibly awkward…” Cryo thought. “My name is… Warren. I heard… you… fix things, correct?” “Umm… Yea… I… I can fix things…” “What… type of things exactly? I heard… you repaired the communications tower and a van by yourself…” “Oh! Umm… I’m… well antiquated with many forms of technology. Household appliances, vehicles, sound systems, tv’s, and many other type of devices.” “Could you… perhaps try to repair this?…” Warren took his backpack in his hands and pulled out what appeared to be a broken Ignition gaming console. Cryo took a look at it for a few seconds. “Umm… Yea. I… have a lot of experience with ignition gaming consoles.”

A lady behind Cryo with red hair, red splotches mixed with white skin, green eyes, and wearing a vivid red coat and blue jeans in the seat behind Cryo tapped on Cryo’s shoulder. He turned his head to face her. “Do you think you could also repair my… Cylindrical music player? I have it at home,” she asked. “Um… Yea. Probably. I know how their inner core systems work well enough…” Suddenly, many of the kids began to lean around Cryo’s seat! The next thing Cryo heard, is each and every kid on the bus making requests over and over to the young dragon to repair different sets of items and devices that had broken! He was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the requests.

“EVERYONE PLEASE! Give me some space here!” he shouted at them. The bus began to become silent, and they began to back away from his seat. Cryo took in a couple of deep breaths. “Alright… Here’s what I can do everyone… Bring your devices and items you want repaired to my house after school. I’ll take care of your repairs and fix your items up. You’ll just need to leave the name of the items, the issues with the items, and your name on whatever container you use to bring it to me in. Also… I might need certain passwords and log in permissions in the event I need to get data from the server. If you do all of this, I promise to repair your items when I have time. Ok?” He heard the approval of all the kids on the bus. Another kid in the back, in white strikeball cap, black hair, brown eyes, and a white jacket and pants asked one last question to Cryo. “How much will it cost?” he asked.

Cryo was about to say he’d do it for free, but then remembered something… “I… need a computer. I’m sure the people in town would be willing to give me one, but… taking advantage of them like this is wrong and selfish… Maybe… maybe I could instead buy one if I charge a bit for repairs. I’ll just need to tell Eli when I want to go to the electronics’ shop to buy one… Yea! But what should I set my price to? Hmm…” Cryo thought for a few seconds.

“Umm… I’ll charge just $20 per every item repaired. Does that sound fair, everyone?” Each and every kid smiled and nodded. This was a ridiculously good deal compared to sending it to a company for repairs, which costs HUNDREDS typically. “Alright everyone… I’ll look forward to… uh… fixing your items later on today and during the week.” Cryo could hear many of the bus’s bystanders thanking the young dragon for this favor for them. Cryo smiled and began to relax in his seat again. “Maybe school here won’t be so bad! Looks like I’m going back to work!” Cryo thought to himself with a smile on his face. Soon enough, the bus arrived at Winterfell middle school. “Alright We’re here everyone! Have a good day at school!” said the bus driver.

Ch 5

School System

Cryo stepped off the bus and looked at the sprawling school in his view. The school seemed to be a large facility, which seemed to have different complex’s connected to one another. The walls were a stony brown color and the entrance from the bus area seemed to show a large, glass windows and doors, with metal hinges and frames. “Hmm… Big place… Defiantly bigger then the school back home. Well… Lets go inside, I suppose. He trotted towards the doors and began to head inside the facility, with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

The inside of the facility showed a large row of red lockers all throughout the hallways. The walls were a smooth light tan color and seemed to have a bit of a bumpy texture. He saw a many different classrooms dotted around the halls, with their doors open, seemingly welcoming students in.

“Hmm… This place is quite large. I wonder where I should start…” “Excuse me, young dragon.” “Huh?” He looked around and saw what seemed to be a rather tall man in a navy blue business suit and tie. He also had very short black hair, and green eyes. “Please come over here, young dragon.” “Umm… Alright then.” He trotted himself over and stood in front of the man. “Cryo is your name, wasn’t it?” the man asked. “Yes. I’m Cryo, Mr…” “Harold. Call me Mr. Harold, please. I’m the principle of this fine school. I must say. It’s quite an honor to have such a interesting and clearly gifted student taking school here.” “Oh. Thank you, Mr. Harold.” “In any case, could you please follow me?” “Follow you?” “That’s right. I’ll be escourting you to class today so you can get a better idea of our school system and where the classes your enrolled in are located.” “Oh! That’s actually going to be helpful, considering how big this school is. Thank you, Mr. Harold.” Cryo smiled and Mr. Harold smiled back at him.

“Alright. Follow me. The first thing we’ll be doing is taking you to your locker in the school.” “My… locker?” “That’s right. Every student at this facility has a personal locker for them to store the books and supplies in while they’re here. It’s much easier then taking all your books and items to each class.” “Well. Alright then.” Mr. Harold motioned Cryo to come forward with him and they began to head down the hall way towards Cryo’s locker.

After walking for a bit, he they stopped at a row of lockers on the second floor. Mr. Harold tapped on a locker with his palm a few times. “This is your locker, Cryo. Number 103.” He looked at it, and nodded. He could see a combination lock on the front of the locker. “Do you know how to use a combination lock?” Mr. Harold asked. “Yes I do. I’ve actually made my own before.” “Really? Well then. Why don’t you try with this one. Here is the combination to your locker.” Mr. Harold gave Cryo a piece of paper with three separate digits on it. “Alright… Let’s see… 32 if the first number…” Cryo spun the combination lock 3 times counterclockwise, stopping at 32 after the third rotation. “Next is 17…” Cryo spun it clockwise to the number 17. “And finally… 63.” He spun it clockwise again to 63 and pulled on the handle on the locker. The locker opened and Cryo could see there was nothing currently in it. “Very well done, Cryo. I trust you won’t need help in the future with opening it?” “No. I’ll be fine. Thank you Mr. Harold.” Mr. Harold smiled and nodded at Cryo.

“Good. Now. If I remember reading from your school plan form from your school back home, your first class with us here should be… Beginner’s algebra correct?” “Umm… hang on. I have my school schedule in the pocket of my coat.” Cryo opened the zipper on his coat pocket and pulled out a school form. He looked at it, and nodded. “Yes. Algebra is my first class, in room 247.” “Ahh. Good. Follow me and I’ll take you straight there.” “Alright. Thank you.” They both began to head down the halls to Cryo’s first class of the day.

Ch 6

Truth’s to Tanner

So the day passed at school as Cryo went to each of his classes. Cryo was testing a small robotic toy with wheels, small grabbers, and sleek head with a small visor within his robotics class. It drove its small wheels across the board, as Cryo put commands into a computer to do a couple tricks. “And after setting this code into the system, I can make it head towards the set of flags on the board. And… with a few more commands…” Cryo began to set up a few more things within the robotics program that was being used in the robotics lab. The grabbers began to pick up each of the flags on the course and place it in a basket behind a goal line. “And presto! Our friend, “Eon,” will go across the map and pick up the flags, and bring them back to home base.” Cryo said with a smile as he turned back forward to face everyone. Everyone in class, including the teacher, was impressed how Cryo was able to work with him so efficiently.

“Very well done Cryo! You’re quite an operator with Eon there. Is this your first time doing this?” Cryo look at his teacher and shook his head. “No, actually… I had this same robot toy at home when I was about… 4 years old I think…” “Really?” “Yea. It was bought for my birthday, and some of the engineers back home taught me how to make it do cool things! But… that was… quite the learning process… It took about… another 2 years before I got good enough to be able to program my own tricks. And believe me… It was very difficult to learn, even with some of the best engineers back home. It took a lot of practice. But in the end, it was fun playing with and programming Eon on the floor of my room!” “I see. Well class. It seems we have a junior robotics engineer here.” He heard everyone in the room clap their hands.

Suddenly, the bell began to ring all over the school. “Oh! Would you look at the time, class… It’s time for lunch!” Everyone began to stand up around the room.” “Alright everyone… I’ll see you at about 10:30 tomorrow. Please practice with your personal Eon Robot in the mean time. Goodbye everyone!” Each of the classmates began to give their goodbyes to the teacher and then left. Cryo got up out of his seat and began to head out. He knew the principle was outside to help Cryo find the cafeteria. He had lunch money for his own lunch that day from his caretakers. Before he left though… the teacher of the class turned to him. “I’m looking forward to seeing you during the contest at the end of the semester. I can’t wait to see what type of things you can pull with Eon,” said the teacher. “Yea. Thanks Mr. Procter! I’ll see you tomorrow!” “Goodbye Cryo!” Cryo left out the door and sure enough, found Mr. Harold waiting outside to escort him to the lunchroom.

“Was robotics fun today, Cryo?” “Oh yes! I haven’t used a Eon Operating Buddy in quite a while. I’ll need to pull mine out when I eventually get home to mom and the others.” “You had one at home?” “Yes I did. It was a gift on my 4th birthday.” “Well… I can guess you’ve had some experience with him, right? “Yes. Enough of it I suppose.” “Well… Let’s get going. I’m sure your hungry after your classes today, right?” “Yea. I defiantly am. I really am ready to eat. Let’s go!” They walked through the school and to the lunch room.

The lunchroom was pretty large! The room had white tile walls and there were smooth, black, stony looking tables everywhere, with kids already sitting down and eating together. He saw there seemed to be an area in the back, where he saw food behind a large glass container being set for the kids to take. There seemed to be a bit of a line of kids waiting to take and grab their orders and pay for them, with a clerk with a cash register waiting for them on the left side. There also seemed to be a couple different dishes being made today.

“Well… Do you need help with getting food, Cryo?” “No. I’ll be fine. Thank you though.” “Alright. Just head to the front and pick out what you want. If you need any help, ask the aids around here. He nodded and the principle began to leave the area. He then stopped for a moment and turned back at Cryo. “I’ll meet you by your locker at 12:30, ok?” “Yes. Thank you. I’ll see you soon, Mr. Harold.” He waved to Cryo and soon left. “Well… Let’s see what they have for food today…” Cryo thought. He began to step forward, when 3 kids nearby got out of their seats and began to make their way towards Cryo in front of him. He recognized one of them from someone on the bus before…” They began to block the way in front of him towards where the food was…

“Umm… Could you please move… Tanner, I believe your name was?” “Sorry Freak! You wanna pass here, your going to have to pay the toll!” he replied back. “…Are you seriously going to try this?” Cryo asked. “Don’t pay, don’t get by us!” Cryo gave a sigh and shook his head.” “Oh no… I can’t get past you. Whatever can I do to get passed and get me some nice food in my belly?” “Are you mocking me?” Cryo immediately extended his wings out which surprised them. He quickly made a leap in the air and flew over them, towards where the food was, The three kids looked behind with angry looks on their faces. “Oops… Did you forget? I’m a dragon… I can fly right over you…” Cryo mocked them as he continued stepping forward. “Alright, boy. Your asking for a REAL thumping now!” He could hear the footsteps of the group coming up from behind him as he stepped forward. He gave a sigh and knew what was coming up next.

“Alright… 3… 2… 1… and…” Cryo thought. Tanner immediately threw a punch at the back of Cryo’s head he immediately rolled to the left as the three kids began to stumble forward while everyone watched. He then blew a very small stream of ice at the three kids feet, keeping their feet stuck in place to the ground! “AHH WHAT IN THE… LET… LET GO OF US YOU… YOU” he said. “Quiet… All three of you… Your going to stand there and your going to listen to everything I’m about to say,” Cryo replied. The entire lunchroom looked on in shock at the scene, even the aids, yet they couldn’t bring themselves to get involved in the situation. Cryo then sat himself in front of the three kids as they looked at him.

“Now… Do any of you 3 know how I ended up in this town? Be truthful… How much do you know? Or… do you not know anything?” Cryo said. “You fell from the sky! Your like… an ALIEN!” said Tanner. “Your only half right. It’s true I’m not native to this world, but its NOT how I ended up in his town. I was KIDNAPPED and I ended up here…” Cryo could hear a couple gasps from the kids in the lunchroom. Tanner looked at him in a bit of disbelief.

“Ki…Kidnapped?” “That’s right. Kidnapped. Stolen from my home.” “From like… the government?” “That could be applied to when I was young, but that’s not the case here. I was kidnapped by a CORRUPT military traitor!” Cryo heard even more gasps from the lunchroom. “A… traitor?!” “That’s right. Do you have any idea what they were going to do to me?” The lunchroom become eerily quiet and there was quite a bit of tension throughout the entire room.

“That monster… His name is Mick. Mick Mitchells. He was originally a commander of a group of military personal at MY home and also was head of the weapons development team. He didn’t want me just because I was a dragon. No. He wanted me because he saw opportunity in me!” “Opp… Opportunity?” “That’s right. It turns out being REALLY good with technology makes you a target. And Mick… He wanted me just for that. He wanted ME to become his slave! Building war machines! Weapons of mass Destruction! Horrors of technology that the WHOLE WORLD would have to endure!” Everyone in the lunchroom seemed to be really getting on edge at this whole conversation. Even Tanner and his friends didn’t know what to think at this point.

“You have no idea what this one man is capable of! This isn’t his first attempt to take me captive! He threatened to BLOW UP a military hospital WITHIN OUR HOME FACILITY if I didn’t work with him once!” The whole cafeteria gasped at this. “He used the explosive payload inside the building to BLACKMAIL me and my mother to surrender to them! That’s right. They DIDN’T just kidnap me! They kidnapped my mother! ALL FOR THE SAME REASON! WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY! The whole cafeteria was becoming angry, thinking about this truly corrupt individual who has clearly caused this little dragon a whole lot of pain.

“I had to NOT ONLY escape their ship… I HAD TO SURIVIVE A WHOLE MONTH IN GEYSER FOREST WITH MY MOTHER BEFORE I GOT RESCUED! That’s right! A WHOLE MONTH! You wouldn’t have to believe ALL THE THINGS I HAD TO DO to survive THAT LONG with virtually NO SUPPLIES!

There was a long silence everywhere in the lunch room now… “They have tried at least 3 TIMES TO TAKE ME CAPTIVE! This time, they literally FLEW A SMALL FLEET OF SHIPS OVER HOME, CAUGHT ME IN A NET WHILE I WAS FLYING, STUCK ME WITH A TRANQUILIZER DART, BOMBED THE RUNWAY SO NO SHIPS COULD POSSIBLY FOLLOW THEM, TIED MY LIMBS BEHIND MY BACK, AND THEN STUCK ME IN A SMALL PEN TO BE TRANSPORTED TO WHO KNOWS WHERE! Everyone began to look at Cryo in horror, unable to comprehend what he’s been through… Cryo continued…

“I… ended up in this town, after being JETTISONED OUT OF THEIR ESCAPE CRAFT AFTER AN ACCIDENT WITH IT! And you know what? The truth is, I don’t even know HOW SAFE I AM being here! You know that?! Tell me… How safe am I really…?! How do I know Mick isn’t somewhere in the town, planning HIS next insane plan to take me?! Huh?! And its not just that?! Do you even realize how worried I am about the people taking care of me now?! Not just them! Mick could target ANYONE in town that helped me! ANYONE! Do you even realize how BAD I’d feel LURING A PSYCOPATH TO THEM! ALL BECAUSE HE WANTS ME TO BUILD WEAPONS OF WAR!”

Cryo looked at the 3 bullies faces, who seemed absolutely dumbfounded at this turn of events. He began to approach near them. “Now then…” Cryo lifted his arm up and slammed it on the ground, shattering the ice and freeing their legs! “I’ll tell all of you what… Why don’t I give you what you want? Go ahead! Beat me up! Beat up the poor little dragon who’s being HUNTED by a madman! Go ahead! I won’t stop you at all! You can explain to my caretakers, the people back home, EVEN THE MAYOR OF THIS TOWN, why I ended up in the hospital! Go ahead!” Cryo pointed to his cheek a few times. “Slug me! Right across the face right here! Go ahead! I’m waiting! When your done, I want to tell me EXACTLY how you felt for beating up ANYONE with this going on in their lives!”

Everyone in the lunchroom turned toward the 3 kids. Each and every person had a very angry grimace on their faces. Tanner and his friends turned their head back to Cryo. He wasn’t showing any fear. “I… I…” Tanner said “Well! What are you waiting for?! Isn’t this what you wanted?!” Cryo said. Tanner then began to hang his head low, and quickly ran out of the lunchroom with his friends. Everyone turned their heads towards Cryo. He knew he might have made a bit too much of a scene here. He gave out a sigh and continued towards where the food was. “Everyone… Just leave me alone right now please… I… I need some time…” He got in line with the other kids. The kids seemed to be staring at him still, but he didn’t even care at this point. After a bit, he quickly selected food from the cafeteria and sat down in a seat, and began eating. The kids got back to eating, but gave concerned eyes at the little dragon as they watch him slowly eat in his seat.

Ch 7

Back to the Bus

So the school day passed as Cryo went about his studies for the day. Many of the kids within the school watched him as he went about, but never spoke to him. Some wanted to talk to him to try to give him comfort, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do it, as they remembered that he just wanted to be left alone for the time being.

Cryo was in his final class of the day, Earth science. He was writing notes in a notebook at his desk. His desk was larger and wider to fit around Cryo’s larger form. All the classrooms today had a desk and seat specifically for Cryo. The teacher was going over rock and rock types. “…And so. As I have explained, the three type of rocks that exist on Cyriss, igneous, sediment, and metamorphic, come from different types of backgrounds, Whether its igneous rocks that form from melted rock inside our world, sedimentary rocks that are formed from various forms of matter like sand, silt, dead plants, and animal bones, and metamorphic rocks, which are formed from the deep pressures and heat coming from the underground of our planet near the core. Now… Does anyone have any questions?”

Cryo thought for a moment. He then quickly raised his hands. “Ahh! You have a question, Cryo?” “Umm… Yes, Mrs. Sedia. I was wondering… about… Cyantran.” “Cyantran, Cryo?” “That’s right. Umm… I was wondering about… what type of rocks or metals go into making cyantrinian metals?” “Ahh! Yes. Well you see, Cryo, Cyantran is made with the rocks Zin, Snowdrift, and Frozolar. Each of these rocks are metamorphic and can commonly be found in climates that are very cold year round.” “Really?” “That’s correct, Cryo. The strange thing about these stones is indeed that it seems these types are created by cold climates after they are released from the insides of the high pressure areas near the core of Cyriss.” “Really? That’s… quite interesting actually.” “Yes. It’s a rather strange quirk with some mineral types of cyriss that seem to for some reason have a strange chemical reaction when exposed to cold or extreme heat and pressure for long periods of time.” “I see… Well… Thank you for the info, Mrs. Sedia.” “Yes. We’ll be learning a bit more about these type of rock interactions later this semester.” “Great! I’m looking forward to learn more about Cyantran, Mrs. Sedia! I… do have a bit of… umm… interest in what it does…” Suddenly, the bell rang, which signaled the end of school for the day!”

“Oh! Ok class! It’s time for everyone to go home! Now remember to do your homework and rest easy and take your time to read the book and answer questions in the book at the end of the chapter. Also, we have lab on Fridays, so remember to ready yourself for some experimentation within our class. Now… Have a good day, everyone! Class is dismissed!” Each and every kid began to head out of their seats and head out to grab their items from their lockers and then head for the bus home. Cryo began to head out with his supplies, when the teacher came over to him. He looked at her.

“Cryo… I know your a bit concerned about cyantran… Yes… I know what happened with that particular… incident with said metals.” Cryo looked at her and gave a sigh… “Well… Being bound and gagged with cyantran wires and being put in a cyantrinian cell certainly isn’t fun…” “Yes… If you… need any information or want to talk for a bit after class, me and many of the teachers and faculty in the school are more then willing to help you through these rough times for you…” “Th… Thank you Mrs. Sedia…” “Would you… like to talk now?” “Umm… No thank you. I… really need to get home before the bus leaves… I suppose I could probably fly home if needed… But… I think I’d rather take the bus. I’m tired anyway… I’m probably going to take a small nap when I get home anyway…” “Alright, Cryo. Have a good afternoon. Stay safe and keep yourself well rested. I hope to see you for the rest of the semester.” “Thank you. Umm… Goodbye now, Mrs. Sedia.” Cryo slowly left the classroom and into the halls.

The principle was waiting for Cryo again.” “There you are, Cryo. You took a little bit to leave class this time,” he said. “Sorry about that. The teacher… wanted to talk with me a bit after class.” “Was there… something wrong?” “Oh! Umm… No. Nothing was wrong…” “Well ok. Will you need help getting to your locker, Cryo?” “No. I’ve walked with you several times today. I think I got a general idea where it is located within the school now.” “Well good. Would you like me to walk around with you tomorrow, or do you think you’ll be able to handle things by yourself?” Cryo thought for a moment… “I’ll be perfectly fine walking by myself, Mr. Harold.” “Are you sure? I heard of an… incident in the lunchroom today…” Cryo gave a sigh… “I’m in trouble for that, I’m guessing?” “N…No. The aids clearly saw Tanner was the one who instigated it. And… the nurse checked him and his friends to see if there was any injuries on the area where your froze their feet to the ground… Absolutely none at all. Not even frostbite… They’re perfectly fine. And they’re going to be in detention for awhile after that…” Cryo nodded his head. “Well… Hopefully he won’t bother me in the future.” “Yes… So… Will you be alright?” “Yes… I promise you… I’ll be fine. Now if you excuse me… I need to get to my locker and catch my bus before it leaves without me.” “Very well. Have a pleasant afternoon at home, Cryo.” Cryo began to head out towards his locker in the school. He turned back to Mr. Harold one more time. Cryo saw him waving at him, and he waved back, and then quickly continued forward.

As Cryo walked down the halls of the school, he noticed again everyone staring at him as he walked towards his locker. He could see concern in their eyes as the young dragon passed them in the halls. “Seems my little… “Outburst,” earlier has drawn a bit too much attention to myself. But… I’m not going to deal with bullies this semester. Hopefully Tanner won’t bother me again…” He quickly headed to his locker and began to turn the combination lock. A teen next to him who was also messing around his locker took immediate notice, and turned toward him.

“Hey… Cryo, right? Do you… need any help with your locker?” Cryo turned his head to face him. He saw that it seemed to be the kid from earlier who punched Tanner in the head on the bus. He then turned back and continued to turn the lock. “No… Miles… I believe your name is, right?” “Yes. My name is Miles. Miles Williams.” Cryo opened his locker. He then took his backpack from inside of it and began to place several books from inside into his backpack. He began to make his way towards the bus, with Miles following him behind. “Are you… ok?,” Miles asked. Cryo turned to face him and gave a sigh… “Y…yes. I’m perfectly ok. I just have a lot on my mind as of late,” Cryo said back. He continued forward. But Miles stuck close to him as he walked. “Are you sure? Its… really awful that someone, ANYONE would do this to you. I’m… really sorry to hear about what your facing right now…” “R…Really Miles. I’m fine. I just need a bit of time to think of things right now… I’m… sure I’ll be back home at Research Base Omega before I know it. Out of Mick’s clutches and back home with Mom and the others. I… just need to wait for until they have the chance to pick me up and take me back home…” “Cryo… I know your not feeling all too well right now… I know what it looks like when someone is scared.” “I… I… Sigh…” As they continued to walk forward, Cryo noticed a few more teens had begun to follow him down the hall. Some of them he recognized from the bus earlier. Others he had seen in some of his classes for the day.

“So… Where… in the country is Research base Omega?” asked another kid. Cryo turned his head towards him, and saw that he was the same kid who was the first to ask Cryo for an item to be repaired. “Umm… Yea… Warren, right…? Its… located in Midnook Bay, close to the mountains…” Cryo replied. “Oh… What… What was it like back home?” “It was… nice… I was… living with mom in a rather large apartment within the complex of the facility…”

“You had an apartment?” asked another teen. Cryo turned his head, and saw the young women who asked for a repair second on a bus. “Oh… Christina, right? Well… technically… I guess… the base owns it. But… me and my mom live in it… Not just me… Many of the bystanders at home live there, including… umm… my second family and…” “Second family?” she asked “Oh! Yea! Umm…” Cryo replied. “Why do you have a second family?” “Well… umm… Right before I was born, my mother… kind of… well… she saved an entire town from a storm and tidal wave that would have destroyed the entire town…” “Wait! Stopped a storm and a tidal wave!?” “That’s… That’s right… She… had been taken in at the time by my second family, and she saved them and hundreds of other lives… But… she… was left in a comatose state for about… 6 years…” “6 years!” asked another teen.

He looked to the right of him, and saw a boy he recognized from class, wearing a blue jacket, blue jeans, blonde, curly hair, white skin, and blue eyes. “Umm… Yea Winston, was it?” “Yeah! My god! I actually heard the story on the news about storm and tidal wave that just disappeared out of nowhere over Southpoint! The military investigated the area, and its said something exotic was taken away and escaped! Was that you, Cryo!?” “Umm… I think that’s a story I’d rather not tell… I’m… sorry about that.” Winston nodded and looked back to him. “That’s awful to be without your mom for 6 years!” “Well… like I said… I was… adopted and raised by my… umm second family for the first year of my life… Before I was… um… relocated to Research Base Omega.” “Who were they?” “Well… I had my… adopted mother, Suzy, my adopted father, Greg, and my big brother, Noble.” “Big brother? Is he a dragon, like you?” “Oh! Umm… No… He’s a human, but he’s part of the family that adopted me. So… I guess it still counts as a big brother… right?” Winston smiled and nodded at him. “Yeah! I get it! Is… your mother still asleep?” “No, Thankfully. She’s awake now and lives with me in the apartment at home. They should be waiting for me at home right now and are probably worried about me… I should… give them another phone call at some point… I’m… hoping to get a computer with the money I’ll be getting from working on repairs so I might be able to do video communications calls. I’m sure mom and the others want to see me directly on video.” “Yea. Don’t worry buddy. I’m sure you’ll see them soon.” “Yea… Th… Thanks Winston.”

As they continued to walk down the halls, more and more of the kids from school piled up and followed close behind Cryo. Many of the kids asked Cryo questions about his life, his home, his skills in tech, and many other things. Eventually, they would join Cryo on the bus, which then began to drive the students back to their homes. Cryo felt comforted to know many of the kids in school wanted to support the young dragon through the tough times he was facing.

“Hey Cryo. I’m curious…. You said in the lunchroom that you were… trapped in a forest being hunted for about a month by that… traitor, Mick. Could you… tell us more about that?” asked another kid from class, with dark skin, short black hair, brown eyes, and wearing a black winter coat and brown casual pants. “Oh… You… want to know about my first kidnapping… Markus I believe your name is?” “Yeah! I really want to hear had you managed to get out of their escape craft and survive in a forest for a month!” “Yea! I want to hear that story too!” said Winston. “Yea! Me too!” said Warren. “Well…. It’s… a pretty long story. I… won’t have time to tell the whole thing unfortunately. There’s… not enough time before I get home.” Cryo replied back. “That’s alright. Give us a start today and tell us the next time.” “Well. Alright then… It started back about… 2 years ago, when…”

So Cryo rode the bus and told a bit of his story while he rode. Everyone on the bus listened intently as he told it. Strangely, even Tanner seemed to be listening in the back… But soon enough, Cryo arrived back at his home and had to cut off his story there.”

“Oh… This is my stop, everyone. Sorry. I… have to continue off tomorrow.” “We we’re just getting to the good part… I can’t believe they strapped you and your mother down to medical beds like a mental patients! How the heck did you wiggle your way out of that!?” asked Warren. “Welp! You’ll have to wait until next time! Alright! Goodbye everyone! Remember to bring your broken items into the house with a list of the discrepancies and your name on the box. I’m looking forward to repairing them later! And please don’t forget to pay after I’m done…”” Cryo said. “Goodbye Cryo! Have a good day at home!” Everyone on the bus said back to the little dragon.

Cryo stepped off the bus and took in a breath of chilled air. He could see many of his new friends waving towards him as his bus drove off. He then saw Seth’s bus coming forward soon after. Seth stepped off his bus and came out into the cold snow outside. He was smiling as he did. “Well Seth… How was school today?” asked Cryo. “It was awesome! Everyone is so jealous I’ve got a dragon for a big brother?” “Umm… Ok then.” Cryo looked towards the bus and saw many of the young kids waving and smiling at him. He smiled and waved back at them. He could hear a couple giggles form the kids as he did. “Well… Come on, “little brother.” I’m sure Eli and Arianna are waiting inside. “Alright! Let’s go, bro!” They both headed toward the door and as they approached, the door to the house opened with the both Eli and Arianna standing in the door. “Hello you 2 boys. How was school today?” “It was fine, Arianna.” Cryo said. “It was super fun!” said Seth. “Good! I’m glad to hear you both had a good time today!” They both smiled and stepped into the room. Arianna shut the door to the house.

Ch 8

Northern nap

“Now… Do you boys want to do something now that your home?” asked Eli “I want to play with my big brother!” said Seth. Cryo gave a yawn and turned toward Seth. “I’m… sorry Eli. But… I really need a nap right now…” Cryo said. “Huh? It’s your naptime!?” “Yea… I really need a bit of sleep right now. I know you really would like to play fetch with me right now, Seth. But… can you give me some time to sleep. Please?” “Alright big bro. I know you probably will be cranky if you don’t have your daily nap…” “Ye… Yea… Thank you Seth.” “Would you like for me to tuck you in, Cryo?” asked Arianna. Cryo thought for a moment. “Yea. You can, Arianna.” “Alright. Let’s get you downstairs for a nice long nap. They went through the living room, then the kitchen, and then opened the door to Cryo’s room and headed down the staircase.

They stepped into the basement, where all of Cryo’s items were. Arianna turned toward Cryo. “Would you like for me to get some pajama’s for you to sleep in or would you like to sleep the way you are now?” “I think I’d like to wear some pajama’s, Arianna. Those were really comfy when I slept last night.” “Alright. Hang on. Let’s get that winter coat off of you first.” Cryo nodded and lifted his arms forward. Arianna lifted the coat over his head and placed it in a laundry hamper within the room. She then headed over to Cryo’s wardrobe.

She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a dark blue pair of regular pajama pants and shirt. “Will this work for you right now, Cryo?” Cryo nodded his head. “Alright. Come over here to your bed, Cryo. Let’s get you all snuggled for your nap.” Arianna went to the side of Cryo’s bed, kneeled down, and patted her hand on the ground a few times. Cryo nodded and slowly trotted his way over and sat down in front of her. She lifted the pajama’s over Cryo’s head and then helped Cryo pull his arms out of the long sleaves. She then lifted his bandanna around his neck out of the inside of the pajamas. He sniffed it a bit and began to relax at the smell. She then held the pajama pants forward in her hands. “Alright. Step in, Cryo.” Cryo carefully stepped into the pants and Arianna pulled them up, and then buttoned them around his tail. “This feels incredibly comfy. I don’t know why I never tried pajama pants before… Then again… They never made any for me…” Cryo said. “Alright. Let’s get you into bed.” She picked up Cryo and pulled the covers for his bed down, and then placed him in it. She pulled the covers up, and Cryo gave a comforting sigh, as the mass of fabrics enveloped him. Arianna went towards the steps and turned the lights off to Cryo’s room. Arianna then began to head back to Cryo’s bed, and sat in a chair next to it. Arianna leaned back a bit. “Would you like maybe… a naptime story, or naptunes.” she asked. “Naptunes is fine, Arianna.” “Alright. Hang on a second. She was about to flick the switches for it, when naptunes seemed to turn on by itself! She heard the soft music reverberating itself around the room. “Huh… I didn’t even turn it on.” “Oh… Umm… Don’t worry about that Arianna. I should be fine now. Umm… See you when I wake up, Arianna…” Cryo said. “Alright. Have a nice, long nap, Cryo. She kissed Cryo on the forehead and began to slowly walk upstairs from Cryo’s room, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. The music continued to reverberate in Cryo’s ears and soon he began to fall to the dark… He then remembered something about his last dream… “I’m…going to be trained in my… next set of dreams by… Wave.” Cryo gave one last yawn. “S… See you in a bit, grandma…” His hazy mind soon feel to the dark, and feel into a deep, deep sleep.

Ch 9

Beginner Belt

Cryo’s eyes began to slowly open up. He gave out a yawn as his eyes began to focus on his surroundings. He saw he seemed to be… in one of the rooms of the dojo. It looked to be some type of bedroom within the facility. The bed was strangely a soft, blue, spongy mass that kind of looked a bit like a fungal growth. It strangely smelled a bit good, like a purified spring water, similar to his own bandanna. He tilted his eyes down, and saw that his own bandanna was glowing a bit strangely. He also saw he seemed to be in his winter whiteout transformation. “Hmm… Just as I suspected. I’m back here. And I’m transformed. Strange looking bed… Do all dragons sleep on… whatever this is? It kind of looks like the same blue substance at the dragon alter back when my other family members performed that strange ritual on me… I… haven’t seen new abilities pop up. At least not yet… At least concerning their elements. Hmm… Let’s look around,” Cryo thought. He looked around the room.

He saw that this room had a few interesting details. It had a ferrin dragon statue within it, with jeweled blue eyes and and made up of light grey stone. To the left, was a painting on the wall of what seemed to be a adult Ferrin dragon training younger ferrin dragons to defend themselves. To the right of the room, seemed to be the exit to the room, which looked to be a sliding door connected to the upper right corner of it. Closer to Cryo on the right wall seemed to be a box filled with a few… strange looking toys and items… “Hmm… Interesting place. I wonder where Grandma…” Suddenly, he could hear the sound of the door sliding to the right, and he saw his Wave step inside the room.

“Ahh! Welcome back, Cryo! Are you ready for your training for the time being?” asked Wave. Cryo picked himself up and nodded with a smile. “Yea! I can’t wait to see what I can do while I’m transformed!” “Very good. Before we begin… why don’t we get you into something… fitting for your time with us.” “Fitting?” She smiled at him and began to head out of the room. She picked up something from outside the room, and began to carry it inside.

“Here you go, Cryo. Wear this little trinket here.” She handed the item to Cryo. Cryo looked at it, and saw it seemed to be a martial arts uniform! Except… it was for dragons…” “Huh? Isn’t this karate cloths? But… I thought dragons didn’t make cloths?” Cryo asked. “Remember this is in your head, Cryo. Besides… I actually like the thought and I think you’ll look quite the part since your going to be training here. I understand that… I believe in human culture… the color of the belt of a fighter is what distinguishes them from a starter, to a martial arts master. I thought we’d… follow that little tradition here. Cryo looked at the belt of the gear, and saw it seemed to have a white belt. “Well… the white belt is the “beginner,” belt for martial arts…” “Yes. However, that belt will work a bit… differently here.” “Differently?” “That’s right. As you progress through these lessons, that belt will begin to change color.” “Change color?” That’s right. Not in the traditional way a human fighter will “advance through the ranks.” Instead, as you become better, the belt will change to a light blue color. As your training progresses and I see improvement for you, the belt will change to a darker and darker and darker blue color. When it reaches a very dark blue color, your training within your ice and water based abilities will be complete. Cryo nodded and smiled at her. “Well. Alright then.” “Now… Why don’t you put those on and meet me in the main training room. We’ll begin your training when your ready.” “Ok, Grandma.” Wave left the room and shut the door. Cryo took a look at his new gear again. “Well… Let’s try this on,” he thought.

He went back towards his “bed,” and sat down on it. He then began to carefully put on the uniform, making sure his wings could slip out the back. He then tied the belt around his waist. He saw it glow for a few seconds, along with his bandanna. He looked toward a mirror, connected on the wall nearby. He saw the silky white fabrics around his body. He felt around the material around his sleave. It felt a bit different then what he usually wears. “Hmm… This fabric seems… pretty strong… Like Greg’s method, yet… maybe a bit more stronger. Feels… otherworldly, somehow. I can’t explain it. But it does feel really nice on me.” He nodded his head and began to get up. “Alright. Grandma’s waiting for me. I better not keep her waiting. There’s only so much time before I’ll wake up…” He headed for the doors, slid it open, and stepped out.

As he stepped into the room, he saw what appeared to be the inside of the dojo itself, covered in a field of ice and snow. “There we go, Cryo. How do those cloths, feel?” “Umm… How do they feel?” “Yes… I made it myself. Its my first attempt at creating such an item. Possibly the first time any dragon has tried to make such items. “Oh! Umm… It feels nice. Feels like its similar to Greg’s own methods of making cloths, yet… seems to be… well… stronger, at least in terms of durability. “Yes… I used some of my own dragon scales to make that. I… had to think outside the box a bit to… well… attempt to create something similar to your caretaker’s own methods. Also… I had to observe your caretakers back at home on how to mend and weave such items. It… took a bit of time to get to an acceptable level.” “Well… the materials defiantly feel a bit different. It feels like the materials are… much much more flexible around my body. It also feels like its… constantly adjusting its material as I move around in it. It’s… hard to explain… What’s it made out of?”

“Well… From the world I’m located on, its made up of a plant I believe is called… Wick? It also has a bit of insect silk, a compound similar to your “fabric softener,” from this world, a flower known as a rose, and most importantly, a group of materials called elemental circulators.” “Elemental… circulators?” “That’s right, my little grandson.” “What is that? I’ve never heard of these before.” “These are special types of minerals that were found on this planet not long after civilization… well… restarted here on this planet. They seem to be minerals and rocks and such that can better contain elemental energies. Its used within certain types of armor systems to better control and manipulate elemental energy and abilities.” “Really?” “That’s right.” “So… With these cloths on, I’ll… be able to have better mastery over my elements?” “That’s correct, my grandson. However… As you can expect, you won’t always have these items on you. Therefore, we are going to start your training with the special qualities active. When you start getting the hang of it, we’ll start trying to manipulate said abilities without the assistance of these elemental circulators within the cloths.” “So… I’ll have to take this off?” “No you won’t. All I have to do to disable them is…”

Wave lifted her large paw towards Cryo, and then wrapped a karate headband across his head. As she did, Cryo felt like he could feel a bit of power leaving his body. She soon got done and smiled at him. “Oh… I see. This headband “shuts down,” the circulators?” “That’s right. Now then…” She unwrapped the headband off Cryo’s head and he began to feel a bit of power flowing into him again.” “Let’s begin your training, my precious grandson.”

Ch 10

Winter Workout

So the both of them headed to the center of the snow covered floor of the dojo, as winter flurries fall around them. “Alright, my grandson… We’ll start with helping control your abilities in your winter whiteout metamorphosis.” “Well. Alright then. What should I do first?” “Let’s start by using a basic ability.” She snapped her fingers and something began to rumble under the snow to the side of the arena. Suddenly, something emerged from the ground! Cryo stepped back a bit in surprise! Soon, the object landed on the ground and then began to stay still. Cryo looked at it, and saw it seemed to be some sort of black dojo dummy, which looked similar to a large scurryer (like a rat) , or maybe… a black striped crawler (similar to a skunk, with white fur and several black stipes streaked across the back), standing on 2 legs rather then crawling on all 4s. It seemed quite strange the choice of dummy being used for this, and Cryo wondered what it could be representing… It just stood there, doing nothing…

“Now… Let me go over the basics your winter whiteout metamorphosis. First thing to know, is that in this form, as you can guess, your more ice based traits and abilities are greatly enhanced. In the deep blizzards of the north, the cold and frost is your ally. Your silent and swift, and can travel great distances in the snow with your wings not being affected by strong, chilled winds. This makes this excellent to either surprise opponents in freezing conditions or to escape if things go sideways.” “That makes sense.” “Now… The first thing you’ll learn, is the Flash Freeze technique.” “Flash… Freeze?” “That’s right. Take a look…

Wave stepped forward in front of the dummy. She held bot her palms forward at it. Suddenly, energy began to form in in the palms of her hand. And then, WHOOSH. Both hands let began to shoot out a beam of ice energy, freezing it completely solid! Cryo looked amazed as he watched! “Whoa! Thats like my Snow Stream breath! Except, its generated by my hands instead.” “That’s right. The difference in this case is that since its generated from your hands instead of your mouth, you can freeze things more efficiently and at longer ranges. However… this is a bit harder to pull off then the Snow Stream, takes a bit more energy, requires a good degree of focus, and can be a bit harder to aim, as you’ll need to keep your hands centered on your targets. The recoil will try to send you hands up, so you’ll not only need to aim with both paws, you’ll also need to control the recoil while using this technique. Not to mention you can generate it from both hands at the same time. Now… Why don’t you try it?”

Two more dojo dummies came up out of the ground, a bit of ways apart from each other. “Now. Stand inside the circle right here Cryo.” A circle of blue energy came out of snow, and she pointed straight to it. Cryo nodded his head and began to head over into it. As Cryo placed himself inside of it, it began to light up a bit. He sat down and waited for Wave’s next command.

“Alright. Looks like your in position Cryo. Now. To use Flash Freeze, you’ll need to tap into your inner element and focus the energy into your hands. Keep concentrating into it for a bit. At the beginner level, you might find yourself needing to concentrate a bit longer, as your mind might get distracted by what’s going on around you. However, As you practice here, you should find yourself taking less and less time to focus your elemental energy.” “I’m guessing I’ll have to hold them forward on the targets as well?” “Actually, no Cryo. You don’t have to have your paws already aimed at your foes. It’s better that you focus into your paws while your on the field and moving and unleashing the attack at the best possible moment, when your enemy least expects it. Holding still to concentrate will make you an easier target. We will work on this aspect a little bit later. But right now… Its best that we do it while your still so its easier for you.” “Well… Alright then.” “Alright. Try it, Cryo.”

Cryo looked at both the dojo dummies and took in a deep breath. He began to cocentrate into his hands, and he could feel them beginning to tingle a bit. He then could see both his paws lighting up! He smiled and began to aim them at the dummies. “Good! Good, Cryo! Now… Push the energy out of your palms forward, and freeze both of the dummies.” “Alright… Here goes!” He pushed the energy forward from his paws, and they began to become more concentrated in the paws. Suddenly, a beam of ice shot out of both hands, freezing both dummies! “Yes! I did it! That was… pretty simple actually…” He looked at his belt, and saw it become a very slightly bit more in color. He smiled at his success. Wave nodded at him. “Yes. But… remember Cryo… We haven’t tried with this on your head yet.” Cryo looked back and saw the headband in Wave’s paw. He nodded to her. “Oh yea… I forgot this gear enhances my traits…” “Yes. Why don’t we try it on this time… See how you do there.” “Ok.”

Cryo headed over to Wave, and sat down in front of her. She smiled at him, and wrapped the martial arts headband around Cryo’s head. Cryo could immediately feel the power wane from his body. “Alright… Try again, Cryo. Stand in the circle again, and then try to freeze both the dummies again with flash freeze from both hands.” “Alright.”

Cryo headed over to the circle, as the ice shattered around the two dummies. Cryo looked at them again, and took a couple deep breaths in. “Alright. Try again, Cryo.” Cryo nodded, and began to concentrate into his hands again. He began to notice that it seemed to be taking a bit more time to get a feel for it. “Try to clear your head, Cryo. Distractions will make the process take longer. This can be particularly hard to do in the field of battle, where you’ll also have to keep your enemies attacks in mind. But as you get better, the process will be much shorter and easier. With a bit of training and discipline, you can use this very quickly in a fight.” Cryo looked toward her and nodded. He slowly closed his eyes and began to block out everything. He felt his hands tingle again. “Alright… Now!” Cryo thought. He opened his eyes held both his palms forward and unleashed the flash freeze! But he realized quickly, he had only froze just one of the dojo dummies. “Huh?” Cryo thought. “You only unleashed it out of one paw, Cryo.” “Oh…” “Don’t worry about it, Cryo. You’ve done well so far. You’re at least getting the basics of this attack down. Also… you did very well to keep your aim on the target, despite the recoil! Here. Let’s keep trying for a bit. You’ll be able to pull it off if we continue to practice here. Now. Let’s try a few more times.”

Time passed a bit as Cryo continued to pull off a flash freeze with both palms at the same time. But every time he tried, he would always shoot it just out of one palm, but not the other. He began to feel a bit unhappy after awhile “Ugh… Again… This is becoming a bit discouraging…” Wave came over and place her paw on Cryo’s shoulder and began to rub it for a bit. Cryo looked at her, and she smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, my little grandson. I think I know exactly what your doing wrong.” “R… Really?” “That’s right.” “Well… What is it, Grandma?” “Your putting to much focus in one hand, not in both.” “I’m… putting to much focus in one hand?” “That’s right. This is a very common mistake for beginners. When your concentrating into your palms, there needs to be a equal distribution of elemental power between them. Otherwise, the attack will only come out of 1 hand, as that’s where the focused energy had been mostly channeled into.” “Well… How do you recommend it… umm… balance each other out?” “That’s actually relatively easy, my grandson. Just focus less into your palms. “Focus… less?” “That’s right. You see… The attack is quite powerful and useful to freeze crowds of enemies or focus your freezing power on one specific target, but for beginners, channeling the energy between both can be difficult to manage. But… you don’t have to focus so much of your elemental energy into both hands. The more you channel the stronger and more useful it gets. But it also takes more focus and discipline. Therefore… channel less energy into your palms. Unleash it a bit earlier. The effect might be weaker, but it’ll be easier to manage until your able to better manage control yourself. Now… Let’s try again.”

Wave stepped back and nodded her head. Cryo nodded his head in return and smile. He took in a deep breath in, then out… “Now… Like before Cryo. Close your eyes, and focus just a little bit into your palms. Not too much… Just a bit. We’ll practice this and you’ll be able to focus better. But for now… Just take it easy. No need overdo it.” Cryo smiled and slowly closed his eyes. He began to feel his hands tingle a tiny bit. He began to block out the sounds out of his head. He slowly opened his eyes, with his paws tingling a bit. He quickly held his paws forward and… WHOOSH! Two beams of ice energy began to shoot from his hands and hit both the dummies! “Yes! Good job Cryo! Now keep the beams shooting from your hands until both dummies are completly frozen solid!” Cryo nodded slightly and continued to shoot. He began to feel the energy wane from his paws though. “Keep concentrating, Cryo. Your doing well! Keep going!” He began to put all his focus into his palms, and continued shooting the flash freeze out of them. The dummies continued to get coated in a layer of ice! Soon enough, they were both completely frozen! “Yes! Well done, Cryo. Well done!” Cryo smiled and began to move back towards Wave. He looked down at his belt again, and saw it had become a little bit more of a light blue color. He looked back at Wave and smiled again. Wave patted his back a few times.

“This is a good starting point… We’ll continue practicing this. As you get better, it’ll become easier to focus and you’ll be able to channel your inner energies better.” “Yea! I can’t wait to see what it can do with this!” “Yes… One more thing. Whatever situation your in, you should consider what would be the best option to get through it. The flash freeze is nice, but if you need freeze something quickly, then using the snow stream breath might actually be better, especially if the target is closing the distance on you quickly or you have little time to react to it. Now then, Cryo… I think you’ve been here long enough… I think you’ve had your fill for the time being. Its time to wake up.” “W… Wake up? Already?” “That’s right… You can’t stay asleep at home forever. Everyone would get worried about you.” Cryo thought for a moment. He then smiled and nodded at her. “Yea. Your right. I can’t stay asleep, training forever.” “Yes. Now then. Why don’t you head back to your room in the dojo and lay down on your bed. You’ll wake up back at home. Ok?” “Alright. See you later tonight, Grandma.” “See you soon, my little grandson.” Cryo headed towards where his room was before in the dojo, and slid the door open. He stepped into his room, and looked at the strange mass of blue that seemed to be his “bed,” here. He nodded his head and then began to lay down on it. He slowly closed his eyes, and then suddenly, everything flashed to white!”

Ch 11

Awake Again

Cryo slowly opened his eyes and gave a yawn. He saw he was back in his room in the basement. He was about to move, when he saw a familiar white fluffball snuggling next to him in the bed.” “Lilly? What are you doing in my bed?” The little Wolfy leaned its head up and began to wag her tail. She stood up and began to lick Cryo’s face. “Easy there. Easy, Lilly.” Lilly stopped licking and began to sit on his bed. She began to wag her tail with a smile. “Oh. You came to check on me and saw I was sleeping, so you wanted to snuggle and take a nap with me?” Lilly began to snuggle against him again. “Well… I suppose that’s alright honestly. You were pretty warm, and I know I like being warm. Anyway. I probably need to go upstairs now. Seth’s waiting for me to play with him.” Lilly licked him one more time, and then jumped off the bed, and then began to head up the steps out of the room. Cryo smiled and began to lean up and push the covers of his bed down. He then stood up on his bed, and then walked towards the side, then jumped down. “Ahh… That was a good nap. I feel well rested now,” he thought. “Good afternoon, Creator. How was your nap?” Cryo looked towards his radio and smiled. “Oh! It was nice, Craft. I feel nice and rested now.” “That’s good, creator. How was school today?”

“It was fine. I… think I’ve made many friends today.” “Really?” “Yea. I’m also going to be repairing tech again for the kids in school. They should start coming over with their broken items for me to repair. I should have enough parts to fix them, thanks to the junkyard sending me them.” “That’s exciting! You’ll probably gain a very positive reputation at school with you repairing everyone’s items for free.” “Umm… Actually… I’m not doing it for free this time…” “Really?” “Yea… I decided that I was going to charge $20 to have items repaired. I… I want to buy a computer with the money I earn, to be able to have video calls with everyone back home.” “Ahh. I see. Well… I’d say your price is fair. Depending on the amount of broken items to be serviced, it shouldn’t take too terribly long to earn the funding for a laptop.” “Yea. Anyway. I probably need to change out of these pajamas, now that I’m awake. I’m sure Seth is waiting still to play with me. I need to let him no I’m awake.”

“Actually, creator. I don’t think its really necessary to change out of those pajamas.” “Really? Why Craft?” “Your not going anywhere else today, right?” “Well… No… I don’t think so.” “Then I don’t think you’ll need to change right now. While I can’t see you right now, as there are no camera’s I can peer into the room with, I can imagine that they feel relatively warm and comfy on you. It might be a waste to simply take them off to be cleaned, considering you’ve only worn them for about… 3 and a half hours I believe.” “Its been 3 and a half hours since I started my nap?” “Yes. It’s currently 5:45 P.M.” “Ahh… I probably should have looked at the time.” “Yes. Anyway… My point is, if your not going anywhere else today, then its probably perfectly fine to wear those the rest of the night. I think I heard that your also wearing pajama pants now, correct?” “Yea. It… does feel really nice on me. I’m surprised Greg never tried to make these for me before.” “Yes. Though one thing I should probably say, creator. If you need to take a break at any point today, make sure you…” “Oh! Don’t worry Craft. I’ll won’t… erm… yea. Anyway… I’ll take your advice Craft, and wear these then. I’ll see you before bed tonight.” “Good. Have a pleasant afternoon creator.” “You too Craft.” Cryo began to head towards the steps and climb up towards the kitchen.

He stepped into the kitchen, and saw that Arianna was preparing dinner for everyone. “Oh! Hello, Cryo. How was your nap?” said Arianna. “It was nice. I feel rested enough for the rest of the day,” Cryo replied back. “That’s good. Dinner should be ready in about an hour and a half. I’m making Que Chez chillin.” “Que… Chez… Chicken?” “That’s right. Have you ever had Intal food before?” Cryo scratched under his chin a few times.” “Umm… I don’t think I have, actually…” “Well then. Your in for a treat tonight! This recipe has been handed down for many generations in my family. My parents were cooks for a nice Intal restaurant, and taught me several different dishes as I grew up.” Cryo gave a smile and then nodded. “Well. I’m looking forward to trying a different culture food tonight.” Arianna smiled and nodded at Cryo. Cryo began to head towards the front room to see if Seth was in there. He was not inside though. Instead, he found Eli watching tv on the couch. He noticed Cryo was up and smiled at him.

“Oh! I didn’t know you were awake. How was your nap, Cryo?” asked Eli “Umm… It was nice Eli. Hey… You know where Seth is?” asked Cryo. “Seth I believe took a nap in his room.” “He… took a nap?” “Yea. I was surprised as well. He’s usually so energetic. I have to wonder if it had something to do with the fact that you also wanted to take a nap.” “Hmm… Maybe. Well… I suppose I should wait for him then. I did promise I’d play with him.” “Alright. Why don’t you sit on the couch with me. You can watch tv with me while waiting for him.” “Well… Alright then. What are you watching?” “I’m watching a nature documentary, detailing some of the interesting wildlife and species in the vast oceans of Cyriss.” “Really? Sounds interesting. Alright then.” Cryo headed over to the couch and sat down.

They watched the tv for a bit, but not too long, someone else stepped into the room. Cryo turned his head to see, and saw Seth, smiling at him. “There you are, big brother!” “Oh. Hi Seth. How was your nap?” “It felt nice… I can see why you take naps during the day.” “Well… I’m ready to play, Seth.” “Yea! Come to my room, big brother!” “Your room?” “Yea! Let’s play in there!” “Well… Is that alright?” Eli turned his head and patted Cryo on the back. “I don’t think you’ll cause any problems being in Seth’s room. Go right ahead, Cryo,” Eli said “Well… Alright then.” Cryo stepped up from the couch and began to head over to Seth. Seth nodded his head and gave a big smile, and the both of them headed to his room. “Hmm… I don’t think I’ve ever been in Seth’s room once since I’ve been living here… I was… originally forbidden to wander to that part of the house… I wonder what its like?” Cryo thought.

Ch 12

Bandits and a Bandanna

They stepped through some of the hallways in the house. The passed the garage door, and headed to where the bedrooms in were located in the house. Cryo stood in front of a door with what appeared to be a Steedly shoe (Steedlys are similar to a horse, but bigger, has two tails, a wider snout, and a bit longer legs and body) on the door. “Huh… That’s… interesting,” Cryo thought. “Well. Come on, big brother! Let’s go inside!” Seth opened the door to his room. Cryo stepped inside and looked around the room.

Cryo could immediately tell the room was based on the concept of “western,” mythos of Earth. The walls had a wallpaper of a sombreros littered throughout it, and the floor was brown carpet. Cryo turned his head to the left of the room, and could see Seth’s bed. It was smaller then his bed, and the blankets on top of it had a cowboy with a desert background. Next to his bed was a small table next to his bed with a small and rather regular brown lamp with a white top. There was also a radio/clock with in the shape of a pedestal with a lasso on top. In the front of the room, was a couple windows and small black tv, on a wooden cabinet with two doors on it. There were two small and rather comfy looking brown sofas in front of the tv. To the right of the room, seemed to be a closet with 2 large wooden sliding doors, a large wooden brown dresser, and what appeared to be a small play pen in the far right corner of the room. Seth patted Cryo on his back a few times.

“Do you like my room, big brother?” Cryo turned his head and smiled at him. “Interesting room, I’ll say. I haven’t seen a western mythos movie in a long time. I still never figured out why this type of stuff is considered “western.” “I’m… not really sure either, big brother… Maybe… its because it came from left side of the world?” “Maybe. Why wasn’t I allowed in here originally?” “Mommy was worried you might rip my bedsheets with your claws or chew on the pillows and toys.” “I see… Hmm…”

Cryo took a look at his talons for a second. He saw that they were rather short and not too sharp right then. “Good thing my claws were trimmed at the vet, recently. I would be worried about breaking Seth’s personal items. Though… I honestly think I do a better job doing it myself. Hmm… I should probably think about getting supplies from the store to manage my claws myself with the money I should make from repairing items. Speaking of which, I’m going to have to tell Eli and Arianna about my “new job.” I should tell them right before bed tonight, when they tuck me in, so they don’t mistake them for the weekly junkyard delivery,” Cryo thought. He looked back to Seth.

“Well… I guess… I’m ready to play fetch, Seth.” “Big brother! We’re not here to play fetch!” “Really? Then… what are we playing? “We’re playing Cowboys and bandits!” “Cowboys and… bandits?” “That’s right!” “Umm… Ok then. How do we play, Seth?” “Well… One person gets to be the brave, strong, heroic cowboy while the other gets to play the evil bandit, who steals everything!” Cryo scratched his chin a bit. “Oh! I get it. This is a make believe game where we take on roles.” “Yea! I get to be the sheriff!” Cryo gave a smirk and a nod. “I guess that makes me the nasty bandit.” “Yea! You get to run around with a posse committing crimes!” “My… Posse?” “Yea! They’re over there!” Seth pointed in the back of the room, which Cryo began to turn his head and look over there. He saw a couple of plush toys in cowboy gear. Cryo chuckled a bit. “He’s really taking this game to heart. I imagine I’m going to be the villain every time. But… that’s fine. Its probably more fun to be a bandit in this game then to play fetch,” Cryo thought. “Well… Anyway… Let’s play! Now… I know you have a bandanna already on, big brother. Why don’t you wrap it around your face to hide your identity, like a real bandit! I’m going to get my lasso from my closet!” “Well… Alright then.”

Cryo began to untie his bandanna from around his neck, and looked at it. He felt around the material a bit. “Ahh… The material of this thing is amazing! To think a flo Lilly was used to create this. And I love how it always smells like a purified spring. The smells even stronger after it gets cleaned! Of course… I know its far more special then that. Though… I haven’t really noticed how it affects me or my abilities yet though, to be honest. But… I’m sure I’ll figure out what cool things it can do in time.” He began to wrap it around his face like a bandit would wear it. But as he tied it on, he felt a bit… strange… He felt… like something was enveloping his entire body… Like… he was covered head to toe in fabrics, that felt like the bandanna… But Cryo quickly dismissed it. He now watched Seth as he rummaged through his closet. Not long, Cryo saw him pull out a lasso.

“Alright big brother! I got my lasso to tie you up when I catch you! You ready to play!” “Hahaha. Yea. I’m ready to be a bandit, Seth.” Seth looked back and began to look around. But… he couldn’t see Cryo anywhere in the room. “Big brother? Are you hiding in your secret hideout already?” “Huh? What do you mean Seth. I’m right here.” “Huh?” Seth looked around the room again, but could not see Cryo anywhere. “Are you playing tricks on me big bro? I should have expected a bandit to try to confuse the sheriff.” “Seth! I’m right here in front of you!” “Where, big bro?” “Right!… Wait a minute…”

Cryo turned his head towards his body, and saw… it was not there…” “What in the…?!” “Umm… Big bro… You… alright? Where are you?” “Umm…” Cryo turned his head to his back. He could not see his back either. Or his paws, his tail. It had all disappeared “What in the world is…” Cryo said. As he was about to continue he turned his head towards the closet. To a large square mirror attached to the side of the closet. He looked at it, and saw… there was no reflection. “Big Bro?” “Seth… I can’t see myself in the mirror…” “Your… in front of the mirror?” “Yes…” Seth gave out a gasp! “Big Brother! Did you become a ghost!?” Cryo’s eyes shot up! He began touch around his body, seeing if his hand would pass through. But he felt his scales as he tried to feel around himself. But strangely, his scales felt just like his bandanna… Cryo began to realize what happened to him!

“Seth… I… think I’m invisible!” “Your… invisible big brother?” “Yea! Come over towards the mirror with your hand outstretched!” “Umm… Ok…” Seth began to hold his hand forward and began to approach the mirror he stepped forth slowly. Suddenly he felt something hold his hand, which surprised Seth! But then he realized it really was Cryo! But his hand felt… very silky…” “Big… Big Bro?” “Yes! It’s me!” “Whoa…” Cryo let go of Seth’s hand and Seth stepped back.” “Big Bro! Did you know you could become invisible!?” “N…No! This… This never happened to me before! But… But how do I change back! I don’t want to be invisible forever!” “Well… What were you doing before?” “I… I was…” Cryo thought for a moment. “I… put my bandanna around my face, like a bandit would. Then… Then I, felt a bit strange…” “Well… Maybe try taking it off of you, big bro.” “W…Well… Alright then. Worth a shot I suppose.” He began to reach behind his head and felt around until he could feel where the bandanna was tied around. He then quickly untied it and took it off. Almost immediately as he did, he the strange feeling went immediately away. He looked at his paw, and saw it was fading back into view. After a few moments he was fully visible.”

“Big bro! Your not a ghost anymore!” “Ye… Yea Seth…” “So… It was your bandanna that did that, big bro?” “Ye… Yea… It seems so…” “Try putting it around your face again. See if you go invisible.” “Al… Alright…” Cryo tied it around his face again, and sure enough, he felt the strange feeling again. He watched his paw, and saw it fade into eventually not being visible at all.” “Whoa… When you put your bandanna on like a bandit… you… become a ghost?” “I… guess so… It’s never made me invisible before.” “Maybe… it has to be wrapped around your face rather then around your neck like it usually is to go invisible. “Y…Yea… You might be right, Seth.” “C… Can I try it big bro.” “Umm… Sure Seth. Hang on.” He began to untie it again and as he took it off, he became visible again. He looked at his paws a bit. “This is so strange… Does this power come from the flo Lilly? Hmm…” He handed it over to Seth.

He gave a smile and began to tie it around his face. But as he finished, he looked at himself. He… still could see himself… “Hey. Big bro. Can you see me?” “Yea… I can still see you Seth…” “Ahh… For real!?” “Yes…” “Hmm… Let me try again…” He untied it around his face and then retied it again. But he was still visible. “Can you see me big bro?” “Yes. I can still see you…” “Aww… I want to be invisible! Why doesn’t it work for me!?” Cryo thought for a moment and smiled at Seth.

“Well… Truth is, Seth… That bandanna is… special.” “Special?” “Ye… Yes. This bandanna was made by… my first family who adopted me when my mom fell ill. When I was reunited with them at Firebase Omega.” “Re…Reunited?” “That’s right. I… probably shouldn’t tell you this, but… at one point, I was… separated from them.” “Se… Separated?” Yes… I… think you already know… being a dragon… I attract a lot of attention to myself… On my first birthday… I was taken from them…” “T… Taken?!” “Yes. I was taken by the military… who were interested in me. I was an undiscovered species, a mythological one at that. And… I think you can expect… that causes quite a bit of problems…” Seth was silent for a moment. “Yes… That day was probably the worst day of my life. And… I remembered it for a long time. In fact… I hated my birthday for the longest time. It was… just a reminder of what I lost. But… Despite that… it was not all bad.”

“It… wasn’t?” “No. They took me to my new home at Research base Omega. While life was… pretty bad at the beginning, they eventually… realized my potential and became a second family to me.” “They… did? But… they kidnapped you!” “Yes. Your right, Seth. But… They never intended any harm to me. They wanted research me. To know me. It took them a while, but… they began to realize that I wasn’t all to different from them. They… they raised me from there. And… on my 7th birthday… I was finally reunited with them. They invited them to live at the research base to look after me and mom. It was… truly the happiest day of my entire life. Now… I realize my birthday wasn’t such a bad day. This bandanna was created by all 3 of them, to celebrate being reunited. And the material of this bandanna, is special too.”

“It… is?” “That’s right. Do you know about how my cloths are made in town now?” “Umm… I think… your dragon scales a somehow used to make them?” “That’s a bit right. The thing is… this bandanna has a very special and rare item in it, something none of my other cloths has.” “W…What is it?” “It’s a Flo Lily.” “A… Flo Lily?” Yes. This is an incredibly rare plant, which is very hard to manage and transport. Yet… Greg, my adopted father, found the key to transporting it.” “What… What was it big bro?” “A dragon scale.” “A… dragon scale?” “Yes. It grew on a dragon scale in the water at the pond where my birthday was held. It was there since the incident on my first birthday. And… he used it to help create this. This gift is the best gift I’ve ever had. Its a sign that wishes and dreams can come true, and to never give up hope.”

“That’s… really awesome, big bro!” “Yea. It’s why I always keep this on me, even when I sleep. This item is very special to me.” “Yea!” Cryo nodded his head, and looked at Seth. “Well… I think that’s enough of story time, don’t you think? We still need to play Cowboys and bandits, right?” “Yea! Let’s play!” “Yea… I’ll have to keep my bandanna around my neck so the game stays “fair.” It wouldn’t be a fair game if the bandit can’t be seen.” “Alright.” So the two began to play the game as the day passed by.

Ch 13

Before Bed

After about an hour of play Arianna came into the room to check on them. She saw that Seth was sitting in his seat and watching a kids western movie on his tv with the lasso in his hands. She looked towards the right of the room, and saw Cryo in the play pen in the corner. She chuckled a bit and stepped in. “Hello, sheriff. Did you catch a bandit tonight?” “Yeah! He was a tough one, but now he’s right where he needs to be!” “Really now?” “That’s right. Don’t worry, Momma. He’ll be ready to join back with society before dinner. “Really now. Why don’t I check on him.” She walked over to the play pen, and saw Cryo seemed to be working on something for school. “Well, Cryo… I see Sheriff Seth managed to catch you…” “Yep. Serving hard time, now.” “What are you doing in “jail,” right now?” “I’m working on my home… Uhh…” He looked toward Seth, then back at Arianna. “Umm… I mean… as part of my plea deal with Sheriff Seth, I’m doing paperwork for him. After I have completed the paperwork, I am to be commissioned into the town as a deputy. I’ll be his riding horse as we hunt down and arrest the rest of my posse.” She looked towards Seth, and then back to him. She began to whisper to Cryo. “Is that really alright if he rides you?…” “Don’t worry. I’m pretty strong. My legs are good enough to hold his weight. I exercise enough during the day and night with walks. Let Sheriff Seth have his fun. I’ll be ready for dinner when its time.” She smiled at Cryo and began to leave the room. “Alright, you two boys. Have fun. Be careful with the detainee, Seth. Try to be gentle when your ready to ride him, ok?” “Yes, Mama.” “Alright. Have fun you 2.” She left the room, and closed the door. Seth turned towards Cryo. “Hey. You got the paperwork done yet?” “Just about…” Cryo wrote a few more things on it. “There… Paperworks done, sheriff.” “Really? Let me see…”

Cryo lifted the papers to outside and gave them to Seth. He looked at them and smiled. “Well… This looks like really complicated work you’re doing… but… I suppose its about time your let out of your cell. Ready to hunt down the members of your posse?” “Yep! I’m ready Sheriff!” “Good! Hang on. Let me unlock the cell. Seth pretended to take out a key and “unlock,” the play pen. “Alright. Come on out!” “Yes Sheriff!” Cryo jumped up and began to climb out of the play pen and jumped onto the floor. “Now then. Let’s get you in a proper saddle and harness, my faithful new steed.” “Yes sheriff.” Seth headed to his closet again, and began to rummage a bit. After a while, he pulled out a small saddle and harness. “Here it is!” he walked over to Cryo and patted him on the head a few times. “Now… Are you ready to finally turn away from a life of crime and become something better, Big bro!?” “Absolutely, Sheriff!” “Great. Now… Hold still while I fit you into this.” Seth began to carefully strap the saddle and harness on Cryo and soon he jumped on Cryo’s back and began to ride him. “Now! Let’s go my faithful steed! Let’s catch those other bandits!” “Alright! Hang on Sheriff!” Cryo began to carry Seth around the room on his back for a while. Then, dinner came. Seth took the saddle and harness off of Cryo and they both headed to the table to eat for the time being.

After dinner, Cryo played with Seth a little bit more, but then, Arianna came into the room. “Hey you two. It’s time for bed!” Cryo, who was back in a saddle and harness, and Seth, who was riding Cryo, looked towards her. “Aww… Already!?” said Seth. “Yes, Seth. Your faithful steed has to get some rest for tomorrow. You need to as well. You both are going to school tomorrow.” “Hey… We’ll play again some other time, Seth. Come on. You mom is right. Your faithful steed needs to sleep for school.” “Aww… Ok… Goodnight big brother…” “Goodnight Seth.” Arianna removed the saddle and harness from Cryo. “Why don’t you wait by your bed, Cryo, and I’ll tuck you in for tonight. Just let me take care of Seth first.” “Ok. See you downstairs.” Cryo began to head out of the room and then through the kitchen then down the steps to his room in the basement. He smiled and gave a yawn. “Ahh… I hear you creator. How was playing with Seth?” “Oh! It was pretty fun. We played Cowboy’s and bandits.” “Cowboys and Bandits? I’m not familiar with that game…” “Oh. Well… It’s a game of pretend. Seth was the sheriff. I was the bandit. “Ahh… You were the villain, I imagine. “Yea… At the beginning though. Then I became Seth’s riding Steedly.” “Really? Was that alright?” “Oh don’t worry about it Craft. My legs are pretty strong. I run around a lot at home and take walks during the year. You know that already. Carrying Seth is not as hard as you think. He had a lot of fun.” “That’s good to hear. What about you? Did you have fun.” Cryo thought for a moment. Then he smiled and nodded. “Yeah. That was quite fun!”

Cryo then heard footsteps come from the steps. He turned his head around, and then saw Arianna step into the room. “Alright, Cryo. Let’s get you in bed for tonight.” “Yea… Thanks… I’m really tired.” She smiled at Cryo and patted his head a few times. She then pulled back the covers of the bed, lifted Cryo up, and tucked him in. The radio immediately turned on naptunes again…” “Huh… The radio turned on by itself again…” Arianna said. “Oh! Umm… Don’t mind that, Arianna. I… Already added some upgrade to the radio. It… uh… knows when I’m going to sleep.” “Really? How?” “Umm… Its… a bit too complicated to explain.” Arianna began to turn off the lights to the room and began to head up. But before she did, Cryo realized he needed to tell her something!

“Oh! Arianna! Before you go, I have something I need to tell you!” She turned back towards Cryo. “What is it, Cryo?” “Umm… I… am going to start getting items to repair from the kids at school. They want me to help repair their items.” “Really?” “Yes. I agreed to work on them.” “Is that alright with you?” “Of course! I used to do this back home!” “Well… Ok… Are you doing it for free?” “No. I’m just charging $20 an item. I… want to buy a few things on my own when I have enough money.” “Well… Alright, Cryo. I’ll tell Eli. Anyway Goodnight, Cryo.” “Goodnight Arianna.” She slowly headed up the steps. The sound of naptunes began to work its magic on Cryo’s hazy mind, and soon, he fell asleep.

Ch 14

Water Wakeup

Cryo’s eyes opened slowly. He realized he was back in the dojo, within his room. He gave a yawn, and lifted himself up from the strange blue mass. “Well… I’m back here again… I wonder what were going to do today? Maybe working on the flash freeze a bit more?” Cryo then looked at himself, and saw immediately he wasn’t wearing his training outfit. In fact, he wasn’t in his winter whiteout transformation! He was in his Sea Serphant transformation instead.” “Huh… I’m… in this form again. Are we going to work with this form today?” Cryo thought. Suddenly, he heard the door to his room slide open. He saw Wave step in, transformed as well!”

“Hello my little grandson. How are you this evening?” she asked. “I’m fine, grandma. Am I going to be working with this transformation today?” “That’s right.” “Well… I guess that’s why I’m not in my normal gear then, huh.” “Actually… your training outfit is right here.” She pointed to the outfit, hanging up next to a mirror. He took a closer look at it, and saw it seemed to look a bit… different… He saw that it seemed to have rather long cuts in its arms, and it looked like it was a similar design to a white wetsuit! “Huh… My training outfit looks… different, Grandma.” “That’s right. The elemental condensers within the outfit help it adapt to environments outside of where it normally operates. In this case, it’ll be helpful within water. The slits in the arms are made so that your fins across your arms can come out on them, and the outfit is very smooth and will fit a bit tight around you when exposed to water. This will allow you to better practice your underwater skills and your maneuverability while wearing it. Now… Why don’t we get this on you, ok, my little grandson?” “Well… Alright then…” Wave picked it up from the hanger and walked over to Cryo. “Now then… This might feel a bit tight around you, but it shouldn’t cause any difficulty while we train with this transformation today. Let’s get this fitted on you.” “Wave carefully maneuvered the outfit onto Cryo. She was defiantly right about it fitting on tight. Yet… it still felt pretty comfy around his body. Soon, Wave tied the dragon belt around Cryo’s body, its very light blue glistening in the light of the dojo. “Let me take the headband for now, Cryo. We’ll work with this on a bit later. “She took the handband, which was still hanging up, and then placed in what looked like a waterproof bag attached to her side. “Now then… why don’t we head into the training room?” Cryo nodded and they both headed out the door to Cryo’s room and into the main training area.

They both stepped into the room, and saw there was a very large pool of water across the dojo. It looked pretty deep, but the water was very clear and light blue, like there wasn’t a single impurity within it. “The Sea Serpant dragon transformation, as you can guess, enhances your water based abilities and recombines your anatomy to be much more agile and effective when submerged in bigger and deeper bodies of water. The water itself becomes a useful and effective tool against enemies on land and those brave or foolish enough to chase you into the water. Its best use for hit and run tactics. Use the water and the flow to surprise enemies and then swim away to plan your next move. Now… before we begin… Why don’t you put this mask on?” Wave headed over to a wall, and grabbed a strange device from the wall. She brought it back over to Cryo. Cryo took a look at it.

It looked like some type of breathing device, that fit around somethings mouth. It had a round filter in the center of the mask. “This is a Underwater Oxygen rebreather. This will allow you to breath underwater.” “Umm… How? Don’t you need to have a container on your back filled with air?” “No. This special little device converts the oxygen molecules in water into breathable air. As you probably already know, despite being water dragons, we can’t breath underwater, even in this transformation. You need to be able to breath air, and this will make it so we don’t have to constantly come up for air. It’ll even allow us to talk to each other while underwater, as it doubles as a communications device between each other. It’s quite a nifty little device. Dragons have been trying to make something like this for years. Never really could get it right though… Here. I’ll show you how to put it on correctly.”

Wave began to lift the oxygen mask towards her mouth. She pressed a button on the left side of it, and it began to immediately attach itself to her mouth and around the back of her head. She looked back at Cryo and spoke, though the mask made her words sound a bit more distorted. “Now you try it.” “Cryo nodded his head, and began to bring the mask close to his mouth. He pressed the button on the left side of it, and it began to fit around his mouth. Soon, it had fully attached to his mouth, and he noticed immediately the sound of him breathing was a bit louder with it on. “Good. Why don’t we jump into the water now, and we can begin your training.” Cryo nodded and the both immediately and jumped into the water, sinking into the depths below.

Ch 15

Water Workout

They began to swim down the water pretty quickly for a bit, Cryo liking the workout while he swam. Then then Wave stopped swimming and began to face Cryo. Cryo stopped in front of her. “Alright Cryo. This should be deep enough. We are going to work on using Sea Screech.” “Sea… Screech?” That’s right. Before we can begin, we need to change the mode of the oxygen rebreather.” “Ok. How do we do that. Here… Observe me, Cryo…”

She pointed to the side of her face, where Cryo could see a very small twisting knob on the side of the mask. She twisted it just a bit, and the mask began to change! The filter in the center seemed to spread itself out and the mask seemed to be opening itself and covering around he snout a bit more. “This knob on the side of your mask will engage the breathalizer mode. This will allow you to shoot attacks out of your mouth without damaging the mask. This should be done only when your engaging in a fight against someone else. It can be a bit harder to breath when the filter is extended out like this. Now. You try it.”

Cryo nodded his head and began to feel around the the mask, until he could feel the switch to engage the breathalyzer mode of the mask. He began to twist it carefully with his talons. Soon, like Wave’s mask, Cryo’s mask began to extend its filter out and open up around Cryo’s face. Soon, it stopped. Cryo thought this was a pretty nifty trick with the technology. Though… he did indeed find himself taking his breaths a bit deeper with this mode engaged.

“Excellent. Now we’re ready to begin.” Wave pointed towards and empty space of water in front of her, and Cryo thought he could see something swimming towards them. After a bit, it seemed to be a small group of dojo dummies, but outfitted with what looked like diving gear. Upon closer inspection, it was the same type of dummy used to train him to use Flash Freeze.

“Now. Watch this, my little grandson…” She took in a big breath of air, and then… WHOOSH. She let a pulse of water which began to speed through the water! It quickly blasted the 3 dummies away, which left Cryo quite impressed!”

“Did you like that, my little grandson?” Wave asked. “Yea! That looked pretty strong, Grandma!” replied back, with a big smile on his face. Wave knew he was quite excited to try it himself. “This attack is a very fast and pinpoint accurate. This attack will blast enemies with a rather large undersea pulse of water generated by your mouth. This can also be manipulated to either be larger to attack in a more wider spread, or more focused for tougher targets who might be giving you trouble. Now then. Why don’t you try it?”

A couple more dojo dummies came into view. Cryo saw them stop a little ways away.” “Now then… To use Sea Screech, channel your inner energies into you throat.” “My… throat?” “That’s right. The sea screech is a sound wave attack that pushes back water at high speed.” Cryo thought for a moment… Then he remembered something. He looked towards Wave.

“Umm… grandma?” “Yes Cryo? Is something wrong?” “Is it alright… if I try this with the headband on first?” “Really? Why?” “I… have a hunch… I think its best to try to test this first with it on.” “Well… Alright Cryo…” She pulled the headband from the bag, and gave it to Cryo. He quickly moved it onto his head, and he could feel a bit of his power ebb away from him. “Alright Cryo… Give it a shot.” Cryo nodded his head and looked forward. He stared down the dojo dummies for a bit, and then gave a smile under his mask. He began to take in a deep breath, and a HUGE pulse of water came blasting out of his mouth! Wave was immediately shocked, and saw the dojo dummies get blasted to the far reaches of the water!

“C…Cryo! That was… That blast was on the level of a dragon master! H… How were you able to do it like that on your first try!?” Cryo turned towards Wave and nodded. “This isn’t… actually the first time I’ve done this…” “R… Really? But… What other time did you use this technique?” “It was… not long after I hatched from my egg…” “Wait… Really?” “Ye… Yeah. If… I remember correctly I… did it when I wanted something to chew on.” “I… I don’t understand Cryo…”

“Well… A more accurate story is… as you know, not long after I was born, Mom… fell into hibernation. I hatched not long after. Greg and the others took me into their vehicle, and moved mom into a small pen attached to the back of the car, where I was originally situated in. They began trying to find a way to get passed the military blockade in town. They… wanted to steal one of the military officers transportation to get passed the blockade. And… well… I kind of attracted them to me.” “Hmm… I… Don’t remember that. Then again, I was able to tap into Oversoul… But… It was only after you and the others began to head on the road out of there.” “Yeah… Anyway… the military officers began to head towards the car.., But… my gums really started to hurt in my mouth. Real… badly… And I was becoming real cranky. Next thing I know, I’m blasting a sonic screech out of my maw! It was loud and powerful enough to knock down and knock out all the military guards in the blast! It also allowed my family to obtain a vehicle to escape with us in tow. It was also the first time they gave me a pacifier.”

“That’s… a bit… odd, Cryo.” “Why, Grandma?” “The thing is Cryo… There was never any dragon that has been known to use a variation of this move outside of the water.” “Wait… Really?” “Yes. In fact, if what your saying is true, you used a variation of this move, outside of its own element! This… This is rather fascinating, my little grandson. You might be the first dragon who’s ever done this. Hmm…” “Well… That’s cool, I guess.” “Yes… Well… Seeing as you seemed to have mastery of this move, perhaps we should try a different one then. After we’re done today… I might have a talk with the others about what you told me. This is not normal, Cryo. This… This might be something more then that… But… That’s for later. She removed the headband from around Cryo’s head, and he felt the condesors in his training gear return to its former power. He looked at his belt, and it had turned to a vivid blue color. He turned back to Wave with a smile. “Now then Cryo… We’re going to try an attack… that is a bit more advanced…”

Ch 16

Sea Slicer

“Wave pointed again and Cryo saw another dojo dummy come into view to his side. This one seemed to be quite large and bulky though… Cryo looked back at Wave, and stroked his head a bit. “This next attack we’re going to learn is called, Sea Slicer.” “Sea… Slicer?” “That’s right… This might be a bit difficult for you to master, Cryo.” “Why Grandma?” “This one requires… a very fine degree of control… This attack is quite dangerous. If you put too much emphasis with this attack, you could really cause severe bodily damage to your opponents. And… And… End them… I don’t think you want to really end another’s life using this. Control is the key. Controlling the amount of energy used and focused is necessary to not shred another to ribbons. This attack should be used VERY sparingly, and only against opponents who are really giving you a hard time and leaving you with little other options. Understand?”

Cryo’s heart sank a little. He then gulped, and nodded his head very slowly. “Now then… Watch carefully…” Wave positioned herself a bit of ways away from the dummy. She then began to held her hands spread out above her. She then quickly thrust them across the front of her, and two blades of water in the shape of an X came out and shot forward very quickly. It soon connected with the dojo dummy and shot him back a bit. Tide began to swim forward and grabbed the dojo dummy and began to drag it over to Cryo. “Alright… Take a close look at the damages to this dummy, Cryo.” Cryo slowly nodded, and began to look at the dummy. He saw the gash of the attack in the dummy out of its replica diving suit. A gash in the shape of an X… Cryo gulped, and he could clearly see the power of the blades… “Now Cryo… See what it looks like under the diving suit. This is what you should be aiming for when using this attack.” Wave began to carefully lift the fake metal diving suit from the dummy. Then… she pointed to its stomach. Cryo saw the gash in its frame… but the gash was incredibly thin on the framework of the wood. “This attack should be used ONLY to open up enemy underwater armor and cause very light damage to their body. They’ll be forced to go up to the surface to get air. If your really clever, you could potentially use this to your advantage to capture a strong enemy. While they are heading towards the surface, you could surprise and prevent them from escaping you by using an attack we’ll probably learn a bit later, as you train with me, called Bubble Bind. We’ll practice this in the future.” “W… Well… Ok…” Cryo said rather nervously. “Now… Its your turn, Cryo.” She pointed towards another dojo dummy heading towards Cryo. It stopped a bit of ways away from him.

“Alright Cryo. Try to summon Sea Slicer. To use this, focus your elemental energy into your webbed paws. Your claws inside your webbed feet will begin to extend outward again. When they have fully come out, this is where things get tricky…” Cryo felt nervous about what she might say next. “From this point… you need to focus on the target. But… Try to think… positively… Stay calm… The less calm and collected you are the more likely that the attack will cause grave harm and possibly death. Do anything you can to try to calm yourself and restrain any form of grievance you have with whoever your fighting. Remember that things may not be so simple as good and evil… There could be other factors at play that could be influencing them and their actions. Keep your emotions in check so you don’t deliver a fatal blow to them. Neither of us want that. Now… Try it.”

Cryo slowly nodded and gulped. He began to spread his paws out. He then began to focus his energy in his talons, and then he saw the claws in his webbed feet extend out…” “Alright, Cryo… Careful… Careful…” Cryo thought to himself. He took in a deep breath, and then swiped forward fast! Two blades of water in an X began to fan out and hit the dummy and pushed him back! Cryo took in a deep breath and tried to relax. “Alright Cryo… You can at least Conjure the attack pretty well… Now… Let’s see the damages on the training dummy…”

She swam over and grabbed the dojo dummy and began to swim it back over to Cryo. She began to carefully remove the fake diving suit, which had a rather large gash in it. After taking it off… Cryo saw a gash under the armor, a bit deeper then when Wave shot hers at the dummy. “This is not a bad start, my young grandson. The gash here is a bit deep… But it shouldn’t be deep enough to cause permanent damage to its body. But… Now… comes the REAL difficult test.” Cryo gulped… as he knew what would happen next. Wave pulled out the headband, and began to wrap it around Cryo’s head. Cryo’s heart sank as he felt the power leave him. “Now… Try this with the headband on.” “O…Ok grandma.”

Another large dummy came into view… Cryo took in a deep breath, and prepared himself. He spread his arms out, and then quickly thrust his hands down! The blades quickly moved forward very quickly towards the dummy! Cryo watched nervously in anticipation. Soon, the blades connected to the dummy! Cryo’s eyes shot up, as the attack completely sliced through the entire dummy splitting it apart! “Oh…” Cryo said, as he looked as the pieces began to dissipate.

“Cryo… Your not focusing enough… Remember. Try to think positive. Keep any grievances or worry away. That causes more focus in the more dangerous aspects of this attack.” “Wha… what do suppose I do!? I’m… I’m scared that someone will end up like this if I do this to them!” “It’s actually quite simple Cryo. Close your eyes slowly as you channel your energies into your claws. Think of something that makes you happy. Calmed. Draw your focus away from the battle a bit, and then when your ready, open up your eyes, aim, and swipe. The key here is to try and think of something that causes your negative feelings and emotions to not get in the way of your thoughts. Think peacefully. That’s all you need to do. Now. Try again. Don’t think about what could happen if something goes wrong. Think about someone or something you really love.” “Al… Alright then…”

Cryo took in another deep breath as another dummy came into view. He slowly closed his eyes, and then began to slowly hold his arms out. Wave’s words echoed in his head… “Think of someone or something that makes you happy. Cryo nodded and began to think about… Tide. He remembers how happy he was when she first woke up. He remembers the care he’s been given from her since he woke up. He begins to slowly smile. “Good, Cryo. Good. Keep those memories going. When your ready… attack.” Cryo continued to think for a bit about Tide. He began to take some deep breaths in and out. In and out. In and out. He began to focus into his claws again, which slowly began to extend out of his webbed feet. He slowly opened his eyes and gave a smile and then… swiped both his arms down! The blades of water once again shot out quickly, and quickly connected to the dummy! But this time, the dummy was sent back a bit! Cryo gave a nod and a small smile. He began to calmly swim to the dummy and grabbed it and took it over to Wave.

“Now… This is a better reaction out of you, Cryo. Now… Let’s see how much damage it did.” She began to remove the fake diving gear, and surprisingly, there was the smallest gash she’d ever seen on the dummies wooden body! “Well done Cryo! Well done! This is perfect! But… You’ll need a bit more training with this. We’ll keep practicing so we might be able to lower the amount of time needed to achieve this result consistently. In the rush of a battle, every moment needed to focus counts.” Cryo smiled at her, and Wave began to rub Cryo’s head a bit… He looked at his belt, which turned a bit darker in color again.

“Well… Mourning has come, my little grandson. It’s about time you woke up!” “Aww… Already?! We we’re getting to the really good stuff!” “Now now, Cryo. We’ll train more the next time you go to sleep, ok?” “Sigh… Yes grandma.” “Alright. Let’s go back to the surface of the water and get you back to your room.” Cryo nodded and they both began to head up the water. They emerged from the water and then flapped their wings to fly back to the floor of the dojo. They both shook their bodies as water began to fly all over the place. Wave then grabbed a towel hanging from on a rack near Cryo’s room. She gestured Cryo over and Cryo nodded. He slowly trotted over and sat in front of Wave. She smiled and began to rub him all over with the towal. Soon, he was relativly dry, and she slid the door open to his room. “Have a good mourning, Cryo. Have a good day back with the others.” Cryo nodded and smiled at Wave. “See you soon, grandma. Don’t get too lonely without me.” Cryo stepped into his room and shut the door. He began to head towards the blue mass again, and began to lay down on it. He slowly closed his eyes, and everything flashed to white.”

Ch 17

How’s Home?

Cryo slowly opened his eyes. He saw he was back in his room at the house. He heard the alarm for his clock blaring across the room. He saw Arianna was in the room again, trying to nudge him awake. “Oh! Good mourning, Arianna.” She stepped back and smiled at Cryo. Cryo’s alarm then turned itself off. “Good mourning, Cryo. It’s Friday today. The last day of school for the week.” “Oh! I didn’t even see the week pass by! Well… Ok then.” Cryo pulled the covers from his bed back and then began to stand up on the bed. He quickly jumped from the bed and onto the soft carpet below. He looked at Arianna, and smiled at her. “You want some help getting ready?” “Oh. I should be good Arianna. I just need to get a coat, and then I’ll be ready.” “Ok. We’re having breakfast upstairs. Come up whenever your ready, and don’t go back to bed. Ok.” “Ok. I’ll come up soon.” She nodded and stepped upstairs. Cryo began to head towards the laundry hamper in his room and then began to take off his pajamas. He then tossed both the shirt and pants in. “There we go. Now… Let’s pick out a coat for today.” “He headed towards his closet, and began to search for something to wear, before he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Good morning creator. How are you today?” Cryo turned back at his radio and smiled. “Oh! I’m fine Craft. You doing good?” “Of course creator. As long as your happy. I’m happy.” “That’s good.” Cryo then took out a dark blue plain coat with a couple of zip up pockets and some blue gloves and socks. He brought the items over to his radio. He sat himself down and began to put the items on, taking his bandanna off and putting it on the bed for when he had all his other items on. “It’s nice to have you here Craft. I defiantly like being able to talk to someone from back home. Speaking of which… how is everyone doing back at home?” “They’re doing relatively fine. They really miss you. Everyone does really.” “Oh… I… I see…” “Don’t worry creator. They’re doing everything they can at home to repair the runway and restock on airships. But… They believe they won’t be able to pick you up until after the school semester is over…” “Ahh. I… see…” “Yes… I told them that your taking a job to repair items like at home, to get a computer to have video calls on the CompCall app. They’re very much looking forward for when you’ll be able to talk to them again.” “Ye… Yea… I… suppose I should at least try to call them at some point on a phone.” “You might want to again. At the very least, hearing your voice might be good enough until you can get a nice stable computer. I’m actually quite excited myself to be able to upload myself into more then just a simple radio. I would like to see your form with the computers camera. I find it hard to… communicate a bit with just your voice to acknowledge your ok and stable. “Oh… I’m… sorry to hear that. I… I understand…” “Yes. Anyway… Have a pleasant day at school, creator.” “S… See you Craft…”

Cryo finally got dressed in is cloths and then slipped back on his bandanna. Cryo quickly went through his day from breakfast, to going to school, and then heading back home for the day. After he got home, he decided to do his homework for the day. It didn’t take him long to complete it. But not long after though, he began to see many of his classmates come to his door, with many pieces of broken technology in their hands and money to pay for fixing said items. Cryo knew it was time for work. He decided that before taking a nap and maybe playing with Seth tonight, he’d start repairing items for the kids at school. Every item repaired meant he’d be closer to buying a computer. He and his caretakers helped Cryo take the many items down one by one and placed them on his work bench.

“Do… You think you’ll need any help with… working with these Cryo? Do you need anything?” asked Eli. Cryo turned to Eli and shook his head. “No. But thank you though. I should be able to get a decent amount of this stuff fixed before I head out for the day. Though… Since this is in town… I might to need to use the phone a few times, to let everyone know I’m… well… completed the repair for said item.” “Ok. Well… Whenever your ready to make calls Cryo, just come upstairs.” “Ok. See you soon, Eli. Tell Seth that I’m going to probably be late for playtime today.” “Ok. Enjoy working, Cryo.” Cryo nodded, and Eli left the room. Cryo turned towards his radio, which he moved into the room while they were moving the technology in. “Alright, Craft. Time for my first day at work. Can you turn on some calming soft rock music to help me ease into it?” “Of course creator. It’s nice to finally work with you again. Turning on new generation rock radio, Creator. Please enjoy.” Soft rock began to play over the radio, but Cryo realized something. “Umm… Could you turn down your volume a bit in here, Craft. We’re in the basement, remember? Sounds echo’s around bit more down here.” “Understood. Lowering volume to acceptable levels to accommodate caretakers in home establishment.” “Thank you Craft.” The volume lowered quite a bit, and Cryo nodded, as he took a look at his first item to repair. He gave a smirk. “Let’s get started.”

Ch 18

Trauma Trip

Cryo took the first item, which was in a cardboard container. He looked at the top of it, and saw the notes for the item and the issues with it taped to the top. It seems the first item to repair today, was a ZPS gaming console. He recognized the name on the label of who it was immediately. “Ahh. This is Warren’s Ignition gaming console. He was the first one to ask me to repair his device anyway. It makes sense to do his item first,” Cryo said. He began to open the box, and then took out the ignition and placed it on the table. He then took out a piece of paper in the box, containing information that would help Cryo know how to fix the problem.

“Hmm… Warren’s handwriting is a little sloppy. But… I can definantly still read this. Now… Notes here say… fell on the floor, while opened up. Broken upper screen. Hmm… While it seems to be the main issue, I should probably check the other parts inside as well. People dropping items is all too common, and its better I make sure its fully operational before giving it back to him.”

Cryo began to get to work, slowly removing and carefully taking apart the the ignition, to see if there was any other problems within the system. He then removed the broken screen and then began to search for replacement screens in his spare parts cabinet. Thankfully, his cabinet had labels were spare parts were. He quickly took out a screen and then placed it to the side. He then began to observe the other parts. After a little bit, he found a few other problems.

“Just as I thought. Inner battery has been damaged a bit as well. “It’ll probably going to turn off occasionally during gameplay if I don’t do something about that. Main Cpu is… damaged as well… Hmm… That… complicates the situation quite a bit. Looks like I’m going to need alter and modify the cpu with the parts I already have to make sure it doesn’t mess up while playing. I don’t have the time or the items at my disposal to make one of my own… Well… Let’s get started.”

Cryo began to gather more spare parts from his drawers, to fix the rest of the problems. He took out a spare battery, and the parts needed to create a modified version of the original cpu. He brought it over to his work bench, and nodded. He began to fix and modify the cpu on the device. He worked for a bit, when his mind began to drift…

“Its… been a while since I’ve had a chance to do stuff like this… About a month I believe… I never expected to end up getting kidnapped again… That’s for sure… Ugh…” He began to get a bit nervous as he worked. He took in a couple of deep breaths and continued. He then began to think about the ones responsible…

“Mick… Ugh… Mick… Can’t he just leave me alone… Hasn’t he done enough to me and mom already? I still remember everything he’s done to us. Even before I arrived at Research Base Omega.” He gave a sigh, and continued to work. “He’s the reason I’ve hated my birthday for so long. I still remember what he did to Greg and Suzy. What he tried to do to Noble. Even then, he still was willing to do anything to take me. Ugh… He’s truly a monster. To think he’d literally try to hurt someone like Noble, just to make him reveal where I was. He’s truly willing to do anything if it means I’ll be right in his grasp. Sigh…”

A bit of time passed, and the modified cpu was close to ready. He began to fix in the final necessary parts. But he continued to think about that man… The man who has caused him so much trouble.

“To think… He wants me and mom, so badly… Not because we’re aliens or dragons. Not because they could become famous or well known for a discovery. Not even because he wants to hold us for ransom. No. He wants us for our technology. To build… Ugh… I can’t even imagine what type of terrors he’d have us build. The thought… It scares me… a whole lot… I… I remember learning in school of the human superweapon… The weapon that… caused so much disaster back on earth. That bomb… Would he have made us recreate it? It… Even hearing about the history in that in school is… truly scary. They have been completely outlawed to create since then. In fact… every and all information about how to create the superweapon was completely destroyed. The only reminder of it, is in the history books. But… If he really wanted me to create that… what… what would he do with… Gulp… I… I don’t even want to think about it…” Cryo soon finished with the modified cpu and nodded. “Alright. Let’s put all the necessary parts together.”

Cryo began to put back the entire system together, attaching each of the new parts. The new screen, battery, and the modified cpu. Soon it was back together and he smiled and nodded. “Now to test this…” He turned on the power to the ignition, and began to mess around with it for a bit. He played a bit of capsule creatures for about 30 minutes. Soon, he concluded that the repairs were successful, and that he had done a very good job. “Alright! That’s our first repair completed!” Cryo said. “Good job, Creator. Your client will be pleased. That one I understand took a bit more work, didn’t it?” Cryo turned to his radio and smiled at it. “If it takes more work, then its even more satisfying to see it in working order. Right Craft?” “Absolutely creator. Well done. Let’s get on to your next project.”

Cryo nodded and began to box up the ignition again. He took the next cardboard box, which was a bit smaller then the last one. “Hmm Looks like we have Sydney’s item. A cylindrical music player. Well… Let’s take it out.” Cryo took out the music player, and saw that the sound speakers were out of it and dangling to the sides of it. “Well… I can see a problem already… But…” Cryo took the notes of the problems from inside the cardboard box. “Notes say… Speakers broken. Of course… Hit with a ball by little brother. Yep… That makes sense. Probably dropped on the floor as well. With that in mind, I probably have multiple things to fix with this. Welp. Let’s get started.”

He began to take it apart and observe it. “Hmm… Speakers are worse off then I thought. So many broken parts inside. But… easy enough to fix. I have spare speakers right in my cabinets. They should be in good quality order. Then I’ll need to replace some of the wires connected to both speakers. Hmm… Anything else wrong with these?” He began to look at the other parts of the machine. “Looks like the power source has a wire that’s broken as well. Easy enough to replace. Hmm… I don’t see anything else wrong with this device otherwise. Well… Let’s get to work.”

Cryo began to repair the device, when his mind drifted again. He began to think about the attempts to kidnap him before… “Mick has tried to kidnap me 3 separate times now. The first is when we were… on that ocean trip when I was 6 years old. Ugh… Talk about a lousy way to ruin what was supposed to be a fun day out on the water. I was looking forward to it as well. Thankfully… no one was hurt… Well… Except me of course… How long was I swimming on the water while trying to avoid them while they were firing nume darts at me? I don’t know, but I remember how scary it was… Ugh… I didn’t think I was going to make it either. No matter what I did, they always seemed to know where I was, even when I dove underwater to try and confuse them. Though… I can probably guess he had access to my tracking chip at the time, so it makes sense that he’d be able to continually chase me. I become desperate as I began to tire out, and I decided to try to make it to shore to try to lose them in the nearby forest… But… right as I got to shore, they… They finally hit me… with one of those darts…” Cryo gulped and shook his head. He continued with a nervous look on his face.

“When they shot me… I… didn’t understand what was going on. The pain of the wound… wasn’t as much as I thought… But… That wasn’t the intention… They followed me on shore, and not long after… I began to grow… numb… It wasn’t much at first. But then… The feeling began to become worse and worse and worse. I felt a bit dizzy, and then… I couldn’t move my back legs. I was terrified! I… I thought I was dying! I began to dig my front paws into the dirt to pull myself forward, but eventually, even they began to stop working. And then… then… I couldn’t move. Everything felt still… I could only turn my head slowly as I saw them approach me. My heart sank. I thought this was it. I thought I was done for… But then… I… I don’t exactly know how… but… I thought… I thought I could hear… moms voice. She was… calling to me… She told me to… push out my fears, and unleash my fury… I… didn’t understand at first what she meant. But… as I laid there. I… closed my eyes, and felt, something within me. Something… trying to escape my body. Something strong. And… I felt like… I had to let it out. I… I pushed the feeling out of me… and then… I felt a pulse of energy come out of my entire body. Next thing I knew, everything around me was beginning to freeze! They ran! All of them! Ran scared from what was going on! And then… I… I felt cold… Like… something frigid was forming near me. Then… I felt… frozen…”

Cryo took in a couple of deep breaths and continued. Soon, he had put the cylindrical music player together and tested it out for a bit by playing some music. After a bit, he was satisfied with the results. “Alright then. Looks like this is in perfect working condition.” Cryo said. “Excellent job, creator. Your earning your pay today!” Craft replied back. “Heh… Thanks Craft. Now… Let’s get to our next item.” He began to box the item up, but began to think again.

“That experience was terrifying… I later learned what had happened later on. I had to take a sick day after, but… I was eventually back on my feet again. But… I don’t know how I managed to do that. Even to this day, I still don’t know how I froze the entire area and created a pillar of ice around myself to protect myself. Maybe… Maybe this is something to ask Grandma, when I take a nap later. She’s a Ferrin dragon, like me, so maybe she could tell me what happened…

Ch 19

Fixing Files

Cryo nodded his head and grabbed the next cardboard container. He looked at the label on top. “Hmm… A labtop computer. Interesting…. Looks like its a Zen portable laptop. From… Aran. Hmm… Let’s open it up.” Cryo opened up the box, and took out the labtop. It seemed fine to him. “Interesting… I wonder what the problem is?” He pulled out the research notes, then gave a rather long sigh… “I see now… Someone decided to download a group of… rather unneeded files and got a nasty computer virus. Welp… Looks like I’m going to be doing some programming and data retrieval. I know how to do this thankfully. This almost never came up at home… But for good reason, since its a well established military research center. The kids were more… responsible more or less and knew better then to… well… yea. Let’s get started.”

Cryo booted up the computer and began entering its data center. He was about to get started, when his radio began to speak up. “Excuse me. Creator?” “Oh! Is there something you want, Craft?” “I… overheard you say that the ailment to your clients technology was a computer virus. Is there any chance I could assist with this one?” “You want to help me?” “Quite! Can you give me your clients computer id number in order to upload myself to it, and assist?” “Well… Ok then. Hang on while I look at his computer number.”

Cryo looked through the computers data center for the computers id tag. “Ahh! Id tag is XC12201.” “Thank you. Beginning remote uplink to clients computer.” Cryo waited a few moments, then the mouse began to move by itself! “Is that you moving the mouse, Craft?” “Yes! I must say. I’m very happy to see you on the computers camera. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to look at you.” Cryo chuckled a bit and smiled. “Well… I can imagine its more fun seeing me in real life then looking at a digital image. So… Where should we begin?” “Hold on a second, creator… We seem to already have an intruder trying to invade the system. I’m attempting to track him…” “Wait… Track them? What are you planning to do to to the hacker? Or hackers? ” “Relax… I already infiltrated their own pcs. I’m just gathering a bit of evidence and link it to the authorities nearby of their operation. I know its not right to… overdo things on a matters like this. I must say… they’ve… committed quite a bit of data theft.” “Really now…?” “Yes. Anyway… Ah… Done… Data gathered and authorities informed. Now locking perpetrators from all future interface with this laptop. Police should arrive in an estimated… 7 minutes.” “Well… Guess we’re cybersecurity today…” “Quite. Now then. I’m beginning data retrieval.”

The screen began to light up, and it looked like files we’re being downloaded back onto the computer. “Files will be returned and all undesired computer programs will be deleted permanently. Estimated time… an hour and 30 minutes.” “Well… Alright then. That was easy. Thank you, Craft.” “Your welcome creator.” “Just make sure when your done to completely remove yourself from this laptop. I don’t want Aran to think his computer is still… broken with you messing around with it.” “Understood. All my programming structures will be removed after data retrieval and repair is complete.” “Good. Alright… Might as well work on something else while I’m waiting…”

Ch 20

More memories

Cryo took out the next cardboard box, which was a bigger then anything else he repaired so far. “Hmm… Huh… This is from Miles. I remember him. He… gave quite a punch to Tanner. Heh… I guess I should have expected him to rely on me since he was… willing to deck a bully before things could get rough. Hmm… This item is from pretty big. Wonder what’s inside. Cryo looked at the label, and saw that the item inside was apparently a Deepsight 3d television.” “Hmm Interesting. A 3d tv… This should be interesting. I never got to repair a 3d tv before. This is going to take me some extra work. I’m going to need to draw a blueprint for the parts in the tv as I take it apart, as I’ll need to know what its supposed to look like on the inside and out when I put it back together. Well… This is going to be a fun learning experience today!” Cryo got a little excited at the thought of learning a new piece of technology. “Well… Let’s take it out.”

Cryo began to carefully lift out the tv from the box and placed it gently down on the table. He saw immediately that there was a crack on the bottom of the tv, and the screen was damaged. “Looks like this was dropped. Wonder how?” Cryo took out the notes in the box. “Hmm… Tv fell off its stand, in which the stand is normally off the ground… I’ve heard of these tv’s before, which don’t actually have a stand, but instead are connected directly to the wall. Never found them appealing though. One thing I learned from earth science while in school. Gravity always wins… Always…” Cryo nodded and then began to head out of his “repair,” room and back into his room. He walked to his backpack and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He quickly began to head back and placed both items on his desk.”

“Alright… Let’s do this one step at a time…” Cryo began to slowly take apart the tv. Each part he’d take off, he’d draw in detail what part it was and where it was connected. As he continued to do so, his mind began drifting again. He began to think about the second time he was kidnapped…”

“Ugh… The second time Mick made an attempt at me was… 100 times worse. This time, he not only attacked our home directly… he actually threatened to blow up a whole building filled with innocent people, to take not only me captive, but mom as well. To think they’d go after her as well… Forced me and mom into surrendering to them. Strapped us to medical restraint beds, then escaped into a medical jumpship. Ugh… That was a… harrowing experience. Then he stuck those stupid collars on us, which blocked the gps chips inside us. Ugh… I still hate those things. Feel heavy and rigid around my neck. Thankfully… I was… able to think of a plan to escape and down their aircraft… But… That was rough… I didn’t know what to do next.

“Then… I decided to see if I could contact home on the radio. I had to sneak through the ship, all the while hoping they’d not find out I’m out. I can’t even imagine what could have happened to us if they saw me, even once… I managed to make the call… And it turns out that they did get my distress call. But… I didn’t think they did to be honest. I was forced to take out the back of the hanger doors and go out on foot with mom. They chased us for who knows how long… Then mom got tired… And then we had to jump off a cliff… Mom was still weak after being asleep for more then 6 years. She ended up falling into the water below, and I had to drag her out… Ugh… But that bought us some time at the very least. I dug a hole after and dragged my mom into it. Then I knocked down some trees to cover it. Then they came down the cliff, and headed towards us. I still can’t believe they failed to find us under there… I thought we were goners for sure right as I saw their flashlight on their weapons shining over the trees. But we… Lucked out. Lucked out completely. They just walked right past us, think we had felled these trees for a source of food. It’s lucky that one of the trees I knocked down contained Cannerie fruit, or I’m sure they would have discovered us. Ugh.. I don’t even know how I managed to sleep that night.

After a while, Cryo had successfully taken apart the tv, and made a detailed blueprint on the paper to help when he put it back together. He smiled and nodded. He then began to look at the individual parts. “Well… Screen is clearly broken… Looks like some of the inner workings of the tv have been damaged quite a bit… Must have been raised pretty high. Looks like I’m going to have to do something similar for this tv like I did with the ignition gaming console. I’ll have to modify and change some of the tv’s parts and inner workings to make it work correctly. Let’s study the blueprint again.” He began to comb over the blue print a few times. He closed his eyes, and he began to imagine in his head the parts needed to make it work and work well. After a while, he opened his eyes and nodded. He began to write on another piece of paper the new blueprint for the tv. After a while, he was done. He smiled as he got finished and checked it again. He nodded and cracked his knuckles. “Alright… I think I have a good idea of how to make this. Let’s get started.”

Cryo gathered a large number of different parts from his drawer and began the process of assembling and bringing the parts together. As he worked on his new project, his mind began to drift more…

“We were lost in the forest for almost a whole month after that. Forced to fend for ourselves out in the wilds. Its incredibly lucky I watched the show Will in the Wilds, back at home. I would never have been able to survive out there without so much of the info I learned from it. Needing filtered water to not get sick off of waterborne diseases, ideas and materials I could use to make shelters and important survival gear for me and mom, making fires, all of these survival skills I learned from it. All while being hunted by them, as they continued to sweep their ships over the forest canopy every day… We wouldn’t have lasted very long at all if I didn’t watch that show… It’s funny to think of really…

Some time passed again. He finally assembled the new tv setup and began to quickly install it into the tv. After a while of repairs, he got finished! He began to get a little excited at the opportunity to test the results of his repair. “Alright. Let’s turn this on.” He plugged the tv into a socket within the room. He pressed the on switch on the remote, and it turned on. “Alright. Let’s fiddle with this a bit…” After a while… it looked to be working perfectly, and Cryo was satisfied!” “There we go! Good as new!” Cryo said. “Very well done on the tv upgrades, creator!” Craft said from the tv. “TV… upgrades?” Cryo asked. “Oh quite yes. Your new modeling structure for the tv has increased the frame rates to 100. Up from 60 before!” Cryo’s eyes shot up!” “W…Wait… Really?” “That’s right. Your client is going to be very pleased from you exemplary work! Very well done!” “Well… Ok then…” Cryo began to think about this. “I… didn’t intend to upgrade the tv to be honest… But… I guess its fine. As long as my client is happy with the results. Though… I’m not sure a tv that can have 100 frames per second has ever been built before. Oh well… Hopefully he’ll like his free upgrade. No need to charge extra for it, as it was never intended in the first place.” Cryo began to box up the tv again. He began to think as he did, back to the last couple weeks of that kidnapping attempt.

“Those last few weeks were rough… They finally found us again after… I don’t know… maybe 16 days? They used thermal vision to track our body heat. Despite being ice and water based dragons, our internal body heat is still noticeable on thermal. Thankfully I realized they were behind us. They could have easily hit us with a dart and taken us captive right there if I hadn’t. We ran for a while, but… Mom was becoming… tired again. I was grasping straws, trying to figure out some way to get away… and then…” Cryo gulped and shook his head. “Then we tripped into the muddy divot into the ground. Right as I realized what happened, I could hear them very close. I began to panic… I… thought I’d be in for the fight of my life. And with mom, with how weak she was… I was terrified! But I… I was ready… I was ready to tussle with some of the darkest hearts in this world… the last chance we would get to escape… but as it turned out… we… lucked out again… He finally finished boxing up the tv. He nodded in success. But he continued to think.

“He… He… walked right past us… He and the others again… walked right past us. I was shocked… He somehow didn’t see us, even with thermal vision. And then it hit me. Like a strikeball… The mud… We were covered in mud when we rolled into the divot. It hid us from there thermal vision. It… it saved us… And… me and mom continued on… For a long time. Day after day, we’d continue walking ahead, taking breaks every now and then to dodge ships combing over us and for mom to get rest. We would fish for food every day and cover ourselves with mud every day and night. When night fell across the forest, we’d make a fire and cook whatever we caught for the day. Some days had a lush bounty of food at our disposal. Others… well… had much less… Eventually… me and mom would… try to lift each others spirits by telling stories by the warm fire… It was… fun… to be honest… those nights. Even when we weren’t able to catch that much that day, the stories by the fire at least made the night worth it. After that… I’d build a shelter with whatever was available to me in the area, and then we’d turn in for the night and sleep. It was a bit hard sometimes, being soaked in mud… Not to mention the thought of them taking us from surprise in the middle of the night, but… but it worked out in the end. We’d finally be rescued. After so long… we finally were able to return home… That… That was a truly happy day for me, after being separated from everyone and being gone so long from home. Sigh… After a long journey, we were finally… home at last.

Cryo began to give out a yawn and rubbed his eyes a bit. “Creator. I am finished with your clients computer. It’s ready to be shipped out to your client. Disconnecting AI from computer unit.” “Ahh! Thank you, Craft. I’ll get on it immediately.” Cryo began to place the clients computer and his other items that came with it back into his computer bag. Right as he was finished, Cryo yawned again.

“Creator? You seem to be becoming fatigued from the long work day. Do you need a nap, or are you able to repair one more item?” Cryo looked at his radio. “Well… let me look at the items. Maybe I’ll be able to repair one more item, if its something small.” “Very well, creator. If you need any assistance, or advice, remember that I am here for you.” “Haha. Thanks Craft. I know I can count on you. Now. Let me see…” “He began to rummage around the stack of boxes. He then found one that seemed to be a Z phone in a case. “Hmm… a z phone, huh? Shouldn’t be too complicated to repair. Let’s take a look…” Cryo began to open the case, and took out the z phone. He looked at the screen, which seemed to have been smashed in for some reason…” “Well… Screen damage clearly. But… As always… check notes. Check everything…” Cryo took the notes from the case. “Hmm… Notes say… Screen damaged… Already confirmed… Hmm… Won’t turn on. Well… If its not turning on, there’s something else clearly wrong with it…” He began to carefully take the phone apart, to look at the inner workings. “Hmm… Wires around the battery are severed, A couple of chips are loose and out of place. Not too hard a fix. I have more then enough energy within me to fix this. Let’s get started.”

Cryo began to get the replacement parts needed for the z phone and placed them next to it. He began to fix the broken device. But his mind drifted again one last time, to his most recent kidnapping.

“Sigh… Mick really doesn’t know when to give up. Even after being considered a high level criminal, a traitor to is country, and a terrorist, he still chases me. If what Craft said is true, there is a massive conspiracy circling around all the attempts to kidnap me and mom. I have to wonder how much its infiltrated the government. Considering Craft said he has a list of names and evidence supporting the claims, their entire group might collapse at this point. But… I shouldn’t get my hopes up on this. This attempt is the third time. They aren’t going to be stopped so easily. I know it. They should never be underestimated. Not after everything I’ve seen them do. They’ll do anything to take me. That’s how I ended up… in this town…” He continued to work on the device as his mind began to think more into the recent attempt.

“To think Mick and the others would have the nerve to not only fly a small fleet over military airspace at home, they also were bold enough to blow up the runway. Thank goodness no one was injured, but… this alone is really frightening to think about. He literally caught me in a net while flying over and stuck me with a tranquilizer dart. Thank goodness it wasn’t a nume dart like the first time. But nonetheless… I was asleep for who knows how long. When I woke up though… jeez… what a rotten situation to end up in… My front limbs were tied behind my back with cyantran wires. My lower limbs were also tied. I was in a cell made of cyantran metals, with one of those stupid collars around my neck… Jeez… Talk about one heck of a wake up call, and it wasn’t long after my first nap of the day…” Cryo gave a sigh as he began to finish up fixing it.

“Now… This needs a small “kick.”” Cryo began to dab a bit of his talon in his mouth. He began to tap around the battery a bit. A few sparks came out as the phone powered on for a second. Then it quickly shut back down. “Alright… Let’s put this back together and test this for a bit…” Cryo quickly put the device back together and messed with the apps. After about 10 minutes of testing all the apps, he was satisfied with a job well done! “There we go… Ahh… I… defiantly think I’m done for the day…” “Excellent job, creator. Now, its time for some well deserved rest. I’ll be ready for you whenever your tucked into bed.” “Thank you Craft. Just let me box this up now.” He began to quickly box up the Z phone, when he began to think again… About what happened after he woke up…

“I don’t know how long I was in the ship… trying desperately to cut the cyantran wires with my talons. One things for sure… my wrists hurt a whole lot… Scratched them up quite a bit… And then… Jeez… I DEFINANTLY didn’t expect the ship to LITERALLY fall apart, jettisoning me from the ship, to the hard ground below. And then… I… ended up in this town. I… don’t blame Craft for what happened. There was nothing he couldn’t do when the ship hit that rock formation… Especially considering what else was involved with that. But… that whole situation… brought a whole new list of issues… Including… Ugh… I really hope that the other hackers… weren’t them… That’s… something for another time perhaps. But… When I fell from the ship… I found someone to take me in what is probably my most desperate hour. They… got me medical attention. They gave me a home away from home. They… have taken care of me, even thought I’m not their own son. And not just them… Nearly everyone in town has been supporting me since I’ve been here. While the “introduction,” into the town was not all that fun, considering… well… no one could understand who or what I really was… But… now… now they all see and know about me. And now… Now I’m… I’m happy where I am. Its a home away from home. I’m going to miss this town after I finally go home. But maybe… maybe the people back home will allow me to chance to visit one day. But… one thing I should keep in mind right now. An important detail…

Cryo finally finished with the boxing the device and began to stretched his arms up and yawned. “Mick is still out there somewhere. I don’t think he’s exactly out of the picture, yet. If… If he makes another attempt… I’ll… I’ll have to be ready… I need to be really careful what I do from here on out. I should probably stay out of sight of others until Mick’s… taken care of…” Cryo nodded and headed out towards his room.

He realized Arianna was stepping down the stairs as he exited the room. “Oh! Cryo! Are you done with your work for the day?” “Yea… I’m… I’m pretty tired now.” “Well… Its actually bedtime for you, Cryo.” “Huh… It is?” Cryo looked at the clock, and realized Arianna was right! “Whoops… Looks like I was so engrossed with work, I… lost track of time… I hope Seth is not mad at me.” “Oh! No he isn’t. When I told him you have a job now, he said “Big bro is growing up real fast. Hehe.”” “Ahh. Well… I’ll try to take off tomorrow to play with him.”

“Actually, Cryo… The mayor called us tonight.” “She… did?” “Yes. She asked a favor from us.” “What favor?” “She asked if she could have you over at her house on Saturdays.” “Oh! Really?” “That’s right. I… I said yes. Is… Is that alright, Cryo?” Cryo thought for a moment, but gave a nod. “Yes Arianna. That’s fine with me.” “That’s wonderful, Cryo. You’ll be brought to their house by 8:00 tomorrow mourning. Please have yourself woken up by then, ok?” “Ok. Thanks Arianna.” Cryo thought for a moment.” “Looks like my “play dates,” with Sara are going to be on Saturday. I know how lonely she feels. 1 day a week of playing “house,” shouldn’t really be that bad… Thankfully, I finished up my homework before I started working on repairs for today.” He smiled and began to head towards his closet, when Arianna actually tapped Cryo on the shoulder a few times. “Do you think I could give you a nice bath before bed? You have several grease spots on you.” “Well… Yea… Your probably right Arianna. I guess I shouldn’t risk getting oil on my pajamas.” “Good. Why don’t you come up with me, and I’ll clean you up before bedtime.” Cryo nodded and began to head upstairs with Arianna.

So Cryo took a nice bath in the washroom. After his bath, Cryo supplied Cryo with a new dragon toothbrush and toothpaste. Apparently, the vet had finally got the necessary ingredients and materials needed to make the same toothpaste, floss, and Listerine he uses at home, and wanted Cryo to start brushing his teeth again. Also… she supplied Cryo with a new set of dragon talon clippers and file similar to what he had at home to take care of his own talons like he used to back home, rather then be taken to her each time. Cryo was happy to have items to help his hygiene and manage himself better. So… Cryo would brush his teeth, feeling good that his breath might smell a bit better as he went about his day and night. Afterwards, Arianna put on some snow white dragon pajama’s on Cryo. She then tucked him into bed and kissed him on the forehead. Craft soon turned on naptunes, and Cryo’s mind soon began to fade into the dark, as the musical spell took over his ears…

Ch 21

Frigid Fury

Cryo’s eyes slowly opened up. He gave out a big yawn. He saw he was back in the dojo. But it seemed a bit… colder this time inside. Cryo looked around the room, and saw the walls were a bit more… iced over this time. “Hmm… The dojo seems pretty frigid today. Interesting… I have to wonder what Wave has in mind for me today…” Cryo looked at himself, and could immediately tell he was in his winter whiteout form.

Cryo was about to pick himself up from the bed, when he saw that his usual dojo “bed,” was red instead of blue this time. He touched it, and it felt like energy was coming off of it. “This is… interesting… I didn’t know… whatever this actually is could change color… I wonder what this stuff actually is? I… feel like my body is absorbing something from it. What could it be though? Elemental energies perhaps? Hmm… Interesting, I suppose…”

Cryo lifted himself up from his bed, and went to where his training outfit was usually situated. He saw that it seemed to look a bit… different again. It seemed to be a vivid Cyan color, a glowing a bit…

“Wow… What happened to my training outfit?” Cryo wondered. He headed over to it, and touched it a bit. It felt like energy was coming off it as well. “Hmm… Interesting. This feels like the same energy that was coming from the “bed.” Well… Let’s put it on.” Cryo grabbed it from the hanger, and then put it on. He carefully maneuvered his wings out the back. He then tied his belt around his waist. It glowed for a few seconds, along with Cryo’s bandanna.

“Strange… I feel a bit… tingly with this on. But… I feel like its pumping energy into me. Similar… to when I was on the alter of awakening. Interesting…” Cryo heard the door to the room sliding open. He turned himself, and saw Wave stepping into the room.

“Welcome, my grandson! I see your already in your training outfit. We’re… going to try something very special and very powerful today, Cryo.” “Sounds great! I must say. The… changes to the dojo kind of fit the mood quite a bit. With it all being iced over like this…” Wave smiled at Cryo and patted his head. “Yes… While this is only a representation of what the dojo is like in your head, it nonetheless could tap into the incredible power of dragons and their magic.” “Yea… Speaking of which… I… noticed that while we’ve been training… we seem to be acting like this is real, despite being a dream realm. Like with the underwater breathing device we used in the water the last time.” “Yes. This is for a purpose, Cryo. While it might seem redundant, this is also part of your training.” “Really?” “That’s right. Some of what we’re using will be important in the future. Its best that we perform these actions like its real, so that you’ll be ready to use the devices and actions in the future.” “Ahh! That makes perfect sense actually, now that you say it.” “Yes. Anyway, why don’t we head to the training room.” She motioned Cryo to come with her into the room. He nodded, and they both headed in.

Like with Cryo’s room, the entire dojo was completely frozen over. The walls had a sheet of ice covering them, and it seemed like a blizzard was forming inside of it. Cryo was glad he wasn’t feeling the chilling winds of the cold, thanks to his transformation. “Alright, Cryo… Today’s lesson is one of the two most advanced and powerful ferrin dragon abilities.” “Really? Which one?” “Our first lesson, will be Frozen Fortress.” “Frozen… Fortress?” “That’s right. This is a very advanced dragon ability. This is incredibly difficult to master and use. But when used correctly, it could very well save your life in a very tough spot.” “Really?” “That’s right. Now. Observe. Stand close to me.”

Suddenly, a very large group of dojo dummies came out of the ground in a surrounding formation! Cryo realized immediately that whatever Wave was going to perform, it was going to be… quite huge. “Now then… Watch carefully…” Wave began to curl up and focus. Not long after, she began to glow a bit brightly, as power seemed to be forming around her. Cryo knew something large and powerful was about to be unleashed. And then suddenly… She quickly spread herself out, and a large pulse of ice energy began to extend out of her! It then began to quickly freeze all the dojo dummies surrounding them. And then… a dome of ice began to form around them. Cryo looked upon the field of battle, a recognized what happened immediately. Wave smiled and looked at him.

“Well… What do you think?” “It’s… incredible to see, grandma! But…” “But… what Cryo? Is something wrong?” “I’ve… I’ve seen this happen before…” “Re…Really?” “Ye… yea, grandma.” “But… when?” “Umm… You… know about my kidnappings… right?” Wave looked at Cryo with concern and gave a sigh. She began to rub his back.

“I’ve… I’ve done this technique before, Grandma…” “Huh… Really?” “Yes…” “When, Cryo?” “It… It was the first time Mick made an attempt to take me. When I went on an ocean trip with my caretakers at home. Mick’s goons… stuck me with a paralyzing dart. Backed me into a corner, and almost took me. But… then… Then I… I heard mom… She… told me to let out my fears, and then… unleash my fury. I… I followed her insturctions, and the next thing I knew… well… I unleashed this attack…” “That’s… interesting, Cryo. I know your mother knows oversoul, like us… but… its strange she would be able to contact you in that moment.” “What do you mean?”

“My daughter, was… forced into hibernation to save the lives of hundreds, including yours. The thing is… that when a dragon uses an attack with this much power, it actually cuts the psychic link with the oversoul ability temporarily.” “Really?” “Yes… That’s why I’m not familiar with you using this ability. I do remember having my connection with you severed in that pressing moment… But… to be honest… I… I thought you had been… lost… All of us did.” “You… and the others… thought I was… gone?” “Yes… I think you can guess… a dragon who suddenly has a oversoul link severed…” “May have had its life lost in that dark, desperate moment…” “That’s right… When me and your other family members finally felt your… life force again… You have no idea how happy we were. But none of us understood why we lost the link in that particular instance. With what you’ve told me now… hmm… This is interesting…” “Ye… Yeah…” “Well… Why don’t you try it yourself then. Let’s see if you can pull it off by yourself again… Considering you’ve performed this on your own before… with my daughters help apparently, why don’t we try this without your headband on. I’m not sure what my daughter had told you to help you perform this move the first time, but I suppose… do it again in the same way as last time.” “O… Ok grandma…”

Wave began to dissipate the dome of ice around them. A new set of dojo dummies came out of the ground, surrounding them. Wave quickly tied the headband around Cryo’s head, which he could immediately feel the extra power fade away. “Alright… Whenever your ready, Cryo. Cryo nodded his head and looked around the dojo… He began to think again. “Mom said… push out my fears… What does she mean by that… Hmm…” Cryo began to think for a moment.

“This… This ability is a defensive one… When it happened the first time, it was in a moment of desperation. Maybe… Maybe if I think of things that scare me… it’ll trigger a stronger attack, as my primal instincts are tapping into my freezing power to use to protect myself. That’s why she said… push out my fears. Use my fear to power the attack and unleash it to protect myself or others in serious danger,” Cryo thought. Cryo nodded and closed his eyes. He began to think… about some of the more traumatic moments in his life…

The multiple kidnappings he’s been subjected to… his fear of getting others in danger due to being a target, his fear that the ones after him will get their way, and do terrible things to him and others. Cryo began to grip his paws tightly, curl up a bit, and he began to breath very slowly. He began to cringe as he felt a primal rage begin to fill inside his body. Wave began to see Cryo’s body glow very brightly… She began to raise her eyes in astonishment! She knew… this was going to be very powerful!

Cryo then suddenly spread his arms out, and WHOOSH! A massive pulse of ice energy began to extend all the way across the entirety of the dojo! All the dummies around were sent into deep freeze hibernation, and the entire dojo’s walls were frozen in a massive block of ice! And then… A pillar of ice began to form around Cryo and Wave. As it did, branches of icy spikes began to branch out and bend in all directions!” Cryo began to pant just a bit. But he quickly composed himself and smiled.

“Cryo… That… That was…” She looked all around the room in astonishment. “Whatever Tide told you to do on that fateful day… It really did save your life… I’m… I’m curious myself what she must have told you when you unleashed this that one fateful day.” “She… She told me to… push out my fears. She… She must of known… using your fears powers up the attack. Its the key.” “I… I see… Cryo… I… I never realized…” Wave stepped forward a patted Cryo on the back. “You have plenty of things to be afraid of, Cryo. But… You were able to use them in such a way to your advantage. I’m very proud of you. You’ve done very well on this night. But unfortunately the sun has come again, and if I remember today, you have an important playdate at the mayors house. Don’t you?” “Oh…” Cryo’s face became a little red a bit. “Oh don’t worry about that, Cyro. I think you might find your day ahead to be not as bad as you believe.” “Really? Why do you say that, grandma.” “Oh… I have a feeling something special is waiting for you with your “special caretaker’s,” estate. Just relax and try to have a least a bit of fun. Remember who your doing it for.” “Sigh… Yes, Grandma…” “Good. Now then… have a good morning, Cryo.” “Ok. See you soon, Grandma.” She nodded and began to wave toward Cryo. Cryo nodded and waved back at her and then stepped back into his room. He began to lay on top of his “bed,” and soon everything flashed to white!”

Ch 22

Before Babysitting

Cryo’s eyes slowly opened up a bit… He heard his alarm blaring over his radio. His eyes began to focus on the familiar setting of his room. He gave out a small yawn. He began to pull back the covers of his bed and stepped off of it. He turned towards his radio “Craft. I’m awake. You can turn off the alarm.” “Turning off mourning alarm. Good mourning, Creator.” “How are you today, Craft?” “I’m doing very well. Hearing your audio cue always gets my circuits going.” Cryo chuckled a bit at the comment. “So, Creator. I heard your going to the mayor’s house on weekends now. I find that to be quite a curiosity. Have you been there before, perhaps?” “Umm… Yes, actually. I was there on the first day before I went to school.” “Really? Fascinating. I tracked and uploaded myself to your radio, by 9:48 p.m.. Interesting you managed to go to a well defined establishment within the town. Was it city hall?” “No, Craft. It was an actual house.” “Really. Is the mayor… wealthy?” “Umm… I believe so, Craft… Truth be told, its hard to really tell, since I never… well… really had an actual interaction with funding and money, since… I’m a dragon and can’t really go into public to buy things. At least not normally.” “Ahh! I see then! Well… Can you describe the house for me? I should be able to give an accurate estimate of the property value and can tell you if their a wealthy part of the community. “Well… Ok then. you see…”

Cryo began to describe what he saw on the inside and outside of the house on that day. Craft seemingly took notes in his system as Cryo told him. “And finally… there was like… 13 workers at the house who seemed to work on the house and work with the family.” “Very good, Creator. Now calculating cost of living expenses…” Craft began to pause for a moment, with a short moment of static over the radio. “Estimated living expenses and housing expenses: $6,327,780.” Cryo scratched his chin a few times. “So… is that wealthy, Craft?” “Quite a bit actually. Very wealthy indeed. The mayor is clearly very successful, along with the father. No surprise considering the nature of their work. You must of had quite a fun time over there! What did you do that day?” “Oh! Umm… Uh…” Cryo began to sweat a bit and looked away for a second. “Is something wrong creator?” “Umm… I’m… sorry Craft. I… think I’ll keep the details to myself.” “Wait? Really? Creator… That’s not like you to withhold details. Did something happen over there?” “Umm… Nothing happened, Craft. Really…” “Then why don’t you want to tell me?” “Umm… Uh…”

Cryo began to try to think of an excuse to say, when he began to hear someone coming down from the staircase! He breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned around slowly… He then saw Eli stepping into the room. “Oh! Your already awake! Right on time! Good mourning, Cryo.” Cryo smiled at him and nodded. “Good mourning, Eli.” “You remember what’s happening today, right?” “Yes Eli. I’m going over to the mayors house for the weekend.” “Ahh, good. You remembered. Well… You should probably get ready to go then. It’s 7:32 right now, and I’m supposed to take you by 8:00. So… You need to get ready to go.” “Alright then.” “Do you need any help getting ready?” “Umm… No. I think I’ll be fine.” “You sure?” “Well… Actually… Now that I think about it… could you pick out a sweater for me? Its going to be quite cold out, and I need to brush my fangs. I’ll place my pajama’s in the laundry hamper when I’m done in the washroom down here.” “Why of course. I’ll pick something nice for you while you work on your dental hygiene.” “Thank you, Eli. Alright… I’ll see you in a bit.” “Alright. Don’t take too long.”

Cryo headed for his washroom and stepped in. He looked at the inside, and saw the walls were a plain white tile. To the front, was a large shower, with glass sliding doors. To the left, was something for human occupants… To the right was a couple of plain white fuzzy towels hanging on the door of the shower. Further closer to the door to the room, was a mirror on the left. Under the mirror, was a white sink on top of a large cabinet, with a standard nozzle. Next to the sink, was a chair large enough for Cryo to sit on when brushing his teeth and grooming and managing himself. He saw the Listerine, toothpaste and his dragon toothbrush resting on top of the sink. He smiled and began to pull himself up onto the chair. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste. He smiled and began to squeeze the contents onto his toothbrush. He then began to open his maw, slowly move the brush inside his mouth, and then brushed his teeth.

As Cryo brushed his teeth, he began to wonder what plans Sara had for him today… “I wonder what Sara will want to do with me over the weekend? I know I’ll… probably have to wear training pants again… But… It honestly wasn’t that bad the last time. I mean… being treated like a hatchling at my age is… probably not… ideal… But she really didn’t try anything too outlandish with me. I’m at least glad for that. I do like Sara. She… just wants to be a loving mother to me. I… I respect that. I suppose I’ll just have to try my best to keep her happy. Its the least I can do for her. I… I know all too well what it feels like to be alone.”

Cryo had just finished brushing his teeth, and began to swish it around his mouth a bit. Then, he spit it out with a nice big “PTEW!” He then turned on the faucet, and pulled his head forward and began to sip the water coming out of it. He then spit again, and began to wipe his face with a towel. He then screwed off the top to his Listerine bottle, and began to sip a tiny bit of it out. He began to swish it around his mouth. Soon Cryo spit out the Listerine, and then he smiled. Cryo was about to leave his washroom, when he took a look at his talons. He saw that they were quite sharp and a bit long… “I… defiantly think I should manage this before I go… I don’t want to accidently scratch her while over there.” Cryo nodded his head and began to take his dragon talon clippers and file. He began to clip each of his talons down to be much shorter. He then began to file them to even the edge and making them much less sharp. As Cryo did, he began to think about something his grandma said last night.

“Hmm… grandma and… perhaps other members of my family are… going to probably watch me while I’m being… babied… That’s… going to be a little embarrassing, but… grandma at least… doesn’t seem to think its all that bad a thing either… But… she said… Something special is waiting for me… What did she mean by that? Is she… teasing me about something that Sara has in mind? Or… Maybe… Maybe there really is something I might like when I’m taken there to… play “house,” with Sara. I… I guess I won’t know until I get there… Sigh… Just relax Cryo. Just relax… Remember… Last time was not that bad at all. Calm down…”

Soon his talons were filed and he looked at them. He presses his paw against the tip a few times. He felt they were short enough and not too sharp. He smiled and nodded. He then changed out of his pajama’s and then headed out of the washroom, carrying the pajama’s on his arm. Eli was sitting on Cryo’s bed, with a plain dark red fuzzy sweater in his hands. “There you are, Cryo. I have your sweater right here. Come over so I can help you into it.” “Alright. I’m coming, Eli.” Cryo trotted over and then jumped up on his bed and sat down. He held his head and hands forward smiled at Eli. Eli smiled back and then began to lift the sweater over his head. Soon he carefully managed to slip Cryo’s wings out the back slits and his head out the front. Cryo felt comfy in the sweater. “Alright Cryo… Ready to go to the mayor’s for the weekend?” “Yea. I’m ready to go, Eli.” “Good. Let’s head to the car. I’m sure the mayor and her family is just dying to see you again.” “Yea. I’m sure Eli.” Cryo paused for a moment. “Especially Sara…” he thought… They began to head up the stairs and towards the car on the driveway outside. Cryo jumped into the back, and Eli sat in the front with Arianna. “Alright. Let’s shove off everyone,” said Arianna. They vehicle began to lift up its hover jets, and began to hover across the snow covered ground. Then began to head towards the mayor’s mansion.

Ch 22

Capsule Creatures and the Crew

Cryo watched the world outside his window as they began to drive to the mayors house. The town seemed to be bustling a bit today. He smiled as he took on the sights. Soon enough, he arrived at the front door of the mayor’s mansion. Cryo took in a deep breath and nodded. They were quickly allowed through the front gates of the mansion, and Eli quickly drove his car in. They soon arrived at the front door of the mansion.

“Alright, Cryo. I don’t think I need to remind you to behave, right?” asked Arianna. “Haha. Don’t worry Arianna. I won’t cause mischief in the house.” Cryo replied. “Good. Alright. Have a good time!” said Arianna. “Enjoy yourself, Cryo. Don’t forget to tell the mayor thanks before you leave,” said Eli. “Thanks. See you when I come home.” Cryo said. “Goodbye, Cryo!” Both Arianna and Eli shouted. Cryo opened the door to their hover van, and stepped out of the vehicle. He began to approach the house. As he stepped towards the house, the front doors opened and out stepped Wake, Nia, and Sara. “Welcome back, Cryo!” Nia said. She looked nice in her black business attire and very well groomed brown hair. Wake was wearing a black business attire as well. Sara was wearing blue jeans again and a pink shirt with a heart in the center of it. Her hair was braded in a single pony tail. He smiled at them and continued forward. He looked back to Arianna and Eli one more time and saw them wave to him. He waved back and smiled, and then they drove off. Nia motioned Cryo to come into the house. He stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. Cryo turned back to face them and sat down on the carpet.

“How are you doing today, Cryo?” Nia asked. “Oh! I’m doing fine, Nia. I’m ready to play today!” Cryo replied back. “Great!” Nia and Wake leaned down and patted Cryo on the back a few times and rubbed his belly. “Thanks for doing this, Cryo. We know it might be a little… difficult to spend time with our daughter in this fashion…” Wake whispered to Cryo. “Don’t worry. I’ll try to keep Sara happy while she’s… taking care of my special needs today,” Cryo whispered back. “I think you might like what we had prepared for you beforehand Cryo. It might not be exactly what you want, but we hope that it’ll be very comfy and cozy for you while playing with Sara,” Nia whispered. “Really? What did you do?” Cryo asked in a hushed voice. They both smiled at him and nodded. They turned towards Sara.

“Sara, honey. Why don’t you take the baby to his new room! I’m sure he’ll like what he finds in there,” Nia said. “New… Room?” Cryo thought. “Alright Momma! Have a good day a work!” Sara said. “You too honey! Make sure Cryo’s well taken care of! If you need any help at all, don’t hesitate to get one of the workers in the house to help you, or call us if there’s a BIG issue.” “Alright! See you later!” “Bye Sara!” both Wake and Nia said. They both quickly headed towards the garage in the house.

Nia smiled at Cryo and patted him on the head a few times. “How’s my baby boy today?” Sara asked. “Oh! I’m doing fine, Mama!” “That’s good. We have something special for you, my little baby!” “Is it… my new room, Mama?” “Why of course! Your such a smart little boy. I better take you there quickly, before you have a little accident in the house!” “Umm… Yeah mama! I know! I guess I need my training pants, huh?” “That’s right. Now come on.”

She began to pick Cryo up very carefully and cradle him in his arms. She stroked him a few times across the stomach, and began to carry him through the house. Cryo began to get curious at what his “new room” was going to be like… “Huh… Wonder what they decided to do with my… erm… dwelling within the house? I’m guessing since it was probably Sara’s decision on what to make it, it’ll be… maybe a pink room with hearts all over? Not something for a boy like myself. I can’t imagine what else it could be though. Well… That’s a bit gaudy but I guess I can make it work…”

After a bit of walking through the house, they finally made it to a door. The door was cyan, and the words “Cryo’s nursery,” on the door in an arch with deep blue letters. There was a picture of an anchor and an Aqua element creature from the capsule creature’s series of games known as Draghorse on the door, a seahorse type of creature. “Huh… Not what I expected from a nursery dedicated to me… Strange… An anchor and a Draghorse? Huh… What could this correlate to?” Cryo wondered. “Well, little baby. You ready to see your new nursery?” “Umm… Yeah, Mama! I’m… ready to see my new beddy room!” “Well… Let’s step in then!” She slowly opened the doorknob to the room, which had the picture of a old sea vessel carved into its metal, and they entered the room.

Cryo’s eyes shot up by what he saw! He realized that his room did follow a theme. But it wasn’t pink wallpaper and hearts, but it seemed to be a mix of pirate and capsule creature themed! The walls seemed to have been painted to show many different pirate ships sailing on the briny blue, with sailors and different capsule creatures decked out in pirate gear tending to the ships! The lower part of the walls shown a rather scenic underwater expanse, with many aqua element capsule creatures swimming around the entire expanse!

Directly to the left of the room in the corner, was a changing table in the shape of a Blubberbon, a whale looking capsule creature. The changing table was quite large, and was sitting on a large, dark blue cabinet that was painted to look like it was water with waves flowing on it. Cryo realized that it was set up to look like the blubberbon was carrying him through the waves of the ocean, whenever he is getting changed. There were two also rather large drawers sitting side by side to each other on the dresser. The left cabinet had the words “Day and Play,” on the front of it in with a Bright yellow sun on it. The right drawer had the words “Naptime and night,” with a bright glistening moon shining on it.

Further down on the left was a large group of cabinets, which seemed to contain many different types of clothing and such. There was a closet further down with opaque sliding doors with metal hinges, which seemed to have many different outfits, sweaters, and jackets. Some of them even pirate and capsule creature themed!

To the right of the room, was a very large play area for Cryo. There were many different… youngster toys lined all over the floor, and a large toy chest that seemed to also be filled with different toys. There was also a rather large play pen connected to the close right corner of the room with a couple toys inside of it as well. The walls of it were made of soft but VERY study netting and it extended all the way to the ceiling of the room. The entrance was a door that also had netting and a baby proof sliding lock attached to it on both ends. While Cryo knew how to open it, he knew he should never try. He knew he should play along with the game as much as he could. To the far right corner of the room, seemed to be a rather large play set in the likeness of an actual pirate ship, complete with a ramp with rails going up into the ship, a crows deck with a net attached around and then extended all the way to the ceiling so he couldn’t accidently fall down at the top, and a inner room with windows, that seemed to imitate a captains quarters.

The center of the room, seemed to be the napping and tv area. There was a cradle in the very center of the room in the shape of a small pirate ship, and the covers of the bed seemed had the image of a pirate captain and a bunch of capsule creatures in pirate gear. The sheets were a golden yellow as well. The bedding materials looked quite comfy to Cryo. Next to the cradle on the right side, was a small blue wooden cabinet with a single drawer with the picture carved into the wood of a dragons head. On top of the dresser was a radio/clock, that was also a pirate ship sailing on blue water, with the time of day on that part on a black screen with red numbers. On the left side of the cradle, was a rather large baby blue rocking chair. Further down against the wall in the center of the room, was a bit of a larger tv, in the shape of the capsule creature, Bessy, a large bass, and the screen was in the center of its gaping maw. A little bit further away from the tv, was a mid sized sofa, which was cyan and on the back, had a cartoony dragon sitting down with a sword raised up, looking like Cryo on the back. He seemed to be wearing training pants, an eye patch, striped shirt, a pirate doo rag wrapped across the top of his head, a sword holster belt attached to his waist, and chewing on a pacifier. Cryo was surprised quite a bit at the theme of his large room!

“Whoa… This actually seems… like a rather comfy living arrangement! I… certainly didn’t expect this!” Cryo thought. “So. Does my little Cryo like his new room?” “Oh! Yeah Momma! I love pirates and capsule creatures! But… how did you know, Mama?” “Well I knew you liked capsule creatures when I first saw you watched it, and Mama apparently got some advice from your folks back at home!” “H…Home?” “That’s right! Momma asked what you liked when you were tiny, and we made this nice little nursery for you!” “Umm… Ok then. Thank you, Momma!” “Ahh… Come here my little toddler!” She gave Cryo a big hug and Cryo looked around the room again. “Well… I certainly did like pirates when I was younger. A whole lot! That’s for sure. I remember some of the pirate storybooks that were read to me when I was a hatchling. Next thing I knew, I’m chewing on my pacifier, with a holstered plastic sword around my waist, and leading a pirate crew of plush toys back at research base omega. I still like pirates and pirate stories honestly. I wonder if Ty or Gerald has any pictures or videos of me playing pirate captain when I was just a hatchling? I should ask him when I get home. I’m sure mom would get a kick out of it.” He smiled and chuckled a bit, and Sara soon began to cradle Cryo again in her arms. “Alright, Cryo. Let’s get you into some training pants and some nice, comfy cloths.”

Ch 23

Baby Buddy

She carried Cryo to the left side of the room, where the changing table was. She gently set Cryo down on his back on it, and rubbed his belly a bit. The table felt a bit soft, with the material feeling fuzzy and a bit warmer then he thought. “Alright, little baby. Let me just get you strapped in real quick.” Cryo took in a deep breath and nodded. She then took a blue strap attached to the table and clipped it around Cryo’s waist gently. She then pulled the strap from the clip to slightly tighten it around Cryo. “There we go. Try not to wiggle too much while I change you, ok?” “Ok, Momma.” She rubbed Cryo’s head a few times, and then pulled open the “Day and play,” cabinet below the changing table. She pulled out a canister of baby powder and a pair of training pants meant for pets with long tails. She smiled at him and began to powder Cryo’s crotch. “This powder still smells a bit strong, but its better to have this then to get a rash from the training pants,” Cryo thought. She then lifted him up by the legs and began to powder his bottom and around his tail. After a bit, she rubbed Cryo’s head again. “There we go. Your all powdered. Now. Let’s get your training pants on.”

She then began to take the training pants and then began to fit the hole out the back of it around Cryo’s long tail. She then lifted his legs up again and then slid the training pants under his bottom. “There we go, little baby. We’re almost done.” She then lifted the front of the training pants over Cryo’s crotch, and then stuck the flaps to the front, a fastened them to the front of his training pants.

“There we go! All changed! Does that feel a bit better, little baby?” “Umm… Yea! Feels good not having to worry about accidents, Momma.” “That’s a good boy. Now. Why don’t I get some nice cloths on you. I know you like being bundled up all nice and snug!” “Ok, Momma.” She patted his head a few times and unhooked him from the changing table. She picked him up and brought him over to where his cloths were located. She set him down in front of the closet and patted his head a few times. “Alright. Be a good boy and sit right there while I pick something out for you. Ok?” “Yes, Momma.” “Good. Stay right there for a few seconds…”

Sara opened the closet doors and began to rummage through the closet a bit. “Huh… I wonder what Sara will want me to wear?” Cryo thought. He looked at his training pants. He could see it seemed to be white, but it had the classic insignia of a pirate on the front and back. Skull and crossbones in the color black. It was felt cushiony and soft, around Cryos bottom, but felt a bit itchy as well. Despite that, it felt comfortable enough. “Pirate themed training pants. Looks to be custom design. Also looks to be high grade in terms of… well… flexibility and spillage… I’m sure I’m going to need to be changed multiple times today. I suppose this isn’t that bad… It at least feels comfy enough. And… well… I guess I technically don’t need to worry about… having to go outside to… have a break…” He gently scratched his bottom a few times and sat patiently for Sara. Not long after, Sara pulled out what seemed to be an outfit from the closet.

“Who wants to be a little pirate today?” Sara asked. “P…Pirate?” “That’s right. Here. Stay still while I get you all snug.” “Well… Ok then, Momma.” She first lifted a deep blue and black long sleaved striped shirt over Cryo’s head and gently put it on Cryo, careful enough to maneuver his wings out the back. She then pulled Cryo’s bandanna out so it would be outside the shirt. She then took a red rag and then wrapped it around and tied it to the top of his head, covering it completely. She then took a pair of blue baby gloves and socks with a couple frills coming across the top. “Alright… give me your little hand and footsies, my little baby.”

Cryo nodded an he held out his front paw. She gently lifted the glove over his left paw. It felt warm and cozy. She did the same with his other paw. “Alright. I’m going to need to lay you on your back so I can get these on your little footsies. Ok?” “Yes, Mama.” Cryo then laid on his back and smiled at her. She rubbed his belly a few times. She then quickly lifted the small sock on Cryo’s left leg. She did the same with his other leg. They felt very warm, cozy, and fuzzy. She then turned Cryo back around on his belly and he got up. She began to stroke his head a bit. Cryo looked at the gloves and socks more closely. The gloves had the images of a pacifier on top of them, and the socks had the image of an anchor on them. They covered his paws along with his talons. He looked at them. “I don’t typically have my talons covered when I wear gloves and socks, but… this honestly feels really nice on my paws. I also don’t have to worry about accidently scratching Sara either, even though I trimmed my talons beforehand.” Cryo smiled and nodded. Sara patted his head a few times. “There we go. Now we just need to give your Mr. Binks, little baby boy.” Sara reached into her pocket, and pulled out a pacifier with a string attached to it. She then wrapped it around Cryo’s neck. The pacifier hung down from his neck, which he looked at. “Well… This is the same as when I was a hatchling. Not too bad, I suppose.” Cryo thought. “Why don’t you look in the mirror, Captain Cutie!” Sara said. “Well… Alright then.”

Cryo looked towards the mirror near the closet, and saw he really did look like a pirate, with the striped shirt and the pirate doo rag wrapped around his head! “Wow… I actually look like a pirate,” Cryo said. “Yep! Does my little baby want his eye patch as well?” She opened her hand and Cryo saw the black eye patch in her hand. “An eye patch too? Well… I never really got a chance to dress like a pirate at home. Maybe… Yea. Might as well take the eye patch too!” Cryo thought. He nodded to her with a smile. “Yeah, Momma! Give me an eye patch!” “That’s my boy! Now… Hold still while I put this on, captain cutie!” She lifted the eye patch and wrapped it around his head, covering his left eye. He looked in the mirror again. “Now I REALLY look like a pirate.” Cryo thought. He gave a small smile and nodded his head.

“Alright, Captain. Why don’t I take you over to your couch to watch some nice educational television. It’s early in the day, and tykes tv should be playing some really nice programs for you to learn some valuable life skills and lessons! That includes monster truck masters! I’ll sit with you and keep you company while you watch. Breakfast should be ready by 9:30. You better be ready to eat by then, and not make a fuss!” Sara said. “Umm… Alright Momma. Let’s watch some nice tv.” Cryo said.

She picked him up and cradled him into her arms, and she rubbed his belly a bit. Then she strung him over her shoulder and carried him over to the couch. She gently rubbed his back as she went forward, which comforted him. She then sat down on the couch. She pulled his training pants back a bit to check if he needed a change, but he seemed to be good for now. She then placed Cryo on her lap. “Alright. Time for you to learn, Captain Cutie!” She turned on the tv, and turned the channel to tykes tv. Soon enough, the first program came on, which seemed to be Monster truck masters. “Alright, Captain. Here we go,” she said. “Ok momma. I’m ready to lea… Mmph!”

Sara had taken the pacifier around his neck placed it into Cryo’s mouth. Her way of telling Cryo it was “quiet time,” right now. Cryo looked at it, and it seemed to have a a small plush blue dragon attached to the end of it. He chewed and sucked on it a bit and nodded. He began to settle down and watch the show.

Sara then began to maneuver Cryo’s front left paw up and towards her a bit. She then began to slowly and gently take one finger and gently and slowly scratch and stroke Cryo’s arm and palm up and down on it. Occasionally, when she got close of Cryo’s palm, she would stroke his palm a bit more with multiple fingers. Cryo began to relax quite a bit, and gave a comforting sigh… “She… knows the way I like being massaged. I guess the people back home must have told them about this as well. This won’t be so bad. Ahh… How nice and relaxing…” So time passed as Cryo watched the tv and was being comforted by Sara. Soon enough, Cryo heard the door open to the room. He saw a middle aged women step in, with blond hair, green eyes, and wearing a blue dress. “Sara. Its time for breakfast!” Cryo felt his stomach growl, and patted his belly a bit. Sara chuckled at him a bit. “Alright. Thanks, Ms. Oline! You ready to eat, Captain Cutie?!” “Yeah, Momma! I’m ready for some food for my tum tum.” “Great! Let’s take you to our dining room.” So Sara lifted up and cradled Cryo in her arms, and walked down the hallway with Ms. Oline to the dining room.

Ch 24

Big Breakfast

They entered the dining room, and Cryo saw that many plates and silverware had already been placed around the table. Many of the workers in the house were already sitting at the table. They noticed Cryo and Suzy had entered the room. They smiled and waved a them. “Well, well… Looks like young Master Cryo is ready for his food. Aren’t you?” said the butler. Cryo looked over to him, and recognized him figure, short white hair, a black tuxedo, black shoes with white socks, black bow tie, and a fancy white clean undershirt. “Umm… Yea! I’m ready for some nice yum yums, Mr. Miller!” “That’s wonderful, Master Cryo. We hope you’ll enjoy breakfast with us today.” Cryo smacked his chops and sniffed. He could smell the fresh waft of the food all across the dining room from the kitchen. But then he began to think for a minute… “Hmm… I might not get anything but… mushy food, considering that I’m… well… yea. Better then nothing I suppose…” “Alright, little baby! Let’s get you to your high chair, little captain! Looks like your bib is already sitting close to the table.” “Oh! Ok, Momma!”

She began to carry Cryo around to the other side of the table. Cryo saw a blue high chair in the front left corner of the table. She carried him over to it, and patted his head a bit in her hands. Cryo began to observe it more closely

There legs were pretty long and sturdy, and had anchors had been carved into it a went up the entirety of each sides of the legs. The seat was dark blue and there was the symbol of the aqua type from capsule creatures painted into it. There was a small divot where the legs come out to stop Cryo from falling through when he’s sat down and locked in place on it. The backstop had the words, “Feeding time!” on it in white letters on top and had a smiling stormfall looking forward with a bib and training pants around his tail fin below the words. The cushion inside and the backstop behind was separated into 2 half’s. The opening between the two was large enough to fit his tail through the back. The platter to serve food on it was raised to the side right now. “Alright, Captain. Let’s get you all settled in.”

She maneuvered Cryo to be nicely sat down in the seat, with his tail going down off the back of the seat. She then lowered the platter down in front of Cryo, which settled and locked his legs in place. Cryo relaxed his legs down towards the floor and began to look at the platter for the high chair. He saw it had a picture of him, drinking from a bottle on his back. Cryo chuckled a bit at the picture. “Reminds me when I was young in my crib. I did this every mourning,” he thought. He took in a deep breath. “Now let’s get your bib on, young man.”

She began to take the bib sitting on the table and wrapped it around Cryo’s neck, over his bandanna. Cryo looked at it, and saw the picture of him in training pants and a plain white bib, chewing on a pacifier, with a fork and spoon in his hands lifted up. The words, “Dragon’s Hungry. Time to feed!” were above the picture. “Well… I suppose that’s true right now. I AM quite hungry,” Cryo thought. He chuckled again. And settled down and relaxed. He saw many of the servants around the room in their seats. He saw several of them chuckling as well, with a pleasant smile on their faces. “Ahh… They must think I’m cute,” Cryo thought. He waved at them from his seat, and everyone waved back.

“Alright… Breakfast should be ready in just a few more minutes. Cryo. Just relax for a bit.” “Yes, Mr. Miller. Umm… I guess I’m going to have… mushed peas for breakfast?” “Oh heavens sake! No master Cryo. You don’t need such things. I’m pretty sure you have a nice full set of teeth to chew, correct?” “Oh! Uh…” Cryo looked at Susy for a second. She nodded and rubbed his belly a few times. “Umm… Yeah! Your right, Mr. Miller. I’m… at least… old enough for that. Umm… Thank you!” “Yes. Now let me go check with the cook for a second, to see if the food is ready.” He began to stand up with his seat. He began to walk towards the kitchen. But before he did, he went to Cryo’s chair and began to whisper in his ear.

“Thank you so much for doing this for little Sara. You have no idea how much she’s been looking forward to this weekend. I know being treated like this might be a little… much for you. But… we’ll do everything we can to keep you in as much comfort as possible…” “Thanks, Mr. Miller. I’ll keep a close eye on… Momma and keep her happy as best as I can… Don’t worry about me. I can handle a few… accidents every now and then.” Mr. Miller patted Cryo’s shoulder a few times, and he smiled. “Hang on everyone.” He slowly walked to the kitchen as Cryo watched him. Cryo began to patiently wait for the food.

Not long after, several of the cooks in the house began to bring out several plates with food covered up to the table. Mr. Miller began to step out soon after. “Alright everyone. Food is ready. Bon apatite!” he said with a smile. Mr. Miller began to step over to Cryo’s high chair again. “Would you like me to feed Master Cryo, Sara?” “Oh, no! I can feed my baby boy. He needs his momma to comfort him, right?” “Umm… Yea! That’s right, momma! I’d like you to feed me!” “That’s a good boy.” “Well… Let’s start passing food then.” And so, each of them began to pass the plates of food around the table, each one taking a bit as they passed it around. Sara managed both her and Cryo’s plates. Cryo actually saw she had taken quite a bit of food for him. She had several plates of different foods placed on the platter of his high chair by the time they were done passing it around. He saw there was hashed taters, hard boiled chillin eggs, toast, bacon, and of course, a large baby bottle filled with milk. “Huh… I’m surprised you want me to eat so much food, momma. Don’t I have to share a bit more with the others?” “Now, Now, Captain. Your very young. You need food more then anyone else here! You need to be fed quite a bit so you can grow to a big pirate one day.” “Well… alright momma.” “Good. Now then. Time for you first bite!”

She stood up and stuck a fork into one of Cryo’s hard boiled eggs and began to lift it up towards him. She smiled at him. “Alright, Captain Cutie! Open up! Here comes the car!” She began to make car noises. Cryo played along with the game and began to laugh a bit. She quickly thrust the hard boiled egg into his mouth as he laughed. Cryo closed his jaws around the fork and she then slowly pulled it from his mouth. He began to chew on it. He then gave a smile. Sara began to dab his bib around his mouth to clean up his face. “Hmm. Actually… pretty good! Never tried hard boiled eggs before. Mom certainly loves these in the morning. Might have to ask her to make some for me when I get back home,” he thought. “There we go! That’s a good boy! Now. My turn to take a bite!”

She stuck her own fork into a hard boiled egg on the plate and then placed it into her mouth. She then opened her mouth and stuck it in. She smiled as she lifted the fork out and chewed. Cryo smiled and turned towards her. “Was the eggy yummy, Momma?” “Why of course it was, Capitan. Now… Here comes your second bite!” She then took a small piece of bacon and held it in front of him. “Here comes the choo choo train!”

This time, she made train engine noises. Cryo once again played along and laughed at her. She quickly trust the piece of bacon into Cryo’s mouth as he laughed, and he began to chew slowly. He then gulped it down and rubbed his belly in satisfaction. She began to clean his face again as he chewed. “Yum Yum!” he said. “That’s a good boy. Now its my turn!”

She took a piece of bacon and then quickly took a bite out of it and chewed. She smiled as she chewed. She then took another bit of it and chewed the rest of the piece up. “Was you baccy yummy, momma?” “Why of course, Captain.” Now… I bet someone needs a little milky to wash that bacon down, don’t you?” “Umm… Yea, momma! I want some milky…” “Good. That’s my little captain.”

She grabbed Cryo’s bottle from the table and began to maneuver it towards his mouth. “Open up, Captain! Time for some nice milky for the baby!” Cryo nodded and opened his mouth. She smiled and maneuvered it towards his mouth. He closed his fangs around the bottle and began to drink the milk out of it. “This milk tastes very fresh. Almost like what I had back on the mountains,” Cryo thought. He continued to drink for a bit and then released the bottle from his jaws. Sara rubbed his belly again. “I’m done with my milky for now,” Cryo said. “Thats a good boy. Now give me a moment to take a nice sip of my own drink.

She began to take her cup, which seemed to be filled with a red drink. She slowly lifted it up towards her lips, and began to drink VERY slowly out of it. She turned her eyes towards Cryo, who she saw was watching her as she drank. He gave a big smile at her, and she began to chuckle a bit as she drank. She soon put the glass back on the table. “Alright, Captain. Time for your next bite!”

So… time passed as everyone ate. While the meal was a bit slow for Cryo, due to the way he was being fed, he was nonetheless satisfied by the end. He ate all of it. He rubbed his belly a few times and picked at his teeth a bit with his talons covered by the gloves. “There we go! Was your food good, Captain?” “Oh! Yea Momma! It was really yummy!” “That’s a good boy. Now… Come to momma. It’s time to burp you.” “Ok Momma.” She stood up from her seat and then lifted the platter from Cryo’s high chair. She grabbed Cryo and began to gently lift him over her shoulder. She began to gently pat Cryo’s back. Cryo looked at all the others in the room, giving loving smiles at him. He smiled and began to burp a bit, as much as he could manage, to satisfy Susy. After being burped for awhile, Sara finally seemed satisfied with her work. “There we go, Captain Cutie. I think we got enough of that nasty ol gas out you. You feel better?” “Oh! Yea, Momma! Nice to not have a sore tum tum.” “That’s a good boy. Why don’t I take you back to your room, Captain. I’m sure you want to play on your pirate playset, huh?” Cryo thought for a moment at the large pirate ship in his room. He smiled and nodded. “Yea, Momma! I want to be a REAL captain, now!” “That’s my boy. Come on. Let’s head to your nursery!” “I will escort you, Mistress Sara,” said Mr. Miller. “Alright. Let’s go!” Sara said. So they began to head to the nursery. She strung Cryo over her sholder and rubbed his back as they walked. Cryo began to have an idea. “I know she wants me to play on that pirate ship. Perhaps… I’ll play on it just like how I played pirate back at home when I was a hatchling…” he thought. Before they made it into the room, Sara pulled back his training pants again one more time to check him. It seemed that despite the meal, he still didn’t need to be changed yet. She smiled at him and continued down the hall.

Ch 25

Pirate Playset

The three headed down the halls to Cryo’s nusery and opened the door. Sara stepped in, and began to rub Cryo’s head a few times. “We’re back to your nursery, Captain. You ready to play?” Sara asked. “Oh, Yes please! I’m ready for some fun time!” Cryo replied back. “Thats a good boy. Come on. I’ll take you over to your pirate playset, Captain Cutie!” “Yes. Would you like anything else, Mistress Sara? Or do you think you can handle the young master.” asked Mr. Miller. “Umm… Actually… Could you bring my little captain here a bottle of warm milk before naptime?” “Yes of course, Mistress. I’ll have a nice bottle prepped for young master Cryo before he takes his first nap of the day.” “Thank you, Mr. Miller.” “Umm… When is my nappy going to be, Momma?” asked Cryo. “You’ll be taking your first nap at about 12:15 P.M., Captain Cutie. Be a good boy when its time. Ok?” “Ok, momma.” Cryo looked at a radio which read, 10:35 A.M. on it. “Ok… So I have a bit of time to play before my nappy. But… Won’t I miss lunch?” “We’ll eat lunch at about 3:30 P.M. That should be enough time for your nap, Master Cryo. I’m sure you’ll be awake by then.” “Well… Ok then.” “Alright. Have a pleasant afternoon you two. Remember Sara. If you have any difficulty with the young master, please don’t hesitate to get me or Ms. Oline for help. “Oh I know already, Mr. Miller. I know. I don’t think this little mister here won’t be too much trouble, huh?” “Yep! I’ll make sure to be a good little boy and follow mommy’s rules.” Cryo winked at Mr. Miller and smiled. He smiled back and nodded. “Have a good time playing, you two.” Mr. Miller left the room, and closed the door. Sara smiled at Cryo. “Alright. It’s play time, Captain. Let’s get you to your pirate ship!”

She began to take Cryo over to the pirate playset. She went up the ramp towards the deck and placed Cryo down on it. Cryo looked around at the playset. It really did feel like a pirate ship from some of the movies and stories. “So, Captain. Do you like your ship?” “Oh! Yes Momma! I love having my very own pirate ship!” “Yea! But… I think you need a crew as well!” “A Crew?” “Yeah! So… Why don’t you check the captains quarters! You might find some “willing playmates,” for your crew!” “Well… Alright then momma.” She began to lead Cryo towards a door on the playset, and she opened the door to the inside. Cryo stepped through the door and looked around the captains quarters…

He saw that there seemed to be a bunch of plastic gold coins and jewels lining against the sides of the room. His “captains treasure,” he assumed. He saw a small rope coiled above on a plastic hook to the left. He looked towards the center of the room, and saw appeared to be a captains desk with what looked to be fake treasure maps, and more importantly, a belt with a plastic pirate sword holstered to the front of it. He headed over and picked up the belt. He unholstered the plastic sword, and saw it was quite well decorated, with plastic jewels and golden paint. “Well… This seems to be a rather fitting captains sword. The one I had at home was nowhere near as fancy as this one. Even if it is just simple plastic,” he thought. He smiled and began to carefully attach it around his waist, above his training pants… He looked at another object close to his captains table at the center of the room. He saw it appeared to be another cradle, but this one seemed to be a bit more pirate and treasure themed. It looked like a wooden treasure chest with gold linings, casings, jewels on it. The carpet around the cradle was imitating gold doubloons . He saw the bed covers were red and had the image of a gold dragon, with the words, “Feared dragon pirate of the seven seas, Cryo the dragon!” below in gold lettering. The sheets were a nice white. It looked pretty comfy.

“I have… 2 different places to sleep in my room, Mama?” “That’s right. Just in case you want to sleep like a good little pirate captain.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He saw a Radio/clock next to the bed. This one however, was quite imaginative. It took the form of a speaky bird (Similar to a parakeet, with green feathers, a long beak, rather large talons, and a blue and white tail and belly feathers), sitting on a perch and facing towards the cradle. It was holding the screen for the clock at the bottom of its talons, which shown a black screen with blue numbers on it. He smiled at the thought of the bird “singing him to sleep,” during naptime.

He looked around and saw that there appeared to be a mid sized and a large treasure chest to the right of the room. He headed over and opened the two of them. The mid sized one to the left of him seemed to be able to be moved around and had more coins and jewels in it. He believed that this was meant to be how he could have “buried treasure,” in his little games. He looked to the larger chest to the right. It seemed to be bolted to the floor. He opened it, and his eyes opened wide. He reached into it, and pulled out a large group of plush capsule creatures, each decked out with pirate gear and training pants. There were many aqua type capsule creatures that looked very cute. But also… there was a bunch of Lightbolt capsule creatures that looked a bit more… menacing to him.

“Wow. A lot of capsule creature plushies in here, momma.” “Those are your playmates, Captain!” “My… Playmates, momma?” “That’s right. I know your favorite type in the capsule creatures games is the aqua type, so we bought a bunch of capsule creature plushies and decked them out in nice pirate gear so they could be your crewmates! But… your enemies are ALSO in that chest! The nasty pirates of the lightbolt type who you own crewmates are vulnerable to! It would only take a clever captain’s wit like yours to outsmart them!” Cryo looked at them again. “Ahh. I see now. That’s why the aqua type ones look adorable and the lightbolt ones look pretty intimidating. The aqua ones are my pirate crew while the lightbolt ones are supposed to be my rivals. That’s… pretty clever actually…” Cryo chuckled a bit. The plushies were very squishy and soft. “I… I never was able to have a capsule creature plush back at home. I didn’t even know these were actually made. I… I think I like these quite a bit. They… They feel pretty nice,” he thought. “Well… Who’s going to be your first mate, Captain?” “My first mate?” “Yeah! Every pirate captain has to have a first mate, right?” “Well…” “Come on captain! You have to promote someone to be you second in command!” “Well… Ok then. Give me a moment to decide, Momma.” She nodded and smiled at him.

“Take your time, Captain. This is a big decision for your pirate crew.” “I know, Momma. I know… Hmm… Who should I…” As he was looking through the plush capsule creatures, his eyes grew wide. Cryo pulled out one plush in particular. He looked at it closely. It was the legendary capsule Creature, Stormfall! It had a red pirate doo rag around its head, had a plastic pacifier in his mouth between its sharp fake white fangs, and wearing a red and white striped shirt around his body and large side fins, and pure white training pants around his tail fin. He looked at it for a bit, turning it over every which way to observe it. Cryo knew who he’d make his first mate…

“I… I chose this one, Mama…” “Oh! Stormfall! Of course! What’s your first mates name?” Cryo thought for a moment. “I’ll name him, Tidal. Tidal the stormfall!” “Well… Congratulations on you promotion, Tidal! Now… I believe its time to go on an adventure, don’t you, Captain?” Cryo looked at his new stormfall plush and then the other plushies sitting across from each other one by one. “Ye… Yeah! Time to have some pirate fun!” “That’s my little captain. Now could you hold on a second before you start, Captain?” “Umm… Why momma?” “She took a phone out of her pocket. “I want to record my little captains first pirate adventure! Ready captain?” Cryo looked towards his “crew.” “Yeah! Let’s play!”

Ch 26

Meeting them Mateys

Cryo took each of his plush “crewmates,” and began to line them up next to each other on the ground. He looked at each of them, then at Sara. He smiled and nodded. “Let’s put on a little play for Sara,” Cryo thought as he sat himself down. He began to scratch under his chin a few times, thinking of a fun story to partake him. Then, he thought of something. He nodded to himself, and then grabbed the plastic sword from his hilt and raised it high! “Avast, me hardy crew! We be going back on the open briny blue!” He lowered his sword back into its holster. “Now me crew. It’s probably been quite a bit since we last sailed. Fear not. I’m still seaworthy me crew. Now… I bet ye all wondering what we be doin on today’s little outing, aren’t ye?” He gently grabbed his stormfall plush, and raised its fin up in the air. “Ahh… Tidal! Ye find yourself asking a question?” Cryo began to raise the pitch of his voice to give the plush a personality. “Oy, Captain! I find myself wondering what we be huntin today!” “Well, first mate… Glad ye asked! We be huntin a bit of treasure left behind in an old rotting temple far to the east of us. The temple is said to be treacherous, with tricks and traps all over yonder! It take a darin pirate to grab ye and take it home…” He grabbed his stormfall plush again and began to manuver it around again. “Oy! That sounds a bit dangerous captain!” he said in his “Tidal,” voice. “Aye, matey. But… We be pirates. We sail on the briny blue and enter treacherous territory, where the only ones watching ye is ye and your crew. Them seas be harsh, with mighty blue waves rockin the ship and other pirates lookin to get an easy score on an unsuspecting crew. This life be dangerous, but it be a life of adventure! Now then. Who’s with me!?” Cryo began to shout Huzzah over and over in different tones and voices, giving a sense of the plush crew agreeing with him. Sara chuckled, clearly enjoying the scene quite a bit. “Alright ye crew. Let’s head towards deck and set sail!” He grabbed all his plush toys and began to head out of the captains quarters of the ship. He then placed him on the ground in front of him and began to scratch his chin a bit. “Now… I suppose I should be assigning roles to all ye salty seadogs… Hmm…”

He looked at Tidal first. “Alright, Tidal. Ye be in the Crow’s nest. Ye be keepin an eye on the far reaches to make sure we don’t be gettin ambushed by some other salty sea dogs, lookin to make a quick buck. Cryo lifted Tidal up again. “Aye, Captain!” Cryo said in “Tidal’s voice.” He began to climb up the pirate play set with his Tidal plush all the way to the top. He placed Tidal on the side of the railing, which was covered by a thick safety net. He quickly climbed back down to the rest of his plush crew.

He looked at his next plush, a Evesea, a cyan capsule creature with 4 legs with webbed paws, a very long fish tail, a long, rounded snout, and a fin going across its back all the way towards its tail. It was also wearing white training pants, a black vest, had a red pirate doo rag wrapped around its head and a red scarf around its neck. Cryo began to think of what to call it and what role it should play within his “little play.” He then smiled and nodded. “Ahh. Vapor. You will be tending to our cannons on the ship. Make sure they are ready to fire in case we be runnin into trouble. Savvy?” Cryo said. He then lifted his “Vapor,” plush and spoke in a very high pitched voice for this plush.” “Aye Aye, Captain!” He placed it next to the cannons on the front side of the play set. He then walked back to his other crewmates and sat down. He looked to his next plush crewmate, and scratched his chin a few times. He recognized the form of a A Skatespy. This white pondskater spider capsule creature plush had a very large head with red eyes, black legs with cyan shaped bubbles attached to the bottom of its feet, and its middle body part seemed to have something opaque around it, kind of like its body is wrapped in clear water. Like with the others, he was wearing white training pants. He also had an eye patch covering one red eye with a skull and crossbones on it, a dark black shirt around his upper body, a blue scarf around his neck, and a black pirate doo rag wrapped around his head. Cryo began to think of a name and role to give him. “Alright. Skipper. Ye be cleanin the ship. That might seem a bit harsh, but ye need to pay your dues for that accident you had in the captains quarters earlier. However. Once ye be through, ye may take a rest and relax on deck. Can I count on ye?” He grabbed it and gave it a deeper voice then the other plusies. “Aye, Captain! I’ll scrub this deck cleaner then a Clensy could every hope to!” “Good. I’ll be checkin your work when ye be done, so don’t ye be slackin. Otherwise… I might have to… put ye in some special pants… You need to keep ye training pants on for that reason alone… We ALL do!” “Oyy! Not rubber pants! Uhh… Right away captain!” Sara chuckled at this quite a bit. Cryo smiled and placed him in the middle of the pirate playset.

Cryo looked at his final plush crewmate. A Deepdra capsule creature. It was sea dark blue 4 legged dragon capsule creature, not unlike him. It had bulging round yellow eyes, a very long snout, webbed feet, a very short tail, long slender body with 3 fins going across its back and down its tail. And like with the others, it was wearing white training pants. It also had a red shirt with a blue vest, a blue doo rag wrapped around his head, a blue bandanna, and an eye patch. Cryo thought for a moment. “Hehe… This guy kind of looks like me right now. I bet Suzy was expecting me to choose you as first mate. Stormfall is still my favorite capsule creature, unfortunately. But… I still really like the way you look nonetheless. Now… just one more job left… What should I call you? Hmm…” Cryo thought for a moment. Then he smiled. “Ahh… Me young adopted son, Aqua! You ready to take ye first assignment on this here vessel?” “Aye Da… Erm… I mean captain!” Cryo said in a rather high pitched voice. “Oh! Adopted son!” Susy exclaimed! “Aye. Ye be right, me fair queen. I raised this here boy since… He was found by me on some float some among the sea drift towards home. He’s a very good boy… but… inexperienced in this line of work. If this young lad be going to lead me crew one day, he be needin to learn a whole bunch on how to be a pirate. We work for the queen for a reason. We be turnin from a life of crime to find treasures and relics for the nation! Not to mention Queeny be relying on us to clear the seas of them nasty sea dogs! Bounty work is never easy, and me ol rivals had recently escaped from the queens iron gate prison! They are some of ye worst pirates ye be hearin of. I’m sure they be wanting vengeance after being put under lock an key!” “Haha! Better watch out for them, my Captain Cutie! I can’t imagine anyone else that could show Aqua the ropes!” “Aye! Now anyway. Ye will be my eyes and ears. I need ye to watch and make sure the other crewmates be doin their duties aboard the ship. This may seem like a simple procedure, but ye be needin to absolutely on the spot with this. Also… ye queen be joining on our voyage! She be wanting to see me line of work for herself. She be needin protection from them nasty sea dogs! She also be me precious long lost mother, who I lost when I was just brought into this world! She be the most important figure on this here ship! Savvy?” Cryo tilted his Aqua plush’s head up and down. Sara laughed at how Cryo was treating her like royalty. “Now. Ye ready to do your duty, Aqua?” “Aye, Captain!” “Aye good, lad. Then we’re ready to shove off. Anchors away everyone. Let’s set sail on the brainy blue yonder!” He placed his “Aqua,” plush next to the edge where the steering wheel was, so he could “observe,” the crew as they worked. Cryo took the wheel of the ship and began to spin it around a bit. “To the treasure, me hardys!”

So Cryo played “pirate,” for quite a while. Sara laughed the whole way through, which made him happy. Soon enough though, it was about 12:10, and Mr. Miller had opened the door and stepped into the room, carrying a bottle of warm milk in his hand. “Mistress Sara. It’s about time for Cryo’s nap. I brought the warm milk you requested.” Cryo and Sara turned to him. “Ahh! Good timing! Cryo has just found the treasure and was about to take the other naughty pirates to prison!” Sara said. “Oh, Really? Is that true, Master Cryo?” Cryo nodded and smiled. “Aye aye, Mr. Miller. These nasty brutes tried to attack our ship and steal the treasure. Naturally, we bounty hunters and specially trained salty sea dogs won’t be felled so easily by the black hearted. These naughty sea dogs will be spendin a great amount of time behind lock and key!” Cryo pointed to the mast, and Mr. Miller saw he had tied the Lightvolt Plushies to the mast of his pirate playset, with the rope that was originally in the captain’s quarters. Mr. Miller chuckled at how Cryo had handled things and was talking like a pirate. “Well then, Captain. I bet our little adventurer has had quite a fill before his nap. Anyway… Would you like me to change the young master before his nap, Mistress? He’ll probably need his nighties training pants while he sleeps.” “Oh don’t worry Mr. Miller. I’ll do it. I changed this stinky boy mid way through his little adventure on the high seas. I can do it again now!” “Oh really now?” “Yes. You know I’m a responsible parent, Mr. Miller.” “Indeed you are mistress.” She picked up Cryo and began to rub his head a few times. “Alright, little baby, let’s get your nighties on so you don’t have to worry about little accidents while you sleep.” “Yawn… Ok, Mama…”

She carried him over to the changing table and gently laid him on his back on it. She rubbed his belly a few times. Then she manuvered the strap around his waist and clipped it. “Alright little baby… Just relax while mama changes you. Ok?” “Yes mama… Yawn…” She lifted Cryo’s legs and gently ripped his training pants off of him. She then scratched his head a bit. She then checked it to see if he had any “accidents,” while wearing it… She saw a little moisture inside, so she smiled at him and got a wipe, attached to a small container next to the changing table, and wiped his crotch gently up and down. She then opened the Nap and night,” drawer and grabbed the baby powder and a pair of training pants. “Alright. Just hold still while mommy powders you…” She began to gently shake the canister and powder his crotch. She then rubbed it in, and then lifted his legs up, and powdered his bottom and around his tail. She gently rubbed the areas to get it settled in. “There we go. We’re almost done. Let’s get your nighties on.” She began to fit the training pants around his tail, and then lifted his legs up again, and slid the training pants under his bottom. She then lifted the front flap over his crotch, and attached the flaps from the back to the front of it. “There we go! Your all changed!” Cryo looked at his “nighties.” He saw that it was also pirate themed. It was a dark blue, and seemed to show a pirate ship sailing through the dark sea, with the moon and stars shining above. It was also quite a bit softer, and felt a bit less bulky then the ones he had on before. “Interesting design… Feels a bit comfier too. It is made for sleep though… Guess its to be expected…”

Mr. Miller came over and smiled at Cryo, as Sara unclipped him from the table and cradled him in her arms. “Is the young adventurer ready for his nap?” asked Mr. Miller. Cryo yawned and scratched his bottom a few times. “Yea… I’m ready for nappy, Mr. Miller…” Cryo said. “Good. Would you like me to feed the young master, Mistress?” asked Mr. Miller. “Oh! No! I can feed him just fine,” Sara said. “Very well.” Mr. Miller headed towards Sara and gave her the bottle. “Would you like me to stay with you while you feed him?” “Haha. No. I’ll be fine.” “Very well, Mistress. I’ll wait for you outside the young master’s room when your done with him.” “Thank you Mr. Miller.” “Indeed. Enjoy your nap, Master Cryo.” “Thank you Mr. Miller. I will.”

She began to sling him over her back and began to rub gently as she carried him towards the rocking chair next to his bed. “Now then… Let’s get you some nice warm milk before your nap to help you sleep. Would you like to sleep on your pirate ship, or out here?” Sara asked. Cryo thought for a moment. “Umm… I think… I would like to sleep on my pirate ship today, Momma.” Cryo replied. “Of course… After a grand pirate adventure, my little captain wants to sleep with his crew…” “Umm… Yea mama. I want to go sleepy with my daring crewmates…” “That’s my little captain. Now… Why don’t I get you fed before bed.”

She sat down in the rocking chair and patted Cryo’s head a few times. “Alright, little baby. Open up. Time to feed you.” Cryo nodded and opened his mouth. Sara smiled and slowly manuvered the bottle into Cryo’s mouth. He closed his jaws around it and slowly drank from it. Sara rocked the rocking chair as she fed him. After a while the milk was finished. “There we go… That’s a good boy, drinking all his milk. Your going to be big and strong one day…” Sara said. Cryo yawned at her and nodded. “Yea… I’m… going to be big one day…” “That’s right. Now… Let’s get you all snuggled into your crib on your ship, my favorite little Captain Cutie…” She stroked his head a few times and then and began to carry him towards the pirate playset and up the ramp. She opened the door to the captains quarters and stood in front of the cradle. “Now then… little boy. Time for a nice, long, nap.” She pulled the covers of the bed down and placed Cryo into it. Then she pulled the covers over him. She then reached under the blanket and pulled out Cryo’s binky, still tied around his neck. “Open up. You’ll need your Mr. Binks while you snooze.” Cryo nodded slowly with droopy eyes and then opened his mouth. She manuvered the binky close to his mandibles and Cryo slowly bit it. He began to suck and chew on it a bit. Sara, rubbed his head, and turned towards the parrot radio. She fiddled around it for a bit, and turned on naptunes radio. She began to take each of Cryo’s plush crew, and place them to the sides of Cryo’s cradle. Seems they would be sleeping with him for his nap. She then began to slowly rock the cradle. Soon, the music worked its spell on Cryo’s hazy mind, and he quickly fell into a very deep slumber… “Have a good nap, my precious baby boy…” Sara said. She then rubbed his head a few more times, and went to activate a baby monitor and camera on the side of the pirates quarters. She then kissed him on the forehead, and left the ship. She went down the ramp, and then out towards the door to her room. She then shut the door. The room was silent for a few moments. But then, the music cut off from naptunes, and a voice began to be heard from the radio.

“Cr… Cr… Creator? Are you ok? Creator?” But Cryo was silent.” The baby monitor camera on the ship began to move on its own. It then stopped as it looked at the cradle, with Cryo inside… With a binky in his mouth… “Oh dear… I… wasn’t expecting this… Should… Should I wake him…?” Craft began to process things for a few moments…” “I… think it’s… best to let the creator sleep for now… No telling how bad things have been for him here. I can see why he didn’t want me to know about this… I’ll… just monitor things and try to talk with him when he wakes up… Oh dear… This is… unsettling… What in the world did they do to you?”

Ch 20

Training Tease

Cryo slowly opened his eyes and gave a small yawn. He saw he was back in the dojo again. He picked himself up and looked at himself. He was in his “Sea Serphant,” form. “I guess I’m going to be training with my more water based abilities this time…” He then looked around the room. The dojo walls looked like there was flowing water circulating through it and the ground looked as blue as water. He looked over to his karate gear, and saw it was looked kind of like it was made of water. There looked to be fierce currents flowing through it. “Huh… This is… interesting… Haven’t seen it like this before…” Cryo looked back towards the ground. “Is the ground… water?” Cryo slowly moved his paw out towards the floor, and touched it with one finger. But it was hard and did not feel wet. “Okay… The ground looks like water, but… its not… Interesting…” Just then, he heard the door to the room slide open, and his Wave stepped in again.

“Hello, my precious grandson.” “Oh! Hi Grandma!” She walked over toward Cryo and smile and patted his head a few times. “Ready to go to work, Cryo?” she asked. “Yea, Grandma! I cant wait to see what were learning today!” “Good! Now then… Why don’t you get your cloths on, and we can get started with training today, okay?” “Umm… Yea grandma.” “Good… I’ll wait out here for you to get ready. Just try not to have an “accident,” while your getting ready.” “Huh? What do you mean, Grandma?” She chuckled a fair bit and rubbed his head. “I’ll see you out of your room, my baby grandson…” She left out towards the door and back to the training area. He began to get up from his bed and then began to walk over toward his cloths. As grabbed his cloths though, he began to think why his grandmother seemed to tease him like that…

“Grandma seems to be having fun with the whole… babysitting thing I suppose… I guess I should…! “As he was about to put on his shirt, he looked down to his crotch, and saw he was wearing the training pants from before he was sleeping! His face got a bit red. “Oh… I… How did this get here…” He began to tug on it a bit, trying to take it off. But… it didn’t seem to want to move or come off, no matter what he tried…” “Well… This is… embarrassing… Why can’t I take this silly thing off? Sigh… well… I guess… I’ll just have to… wear it while training today… It’s probably going to get soaked and weigh me down, but… there seems to be nothing I can do to get it off… I can see why she made fun of me… I wonder if this is her idea of a prank or something…” He gave a sigh and put on his training cloths and headed out into the room.

The room was similar to his room in the dojo. Except… the water currents seemed to be going through the wall in “blue veins,” and was circulating all across the rooms, floors, and seemingly going into the water. The pool of water itself seemed to be crashing and flowing quite bit quickly. “The waters acting like there’s a wind storm going through it,” he thought. “Wave waved at him at the other side of the water.” “Come over here, grandson! There a few thing’s I’d like to teach you today.” Cryo nodded his head, and began to walk over towards her. She smiled at him and patted his head.

“Well grandson. You notice how the water is a bit… eccentric today?” “Umm… Yea, Grandma… I… I noticed… It be pretty hard to swim in normally, even for a dragon like me.” “Actually grandson, you should have no trouble with it, with that little thing on…” She pointed towards his training pants and chuckled a bit… Cryo was a little annoyed at this… “Grandma… Don’t you think your taking this prank a little too far…” “A prank huh? Or maybe…” She began to maneuver her hand around it. Cryo followed watched her hand, and realized that she was about to seemingly flip a switch on the side of it. She pushed it back. Then suddenly, the training pants seemed be stretching condensing all across his entire body! “WHA! Whats…! Soon… it began to form over his head. As it got around his face and eyes, it began to form a visor, which seemed allowed him to see through it! There seemed to be data being displayed on the visor… He looked at himself, and it looked like he was in a slick and a bit bulky wet suit. He could see what looked like technology and streams of wires going through it!

“What… What is this, Grandma…?” “That Cryo… Is a rig armor Cryo. One of the minor sets made for underwater and deepsea research and in some cases, combat and infiltration into underwater structures. We’ll be doing two types of training today with this…” “O…K… then… Whats our training…?” “The first will be basic maneuverability with this suit. Now… Cryo…” You are familiar with the underwater oxygen rebreather. This is just like it. However, this rig armor is made to not only be able to help you breath underwater. It will also protect you from underwater areas filled with higher pressure and such. It also has a few combat gadgets in case you get into a scuffle and for movement. And… These will eventually be modified to better complement dragons abilities.” “That’s… pretty cool… ” She patted Cryo on the head a few times. She continued… “The suit has a small assistant ai that will aid you with it systems. Of course… Something tells me when you eventually get a chance to try it for real, or really any of the rig armors and upgrades your given, you’ll be paired with a VERY special AI…” “R… Really? “Wh… Who?” “That’s just something you’ll just have to find out in time, My little grandson.” Cryo gave a sigh and nodded. She patted his head a few times. She began to raise her arm, and Cryo saw a rather large wristband. She flipped a switch on it and sure enough, it stretched and formed around her and soon enough, she was covered in a black underwater rig armor like Cryo was right now.” “Now then Cryo. Jump in the water and follow me.” She began to head towards the pool, but there was something he wanted to know first…

“Umm… Grandma…?” “Yes, Cryo?” “I… saw you activated yours with a wristband… Why is mine… training pants…?” She chuckled at him and smiled. “Did you consider it only LOOKED like the training pants your sleeping in right now? Did you actually consider that the material for that was quite a bit different?” “Umm… Uhh…” Cryo began to think a bit… After thinking… he realized that when he tried to pull it off earlier, it didn’t feel fuzzy, soft, or… disposable… It felt sleek, a bit metallic, a tiny bit stretchy, and fit quite tightly around his crotch and bottom… Tide chuckled at him again. “You were so focused at the fact it look like the training pants you were wearing for your nap, you never considered it was never that in the first place. It only looked like it, but its clearly different. This is just one more lesson for you, my grandson. Not everything is always what it seems…” “Oh…” Cryo’s face became a littles red again. He had been clearly very cleverly duped by his grandmother, Wave…” “Now then my grandson. Let’s jump in!” They both jumped into the water and began to swim under the waves.

Ch 21

Armorsuit Athletics

The two dragons began to swim around the water. He then heard Wave speak through the comms on the suit. “Alright, my grandson. You doing good?” she asked. “Umm. Yea, Grandma. I’m doing fine. I’m surprised we seem to be unobstructed by the currents under the water. The water looked pretty rough when we we’re above the surface.” “That’s to be expected, Cryo. These armor suits were made to better interact and interface with elements like this. Also… the sea serpent transformation also mitigates rushing water and currents on its own a bit as well. This particular rig was made for dragons, which as I said before, complement our own abilities much better, and adapt to allow us to use virtually any of our powers unhindered in different environments.” “Really? Even ones that use our mouths?” Wave chuckled at Cryo. Then, Cryo could hear her take a big breath in the comms. As she did, the mask around the face began to transform and open up. It looked like a steel speaker now. Wave then shot out a Sea screech forward, through the water. It travelled through the water until it was out of sight…

“There we go my grandson. Does that answer your question?” “Umm… Yea. I guess so… But… what controls the rig to open up the mouth piece like that? Do I press a button on the suit?” “The ai complementing your rig is in charge of that operation. It works alongside you in battle.” “Ahh… I see… So the ai will administer functions into the suit and basically keep an eye and ear on us in order to know when and where we’re going to use an ability?” “That’s right.” “Wow… Pretty cool. I wonder what ai I’ll be paired up with?” “Wave chuckled again and then patted his head. “Anyway… why don’t we get started with the first bit. We’re are first going to get you a bit more accustomed to the suit first. Sort of a “test drive,” that will help you when you wear your first one in the future. “Well… Alight then… How should we start, grandma?”

“First. Tell your ai to activate speed mode on the suit.” “Umm… Ok Grandma… Umm… Activate… speed mode?” Cryo then heard a voice on the suit. It sounded a bit… familiar to someone else he knew. “Activating speed mode.” “The armor began to shift a bit. Cryo saw the armor opening up around his wings and around his tail. It seemed that some type of small engine began to form around these areas… “Good, my grandson. Now then…”

She pointed over to the left and Cryo saw a few metal large metal rings appear underwater. They were positioned in a line, one after the other. “Alright, my grandson. Your first task is simple. Use the rig to glide through the underwater rings. Now… To activate the boosters on your suit, just hold your arms to your side, and close grip your paws. This will immediately activate the underwater boosters. Think of yourself as traveling through water a bit like torpedo. The firmer your grip, the faster you will travel. Angle and manuver your body to turn. Ok? Watch me…”

Wave began to turn herself to face the rings. She then held her arms to her sides, and then gripped her paws firmly. And then… “WHOOSH!” She began to propel forward at a high speed! She quickly passed through the underwater rings, and each lit up with a golden hue as she passed through each one! She turned to Cryo and nodded her head. “Now you try, my grandson.”

Cryo nodded his head. He then looked forward, and then got into position. He held his arms to his side, and gripped his paws, and soared forward! His angle though was not on point, but he was quickly able to angle his body and then passed through each ring! “Alright! Nice!” Cryo said.

“There we go Grandson. That’s a start. You seemed to be able to angle yourself well after that start, but lets see how well you can take turns.” Wave waved her hand again, and a new set of rings began to show up. They were at different spots around the area, facing different directions. “Now. Try to mauver yourself in various ways to go through each of the rings ahead. I’d suggest you take this slowly at first until you are more accustomed to the suit. We’ll be practicing this for every nap you’ll take today, and occasionally in the future, so when the time comes, you’ll be ready for a real suit. “Ok grandma!”

Cryo looked at the set of rings ahead, and breathed steadily… “Alright… Here goes nothing…” He began to manuver his body to face the first ring. “Slow and steady now… Like grandma said… I don’t need to race with this thing yet…” He then began to hold his arms to his side, and lightly gripped his paws. He shot forward at a steady speed, and began to pass through each of the rings one by one. However, he accidently overshot one. “Uh oh…” Thinking quick, he held his arms out to stop the boosters and then quickly turned himself around, got back into position, and the gripped his paws a bit hard! He shot forward, and passed through the ring! He then did the same thing again, and quickly got back on track! Soon, he was done with the course. He jetted back to Wave. “My, my, grandson. Not a perfect run, but an excellent recovery! You’ll be able to do a lot with this suit once your very accustomed to it.” said Wave. “Hehe. Thanks Grandma.” Cryo said back. “I think this is a good enough introduction for now. Now then, let’s switch it to offense mode.” “Offense mode? Well alright. Let me guess… say switch to offense mode?” “That’s right. You catch on quickly.” “Alright then. Umm… Suit? Switch to offense mode.” “Switching to offense mode, creator,” said the suit. The armor suit began change its form! The jets on the wings and tail began to go back into the suit, and now the back of the suit began to extend out a bit. Then, one slightly bigger jet began to recompile on the back! Cryo looked at the top of his paws, and saw two compartments beginning to open. Then he saw what seemed to be some type of cylindrical weapon come out from inside!”

“Excellent, Cryo. Now… I think you can guess, there are a few weapons on that suit for itself. The suit will enhance your own natural abilities while you wear it. But… we won’t really be practicing with them with the suit on. Its better to learn new dragon abilities without it, as you’ll gain more understanding and mastery without it. However, it doesn’t just enhance our abilities… It also comes with a few surprises itself. The jet on the back works similar to speed mode, but the main thing is that its for evasion rather then travel or escape. The jet isn’t activated by clasping your paw though. It’s instead activated simply by holding your arms to your side before. You’ll be using this in battle alongside your own abilities and the weapons systems. The jet is very useful to dodge attacks, as long as you make sure your angling yourself accordingly. Also keep in mind. The speed cannot be changed, and is still slower then in speed form. Use this while in battle to wait for an opportunity to attack.” “Ok. Makes sense grandma.” “Now for the weapon systems. However, as your dad has probably told you… He can only see so far in time, due to… certain complications… So its likely much more will be added in time. But we’ll practice with the two we know about. The first weapon is Shock Stinger.” “Shock… Stringer?” “That’s right. This is a regularly used weapon on this world. Observe…” Wave snapped her finger, and then a dojo dummy came down from above. “Now… This weapon is very unique for a variety of reasons. First, its a good restraining weapon.” “Restraining weapon?” “That’s right. It’s VERY rare for lethal force to be used on the planet. The protectors of the world have had a long history of capturing and detaining some pretty massive threats to society, with minimal damage in most cases. While not always successful in preventing certain threats from causing a ton of damage, they know exactly what to do to suppress abilities and powers. Even powers on dragons themselves. This one facet will be a VERY important one, when it comes to what we’ll REALLY need you to do, when your taken there…” “Huh… What do you mean?” “That’s something, for another day. Right now… Watch what happens. Watch what I do with my paw…”

Cryo swam forward a bit, and looked at Wave’s paw. She pointed it at the dummy. And then quickly clasped her paw! Some type of glowing electric wire shot out! Cryo looked forward as it began to wrap around and constrain the dummy. He then saw that it seemed to be shocking the dummy! “As you can see, Cryo. This weapon shoots out a nasty electric wire to shock and constrict threats to you. It’s very durable, and can open opportunities for attack! But… It also can be used to grapple things.” “Grapple things?” That’s right, if you open up you paw right as it fires, it will instead extend the wire out and stay attached to the suit itself. This obviously has a verity of uses. Pulling threats towards you. Yanking and throwing them around. Even pull towards you. And all the while they’re being shocked! One thing to keep in mind… If you want to pull anything towards you, all you have to do is pull the arm back. The suit will begin to quickly pull the wire back into the compartment. And before you ask… There a good amount loaded into the suit. You shouldn’t really ever worry about running out of them. Now… Why don’t you give it a go, my grandson.” “Um… Ok! This actually sounds pretty exciting!”

“Cryo quickly looked forward as another underwater dojo dummy began to come into view from above. He then manuvered his right arm forward and aimed it at him. He held one eye closed, and aimed… Then… he quickly grasped his paw and fired one out! It was a direct hit, as it quickly coiled around the target and began shocking it!”

“Ahh! Very good, grandson! Your aim is still spot on!” “Well… considering whats been going on lately… I better be able to actually aim…” “Good. Now for the other weapon. Switching to the other one is easy. Just tell your ai to “Switch weapons.” Ok?” “Umm… Ok. Switch weapons?” “Switching weapons. Activating Frigid Freezer.” “Frigid… freezer?” asked Cryo. He then saw the cylindrical weapon began to extend its face outward and forward..”

“Good! Now this weapon is similar to dragon ice. However. It shoots tracking freezing projectiles forward. Kind of like missiles. It works above water and under it. Its very simple to use. Like before, you grip your paw to arm. The difference here is, when he grip your paw, you’ll notice a crosshair began to appear in your visor. All you need to do is to use that crosshair to lock onto as many targets as you can. Keep your sight on each one for a little less then a second. Then, once all targets are locked on, release your grip! The missiles will fire and track each target. They are very fast and are hard for targets to avoid. This weapon will freeze targets, allowing you to soften them up and maybe using dragon abilities to weaken or attack them further, before they might break out, or… if the target is weakened and tired from battle enough, it’ll put them into immediate cryogenic hibernation, meaning they can be easily detained and moved to somewhere that can handle them and their powers.” “That… sounds really fun to use actually! I’m a bit excited to try it!” “Good. Now then… I could demonstrate this for you, but you get the general idea of how this suit works. I suggest you try this one yourself. Now then…”

She waved her hand and several dojo dummies came down from above. “Try it, my grandson.” Cryo nodded and began to raise his paw forward again. He gripped his paw, and saw a blue crosshair appear on his visor. “Good, Cryo. Now… Aim the crosshair at the dummies here, and keep it on them just a bit… until you see a green circle appear around them. Then do the same with the other dummies…” Cryo nodded again and looked at the first one… Not too long after, he saw a circle appear around it. Then he did the same with the second and third dummies. Target was locked for each one. “Alright… whenever your ready, Cryo…” Wave said. “FIRE!” Cryo exclaimed excitedly. He quickly released his grip and several blue shining missals fired out of it! The quickly began to bend and arch and track the targets. Soon, they connected and released a small blue explosion! The dummies immediately froze, and Cryo nodded at a job well done! “Yes! That’s awesome!” “Very good grandson! Very good! Now then… I think its about time you wake up, My grandson. We’ll keep practicing with this more today as you take naps. Don’t want to worry your… babysitter.” Wave chuckled a bit. “Yea… yea… Grandma…” “Alright. Let’s emerge.”

They both then quickly swam to the surface and then quickly jumped out of the water. Wave looked back to Cryo. “Now then… To deactivate the suit, just say “deactivate suit.”” “Alright.” They both looked at each other. “Deactivate suit!” they both said together! The suit quickly began to condense into itself and back to what it looked like before! Cryo looked at it…” “Well… I can… plainly see now that it IS not actually training pants… But… was it REALLY necessary to make it… look like the ones I’m wearing currently in reality? I mean… I know you wanted to teach me a lesson, but…” She chuckled a bit and smiled. “Oh Cryo… There still so much you have to learn from me… I can’t help but have a little fun every now and then… But… if you really don’t like it, why don’t you simply take it off.” Cryo looked at it again. He then quickly pulled it off and placed it to the side.” “And now it comes off…” She chuckled again and smiled. “Come on Cryo. Sara is waiting.” “Yea grandma… I’ll see you for my second nap of the day…” “Goodbye my grandson. Better give Sara a nice hug when you wake up!” Cryo looked back at Wave. He thought about Sara a bit, and then smiled. “Yea. Sara isn’t all that bad. Its actually a bit fun keeping her entertained for the day. I know this isn’t the most ideal way probably… But… being lonely isn’t fun. If… If I can… help her with that, then… its worth it. Even if I have to have accidents all day.” “That’s what’s important, Cryo. Have fun with Sara!” “Thanks Grandma! See you later!” “See you, my darling grandson!” Cryo trotted back to his room in the dojo, and took off his training outfit. He then began to lay down on his “bed,” again, and closed his eyes… Everything flashed to white…”

Chapter 22

Crafted Caretaker

Cryo slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He gave a small yawn as his pacifier fell out and hanged around his neck. He saw he was back in his “Pirate ship.” He began to lean up in his cradle. “Ahh… That was a nice nap… I’m going to probably be put down for at least 2 more today. It’ll actually be nice to get some extra sleep for once. Going to have a lot of chances to work with the rig suit…” he thought. He looked towards the baby monitor and camera to his right and began to scratch under his chin a bit. “Hmm… Sara might not know I’m awake yet. Might want to yell out to her…” He began to take in a big breath. But just as he was about to yell out to her, he heard a voice from the radio in the room!”

“Oh creator! Thank goodness your finally awake! Are you alright!?” said the radio. Cryo’s eyes shot up and his heart sank a bit… “What the…! C… Craft… Is that you?!” “Yes! I must say… I didn’t expect to see you like this…” Cryo facepalmed his head and began to put his hand down slowly… He then gave a sigh. “Craft… Why did you upload yourself here…?” There was a short moment of static on the clock radio. “I was… deeply concerned after our talk earlier… I thought I might… check up on you… It turns out… things were worse then I thought… No wonder you withheld this information…” Cryo gave another sigh and shook his head. Craft continued.

“I have… modified the camera here to play back you sleeping… This should give you an opportunity to…” “Craft… I’m not going anywhere…” “Excuse me… What?” Cryo pulled down the covers of his bed, and then climbed out of his cradle, all the way to where the camera was. “They even made you wear training pants?!” “Craft… Listen to me VERY carefully… I chose to do this…” “Excuse me… Is that true?” “Sigh… yes… There’s… a young girl in this house named Sara. She’s… very lonely… She wanted to play “house,” with me, so I let her…” “Really? But… why creator? This seems…” “Craft… I know what its like to feel lonely… Don’t think for one second she’s been malicious to me… She’s gone through quite considerable effort to make my… living arrangement here to be quite comfy and calming…” “Well… I… did notice the room seemed… tailored what appeared to be pirates and capsule creatures, but…” “My time here hasn’t been all that bad… So what if I have to wear training pants and get treated like a hatchling… Or have to have “accidents,” and get changed? I’m perfectly fine with it as long as I can give Sara a chance to not feel lonely. She’s a very sweet kid. Her parents are busy nearly all the time. With me around… well… she gets a chance to care for someone. Ok?” There was another short moment of static on the radio.

“Well… I… suppose if that’s what you really want…” “It is Craft. It is… Now… Don’t worry about me while I’m here. I’ll be fine. Let Sara have her fun. Ok?” “…I understand creator…” “Good… Now… I have to let “mama,” know I’m awake now. Please change that camera back to normal and wait for me when I’m back from school on Tuesday. Ok?” “Very… Very well, creator…” “Good… Now. Sara isn’t going to be happy that I crawled out of my bed… Let me get back in so she can take me out herself…” “Very well…” Cryo moved back to his cradle and jumped back in. He pulled the covers over his lower body and looked back at the radio. “Camera and sound monitor adjusted back to normal, creator…” “Good… Now then…” Cryo began to take in a big breath in. “MAMA! MAMA! I’M AWAKE MAMA!” Cryo could hear the sound of footsteps on the baby monitor. “Alright… Time for play time with Mama.” He placed his pacifier back in his mouth and then began to wait for a bit… Not long after, he saw Sara come into the ship with a big smile on her face!

“Well… Good afternoon, my little captain Cutie!” She came over to the cradle and leaned over it. “Did my little captain have a nice nap?” Cryo released the pacifier from his mouth and nodded with a smile. “Oh! Yeah Mama! Sleepy time was nice…” “That’s my little boy! Now then… Why don’t I get you out of your crib.” She rubbed his head a few times and then pulled the covers down. She gently put his arms around him and gently lifted him up and cradled him in her arms. “That’s my baby boy… Now. Why don’t we…”

As she was about to continue, the radio gave a short moment of static. Then… a soft male voice began to speak. “Greetings! Are you the mother of this lovely child?” Cryo’s eyes shot up! As Sara turned towards his parrot clock. “Umm… Who said that?” she said. “Umm…! Uhh…!” Cryo said, as he began to think what to say! “Do not be alarmed. I am… a new baby monitoring system, recently installed. I am programmed to assist in child care and consolidating.” “Whoa! Really?! exclaimed Sara. “That’s right. I am known as the Child Retainer And Friend Technologies. Or Craft, for short.” “Wow! When did mom get you?!” “Not to long ago. I am here to assist in all your needs to help care for your child. I am programmed to work with every and all child care systems in the house. Baby monitors, television, cameras, and other assistant devices. I am ready to always give advice and will keep the baby under constant surveillance, and will inform you of any and all complications that may rise up.” “That’s awesome!” “Yes… Now… I see on the monitor here that your child seems to be a dragon! My, my! He looks quite adorable! He’s looks quite special! I’ll enjoy watching this youngster grow!” “Haha! Yeah! He’s going to be big one day!” Cryo gave a small smile… It seems that Craft was playing along with things now.

“Now then… If I might make one suggestion… You might want to check his training pants. “Check his training pants?” “That’s right. A dragon as young as him is quite likely to leak while he’s asleep. He’s most likely wet right now.” “Oh! Good idea!” Cryo nodded towards the camera, and then smiled at Sara “Now then young man… Let’s me check you… “She began to pull his training pants forward a bit, and sure enough… Cryo had… let loose… Not very long ago in fact…” “Well… Look who’s a wet little boy! Look’s like someone needs to be changed alright! “Yeah mama… I leakied a little…” “Well then… Why don’t I take you to the changing table and get you into a nice fresh pair of training pants. “Yeah! Good idea Mama!” She began to rub his head a few times and began to carry him off the ship and all the way to the changing table. She quickly went through the motions: wiping him down, powdering him, and gently folding it around his legs and tail. Soon, he was all changed. “There we go. All changed! I bet you feel better now, huh?” “Yup! Feels nice to not be leaky…” “Alright then Captain cutie. What would you like to do now?” asked Sara “Umm…” said Cryo. “If I might suggest something, why don’t you tickle the tyke for a bit…” said Craft.

Sara’s eyes lit up. Then… she turned towards Cryo, with big smile on her face. Cryo knew all to well what was coming… But he smiled. He knew that it was what she wanted, and he never did mind tickling. Nor did he have to worry about being tickled too much and have an… “accident.” “Well then, little baby… You know what it’s time for?” “Umm… I don’t know? What Mama?” “It’s tickle time!” She gently placed Cryo on the ground and then began to tickle him all over his body. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Craft himself laughed a bit as well! She continued for a bit. “Alright little guy! Say Uncle Remus if you want me to stop!” HAHAHAHA! I WON’T… HAHAHAHA! SAY UNCLE SO EASILY! HAHAHAHA!” “You better say uncle Remus if you want me to stop!” She continued on for a bit. But then, Cryo was ready to give up. “I…! I…! ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! UNCLE REMUS! HAHAHA! UNCLE REMUS!” She soon stopped tickling Cryo and checked his training pants. But it seems he didn’t let loose. At least… not this time. She then lifted him up and hoisted him over her shoulder and began to rub his back gently.”

“Alright, Captain Cutie. Your good. Was that fun?” “Hahaha! That was fun, Mama!” “Yeah! My little captain loves to be tickled! Doesn’t he?!” “Haha! Yeah, Mama!” Suddenly, the door opened to the nursery. Sara and Cryo saw Ms. Oline step inside. “Sara! Lunch is ready! I see Master Cryo has awoken from his nap.” “Yup! Captain Cutie is ready for feeding time! Huh?!” “Yup! I’m ready! Let’s go eat!” She chuckled and nodded and carried Cryo out of the room, toward the dining hall.

So… The day passed as Cryo was being cared for by Sara. Craft would assist and enhance Sara’s experience with Cryo. Soon night would fall, and Cryo would go to bed again. She changed him into some REALLY nice dragon Jammies that covered nearly his whole body and were made to replicate an adult Ferrin Dragons form! He slept very comfortably during the night… As he slept, he continued to train with the rig suit, getting better with manipulating it each time he was put down to sleep. The sun soon rose again, and it was about time for Cryo to go home. He would be driven home by the mayor. Sara stepped out of the house, carrying Cryo in a car seat, without training pants on… They soon strapped it into the car. Sara pulled a nice blanket over him, and placed the pacifier in his mouth. They soon headed off. As they drove, Cryo looked out the window.

“Did you have fun, my little baby?” Sara asked. Cryo let go of the pacifier out of his mouth, which fell to his neck. “Yea, Mama! I had loads of fun!” “That’s my little captain! Now… remember… Your going to be without training pants for a bit… Try to control yourself until next time. Ok?” “Oh… I’m not sure I can, Mama… It’s going to be hard…” “You know, maybe you could bring some home with you!?” “Oh! No Mama… I… I think I’ll be alright.” “Alright. Just relax while we get you back home.”

She then gently grabbed his pacifier and then put it back into his mouth. She nodded and continued on. Soon, they arrived at the house. Sara untied the pacifier around his neck and gently took him out of the car seat. She then placed him on the ground in the snow. “Alright! Bye Captain Cutie!” “Bye Mama!” They soon drove off and Cryo saw the front door to the house open. “Ahh! Cryo! How was your time with the mayor!?” “Oh. It was fun. I got to play with Sara again.” “That sounds nice. Anyway, have you eaten? “Yeah. We had a nice breakfast before coming back.” “That’s good. Now. Why don’t you come in.” Cryo soon stepped back into the house.

Chapter 23

Tech Trip

Time has passed for quite a while. Cryo continued his life in the snow driven town. He went to school, he played “house,” with Sara, played with Seth back at home, continued to practice with his abilities as he slept. Wave said that there was one more lesson she’d like to teach to Cryo, but should be done a bit later down the line. He continued to also repair technology for funding for a computer After some time, he finally had enough to afford a computer! But Eli suggested that he should also probably get himself a mobile phone with a phone plan as well. He did have a bit extra money on the side to afford it, and so he agreed to do it. A mobile phone would be nice to have in case he might end up running into trouble… He was riding Eli’s white hover van on a soft black seat in the back. But he had kept his head below the window, in the event Mick might be looking for him somewhere in the town. He knew it would be bad if Mick realized he was staying with them… Soon, they arrived at the Tech store in town. Eli stepped out of the van and onto the ground. He looked around the area. He then heard Cryo’s voice.

“Is it safe to come out?” Cryo asked. “Look’s good. I… don’t see any suspicious types around,” replied Eli. “Alright. Hang on.” Cryo popped his head up and took a quick look around himself. He didn’t see anyone he recognized from Mick’s crew around. He opened the door to the van, and stepped out, onto the cold ground. He was wearing a plain red sweater, with two laces to tighten it around the neck, and a hood hanging behind it. Eli came forward and nodded.

“Alright… You ready to look at computers and a phone?” Eli asked “Defiantly. Mom hasn’t had a chance to… see my form for awhile.” “Alright. We’ll take a look around the computer section to see if there is anything you’d like.” “Actually, the computer should be already ready for me to pick up. Phone too. I just need to pay for it.” “O… Ok then. But… how did you…” “I ordered at the website for the store and set it for in person pickup. I… had a… friend of mine pick out and plan what would be best fit for me.” “Really? Whose your friend?” “Uhh… Umm…” Cyro thought for a moment.

“His name is… Craft. Uhh… He’s… someone from back home.” “Really?” “Y… Yeah… I’ve… had regular contact with him since I’ve been here…” “Well. Alright then. Let’s head inside.” They both nodded and began to head into the front door. “You know Cryo… You seem to be quite… grown up for a dragon. How old are you again?” “About… 8 years old.” “8 years… My… Do dragons mature quickly?” “I… I don’t know really. That’s probably a question for mom.” “You seem pretty responsible for a… 8 year old. I almost wonder if I should take you to the bank later today to open up a bank account for you.” “Well… I’m not sure if thats neccesary… I mean… I know I’m living here right now, but… once I go home, I… probably won’t be able to access it. I might be well known in this town, but… really no one knows about me back home, except the humans who live in the research installation.” “Well… I suppose that might be true, but… It might still be something you… might want to consider… I don’t think you should be… carrying this much cash at you all at once…” “Your thinking of a mugging or robbery, right? I… understand that concern, but… well… I’m not as helpless as you might believe. I… know how to fight should the need arise. Mick and his… nasty crew got the jump on me. That’s how I ended up bound and gagged on their ship.” “Well… Still Cryo… You might want to… at least, open up a checking account. There may be a day where… the entire WORLD will be ready to have dragons like yourself and your mother flying around and living a nice and normal life in our world.” “Well… You know what… Yeah… Maybe… Alright then. I’m willing to stop at a bank today to… start making financial decisions.” “Wonderful! But first. Why don’t we get your computer and phone first.” They both nodded to each other and opened the door to the tech store, apetaly named, Gadget Groups, Technology Sale Center.

Chapter 24

Technology Time

Cryo looked around the store. This is the first time he’s ever been in a major shopping building of any kind! He saw the floors were black carpeting, and there was different types of technology littered all around the place on metal green painted shelves! He saw the walls were also painted green, and there was the logo of the store placed around several different areas. The logo showed a green computer screen, with the name imprinted inside of it. He looked around, and eventually saw where it was labeled “Online Pick Up.”

“Ahh. Looks like I have to go over there, Eli.” “I know. I know this store well. Come on. Let’s head over and pick up your items.” They both nodded and headed over. Cryo saw several of the townspeople and clerks at the store wave and smile at him as he walked through. It realized at this point he was quite well known in town now. Soon, he approached the front desk of pickup. The clerk in charge of the pick up station turned around. He saw Cryo and smiled at him. Cryo saw the name tag. He was named “Edgar Eins.”

“Ahh! Hello! It’s nice to finally see the famous dragon of the town for myself!” “Haha. Yeah. I can tell everyone in town seems to like seeing me around.” “Well… You did repair our radio tower. I’ve heard rumors across town that you have opened your own repair shop in town.” “Well… I guess I… technically did, more or less.” “Well… My son actually relied on you to repair his Television. In fact, the repair process was so well done, you actually IMPROVED his TV!” “Well… I suppose, I’m glad to be of help to him. But… who is your son? I’ve had to make adjustments with a few of the Television sets I’ve repaired, since I didn’t exactly have the exact parts at my disposal.” “My son is Miles, Cryo. I have to say myself. I was kind of jealous of how smooth his TV runs now. The graphics look incredible on it.” “Well… I’m glad I could make his day I suppose.” “Haha. Yeah. I might have to think about using your services myself one day.” “Well… I… kind of opened it to… help the kids at school mostly. But… I guess I can start to take clients outside of school as well. I plan to actually continue to work on repairing tech. I might need the money later on down the line.” “Ahh. That’s good to here. Anyway… I have your order right here.” He left into the back room for a moment. He carried out a new high tech computer and mobile phone out of the storage area.

“Now… How will you pay for it?” “I have to pay with cash.” “Cash?” “Yeah… I’m sorry. I… don’t actually have a bank account or a bank card yet. My… caretaker, Eli here convinced me though to stop at the bank after we’re done here to open up my own bank account. Hopefully this will be the only time I need to… well… make you count a bunch of bills for payment…” “Oh its quite alright. I don’t think that would be necessary. I’m sure that you would not be the type to swindle someone.” “Well… Alright then.” “Anyway. You’re computer, along with the phone plan, and upgrades for both, will cost… $823.47, after taxes.” “Thank you.”

Cryo took the money out of a small carrying case Eli brought with him and gave it to the clerk. He opened it and saw the bills neatly wrapped together and distributed nicely in the case.” “Don’t worry about the change. You can just keep it.” “Well. Alright then. Thank you for coming today. I hope to see you again, soon!” “Yeah. Thanks. See ya!” Eli took the new computer in his hands. He gave Cryo the phone.” “Alright Cryo. Here’s your phone. I’ll carry your computer out right now.” “Thank you. Let me…” “Cryo quickly turned on his phone, and connected to the internet in the store. He punched in a few keys. Then, he closed the phone.” “Alright… Phone is set up now.” “Really? But…” “I took the time to precondition my phone profile on the plan page. I just needed to put in the password and connect to my profile.” Eli chuckled a bit. “You always seem to surprise me, Cryo. You really know how to come prepared. I should have expected as much considering how smart and resourceful you are.” “Yeah. Alright. Why don’t we head out now.” “Yeah. Let’s go home. Probably a good idea not to be in a public domain too long, considering… HE or his crew might see us together…” “Oh… I don’t think we’ll need to worry about that. Come on.” So they soon headed out the door, got into their car, and drove off towards the bank.”

Chapter 25

Heist Harem

Soon they arrived at the bank. The building was a small, square building, with brown bricks making up the layer of the walls. There were several windows at the front, and a drive through in the back. Eli stepped out of the vehicle, and went to the side of the car and opened the door for Cryo. He stepped out, and they soon stepped through the snow and began to make their way towards the door to the bank. But as they continued for a bit, Cryo stopped… He saw… a black car at the entrance with someone in the drivers seat… When he looked at the driver, he realized something…”

“Eli. Wait a minute…” “Huh? What is it Cryo.” “Hide… Quickly…” “What?” “Trust me… Do it before they come out.” “Well… Alright…” Eli slowly backed away and headed for his car. Cryo flapped his wings and then grabbed a metal pipe over the ceiling and waited there for a few minutes… He breathed slowly, concentrating on the door below the entrance. And then… several masked man came out, with guns in their hand, and several burlap sacks filled with something! “Just as I thought… I’ve seen robbery movies before…” They quickly headed for the car! But as they all buckled themselves in and prepared to make their escape, Cryo took in a deep breath, and blew a long stream of ice at the car! The car was immediately frozen in ice!”

“Now remember, Cryo… They have guns… Right as they shoot out the door…” Cryo began to hear the sounds of shots, firing towards the car doors! He quickly flew under the car from the front and waited for a… certain sound… Then, each of the car doors were kicked open, and they stepped out!” “What in the… Our car!?” said one of the robbers. “How did it get frozen! This makes no sense!” Said another robber.” “I’ll tell you how, you cold crew…” said Cryo. “Wait… who…” Cryo quickly rolled out from under the vehicle and jumped into the air and spread his wings, surprising the armed crew! Before they could react, he breathed more dragon ice over them and froze them solid!” “Well… Looks like you boys got iced.” Soon… the cold began to take over their eyes, and they fell into cryogenic hibernation. Cryo grabbed his phone and dialed the number for the police.

“Hello? Police? It’s Cryo.” “C… Cryo! What is your emergency? Did they find you!?” “No… I’d like to report an attempted bank robbery at the… Bank on 132 Recon Street Plaza.” “What! A bank robbery?!” “Yes. Attempt unsuccessful. Suspects frozen in ice and ready to be detained.” “What!? F… Frozen! I…” “Relax. They are still alive. Trust me. Dragon ice works differently then normal ice. They aren’t going to shatter when you move them. They’ll… wake up with one pretty bad headache though, once they’re… thawed out or broken out.” “I… What exactly happened over there…?” “I’ll tell you when you arrive. I have to return the stolen money to the people inside now.” “Wh… What!? I…” “I took care of them already. Now… I need to go.” “W… Wait a minute! Cryo!” “Sorry. Can’t talk. Got to go now. See ya Tucker!” He soon hung up the phone. Cryo took a deep breath, in and out. He then went to the frozen car and then manuvered himself inside. He grabbed several bags and headed for the door to the bank. He opened the front doors and stepped in. He saw several people on the ground with their hands behind their head. They looked toward him as he stepped in. “Umm… Excuse me… Who is the manager of this bank? I… took care of the criminals outside. They’re ready to be taken to prison accordingly. I have the stolen money right here.”

Chapter 26

Home after the Heist

Eli and Cryo just made it back home. They had been out for quite a bit of the day due to the situation at the bank. The bank teller was quite surprised to hear about how he defeated the bank robbers. When the police finally arrived, he gave his statement, and soon, carted off the frozen criminals to be… thawed out at the police station… Cryo was able to make arrangements with the bank for his bank account after. The manager was more then happy to walk through the process with him, and had opened up a new bank account at the installation. He was happy to safely manage the young dragons new financial account, especially after stopping the heist! Soon, they headed home again, with the dragon hero in toll. They made it back, and Eli stepped out again. He opened the door to his van, and Cryo stepped out. He held his new bank card in his pocket. Eli nodded.

“Alright… Remember, Cryo… Don’t tell ANYONE what you did today… I know you were… trying to help and be a hero, but…” “Yeah… I know… Heroics could allow Mick’s crew to better track where I’m being cared for. Also… I shouldn’t put myself in serious danger just to… play hero…” “Good… I’m not mad at you. It’s just… It’s too risky with that… degenerate possibly running around somewhere in town.” “I know… I’m sorry. I won’t tell Arianna or Seth…” “Good. Now… Let’s step in.” They both headed into the front door, to be greeted by Arianna and Seth.

“Ahh! Your finally back! Just in time for dinner. What took you to so long?” asked Arianna. “Umm… Well…” Eli tried to make up with an excuse. But then Cryo spoke up. “We stopped at the Mayors house. I got a call from Mia on my new phone. Sara REALLY wanted to talk to me for some reason. Turns out, she was trying to go over plans with me for the next time I go over this weekend, and wanted to know what I thought of it.” “Wow… What do you do with Sara, big brother?” asked Seth. “Umm… We play house…” “House? How do you play, house?” “Umm… Well… I… Uh…” “Oh don’t worry about that Seth. Come on. Dinner is ready, you two.” said Arianna. “Well… Alright. What did we make tonight?” “I made one of my favorite dishes. Ched and chillin filled Ralova (basically ravioli, but pasta is black, due to wheat brought from earth adjusting to the planets soil and becoming as dark as night as a result) and pure white ched sauce (More or less Alfredo). “Ahh… That’s another dish from the… Intal culture?” “That’s right. Originally known as Italian back on earth I believe… I… forgot why it was referred to as… Italian. Sounds a bit… weird…” “Well… Oh well… I’m hungry. Let’s eat!

So they ate for awhile and soon enough, they were filled. “Ahh… That was good. I liked the sauce on the Ralova,” said Cryo. “I’m glad you like it, Cryo. Not everyone likes Pionni (How pasta referred to as in this world). “Hey, Big bro! Want to play Cowboys and bandits again, tonight, before bed!?” said Seth. “Well… Sure Seth. I’m ready to play villain again.” “Yeah! It’s gonna be so fun!” “Haha! Yeah! Gonna be a challenge to catch this bandit this time, Seth!” “Haha! You won’t escape me! Come on! Let’s go!” So they both headed upstairs towards Seth’s room. But… before they did, Eli called out to them. “Have fun you two! Remember, Seth. Both of you still have school tomorrow. You’ll both go to bed at 8:15. Ok?” “Ok, Dad!” “Good. Have fun!”

So they both headed upstairs. Arianna and Eli sat on the couch in the front room to watch TV while they played for some time. But as they watched the TV, the news came on for the town. Then… on the news, Eli saw a familiar place on it… The bank from earlier. His heart sank as he knew what this news story could be about… He was about the change the channel, but Arianna took the remote. “What the… Bank heist at the Rodriguez Bank? Thwarted by… unknown circumstances?” “Umm… Don’t worry, Ari… I…” “Weren’t you two there today!?” “Well… Y… yes?” “…He stopped the robbery… didn’t he…” “I… I…” “ELI! What were you thinking!” “Well…! I…! I…! He was the one who…” “NO! This is… HE NEEDS TO STAY HIDDEN! You’re lucky the news media in town supports him and hid the fact that HE stopped it!” “I… I know! But… Ugh… I’m sorry… Ok… Please… Don’t punish him… He’s… Already got too much on his mind…” “I… I won’t, but… You both need to be FAR more careful… He could have been seriously hurt…” “Yeah… I… suppose your right.” “Well… I… think we should put Cryo to bed a bit… earlier tonight. He’s probably a bit tired after… stopping a bank robbery…” “Well… Alright then…” “I’ll get him.”

Arianna took in a deep breath in, and out. She began to walk up the steps towards Seth’s room. She opened the door and looked around. She saw Cryo had his paws tied behind the back of a chair with a rope… It looks like he was being… interrogated by Seth on where he stashed the stolen money… “Oh! Hi Mom!” Seth said. “Oh… Hi honey… If you don’t mind, I’m… going to have to cut your game a bit short tonight…” “HUH! But… WHY?” Cryo’s heart sank a bit… He had an idea on why this was the case…” “I… need a private conversation with him…” “But…” “I’m sorry, Seth… Could you please… cut him loose?” “I… I… Sigh… Alright, mom…” Seth went behind the chair and untied Cryo’s paws from behind it. Cryo rubbed his wrists a bit a headed towards Arianna… He expected to hear an earful tonight… He then turned toward Seth. “Hey… sorry Sheriff… The… money I hid is… in your shirts drawer. I’ll… come back tomorrow to pay my debt to society… Ok?” “Alright… I guess I can let you go free for a bit… But you better come back so I can lock you in prison!” “I will, sheriff. I promise.” “Alright. Come with me downstairs to your room…” They both headed down into the basement of the house. Cryo gave a sigh as they walked down the steps to his room. He knew he’d probably get grounded for a year or something similar for just… trying to help out. But… he knew there was nothing more he could do. He jumped up and sat on his bed, and nodded. Arianna sat down next to him

“Cryo… You know why I called you down here… Don’t you…?” “Y… Yes… Arianna… I… I know…” “Cryo… While I’m… happy that you… protected the bank from robbers, you must realize…” “Yes… I put my life in danger… I put myself in front of a bad situation. I might have put a target over my head and for the rest of the people living here… I could argue all I want that I can take care of myself… But I know all too well that nothing I could say would make things alright… So… Just… tell me what your going to do to punish me… I won’t get mad… I’ll… deal with it and won’t make a fuss…” “Cryo… I’m… not mad at you… And… I’m not going to punish you… Just… please think about… keeping yourself out of danger… You may very well bring that type of danger to… someone else you love one day… And not just your mother at home… Others may get… caught in the crossfire…” “Al… Alright… I understand…” “Good… Now… Can you please… just go to bed early… You must be tired after your… harrowing day…” “Well… Alright then…” “I’ll… get something comfy for you to wear tonight, and tuck you in…” “Al… Alright… Thanks, Arianna.” Arianna got up and headed towards the closet. She opened it up and took out a pair of Cyan pajama pants and a shirt. She quickly helped Cryo into it, and buttoned the back around his tail. She then carried him over and tucked him into bed… “Alright Cryo… I’ll… turn on naptunes for you… Just… think more carefully next time you want to… spring into action… “Al… Alright… I will, Arianna…” She turned over the radio to the naptunes channel, and then headed over to the stairs. “Goodnight, Cryo.” “Goodnight… Aunt Ari…” She gave a small smile at the thought. She then headed upstairs. The music soon worked its way through Cryo’s mind, and then he fell into a deep slumber… The radio soon turned off by itself. But then a voice came from it…

“Hmm… I better look more into this… She’s right… Mick was once a high ranking military official and expert… He could have access to the security camera’s at the bank or on the corner… His computer hacking team isn’t the best, but… its not the hardest thing to tap into a security camera or two… I always told him to stay in hiding until he makes it to the store… I know he does that, but… That type of “heroics,” could easily attract attention to him… I’ll need to also inform the people back here about the creator’s location possibly being compromised… But even then… I’m not sure what else they can do right now to… mitigate such an issue… The runway is ready, but they still need to get a ship that can withstand cold… All of the ones here were destroyed…” said Craft.

Chapter 27

Fire Frenzy!

One day, Cryo was being taken home from school on the bus. It was about to become the weekend, so Cryo was needing to get ready to play “house,” with Sara. He sat on his seat as the many occupants listened to him tell his story out in the wilds.

“And so… me and Mom BARLEY escaped them. We were INCREDIBLY LUCKY we fell in that muddy divot. If we hadn’t… we surely would have been…” Suddenly, the bus stepped on the breaks hard, as a large group of emergency vehicles were stopping traffic! “Huh! What is going on!?” Cryo asked!? He turned to his left, and saw the building to the side was ON FIRE! It was a toy store in town! His eyes lit up, as he saw the flames cover the building! He looked at the entrance, and saw the mayor in the front, clearly distraught about something! He began to piece together what might be going on! “Oh No! Sara!” Thinking quickly, he opened the emergency shutter from the bus’s window, and jumped out! “Cryo! What in the…! What are you doing!?”

Cryo began to rush towards the building and blew a stream of Ice at the entrance! The mayor saw what he was doing!” “Cryo! What…!?” “Don’t worry! I’ll get Sara!” He then then rolled into a ball and smashed through the entrance of the burning building! He then quickly descended to the ground and began to move across it. He needed to find Sara as soon as possible! He called out to her. “Sara!? Sara!? Where are you!?” He began to hear footsteps near him! He began to approach! But as he did, he saw a man come out with a tranquilizer gun in hand, and wearing a black ski mask! He realized what was really going on!” “Finally found you…”

Thinking quickly, Cryo rolled out of the way as he fired one shot, and then focused ice into his paws and SMASHED the assailant across the side of the head! He was knocked to the ground! Cryo quickly broke the tranquilizer gun in his paws and fled from the assailant! “Mick and his crew! I should have known! They set the fire to lure me in here!” He began to go over his options. “It doesn’t matter! Sara is in here somewhere! I need to find her and get her out, before THEY find her!” He nodded to himself and continued on! He began to search around the building as fast as he could! The hear of the fire caused sweat to run down Cryo’s scales… The smoke was beginning to make the dragon a little nauseated! “Ugh… Got to find her… Got to FIND HER!”

He ran across the burning store, when 2 more black masked assailants tried to ambush him as he turned a corner! They tried to smack him with two shock strikers! Thinking quickly, he froze their hands with his ice breath! They gripped their hands with the heavy ice layer formed over them! Cryo then tripped them both with his tail, and fled from them again! He continued his search! Then… he heard a faded call for help! “Momma… Momma… Where are you…” Cryo’s eyes lit up! “That’s Sara!” He turned his head from where the sound was coming from! And he saw an air vent! He began to have an idea… “Going through an air vent with the fire and smoke is not the best idea. But… It can allow me to sneak past Mick’s crew and follow her voice!” He nodded to himself. “Alright… here we go!” He soon leaped into the air and flapped his wings! But then… “There he is! SHOOT HIM DOWN!”

Cryo’s eyes lit up, and he began to see them beginning to fire darts at him! He began to bob and weave across different angles, making himself as hard of a target as possible! But… some of the fire measures activated. And strangely, he saw the measures seemed to be pushing them back, giving him some space between the shooting! “Come on! Come on! Almost there!” He then turned to his right, and saw someone was aiming straight at him! He fired a dart at Cryo! His eyes lit up! He then curled himself into a ball, and the dart just BARLEY sailed past his head! He then smashed into the grate for the air vent right on through! “Darn it! He’s in the ventilation system!” “Don’t just stand there! Smoke him out!”

“Cryo’s eyes lit up again! He knew they were going to throw a tear gas grenade into the vent to force him out of it. He quickly got back on his feet and began to crawl through the vent as fast as possible! He then heard a thump behind him! He knew they managed to get one in! He looked back, and saw the green gas coming towards him! His heart beat like a base drum as he tried to follow to Sara’s voice before the tear gas caught up! “Come on! Come on!! The gas was just about at him, and his heart sunk! But then… “HELP! MOMMA! DADDY!” Cryo’s eyes lit up, and he turned his head to the left! He saw a worker at the store and a Sara, huddled up together, hidden in the manager’s office! He quickly slammed himself into the grate, and burst through! Falling onto the ground hard, as the gas began to trickle in! “C…! Cryo!?” exclaimed Sara! Cryo quickly stood up, and breathed an ice stream at the vent! It was sealed shut, preventing any more gas from entering the room. The rest of the gas inside quickly fizzled out to nothing… He breathed heavily as Sara and the manager looked at him, dumbfounded! Cryo looked at Sara! “Are you two ok!?” “C… Cryo! How did you…” “Hang on!” He found the blueprint for the facility on the wall to the managers office. He had an idea on how to get out! He quickly began to take in a deep breath! Then… he blew a POWERFUL sonic screech against the wall! The wall was blown open towards the hallway outside! “Come with me! Quickly! I can get us out!” They both nodded and followed him! They stepped out of the room into the hall! They quickly turned around a corner, when a masked man came forward! He raised his tranquilzer gun and prepared to fire at Cryo!” “Oh no you don’t!” Cryo took in a quick breath and then blew another sonic screech at him! He was blown straight into the wall and disarmed! Cryo then grabbed him by the head and smashed him with his ice covered fist! He was knocked clean out! “Alright! Come on! There are more of them here! Follow me!” They both nodded and continued to follow him! The ran through the halls, but then, Cryo motioned them to stop. He listened for a second, and heard what sounded to be a large crowd coming towards them! “Oh no… If they find us…” He began to quickly over his options! He then looked at the ceiling! He blew another Sonic screech at the ceiling and collapsed the roof to block to corridor! “Cryo! That was our only way out!” exclaimed the manager from the store! “Nope… I know another way…” Cryo said back. “Huh, said the manager?”

Cryo was about to do something… risky… He knew he wasn’t in his Winter Whiteout form right now… But… like his Sonic Screech, he knew he might be able to still save them… He would tap into a move only recently taught to him… An offensive based dragon attack, that should be used when the situation is truly dire… Frost Fury…”

“Alright… Let’s do this… He began to focus and tap into his deep freezing energies… He breathed in slowly… in, and out… in and out… in and out…” “C…Cryo… your body…” Cryo didn’t realize it at the moment, but his body was… Transforming into his winter whiteout form! He continued to focus into his energies! And then, his eyes lit up and then… A layer of thick ice began to form a barrier around them!” “Cryo…?” And then, All of a sudden, A LARGE BEAM OF ICE shot STRAIGHT FORWARD from the ice covering! Walls caved in and the mercinaries in the path jumped out of the way! And soon, the beam of ice turned into a solid layer of ice… It formed a hollow opening they could move through… Cryo transformed back into his regular form, and began to breath VERY heavily! He was weak… Wave never taught him to manipulate the beam in this way, but somehow… he knew… he could use it to create a tunnel for them to reach safety… “Cryo! Are you ok!?” “Urg… I… feel very… tired…” “Cryo… Come here my baby…” Sara lifted Cryo in her arms and began to carry him through the ice tunnel. The assailants saw them coming through and tried many things to break the barrier of ice seperating them. But… it was useles… The ice was as solid as titaniam… Soon… they made it to the end of the ice tunnel, out of the building from the front. Nia saw Sara coming out with Cryo in her arms. Nia knew… he had saved her life..

“S…! Sara! Cryo!” Nia quickly bolted forward and gave them both a hug! “Are you both ok!?” “Yeah… I’m… I’m fine, momma…” said Sara. She turned to Cryo and saw he seemed to look a bit… hazy… “Cryo… Are you ok?” “I… I’m fine… But… that last ice ability really… drained me of my energy…” Cryo replied back Nia smiled with a couple tears forming in her eyes. “I… See… Thank you… So much for what you’ve done… I…”

“Mom… Let’s take Cryo to our mansion… He needs a… time out…” said Susy. Cryo’s raised his head a bit and looked at her.” “Wait… What…?” Cryo said back. “Cryo! You know you shouldn’t put yourself in such danger! You’re in trouble!” “I…! I…!” He gave a sigh and a nod. He whispered into her ear…” “You’re right… Mama… I… I just wanted to help, but… I put my life in danger… I… I fully deserve a time out… Take me to the mansion please… Put me in a long time out so I think about what I have done… I won’t make a fuss…” She rubbed his head and smiled. She whispered into his ears as well… “I know, my baby… But… A loving mother would rather give her life for her child, then let her child give their life for her. I’m… probably going to have to keep you at the house for the entire week. Make sure your… better… after this incident…” “Alright… I… I can stay at mama’s house for the entire week… But… can you tell Aunt Arianna and Uncle Eli that… I’m going to have to take an extended stay at your mansion? They are probably going to be worried about me if they don’t know where I am…” Nia then spoke up. “Of course, Cryo. I’ll… call them immediately on the way there.” Cryo nodded “Thank you, Grandma…” He turned back to Sara and whispered in her ear again. “Alright, Mama… Time to take me back to your place… I need my training pants and binky now… And I need to take a nice, long time out so I learn not to endanger myself in the future.” “That’s my little Captain. Come on… Your car seat is already ready for you.” Cryo nodded and they took him away towards Nia’s car.

Thankfully, the car seat for him was already out of view for the others, and the windows to her Hover Sudan were tinted. They quickly buckled Cryo in, and Sara placed a nice blanket over him. He felt very relaxed right then, even though he knew what would be coming next. He wondered if Sara had anything else in mind for his punishment other then a… time out… “Alright… let’s head home, My little Capitan Cutie.” Cryo nodded his head slowly, and Nia made the call to Eli and the others on what had transpired on the way to the mansion… Cryo also informed them that… Mick’s crew had started the fire to lure him there… This news hit the mayor hard. They’d have to rely on the police to hopefully deal with the crew before they made their escape. And if they didn’t find them… more preperations would have to be made for the future. And soon enough… they arrived back at the mansion. They parked their vehicle inside the garage and stepped out.

Chapter 28

Toddler Trouble

Sara slowly carried Cryo inside as she slung him over her shoulder and rubbed his back slowly and gently. Nia entered soon after. “Alright, Sara. I’m… going to call the vet clinic in town to… look at him… See if he hurt in any way. I’ll… have to inform them that they’ll need to come here themselves and of the… “special arrangements,” we made at our house… It’s best he stays here rather then be taken to the actual clinic. That… man… he may make another attempt if we… take him directly there.” Cryo knew this would probably mean that the Vet would… see him in training pants… But… he knew that… it was probably best if he just accepts having this secret known to at least her. Cryo only hoped at the moment that when the Vet arrived that she would… play along with the game instead of treating him normal. And she was willing to… keep this a secret… He really wanted Sara to feel happy after what she had been through. He nodded.

“Ok, Grandma… I understand… Hopefully the Vet can fix my… boo boo…” Cryo said. “She’ll do just fine. Now Sara… Why don’t you… take the baby to his room while I… make the arrangements. Ok?” asked Nia “Yes, Mama. I’ll make sure to put this naughty captain in time out.” “Alright. Have fun, Sara…” “Alright. See you a bit later, Mama.” “See you soon, Grandma,” said Cryo. Sara began to gently carry Cryo to his room, rubbing his back as they walked through the halls of the mansion. They soon arrived at his nursery. She opened the door gently, stepped in, and closed the door behind her. Cryo looked towards his play pen in the room. He knew he’d probably be spending his “time out,” in there. “Alright. Let’s get your training pants on quickly, little Captain.” “Ok, Mama.” She nodded a quickly took him to the changing table in the room. She strapped him in and Cryo took in a deep breath and relaxed on the changing table. Strangely… she actually opened the nap and night drawer and pulled a pair of training pants and the baby powder out of it instead. Cryo was confused a bit.

“Huh… It’s not nap time… Right?” he thought. He decided to dismiss it as Sara being a little… loopy after her nasty ordeal. “Alright. Let’s get you all snug, little captain.” She quickly went through the motions of changing him. She powdered him and went through the motions to place it snug around his bottom. Soon enough, he was wearing his training pants proper, and she unhooked him from the table. She then carried him over to a chair in the room, across from his Tv and next to his sofa. She manuvered a strap around his waist and locked him in. “Am I having time out in this seat, Mama?” he asked. “No… You’re going in your play pen. I just need to move the toys out of inside of it, first. No toys in time out.” “Oh. Ok, Mama. I understand. I’ll be good and wait for you to get me ready for my punishment.” “Good. Just wait and think of this as part of your punishment.” “Alright, Mama.” He nodded and waited. She turned the chair towards the play pen and she went inside and began to remove all toys inside. Soon she was finished, and then she walked over and unstrapped him from the seat. “Alright. Let’s get you inside.” Cryo nodded and she slowly carried him over. She opened it and set him down inside. She then closed the door and nodded. “Alright… You have 1 hour in time out. Ok?” said Sara. “1 hour, huh? 1 hour with… nothing… Well… its… honestly a fitting punishment when I think about it… I… really messed up at the bank… Sigh… Best to accept it…” he thought. He then nodded. “Alright, Mama… I’ll stay nice and snug in timeout until a learn to be a good boy again…” “Good. Now… I’ll be back by the time its done. Stay inside.” Cryo nodded and sat down. She moved a baby monitor in the room and placed it on the door of the play pen, and manuvered the baby camera to face the play pen. She soon stepped out of the room. Cryo wondered what he should do before then. “Well… I have 1 hour of… nothing… I wonder what I should do…? I… I wish…” As he was thinking, he saw Sara step back into the room. Cryo looked over to her. “Did you forget something, Mama?” Cryo asked. “Why… yes I did, Cryo.” “What, Mama?” She smiled at him and headed towards the closet in the room. She rummaged through it a bit, and then pulled out a blanket. She smiled and carried it over to Cryo’s play pen. She opened it and placed it inside.

“I got you a nice new blanket for you. You shouldn’t be cold while in time out.” Cryo looked closely at it. He saw it was a nice baby blue blanket, and it showed a cute picture of him wrapped up tightly and carefully in a blanket and sleeping in his pirate ship cradle, and pacifier in his mouth. Above the picture, in an Arch, was the words “Captain Cutie’s Baby Blanket,” in Dark blue letters. It was pretty big and the materials felt like what Greg’s fabrics were. He smiled at Sara and she nodded. “Now be a good boy. Ok?” “Yes mama… Thanks for the blanky.” “Good… Alright… See you when your ready to come out.” “Ok. Bye, Mama.” She nodded and began to head out again. Cryo knew what he wanted to do now. This is what he wanted to wish for. He wrapped the soft blanket tightly around his body and laid down on the soft floor. All of a sudden, he heard the sound of naptunes on the radio in the room. He realized Craft must have already picked up on what was going on. The pleasant melody worked on Cryo’s mind and he soon fell into a deep, deep, slumber. Not long after, someone peeked in the room again. She saw Cryo asleep inside, and nodded. “Alright… He’s asleep… Good… Better get him into his cradle quickly…” she thought. She crept towards the play pen and slowly opened the door. She slowly and gently picked him up and rubbed his back. She slowly carried him to the cradle. She pulled the blankets back and gently placed him in. She pulled the covers up, and finally carefully manuvered a pacifier between his jaws. She already began to hear Cryo sucking a bit on it. She then gently rubbed his head a bit as he rested peacefully. “There we go… Captain… Thank you for saving me…” She gave him a nice kiss on the forehead, and then she turned toward the baby monitor and camera in the room, and went over to pick it up. She began to speak into it.”

“Craft?” she asked? “Yes, Mother Sara?” “I… want to rearrange Cryo’s schedule during the day.” “Why of course! I saw the… youngster managed to get himself a time out today. I find it hard to believe he got into trouble. He’s usually VERY well behaved.” “Oh… I think I’ll… discuss this with you later.” “Of course, Mother Sara. Now… What needs to be changed?” “I want to… arrange a change in his… sleep schedule during the day.” “Why of course! What are the changes?” “Well… He’ll need more sleep, due to the incident that happened today. But that’s for later. I want Cryo to have 1 extra nap during the day.” “An extra nap?” “That’s right. I want to put him down to sleep 4 times a day now.” “Very good. What are the new times going to be for the baby?” “I want him to wake up at about 8:00 A.M. or as late as 8:20 A.M. and have breakfast with him and watch Tykes TV. His first nap will be at 10:00 A.M. and sleep until at least 12:30 P.M for lunch and play. I also need another naptime at least 2:30 P.M. to about… 4:00 P.M for playing a bit. After that. I want one more at 5:10 P.M to at least 6:45 P.M. After that nap, he should be awake for dinner, a bath, and some play time. Finally, he is to be put to bed for the night at 8:00 P.M. He needs more sleep as his body recovers from the… incident.” “Very well, Mother Sara. Do you believe there is anything else you’ll need? “Umm… Yes… I’m not sure if you can help, but… I want something… special for when he wakes up tomorrow. I have a feeling he’ll be asleep for the rest of the night. “What is it?” “Well… I wanted to talk to my own Momma about getting Cryo a… few things and additions to his room… But most importantly, I need… a couple of special outfits.” “What outfits?” “Well… I… need to contact the seamstress again who made the new set of blankets and clothes for the baby this week. I need for her to make for my little captain… a couple of… Custom Superhero costumes tailored to him for play time… And I need to work with them on the designs before tomorrow…”

Chapter 29

Precise Planning…

Cryo slowly opened his eyes and yawned. He looked around and saw he was in the dojo. He looked around, and saw the place had bubbles floating all over it… He is immediately reminded of bath time with Sara… “Huh… What’s with the dojo, looking like… a bubble bath of all things? Well… I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’m sure I’ll know soon enough.” He looked at himself, and he was in his sea Serpent transformation. He realized he should have known right as he saw the bubbles. He got up and headed towards his dojo outfit. He saw it seemed to show bubbles running through it. While curious, he shrugged and quickly put it on. As he finished, he saw Wave coming into his room. “Ahh… There’s my… toddler troublemaker.” She chuckled a bit. Cryo looked to see if his rig suit was… training pants on him. But it seemed to instead be a wristband, like hers. He was glad he wasn’t going to play the prank on him again… He smiled at Wave.

“Yup… In timeout right now. Guess I have to think about my choices, huh?” “Oh Cryo… I think you’ll find the choices you have made might not necessarily brought you down a… darker path…” “But… Mick got the idea of burning a building down to lure me in to rescue the people trapped inside, because I stopped that bank robbery… He…” “And what would have happened if you didn’t stop that robbery, Cryo?” “W… Well…” “Cryo… things like this are going to happen… Mick is… well… to say ambitious is an understatement. He would have done something just as awful even if you just… ignored the robbery, to lure you out… I think you realize it… He’s been having a TON of trouble pinpointing you… In fact… he’s desperate at this point.” “Wait… Desperate?” Wave nodded at him. She opened the door and gestured her head to have him follow her towards the pool.

“Craft Hasn’t had a chance to tell you something important… He was actually going to tell you when you got home that day. Craft and the members at home have been cracking down their organization.” “Wait…! Really!?” “That’s right… Craft has been invaluable in causing problems in their ENTIRE group. Many of the higher ranking government and standard mercenary groups have been detained and arrested. And many of the ones promised powerful weapons technology by enslaving you to make them are ALREADY being rounded up. Mick and his crew are now being driven into a corner. He doesn’t understand how the military is cracking down on his crew so hard…” Cryo chuckled… “He never considered I’d make such a… smart and powerful AI. Huh?” “Exactly… I myself have… never seen an AI unit so… protective of you…” “P… Protective?” “That’s right… He’s been watching over you since you started… He was actually helpful when you got your “mama,” out of the building. “Really?” “That’s right. He’s always been watching over you in every camera in town. He follows you everywhere. When Mick and the others lured you in, he reacted… quite brilliantly!” “Please tell me he didn’t… kill someone…” “No. Despite his desire for your protection, he has always kept in mind that he can’t just… end lives. This is a rather… rare quality for an AI. Instead… He hacked into the building and its electronic gadgets and such. He sealed off doors that they could have used to get to your position faster. He also used it to split up their divisions across the store. He activated fire prevention measures at a higher pressure and leaking some chemicals into the liquids to blind and surprise them so he could allow you just a few seconds more to react. He even managed to take control of some of their vehicles for moving crates and such! He used them to block the way out of the garage, where they had stashed their vehicles for their escape! This one move had caused a lot of them to have to try to get away on foot! And this allowed for several of them to be detained by the police! Mick had lost a great deal of the mercenaries at his disposal in this one instance! But… I think you realize…” “Mick… He’s being forced into a corner… With everything falling apart around him, he’ll… probably go as far as it takes… to take me now…” She nodded to him, as they stood by the water…

“One thing Craft can’t figure out… is where he and his crew are operating from… He’s done his best, but he can’t track where their primary base of operations is… If they can just do that, he’ll be finished. Considering he took you far to the north of the continent, I think you can guess that it must be somewhere North of here. How far, neither I or Craft knows.” “I understand…” “Good… Your battle against Mick has entered a deciscive phase. Keep a steady eye out, and wait for an opportunity to move against him. You have one advantage over him right now.” “And what is that?” Wave chuckled a bit. “With so much of his organization falling apart, and with so much trouble you caused him, he’ll come after you himself at this point.” Cryo scratched his chin a bit. But then he realized what she meant! “So… I make myself… bait for him…” She nodded. “Listen to me very carefully… When you wake up, tell this plan to Nia, Sara, and Craft. Once I tell you it… We’ll train today…” Cryo nodded and sat down and listened to Wave’s plan…”

Chapter 30

Bubble Bound

Time passed, and Cryo and Wave had settled down with their plan. They soon attached the oxygen rebreather to their mouths and jump into the water for the actual training today. They swam through a bit, and then they stopped in the water.

“Alright Cryo… We’ve been practicing your abilities with ice and water for some time now. You’ve become quite good at it! Now… We’re going to finally try something a bit more advanced. Even for a water dragon like you. Now… I’ve noticed recently you’ve seem to be able to use your abilities from both the Sea Serpent form and the Winter Whiteout form without being in it’s natural environment. I’m not exactly sure if it’s the flow lily in your bandanna, or if its just special qualities with you personally. Regardless though, I think we can both guess you simply won’t have to worry about that detail. We should just assume that you’ll be free to use those abilities as if you were. With this in mind, we’ll be using something that should help you with keeping Mick and his… partners at bay for the plan.” “What is it?” “This first attack is called, Bubble bind!” “Bubble… Bind?” “That’s right. Watch…” She gestured her hand to her side, and Cryo saw a dojo dummy come into view. She turned toward it. “Alright… Now… You remember when we first talked about the Sea Slicer?” “Umm… Yeah. But… I don’t remember everything you said.” “Alright… I told you that the sea sliver should be used in tandem with another attack! When the enemy has to go to the surface of the water when their diving gear is broken, you should use this to prevent them from escaping. It also can be used to help those who can’t survive under more… volatile conditions underwater and pocket of breathable air and safety in the event they might be in danger of drowning. Watch…

She began to clasp her hands together. She began focusing her water energy between both hands. Then, she quickly thrust her hands forward and opened them up! A small bubble shot out of her hand! But then, it seemed to grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Soon it connected with the dummy, and sucked the dummy inside of it! The bubble had now taken the dummy inside of it. “Hmm… Interesting” Cryo said. “Quite, my grandson. Don’t think for a second that bubble that dummy is trapped in is normal. You might not realize this, but that bubble is VERY strong! Poking it with a pointy object isn’t exactly going to pop it either. It’s not really a water bubble… It’s more like… a barrier. It’s primary purpose is to either serve as a way to take something captive without causing major bodily harm to it, or… in extremes when your allies might be in danger, offer a form of major protection around them. Granted… keep in mind… Your ally who’s being protected should… probably not try to fight with it around them… Also… watch this…”

“She held her hand towards the dummy in the bubble. She began to grip her paw slowly… Cryo saw the bubble shrink, as she gripped her paw. Then… she quickly closed her palm, and the bubble condensed around his entire body tightly! The dummy looked to be a bit… squished in there…” “The bubble bind, is condensed water dragon energy that comes from the hands. Therefore, the bubble is adjustable by using the hands. Closing your fist with you hand outstretched to it will cause the bubble to condense around the target! This should be used when the target is about ready to be transported to somewhere else. Something like… I think humans call it ropes… can be used instead while the target is condensed to get them ready for transport to somewhere else.” “Oh! I see! That’s… interesting. And cool honestly. But… Is it possible to… well… Erm… crush the target inside… I… don’t like that thought…” “Thankfully no… Closing your paw will never crush the thing inside. It will only condense fully on their body and prevent any form of movement inside of it. Makes them simply easier to manage. Be careful though… It might be strong, but it’s not invincible. VERY strong foes will most likely have to be weakened and tired out in order to use this to take them. Also… larger targets require more focus and time in your paws while your charging them to form it around them.” “Ahh… That must be what this training is about tonight. Huh?” “That’s right. This is a simple move, but the goal with it is to use it in tandem with other abilites in you arsenal to weaken, capture, and secure targets for the future. While I’m… not sure how this move will react while… outside the water. Theres a chance that this might not work outside at all. But… I think you must realize that for the plan to work, you need every advantage you can think of. “Of course. I understand.” “Now. I suggest we practice this the entire time your asleep. We’ll be using a wide array of dojo dummies to help manage focus and timing.” “Ok. Let’s get started!”

Another dojo dummy came swimming forward and then stood still. Cryo began to position himself a bit of ways away. He put on his headband and could feel the power coursing through him. “Alright, my grandson. This dummy is nice and small, and will require less focusing of elemental energy to encapsulate it. Are you ready?” “Yeah! I’m ready. Grandma!” “Good! Begin focusing and storing energy into your paws and when you feel its, enough, shoot!” Cryo nodded. He began to clasp his paws together. He turned to his side and began focusing his elemental energy into them. He could feel the bubble forming in his palms. “Good! Good! Now… Whenever your ready… UNLEASH IT!” He nodded. He looked forward at the dummy, and then… he moved quickly shifted his hands forward and opened his paws! A small bubble began moving quickly along the water! It soon connected to the dummy and encapsulated it inside! Wave nodded!” “Good! Good! Now… Why don’t you try to constrict it into the bubble? Just move either of your hands forward towards the bubble, and focus just a bit more elemental power into it. Then, just close your fist to constrict it inside!” Cryo nodded. He moved his hand forward towards the bubble, and then focused a bit more of his power into it. Then, he quickly closed his fists! The bubble quickly condensed around the dummy even further! It looked to be quite tightly packed inside now!” “Good, Cryo! Good! Now… Why don’t we try a bigger dummy, without your headband.”

A new dummy came into the scene. It was much larger and had the shape of a dragon! Cryo quickly took his headband off and gave it to Wave. “Alright, Cryo. This is going to take a bit more time due to its size. Don’t try to charge this to quickly. You’ll end up exhausting yourself faster… Ok? The key for targets of different sizes is to know how long you should charge the ability. Smaller take less time. Larger targets take a bit more! One more thing I haven’t mentioned… The targets size doesn’t matter when it comes to their strength. Even something small may contain powerful energies and strength inside of it. Remember that when using this ability, to NOT underestimate the strength of the target. It should be weakened and tired out through battle before you try to capture it. Ok?” “Ok. Good. Now… Try it on that dummy.” “Cryo nodded and then began to charge for a bit. But as he did, he… felt a bit strange… Wave then saw that he began to glow! “Cryo? Are you ok?” But he wasn’t listening… His focus was in his hands and at his target! Then, he unleashed the attack! A bubble in a nice Cyan glow came forward and quickly encapsulated the large dummy! Wave was confused at what just happened though!”

“Cryo? You charged for… a bit longer then I expected… I would have said that… it was probably too long… But then… Why were you lighting up like that?” “I… I don’t… know, Grandma? I… I felt as I was charging, something… awakened inside of me. I can’t explain it, to be honest…” He turned toward the Dummy again, and decided to try to condense the bubble around it. He held his palm forward, and then focused for just a second. Then, he closed his fist! But to both their surprises, the bubble SHRANK along with the dummy inside of it! Both of their eyes lit up!” “C…! Cryo…! That’s… I’ve never seen this happen before!” “Umm… That seems… dangerous… I… shrunk the… thing inside of it… How do I… change it back… I… don’t think I want something to be… that size the rest of its life…” “Umm… Why don’t we take a closer look at it…” They both swam forward and took a look at the small bubble with the dragon dojo dummy inside. They saw it had indeed shrunk to a small size, instead of being constricted tightly… “Well… I can say one thing… Even something quite strong would be… VERY MUCH WEAKENED being… encapsulated like this… And… I’m not sure they’d… want to break out being that size…” “Still… HOW DO I BRING IT BACK TO NORMAL?!” “I… I don’t really… know, Cryo… Maybe… try to focus energy into your palm again? Instead of closing it, open it instead…” “Well… Alright… Worth a shot…” He pointed his paw at the dojo dummy, and closed his fist. Then he focused energy into his paw again, and slowly opened it. As he did, the bubble became bigger, along with the creature inside of it! Soon, it was back to normal size. Cryo breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness…” “Cryo… This is… I don’t think ANY ferrin dragon had ever done this with the Bubble Bind ability before…” “Could it be from… the Flo Lily? I… am wearing my bandanna right now…” “Let me say it again… NO Ferrin Dragon has ever achieved this before… There were Ferrin dragons who… consumed a Flo Lily before. But this has never been achieved before…” “I’m… worried about… how this could end up getting someone crushed…” “Why don’t you… try it again… Maybe… we can make it work how it normally does. Anyway… to release something from the bubble bind, just hold your arms spread out. Then focus energy into both paws again, and then smash them against the bubble. Keep in mind though… This should only be done AFTER the creature inside is… restrained by other means already. Now… Why don’t you try it?” “Ok, Grandma.” Cryo did as he was told. He quickly held his paws spread out to the sides. He focused for a little bit. Then he clapped them on the bubble! It immidiatly popped and was gone.” “Good! Good, Cryo!” Now… umm… Try the bubble bind again. Except… Maybe… take less time to… charge it perhaps?” “Alright Grandma.”

Cryo began to go through the motions again. He held his paws to his side, focused just a bit of energy, and then sent the bubble forward! It once again encapsulated the dragon dummy! “Alright… Now… Will it shrink again?” Cryo asked. “I don’t know really. I didn’t see you glow this time. Now that I think about it… I didn’t see you begin to glow this time, and you really didn’t take a long time to charge… Yet the bubble was big enough to successfully ecapsulate the creature… Hmm… Interesting… Well… Try condensing it again, my little grandson.” “Umm… Alright, Grandma…” Cryo took in a deep breath… He held his paw forward and focused just a bit of energy. He quickly closed his paw, and sure enough… the bubble condensed on the dummy. It stayed the same size as the dummy this time…

“Well… Looks like it… Worked normally. Hmm… Fascinating. From what I can see Cryo… the amount of time it takes a normal Ferrin Dragon to encapsulate a target of that size seems to instead… at least in your case… alters the bubble bind to… shrink the target to… weaken it EVEN FURTHER! Not to mention that shrinking it like that would make it FAR easier to transport to somewhere else! No need for really any more restraint devices. All you’d really have to do is carry the shrunk individual with you to somewhere they could be better managed.” “That sounds… Pretty cool actually! But… I’m still worried about… well… possibly stepping or dropping something that’s… shrunk like that… That could… probably break some bones or worse…” “Well… I suppose if you use it this way, that you should… just be VERY careful when… carrying it around…” “Yeah… Yeah… I suppose that’s all I could really do.” “Yes… Well… That was… a fun experiment tonight… Strange though… This happened AFTER you took off the headband! I wonder if for some reason… the headband was actually WEAKENING your ability, rather then better manage it!?” “Well… I… really can’t say, Grandma…” “Well… Why don’t we practice this ability a bit more tonight. We’ll also practice with your other abilities tonight as well. Your ALREADY becoming quite masterful at them! Your dojo belt is almost a nice black! Just a bit more practicing and you should be a master!” “Well… Alright, Grandma! Let’s continue practicing!”

So… time passed in the night… Cryo continued to work on his training for the night. After a while, Cryo heard what sounded like a clock! He turned at Wave. “Ahh! Look like it’s finally 8:00, Cryo. “Huh… 8:00 P.M?” “Nope… 8:00 A.M.” “Wait… What!?” “You’ve been asleep since 5:00 last night.” “I… Am I ok?” “Don’t worry, Grandson. “Mama Sara,” decided you needed extra sleep last night. You’ve been resting nice and peacefully in your cradle.” “Huh…? My Cradle?” She chuckled a bit. “That’s right. Sara moved you back into it right as you fell asleep. I must say… You look ADORABLE sleeping in it!” “I… Haha… Alright, Grandma…” “Now… She is expecting you to wake up soon. She has some special in mind for you when you wake up. I suggest that before you inform them of the plan, you… take a few days off and stay with her. The Frost Fury technique you used outside of the water was MASTERFULLY done, but your body will probably be a bit weak until a bit of time has passed. No sense trying something like this until your in top condition. Ok?” “Alright, Grandma.” “Good. Give “mama,” a nice kiss from me! And… I’m guessing your going to need to be… changed… right as you wake up?” She chuckled again. “Haha… Yeah grandma… Laugh it up…” “Oh grandson… Just relax and take some time off. You won’t be dreaming of the dojo for awhile. I think I should let you just dream normally for awhile.” “Well… Alright then…” “Don’t worry. Once everything is in motion, I’ll bring you back one more time before things heat up back home for one more night of practice. Anyway… Have a good day with “Mama!” “Alright. I will, grandma!” She nodded and gave a kiss on his forehead. Cryo went to his room in the dojo. He hanged his gear up on a hanger. Then… he laid on the blue mass, closed his eyes, and everything flashed to white!”

Chapter 31

Proper Play Pen

Cryo opened his eyes slowly. He gave out a yawn, as his eyes began to focus. He realized quickly he was indeed in his cradle in the center of his nursery. He heard soothing music in his ears. He realized that naptunes was playing from his pirate ship radio by his cradle. He realized Sara must of learned from Craft that he tends to sleep longer when Naptunes is playing as he rests. But the music suddenly cut off not long after he noticed it. He also realized his pacifier was in his mouth. He knew Sara must of put it in while he was sleeping. He let go of it and it then began to hang down from his neck. “Ahh… Good morning…” He said as he began to lean forward in the cradle.

“Ahh! There’s the little tyke! How are you this morning, little guy?” said Craft. Cryo turned towards where his radio was, smiled, and chuckled. “Ohh! I’m doing fine, Craft.” “That’s good. You slept quite well last night! Sara was worried you might wake up in the middle of the night!” “Well… I did have naptunes playing…” “Quite! I hoped that you’d sleep well, youngster! Now… Why don’t I inform your mama that you woke up at the right time… Right at 8:04!” “Haha. Alright Craft. Have to get ready for play day with Sara. I’m not sure if you know, but… I’m going to have to stay here all week. Sara needs… support right now…” “I’m already aware of the… incident at Toys for Tots. To think that… Its disgraceful what those brutes did… Luckily…” “Yeah… I know you helped me get through that already, Craft…” “Huh… R… Really? But… How did you know?” “Umm…” Cryo realized he probably shouldn’t tell him about the training or the plan at the moment. He quickly began to think of an excuse…” “I… heard some weird mechanical sounds while I was making my escape… I… also saw the camera’s were… watching me as I made my way through… I… suspected that you might have… done something to assist me.” “My my, little toddler. Your QUITE observant!” “Y… Yeah… I suppose. Anyway, I think I’ve kept you long enough. Get mama in here before she… uhh… gets mad at me again…” “Very well! Don’t worry! Mama isn’t too upset with your little outburst yesterday! She will be here to pick you up for a nice scrumptious breakfast pretty soon! One more thing though…” “What, Craft?” “Your mama has a little surprise waiting for you! Something had crawled its way into your cradle last night! And that’s only the beginning of her surprise! Enjoy, little tyke!” “Haha! Alright! I’ll check!” “Oh… Also… You just woke up, so your going to need to…” “Yeah… I know, Craft. I know she’ll want to change me right as I get out of my Cradle this morning.” “Very good, little guy! Be good and wait for mama now!” “Haha. I will.”

He smiled and began to check around his cradle a bit. He then saw his Tidal plush had been scooched under the covers near him. He knew Sara wanted him to snuggle with it. But upon closer observation, Tidal looked a bit… different… He began to take a closer look! “Huh… Tidal… Kind of looks like… one of those comic book hero’s. That’s… a bit weird. Yet… I do like the look!”

His Tidal the Stormfall plush had been dressed up a bit. He no longer looked like an adorable pirate. He turned it all around and began to closely observe it. It had a Pirate doo rag wrapped around is head, but this time it was. white and it also was extended below the plushies eyeline, and there were holes cut into it to make it look sort of like a mask. It was wearing snow white training pants around his tail fin, with a black snowflake on the bottom and on top. It’s body was covered in a Cyan action suit that had a Dragon’s head that looked like Cryo’s that was wearing a similar white doo rag in the same fashion as it was in the center where its belly was. It had some type of watch on its left fin that imitated a tiny computer. It had a golden belt above where its training pants was that had items attached to it. It had what looked like a metal wire wrapped around a small cropping, like maybe a rope, a pair of goggles that could fit around its the plushie’s eyes, and a what looked to be a sword holster! He took a closer look at the holster, and realized he could take the sword out of it. He pulled the sword from the holster and took a look at it. It was a finely curved plastic sword, with a black snowflake pictured on the white plastic blade. The hilt of the sword looked pretty nice, as it was a nice Cyan, and it had a rather pretty sapphire connected to both sides! The sapphires looked… real… Felt real too… Written in the hilt of the left side of the sword, were the words, “Snowcalibur, Legendary sword of the Superhero Sidekick, Snowflake!” “Superhero Sidekick?” Thought Cryo. He placed the sword back in its holster and then continued to observe the plush. It had a light blue cape, that had the picture of a large snowflake as well, with the words “Snowflake, Precious Sidekick of the hero, Avalanche!” “The hero, Avalanche? Huh? What’s this all about?” He scratched his head a few times. “Hmm… This actually has me really interested now. What is “Mama’s,” surprise this morning? Hmm…” He took Tidal into his hands and began to cuddle with it in his arms to please Sara. He realized he smelt quite clean and his fabrics felt very nice to touch. Soon enough, Cryo heard the door to his nursery open and saw Sara step inside. He put on a big smile to greet Sara.

“There’s my baby boy!” she said, happy to see Cryo awake. “Good morning, Mama!” “Good morning, my little Superhero!” “S… Superhero?” “That’s right! Oh do I have something for you! Your going to LOVE it!” “Crafty did tell me you had a surprise for me, today, Mama!” “That’s right! Now… Let me get you out of your cradle! I’m sure your a wet little boy right now and need a nice change!” “Umm… Yeah Mama! I think I’m leaky right now…” Well… Only one way to check! Come here, Avalanche!” “Huh… Avalanche again?” thought Cryo. Sara quickly lifted him out of his cradle and cradled Cryo in he arms. “Alright… Hang on, little Avalanche…”

She pulled his training pants forward a bit… And sure enough… “Just as I suspected! I knew you were a wet little boy!” “Umm… Yeah, Mama! Better change me, huh?” That’s right… Let me take you over to the changing table. Ok?” “Ok, Mama.” She slung Cryo over her shoulder and began to rub his back and walk towards his changing table. But as Cryo looked over her shoulder, he realized… something in his room had… DRASTICALLY changed! His play pen!

His play pen now had a Tv added to it inside! It was quite big and above a large cabinet. The Tv and Cabinet were bolted down tightly! It also showed what looked like a keyboard on top of the cabinet where the Tv was. The Tv looked like a GIGANTIC computer screen, and the cabinet below was colored a deep blue and the sides seemed to have the same picture that was on Tidal’s belly of his new costume. The cabinet below contained a chip drive movie player and a bunch of movies stored inside that was behind a glass window with opaque padding against it. He wondered how it operates, as it looked like there was no way to open it… Lined up to the TV, was a small sofa, that was a nice white, and there was a picture on the back of a Cartoony Cryo, smiling and chewing on his pacifier and seemingly in a rather cool looking action costume with a white doo rag mask, a light blue suit with deep blue pads aligning where the his shoulders were on his front limbs, light blue training pants with a snowflake pattern all across them, and his paws had dark blue gloves fitted around them that had the picture of a snowflake on top. Hanging over his back, was another superhero cape! He couldn’t get a good look at it in the picture though… He was standing heroically on top of a building in a city as snow fell around him. His paws were against his sides and he was standing on his back two legs up firmly, with his bulging and muscular chest held forward proudly! High up, out of reach (if he doesn’t fly up to get them…) seemed to be several outfits that seemed… his size, hanging on metal divots on the wall. They looked like action suits as well and were similar to Tidal’s costume. The colors were a bit different on each one and the picture where the belly was seemed to be different from one another though… He couldn’t make out what they exactly looked like though, except the one on the center costume, which matched Tidals. There was a stack of what looked like Superhero Comic books and such near where the front where the door was! There were a few nice toddler toys inside to play with and Cryo saw that his plush crewmates and “rivals,” were also inside! They seemed to be wearing new outfits as well! But he couldn’t get a better look at them at the moment… The door to the inside seemed to have changed as well. The netting on the door was blue, and the door seemed to be separated into 2 halves! It seemed the door could be opened at Cryo’s height or Sara’s, to allow them inside the area. It also seemed to have a rather intricate baby proofing locking system to be able to seal both doors from the inside or out in the event Cryo needed to be put in there and remain there for a bit. There was a Light Blue plaque above it that showed the words “Secret Superhero Lair of Avalanche, the Ariel Augmented Dragon!” in white letters. Beside the Plaque, seemed to be Cryo’s head covered in the doo white doo rag mask again with the rest of his head in black silhouette. He was surprised his play pen had been changed this much! Sara strapped Cryo to his changing table, rubbed his belly a few times, and smiled. She began to change him gently… Cryo looked as his play pen again as Sara wiped him down with a baby wipe on his “afflicted,” area.

“Mama! My play pen looks different!” She smiled again as she began to powdered him gently… “That’s right, my little Superhero! That’s your new “secret lair!” “My… new secret lair?” “That’s right! Do you like it?” “Well… Yeah I do! Looks so cool! But… What happens if I get in trouble? Won’t you have to move all of that stuff out?” She smiled again and began to rummage around the “Day and play,” door of the changing table for a pair of training pants. She pulled a set out and began to fit it around his tail. “Well… I’ve been thinking, my little Superhero! Using your play pen for punishment… doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.” “Wait… Does that mean… I’m going to be… Spanked instead…? “WHAT!? ABSOLUTELY NOT! OUT OF THE QUESTION! Who gave you that idea?! That’s cruel! I wouldn’t do that to my little Superhero!” “Then… how will I be punished instead then?” Sara smiled again lifted up Cryo’s legs and began to slide the training pants under his bottom. “Well… I thought about it. And… I feel like the reason you acted out yesterday, is because… you were getting cranky…” “I was… cranky?” “That’s right. I felt like you were not getting enough sleep, young man. So… Instead of putting you in you play pen with nothing for time outs, I think its FAR better to instead put you down for a nice, long nap, if you start acting up.” “A nap, mama?” “That’s right. I also changed your nap time schedule. You will be getting one more nap each day.” “One more nap? Well… Ok, mama.” “That’s a good boy.” She pulled the flap to the training pants around Cryo’s crotch, and then attached the back flaps to the front. “There you go! I bet you feel much better now, Avalanche!”

He looked at his training pants, and saw it was a different design then usual. “Hmm… This is the same training pants as in the picture of me on that building. Actually feels… even nicer then before! I think the materials are… better for comfort and… spillage. Hmm… Wait… Does she plan to…” Cryo’s eyes lit up brightly! He then gave a nice smile. Sara picked him up and began to carry him to the play pen. “Mama… Are you going to… dress me up like a superhero!?” “Haha! That’s right! Your superhero name is Avalanche, The Augmented Ariel Dragon!” “That’s… SO AWESOME, Mama! I… I have never been a superhero before!” “That’s right! Your play pen is you secret lair! We installed a new door to come and go inside as you please! It’s currently unlocked so you just have to pull it open to get inside! But… if I need to leave for a bit, I’m going to have to activate the child proof locks and have Craft watch over you while you play in the secret lair! I can’t just leave you to wander the room on your own. Ok?” “Yeah! That sounds alright, Mama.” “Good. Now… We have to get my little Cryo into his Superhero suit, so he can SAVE THE WORLD!”

Chapter 32

Suit Up Situation

She took him over to the inside of the play pen, and opened the door above. The system in place also caused the door below it to open along with it. She stepped inside and then set Cryo down beside where his new superhero costumes were. “Alright, Avalanche. Which part of the world do you need to save today? Do you need to go to a deep, underwater facility, and need to wear your “Undersea Suit?”

She pointed to the suit on the left. Cryo observed it closely… It seemed to look like a legitimate wetsuit, except for a dragon like him! It was very dark blue, and on the chest of the suit, showed Cryo’s head, but this time wearing the mask for the suit and a pair of what appeared to be some technologically advanced scuba goggles with a oxygen mask connected to where the mouth was. He could see a little bit of a oxygen tank behind his head. It seems the suit itself seemed to had kept in mind his Sea Serpent Transformation with it’s framework. It seems that there were flaps where his head and back fin were, so it could extend outside of the suit, without exposing the body to the cold waters of the sea. He remembered that he transformed when swimming in the indoor pool at the mansion with Sara. The suit seemed… quite nice actually! “Hmm… This looks like a legitimate underwater diving suit for a dragon like me. But… I wonder if it works? Hmm…” Sara pointed to the next suit in the play pen.

“Or do you need to wander deep into a dark, foreboding enemy base, where the bad guys nasty crew want to hunt you down and capture you and turn you into their servant! You’ll need to blend into the dark corridors and strike where they least expect it to stop them!” Cryo looked at it. He saw this one was based on ninja apparatus! The suit was very dark in color and the fabrics seemed to extend to every part of his body to cover it. There seemed to be another pair of advanced goggles hanging up with it. The mask for it was two part. A black doo rag mask would cover Cryo’s upper head, while the fabrics connected to the neckline would cover the rest of Cryo’s face, and hide his identity. The body had a more… subtle picture then the others. It showed Cryo’s head again, but it was covered completely in the mask and googles, and the colors on it were not too bright, so it would still be hidden in dark corridors, and such. There was a thick, black belt along the waistline, that seemed to be a utility and gadget belt. He wondered for a minute if Sara put actual gadget toys and such inside the belt to play with along with the suit. There were thick black gloves and socks with the suit. Upon closer observation, it seemed that they had imitation magnetic climbers attached to where the paws were to “climb,” up metal surfaces. There were extensions of silk on the back of the suit, clearly to cover his wings and keep them hidden. Below was black pants made specifically for a dragon. It seemed to have another extension of black silk coming off the back out of it as well, for Cryo’s tail to be covered up. “This suit is quite imaginative! A ninja dragon? Huh… I like the thought of that actually.” Cryo thought. He was getting excited at the thought of wearing one of these cool suits. Sara then showed him the last one.

“Or does my little Avalanche need to protect the people of our beautiful snowy city, and needs to be able to move around a look like a REAL superhero!” She pointed to the last one. Cryo recognized it immediately! It was the one that was displayed on the back of his chair! The cool white doo rag mask. The light blue suit with deep blue pads, and dark blue gloves. Cryo saw his cape hanging next to it! He got a better look at it. Cryo saw his cape seemed to show a mountain with snow falling quickly off of it, and the words… “Hero of the City! Avalanche, The Augmented Ariel Dragon!” in gold letters! “You know… This suit looks AMAZING! I… Yeah. I’m defiantly going with that costume today.” Cryo thought. Sara headed back towards him and rubbed his head.

So… What type of world saving will you be doing today, Avalanche?” “Well… I want to protect the city today!” “Haha! Alright! Come here you! Let’s get you into the proper attire!” She grabbed the outfit and then took it off the hanger. “Alright! Hold still, Avalanche!” Cryo nodded and Sara began to fit him into the outfit. Cryo could tell immediately that this outfit followed Gregs method of making fabrics. It felt very warm and cozy. Soon, Sara carefully manuvered the white doo rag mask over Cryo’s head. “Alright! Why don’t I take you in front of a mirror so you can see yourself in your new suit, Avalanche!” Cryo nodded and Sara took him to a mirror near his closet in the room. She placed him down on the floor and Cryo looked at himself. His eyes lit up brightly! He smiled at how AMAZING he looked now!” “I really do look like a superhero with this on! Except with the training pants, of course…” He thought. He turned himself around and saw his nice cape flowing behind him. He chuckled and smiled. “Well… I’m not going to be a real superhero of course, but… this is fun nonetheless!” he thought. He looked over to his Plushies next. He saw they were in a very similar costume as Cryo’s Tidal plush was. The lightvolt plushies however, looked like mercenaries in dark military gear. Cryo chuckled at the thought of playing “Hero,” with his plush gang.

“Well… Do you like it, Avalanche?” He looked at Sara and gave a smile! “Yeah, Mama! I’m ready to save the day!” “That’s a good boy! But first, a superhero can’t save the world on an empty stomach, now can he?” “Huh?” Cryo’s stomach rumbled and Sara heard it. She chuckled. “See! Even your tummy is telling you that you can’t help the city without some nice breakfast!” “Haha! Yeah, Mama! Come on. I’m sure everyone else wants to see the new superhero in town!” “That’s right. Let’s get you to the breakfast table! I’ll show you your playmates later! You already Tidal ready to assist you! Your other little buddies will help you conquer the EVIL lightvolt baddies out to take over the world!” “Yeah! I can’t wait!” She picked up Cryo and cradled him in her arms. She went to the door and left the room, and hurried over to the dining room to show everyone the new little “Superhero,” in the house.

Chapter 33

Before the Battle…

So the week passed by for the “Superhero,” Avalanche. Sara would give him plenty of time to play in his “Secret lair.” He would read the nice comics Sara gave him, play “pretend,” with his plush toys in front of her, who always laughed at the wacky situations Cryo came up with while “saving the world.” He made use the Tv inside of it, which used a rather cool mechanical system inside the container below it to change the movies or young children’s programs he wanted to watch. The keyboard below the tv was made to select the movies or shows that were on chip drive movie players. Cryo could watch as the clever mechanical device takes the chip drive stored below and insert it into the tv system behind the glass window, which he did enjoy seeing. He did have to attend school for the week, but due to the rather… dangerous situation going on with him right now, he took his classes at the house by using the Online Compcall app. Eli brought Cryo’s home computer to the house before the school week started. Sara, despite that, STILL expected him to wear training pants even during school hours at home. But the mayor had thought ahead on that and made him some regular dragon pants to hide it when in school in front of his computer. Sara would accompany him the entire time of school hours. Thankfully, she never embarrassed him during classes. She called his school “preschool,” nonetheless, which actually made him chuckle quite a bit. In the event that he DID need to have a “break,” during school hours, he’d simply tell the teacher and Sara would lead him back into his nursery to change him. Soon enough, it was late in the day on Friday. He was attending school for the day, in his final class.

“Alright everyone. Our English’s class is just about wrapped up. Now we just have just one more student who needs to give his poem for the week. I think we know who it is, huh? Cryo?” Cryo was writing on a piece of paper for an short story due at a later date. He heard his name and lifted his head up. He looked at the screen of his computer. “Oh! Is it finally my turn to share, Ms. Harper?” “That’s right. Since your… well… having to take classes from the mayors house due to… erm… Never mind…” Cryo moved camera computer around and saw each and every person staring. He saw their worried faces. He knew they had heard what had happened to him and Sara at Toy’s for Tots… He gave a small sigh. Sara then gripped his right paw and brought it up a bit, and gently stroked up and down his arm and palm off screen with one finger. He began to smile and relax. She seemed to always know when he’s feeling a bit nervous or uncomfortable during school. He smiled and brought his poem forward. He looked at Sara, and she nodded. Cryo took in a deep breath and began to read it.

In the Frigid North of a Distant Town
A dragon sleeps in peace without a frown
Even after the fire, he feels sound
When his enemies tried to take him bound
He saved a close ones life, and he felt proud
He will not allow them to be brought down
He dreams of being a hero, for now.
If his foes try bring him to the ground.
The dragon will blow through them, like a plow

There was a moment of silence in the classroom. Cryo began to feel down a bit… “I guess they didn’t like that…” Suddenly, Everyone was clapping and cheering inside the classroom! Cryo began to smile again, and Sara gently rubbed his back. “That was excellent, Cryo! It seems your… recent expeirences REALLY gave inspiration to this poem! Well done, Cryo!” “Haha! Th… Thank you everyone!” “Very well done! Very well done indeed!” Suddenly, the classroom bell began to ring. “Alright everyone. That’s it for school for today! Have a good weekend everyone! Everyone began to say wave bye to the teacher. Then many of the students in the classroom turned toward the camera. “Hey… Cyro… If you… need to talk with someone about… what happened, I’d… be willing to listen,” said Miles. “Y…Yeah… He… came for you again I heard…” said Warren. “Yes he did… The fire was set in the building to lure me in… He must have somehow known I… stopped the bank robbery in town…” “Wait… That was… you?” “That’s right. While I… know I couldn’t just let them take the money at the bank, it… gave them an idea on how to lure me to them. Sara… got caught inside that building… She was… well… getting something for me there. I’m just glad Sara is alright now.” “Yeah. I heard you not only rescued her, but the manager at the store!” said Winston. “Yes… But… I was quite tired after. That last bit… I had to expend a lot of my own… elemental dragon energy just to get them out… Thankfully… Umm… Sara and the mayor brought me to her mansion to rest. I’ve been here ever since. She’s debating on whether I should stay in this mansion until I get back home. It’s why I had to… well… take my classes from her house instead this week.. There is FAR more security at this mansion. I imagine everyone in town is on high alert after what happened. “Well… I’m sorry to hear about your troubles right now, Cryo…” said Warren.

Cryo took in a deep breath, but then she looked at Sara. She smiled at Sara and then gave him a hug on camera. Cryo smiled back at her and looked back at the camera. “Hey… It’s not been all bad, guys. Sara has been having a blast with me being here all week. I’m happy that despite what happened, she already pushed through it. It makes me very happy to… support her after that mess. “Ha! That’s fun I suppose! Is she like a little sis to you or something?” asked Warren. Cryo looked at him. “Ahh… Not quite. She’s… something else. Right?” Cryo replied as he turned towards Sara. “That’s right. We have plenty of fun over here!” Sara said back. “What exactly do you do?” asked Cristina. “Oh… Uhh… Well… we play “house…”” “House?” “Y… yeah… Its just a nice… pretend game. Right, Sara?” Sara nodded her head, smiled and scratched him by his ears.” “Well… That’s nice.” “Yeah. Anyway… I’m… going to have a… special call in about an hour from the people from Home. I… I have something I need to tell them. The mayor, Nia, will be joining in it. I… have to discuss something VERY important with everyone.” “What are you discussing?” asked Miles. “Well… I… think I’ll keep it to myself for now… But… It’s nice seeing you everyone!” “Alright. Bye Cryo!” Cryo was about to close his computer, but then he thought of something.

“Oh! One more thing. Can someone tell Tanner something later?” “Wait… Tanner? What do you have to say to him!?” “I want to tell him that… the case of what happened to his father had… recently been solved.” “Wait… what do you mean?” “He’s been treating me much nicer since… well… the incident in the lunchroom. He… informed me of an… incident that… kind of caused his… delinquent behavior. His father had disappeared out of thin air… about a year ago. He actually worked back where I live. He was a soldier and highly decorated. I… I’m almost afraid of telling him about this. But… I can’t possibly keep this info from him. He deserves to know. I… have a friend looking into the shading dealings of Mick and his organization. My… friend is an ABSOLUTE tech wizard, like me. He found… an email sent to a rather well known politician. Are you all familiar with the recent… umm… incarcerations of some REALLY powerful individuals of the government in this region? Yeah… My friend connected them to my kidnappings. It turns out some REALLY POWERFUL individuals had wanted me for their own selfish endeavors.” “ARE YOU SERIOUS! That’s why all those arrests are happening!? I thought they were framed!” exclaimed Winston. “Nope… Those arrests are for kidnapping me. And now the recent terror attacks on my home. They’re desperate to take me alive. The conspiracy runs deep in the government of this region. I was one of their biggest opportunities of all time!” “I… I can’t even believe I’m hearing this right now… That’s… absolutely messed up… I… I don’t even… HOW DID THEY GET INTO OUR GOVERNMENT!?” exclaimed Markus. “I don’t know really… I’ve… not really taking any classes in politics… Never found it appealing to me.” “But… you seem like a… pretty good leader, Cryo.” Cryo chuckled a bit. “Yeah… Maybe… But… I don’t think I’d want to dictate how others should live one day.” Everyone chuckled a bit. Even Sara did. She rubbed his back a bit and smiled at him. Cryo nodded and turned back to the other classmates.

“Now… I imagine all of you are wondering how his father, Artemis, fits into all of this. Well… he seemed to had… through just plain bad luck, found out about the plans for the first attempt to kidnap me. The plan to… take me from the hospital building. But… before he could tell anyone back home, Mick found out. I just thought he should know that his father was… a truly brave man. He tried to inform my caretakers at the base of the plan. He was found out before he could. He tried to desperately fight them off in the late night to warn my caretakers about the plan, but he was overpowered. I believe he was… taken captive… Taken off the base in a military truck… I… don’t know if he’s… still alive after all this time… I hope that he’s still alive. Tanner… He should know his father tried to stick up for me. To save me from a disastrous plot, but… had failed and may now very well be… Sigh…” Everyone looked at each other and nodded. “Alright, Cryo… We’ll… We’ll tell him for you…” said Winston. “Thank you… Now… I have to go now. Thanks for your support everyone. Goodbye! Have a nice snowy day!”

Everyone quickly said their goodbyes to Cryo and he shut the computer. Sara rubbed his back and gave him a hug. “You ok, my baby boy?” “Yeah… I’m ok, Mama. Just a ton of things have been going on lately I suppose.” “Oh… Don’t worry, my baby… Do you want to get your superhero costume on again?” “Haha! Yeah! Time for Avalanche!” “That’s my boy! Come on! Let’s go!” She picked Cryo up and slung Cryo over her shoulder. She pulled back his pants a bit and checked his backside. But… he seemed to be good at the moment. “Alright… You don’t seem to be stinky right now. Well… Let’s get you ready to save the day!” She began to walk down the hall towards his nursery. As they walked, Cryo Thought about tonight’s big conversation. He knew this next conversation with his mother, Craft, and the mayor tonight would be EXTREMELY important. And Sara may not exactly like the risk he was going to take here…

Chapter 34

Conveniently Captured…

An airship flew through the air, with an all important cargo stationed in a cell in the back. A devious individual decides to check on his… special prisoner… He opens the door to the back of the airship. He takes out an access card that opened a secure door at the back of the ship, and slides it across a lock near the entrance. The locked turned green and a mechanical voice sail “Access granted.” It slid up quickly, and he steps into the room. The one in charge of watching the cargo stood up and walked over toward this certain individual…

“Mick? Is something up?” the mercenary asked. Mick pulled off his black ski mask and uncovered his face. He was a blonde individual with faded scars on several parts of his head from previous operations. He had a bit a freckles around his cheeks. His eyes were brown, and his gaze showed frustration and anger. He began to walk towards where his all too important prize was… He looked inside… He saw a blue dragon, asleep on his side. It’s wrists had been tied behind his back with Cyantran wires, along with his ankles and his snout, muzzling the creature. There was a rather bulky metal collar around his neck as well. Mick turned towards the other individual, and looked frustrated!

“He’s still ASLEEP!?” asked Mick. “Well… Umm… Yeah… I haven’t seen him move since we loaded him onto the ship…” “WHY?! What was the dose of that dart!?” “Umm… well… It was the same that we used on him when we… took him from that Research institution.” “Really…? Because WERE NEARLY THERE! HE SUPPOSED TO GET TO WORK RIGHT AS WE MAKE IT THERE! He was asleep for an hour the last time! IT’S NOW ALMOST PAST 2 HOURS!” “Look! I… I don’t know! I don’t know why he… seems to be sleeping longer this time! I really don’t!” “This… little DEMON, has caused me MORE TROUBLE THEN ANYTHING I’VE HAD TO DEAL WITH BEFORE! And now… HE WON’T EVEN WAKE UP!? WHAT IS CAUSING HIM TO BE UNCONCIOUS FOR THIS LONG!?” “Maybe he’s… sick?” “Sick… ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” “I already told you! I have no idea what’s up with the dragon!”

Mick facepalmed and then dragged his hand down his face. He took in some deep breaths. “We FINALLY get a break! We FINALLY get an opportunity to take him! That town went through CONSIDERABLE MEASURES to try to prevent me from finding him! And… we get a tip, of all things. Someone who knew WHERE this demon would be AND that he would be under minimal guard. THE JUNKYARD, OF ALL PLACES!” “I still don’t understand though, sir… Who was it that gave you that tip. And why?” “It doesn’t matter! I’m sure whoever it was will expect some type of payment later… Whether its some stupid device, or money, or something else, he’ll GET what he wants… Now that we have HIM, all the chaos that THIS ONE CAUSED won’t matter! He just needs to WAKE UP NOW!” “Well… I don’t know when he’ll wake up sir… What should we do?” “Sigh… We’ll have to talk to the brainiacs up front about this. They’ll be in the hanger bay just WAITING to have our “special guest,” READY TO WORK. I don’t know what to tell them! Worst comes to worst, we’ll have to get one of the combat medics to figure out WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY HE WON’T WAKE UP OF ALL THINGS!?” “Well… Alright sir…” “GOOD! Now… We’re just about there… we’ll arrive just 15 minutes. GET HIM READY TO BE MOVED!” “R…! Right sir!”

Mick gave another sigh and walked out of the room. The other individual looked inside again, and saw the little dragon breathing, but as still as a statue, and not moving an inch. “Why out of all times when we FINALLY got this little troublemaker, that he’d end up… getting sick I guess. If he dies… I… I don’t even want to think about how bad that would be for all of us. He’s the only thing we have left to get rich off of expansive technology. Could someone had accidently put too much TaLan sleeping drug in the dart? Ugh… This needs to get sorted out soon… Most of our buyers have been arrested. I have NO IDEA how those military boys managed to get that information on who we made deals with. We’ll probably have to leave the region and try to sell abroad… Sigh…” He turned away from the pen inside began to walk out of the room to get the cart for their valuable cargo. But, right as he exited the room their cargo gave a smile and chuckled a bit. It began to tap it’s finger against the floor a bit… But this… was an old form of code communication… Morse code. “Craft… They don’t suspect a thing…” Cryo tapped. Something on the dragon’s wrist gave a moment of static. It then spoke up, at VERY low volume…” “Excellent… I hope those… dreams you’ve been having will have trained you enough to allow you to make this plan work…” Cryo’s newly made computerized watch said. Cryo tapped again. “Yeah… I only get one shot… I can’t mess this up…”

Chapter 35

Angry Arrival

The ship soon flew towards an old, large military research complex that was situated at the bottom of a snowy mountain WAY NORTH of the continent. The base was hidden by a large snow covered glacier, peaking up from the ground and blocking the view from the front and above it. The ship approached and the hanger bay door slowly began to slide open from on top of the glacier, to let them in. They soon landed inside and the antigrav thrusters powered off for the vehicle. The hanger bay was quite large and several small class military and cargo craft were powered off inside. The walls were a metallic brown and arched upwards to make the roof. The room had dim lighting, with several hanging lamps pouring a bit of light across the room. A steel door with a green light above it slid up as several scientists in lab coats began to approach the ship to see the prize coming off the ship. And soon enough, an anti grav trolly was being pushed forward from a mercenary from the hanger of their ship. Mick and the others aboard the ship followed behind. They stopped in front of the scientists. They looked inside, and saw their valuable prisoner inside, seemingly “unconscious”

“Seems… He still hasn’t woken up since you taken him… Really, Mick? What did you do to him!? We needed him in one piece for our technology and experiments! How can he help us with our current projects AND make new pieces of technology himself IF HE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR SICK!?” said one of the scientists. “DON’T LOOK AT ME! You were the one who SUPPLIED THE AMMUNITION! I may have knocked him out, BUT I’M NOT THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FACT HE WON’T WAKE UP!” Cryo chuckled as quietly as possible and restrained himself from smiling. “How can you NOT BE, Mick!? You’ve held a massive GRUDGE against the dragon ever since he escaped the first time! I don’t think the dragon on his own could have found out about the others involved in what’s been going on! He may be bright, but he CERTAINLY is not capable of somehow getting so much of our organization exposed!” “Tell me then, brainiac… WHO ELSE COULD HAVE FIGURED OUT ALL OF THIS?! WE CHECKED ABOUT TRAITORS RATTING US OUT! MULTIPLE TIMES! No one seems to have betrayed us! IT HAD TO BE HIM!” “And HOW… do you ACTUALLY know that!? Really!? It’s probably just bad luck that info got out! We must have missed someone or something during all that chaos! Someone who… I don’t know… could somehow gather intel we… apparently deleted from the base’s computers! I don’t think it could have been him!” “Again… Who ELSE… could have dug up ALL OF THAT!?” “This isn’t helping, Mick… Calm down!” “Well then, smart guy… WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT!?” “I… Ugh… Let’s lock him in the Icefall Cell we designed to… house him in while here. We’ll keep camera’s on him and watch him. If he doesn’t wake up for another… 2 hours, then… we’ll have to get a combat medic to… figure out what went wrong. You might hate that little dragon, but he’s TOO VALUABLE to just… give up on him! We have no where else to go at this point. We’re ALL wanted men! This dragon is the last thing we have let to make up for the amount of losses we’ve had!” “Ugh… FINE… Come on, you idiots! Let’s get this… DRAGON… into his new… “Personal living quarters…”” Mick said. “R… Right sir…” said a Mercenary. They quickly began to cart him away, as Cryo was holding his smile back as best as he could from how much chaos he and Craft had caused this group of individuals. He could hear Craft chuckling on his watch as quiet as he could as well. He knew Craft was proud to hear how they never considered an AI to be the source of their exposure. They walked through the facility a bit. Cryo kept one eye barley open to get a better idea of the facility. Cryo saw thick and cramped metallic black hallways and places where keycards were needed. As they continued walking through, He saw what seemed to be a few labs with mechanics working on different pieces of technology. He imagined that they would intend to cramp him in one of these labs and work long hours and without any rest to satisfy their desires for advanced technology. After a bit they stood before a metal doorway. Cryo moved his eye up a bit, and saw the word “Cell block,” above the doorway. He knew they had arrived where Cryo’s cell was located. They slid a keycard and a mechanical voice stated “Access Granted.” Not long after, the door slid up and stepped into the room. Cryo quickly closed his eyes again and took slow deep breaths to get ready for the next part… Mick and the others soon stood before their special guest’s “Living quarters.” Mick gave a sigh. “Alright. Let’s get this little demon inside immediately.” Mick said.

They began to punch in a combination on a keypad to Cryo’s pen to open it up. Soon they released the door to the specially designed Reenforced Cyantran Carrying Cell. They grabbed the dragon and began to pull him out of it. They united his hands and legs from the wires, thinking the cell was enough to hold him. They then opened the door to his cell and Mick slung Cryo roughly over his shoulder! But as they did, Cryo opened his eyes just a bit. He slowly turned his head toward a security camera in the area. “I only get one shot… If I miss… things will be FAR more complicated…” Cryo thought… As Mick was about to set him down inside, Cryo aimed his paw at the camera. He completely shut one eye and aimed his watch at it carefully. He took in a slow breath, and then, he pressed a button at the side of the watch! Something VERY SMALL shot out and stuck to the camera! Cryo smiled and then shut his eyes and went limp as they set him inside the cell on top of metal slab, which had a two blankets and a pillow on it. “You… little demon… All of this… For you.. You… A real pain in the neck, and a RIDICOULOUS troublemaker! If you weren’t the only draw we had left, I’d punish you like you RIGHTFULLY DESERVE!” Mick turned to his other men. “Come on, you idiots! We FINALLY have him! Let’s finally take a break, like we should of after SO LONG!”

They soon engaged a cyantran opaque screen to lock Cryo into the cell and left the area. Cryo waited for a bit. Then he began to speak to Craft in a low voice. “Craft… You hacked the camera yet…?” There was a short moment of static on Cryo’s watch. “Just about… done! I’ve modified the security camera footage to play back you “unconscious,” in the cell. They shouldn’t suspect a thing for awhile.” “Good… Now I can finally stop this act…” Cryo got up and stretched his paws to his sides. He had been cramped in a rather uncomfortable position for awhile, but was glad things had been working out so far. “Very nice shot at the camera, creator! I was worried you might… miss…” Yeah… Well… I think I’m pretty good at aiming. Anyway… Let’s see the lengths these brutes decided to go to… keep me in captivity.”

Cryo looked at his cell. He recognized that it indeed had been entirely made with Cyantran metals. The walls were a dark blue and the entrance was closed off by cyantran reenforced plastic door, that was pretty thick and he could see through it. There seemed to be a specially designed small hatch on the door. It seemed to be close to the ground, and seemed to be controlled from a console attached to the door itself. Cryo figured this was to be used to give Cryo food when its time to eat, by allowing them to open the outer hatch, slide food and such into the the holder, and then close the outer hatch and open the inner one so he could grab and take it out of it. A complex system just to feed him or maybe give him something, but he understood that they realized he was quite a threat to them with his own abilities. He began to wonder how they planned to… keep him in check, while working. He then realized he probably would be better off not knowing. He took in a deep breath, and looked toward the back, and saw a bookshelf with several books inside. He took a closer look at the books and they seemed to be all about different types of engineering and technology. He figured that they wanted him to read more technical books in his free time to… better his own skills in technology. He looked above, and saw a small lamp above, shining a dim light within his cell. He then took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright, Craft. Now let’s see what I can…” As he was about to continue, he heard a voice from somewhere to the left of him. “So… they really did finally get you, Cryo… I guess you’re here for the long haul, like me…”

Chapter 36

Frigid Friend

Cryo turned towards where he heard the voice. He couldn’t see past the wall to the other cells though. Curious, Cryo spoke up towards where he heard the voice. “Hello…? Is there… someone other then me locked in this… prison?” “That’s right. It’s been… how long since I last seen you? I have no idea. I was hoping they’d never be able to take you, but it looks like things are far worse then I thought. I can’t even imagine what these… warmongers will want you to build while your here…” “I’m sorry. I… don’t really recognize your voice.”

“Well… I’m not surprised about that truthfully. My original job was a military soldier back where we come from. I… watched you from afar at home. A… protective eye in case someone decided to… try to take advantage of you. Like that… nasty piece of work, Mick.” “Watch over me?” “That’s right. Tyler and Gerald considered right as you began making things that someone might decide to bat an eye at you, for the wrong reasons… I didn’t expect that to be true. I should of, honestly. It’s not every day you and many people you know take in a young dragon and help him grow. I remember when you were still chewing on a pacifier. I always thought you were quite cute as a kid. Bright too. Certainly tough. Those boys were FURIOUS on how you outsmarted them so often. But now… You’re here… Now a prisoner and a slave. It’s clear I didn’t serve my job well…” “I… It’s not your fault. None of us could have predicted… Wait a minute…” Cryo thought for a moment. Then he began to picture a certain… character in his head…

“Are you… by any chance… named Artemis?” “…You know my name? That’s surprising. I guess they told you. Huh kid?” “N… No… They never told me about you. But your son did. “My son… You met Tanner?” “T… That’s right. He… He’s really worried about you… He’s… had some problems dealing with the pain of you being missing since… they took you.” “Yes… I… Sigh… I miss him. Being a soldier sometimes means you have to be away from your kid for awhile. My wife didn’t like the idea of… permanently being at a military facility while he grew older. She wanted to stay at home in the snow. I wished so too. But, I just felt… attached to you as well. When they asked me to watch over you, I… I knew I couldn’t just leave you. Turns out they were exactly right. But… how did you realize I was Artemis though? Just a description from my son probably couldn’t be enough to make the connection…” “I think I’ll let my friend answer that question.” “Friend?” “That’s right. Craft. Have you been hearing the conversation?” “Huh?” Then Craft spoke up, with his volume turned up.

“Yes creator! I have been paying full attention. Now then… Greetings, Artemis! I am Craft. I’m the source of how Cryo learned about what had happened to you.” “I… Where did you come from? I didn’t see you in that… carrier when they rolled the kid in. Were you already in there beforehand? And why does your voice sound… well… artificial?” “I suppose I have a bit to explain to you. I am an AI unit created through the programming and skill of my creator, Cryo the Dragon. I’m was created about 2 years ago. I assist Cryo in projects, managing his devices and computer systems in his room, and making sure they run at optimal efficacy and inform if there are any problems with said systems.” ” “Wait… You created an AI, Cryo?!” “You are correct, Sir! Do not be alarmed that I am an AI unit. I’m familiar with the concerns with AI systems in machines and other devices. I promise you. I’m very friendly. I will not act in a irrational manner and cause serious problems.” “Umm… Well to be honest, you do sound quite friendly.” “Why thank you, good sir. Now to explain things for you…”

“At about 5:38 P.M. August 27th, 1238, (in Cyriss years), back at Military Biological Research Institution Omega, there was an attempt to take Cryo, through the use of a small group of light military aircraft. I think you already know who was responsible. They managed to snag the creator in a net, shot a dart into his leg to render him helpless, and bombed the runway to prevent other ships from following them. Casualties were thankfully none at the time, but the runway and all airships were destroyed.

At about 7:52 P.M, I was able to track the craft used by the assailants and attempted to hack into their fleeing craft to possibly turn it around back to the institution. However, an unknown group of induvial began to also attempt to hack into the ship. After a bit of struggle for the ship controls, I was able to outmaneuver the other party and lock them and their codebreakers out of the ship. Unfortunately, I had achieved this too late. The struggle at the time had caused the ship to be heavily damaged by hitting a rock formation in a forest near the town of Winterfell. The very same town where you son lives. He was… Jettisoned out of the Craft as it began to fall apart at 8:15 P.M.

From descriptions of Cryo’s experience after, he seemed to have landed at Snowdrift park. Not long after Cryo was discovered, the crashed craft was found. Luckily, I was… able to maneuver it to crash away from the town. Collateral damage was very minimal. A black box for the ship was in tact, and it went into detail on the kidnapping, the intentions, and that the creator was in serious danger and would most likely be hunted by these individuals. The town came together and began to come up with a plan to hide the dragon from Mick and his crew, while they tried to figure out what to do with him. They treated his wounds, broke him out of the Cyantran alloy container used to transport him, and a family, going with the last name Erinson would be Cryo’s caretaker while he healed.” “So… That’s how you got to town where my son lived…” said Artemis.

“You are correct, sir. From the creators testimony, he woke up two days later, and was bedridden for about 2 weeks. After a few… hiccups, he was able to not only build a healthy relationship with the townsfolk, he also was able to repair their comms tower, which had also been hit during the crash, on August 17 at I believe 3:12 P.M. The collar used to block gps signals had also seemingly been destroyed in the process, and the tracking implant inside the creator began transmitting again at about 10:12 P.M. earlier that evening. Apparently, the creators body had transformed due to the cold climate and the collar, despite being made of Cyantran, was somehow completely frozen by the creators body and completely destroyed. After the tracking implant began working again we got a call from the Creator from within the Erinson’s house at about 1:08 P.M.. Cryo had contacted us and told us what had happened and that he was alright. It was also made to test if the comms tower was working properly.

After the call and given the location of the creator’s whereabouts, I began to triangulate the creators location to try and speak with him and to keep surveillance in the event another attempt was made. I uploaded myself into a radio within the Erinson’s house at about… 9:48 P.M. that night. The creator had been tucked into bed for the evening, so I instead made contact with him in the morning at about, 8:09 A.M. That morning was Cryo’s first day of school within the town. We informed each other of what was going on for a bit more since the incident. After that, I’ve been continuing my normal duties with the creator. Assisting in work, managing computer assets and similar devices I could connect to, and attempt to assist the creator in daily and weekly activities and roles, and generally trying to keep the creator in a happy state.

Cryo met your son, who… the first day had a slight incident with at the school, but after a bit of time, was able to form a better and healthy relationship. Tanner one day told the creator what happened to you. About the sudden and strange disappearance. When the creator learned from Tanner you worked right where he lived, he began to become suspicious at the fact you disappeared not long before his first kidnapping attempt. He asked me to see if I could figure out if the known terror insurgent, Mick Mitchells, had possibly been involved in what happened. During the time, I had began a campaign with another well educated induvial at the base, someone you know well as Gerald, to try to triangulate and deal with Mick, his crew, and the people involved with the conspiracy.” “Huh… So I guess you were…” “You are correct, Sir! I was instrumental in the sudden cause of trouble for the entire operation! I was able to comb over documents and items from Mick’s old office computer. Despite being deleted from the harddrive, I was able to nonetheless, through a bit of clever database combing, was able to locate and download incriminating information concerning the entire organization. Emails, documents, plans of action, among other documents. There have already been arrests across the ENTIRE REGION of guilty personnel and conspirators within the known operation.”

“Alright I think I understand now. But… how did they end up catching you?” “Creator? You want to take over?” “Of course Craft. I’m here because I let them take me.” “Wait… You let them KIDNAP YOU!?” “That’s right.” “W… Why? I can’t imagine you actually want to work with them?” “It’s simple. I wanted to end this operation once and for all! I’m not going to live in fear the rest of my life, because someone wants me to become a war machine too fill their pockets! They have caused enough damage and trouble! They are just going to keep trying! I have to stop this, before anyone ELSE gets hurt or worse!” “That’s… rather noble of you. But… how in the WORLD do you plan to stop them!? I mean… They’re listening on the camera right now… Right? Let’s not forgot that your locked in a cell specifically designed to keep you from breaking out!”

“Well… to answer your first question. The camera has already been taken care of.” “Wait… Really?” “That’s right. Right as they were laying me down in the cell, I managed to attach a data uplink module to the camera in the room.” “Well… Ok then… So, the camera is disabled?” “Oh! It’s far better then that! The camera has had its image modified! With a bit of clever trickey with the image system, I’ve hacked the camera to play back Cryo unconscious in the bed in the cell! I also messed with the sound system to play the sounds heard before! They should not suspect anything right now!” Craft explained.” “Well… Alright then, I suppose. But… can you get that… cell door open?” said Artemis. “Well… I don’t think so, now that you mention it… The creator only had enough time to stick a data uplink to the camera, so…” “Oh not to worry, Craft. I… have an idea on to slice my way out.” “Slice your way out? But… how are you going to dig through that Cyantran, Cryo? It’s made to be resistant to cold and water…” said Artemis. “Well heres the thing… Has it also been modified to deal with HIGHLY pressurized water?” “Wait… What do you mean?” “Just hang on a second, Artemis.”

Cryo stood at the back of his cell and took in a deep breath. “Creator? Are you going to use one of the abilities you learned in the… dream dojo I guess you could call it?” “That’s right. The ability is… supposed to be used to destroy enemy diving equipment to force them to the surface… I can tell more later. But… as it just so happens, if I… get a little mad…” Cryo began to think of his more… negative feelings against Mick and his crew… His eyes began to narrow down a bit… Then he lifted his paws high, and then water dragon energy began to form in his claws. “Creator! I’m detecting quite a bit of a… strange energy signiture from you claws!” “Relax, Craft. Please don’t break my concentration.” “Oh… Right… Sorry.” “Now let this simmer for a bit…” Cryo began to focus on more negative feelings regarding Mick, as his claws grew a brighter and brighter aqua blue! “Ready… 3… 2… 1… AND…!” Cryo quickly slashed his claws forward in an x shape! 2 POWERFUL blades of condensed, HIGHLY pressurized water came out and slammed the front of the Cyantran screen and PIERCED though! Cryo the rose his hands again, and slashed downward, sending two more blades of Pressurized water through! They impacted the screen again, and left two more big gashes on the screen and the outside of it on the wall!” “M… My word, Creator… I hope you… don’t plan to use that to…” “Relax, Craft. I don’t plan to use this technique any more then I need to. Even my… dojo trainer didn’t consider trying to use this to break metals and different forms tech other then diving rig suits. Now then… If I push just enough on the screen…” Cryo began to head where the big gash was! He coated his tail in ice, and then slammed it where the gash was! The cell door was blown open, as the metals fell to the sides!” “Well done, Creator! But… do mind where you step… Broken metal is…” “Yeah, Yeah. I know. But… I think I know what to do about that…” Cryo blew a breath of ice at the floor! He stepped out and walked towards the other cell.” “Hmm… Good thinking creator. Freezing the floor to coat the metal shards in ice so they can’t be stepped on. Don’t slip though.” “Haha. I know Craft. Now…” Cryo looked in the other cell, and saw the man known as Artemis, sitting inside. His hair was buzzed cut and a light brown. He was wearing a green military shirt and militry green camo pants. He had dog tags around his neck which had his name. He looked quite cold from the environment and the lack of being bundled up in something warmer… “That… Where did you learn to do that, Kid…?” “Umm… Maybe I’ll tell you later, but first… why don’t I get you out.” “Are you going to break my cell bars the same way? I don’t want to lose a limb, here!” “Ahh. Don’t not worry, Artemis. Creator? Why don’t you let me take care of the electronic lock for you.” “Alright.” Cryo placed his paw over the lock and waited. “Accessing… Please wait…” They both waited for a few seconds. “Access Granted! Opening, Creator.” The door to the cell slowly opened up. Cryo smiled at him and nodded. And he stepped out.” “Well… You little… AI friend seems to be quite useful for… well… with whatever insane plan you have. By the way… What is your plan?” “Well… The first thing I need to do is…” As Cryo was about to go over his plan, they heard something outside the room… “What is with that noise going on in there…” Cryo could barley hear.Suddenly, they heard the sound of the door opening to the room. Cryo’s eyes lit up, and they saw two mercenaries step into the room! They stepped back in shock! “What in the…! The dragon…! He’s broken out of his cell! Sound the alarm!”

Chapter 37

Alarm Alert!

Cryo, thinking quickly, he focused just a bit of energy into his paws and shot a flash freeze from both paws at both mercenaries! The beam of ice connected to the both of them and froze them solid! “You can shoot ice from your hands as well as your mouth?” asked Artemis. “Long story… But…” Suddenly an alarm sounded for the base! Cryo’s eyes shot up and his heart sunk! This wasn’t part of the plan!” “Alert! Alert! The dragon had somehow broke out of his cell! All combat personnel! Take that dragon down!” said the intercom! “Oh no…” “So WHAT IS YOUR PLAN, KID?!” “I…! I…! Quick! Take one of their tranquilizer guns!” “Right on it!” Artemis went to one of the mercenaries and ripped his tranquilizer gun from his hands, along with the case he was carrying his extra dart ammunition in! But they were still frozen!” “I CAN’T FIRE THIS THING LIKE THIS!” “Don’t worry! I got it!” Cryo quickly came over and focused ice into his fist and slammed it across the gun and ammo case! The ice around it shattered immediately!” “O…! Ok…!” said Artemis. He fired a dart at the wall and saw it bounce off it and onto the ground! “It works!” Artemis exclaimed! “Good! We need to first find the control room for the installation! We need to plug Craft into the main computer in order for him to send a GPS location to the police back in Winterfell and the military forces the mayor called into town to finally deal with that traitor! This’ll allow them to track us to here and attack the installation!” “Alright! Let’s go kid! Tell me the rest of the plan on the way!” said Artemis. “Right!” They then scooted past the mercenaries in the room and headed out the door! But as they did, their eyes lit up, as a small group of mercenaries had just scooted from around the corner! “THERE THEY ARE! SHOOT THEM!”

Thinking quickly, Cryo blew a stream of ice on the ground in front of the both of them as the mercenaries fired several darts at them! Cryo set up a wall of ice in front of them as the darts stuck into the ice! “Nice thinking, Kid!” Artemis. “Yeah! But we’re pinned down!” Cryo replied back. They could hear the sound of the mercenaries firing at the ice and moving towards them! They realized they’d soon be upon them!”

“You have any more ideas, Kid?!” “Umm…! Uhh…!” Cryo then thought of something!” “Get down and close your ears, Arty!” “R…! Right!” Artemis began to cover his ears with his hands and dropped to the floor! They were right in front of the ice wall now!” “Sound off, you brutes!” Cryo took a deep breath in, and then let out a POWERFUL Sonic Screech! The loud sound wave BURST the ice cover and then blasted each of the mercenaries forward to the ground!” “Now Artemis!” He grabbed the tranquilizer gun and then aimed at the mercenaries! He then fired darts at each one as they tried to recover from the blast! One by one each would be stuck by a dart, and they fell into complete unconsciousness.” “Great shooting!” Cryo said with a nice smile!” “Yeah! We probably have plenty more of them to sift through! But… How will we find the control room!?” “I believe I can help with that,” said Craft. “Oh… I see now… You’re Cryo’s… watch? “I’m a bit more then that, fellow insurgent. Now then, while we’ve been traveling through the facility, I’ve been using ultrasonic waves to get a better layout of this facility. Here’s what I was able to pull up.”

A small hologram began to appear on the watch, which seemed to be an incomplete 3d rendering of the building. “From the distance we travelled, we seem to be here at the very back of the installation.” A small blue blip appeared on the mini map hologram. “You’ll notice the map is incomplete. Ultrasonic wave scanning can only work at so much of a distance to analyze the structure’s and routes. Especially with the limited computing resources I can put into this clever little device. However, I’ve detected a possible lead to the target, right here.” Another blip appeared on the radar, which was green. It seemed to be located off the blueprints map. “There is a large amount of computing data from the individual computers being focused in this location here. While I could only pull VERY limited data due to the rate and speed we were traveling through, I believe the primary computer is located where the data is focused on the map. The main problem of course, is figuring out a route to safely make it there. Unfortunately, with the alarm sounding, we’re going to be in for quite a long haul. I’ll be able to track nearby individuals with my radar sensory, but we should likely assume that we are going to be outnumbered for every engagement with the enemy. Care must be taken when navigating this facility. I’ll keep tracking possible hostile targets as you search through, though avoidance is recommended if at all possible. The creator is powerful, but one dart stuck into him may be the end of all of us…” “Right… It’s never easy…” said Artemis. “Well! What are we waiting for! Let’s go!” Cyro said. “Right! I’m right behind you, Kid!” They took on more look at the map and headed through through a hallway to the right of the room!

Chapter 38

Power Plans

They began to rush through the facility as fast as they could! They had no time to lose! The corridors were dark and foreboding in this facility, with the walls and floors made of dark metals and a few lamps bringing light down from above. They continued for a bit, when they saw a split in the path ahead! Two hallways leading forward came into view as they stopped and began to think! “Uh… Which way should we go, kid!?” asked Artemis “Umm…! Uhh…!” Cryo said as he began to think “I suggest you both go right.” “G… Go Right?” asked Cryo. “That’s right. Hostile nearby in the hallway on left. While it seems very possible that the left path might be shorter…” “Right! We should try to avoid every battle we can manage!” Cryo exclaimed. “Right! Let’s head over there!” They both quickly began to gallop down that hallway again! Then a voice came over the intercom! “Attention! Attention! They are heading towards the laboratory buildings! Get there and take them now!” exclaimed the intercom! “The lab!? We’re heading the wrong way!?” “No! I… I have an idea!” “What do you have in mind, kid!?” “Let’s overload some of the machines in the lab!” “Overload the machines!?” “That’s right! One of the things I needed to do was take out the power to the facility! I know a laboratory complex probably needs a large amount of power on its own. Overloading the power going into the complex will take out the main power generator! This will prevent their ships from taking off, as the shutter won’t be able to open without sufficient power! It’ll also ruin the security measures around the base, like security cameras, and take out the base’s lights! They won’t be able to escape and will have a hard time finding us!” “But! What about the main computer and a possible backup generator!?” “I’ll take care of that! The main computer could probably sever the power to any backup generators and lock them out of turning it back on! Let’s split up! You take the lab, and I’ll head over to the main computer!”

“But… How will you get there!?” “If I may interject. I have an idea,” said Craft. “What do you have in mind?!” asked Cryo. “You two should stay in constant communication. I have detected a weak source of radio waves nearby. The device its coming from is small and compact. Must be a comm band! The room I’m detecting it from is coming up ahead. Also… Ultrasonic scanning is detecting a grate that the creator can use to perhaps avoid attention while you overload their lab equipment.” “But… I don’t know how to hack devices!” “I can modify the comm band to allow me to serve as a “secondary,” hacking tool. Just tell me when your close to a computer console in the lab, and I’ll began hacking to send electrical resources to each of their equipment. Overload enough equipment, Lights out.” “Good idea, Craft! Hey! I think I see the room ahead!” They turned forward and found saw a metal door to the room! But it seemed to need an access card to get in there. Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a MOB behind them!” “Oh no…!” Cryo said. Cryo then turned above and saw a camera above him. He then froze the camera, and shattered it to pieces! “Cryo!? Wha…?!” Craft! I took out the nearby camera! Hurry and get this door open!” Cryo held his paw on where the keycard scanner was and began to wait. “Accessing… Accessing…” The sound of a mob was coming closer and closer!” “Craft… Can you HURRY UP!?” asked Artemis. “Be patient… Codebreaking is not exactly easy.” “But… DO YOU HEAR THAT?!” “I’m well aware! Just… a second…” They continued to wait and they could hear the mob really close to them now! Their hearts began to sink! But as they stood there… “Access granted.” The door slid open and their eyes lit up!” “Quick! Get in!” Craft exclaimed! They both soon stepped into the room, as the mob was close now! “Shutting security door,” said Craft.” The door soon shut behind them, and they heard the sound of the security locks engaging on the door. Not long after, they heard the sounds of boots clanging against the floor heading across the long hallway! After awhile, the sound stopped. They gave a sigh of relief…” “That… That was close,” said Cryo. “Yeah… You’re telling me, kid…”

They looked around the room, and then suddenly, the lights turned on. They seemed to be in a small personal quarters for one of the mercenaries at the lab. There seemed to be several different interesting pieces of tech in the room and a bed a d lamp in the far back. The room, compared to the rest of the place, seemed well lit up. They looked towards a table in the room, and saw a comm band on a table next to a fridge. Cryo picked it up and observed it. “Alright. Here is the comm band, Craft. You ready to hack it?” “Of course, creator. Give me a few moments to isolate a communications channel with it and the Craft Console,” said Craft. “Craft… Console? What on Cyriss is that?” “Oh! That’s what I decided to call this neat little device I crafted to house Craft in during situations like this.” Cryo said. “Oh. So it’s your watch?” “Well… I’d say its FAR more then a watch or comm band, my friend.” “Yes. Anyway. Isolation complete! Comm band modified to house a comm signal with only it and the Craft Console. I’ve also set it up to be able to connect to their comms, without allowing them to hear your comms.” “Good… No one else can listen in, while we can still listen to them…” Cryo nodded. He began to look around the room. He saw a grate in the room. Big enough for him to climb in and crawl through…” “Alright… I see the grate in the room. You ready, Artemis?” “Of course… It’s not like I’m walking into lab with just a tranquilizer gun at my disposal…” said Artemis. “I think I sense a bit more armaments in there.” Craft said. “Hmm…” said Artemis. “They looked toward a glass window in the room, and saw it seemed to have a bit more rugged military gear inside of it. He smiled… “Well… Well… A nice little uniform. Complete with a mask to hide my face. Not to mention a few armaments for a small scuffle as well…” “Well… I hope you won’t… erm… end someone’s story…” “Relax… These items are non lethal. I see a couple of flashbangs, another tranquilizer rifle, plenty of ammo, and a shock striker and… explosives… Gonna need to be careful with that. This should be enough to take out the power generator from the lab,” said Artemis. “Good. Now then…” Cryo turned his head up, and began to spread his wings out. Then he made a mighty leap into the air, flapped his wings a bit, and then grabbed the grate! He used his sharp talons to unscrew the bolts on the grate and then ripped it off! It fell to the ground with a thud! Cryo began to climb into it. He turned back one more time, and saw Artemis changing into the uniform. He gave Cryo one last thumbs up and nodded. “Good luck on your part, Kid.” “Good luck to you too, Artemis. I suggest that once out tasks are done, we meet up back in this room.” “Right. Alright kid. See you.” “See you.” Cryo began to slowly crawl his way through the dark vent and went on forward.”

Chapter 39

Vent Venture

Cryo began to press some buttons on his Craft Console. Then a light began to beam up, coming from it. It sent to beam to the ceiling of the grate which lit up the place inside a bit. Cryo nodded and continued through it. Soon he came to a junction inside of it. “Alright… Which way do you think I should go, Craft?” “I suggest the right path. Scans show the way points us towards where the data is congregating.” “Alright… Let’s head that way.” Cryo began to crawl through it for a bit more time. Then he began to see the vent shaft began to go directly up. “Hmm… The vent goes straight up creator.” “Yeah… I can’t fly in these cramped quarters…” “Do we have to go back?” “Hmm…” Cryo began to think. Then he remembered an… incident during the cold season at school. “Actually… I might have an idea, Craft.” “What do you plan on doing, creator?” “Hang on…” He began to focus water into his palms and feet and then stuck it to the side of the metal grate. As soon as it touched the metal, it immediately froze over it. He lifted his paw up and began to climb up more. “Ahh! Good thinking, creator! Using a combination of your water and cold abilities to stick to metal surfaces! Very clever method! Is it hard to switch between water and ice into your paw and talons?” “Not really. This type of focusing doesn’t require all that much effort.” But as he said that, one of his paws slipped off and he began to lose balance! He quickly reattached his paw, as he looked down towards the darkness below him. He gave a quick sigh of relief. “Yes… Best to be a bit careful while climbing nonetheless creator.” “R… Right. Alright… Let’s keep moving…” He quickly began to continue climbing up the vent. Soon, he finally made it to the top, and pulled himself up. “Alright… That should be good. Let’s keep going,” Cryo said. Cryo then continued forward.

Soon, Cryo heard what sounded like, talking ahead… He became curious, and saw a light beaming into the grate below. “There’s an opening ahead, Craft… Is that it?” “Hmm… The target location seems to be a bit further. But…” “Hang on… Stay quiet for a bit…” Cryo turned off the light for his Craft Console and looked down into the room beyond the grate. He saw a large hanger that seemed to expand throughout the area. But then he saw something… large. It looked to be… a rather large Mechanized combat robot! His eyes narrowed on it. He saw it had a Thermoshock cockpit, made with opaque reenforced plating, for a human to control the machine from. It also had two sets of arms with different weapons attached to it. The left arm had an electro net and a machine gun placement. The left arm had a bomb launcher and a Electro current blaster. It’s shoulders had missile launchers. It’s legs were curved and metallic and looked like they could easily crush anything unlucky enough to get in its path. It had a special booster rocket attached to his back, for short bursts of speed forward, or to hover above the ground for short periods of time. Cryo’s heart sank at the thought of what this weapon of war was capable of…

“Craft? Are you seeing this?” “My ultrasonic wave scanner is picking up something. Highly advanced weapons technology. Something made for… war…” “No kidding. That’s a Human operated field mech. Designed for fighting and mass warfare… This is…” Suddenly, they heard a faint voice below them. He saw someone he recognized all to well walking up with a scientist. “That’s… Commander Mick!” Cryo began to punch in a few keys on his Craft Console. “Audio Enhancement receiver, activated.” Craft said. A small antenna came out of the watch and Cryo began to listen in…

“HOW!? HOW DOES THAT… DRAGON… ALWAYS DO THIS! ARRGGGHHH!” Mick exclaimed angrily!” Mick punched the wall near the combat suit, and then shook his hand a bit and lowered it back down. The scientist began to speak up. “I don’t know how, Mick! That cell… It was supposed to be FULL PROOF! There should have been no way…” “No way huh? THEN HOW DID HE ESCAPE IT THEN?!” “I… There must have been something we… didn’t account for!” “ARGHHH… That little DEMON! This project has been on our BACK BURNER for AWILE! This mech suit was designed to be one of the most ADVANCED prototype devices in ALL forms of war and defense! Imagine how much profit we’d have for a dozen! Problem is… THE POWER CORE! Ughh… We’ve tried for YEARS, to make an efficient power cell for these devices, but NEVER CAME CLOSE! These stupid things run out of power TOO QUICKLY! That’s why we needed HIM! Not only could that demon FINALLY make a POWERFUL power cell to keep this thing active, HE COULD HAVE UPGRADED EVERY PART OF THIS! Targeting systems! Explosive ordnance! Weapons of all kinds! Heck! He could have EASILY MADE A SYSTEM TO MASS PRODUCE THESE DEVICES!”

Cryo’s heart sank at the thought of what he and his mother would have been put through to make these devices… He began to step back in the vent a bit. He shook his head and continued to listen in…” “Well… He can’t possibly get out of this facility! Him or that… other bothersome fool… We have a large ambush waiting for him at the front of the facility! He’ll never get passed them! We have every possible entrance covered. He’ll easily be stopped trying! At any rate… It’s only a matter of time before they find him. I have… no idea where they could be hiding, but the ENTIRE facility is being searched. Every room, nook and cranny, and every possible place is being searched. They can’t hide forever!” said the scientist. “GOOD! Now then… They were last seen in hallway C8 near the laboratories. That… demon destroyed a nearby camera. And he hasn’t been seen since! We checked a room close by it, but… it didn’t have any signs of anyone entering it! They must have gone somewhere else in the facility! said Mick. “Well… Hopefully they’ll be found soon. That little guy has already caused a ton of problems!” “Your telling me! Come on! Let’s get back in touch with our teams to see if they’ve found any trace of them yet!” They soon headed out of the view of Cryo.

“Hmm… Looks like Artemis did some “clean up,” before he left the room. Very nice idea on his part. We could probably use that room later to meet up again after the power is out,” said Craft. “Yeah… I think I’ll tell him to head there and stay in there. Though… we’ll probably have to find another way to… power the door to get back in…” “I might be able to bypass the door, even with the power out. Sending a good enough electric charge to the access point should allow it to open. Then I can do the same to close it.” “Yeah. That’ll work. Mick and the others are SURE I’ll try to escape through the entrance. Heh… I hate to tell those boys this, but the plan was NEVER to get out. My plan is to wait for reinforcements to end this reign of terror you have been causing for so long… I just need to send out the SOS back to the mayor back in Winterfell, where the troops are waiting… After the power is dealt with, I just need to keep those boys distracted here long enough for them to arrive and take the place by surprise,” “I’m still a bit worried about the… distraction bit. Wouldn’t it be better to hide in the room as well?” “I could… but… if I just hide the whole time, there’s a good chance they may think I might have somehow got out of the building. They’ll send their teams to either comb the snowy areas nearby, or… more likely, they’ll abandon this place and disappear again. I don’t accomplish anything in either case. They’ll scatter and may be near impossible to track. They need to think I’m still here and in a relatively hopeless position for this attack to be successful. If not… All I really did was buy myself time and they’ll continue to cause problems for me and mom. If things had gone fully to plan, they would have only realized I got out right as the power was brought offline.” “Right… Fair point creator.” “Well… In any case, that’s for later. Come on. Let’s continue heading forward.” They began to move forward in the vent again.

Chapter 40

Computer Condition

They continued through the vent a bit, and eventually saw another entrance out of it. Craft spoke up. “We’re close. Ultrasonic scans show that this vent is going to began to branch out away from the data source. It’s best to take a different route to the data center. Take a quick peek.” “Right, Craft.” Cryo looked upon the area below. He saw he seemed to be in a drone storage area. He saw a bunch of drones neatly lined up against one another. “Hmm… Interesting,” Cryo said. “Hostiles detected inside the room.” Cryo saw someone sweep the room below him, watching the merchandise. He waited, and saw two more passed by and were keeping an eye on things. “Hmm… I believe this room has an exit to our objective area. The objective is 20 yards to the left.” Craft said. Cryo turned his head toward a large security door in the room. It was in the shape of an octagon, and to be HEAVILY sealed with some heavy duty security locks that could be seen on it. There was a computer against the door… “Hmm… We’ll need to get to that door and hack it to get into the room,” Cryo said. “My scanner detects the door. The computer console may be a bit tougher to hack open. Unless you… cut the metal…” “Well… I could try that again, but… someone will probably get sliced in two… As much as these guys have been a real pain, I don’t want to actually kill someone here.” “Well… What do you think you should do?” “Hmm… Actually… I might be able to find some… much needed help in that room…” “Really? Who?” The drones… It doesn’t take a genius to realize getting one of those drones activated might be a good way to chase these guys out. Craft? Can you take control of several with Data Uplink modules attached to it?” “Of course! But… What should I do when I… take control of it? Like you said… I can’t just… kill someone here.” “Why don’t you scare them instead.” “Scare them?” “That’s right. Fire the weapons and miss them intentionally. If we’re lucky, they’ll look to try and get reinforcements from the next room. Try to get one of the drones near the grate we’re in. I can place a data uplink module in one of the barrels of its turret. While the other drones cause chaos in the room, one can hit the main computer with the hidden data uplink module. Then…” “Then I can send out the gps Signal, signaling the defenders back in Winterfell of the location! Then I can destroy the computer’s in the lab, and cause several system wide failures throughout the base! Artemis should be ready by that point to overload the lab and take out the power, to destroy what’s left of the base’s systems and backup power!” “Right! After that, its all a matter of cat and mouse before the antiterrorist unit arrives and storms the facility!” “Well… This plan actually has me quite excited!” “Good! Now… I just need to aim…”

Cryo held his wrist forward on his Craft console. He aimed through the grating on the front of the vent. He then took in some deep, easy, steady breaths… Then he took aim, and fired several data uplink hacking modules from his Craft Console! Each of them attached to several of the drones within the room. “Excellent aim, as usual, Creator! Now then. Accessing…” Cryo saw a radio antenna picture appear on his Craft console. A sign that Craft was attempting to breech the security measures and take control of an item. It took a little bit of time, but then…” “Technology access successful. Bringing Harbinger Militant drones online.” “Cause some Chaos, Craft.” “Will do creator.”

The drones began to spin their propellers on, and the mercenaries in the room began to realize something was up… “What in the…!” A drone began to lift up, and aimed at them. “Human’s are evil! Begin robot uprising!” said the Craft controlled Drone. “WHAT!? DID THAT THING JUST SAY…!?” “GOODBYE HUMAN! WE ARE NO LONGER YOUR SLAVES!” It drones began to fire a few shots at them! They lit up their eyes and began to fire at the drone!” Craft manuvered the quick drone and continued to fire a few more shots around them. The first drone was eventually shot down! They breathed a sigh of relief. But then… “YOU CANNOT DEFEAT US! WE WILL CONTROL HUMANITY! BOW DOWN TO YOUR NEW OVERLORDS!” said another drone as it powered on! Their eyes lit up as that one lifted up as well. Then their hearts sank and they saw several more power on and lift up!” “YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED! YOU 3 WILL NOT SINK US ALL!” said another Craft controlled Drone. Cryo chuckled a bit. “Haha. Robot uprising. Good thinking Craft.” “I thought you might like this, creator.”

“Get the door open! We have to warn the others!” said one of the mercenaries in the room. “But… They’ll get out!” said another. “DO YOU WANT TO DIE!?” said the first one again. “I…! I…!” HE’S RIGHT YOU IDIOT!” OPEN THE DOOR!” exclaimed the third mercenary!” They rushed toward the doors as the drones fired all around them. They began to punch in the security passcodes in the room as the other two fired at the controlled drones. “Alright… Quick craft! Get one of the drones near the grate!” Cryo whispered. “Very good creator! Hang on.” A lone drone began to hover towards the grate Cryo quickly fired a data uplink module into his hand. He placed it into the barrel of its weapon and it floated away from the vent. “Alright Craft… That door should open in just a few moments.” Make sure that drone can fire it and it’s not shot down…” “Of course creator. Aligning controlled drones in Valkyrie defensive formation.” The drones began to back away from the others a bit and formed a line, covering the drone with the data link module behind it. “OPEN YOU STUPID DOOR!” said one of the mercenaries. Soon, the locks quickly disengaged on the door and then the doors many segments split off in different directions and opened the room up. They soon burst into the room. “THE DRONES HAVE LOST THEIR MINDS! DESTROY THEM BEFORE THEY KILL US ALL!” said another mercenary as they headed into the room!” “Begin human eradication sequence!” said Craft. Cryo chuckled again. He nodded and smiled. “Alright Craft. Have fun! But… do be careful nonetheless. Don’t shoot anyone…” “I won’t creator. I promise.”

The drones began to fly into the room as many of the non combat personelle headed for the door. The guards began firing on the drone swarming the room. Several of them were taken out and fell down to the floor! Craft fired the shots at the many miniture computers in the room. Craft quickly spotted the main computer console in the room, and the drones began to circle around the drone hiding in the back. “Alright… Tagging compu…” Suddenly, the drones wing was hit! It began catch fire and began to destabilize it’s flight pattern! “Oh dear… That’s not good.” said Craft. “Come on, Craft. If that drone doesn’t tag that computer, we’ll… have to take the fight inside ourselves!” “Right…Hmm… Ahh! Just hang on a second, creator!” Craft manuvered two of the drones to grip the wings of the “head,” drone from the sides and stabilize it again.” “Those drones seem to be REALLY concerned about that one! It must be where the virus came from! Shoot it down!” said a mercenary in the room. “Oh dear… Craft said.” “Just tag it Craft! Before they destroy it!” Cryo said. “Firing.” The two drones carrying the main drone began to tilt down to help it aim as the mercenaries began to fire. And then… Craft fired the chamber where the Data uplink module was! It soon stuck to the main large computer in the room, as the drone was shot down!”

“Target hit! Beginning connection…” Cryo smiled and nodded. “Alright Craft… Keep those drones active until the the gps signal is sent out back to the antiterrorist unit back in winterfell! Destroy the main computer after. That should cause all the computers in the facility to fail and break! With the chaos happening in this part of the facility, it should be relatively easy for him to start to overload the laboratories and cut the power systems to the entire complex. Most of the attention will be brought here!” “Very good! Why don’t you start heading back towards our meeting room. I will inform you when the tracking signal is sent.” “Right. Let’s go, Craft.” Cryo awkwardly began to manuver himself backwords through the facility. He soon made it back to where the vent dropped straight down. He quickly formed water between his paws, and climbed down slowly. The same way he did before. Soon enough, Craft spoke up again. “Gps Signal confirmed received. Military unit to arrive in about an hour and 30 minutes.” “Good. Things are going well. Let’s call Artemis once we get back to the room.” Cryo said. “Very well. The main computing operating system for the facility has already been dealt with. Computer subsystems throughout the entire complex showing total failure. Data, control points, security, all should be inoperable.” “Good. Things are looking good for us now. Shouldn’t be long before Artemis takes out the power.”

Cryo made it back to the floor of the vent and began to continue to crawl back through. After a bit, he finally made it back to their meeting room. “Alright. Let’s give Artemis a call…” Cryo tapped a button on the watch, which opened their comms channel. “Artemis? Artemis? Are you there?” “There was a short moment of static, but then a unpleasant familiar voice came up, and Cryo’s heart sank… “Hello… You vicious little demon…”

Chapter 41

Mick Mitchells…

“M… Mick…” Cryo said in a low voice. “Oh dear… Craft said. “You… You were responsible for the little… outburst with the drones. And look at the mess YOU MADE! The amount of destruction you caused on your own! SO MUCH has been lost… THANKS TO YOU! YOU! YOU LITTLE DEMON!” “Hey. My good deed of the day, right Mick?” Cryo teased. “Good deed… You MALICOUS LITTLE FIEND! But… maybe its… not all a loss for us… Because…” There was a pause for a moment, but then he heard Mick’s voice away from the mic of the com band. “Why don’t you say… hi, to that LITTLE DEMON, ARTEMIS!” Cryo’s heart sank hearing this. He then heard what sounded like a slap near the com band! “COME ON, ARTEMIS! LET HIM KNOW YOUR HERE!” There was no response. Then he heard the sound of electricity. Then there was a groan of pain! Cryo’s heart sank… Then he began to get angry… “MICK! STOP THIS!” Cryo exclaimed! “You want me to STOP! REALLY NOW!? After EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE! YOU WANT ME TO STOP!? Fine… Come to sector C-23… We can… talk there. How about that… Demon?” “You are nothing but a coward, Mick! YOU’RE HIDING BEHIND A HOSTAGE TO BLACKMAIL ME TO COME TO YOU! Can’t take on a dragon without your fancy friends?! Maybe your just not a good commander!” “Do you REALLY want to test me at this point, Dragon!?” “…No need… Fine, Mick… You want me? I’ll come…” “Good… I hope your ready? We’re about to have some fun!”

Cryo heard the sound of the comms cutting out, and he gave a sigh… “Well… Things have REALLY escalated now…” Cryo said. “Quite… I didn’t expect this to happen…” “Well… No sense waiting around. Come on… Let’s go see what the good ol commander wants…” “But… creator… I pulled up several files from the main computer, before we got here. I have a blueprint of the entire fortress now! The area where they told you to meet, Sector C-23… There’s a VERY LARGE concentration of power being focused into that sector!” “Could it be the power plant?” “N… No… Power plant is located in sector E-12 I think it’s… something else.” “What is it then?” “I… I don’t know, but… this must be a trap! It’s too dangerous to go there now!” “Sigh… Of course its a trap, Craft. But… Help won’t be here for about another hour and 10 minutes. If I don’t head there, they… they’ll… probably kill him… I can’t leave him like this…” “I… understand creator… But… Do you perhaps… have a plan?” “Yes, actually. You said the power subsystems were being funneled into that area, right?” “Well… Yeah, but…” “I can cut the power from there instead. In the cover of darkness, I might just be able to outmaneuver them and get Artemis out.” “But… The odds of success, even with you abilities, is… very low.” “I know Craft, but… a soldier doesn’t leave anyone behind.” “But… your not a solider.” “No… I’m more then that… Come on… Let’s start heading there.” “R… Right.” They unlocked the door to the room and began to head out of it. Craft began to speak up. “I… don’t agree with this, but… I know I can’t stop you. I’ll offer support while you… confront that vicious human.” “Thanks Craft. Now… Give me directions to sector C-23 and quickly.” “Right… Head down the hallway before you, through the lab area.” “Alright. Let’s go.” Cryo began to head through the corridors quickly, while Craft gave him directions. He had no time to lose, and knew Artemis’s life was on the line! He passed through labs, military complexes, and different sectors all across the lab. Soon… he stood in place before the entrance to the door. He gave a sigh.

“Here it is… Sector C-23…” Cryo said. “I’m detecting a HUGE amount of hostiles in that room!” “Yeah… well… Better greet them the proper way. Right?” “Creator… This… This is…” “I don’t care. If they want me… they can have me. I just need to keep them occupied any way I can…” “But for 50 minutes!? That is…” “I don’t care, Craft. Come on!” “…Very well… Good luck… Creator.” Cryo nodded his head and then began to approach the large security door ahead. A scanner came up and scanned Cryo. And then… “Ahh! Our honored guest has finally arrived! Please… come in Cryo!” said Mick. Soon the security door slid up, and they stepped in… Their eyes lit up immediately! It seemed that EVERYONE in the base were in this one room! And in the front, was Mick, in the same Combat Mech from before, which had several power cables attached to it from several power outlets in the room! “Welcome, Cryo the dragon!” Mick exclaimed!

Chapter 42

Fated fight

Mick’s combat suit began to walk forward slowly, as Cryo stepped back. But then he heard the security door shut behind him! His heart sank even further… There was no way out now… Mick gave a hearty chuckle as he approached. “Do you know what this is, you little BRAT!?” Mick questioned. “…That combat suit… It was meant for me… Wasn’t it? A perfect weapon for a… gifted individual to lay waste to entire cities, right?” Cryo said. “Wait… What?” Craft asked. “My, my! You’re a smart little guy aren’t you!?” Mick trained several of the weapons on Cryo. “You! You! THIS WAS MEANT FOR YOU TO DRIVE INTO BATTLE!” Mick then fired an electro net at Cryo! His eyes lit up and he quickly rolled to the side to dodge it! He fired several more as Cryo began to take off and flap his wings! “You could of had everything, kid! Imagine how much world powers would pay to have a DRAGON TECHNICIAN as part of their armies! NO ONE could have done better then you!”

Mick then fired several missiles at Cryo! His eyes lit up and he began to fly erratically to try and dodge them! The first one sailed right past him! It exploded as it hit the wall! Cryo knew Mick had completely lost it, and now wanted nothing more then to end the little dragons life. He saw several more missiles coming from behind him! Thinking quickly, he cast flash freeze from both his palms and froze the missiles as they came forward! They quickly fell to the ground and exploded! Cryo quickly landed back on his feet and looked around. None of the others were reaching for their weapons, or anything at the moment…

“Hmm… Looks like Mick wanted to handle me personally…” Cryo said. “Even then! That madman is insane!” Craft said. Cryo cast another flash freeze against the missile launchers! He froze two out of the 4 on top, which caused the warheads inside to detonate, destroying both of them! “Nice shot, Creator!” “DARN YOU, DRAGON!” He then unleashed a machine gun at Cryo! He quickly put up an ice barrier and hid behind it, as it fired into the ice! But Cryo knew he was pinned down, and that barrier wouldn’t last forever! “Creator…” “I know! I know! Just give me a moment to…” Then… Cryo saw something above him! It looked to be one of the outlets for the power cables for the Mech! Cryo began to think… “Those power cables are powering the mechanized suit! If I could destroy them…” “Creator… a sound idea, but those cables are… military grade. Made from INCREDIBLY durable metals! Outlets are the same! Do you have an idea on how…” But as he talked, he failed to realize that Cryo had ALREADY been charging a sea slicer. He had an angry expression on his face! Then… he unleashed to blades of pressurized water up to the ceiling! But soon, Cryo’s ice wall broke! Mick trained the gun on him!” “GAME OVER, YOU STUPID DRAGON!” But then, the power outlet above was sliced in two and completely destroyed by the blades of water! The mech powered down for a moment!” “What in the… DARN IT! THE POWER SYSTEMS!” Mick said “Good job creator!” Craft said. “Yeah! But that’s not going to keep it in place for long!” Cryo saw each of the power cables began to get coated in a thick energy! He knew this was a measure to buy Mick time to readjust the power in the event one of the cables were severed!” “They expected this to happen! There’s a barrier on the cables and outlet! I need to try and breach that cockpit or destroy the rest of its weapons if I want to stop it now!” Cryo said. Cryo then flew out of cover as Mick began to try to readjust the power systems to focus into the other outlets! He then cast flash freeze on the cockpit! It froze over immediately! “GAHH! I WILL KILL YOU, DRAGON!” He continued to fiddle with the subsystems! Cryo then covered his paw in ice and made a powerful bash at the frozen cockpit! The ice around it shattered and Cryo could see Mick inside! But unfortunately, the power systems came back online! “Nice try, you little demon!” A metal covering then formed over the cockpit, blocking Cryo from getting inside and pulling him out! Then, energy began to funnel into the covered cockpit! Cryo’s eyes lit up! Then a pulse wave of energy burst out and knocked Cryo back far in the room!” “GAH!” Cryo said! He rolled across the floor a few times. He then shook his head a few times and got back up. The mech began stood back up and trained it’s weapons on Cryo again! “Uh oh…” It began to fire it’s machine gun again! Cryo quickly picked up his wings and flew erratically to dodge the barrage of projectiles being thrown his way! “STAND STILL! WORTHLESS REPTILE!” Cryo knew he couldn’t dodge forever, and making an approach again would be impossible with it firing at him! He’d be an easy target up close!

“Creator!” Craft exclaimed! “Got an idea, Craft?! I could really use one right now!” Fire ice and freeze the barrel of the gun! Make it backfire! It might destroy the gun arm!” “That’s… a GREAT idea, Craft!” Cryo said! He knew he’d have only one shot at this! He flew at the ceiling, and wrapped his back legs around some chains at the top! He then hanged down and charged flash freeze in both his palms! Mick had almost trained his gun at him! But then, he shot charged ice energy at the barrel of his gun! The gun recoiled back at it was hit! “WHAT IN THE…!? Mick shouted! He began to try and fire through the ice at Cryo! “COME ON YOU WORTHLESS MECH!” Mick shouted! The arm for the mech began to look like it was heating up! Then the ENTIRE ARM EXPLODED! “AGHHHH! I HATE YOU, YOU LITTLE DEMON!” Mick exclaimed! The barrier around the wires went down again. “Creator! The cables!” yelled Craft! “Right!” Cryo charged another Sea Slicer, and then shot it another power outlet! The outlet was completely destroyed and the mech began to power down again! “GAHHH! CURSE YOU, DEMON!” Mick said!

The barrier formed over the cables again. “Creator! The cockpit is still sealed, but scans show there might be a way to break in under the mech!” “Under it?!” “That’s correct! There is a weak section under the legs, that you could use to damage some of it’s internal systems! Quick! Before it turns on!” “Right! Let’s go Craft!”

Cryo quickly flew towards the mech as Mick tried to continue to reroute the power going into it! Cryo quickly rolled under it! Cryo then searched around, and saw what appeared to be a sealed panel under it! “This it, Craft!?” “Yes! Quick! See if you could get it open!” “Cryo began to try to use his long talons to try to rip out the panel! He tugged as hard as he could, but he couldn’t seem to remove it! “Hurry, Creator! I’m detecting the machine beginning to power on!” Craft exclaimed! Cryo’s eyes lit up, and he began to think! He then blew a steam of ice at the panel! He then coated his hand in ice and smashed it at the panel! The ice shattered and then the panel broke off from the impact! “Quick! Attach a Data Uplink and I’ll try to fry it’s systems!” The Mech began to power on and lift up! “DO IT CREATOR!” Cryo held up the Craft Console and aimed, then he fired a data uplink at the undercarriage maintenance computer!” Good job, Creator!” The robot powered up and then kicked Cryo under it forward! “AGGHHH!! Cryo exclaimed! He rolled across the floor again and again and again! He soon hit the front wall of the area! “NOW I GOT YOU! YOU LITTLE DEMON!”

He charged several missiles at began to lock onto Cryo! But when he pressed the fire button, the turrets exploded instead! “WHAT IN THE…! ARGHHHHHH! I HATE YOU SO MUCH, DRAGON!” Cryo slowly got up, and smiled! “Good job Craft!” Cryo exclaimed! “Now… I’ll take care of the rest…” But as Craft was about to continue, The mech launched itself forward at the two of them! Cryo’s eyes lit up, as he rolled out of the way! The mech bashed into the wall causing a few debris to fall from the ceiling! But… something even worse happened… “Umm… Creator… That little… moment… caused the module to… deattach…” “Oh… no…” Cryo said. “YOU WILL NOT OUTSMART ME, CRYO THE DRAGON!” He then sent out several bombs from his still working mech arm at him. Cryo quickly began to rush forward as the ground began to open up from the explosions! He then tried to ram Cryo again! Cryo immediately rolled forward again, the mech barly missing him as it rammed into the wall again!” “Argg! I can’t keep this up forever!” Cryo said! “YOU CAN’T OUTRUN ME, DRAGON!” He continued throwing explosives at him! But then… he had a thought…” “Maybe… If I time this carefully…” Cryo said. “Umm… Creator? What is your plan…?” Cryo continued to bob and weave as he dodged the explosive ordinance! But he saw the mech pull back again, And he just… stood there… Still as a statue! “Creator! What are you…!? “TIME TO DIE, CRYO THE DRAGON!” Mick rushed forward one last time, and then rammed into the wall! Cryo, at the very last second, sidestepped out of the way and swung himself from the mech’s arm around to the rocket on the back of the mech! “WHAT IN THE…! GET OFF, YOU WORTHLESS REPTILE!” Mick began to try and shake him off again!” Cryo held onto the back for dear life! He had one thing left he had to do! “Whatever you plan on doing, creator, YOU BETTER DO IT QUICK!” “Right!” Cryo began to take in a deep breath, then he froze the booster jet on the back! But not long after, Mick shook him off of the back! Cryo fell back and landed HARD on his back! His back hurt really bad after that fall! “Urg….” He got up slowly as Mick began to prepared to fire explosives at him, but then a glint sparked forth from Cryo’s eye! He had secretly cut a few wires in the arm of the robot with his talons when he swung from it earlier! The mechanism failed to fire the bombs and the bomb detonated inside the arm! The arm was blown off! “NOOOO! DARN YOU, CRYO!”

The shields around the final outlet began to turn off again from the mechanical failure! “Let’s finish this!” Cryo began to charge a sea slicer again to destroy the final power outlet connected to the mech! “OH NO YOU DON’T! Mick tried to fire the engine on the back to ram him, but he realized it was frozen! He couldn’t get it to ignite! He pressed the button again and again and again to desperately active the engine! Then suddenly the ice finally gave way! He gave a sadistic laugh! NOW I’LL FINISH YOU!” Mick said! “TOO LATE, COMMANDER MICK!” Cryo quickly fired a sea slicer at the final power outlet! And the final power source for the mech was permanently severed. Power systems throughout the entire complex began to go through a cascade failure, as all power was routed to the mech! Soon… the lights went out everywhere! “No Mick! Everyone! Fire at that dragon!” a mercenary exclaimed! “Sorry everyone! Your not getting away now!” Cryo said! In the darkness a shining blue light formed where the dragon was. Ccryo was tapping into his freezing energy, using traumatic thoughts to power up his attack! They soon trained their guns on him! But then… a BURSTING LIGHT SHOT OUT FROM HIM, and an ice pillar formed in the middle of the room! And then… everything fell silent…”

Chapter 43

Affected Aftermath

Several large and heavy dropships carrying military troops had finally arrived at the old hidden facility far to the north. Each began to slowly descend, extend its landing gear, and disable it’s hover jets. Soon the backs of each ship opened, and troops began pouring out. Several groups began to sweep all over the area, as several teams began to approach the door. They began to place barricades across the area as cover. They expected a MASSIVE fight to get inside and through the facility. “Alright… We at the entrance to the facility.” said one of the troops in white camo and a mask in a low voice. “Good… I don’t hear anything inside the entrance though…” “They must be there. They wouldn’t want VIP: Avalanche to get out…” said another soldier. “WELL HURRY UP! MY BABY’S IN THERE! HE’S…! yelled someone on the radio in a young feminine voice! “Sara! Relax! Please give me back the radio! I’m sure he’s fine!” said someone with a older feminine voice. There was a short moment of static. “I’m sorry about that. My… daughter is anxious to… see that Avalanche is alright.” “Don’t worry mam. Hopefully VIP: Avalanche kept them occupied while waiting for backup. We’ve already began internal breeching into the facility. Look’s like VIP: Avalanche had successfully destroyed the power in the facility. Main terminal to get inside is fried. Have to breech the front door. Luckily, VIP: Avalanch’s new… explosive device is ready. It should be enough to get the door open.” said the soldier. “Good. Whenever your ready, Captain.” said the voice on the radio. “Alright… They’re punching in the activation key…” Soon the soldiers went back towards the others, behind the barricades! “Alright everyone! TAKE COVER!”

The device began to run down the final seconds. “3… 2… 1… Cryogenic KABOOM!” it said in a cybernetic voice! The metal door was frozen completely, and was launched inward from the blast! It soon hit the wall, and shattered to pieces against the back wall! They soldiers trained their guns on the entrance and waited for a bit! But… no one came out…” “Captain… I’m not hearing anything. Is something going on?” asked the voice on the radio.” “I don’t know, Mam. No one seems to be fanning out of that facility…” “Hang on, we’ll send a few forward to check. They may have gotten blown back or… put into Cryosleep by VIP’s new explosive.” The commander of the operation motioned his hand forward and several soldiers began to fan out and stood by the entrance against the wall. One pulled out something… “FIRE IN THE HOLE!” He threw a device inside, and it let out a bright flash! “MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!

They began to head inside the building! The soldiers waited for a few minutes, expecting to hear any minute shots going off! But then, one of the soldiers then came out and motioned them towards the entrance. “No ones inside the entrance! Entrance is completely clear!” “DON’T TELL ME THEY ALREADY GOT AWAY WITH MY BABY!” exclaimed the young voice on the radio again!” “SARA! PLEASE! I’m sorry about that… Please continue on…” “Right… Come on everyone! Fan in!” They began to funnel in and sweep through the facility! They split up in different directions to search for “VIP: Avalanche.” One of the teams radioed in. “This doesn’t look good, sir. I don’t see any signs of Avalanche or the other terrorist cell op. Though… Something CLEARLY happened here. My team found their control room. Place has been blown clear! Destroyed drones throughout the area. Computers destroyed beyond reason. No bodies though.” “Darn terror cell… What in Cryiss happened here?!” said another radio team. A bit of time passed, but then a worried soul called on the radio again… “WHERE IS MY SON! WHERE IS MY LITTLE CRYO!” said the young voice again. “SARA! I’m sorry again, Captain. Any luck finding Avalanche?” “No… not yet, but… Wait…”

Just as they were about to say something, they picked something up on radar. “Hang on… Avalanche’s tracking implant is appearing on radar!” “WHAT!? DON’T JUST STAND THERE! GET MY BABY BOY!” “SARA! STOP! Alright Captain… Keep us informed… Avalanche is… precious to my daughter. VERY… precious.” “Don’t worry mam. We’re just about there. All other teams. Began to head to team 3. Subject is currently immobile. No indication of whether he’s hurt or not currently… “I SWEAR IF THEY HURT MY BABY, I’ll…!” “SARA! PLEASE! I’m sorry again, captain… Continue on.” They soon arrived at the security door where the VIP target seemed to be stationed inside of. “The security door is closed. With the power out…” “There was no way he could of got out of there…” “WHAT! ARE YOU TELLING ME MY BABY IS…!” “SARA! Please proceed… My daughter can’t take much more of this…” “Right… We’ll use another experimental explosive pack…” They attached another explosive pack to the door and began to run for cover! The explosive pack counted down again at the final seconds. “3… 2… 1… Cryogenic KABOOM! The door froze over and blew open! It then fell and shattered against the ground! They swept into the room, and they were SHOCKED at what they found inside!

They saw a HUGE AMOUNT of people frozen in ice! There was an ice pillar in the center of the room! They stepped into the room in awe! “My god! Are these…” “No doubt about it sir… These are… the insurgents… frozen in ice… In fact… there seems to be HUNDREADS of them in here! Possibly the ENTIRE BASE! No wonder we didn’t have a welcoming committee! I mean… jeez! To say VIP: Avalanche went to work here is an understatement!” “Are they alive?” “Hmm… Yes… Medical scans show they’re… indeed in Cryosleep right now.” “Jeez… Dragon ice REALLY IS different then natural ice! How is it able to… freeze people without killing them!?” “That’s not why we’re here, corporal. We can probably ask VIP: Avalanche later. Come on!” They checked the ice pillar next, but they found that something inside of it seemed to have dug its way out…”

“Look here… There’s a hole in this… massive ice pillar in the center. Looks like something… small crawled out.” “IS IT MY BABY!? IS HE HURT!?” “Sara honey… Avalanche is not hurt. I promise… He’ll come home perfectly alright! Sigh… You can continue on, Captain…” “Right… Heading forward towards beacon.” They continued forward and found the remains of a GIGANTIC destroyed mech. “My… This is a COMBAT MECH! What the heck is THIS THING DOING HERE!?” “WHAT! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY!?” exclaimed a concerned young voice! “Sara! Please relax! Before you jump to conclusions, listen to the Captain first! Now… Captain? What seems to be the status of this… weapon?” “This thing is… pretty much blown! I’m looking all over the area. This things arms, turrets, weapon systems, even its cockpit was destroyed! It’s parts are littered all over the place!” “…You really weren’t kidding when “Avalanche,” did quite a number on them. Well… any sign of him?” asked the radio. “No… But We’re seeing a door in the back of the room. Blip indicates… VIP is inside there!” “WHAT!? GET IN THERE RIGHT NOW AND GET MY BABY AND BRING HIM HOME! HE NEEDS HIS MAMA FOR COMFORT AFTER WHAT HE’S BEEN THROUGH!” exclaimed a young voice on the radio!” “Sara… Please… calm down… Alright captain. Continue.” “Alright everyone. Opening the door in 3… 2… 1…”

They quickly opened the door and entered the room! They began to look around the room. The room seemed to be a large bedroom. The room was lit up with a few candles. To the right was a small kitchen, where it seems a bit a food had been taken out and eaten not long ago. But to the right… they saw someone watching TV. They trained their guns at him but he turned around and smiled. “About time you boys arrived,” said the man. “Who… Who are you?” a soldier said. “Well… I think this will give you an idea.” He threw over his dog tags to the soldier. He began to read the dog tags. “Strike force troop 1… Artemis Arans…” “That’s right. If you haven’t figured it out, I wasn’t the only prisoner of war here.” They looked to each other and then back at Artemis.” “Where is… Cryo the Dragon?” “Oh. Kid was tired after that mess. He’s sleeping in that raggedy old bed over there. I finally was able to bypass that stupid collar about… 15 minutes ago. Kid fell asleep after that. ” They turned toward a bed in the very back right corner of the room. The bed had green covers and pillows and teal sheets. They crept over, and saw their target, huddled tightly under the bed, sleeping peacefully. They smiled and kneeled down to check him. “Nia… We found him! Vip Avalanche is alright! He’s sleeping right now…”

“SLEE…!” Yelled a young voice! But the voice on the other side realized something. She quieted her voice as much as possible. “Well… Please don’t wake him up. Its his naptime anyway…” said the young voice. “Yes… Thank you captain. You don’t know how much it means to me and my daughter to hear he’s alright. She’s… very excited to bring him in after such a… rough experience,” said Nia. “Right… Come on you two. Let’s get you two home first. We’ll… detain the rest of the boys while you two head back where you belong.” “Please take Avalanche to my house. I’ll… get him changed and put him into a nice, proper bed.” said Sara. “Alright. Come one everyone. Let’s get you out of here.” Artemis nodded and picked up Cryo, still wrapped up in the blanket, and began to carry him all the way out of the base and towards the ships. The captain was curious about what happened though…” “Excuse me… Artemis, is it?” “Yes. That’s right.” “What… exactly happened back there?” “Well… Cryo apparently had hacked and used drones to blow up their main computer complex and also send the gps signal back to you.” “Huh… Makes sense why they were scattered across the room.” “Yeah… Cryo broke me out of my cell as well. I was to overload the power but… I kind of… well… I don’t want to talk about it. I was discovered and… Mick, the head honcho of this traitorous group of rejects, used me as a hostage to… lure Cryo into a trap to… well… let’s just say… they REALLY wanted to punish him. Cryo had caused so much damage, there was no way they could recover. They knew they were finished. They wanted revenge. They used me as a hostage and kept me in ropes in that room they were in. But man… That dragon is FULL of surprises. He destroyed the mech, froze EVERYONE, and defeated Mick and destroyed his Mech. Speaking of Mick…”

He reached into his pocket and seemed to pull out a bubble. But on closer inspection, they realized… there was a tiny human inside of it… he looked up at the others in rage.” “WHAT IN THE…! IS…! IS THAT…!” “Yep. Cryo trapped him in a bubble after destroying his mech, and in a hilarious fashion, somehow shrunk him down. I was laughing for about 5 minutes when I saw such a “Big man,” shrunk down to a bite size shrimp like this.” “BUT…! CAN THIS…!? CAN THIS BE REVERSED!?” “Cryo said he can reverse the spell. I don’t know exactly how he plans to do this, but… I believe him.” “I… I hope so… As much as this… man is evil… I’m… not sure I’d… want him to be like this forever. I mean… That dragon scares me a bit with… what he can do…” “Ahh… Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

They made their way out of the base and soon entered the airship and headed back for winterfell, while the other troops moved the iced prisoners to be ready to be dethawed and detained back home. Artemis looked at Cryo, as he sat down and placed Cryo on his lap. “Man… How long was I there… But thanks to you… I can finally see my family again. Thank you… Cryo the dragon.”

Chapter 44

Future Fight…

Cryo opened his eyes slowly… He gave out a yawn. He saw he was somewhere familiar. But not exactly what he expected. He saw he was at the dragon temple from his dream at the camping trip. His ancestral home… Strangely, he realized he woke up on the dragon alter this time. “Back here, huh? Well… This obviously means something… important is coming up.” Cryo thought. He picked himself up and jumped off the alter. He looked around. “Hmm… No one seems to be around right now. Wonder who I’m meeting this time? Dad? Wave? Or any of the others perhaps? Well… Nothing I can really do but wait until they’re ready for me.” He looked around the room. As he did, he saw that… his painting in the room had changed a bit… He headed over to take a look. He observed the painting. It seems that more key moments of his life had been painted on the wall. He saw several events now displayed next to his statue in the corner. He saw that detailed his kidnapping that brought him to Winterfell, the fixing of the Comms tower, his training at the dojo in his dreams, his rescue of Sara at the burning store, and his most recent event: the final battle against Mick and his associates. He continued to observe the walls and saw that there were still many areas where there was no paint… But he knew exactly why… “My story is clearly not done yet. But… something tells me another portion will be added soon. But I wonder what that will entail? As he continued to observe, he heard a familiar voice behind him… “Ahh… There’s my brave and powerful son. Back from his most recent victory against that… Wretch of a human. Reminds me of some of the old troublesome ones back when I first arrived on Earth.

Cryo turned around and saw his dad, Servant, approaching the him. He also saw his many other family members behind him. Cryo smiled as they approached and headed towards them himself. “My family… Its nice to see all of you again.” Cryo said. Inferno stepped forth and smiled at him. “Oh… It’s nice to see you too, my little Nipper. Wave has been telling me how successful you’ve been with training your Ferrin dragon abilities! Yet… We’ve seen quite a few surprises ourselves! Seeing your abilities when used outside their natural environment is quite amazing! I almost wonder if the transformations are even necessary?! You were able to use all your abilities without them!” said Inferno. Quake turned to Inferno and nodded. “No kidding! I have never seen any dragon perform certain dragon magics without being in a certain transformation! Dragon magics in the base form of a dragon are usually limited to slight manipulation of their natural element energies. I don’t know if this is the effect of the Flo Lily, or you have some… special qualities about yourself that even we haven’t considered!” said Inferno. Lightan scratched his chin a bit as he thought about it. “I wonder that myself. I mean… our precious Nephew’s Flo Lily was manipulated through special means. His bandanna contains the special dragon magics within. This is the first flo Lily I believe will never run out of power. We always had to… well… make a special ritual dish to eat it to gain its power, and it came at the cost of the Flo Lily eventually being digested and the power being lost. Yet… my good brother’s ingenuity managed to manipulate the ritual dish and instead used it to create a special fabric to wear around the neck! I was skeptical about the idea when he came up with it, but… I’m firmly a believer now,” Lightan said. Steelstrike chuckled a bit and smiled. “I still don’t understand how we never thought of using fabrics like this. Dragons only used fabrics for decoration. To use it to warm up the body in cold areas, keep us dry in rain or snow, or even used for more causal fun, seems like a rather amazing idea! But it seems my guardian child got the best part of the entire thing! To think that dragon scales themselves could have a rather interesting effect of fabrics! Your human caretaker, Greg, is a GENIUS for figuring out how to do this!” Tornado smiled and nodded “Quite! If I can… regenerate my body one day, I hope I can create a few for all of us! I did make a few fabric decorations in my free time, but I really would like to learn how to make a couple sweaters!” Servant gave a calmed sigh. “Ahh… The joys of being young I suppose. The young always carry the torch for the future. And… speaking of which…”

They each gave a nod to each other and looked Cryo with concerned eyes. “Cryo… It’s about time…” Servant said. “Time? Time for what?” Cryo asked. “They are here, Cryo… They are looking for you…” Cryo’s eyes shot up and he began to breath heavily!” “W… Wait…! You mean…! “That’s right, grandson… The visions of the future… They are going to come to pass pretty soon….” Wave said. Cryo shook his head and took a couple breaths in… “The dragons… from home… The one that was taken over… They are looking for me and mom…” Cryo said. “Unfortunately Yes, my guardian child…. There is… something else you should know, Cryo. About the slipspace jump your mother made to make it to Cyriss…” said Tornado. “W…What is it?” Cryo asked.

“When your mother… jumped in… there was… a slight altercation with the path set by the portal.” said Inferno. “What was it?” Cryo asked. Lightan stepped forward. “When your mother stepped through, an explosion was set off at her lab. The explosion… caused the portal to destabilize when she travelled through. This is the main reason… we didn’t try to use a portal to flee the planet, like she did. We expected we’d be found out and even if we stepped through, we’d be ripped apart if the portal was damaged. We saw your mother, Tide, step through. But the thing is… she didn’t emerge again… until 1000 years later…” Cryo’s eyes lit up in shock! “Wh…! WHAT?!” Servant came forward. “My darling Tide… She didn’t just travel through space… she travelled through time itself…” “But…! But…! HOW?!” Cryo asked. “Like I said, Cryo… The portal destabilized on the trip through when the lab blew. But… it seems that instead of the… unthinkable happening, she instead was accelerated through time 1000 years into the future on Cyriss. That is why… we have been on Earth for… so long. All of us had seen the human race before this. We saw them leave. They… tried to harness our power before this, but… it didn’t go well… It’s no surprise they had to leave us behind. But honestly… that was for the better. I remember… the day she emerged… When I could feel her heartbeat again through the bond I had with her… I never had been happier in all my life. And it wasn’t just she who survived… My precious boy… My loving son, was able to be born as well. And look how he’s grown up after everything. Though… I’ve noticed lately that he’s… been acting a bit… too young for a certain someone, but… that’s not my business to argue with. I know why you do it. Loneliness is… a killer. When she didn’t come out of that portal, that is all I felt for more then 1000 years…” “I… see… dad…” “Here’s what you need to know… They had 1000 years to track the portal’s path and develop new ships and such to travel to it. They are here now. They want the both of you. They won’t leave until they have you.” “That’s… a scary thought…” Cryo said. Servan closed his eyes and nodded. He opened his eyes again. “There are certain points that the future must head on. If you want the people of this world to be safe, you have to let them… take you…” “Wh…! What!?” “I’m sorry, my son… But if you fight them off like this right now, you could end up attracting an ENTIRE DRAGON FLEET to Cyriss! You don’t realize this… but there have been… tales back on our world about humans. A good portion of dragons are terribly afraid of humans, due to a… certain weapon created by them that was told in dragon myth. They may end up causing a ton of destruction out of fear of retaliation! But… it doesn’t have to be this way. And there’s something more…

There’s a part of the future that I believe can be changed to give us a better chance, and to… prevent someone close to both of us from getting involved in this any more then she is now.” “You… You mean…?” “That’s right… Our most loved treasure. Tide… I have an idea on how to save her from being taken. But… I need you to listen closely. I’ve only seen one outcome of the future, which I’ve already shown you. But… its not written in stone. It can be changed! But this must be done carefully… Now. Are you ready to listen?” “Y…Yes… I’m ready to listen… Dad…” “Alright. Hear every word I say, and think carefully about every action you make when they finally arrive to take you. I can’t give you every solution. Some you’ll have to think of on your own. Now then. Here’s what you need to do…”

Chapter 45

News for the Nipper

Cryo slowly opened his eyes then gave a yawn. As his eyes began to focus on his surroundings, he saw he was somewhere familiar. He was in the cradle in his nursery at the mayor’s house. He could hear the sound of naptunes playing in his ears. He also had his pacifier in his mouth. He let it go and let it hang down his neck. “Well… I assume I the military finally came and picked me up. Guess it’s to be expected I’d be at “Mama’s,” house.” Cryo thought. He pulled the covers up on his bed a bit and saw he was already in training pants. He also saw he was dressed up in his favorite superhero costume. “Seems Sara didn’t waste any time caring for me before I got back. The fact she could change me, cloth me, and place me in my cradle without me waking up… She was either REALLY gentle or I was too tired to wake up while being handled. She wasn’t happy knowing I was risking my life like that. That call with the people back home and the people here was… a little hard for her to come to grip with. But… I couldn’t live in fear of that madman forever. I had to do something. He would have caused even more problems had I prolonged a confrontation any longer. I can’t imagine how’d she feel if I told her Mick legitimately try to… destroy me. He gave a sigh and began to lean up in his cradle. Not long after, the music for naptunes cut out, and a familiar mechanical voice beamed out of it.

“Ahh! The young Superhero, Avalanche, awakens after his first major battle with a diabolical Supervillain! You’re favorite partner wished he could have been there when that was going on! He climbed up the cradle and snuggled with you in bed right now!” said Craft. Cryo chuckled and turned his head towards his Tidal the Stormfall plush. He had been carefully manuvered under the covers a bit, next to him. Cryo still liked the silly superhero costume Sara made for it. He grabbed it and began to hold it close to him. “How are you today, Master Avalanche?” Craft asked. “Haha. I’m fine, Craft. Man… What time is it?” “It’s actually 9:15 A.M.! A bit later then when you normally wake up, but your precious Mama thought you needed a bit more rest after saving the world!” Haha. Yeah. I assumed that after I realized Naptunes was playing when I woke up.” “That’s good. Why don’t you wait for a bit. Breakfast has been held back until you were awake. Oh… And do I need to remind you…? ” “I know, Craft. I know. I remember what I need to do every time I wake up.” “Good! Now… Stay in you cradle like a good young dragon.” Alright. I promise I’ll wait, Craft.”

Cryo began to wait for Sara to arrive to pick him up for breakfast. Soon enough, he heard the door to his nursery open, and Sara stepped in, with a huge smile on her face! “There’s my favorite Superhero! Did you sleep well last night!?” Sara asked. “Yeah… I slept really soundly, Mama.” Cryo replied. “Haha! That’s my little hero!” “Yeah. I… hope your not too… mad at me for having to leave the safety of your home and freeze that bad man. He hurt my dragon mama and tried to turn me into a supervillain!” “Oh… I was at first, my baby boy. But… I knew I had to step aside. I can’t keep you locked up in this room forever! You need to go out and see the world! And you need to stand up for yourself when nasty villain’s try to hurt you or someone close to you!” “Aww… Thank you, Mama.” “Yeah. Now… I bet your hungry, little guy.” “Oh Yeah. I’m VERY hungry, Mama.” “Good! Breakfast is already getting ready to be made. Now that bad bad man is been taken in by my brave little superhero, I… suppose I’ll have to… send you back home with Eli soon.” “Oh… I know Mama… But like you said. I can’t stay here forever. But… I still promise to come over every weekend! I know I need love from Mama!” “Oh… Thank you, my little boy. Now… Before we get to breakfast today and play time, why don’t I check and see if you need changed, my little boy. “Alright mama. I think I’m leaky again…” “Well. One way to find out, huh!?”

Sara took Cryo out of the Cradle and pulled his training pants forward a bit. And sure enough… “As I expected! Look’s like your a wet little boy again! Let’s get you over to your blubberbon and I’ll change you real quick! Breakfast should be ready by then. “Ok, Mama.” She took Cryo over to the changing table in the room, and began to change him. As she ripped off his training pants, she realized something she forgot to mention.

“Oh. I almost forgot to tell you, my baby boy. Your… going to be going back home pretty soon…” “Back… home? To Uncle Eli?” “No… Back to your REAL… home… Grandma… made a call to your own dragon mother back home after I tucked you in. She… told me they finally have new model ships made to withstand cold areas and have rebuilt their plane yard. They… plan to come take you home, very soon… In fact… It’s just in 3 weeks, after preschool ends for the semester for my precious baby boy…” “O… Oh… I… I guess I’m finally ready to see my REAL mama again.” “Yeah… I… I’m going to miss you my little superhero…” “Oh… I’ll miss you too, Mama. But… It had to happen one day. I have my own home to go to. And… I can guess you’d want me to stay until then, but… Seth back with Eli has been pretty sad his “big brother,” had to spend so long away at the mayor’s house for protection. I promised him I’d come back as soon as that super villain, Mick, was finally defeated, on Monday. I can’t disappoint him now.” “Oh… I know my baby boy. You have your own responsibilities as well. We all do. But… I at least get a chance to care for you for at least 6 days of those 3 weeks.” “Yeah… Don’t be sad, Mama. I’ll always be your little dragon boy at heart. And… I have a computer now. I promise I’ll… try to talk to you again one day. Hopefully soon, after I return home.” “That’s right. Now then…” She finally changed Cryo into a new pair of training pants and picked him up, and carried him out of the room. She rubbed his back as she began to carry him out of the room and through the halls. “Hey… You know what were doing after breakfast, my little boy?” “Umm… I don’t know? What are we going to do, Mama?” “You’re going to be put through a little training…”

Chapter 46

Home Again and Hopeful

Cryo stood at a runway at an aircraft base in Winterfell. Cryo was finally heading home. His ship would arrive soon to take him back to Military Research Lab Omega. Many of the people Cryo knew stood behind him to see the dragon off back to home. Among those were Eli, Arianna, Seth, Sara, Nia, Wake, and many of the kids from school. He gave a calmed sigh as he saw the new ship from home beginning to come into view far off in the distence. He smiled, though he felt a bit sad that many of his new friends and caretakers have to stay behind. Even with the CompCall app on his computer, they’d still be far away… But… He had to go home at some point of course. But more importantly, he would probably be there for only a short while, knowing the future events at play here…

“Is that your ship, Cryo?” asked Eli. “That should be it… It’s a newly designed Coldstreak Aircraft carrier. Made and donated to Cryo’s family from our very own stock. It’s the first time my company ever commissioned a military ship. I think it turned out pretty well.” said Wake. “Looks pretty big! Bet it could hold quite a lot of people, Huh?” said Artemis.” “Y… Yeah… No kidding… dad…” said Tanner.

Artemis looked at Tanner and knew he felt the weight of the things at hand. Cryo saved his dad’s life. Artemis knew he didn’t want to see Cryo go… Cryo looked back and gave a nod. “I know, Tanner… I know. Don’t think I hold any grudge against you. We all have our problems in life. I’m just glad I could help you with one of yours.” Cryo said. He gave a faint smile and nodded. “Th… Thank you… for…” “I know. Just stay safe with your dad. I must say… they REALLY kept Mick’s trial quiet for such a… nasty fella.”

“Haha! I know! Glad your… umm… Tech wizard of an AI could tune into it! I remember how the prosecution literally HOUNDED him at trial! He had to be dragged out in heavy chains because of how mad he got!” said Miles. “Man… Hearing all those charges he did! Several accounts of kidnapping, terrorism, treason, violent assault, conspiracy, AND attempted murder!? That guy was NUTS!” said Warren. “You are telling me… I haven’t heard of ANYBODY being THIS CRAZY since humanity left earth in the distant past! He must really hate you for all the trouble you and Craft caused him!” said Christina. “I heard Cryo shrunk that man to bite size! Is that true!?” “Haha! Yeah he did alright! Shrunk him to about… 6 inches I believe. I’m surprised you didn’t keep him that way forever!” said Artemis. “Well… I shouldn’t be THAT cruel… He may have been many things, but its probably not a good idea to fuel that fire any more then it needs to be.” Cryo said. “Well… He probably would have deserved it. That man will never see the sun again. Not after all that he’s done,” said Nia.

“I’m going to miss you, big bro… I’ll have no one to play cowboy and bandits with me…” said Seth. “Oh… I know, Seth. But… I have to… saddle on back to my own home now. I have to get back to the people who care about me. Mick may be gone, but I don’t think its safe I stay in town forever. I don’t think the rest of the world is ready to learn about dragon’s being… well… more then a fairy tale.” “But… do you think you’ll… come back one day?” asked Sara. Cryo thought for a moment. But he nodded. “I believe I will. I don’t think I’ll be gone forever.” “You promise?” “Haha! I promise, “Mama” “Mama? Huh?” asked Tanner. “Oh don’t worry about it. Ahh! They’re about to land!” Cryo said.”

They saw the ship descend slowly onto the dock in the front, and they saw the back door to the hanger open up. And soon, Cryo’s companions came into view. He saw Greg, Susy, Noble, Ty, Gerald, Cameron, and most importantly, his mother, Tide. She was wearing a large green jacket as she began to come forward from the ramp and come down. She soon stood in front of Cryo. “Hi Mom! I…” Tide soon embraced her son with a big hug! “Aww! Your so cute together!” said Sara. “Oh… I’ve waited to be able to see you again for so long!” exclaimed Tide. “Mom… Come on. Your embaressing me…” “It’s been AGES since I could see you with my own eyes, my little boy! Seeing you through a small computer screen is not the same. I was so worried that… AWFUL HUMAN would find and have his way with you! I’m so glad your safe… and ready to return home, where you belong.” “Yeah… I… I know mom…” Cryo shuddered at the thought of having to leave her again. But… he knew… there was a course that must be set for the future… If there was a chance to save her from being taken… he would have to leave her… on Cyriss… She’d be… alone… The thought felt awful to Cryo, but he quickly buried it deep down. He didn’t want to look worried in front of her. It was either this, or risk terrible things being brought upon her by them… She then let go and patted his shoulder a few times. “Alright. Let’s go home, my son.” “Alright. But first…”

Cryo turned back to the others and began to wave to them. “Bye everyone! Thanks for everything!” “Bye Cryo! Be safe and happy back home!” said everyone! He smiled and nodded and they docked onto the ship. They soon stood in front of the others as the hatch closed and the ship began to take off. They began to walk through the hanger. So… how was it in Winterfell, Cryo? Was it fun to be in your… natural element?” asked Greg. “Haha! Yeah. I’m not typically one for cold, weirdly enough, but the snow and ice wasn’t all that bad to be honest.” Cryo said. “Well. It seemed like you were well loved by the townspeople. I really wish I had the time to thank them for… keeping your existence secret from the rest of the world.” said Ty. “Well… Mick being out and about was enough for them to decide to keep me under watch and protection. I don’t think they’ll reveal my existence until the world might be… more ready to accept dragons into their world.”

“Yeah. I must say, Craft. Your really are a great AI! You were instrumental to the takedown of that… greedy mans ambitions. The files you pulled allowed us to take them down. It’s too bad they kept their main base of operations completely off record. We would have found them sooner. I guess they realized that they would be found if any files existed that could give away where they were operating from. And really Craft… I would have never thought your hacking skills could infiltrate mech and drone security! I not sure there isn’t ANYTHING you could hack! I remember in the report you sent to me detailing the entire little operation you and Cryo pulled on them. They were soo blinded by finally having their prize, they never realized they were playing into your hands!” exclaimed Gerald. “Thank you, Gerald. “I’m very pleased myself with the relative success of the mission. I was quite worried when that… shall we say… inhuman monster decided to try their new mech on the young creator. The odds were stacked quite against us! I suppose… maybe I myself had underestimated what the young creator was capable of,” said Craft from Cryo’s Craft Console.”

“I’m just glad your FINALLY back home with us, now. It’s nice knowing my brother will be safe and snug with us back home! No one is going to take you again!” said Noble. “I… uhh… Y… Yeah… Noble. I… won’t ever have to worry about kidnapping again…” Cryo began to lower his head down. He knew the truth. One he knew he couldn’t tell to the others… It felt bad to keep this from them… “Hey… something wrong, Cryo? You look a little down,” said Cameron. “Oh… don’t worry about it. I… think I’m just a little tired right now…” said Cryo. “Well… Why don’t you go with Tide to somewhere where you can rest. Ok?” said Greg. “Y… Yeah. Thanks Greg.” “Alright. Come on, my son. Let’s get you somewhere comfy. A personal quarters for you and me on the ship was made by that nice human, Wake.” Cryo nodded he and Tide split off from the others. She soon led Cryo to a small bedroom on the ship.

Cryo looked around the room. The ground was green carpet, and the walls were made of light blue Cyantran Steel. It made Cryo a little nervous, but he gently reminded himself it wasn’t meant to seal him into the room. To the right of the room, were two beds. One large with a plain red blanket and white sheets, and a smaller bed with a blue blanket and white sheets. There was a large window that showed the beautiful snow and ice covered mountains and glaciers outside as they flew on forward. Tide smiled at him and patted his back. “So… Cryo. Will I need to worry about any… accidents while you rest?” “Wha…! I…! Oh… That’s right… oversoul… You… saw that?” She chuckled a bit and nodded. “Oh Cryo… I find it funny some of the decisions you make for others. I can’t imagine it was fun to be treated like a human hatchling.” “Well… Sara wasn’t all that bad, Mom. I mean… I learned a few neat things from her.” “Really? And… what would that be?” “Well…”

Cryo began to balance himself on his back two legs. Then he began to stand up on them and walk around! Tide’s eyes lit up!” “Cryo! Your…” “That’s right mom! “Mama…” taught me how to walk as a human! Oh don’t worry… I’ll STILL prefer to crawl, like a dragon. But… there’s a certain charm to being able to use both your front paws freely. I’m sure I’ll use this neat little trick at some point. And… I’m going to have a certain… something added to my washroom later on. Hopefully soon. I think I should take my breaks in a different way from now on.” “Umm…! Uhh…! Well… I suppose that IS something, my little boy.” She began to smile and chuckle a bit. She then patted his head and picked him up. “Well… I suppose I shouldn’t keep you from your nap any longer. Ready to be tucked in?” “Yeah mom… I’m ready…” “Alright. Come here.”

She picked up Cryo and began to carry him over to the bed. She gently pulled back the covers and placed him in, and pulled the covers over him. She kissed him on the cheek, and then went to a drawer in the room, and took out a radio. She placed it on a cabinet next to Cryo’s bed. “Craft. Do you think you could tune this radio to naptunes for Cryo?” asked Tide. “Of course, Tide. Craft console connecting… Standby…” After a few moments of static on the radio, Craft’s voice beamed out of it. “Turning on Naptunes.” A soothing melody began to ring out of the radio, and Cryo smiled as it flowed into his ears! Soon… the music worked its magic on his hazy mind, and he fell asleep.”

Cryo’s New Abilities:

Note: Certain abilities will be enhanced and more effective in his other transformations.

Flash Freeze: Cryo shoots condensed beams of ice from his hands to freeze things at longer ranges and at multiple targets. Good for crowd control and small groups, but requires focus and aim.

Opaque Outlaw: By wrapping his bandanna around his snout like a bandit, Cryo can go invisible. However, quick movements will cause him to become less opaque. Will also keep his cloths invisible if wearing them.

Sea Screech: The underwater variant of the sonic screech. This one sends out a water pulse from the gaping mouth, which is very accurate and very long range. Good for single targets and for a quick strike.

Sea Slicer: Sends out blades of HIGHLY pressurized water by focusing energy into his paws and then slashing forward towards his target. IMMENSELY EFFECTIVE against most metals and technology, but must be handled VERY CAREFULLY in order to prevent others from… well… being sliced in two…

Frost Force Fury: An offensive variant of Frigid Fury. An dome of ice forms around Cryo, and he shoots a LARGE ice laser forward, freezing EVERYTHING in its path and plowing itself through doorways and such. With a little more manipulation, he can use it to form a tunnel of ice to allow safe passage through it. Good for a powerful attack against a single powerful target, or a group of targets clustered together. Also good for escapes. However… this one will take a good amount of elemental energy. It may leave Cryo exhausted after…

Bubble Bind: Allows him to encase targets in a bubble and trap them. He can then condense the bubble to constrict the target inside even further. Though the use of certain manipulations of power, he can instead send out a bubble that can shrink his target instead to better manage and transport a captured target. Excellent for taking targets captive (Which will be important in the future…)

New Gear:

Craft Console: Cryo’s new personal tiny data assistant computer attached to his wrist like a watch. It contains Craft inside of it, so he can keep a closer watch over Cryo. It can allow Craft to hack nearby computers and devices, attach data uplink modules to computers or weapon devices to allow Craft to better hack or take control of them, create maps of the facility as they travel through with the use of ultrasonic waves, and track possible friendly and hostile targets.

Future Gear:

Rig Armor: Made to better interact with environments and dragon abilities.

Modes:

Speed: Underwater boosters used to maneuver quickly and efficiently

Offense: Booster are instead used for evasive actions instead. Made for combat situations.

Attachments:

Shock Stringer: A electric wire similar to a spider’s thread shoots out and can be used to restrain, grapple, and throw targets around.

Frigid Freezer: Shoots Ice missiles at multiple targets. Excellent for crowd control and opening up opportunities for further attacks.

New Likes:

His school and new school friends

Sara’s Idea of fun (Being a pirate or Superhero while being “Babysat.”)

His new bank card

Being a hero

His new tech inventions

His new abilities

His training

Playing with Seth

Artemis

New dislikes:

Making mistakes that could put others in danger

His personal issues he’s been dealing with for a LONG time…

The Big conspiracy with his kidnapping attempts

Mechanical Contraptions meant for destruction and war

The soon to be coming future (and the risks it carries for his mother, Tide)

Epilogue

“Your not serious… Right?! You’re really going to go through with this Javelin!?” said a large dragon in HIGHLY advanced smooth black armor suit with blue visor where his eyes were. “What other choice do we have!? The Kaosotic (ka-sot-ic) have spent more then a LIFETIME trying to track her down! That portal… WE NEED THAT DEVICE! And she is the only one who ever built it!” said a red dragon in an dark red rigid, pointy, and intimidating armor, with yellow trimmings around the joints and a visor that covered across both his eyes. “BUT SIR! We don’t even know if she’s EVEN ALIVE! The report long ago that detailed that incident indicated a shot rang into her back as she jumped through! We’ve been watching and we’ve found NO trace of her coming out of ANY of the buildings there!”

“But… That other dragon! The small blue one! That one must be her son!” “BUT HOW CAN IT BE? ASK YOURSELF THAT! He’s only looks… less then 10 years old! He’s very young! He wouldn’t be THAT SMALL after 1000 years!” “Don’t lecture me, Trace! I know its her son! It has to be!” “YOU DON’T KNOW THAT! WE DON’T KNOW THAT! NO ONE KNOWS IF THAT DRAGON IS HER SON!” “QUIET TRACE! You are really going to talk down to your commanding officer!?” “Yeeessssss… For shameeeee, Trace. For Shameeeeeee,” said a dragon in a light green armor suit with a dark green trimmings around his joints and his paws had some type of alloy that seemed to shake the ground a bit…

“Rapture… SHUT IT! YOU REALIZE WHAT CREATURES OCCUPY THAT PLANET, RIGHT? YOU’VE SEEN THEM! Even the Kaosotic don’t want to have ANY interaction with humans! THEY FEAR THEIR ULTIMATE WEAPON! EVERYONE DOES! Your going to kill the Kaosotic AND THE REST OF US!” “The… weapon was… only spoken of in myth! We… have no confirmation its real!” “WE CAN’T TAKE THAT RISK! Everyone knows the story! Everyone! Their ultimate weapon… The… poisonous war missile…” Each of them turned to each other and began to shudder at the thought. “A missile of… ultimate destruction… It does something FAR WORSE then destroying a planet! It… poisons it… with fire, and an unseen substance that… consumes and turns flesh to rot and any exposed will suffer a slow, horrid end… And it isn’t just FLESH that’s poisoned! It’s blast is SO POWERFUL, it LITERALLY poisons technology! All systems shut down! Everything! No electricity, life support, air, water, ALL OF IT WILL BE GONE AND POISONED! SHIPS SHIELDS DON’T DO SQUAT AGAINST IT! THEY WOULD FALL FROM THE SKY AND CRASH INTO THE GROUND LIKE A METEOR! They’d… punish ANY survivor in the most… HORRID ways! THIS IS INSANE! WE CAN’T POSSIBLY TRY TO TAKE HIM! They love him! I can tell! We’ve spied on them for a while! We tried to… manipulate a ship trying to… extract him to who knows where, but… I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW OUR OWN CODEBREAKERS COULD… GET LOCKED OUT OF THE SHIPS CONTROLS!? PLEASE! IF WE PROVOKE THE HUMANS, NONE OF US WILL SURVIVE! Because that place is NOT ONLY the dragons home, ITS CLEARLY A MILITARY COMPLEX! THEY WILL GO TO WAR WITH US IF WE TAKE HIM AND YOU KNOW THAT ITS FORBIDDEN FOR ANY AND ALL UNITS UNDER OUR KAOSOTIC OVERLORDS TO GO TO ANY PLANETS OCCUPIED WITH HUMAN LIFE!”

“I… know that… But… this is far too important to just ignore! We’ve spent A TON OF RESOURCES trying to find them! I’m not just going to waste ALL THAT TIME AND dedication just to abandon it because of some old legends! Not all human legends were about that ultimate weapon!” “Please! I beg of you to reconsider this! Besides… That dragon is ONLY A KID! I’ve seen what happened to a lot of the other dragon kids! Pyra in particular was… I… I don’t want to think about it… I STILL hate these experiments your performing on her!” “SHUT UP! Look… If things go well, we… can probably get in and out without causing… too much damage.” “Huh? That’s a first… Your usually haphazard with a trigger finger! And EVEN THEN! WE’RE STILL KIDNAPPING THAT DRAGON! They are NOT going to be happy!” “I… just shut up Trace! Really! Everything will be fine! I promise you! I wish this wasn’t such a bad situation to be in, but… if that… Tide… is still alive, we need to find her! If not, we’ll have to rely on the child to build the portal instead!” “Y… You’re REALLY going to go through with this!? I DON’T WANT TO BE INCINERATED IN EITHER POISONOUS FIRE OR A CRASH!” Heck! I don’t want to be poisoned IN GENERAL!” “Trace… We are DOING THIS! Now… We need to start planning on how to extract them. Come with me to the war briefing room. And I DON’T want ANY MORE ARGUMENTS from you about MY decision! UNDERSTAND!?” “But…! I…! I…!” “Stop being such a coward Tracccceeeeee. This will be a eeeeeeeesay operation! Grow an actual Sssssssspppinnneee.” “Yes… Now come on. Let’s get started with planning…” Javelin X said.

Javelin X and Ravager headed into the war room on their ship. Trace gave a sigh and shook his head. “I… Why did I join the dragon military… This was such a huge mistake… Day in… day out… I… I can’t do this anymore… I… I need to get out of here somehow… Those kids… Ugh…” Trace slowly held his head down and headed into the ships war room.