Dangerous And Cold 2: Call Of The Spirit

To The Antarctic

Meanwhile, the group were traveling to the Antarctic. They would allow Crusher to teleport them, but the magic from Axle City to the Kingdom tired him out, so they decided to ask Swoops to help.

"There it is!" Blaze cried. "You can take us right down there, Swoops!"

"You got it, Blaze!"

They soon made their way down towards the icy land. Just as they did, dark sand began to surround the group.

"What is that?" Pickle wondered.

Evil laughter echoed through the air as a figure appeared within the sand. His golden eyes gleamed in the darkness as he smirked at the group.

"Who-who are you?" Darington quivered.

"I am the Nightmare King." the being spoke. "Call me… Pitchiner, if you will."

"What do you want with us?" AJ asked.

"Do you all really think I would let you find where Jokul is?" Pitchiner sneered.

"What do you have against my dad?" Crusher narrowed his eyes.

"He is my… enemy," Pitchiner shrugged. "Simple as that,"

"Excuse us, Mr. Big Shot," Gabby snorted, "but if you think you can stop us with those spells you have in mind for us, you're way outta line!"

"Oh, I won't use it on any of you," Pitchiner chuckled and raised his hand in command, causing ice dragons with golden eyes to rise from the ground. "but I will let my pets take care of you. Dragons, freeze them to bits."

The dragons snarled and blasted ice onto Swoops's rotor.

"Crusher, can't you stop them?!" AJ asked.

"I'll try!" Crusher held out his tire. "Ice dragons, STOP!"

The dragons huffed and continued to blast the helicopter's rotor. Pitchiner smirked.

"Ah, so pathetic. Do you really think I wouldn't be prepared?" he grinned. "They are under MY control, little prince."

"Swoops, how are you holding up?" Blaze questioned.

"Woah! A little chilly," Swoops shuddered. "But… good enough to fly,"

"Well, we need to find a way to get rid of the dragons, and or find some shelter."

"Uh, B, all I see is water," Darington observed with a gulp. "Icy cold water…"

"If only there was a way to take shelter under the water!" Starla said.

"But friends can't breathe underwater," Zeg reasoned. "Water also too cold!"

"Oh, such a pity." Pitchiner smirked. "Looks like you're running out of time and running out of options, pathetic mortals."

"Hmm…" Crusher glanced around, trying to find a way to escape.

Suddenly, the staff in his tires glowed a bright white. The waters swirled below them before creating a whirlpool.

"A whirlpool?"

The whirlpool began to pull on them, causing Swoops to head down towards it at top speed.

"WOAH!"

The group yelped as they sunk down into the whirlpool. Pitchiner growled.

"Ice dragons! After them!"

The ice dragons tried to go after them, but the staff gave another glow, and the water froze above the group, keeping them safe in a part of the ocean with no water to drown them.

"Well... at least we're safe..." Stripes sighed. "For now."

"We have the staff to thank for that," Crusher said.

"But... what do we do now? We won't be able to find Jokul with that so-called king trying to stop us!" said Watts.

"Is there anything about the Nightmare King in your books, Stripes?" Darington asked.

"Lemme see..." Stripes flipped through his book. "Well, it says here that the Nightmare King is pure evil. He can create nightmares and control anyone with his dark sand,"

"Well, we can't let him get to us," Blaze said. "First, we need to find a way out of this whirlpool without the king seeing us, and find the next clue."

"Ina-yuki…"

Crusher glanced around, hearing his father's voice again.

"I hear Dad's voice again!"

"Where is it coming from?" Pickle asked.

"I'm not sure…" Crusher murmured as he peeked out from inside the helicopter.

He held out a tire to reach out to his father, eyes closing. Suddenly, through the whirlpool, a tunnel was created of ice and snow.

"A tunnel! Come on, team, let's follow it!"

"You got it!"

Swoops managed to spin his rotor, despite the ice, and head towards the tunnel. They went up and up until they reached the surface.

"We made it!" Darington whooped.

"That was close!" Starla sighed in relief.

"But... where in the Antarctic did we end up?" Watts wondered.

"Hmm…" Blaze glanced around. "I'm not sure…"

"Somewhere between ice and snow, most likely," Crusher hissed.

"Now all we gotta do is find that clue as to where to go next," said Pickle.