Chapter 2 – The Mysterious Cavern

The forest of the Ise-Shima National Park was calm and peaceful as the trees all around swayed gently by the wind. As Draco and Darky made their way through the forest, the Charizard could only wonder what sort of powers and transformations he might get when he finds the Elemental Brooch.

"What do you think you would transform into when you find your brooch, big bro?" asked Darky.

"I have absolutely no idea, Darky," said Draco. "Maybe I might get stronger firepower and have extended spikes around my arms, or something."

"I think you'll probably have the awesome transformation," complimented Darky. "After all, you're a Charizard, and there's no other dragon that could top the awesomeness of one, though maybe your kind would be tied with Cynder's breed."

Draco could only nod humbly in agreement as he continued imagining his powered form. It had been so long since he and friends have found an Elemental Brooch, with the last one being Percival's, that he felt it should be time that he should finally have his.

Soon, the two dragons came to a clearing where many of the trees were spread out. Ahead were a series of rocks that formed a pattern, with a larger rock situated in the centre. Draco and Darky had never seen anything like it before.

"That has to be the cavern," said Draco as he looked on in wonder.

"Are you sure, Draco?" asked Darky.

"There's no doubt about it, Darky," replied Draco. "It matches exactly the way Blaze described it, with the rocks lined up and all."

"In that case, I guess we could check it out," said Darky.

Draco and Darky made their way up close to the rocks and looked at how neatly they circled around. Then, they checked the large rock at the centre. They noticed that it was the only rock to have an opening. Draco felt a bit nervous. The entrance was dark and they could see nothing.

"What's the matter?" asked Darky. "Are you scared all of a sudden?"

"Well, the inside does look rather dark and gloomy," said Draco, nervously.

"Try to muster a bit of courage, bro," said Darky. "After all, we need to find your brooch, and it must be somewhere deep inside the cavern."

"Yeah, you made a good point," said Draco as he tried to be brave. "Hang on, little brother, here I come!"

So into the cavern Draco and Darky went. Cautiously, they peered around and noticed some tiny blue bat-like creatures hanging upside-down on the ceiling. Darky shuddered nervously and huddled himself close to Draco.

"Yeah, they look a little creepy, I must admit," sympathised the Charizard. "Those little guys must be Zubats, I think."

"I'm a little scared, Draco," whispered Darky. "They could attack us any moment."

"Not unless we are careful not to disturb them," whispered Draco. "If get past without making too much of a racket, we should be fine."

The two dragons quietly crept their way through the entrance, trying to avoid waking up the sleeping Zubats. For a moment, it seemed as if they were about to make it, when suddenly, something went up Darky's nose. It felt very uncomfortable, and he started to feel the urge to sneeze. Draco cringed nervously, knowing that a sneeze would be loud enough to wake up the Zubats. Darky came closer to letting out a sneeze, but seemingly stopped at the last moment. Both Draco and Darky sighed in relief when it looked as if it was a false alarm.

"Ah-ah-AHHHH-CHOOOOOO!" went Darky, without warning.

The noise was so loud that it echoed through into the cavern, startling the swarm of Zubats from their slumber. Angry and confused, they swept down to the two dragons. Draco and Darky held tightly to each other as they fended off their attackers.

"Nice going, Darky," groaned Draco. "You've woken up the Zubats, and they're now coming down to us."

"It wasn't my fault, Draco," said Darky. "Something flew up my nose, and I just couldn't help it!"

"Looks like I'm going to have to take care of these guys," said Draco. "Hang on, little brother!"

Draco looked up to the swarm of Zubats, opened his mouth wide, and then let out a stream of flames which frightened them. Overwhelmed, the Zubats flew into the darkness, leaving the two dragons to continue on with their exploration.

"That was too close," whispered Draco. "I never imagined that they could be such a handful when disturbed."

"You could say that again, Draco," said Darky. "I thought I was done for when they started to swoop down on us."

Draco straightened himself up. "I say we should head onward and try to be a bit more careful," he said. "This task is very important if we are to stand a chance against the Obsidian Devourers."

"Uh, right," said Darky as he stood up as well.

Without wasting any more time, Draco and Darky explored the cavern, until they came to what appeared to a dead end. They reached what appeared to be a shaft, and there seemed to be no end as deep down below, there was nothing but darkness. Darky looked up to Draco, hoping that he was not thinking what he was considering.

"We're not really going down there, are we?" he asked.

"I'm afraid we don't have any other choice," said Draco. "We never know what could be down below. There could be either a bottom, or possibly oblivion."

"Let's hope that there will be a bottom," said Darky. "This place is starting to give me the creeps."

"I know, same right here," said Draco. "But it's the only way we could ever my Elemental Brooch."

Draco and Darky looked around the shaft, searching for possible ways to go now. Although he could have flown down easily, Draco decided not to as it would have been a bit risky. Just then, he noticed some rocks jutting through the walls, as if they were making some form of stairs. The Charizard realised that this could help him and Darky to reach downward to the bottom.

"I see something, little brother," he said. "There are some rocks I could be able to use to climb down. Just climb onto my back and hold tight."

"Okay, big brother," said Darky as he did as he was told. "I am sure that you know what you are doing."

With that, Draco carefully placed his right foot and then his left once he managed to get a footing on the first step. He also used his claws to attach himself to the walls tightly to ensure that he and Darky won't fall down. Slowly but surely, they made their way down the shaft. It was dark, but thanks to Draco's tailflame, they were able to see where they were going as the rappelled down the shaft. The process took longer than expected, and already Draco started to feel tired, for the climbing almost felt like an eternity, even though it looked as if they were halfway down.

"I know I can do this," he panted. "I can't give up now."

"Please don't stop, big brother," said Darky. "You can do this! We should be close to the bottom by now!"

Feeling a bit of resolve, Draco continued to climb down the shaft. He was just placing his foot on the next step, when suddenly, his foot slipped, which made the Charizard lose his balance.

"Aaaauuuugggghhhh!" both Draco and Darky screamed as they plummeted downward to the darkness.

They shut their eyes, waiting for the worse to come. Much to their surprise, however, they did not crash, even though they had a bit of a rough landing. When Draco and Darky opened their eyes, they found themselves at the bottom of the shaft, and at the opposite end was a passage leading deeper into the cave.