Chapter 6

The Dark Army Returns

That night, Torch heard some noises coming outside. Electra and Damian heard it too. The three dragons then went outside, onto the Balcony. They all seemed shocked because they saw the Swamp on fire. They also saw lots of Dreadwings in the air. Sparx came out and saw the three dragons staring at the Swamp.

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" Sparx asked as he flew right next to them. Sparx saw the Swamp and his mouth dropped wide open. He couldn't believe that his home was on fire.

"We have to warn the Guardians, Now!" Damian said. As the three dragons, along with Sparx, tried to get inside the Dragon Temple, one of the Dreadwings dropped a crate in front of them and it made them fall into the Swamp. They all got separated from each other as they all fall into the Swamp. Torch crashed onto the ground very hard and went unconscious.

Torch woke up with a headache and saw the Swamp being burnt. Torch called out to his siblings but they didn't answer. "Electra! Damian! Uncle Sparx!" Torch cried out. Still, nobody answered and then Torch saw three apes coming towards him. Torch began to freak out a little, but then he remembered his training. He stood his ground and went into his battle stance. The apes slowly walked towards Torch. Then one of them began to speak saying, "Come here little dragon. We just want to pet you." Torch became angry and blew Fire at the apes. The apes were being burnt alive and then one of them said, "Why is it always the ones that breathe fire?" Then the three apes ran away and left Torch alone.

Torch then focused on what to do. He then decides to go find his siblings and make sure that their okay. Then he heard rustling noises on his left side. He stepped back a few feet and then he saw something popped out. It was Hunter.

"Hunter! Boy am I glad to see you. Wait, what are you doing here?" Torch asked Hunter. Hunter didn't say anything except he shot arrows on the fire. The arrows didn't do anything for a moment and then the fire started to die down. Torch then saw some snow on the ground.

"Okay, how did you do that?" Torch asked another question. Hunter turned around and looked at Torch. He then began to speak.

"First off, I saw the apes coming through the Valley of Avalar. I followed them here to the Dragon Temple. Second, I used ice arrows to cool down the fire. My fiancé, Bianca, created elemental arrows for me to take care of these apes. Now back to business. Where's Spyro and the other dragons?" Hunter said.

Torch then realized that he still needs to his brother and sister. "I forgot! I still need to find my sister and brother." Torch said while freaking out.

"Who is your brother and sister?" Hunter asked. "My brother is Damian and my sister is Electra. We are Spyro and Cynder's children." Torch explained. "Oh! I never knew that. You look exactly like your father." Hunter said.

"Thanks, but can you help me find my brother and sister please?" Torch asked. Hunter started to think about it and then he decided. "Alright, I'll help you find your siblings. Then we must go help the dragons at the Dragon Temple." Hunter said. Torch nodded and then they split up.

Hunter headed to the east side of the Swamp while Torch headed to the west side of the Swamp. As Hunter made his way to the east, he used his ice arrows to cool down the fire that was spreading throughout the Swamp. Torch heard some ruckus nearby and he saw Damian just up ahead. Damian was blinding the apes with darkness, and then he used his claws to injure the apes. Then more apes came to stop Damian. As the apes charged at Damian, Torch came in used his Fire element to burn the apes. The apes ran away and then Damian gave Torch a hug.

"Torch! I'm so glad that you're okay. Are you alright?" Damian said. Torch nodded and asked him if he has seen Electra or Sparx anywhere. "I don't know where Electra is, but I did hear Uncle Sparx yelling." Torch suggested that they should find him. Then Damian and Torch followed the screams of Sparx.

They made it to a shallow lake and saw Sparx inside a small cage. Torch breathed out meteors and it hit the apes that were holding Sparx. The apes ran away and then Damian used his Shadow abilities to get Sparx out.

"Hush little baby…don't say a word…"Sparx said while shaking in terror. Then he opened his eyes and saw Damian and Torch giggling at Sparx.

"Damian! Torch! I'm so happy to see you. You didn't hear anything coming out of my mouth, right?" Sparx asked. Damian and Torch shook their heads and then Sparx felt relieved. Then the group heard rustling noises again and saw Hunter with Electra.

"Electra" Damian, Torch, and Sparx said. They all then hugged Electra and then she hugged them back. Then Sparx flew in front of Hunter.

"Hey Hunter! How ya doing man. Did Bianca enjoy her new home?" Sparx said. "Bianca is doing well in the Valley of Avalar. She has been upgrading our weapons, which have been very useful so far." Hunter explained.

"Okay, now that you two met each other again, can we please get back to the Dragon Temple?!" Damian said. Hunter nodded and then he explained on how to get to the Dragon Temple quickly.

"For many years, I have been exploring the Dragon Temple to see if there were quickest ways to get inside. An underground tunnel that leads directly to the Dojo. However, we probably need to move the dragon pillars to unlock the Dojo within the tunnel. I just hope that apes haven't found the entrance yet. We must go now, I fear that the Guardians and Spyro are in danger." Hunter explained.

Then the group followed Hunter into the entrance of the Underground Tunnel. Hunter grabbed his fire arrows and shot them at the walls of the tunnel. Then the Electra became grossed out from seeing all the mushrooms and the fungus on the walls.

"This is the most grosses thing I have ever seen." Electra said as she stood beside Hunter. "So Hunter, how's life with Bianca so far?" Electra asked a random question.

"She's doing well actually. It's just that…before I noticed the apes coming here, I was about to propose to her." Hunter said. Then everyone dropped their mouths open and Sparx was surprised as well.

"Did she say, "yes"?" Electra asked while feeling excited. Hunter shook his head and said, "I didn't get the chance to propose to her yet." Hunter explained. Then all the dragons, including Sparx felt upset since Hunter didn't propose to Bianca just yet.

"But that will have to wait. We need to help the dragons immediately." Hunter said as he continued on with Electra. Following behind, Torch had his head down while walking. Sparx and Damian noticed him and then they walked up to him.

"Hey Torch. You okay?" Damian asked. Torch still had his head down for a couple seconds then he looked at Damian.

"I'm just so worried about Mom and Dad. What if they're in trouble? What if they're injured?" Torch asked.

"Torch, listen to me. Your parents are going to be fine. From what I know about Spyro is that he never gives up. Even if he's encountering a huge monster, he can easily defeat it. Trust me, he'll be fine. Also Cynder, I can't forget Cynder." Sparx explained while trying to cheer up Torch.

Torch smiled a little bit and then the entire group continued on. The gang then ended up at a dead end. They then looked up and saw the Dojo floor, slightly opened. Hunter grabbed his bow and drew back his let go. The arrow went through the opening, and hit something. Hunter grabbed onto the rope and began to climb. As Hunter began climbing Damian, Torch, Electra, and Sparx flew up to the opening.

When the gang made it into the Dojo, they saw everything destroyed. The ceiling has fallen, and the Dojo floor seems slightly cracked. Torch looked across the Dojo floor and saw his mother, Cynder, being crushed by a piece of the ceiling. Torch was shocked seeing her like this.

"MOM!" Torch said as he ran towards Cynder.

Then Damian and Electra ran towards their mother and tried to get the piece of ceiling off her. Hunter then grabbed a potion that he brought and drank it. He muscles began getting bigger and then he ran towards Cynder. As he pulled, the dragons noticed that Hunter was lifting the piece of ceiling.

"Hunter, how are you doing that?" Electra asked whiling taking few steps back. Hunter didn't answer and he just tossed the piece of a ceiling across the Dojo.

"That was a potion that Bianca made for me. It gives me enhanced strength that would allow me to lift heavy objects." Hunter explained. Then Hunter looked back at Cynder and asked her if she was alright.

"I feel a little bit weak, and I think I might have broken a few bones." Cynder said. Then Hunter pulled out his bag and grabbed a red and a green crystal. He handed them to Cynder and then Cynder touched the two crystals. She felt the red crystal energy healing her body, while the green crystal gave her enough energy to stand up.

"What happened mom?" Damian asked. Cynder thought about it and then she remembered. "An ape general attacked me. I didn't know who it was, but he looked familiar." Cynder said.

"Do you remember where the General went?" Hunter asked. Cynder thought about once more and then she remembered. "That last time I saw the General ape, was that he went to the balcony. Then the ceiling collapsed on me and it also block the door to the balcony." Cynder said while pointing the outside door.

The gang then walked up to the outside door and then Hunter began lifting each pieces of ceiling and threw them aside. "The potion should allow me to lift all of these stone pieces at a time. The potion will run out it's magic in a few hours. So I might be able to lift most of these rocks." Hunter explained as he lifted the stone pieces. The other dragons then decided to help and lifted the rocks and pushed them away to make a clearing to get to the door.