CHAPTER-12 NAMING THE HATCHLING

"What made you want to stay here Nero?" Snow asked as she refilled the water bowls next to the guardians beds.

"Tall Plains wore me out, and I'm sure Flame was chomping at the bit to go out and fight. Besides, resting here is probably the best decision I've made all day." he said laying next to Lea as she shifted due to his movement.

"Well if you're just going to lay there, then you can take care of Lea. Whatever she needs, you get it until she's better." Ember commanded

Nero rose from the cushion and challenged her.

"What? I was possessed by the dark master too! Who is taking care of me?"

"You are a male, we are females. Taking care of us is your job." Snow pointed out helping Voltier drink some of the water beside him.

Nero growled in aggrivation as he walked toward the mouth of the cave.

"Its getting cold out, find some wood for a fire." Snow asked

"Okay..." he said walking into the brisk fall weather.

"I'm beginning to think I would've gotten more rest fighting..." he said to himself as the dried leaves on the ground crunched beneath his feet while he looked for firewood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The flight toward Munitions forge was uneventful for the most part until the sky began to turn from its normal bright blue to a gradual darkening red, mixed with the ashes rising from the volcano.

"There it is boys! Low and fast, lets do it!" Spyro said as they dove down and landed near one of the rock outcroppings near the entrance to the mountain.

"Wow...its hot here..." Draganta said as he noticed the rocks on which they stood where pretty hot.

They tread lightly, making short work of the few apes they encountered guarding the exterior of the mountain.

After penetrating a little farther in Ash's defenses, they came upon these mole like creatures. They appeared to be mining for gems, and bound by energy beams to metal devices in the ground.

"They're slaves...just like the Atlawa." Austin observed as they hid behind large gem's sticking out of the ground.

The apes guarding them whipped them frequently, however there were only a few of them. Unlike the Atlawa, they werent large enough to take on the apes by themselves, that would be up to Spyro and the crew.

"Ok just a few apes, nothing special, hit them hard and fast, then free these mole...things." Spyro instructed, but by now, they all knew the routine.

Draganta slashed through his opponents, choosing to save his elemental powers for whoever was guarding Cyril.

Austin, Flame and Spyro's apes were quickly reduced to nothing as they pushed though the lightly armed defenders.

One of the miners approached Spyro, though he couldnt go very far, because he was still bound by his energy chain.

"Greetings purple dragon! I am Moleyair, of zee manwersmalls." he said in a heavy french accent

"Nice to meet you Moleyair. My name is Spyro, this is Austin, Draganta, and Flame." he said sociably

"What has brought you to our volcanic home?" he asked

"We're looking for someone. A blue ice dragon, with kind of a snobby attitude." Flame answered stepping next to him having just dispatched his apes.

"Ahh yes, I do remember master Ash binding a blue dragon to zee inside of hees chamber."

"Great! Can you tell us where he is?" Draganta asked

"Only if you help my manwersmall bretheren."

"You trying to blackmail us short stuff?" Austin chimed in

"No misure, but Master Ash has enslaved us all, and we only wish to lead our simple lives in zee heart of our volcano." he pleaded with them.

"Ok, we'll help, but once they are all free, you tell us where Cyril is. Deal?" Spyro said

"Oh thank you noble dragons! You have the eternal thanks of zee manwersmalls everywhere!" he cried with joy.

Spyro bashed one of the metal devices in the ground with his tail, shattering it and freeing the moles from their oppressive bonds.

"Thank you Spyro! Please, if you could, be on zee lookout for my brother Exhumor. He too knows zee location of zee blue dragon you seek."

"Very well...which way leads to Ash?" Draganta asked

"Just follow zee mine cart tracks, they will take you too him." he said. And with that, he dove into the dirt and disappeared underground.

They walked over to the tracks to find a lone mine cart sitting on the tracks.

Austin instinctively climbed inside it and expected the others to follow, but they held back and stared at him.

"What? C'mon you arent scared are you?" he asked

"No, its just I think it would be a lot safer walking the tracks." Spyro stated

"Pfft. I didnt get where I am today thinking about safety. And besides, walking is for suckers. It'll be fun! Just like a roller coaster!"

"Whats a roller coaster?" Draganta asked

"No time to explain, will you guys just get in already?" he asked impatiently.

Spyro and Draganta climbed into the cart as did Flame.

"Well? Now what?" Spyro asked, all of them sitting in the cart, motionless.

"We need a push." He said looking at Spyro, who then looked at Draganta, and then at Flame. He growled and got out of and began pushing, muttering curses under his breath.

"You guys...weigh...a ton!" he said struggling to get the rusted wheels moving. They slowly began to build up speed and Flame hopped in the back.

They picked up speed and crested a large drop.

"Hang on to something!" Austin said as they all clutched the sides of the cart and blistered down the tracks, with sparks flying from the wheels as it went.

"AHHHHH!!" They screamed in unison as it careened around corners on two wheels before settling down on all four again. As they zipped down the tracks, Flame spotted apes chasing them in hand carts.

"Guys! We've got company!" he shouted over the screeching of metal on metal.

"Leave them to me!" Draganta said moving to the back of the cart in Flames place.

An ape in the lead cart began to hurl hatchets at them.

Draganta dodged the first one, and answered with a fireball, crashing into the cart, sending it bouncing off the walls of the mine.

"Strike!" he shouted laughing as a few more ape carts came up behind them, pulled by a train, belching fireballs at them.

"Spyro heads up!" Flame shouted as he turned and dodged the fireball with only inches to spare.

"Son of a..." Spyro said shooting an earth bomb behind them which twisted the track into an impassible twist of up heaved metal.

The engine slammed on the breaks, stopping just short of a violent crash. The ape conductor was hopping mad as he cursed and waved his fist at the escaping dragons.

"Haha, see ya you filthy excuse for a primate!" Austin mocked as they disappeared around a bend.

"Ok, you can slow us down now Spyro." he said

"How do I do that?" he asked

"Pull that lever." Austin said turning back around.

He heard a loud metallic snap.

He waited for the cart to stop slowing down, but it never did.

Spyro walked behind Austin and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Austin...I think this thing broke..." he said

"Of course it would...why wouldnt it?" he said turning around as they picked up even more speed.

They soon saw the end of the line, as the tracks ended in an upward shot out of the mines.

"AAAAHHHH!" the cart flipped multiple times, throwing all of them out of it and onto a hard, hot surface.

"Lets do that again." Flame laughed getting to his feet.

They went to the edge of the rock outcropping they landed on. There were pools of lava dotting the landscape as they realized that they had climbed quite a bit up the mountain.

There were apes guarding multiple cages where many manwersmalls were being kept, as well as what looked like some kind of power generator.

"Ok, I'm going first this time." Draganta said charging off the platform as the others followed. Taking the largest ape by surprise, he knocked him into a nearby lava pit. The dynamite that the large ape had on it, exploded when touched by the molten rock, sending it flying out over the other apes, killing some of them.

"Nice one!" Spyro commented as he used his electric breath to lift three apes off the ground and throw them over the edge of the mountain.

Soon, the apes had been dispatched and they were left with the power generator, and the manwersmalls in the cages.

"These are pretty solid...how are we gonna bust them out?" Flame asked.

Spyro looked around, and saw barrels of TNT positioned, as if purposely next to the sturdy iron cages.

"I've got an idea." he said as he breathed a small flame on the fuse and watched it burn until an explosion racked the ground beneath them, and the locks on the cage fell off, freeing the slaves. They burrowed deep into the ground, but one stayed around.

"You wouldnt happen to be Exhumor would you?" Flame asked

"Wi mesure, how did you know zis?"

"We freed your brother Moleyair earlier. He told us you knew where Cyril is being held." Spyro explained

"Who is zis Cyril?"

"A blue dragon that controls ice." Draganta said

"Ah wi, master Ash had captured a dragon of that description, He is being held in his lair. Through that door, young dragons!" He said

"Thank you Exhumor."

"It is truly I who am grateful young dragons. Bon voyage!" he said as he dug into the earth and disappeared like the others.

"Well, now all we have to do is take this thing down." Flame said looking over the massive machine that seemed to run off of the lava in the pool next to it.

"It seems pretty solid too, its gonna take all of our strength to bring this thing down." Draganta said

"Wait a second guys...instead of wearing ourselves out on this thing, lets just push it into the lava."

They realized the obvious and tipped the massive structure into the molten rock, melting it, and freeing the remainder of the enslaved manwersmalls.

"Well, thats done. Only one thing left to do." Spyro said as he looked toward the metal door which was built to look like a demons face.

As a group, they walked through the iron door, not knowing what to expect from the strongest of the captured hatchlings.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nero sat by the small fire he was responsible for keeping lit to warm the cave, as the pre winter autumn chill tried to creep into their cave as the afternoon set in.

The baby dragons joyful laughs filled the cave as he was chasing a ball around the cave, almost tripping Snow and Ember as they moved about caring for the extremely weak guardians.

"Nero! He has been inside all day, Take him outside and play with him." Ember said grabbing the infant in her mouth, between his wings.

"I'm not good with kids! I only hatched a few days ago!" he reasoned

"You are just as old as we are now. Will you please do this for us, or do you want to give the guardians a sponge bath?" Snow threatened.

"Why cant Lea do it?"

"Does she look like she is in any condition to watch a child?" Snow asked motioning to Lea, who was still bruised from her fight with them, and sleeping.

"Now which is it? Sponge bath or hatchling watch?" she asked again

The very idea made him shutter, and he took the still giggling baby dragon from Embers mouth and begrudgingly left the cave.

As he walked into a field just outside the cave, and set the hatchling down. It looked back at him with his big baby eyes blankly smiling.

"What?"

"Bhat!" He mimicked as Nero chuckled.

"Dont let the girls know I said this... but I guess you are kinda cute." he admitted as he watched the little one chase after the ball from the cave.

He brought it to Nero and dropped it at his feet, and nudged it forward with his muzzle.

"What do you want me to do with this?" he asked

"Bhat ish!"

Nero laughed lightly

"I guess that means throw it huh?" he said as he took the ball in his mouth and spat it up into the air, and batted it away with his tail a short distance away.

The little dragon laughed with delight as he bounded after his ball through the tall grass.

He soon returned with the ball and dropped it at his feet again.

"Ok, one more time." Nero said as he launched the ball a little farther this time.

The dragon bounded off into the woods once more.

Nero lay down on his back as the cold breeze washed over him.

A short time later, the hatchling returned with the ball.

"No more ball little guy." he yawned closing his eyes.

The baby dragon frowned, and began clawing his way onto Nero's stomach.

"Hey buddy no hitchhikers!" he said as the little dragon curled up on top of him.

"Ok fine. But you better not tell anyone." he said as they closed their eyes and relaxed before drifting off into a dream.

Nero was awakened by a low pitched growl. At first, he thought he was dreaming but opened one eye and then was fully awake at the sight of a wild hound staring he and the baby dragon down. He looked hungry.

Nero froze to try not to set off the hound, but soon the hatchling yawned and woke up. He looked at the growling hound and shivered in fear, his eyes welled up with tears as he began to cry.

"Shh...Its ok buddy...just dont-" He was cut off as the little dragon let out a sharp cry of fear.

The wild hound charged and jumped at them. Nero grabbed the baby dragon to sheild him from its claws, prepared to take its razor sharp talons in the back to protect him.

Nero expected to feel the sharp pain of claws digging into his back, but his ears werent met by the sound of tearing scales, but by the little ones voice.

"No!" the baby green dragon shouted holding out his forepaw.

He opened his eyes and saw that the wild hound was frozen in mid air, biting and trying to harm them.

"Whoa! Are you doing this?" Nero asked setting the hatchling on the ground, its forepaw still extended, holding the wild hound in place as it growled struggled to move.

He looked back at him happily, as if waiting Nero's approval.

"This is amazing...you must be psychic or something!" he concluded

The little dragon growled at the wild hound and flung him effortlessly back into the woods from wence he came.

"I think you need a name...what do you think of Psy?"

He laughed and smiled.

"Ok, Psy it is. Wait till I tell Ember and Snow about this!" he said picking him up in his mouth and heading back toward the cave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Spyro and crew entered a room with railroad tracks laid in a circle, with four intersections in the middle.

"My god its hot in here!" Austin said as the heat rising from the ground distorted the air in front of them.

They then heard a steam engine whistle and looked behind them.

"Remember me?"

It was the conductor and his engine on the tracks surrounding the room.

"Full steam ahead! Prepare to die dragons!" the conductor shouted as his engine picked up speed.

It belched fireballs at them as before and the dragons struggled to form a plan.

"Draganta, Austin, you guys cut the tracks and bend them into a ramp, I have an idea!" Flame said as he motioned for Spyro to get on the opposite side of him.

Draganta cut the rails and grabbed the one on his side, slowly but surely raising it up to form a ramp.

Austin did the same with his as the engine drew closer.

"Bend them higher!" Flame shouted urgently

"C'mon Draganta but your back into it!" Austin encouraged as they finally raised them to a proper level.

"Spyro, when he gets airborne, you hit him with ice, I'll get him with fire, ok?"

"Got it!" he said

Draganta and Austin dove away from the tracks just in time as the train ran over the tracks and was launched into the air.

"Pull!" Flame mocked as Spyro froze the engine and the conductor, followed shortly by Flames fireball, shattering it into hundreds of peices

"Good thinking Flame!" Draganta added getting to his feet.

Another door at the opposite end of the room opened as if on que, beckoning them inside.

"I dont like the looks of this..." Flame admitted as they cautiously stepped inside.

The door slammed closed and they saw a barely alive Cyril chained to the wall.

"Cyril! Thank the gods you're alive!" Flame cried as he walked over toward him, only to be stopped by an imposing black dragon.

"Ready to die, Spyro?"

So the nameless green hatchling has a name! and some strange powers. the showdown with Ash and his mystery weapon next chap! I own nothing but my own OC's.

peace!