Chapter 11: Hunting Season

Somewhere in the deep swamps of the Dragon Realms...

The sounds of my knife plunging into the thorax of a giant Bulb Spider echoed throughout the swamp, another successful kill by Sergei Kravenoff, or Kraven the Hunter as I'd become known throughout the land. I had come to this swamp in hopes of finding worthy prey, but instead only found worthless Frogweeds and pathetic dragonflies. This lone Bulb Spider was the only beast that came close to satisfying my hunger for a worthwhile hunt. "Worthless, barely even put up a fight," I scoffed as I removed my knife from the beast's body.

There was nothing else to my life besides the hunt, it was what I breathed for, lived for, and now I found myself unsatisfied with any beast unfortunate enough to cross my path. I needed a real challenge, something that would stimulate me like the old days. But what creature could possible provide a challenge for Kraven the Hunter?

Suddenly a large shadow passed over me, I looked up to find a purple dragon flying steadily overhead, his mighty wings beating every so often, in my travels I had heard many stories of this beast, the most powerful of all creatures, able to bend every element to it's whim, such a powerful beast indeed, it was carrying the carcass of a recently killed deer, such a simplistic choice of prey for such a powerful creature, dumb and weak, I had abandoned such prey years ago…

My eyes suddenly widened in realization, this was no mere chance encounter, it was a sign! A revelation of my true calling! The ultimate challenge! The ultimate hunt! Yes… the purple dragon would finally provide me with the challenge I so desperately desired. Once I fell this mighty beast I would finally prove to the world that I am the greatest hunter in all the land!

I followed the beast as it flew through the air, stalking my new prey, few dared to try hunting dragons, even the common lot were strong beasts, able to defeat men in seconds, but I was no mere man, I was Kraven! I had mastered nature, unlocked all of it's secrets, I removed a vile from my coat, a potion created from various herbs and a pinch of dark magic, it increased my strength and speed considerably, I'd need it to take this creature.

Soon the dragon landed, possibly to eat it's kill, my heart began to race, the excitement I had longed for finally returning, oh what a glorious battle I'd have with such prey! I removed a blow dart tube from my coat along with a poison tipped dart, the poison would not kill the beast, that would be too simple, it was a muscle relaxant, normally it would simply slow the prey down, but to a dragon, it would cut them off from their elements entirely… making things far more level for me.

Things had calmed down considerably since the ape invasion of Warfang, Spider-Man taking down the Ape King had seemingly caused the apes to crawl back under whatever hole they had crawled out of, I have to say it was nice being able to simply hunt in my old stomping grounds without having to worry about being ambushed by apes.

I couldn't help but feel at peace as I dug into the buck I had managed to take out, I felt almost carefree for the first time in a long while, it was a perfect day for me, nice weather, peace in the city, a nice meal to dig into, yeah… everything was coming up Spyro.

Thupt!

I suddenly felt something sharp poke into my neck, at first I thought it was a mosquito, but I suddenly began to feel a bit drowsy, almost sleepy, someone shot me with something, I began to feel around my neck to try to see if I could find the object, I found something fuzzy and yanked it out, in my claws was some kind of blow dart, decorated with some kind of green fuzz.

"It's a simple muscle relaxant," A voice rang from the wilderness, gruff and slightly accented, suddenly a figure stepped out from the bushes, a middle aged human with raven black hair and matching mustache, he wore leopard print pants, animal skin boots, and a vest seemingly crafted from the had of a lion. "It won't kill you, it will simply deprive you of your elemental abilities," He continued, it wasn't exactly hard to figure out this man was the one who shot me with the dart, but why? What did I ever do to him?

The man twirled a knife in his hand, "But I am anything if not sporting, I will give you a ten second head start before I begin the hunt, I suggest you use it wisely," He said, he was hunting me? Why?! I didn't have time to really think it over too much, I needed to get out of here before this maniac killed me.

I tried to fly, but my wings could barely move, "No use trying to fly, the relaxant has weakened your wings to the point of uselessness, you being able to fly out of my reach wouldn't be very sporting would it?" the hunter said. Dammit! I'd have to run on foot, I had to get to Warfang, no way would this psycho follow me there right? I began to run, the poison had weakened my body considerably, but I had to power through it, to think today had started off so well…

Later…

Warfang, Noon...

Nothing like a beautiful day in Warfang to really brighten up your spirits, after the ape attack it seemed the city's criminal element had taken to hiding for a bit, making me almost wonder why I was spending my day off from school being Spider-Man instead of at home as Peter Parker? Who knows, maybe I just wanted to enjoy a bright, sunny day, web swinging through Warfang. Nothing could ruin this day…

"Spider-Man!"

Why did I say that? You never say nothing can go wrong, the ancestors seem to take that as a challenge and immediately ruin your day, I landed on a nearby rooftop only to see an all too familiar black dragoness land right behind me, "Cynder? What's up?" I asked.

The dragoness sat herself down, "I don't suppose you've seen Spyro anywhere have you?" She asked me.

I raised an eyebrow, "No… why is there something wrong?" I asked simply.

Cynder shook her head, "He told me he was going hunting this morning, but he's been gone for three hours now and I'm beginning to worry something bad might have happened," She explained.

I didn't really know how to respond, I wasn't exactly Spyro's keeper, how the hell was I supposed to know where he was? "Maybe he just got lost?" I suggested, "Spyro's a tough guy, I doubt he could get himself in a bind he couldn't get out of," I added, hoping to at least put her at ease.

Cynder however shook her head, "I just have this feeling… like something is wrong… if you see him, let me know okay?" She asked.

I nodded, "If he turns up I'll tell him you're looking for him," I said. Satisfied, Cynder flew off, I admit, I didn't know Spyro too well, I'd only been acquainted with him for a few weeks now, so I had no clue if he had a habit of vanishing or not, but something made me feel that same gut feeling Cynder had, that something wasn't quite right.

I decided searching around the city for him would at least help put me at ease, I liked to think Spyro was strong enough to get himself out any problem I could hope to help him with, but ya know… great responsibility and all that. Besides, it gave me an excuse to enjoy the weather a little more so I wasn't going to complain.

However, after about an hour I found no sign of the purple dragon, I began to feel a tinge of worry creep up on me, maybe Cynder was right to be concerned? Maybe I should expand my search to outside the city? I swung over to the city gates, I rarely ventured outside of the city, it wasn't exactly prime web swinging country if you catch my drift.

I landed in front of the entrance to the swamp, Cynder had mentioned to me once that it was Spyro's favorite hunting location, so if I was going to find him, it'd be in here, "A quick little comb over of the swamps should do, if I don't find him here, then maybe I can start worrying," I said to myself. Yeah Pete, when has anything ever been that simple for you? I began to swing through the swamp, the low trees had made this rather difficult, but I wasn't about to soil my costume in the marsh so I had to at least try.

I had heard horror stories about the swamp, the giant frogweeds that ate poor, unsuspecting travelers, the giant bulb spiders (something I was sadly all too familiar with), so searching for Spyro in this deathtrap was going to be oh so fun… why couldn't he hunt in a nice, happy, flower field with fluffy bunnies who just want to give you cuddles?

I scanned around the marsh, looking for any sign of Spyro, "Spyro? Buddy? You out there? Your girlfriend is getting a bit worried!" I called out, no response, I was beginning to feel like I was wasting my time when suddenly I saw a speck of purple just out of the corner of my eye.

I turned myself around, doubling back until I found the spot I saw it, and well… I found Spyro… and boy… did he look bad.

He was filthy, but that wasn't the part that worried me, he was visibly shaking, his eyes looked tired, but somewhat crazed, with dilated pupils constantly darting in all directions, he was spooked and badly, what on earth could frighten a dragon like Spyro to this degree? I don't think I want to find out, but I was going to have to, "Spyro?" I called.

Spyro jumped, even screamed a little, however he calmed down slightly when he saw it was me, "Sp… Spider-Man? Th… that really you?" He said timidly, he was still completely spooked, but by what remained to be seen.

I cautiously approached, "Well if not I've been wearing the wrong costume for about four months," I joked, trying to break the tension in hopes of calming the purple dragon down if even a little bit, it sadly didn't work as Spyro was still freaked out.

He cautiously looked behind him, "You've gotta help me! He's after me! I don't know why but he's after me!" He said, clearly still too freaked out to even think clearly, let alone explain what was going on.

"Calm down Spyro, who's after you? The Apes? The Shocker? Please don't say Malefor…" I said, more joking about that last one, but if it was the old Dark Master then this had officially gone from a good day, to the worst ever.

Spyro shook his head though, "I don't know who he is! B… But he hit me with this blow dart that took away my mana and sapped my strength! I can't even fly! You gotta help me!" He said, well whoever it was that was attacking poor Spyro here wasn't anyone we've encountered before, so who was it?

I looked around, checking to see if I could find anyone there before continuing our conversation, "We need to get you back to Warfang, whoever is after you won't follow us there," I said, I knew it wasn't going to be that simple, it never was, but I needed to at least try to calm Spyro down, he would be more of a hindrance than a help in this state.

However, my Spider-Sense suddenly went off, "GET DOWN!" I said, Spyro and I both ducked, a knife plunging itself into a nearby tree.

"Interloper!"

I looked up to see a human in leopard print pants walk onto the scene, wait, this was the guy that had Spyro so freaked out? He looked like a total tool! "This hunt does not concern you masked one! My business is with the purple dragon!" He scolded me.

I slowly got up, "Okay mister jungle man," I said, "Who are you? Why go after Spyro? What made you think that get up was okay?!" I asked him. However, the man simply kicked me away, far stronger than I expected as it was enough to knock me off my feet.

The man twirled a knife in his hand, "If you must know, I am Kraven! As for my reasons, I am hunting the purple dragon, he is my prey, that is all there is to it, now LEAVE!" he explained before grabbing me by the neck and tossing me a good ten feet through the air, sending me into a bush.

Man, this guy was pretty strong for a squishy human, and a few books short of a library if you catch my drift. Why in the name of the ancestors would you hunt the purple dragon of legend?! Whatever his insane reasons were, I had to stop him, I can't let him kill Spyro!

Speaking of, Spyro exploded from the bushes, running as fast as his legs could carry him, Kraven in hot pursuit, was he running on all fours?…. Holey crap he was! What is this guy? Some kind of loony animal man?! Ugh… why do I always find the weirdos? "Excuse me! You have a license to hunt purple dragons?! I didn't think so buster!" I called out as I gave chase.

This Kraven guy was fast, almost inhumanly so, poor Spyro just couldn't seem to shake this lunatic! I shot a webline at Kraven, snagging him in the back, with a hard tug he fell right on his rear, allowing Spyro to put some distance between him and Kraven. I landed behind the mad hunter, "Okay you weird animal… hunter… guy… your little hunt is over!" I said before going to knock this twit out with a huge right hand.

However, Kraven saw it coming, catching my fist and flipping me over his back, sending me to the ground, hard. "I grow tired of your meddling masked one!" He said before he suddenly stuck me with something sharp, I quickly elbowed him to get him off.

I ripped the object out of my neck, revealing it to be some kind of blow dart, "OW! Hey, didn't your mom tell you it isn't nice to stab Spider-Men with weird objects?!" I objected, tossing the dart to the ground before my head started to suddenly feel light and woozy, oh man he poisoned me didn't he?

Kraven grinned, "Spider-Man huh? I've heard of you, but believed you to be mere myth, truly this is a glorious day, two rare hunts for the price of one!" He said, oh great, he's heard of me, how swell. "However, you will have to wait for another day Spider-Man, I have far greater prey to hunt right now… sleep well..." He said before running off.

I found myself struggling to stay conscious, what did the hell did he hit me with?! Whatever it was, it was making it progressively harder to stay awake, I found myself fading, everything enveloped in inky blackness, dammit no! Spyro needs me! I can't…. I can't… ugh…

Later…

"Spider-Man?! SPIDER-MAN!"

I slowly opened my eyes, "Is that you Mary Jane? Why you out here? Dis is no place fer pretty gurls," I said groggily, my head was murky, I couldn't think straight, my thoughts just a garbled mess, my vision was just as blurry, everything around me resembling inky blobs of various colors.

I suddenly felt something hard strike me in the face, "Snap out of it hero boy!" said a familiar voice, my vision suddenly cleared, I was met with the annoyed face of Cynder. "What happened?! You've been gone for four hours! I spent two of those hours trying to find you!" She asked.

I shook myself awake, trying to get a firm grasp on my thoughts, to remember what had happened before my little nap, "Spyro's being hunted by some crazed hunter guy named Kraven, he… he stuck me with something and well… you can figure out the rest," I explained.

I felt my strength begin to return to my body, "He hit Spyro with some kind of muscle relaxant that sapped his powers, we have to find him before Kraven does," I said. However Cynder was giggling for some reason, you'd think she'd be more concerned that her boyfriend was being hunted by some psycho. "What?" I asked.

She looked at me, "You gonna tell me who Mary Jane is?" She asked, my blood ran cold, it seemed in my semi conscious state I had almost blown my secret identity, "The way you were mumbling about her when I found you, it sounds like you like her," she teased me.

Dude! Time and place Cynder! "Did we forget that some maniac is trying to kill Spyro?!" I said, more trying to get her to stop embarrassing me than anything, I was quite flustered to say the least.

Cynder giggled a little, "Alright… You've got a point, we should focus on stopping this Kraven guy, but you know, I'm going to find out about this "Mary Jane" at some point Spider-Man," She said before taking flight, I swung after her. You know, this was the last thing I needed right now! Thanks brain for giving Cynder something to tease me with! Really appreciate it you traitor!

Cynder and I moved through the marsh, I couldn't see any sign of Spyro or Kraven, there's no telling what had happened since I was knocked out, what state Spyro was in, he could be already dead for all I knew. No no! Can't think like that, he's alive, I know it.

Suddenly my spider sense went off again, I heard the sounds of thin wire being cut, booby trap! "Cynder watch out!" I said, without thinking I zipped myself upwards, tackling the black dragoness before a volley of sharp daggers just barely missed her. We both crashed to the ground, tumbling against the muddy floor of the swamp until finally skidding to a stop. "Kraven must have the entire swamp booby trapped," I theorized.

Cynder blinked, clearly a bit shaken from nearly becoming a pin cushion. But she quickly collected herself, "Then we need to find Spyro quickly, I know him too well to think he won't blunder into one of Kraven's little surprises." she added.

I hated this, why was Kraven doing all of this? Spyro helped save the world! Why hunt him down like an animal? Just for the sport of it? It was really messed up if you really stopped to think about it. But I wasn't about to let Spyro get killed, especially not by a guy who wore leopard print unironically, yeesh.

Meanwhile…

I had no clue how long I've been running, I was beginning to feel my strength returning though, I tested my breath powers again, dammit still nothing! But this was a good sign, Kraven's poison was beginning to wear off. But there was still so much working against me right now, I knew Kraven had the swamps booby trapped, I almost fell into a pit a few minutes ago.

I did feel a little better knowing Spider-Man was here, it was comforting having a friend out here, although I haven't seen any sign of him since we first found each other out here. I hope Kraven didn't… no… can't think like that, need to stay positive! Keep it together Spyro, you can get out of this! You always do.

"Spyro?"

I jumped, fearing Kraven had found me again, however, the sight of a familiar looking glowing speck set me at ease, it was just Sparx, "Sparx! You scared me," I commented as my foster brother flew in closer.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you headed back to Warfang?" He questioned, however he grew a concerned look when he noticed my psychical condition, "Yikes, what happened to you? You look awful, well… more so than usual," He asked, I tried my best not to take offense to that.

However, suddenly I felt something wrap itself around my legs, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. I looked to see my legs were trapped by some kind of rope attached to two metal balls, wrapped around all four legs meaning I was trapped.

And of course, who else but Kraven would appear from the darkness, a huge smirk on his face, "You're a tenacious one I'll give you that much dragon, but no one escapes Kraven the Hunter," He boasted, man did I wish I had my breath powers back, so I could burn that smug grin right off his stupid face!

Sparx flew right in Kraven's path, "Excuse me! Do you mind telling me why you're hunting my brother? You… butt ugly… vaguely foreign weirdo? Is it because you have an ugly sag face and have no friends?" Sparx asked. He was buying me time! I began to try to wrench at least one of my limbs free while Sparx kept Kraven busy.

Kraven swatted at Sparx, "Away with you pest! No one interferes with my hunt!" He growled, Sparx effortlessly dodging each swipe, this wasn't going to work for much longer, I needed to get myself free and fast before Kraven caught on to what was happening.

Forget untying this mess, I just began to chew at it with my teeth, contorting my body enough to get within chewing range was horrendously uncomfortable, but it was better than being mounted on Kraven's wall, so I'd just have to deal. The rope began to snap and fray, as strong as it was, it was no match for sharp dragon teeth. Eventually it snapped, and I was free, I wasted no time in running.

"Dammit! NO!" Kraven protested, thanks Sparx, I owe you one.

Meanwhile…

Finding Spyro was taking far longer than I liked, every second I let pass gave Kraven another chance to kill him, however my panic wasn't anywhere near Cynder's, I could see the pure fear in her eyes, no doubt thinking the same thing I was, that if we didn't find Spyro soon he was good as dead.

This was all so stupid, Spyro defeated Malefor! But yet he was going to die not by the apes, the Dark Master, but some weirdo hunter who was bored one day and decided to go dragon hunting! I kept swinging, swinging in such a place had never gotten any easier for me, I wasn't used to swinging so low to the ground, but it was faster than walking, and right now, every second counted.

However, I noticed something glowing in the distance, a tiny speck, however as it drew closer I could hear someone screaming, "Help! HELP ME! He's gonna kill me!" a voice whined, the speck flew right up to me, revealing it was a dragonfly, "Hey! Weird dude in the mask! You gotta help me! This crazy hunter guy is trying to kill my bro, and now he's after me because I let him get away!" he said in a panic before cowering behind me.

I had no clue how to react to this, who are you again? However, Cynder came in for a landing, "Nice to see you too Sparx," She said dryly. Sparx? She knew this guy? Cynder noticed my confusion, "Sparx is Spyro's foster brother," she explained. How a dragonfly could possibly be a foster brother to a dragon I'd never know, but if he was Spyro's brother, and he claimed that some crazed hunter was after him for letting Spyro get away, then that means…

Yup, there he was, Kraven the Hunter, brandishing a knife and a crazed look in his eyes, "YOU!" he growled as he saw me, "I've had enough of you and the insect's interference! NO ONE STOPS KRAVEN'S HUNT!" he roared.

"Uh, quick question," I said, "Which one of us is the insect? Because if you mean me, that's actually a common misconception, spiders are actually arachnids not-" I began before Kraven suddenly launched himself at me, I just barely got out of the way, Sparx for whatever reason following my closely, why he wouldn't seek the much larger Cynder as a meat shield I'd never know. But I couldn't focus on that right now, I had to take Kraven down, "Okay! You don't want a science lesson, message received!" I joked.

Kraven began to take more swings at me, I managed to dodge each one before scoring a nice uppercut to his jaw, "You think you can defeat Kraven the Hunter?" he said before reaching into his vest for something, he produced some kind of vial with a red liquid inside, he popped the cork out and took a swig before placing it back in his vest, "None have more knowledge of nature and it's secrets more than I," He said before he suddenly clocked me right in the head with a huge haymaker, sending me crashing into a nearby tree.

Man, for a crazy hunter, he hits pretty hard. It must have been that vial he drank from, it must be some kind of magic potion! Man, as if this wasn't hard enough right?

Cynder quickly launched her own attack, taking several swipes at the mad hunter, "Why?! Why are you attacking Spyro?! What's your game?!" She growled as Kraven dodged each one before smacking her away with a backhanded blow.

"Game is the exact reason!" He said as she hit the ground, "The greatest game of all! Already this hunt provides me with more excitement than I've felt in years! A true challenge worthy of Sergei Kravenoff!" He boasted.

Oh so he's hunting Spyro for stupid reasons, you know I was kinda joking when I theorized he was doing this because he was bored! "Really?! THAT'S why you're doing this?! Because you're bored?! What is wrong with you?!" I screamed as I tried to punch this maniac's daylights out, this was absurd! Spyro was a hero! He saved the WORLD! But yet dipstick here saw him as nothing more than a thing he could hunt! Is this guy dense? Or just insane? Maybe a little of both.

Kraven caught both of my fists and began to squeeze and force me to my knees, "The hunt is all that matters Spider-Man! You are too simple minded to understand!" He said, man… is he strong… that potion really is something… even with my super strength I couldn't even force myself back to my feet!

Something suddenly splatted on Kraven's back, smoke began to bellow from the place it hit, Kraven gritted his teeth, "You..." He said, turning to Cynder, "You must be Cynder than, the Terror of the Skies," He said.

The very mention of her old title flew her into a rage, "NO! I'M NOT THAT DRAGON ANYMORE!" She screamed before snatching Kraven right off of me and slamming the hunter to the ground with so much force it shook the very earth, "No one calls me that! Especially not some lowlife scumbag like YOU!" she snarled.

However, Kraven suddenly threw dirt in her eyes, temporarily blinding her, "Foolish girl, a title is earned! It is proof of your strength! You should wear it with pride!" He said, this dude was off his rocker! Then again, I was talking about the maniac that decided hunting the legendary purple dragon for fun was a good idea…

I threw a kick aimed at Kraven's head, he blocked it and flipped me over, sending me to the ground, "Your skills are pathetic Spider-Man, you proclaim yourself a hunter of criminals, but have no skill, no instinct! I had hoped you would provide a better challenge than this!" He said.

This was getting a bit annoying, dingus here was kicking both of our asses and worse, lecturing us as he did it. I don't need life lessons from some maniac wearing animal skins! Kraven quickly pounced on me, "You Spider-Man… you will serve a purpose however, in the wild, wolves will flock to an injured member of it's pack when it cries out for help," He explained, thanks for the biology lesson you whacked out nut bull.

Kraven then began to tie me up, what am I? His trophy? I swear if he ties me to a railroad track I am done. He then hoisted me over his shoulder and hopped away, Cynder still too dazed to interfere, and Sparx? Well… Sparx was too tiny to do anything really. Both could only watch as Kraven hopped away with me over his shoulder…

Later…

Kraven dropped me onto the ground, he didn't even wait a second before stomping hard on my back, "Tell me Spider-Man, why come all this way to save the purple dragon? You two must be quite close for you to leave your usual hunting grounds just to save him," he asked me, he stomped again, harder this time.

My back erupted in pain, every pore screamed out as The Hunter's foot stomped harder and harder, he was trying to get me to cry out, Spyro would hear me and come to my rescue, thus falling right into Kraven's hands. I was bait! "You trying to get me to scream Kraven? Forget it, you're not getting him, not if I can-" I began before Kraven stomped on my back again, digging the heel of his boot right between my shoulder blades.

"You're a stubborn one Spider-Man, I'll give you that much, but eventually… you will break," He said before I began to feel something sharp dig into my back, it had to be his knife, the blade dug right into the back of my spine, the pain was almost maddening, but I couldn't give in, I couldn't give Kraven what he wanted, I had to hold tough, for Spyro's sake. "Your will is impressive Spider-Man, but everyone has their breaking point, even someone like you," He said before stomping the sharp object further into my back.

That did it, the pain was too much for me to bottle up, I cried out, louder than I ever had before, I failed. No way Spyro didn't hear that, and while I hadn't known him long, I knew enough to know he wouldn't ignore it. "I told you, even Spider-Man has his limits, now all we need to do… is wait," He said, I felt him rip the knife from my back, I'm sorry Spyro, I tried…

Meanwhile…

I didn't know how long it had been since I lost Kraven, my powers were still recovering, but just barely, they weren't quite at fighting level yet, I just needed to wait it out, then when the returned, I was going to hunt Kraven down and take him down!

However, my plans hit a snag when I heard a familiar voice cry out in horrible agony, "Spider-Man!" I said, Kraven must have found him! If he died it would be all my fault! He was only out here because of me, and no doubt Kraven was only hurting him because of me. Against my better judgment I rushed to the direction of the sound, I was done playing games with Kraven! He can do what he wants to me, but now he was hurting my friends! It's time for his little hunt to end!

I found Spider-Man in no time, he was tied up and laying on the ground, his back was bleeding, staining his costume, "Spider-Man? Are you alright? Where's Kraven?" I asked.

Spider-Man coughed, "Get out of here! It's a trap!" he said, before I could even question anything I felt someone land on my back, arms wrapping around my neck.

It had to be Kraven, who else could it be, "I knew his cries would draw you out! You are too noble for your own good," He said, I was furious, this was low even for him, hurting my friends just to draw me out! "I was originally going to use the she dragon, but Spider-Man seemed to do the job just fine," He said before he began to squeeze, trying to choke me out.

Wait… Cynder was here? She must have come looking for me! "If you… hurt her… I'll…" I tried to threaten him, but the pressure on my neck tightened even more, I was struggling to breathe, my head began to feel lighter and lighter.

I noticed Spider-Man begin to struggle to break free of his bonds, no doubt hoping to help me, I began to thrash, trying to get Kraven off of me, my strength was still in the process of coming back, but it wasn't enough to fight off Kraven yet, "Get… off… ME!" I roared, slamming my head back, finally forcing him to lose his grip and fall to the ground.

I was furious, this was insane, he hunted me all day, booby trapped the swamps hurting who knows how many innocent creatures, and worse, he hurt my friends! I was done. I grabbed him by the throat, "I've had enough of you, and your "hunt"!" I roared as I slammed the hunter into the ground.

However, Kraven managed to stab me in the right front leg, forcing me to let go, "Very well, no more games, just you, me, man against beast, to the death!" He said with a mad gleam in his eyes, this man was insane! But I wasn't backing down this time, one way or another, this madman is going down!

Kraven was good, but I was better! Even without my breath elements, I was still skilled enough in hand to hand combat to overpower Kraven, "Give it up Kraven! Even without my elements I can still beat you!" I said, however Kraven simply pushed me back.

Kraven then produced the same vial I had seen him drink from when I first encountered him, Yes, but you forget, I still have a few tricks of my own," He said before ripping the cork out, taking a few more swigs before it was suddenly ripped from his hands by a webline.

The glass shattered on the ground, "Now come on Kraven, you can't just take drink breaks in the middle of a fight, that's just plain rude!" He said before snapping his restraints and flipping back onto his feet. "I admit Kraven, your ropes are tough, but still not enough to stave off my super spider strength!" said Spider-Man.

Kraven however, began to smirk, "Yes, but a bit too late I'm afraid, now that I have the full strength of a rhino! I can crush you BOTH!" He said, his muscles began to pulsate, that potion he drank began taking effect, giving him much more strength that he ever had before, he threw a hard right hook to Spider-Man's jaw, sending him right into a tree, cracking it in two.

I quickly took advantage of his divided attention, grabbing him in a sleeper hold, but he quickly threw me off, slamming me into the ground with a painful thud. The wind knocked right out of me, and pain shooting up my back, Kraven was definitely stronger now, that much was clear. "I admit purple dragon, you were everything I had hoped you'd be, at last, a worthy hunt for Sergei Kravenoff!" said Kraven.

Spider-Man suddenly hit him with a diving kick, "Yes I'm sure your mommy is real proud Kraven, so be a good little boy and just go home already!" he said.

Kaven quickly took initiative, grabbing Spidey by the head and slamming him into the ground, "Not until I claim my prize! The purple dragon's head, mounted over my fireplace, a permanent reminder of my greatest hunt!" said Kraven. Uh… okay… ew…

I slowly got back to my feet, launching myself at Kraven, hitting him with the hardest headbutt I could muster, the impact sent him flying, however he managed to catch himself in midair, "Impressive! Such a worthy prey you are Spyro!" He said before landing on his feet, and grabbing me by the horns, pinning me to the ground, "But our battle is at an end, and it will be I, Sergei Kravenoff, who stands triumphant!" he said as began to try to twist my head, he was trying to snap my neck! I had to resist, I can't die here, not like this! Not to this moron!

I then heard a loud cracking sound, it wasn't my neck, thank the ancestors, but Kraven's back, Spider-Man had scored a huge flying kick to his back, his abdomen smacking right into my horns, forcing him to let them go. "Really Kraven, there has to be better hobbies than this! Maybe you should take up knitting? I hear it's very relaxing, and has less chance of you getting your butt kicked by superheroes and purple dragons too!" joked Spider-Man.

Kraven fell to the ground, his potion was starting to wear off, as I could see his muscles begin to return to normal, I got up, approaching Kraven, "Your powers wearing off Kraven? Shame," I said, I felt my strength return, I decided to see if my powers were back, and they were, as I began to encase the psychotic hunter in ice, "Mine seem to be working just fine," I said with a smug grin.

Kraven could do nothing, the ice was far too thick for him to break out of, it was over… finally… Spider-Man and I both flopped onto the ground, exhausted from the fight, "So..." Spider-Man began, "We take him back to Warfang? Lock him away?" he asked.

Sure, some might think it smarter to just kill Kraven, but there was no point, Kraven was defeated, and rotting in a prison was exactly what this lunatic deserved. "Yeah… by the way… I never got the chance to thank you… if you hadn't smashed Kraven's potion, there's no telling how much stronger he could have made himself," I said.

Spider-Man laughed, "Hey, I'm just doing my job… ow," he said, "I think I might need some healing..." he added, causing both of us to laugh, I'm glad I made friends with Spider-Man, he was a bit rough around the edges, but he was reliable, good at heart, and there's no telling what would have happened if he hadn't intervened with Kraven's stupid hunt.

Later…

Spyro and I left to take Kraven here back to Warfang to pay for his crimes, I webbed his frozen prison to Spyro's back, hopefully we could get him to prison before he melted. My back hurt like hell, but in the end, we won, again. We soon found Cynder and Sparx, Cynder rushing over to Spyro and nuzzling him, "Cynder, I'm okay," Spyro laughed.

Cynder backed off a bit, "You had me worried, but… it seems you two managed to take out Kraven," She said, noticing the frozen hunter webbed to Spyro's back.

Spyro turned to me, "Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without a certain masked hero's help," He said with a smile.

Cynder grew a devious look, oh no… "Now if only you could work up the courage to talk to that Mary Jane girl you kept mumbling about in your sleep?" She teased me, why? Why are you like this? Spyro of course was completely lost, but Cynder just kept giggling.

Why is it that even when I win, I still somehow lose? I swear, Cynder's never going to let me forget this… ever…

A/N: Today's chapter was actually a suggestion from one Great Saiyaman54, again, I am always open to suggestions from readers, (I know someone else had been suggesting villains too, I'll get to them don't worry,) But I really liked this idea and decided to run with it.

We'll see more from the main plot soon though, don't you worry, this was more of a fun little side adventure to let us recover from the big city invasion last chapter. Well, fun for us, not so much for poor Spyro here, no hard feelings right old buddy?

Spyro: I hate you so much right now…

Oh you kidder you… see ya next chapter!