Hey, sorry for not uploading for a while; I had some stuff going on in my life.
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"Are you sure you want to go back in there?" Pyra asked Lumiere as she fitted chrome armor to his small frame.
"I'm not letting Jinx die down there with that monster," Lumiere replied with conviction.
Pyra smiled and nuzzled him when she fitted the last strap on his silver armor. "I'm so proud of you, Lumiere," she whispered.
Lumiere smiled lightly and nuzzled her back. "Thanks, Mom."
"Lumiere," Bane's voice came from the doorway. Lumiere looked to find Bane standing there with a solemn expression, his crimson armor reflecting the light of midday streaming in from the window in the armory, however he felt less than shiny. "It's time to go."
Lumiere lost his smile and nodded slowly, walking out of the room and down the hallway with Bane's lumbering form. To pass the time and ease his nerves, Lumiere focused on their armor. His own armor wasn't that much different than the one he used back when he was captured by the Announcer, except this set was of a lot better quality, since it was from the Warfang armory itself and was probably made by the best smiths within a thousand miles; it was silver like his old set, but this time it had red highlights outlining his bracers, helmet, and chestplate, which was engraved with the Symbol of Chryosis. Bane's armor was made in much the same fashion, only that it looked older, suggesting the same of the dragon, but it still looked good as new despite probably going through war, what with him being the Head Captain of the Warfang Regime. His armor was, as mentioned, crimson red with black highlights, and instead of the Symbol of Chryosis engraved in his chestplate, he had the Warfang Insignia, which was two dragons twisting around each other and a staff with a jewel going through the center.
"Relax, Lumiere," Bane said suddenly, making Lumiere look to him. Bane met his gaze and said, "You're tense."
"I'll be fine," Lumiere replied. "I have to be if we're gonna get Jinx out of that wretched place."
Bane chuckled at the youngling's resolve and looked back down the hallway, which they had almost reached the end of. When they did, they were met with a dark wooden door that was the only thing separating them and the rest of Warfang. Bane opened it slowly and stepped out, followed by Lumiere, but they were both bombarded with onlookers and reporters, throwing questions this way and that at practically light speed. Bane only shielded Lumiere from them with his left wing and made his way to the bar, pushing through the crowd forcefully using his shoulder.
"They seem… excited," Lumiere remarked.
"You can't blame them," Bane replied. "You and your friends are the first ones to survive a journey through the Dark Catacombs in millenia."
"How was I supposed to know that?" Lumiere asked.
Bane looked to him and asked, "Didn't you learn about them two years ago?"
"Amnesia," Lumiere reminded him.
Bane raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing and only turned away and focused on making his way through the mob with Lumiere. When they got to the bar, they dashed inside and closed the door behind them as soon as Bane's tail was through the door. Lumiere looked around the room at everyone there and saw eyes of nervousness, yet determination that rivaled his own, dare he say.
Cynder was standing there with black armor with purple highlights, which were glowing because of the protection spell Lumiere was able to conjure up, and on her chest was the Emblem of the Purple Dragon, which was a dragon with the four elemental symbols surrounding it. Cyclone was wearing dark gray armor with even darker gray patterns etched into the metal, and the rune of protection was on his chest, a courtesy of the Elders from long ago. Ember had on a set of dark gold armor with red highlights and patterns, and her chestplate was also engraved with the Warfang Insignia.
Vyra's armor, however, was the most impressive of them all. Her armor was made of the strongest metal known to the Dragon Realms, nightsteel, which made her armor a very dark gray, though it was lighter than Cyclone's, and in her armor was etched the Warfang Insignia and the Mark of the Guardians to the right of it, which had four dragons facing upward towards a star, seemingly praying to it. Along with that were beautiful patterns and bracers that all held some kind of spell in ancient draconic, which Kage had put on before he slunk back to his room, the most important ones being protection, strength, stamina, and speed. Right in the center of her chest, however, was the Symbol of Chryosis engraved nice and big for everyone to see.
Lumiere looked at all of them and, despite seeing only two warriors, smiled slightly, knowing that their ability to fight wouldn't matter if their hope didn't give out, and as long as their friends and family were still alive, that wasn't about to give out any time soon.
"Where are Volteer and Winter?" Bane asked.
"Here! We're here!" Volteer cried, rushing into the bar with Winter in tow.
Neither of them were wearing very heavy armor, just a bit of leather to protect their vitals, but Winter was wearing some kind of pendant with runes of protection revolving around a diamond in the center.
"Sorry we're late," she said, walking up to the group.
Lumiere looked at her and said, "You don't have to go."
"Why are you so worried about me?" Winter asked. Before Lumiere could respond, she added, "Is it because you think I'm some fragile female incapable of taking care of herself?" Lumiere could only gape as she continued. "I'm only going down there to take notes, not fight a battle, and even if I was pulled into one, I can handle my own. Why do you think my father let me come in the first place?"
Lumiere shook himself out of his stupor and focused forward. But before he let the matter drop, he smiled and mumbled, "Your funeral."
His friends all snorted or coughed in a poor-made attempt to hide their laughter. He walked up to the edge of the hole in the wooden floor in the bar, staring in at the hallway that they emerged from last time they were in there and, with luck, would emerge back from, this time with their friends and loved ones in tow.
He turned back to the group and asked, "You guys ready?"
Vyra answered first by jumping into the air past Lumiere and gliding to the floor, which was pretty far down. Lumiere smiled and shook his head, chuckling as he jumped headfirst into the hole, followed closely by Cynder, Cyclone, and Ember, all of whom spread their wings at the last second to keep from splattering on the ground. They were joined by Volteer and Bane a second later, followed a few seconds later by Winter, who fell on her face with a smack!
"Even the mighty must fall sometimes," Lumiere joked, making everyone there chuckle. Winter glared at him before they all focused on the long hallway ahead of them. Lumiere gazed at the dead end and said, "Et exitus revelare."
With that, the wall in front of them disappeared, revealing the room they were in last time, only this time, it was completely dark without the light of the gem to illuminate the chamber. Lumiere's eyes began to glow like they had so many times before, but instead of looking through Kirk's memories, he looked through Jinx's.
He turned back to the group one last time and said, "Remember, don't let your guard down."
He turned back forward and started walking, but he recited the spell to open the huge chamber door and once again entered the Dark Catacombs in search of their friends and their captor.
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"Angelus."
Kirk looked to see everyone gathered around him, but he had none of them restrained, which baffled the one who had just spoken.
The Dark Master.
"Yeah?"
"Why aren't they restrained?" the Dark Master asked.
"Because they don't need to be," Kirk replied. "They're here of their own free will so that you will have more power when you awaken."
The Dark Master's voice boomed, "You disobeyed my direct orders."
"For a greater cause," Kirk retorted.
Kirk looked at the crystal in the center of the room to see the Dark Master still in there with his eyes closed, but who was speaking came out of the shadows at that moment. Out of the blackness around the chamber crawled the Mimics, followed by a few apes with restraints. Everyone but Kirk instinctively took a step back out of fear, and the one with an eye missing stepped in front of Kirk.
"I thought you said they were here of their own free will," it pointed out.
"They are," Kirk said. "You startled them is all."
The Mimic narrowed its eye at the group, all of whom were tense, and said, "Be at ease, young ones; I am not here to harm you. You are merely here to serve a purpose in the beautiful new world I will create."
"Beautiful my ass," Kirk muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?!" the Mimic hissed.
"Nothing, o wise one," Kirk said sarcastically.
The Mimic growled and got in his face, saying, "If you do not watch that tongue of yours, I'll have it cut from your mouth."
"You'd be doing yourself a favor there… except for the fact that servants like me need to speak," Kirk retorted.
The Mimic only growled before turning back to the group, who gathered protectively around Incindia, all noticeably shaking.
"Rejoice, for your meaningless lives will serve purpose in the cleansing of the world, the cleansing of the plague that is dragons. You few will be the downfall of that wretched species, those who put themselves over everyone else."
The Mimics gathered around the group of young dragons, pushing Kirk out of the way, who growled at this, as they all studied the group. One turned back to Kirk and said, "Begin the ritual."
Kirk nodded solemnly, but smiled and winked at Jinx. Jinx smiled shakily back and stood just a bit straighter, her friends following her example.
Kirk lowered his head and began to chant in an ancient language. Immediately, the whole group was almost swept off their feet with how much of their mana was taken at one time, but they stood strong and let their mana drain from their bodies. The truth was they had planned this out from the beginning, and so far, everything was going according to plan. Their mana bunched up and mixed in the air, forming a white mist that then fed into all the Mimics, who twitched before getting sucked into the crystal and into the Dark Master's body. Then, in an instant, his eyes opened and the crystal shattered. The ritual had left the whole group exhausted, and they fell to the ground as this happened. The Dark Master looked at them and muttered something as he walked up to Kirk, who put his head low in a bow.
"Seems you still have served me well," he said in a dark, multilayered voice. "Now kill them."
The group pretended to act shocked, and Spyro even let out a strained, "No…" Kirk took a deep breath and stood strong, however.
"Is there a problem?" the Dark Master asked impatiently.
"Just one," Kirk said, snapping his eyes up. "You hurt Lumiere."
Quick as lightning, Kirk's tail became encased in Ice and impaled the Dark Master's head, and Kirk removed it in that same instant to ensure his death. Blood spewed from the wound and his mouth, and the Dark Master fell to the ground, choking on it and gurgling weakly.
"Why…?" he choked out.
Kirk held the Dark Master's head in his right forepaw and said, "Because you hurt not only my family, but myself; I just wanted to be able to see the light fade from your eyes as I say, 'Cionaro, sucker.'"
"Yo-you… you…" the Dark Master wheezed, before faint laughing could be heard filling the chamber. "You… you fool!"
Kirk was thrown back a few yards, landing on the wall with a thud! that could probably be heard throughout this corner of the Catacombs. They watched in horror as the wound on the Dark Master's neck, which would've been fatal to anyone else, washed over with a dark substance before healing itself, leaving no indication that the wound was ever there.
"You gave me the power of a thousand suns!" the Dark Master cackled maniacally. "You should've been more careful if you were going to betray me!"
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Kirk groaned. He got up and dashed over to the kids before the Dark Master could even move, using his power over time to dart over faster than the eyes could see, and ran out of the chamber, making sure to slam the door shut. "Min anoíxete poté aftí tin pórta xaná!"
"We… we failed…" Spyro whispered.
Kirk reached for the pouch he had concealed from view and pulled out a pawful of green gems, throwing them on the ground in front of the young dragons, who absorbed them all in an instant.
"How did he do that?" Incindia asked.
"That should've killed him! He shouldn't be alive!" Voltia claimed. She looked at Kirk and asked, "Did you do something wrong?"
"No, the spell's foolproof! This shouldn't have gone wrong…" Kirk claimed. They were brought back to reality by a slamming sound from the door. "Hold onto me," Kirk said. Everyone did so without hesitation, Incindia climbing up to cling to his neck, accidentally digging her nails into his flesh from fear, while the others grabbed onto his legs and sides. Kirk slowed time again and ran like hell, darting back to the cell area in the blink of an eye.
"What are we doing back here?" Voltia asked as an earsplitting crack! rang throughout the halls, and the Dark Master roaring for blood made them all start to tremble.
"Afíste ti mageía se aftés tis báres!" Kirk said, aiming his magic to Dika's cell.
After a few seconds, Kirk grabbed a bar in each of his paws as Dika shot up and into the light. "What're you doing?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't," Kirk said before bending the bars so that Dika had enough room to squeeze through. "Grab on," he said. Dika complied without so much as a word, and as soon as she did, Kirk took off down the hall, breaking the sound barrier.
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Thanks for reading, and have a good day/night.