CHAPTER 36- A MOUNTAIN BEAST, A TRAP DOOR, & THE CAVERNS

Spyro ascended the mountain with Psy, flying as high as they could before the vicious winds would not let them fly further. They were reduced to trudging through the thick snow, numbing their feet and legs almost instantly. The numbing sensation almost made it easier to continue as they just kept a single thought in mind.

'One foot in front of the other.' As they kept on against the harsh winds. After huffing it through the snow for what felt like hours, Spyro saw an outcropping of stone, forming the mouth of a cave.

He looked back at Psy, who saw the cave and looked back at him as if to say, 'is this it?'

Spyro gathered all of his strength and pushed hard toward the waiting shelter. Finally, Spyro broke through the fierce blizzard and into the relative warmth of the cave. Psy followed quickly behind as he walked up behind him, but being careful to still let him go first, in case they should have to fight anything.

"Do you think he's in here?" Psy asked quietly.

"Only one way to find out." He said venturing into the cave with Psy never more than a few feet away. As they progressed through the cave, they began to step on small bones that littered the floor, crunching beneath their paws.

"Something definitely lives here..." He said as he sniffed the air, and smelled burning wood. He got down low and crept along the ground, and Psy did the same.

They came around a corner and saw a figure, sitting on a rock, in a brown cloak with hood, eating part of a sheep.

It looked like Austin had somehow found a way to get back to his normal form, but Spyro couldn't be sure that was him. He signaled Psy to stay there as he crept closer behind the hooded creature. Spyro reached up and pulled down the back of the hood, startling its owner and making hi whip his head around to defend himself against the intruder. They both recognized each other immediately, though they both looked older, and in Spyro's case, bigger.

"Spyro?!" He said shocked as Spyro just grinned widely as he tackled him to the ground in a playful style he hadn't used in three years.

"Heck yes its me!" He said happy that his human friend was still alive. Austin looked over at the much smaller dragon in the corner and sensed something familiar about him.

"...Psy?" He asked.

He absent mindedly nodded, still wondering how yet another stranger knew his name.

Psy recovered from his dumbstruck state and joined Spyro beside him.

"So...are you Austin?" He asked.

"Sure am. Wow, I remember when you were this tall. Dragons grow fast!" He said holding his hand a few inches off the ground.

"Yeah...it seems like everyone does..." He admitted embarrassed that everyone apparently had his baby pictures in their heads.

"Spyro I thought you and Cynder died on Mount Malefor. I'm so happy you're alive!" He said giving him another massive hug.

"I know...Me too..." He gasped as he let him got and stood up.

Then Austin remembered why he was in this cave alone. His expression saddened remembering Ember.

"I'm sorry about Ember Spyro...We did all we could for her..."

Spyro knew this feeling well, but now was not the time for sadness.

"Its ok Austin, it wasn't your fault. It was fate." He said looking at him reassuringly with a guilt free expression. But that was all it was. Deep down, he still felt responsible, at least in part for Embers death, as well as everyone elses.

Hiding behind this smile was the best he could do right now. But when he was alone, it would all come spilling out like a river through a broken dam.

Changing the subject quickly, he went on to ask another question that had been bouncing around in his head.

"So are you the mountain beast the Atlawa were talking about?" Spyro asked, remembering his encounter with Juno and his tribe.

"Well...Sort of. I do live in the mountains and I do walk on two legs and have hairless, scale less skin, but that's where the similarities stop. I don't eat Atlawa children, and I only steal what I need to live. That Juno character has sent search parties up here to try and capture me every time a child turns up missing, but before they ever get to me, they either find the kid, or are too scared to go into the cave because of all the legends!" He said chuckling at the last part.

Spyro smiled and turned to Psy.

"Lets get out of here."

They walked out of the cave and to their surprise, the blizzard had stopped, leaving only fresh white powder on the ground they tread through.

As they made their way down the mountain, soon they came within earshot of what sounded like a large crowd. They looked to their right to find Juno and a gang of Atlawan warriors with spears and blowguns standing behind them.

"Behold, the mountain beast! Bring its evil hide to me!" He ordered as the warriors who towered over him charged the trio.

"RUN!!" Psy said as they took off down the mountain. Spyro looked back and noticed the Atlawa gaining on them. Austin loaded his pistol but Spyro stopped him from taking aim.

"Don't kill them, they're just scared. I'll take care of this!" He said whipping around and planting his feet firmly into the snow. He inhaled as much icy air as he could and then released a devastating polar wind, freezing the first line of charging Atlawa solid. The others stopped immediately at this display of elemental mastery, and dropped their weapons. They ran panicked the other way shouting things like 'Witch!' And "Black Magic Demons!' All this made Spyro smile as Juno just glared at them as he stood alone in the snow.

"You'll pay for that dragons!" He shouted angrily.

They had already turned to run away when they heard him. After they were sure no one was following them, they finally reached the base of the mountain, where it wasn't snowing. They entered a dense part of the forbidden forest and lay there for the night, as Austin had lost his wings.

They built a small fire and Psy was almost immediately out like a light.

"I still cant believe he grew that much in three years. That's how big you were that long ago Spyro!" He said looking over at the sleeping Psy scratch and bite in his sleep.

"Yes, dragons grow up fast. Sometimes too fast." He lamented looking into the fire. He hadn't had much time to actually enjoy his childhood as he was always out fighting evil and saving the realms.

"Yeah, I know buddy." Austin added.

"So did you find the professor?" He asked

"No, strangely enough. But I did find his old lab. Its a good thing he labeled all the machines in there or I'd still be trying to find which one would change me back. Anyway, it turns out he built a backup transformer in his lab, in case the one in the temple should ever break when I was in the wrong form. I used it, and luckily I found some of my old clothes from when I first got here in his lab, along with this hooded thing. Unfortunately, all my high tech stuff was lost in translation when I was changed back into this form. So I'm just an ordinary guy with a gun now. Although I did get both my arms back, so that's a plus." He said looking at his real arm instead of the robotic plasma cannon he used to have in place of it.

Spyro nodded and stared back into the fire, staring at it as if something were going to come out of it if he stared long enough.

"I know she meant a lot to you Spyro..." He said trying to help his friend through this seemingly impossible hole he had been thrown in.

He smiled again, and told him that he was ok. In fact he insisted he was fine. But inside he still cried, he bled for her even to this very moment. How he wished he could pass out and see her again, just one more time. Even thought she had told him not to blame himself for her passing, he had to blame someone, and if not Cynder then that left only one option. Sure, he knew Malefor was responsible as well, and he would pay in time, but he felt he was partly to blame as well, and this ate away at the very thing the guardians said gave him the edge over the evil dragon. His compassion.

They slept easily that night, exhausted from the days journey. They hoped by this time tomorrow that they would be safe inside the temples walls once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SILRO & FLAME

They darted westward low to the ground like two bullets zipping across the dead treetops. They had no idea where Draganta and Lea could be hiding, as all they were told to do was go west.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us!" Flame said as Silro agreed.

They spotted a village down below them of about average size. It was of what appeared to be a mix of Atlawa, Manwersmalls, and...Gnorcs, of all things.

They flew down to the center of the village and looked around as all the work being done halted.

Realizing everyone was staring at them, a small, elderly looked Manwersmall approached them.

"Oh such young dragons! Dont you know its not safe for your kind to be out during the day!" She said, her eyes barely open due to their sensitivity to even the slightest light.

Silro and Flame looked at each other then looked back at the mole.

"We are looking for two dragons-" But Flame was cut off by the elderly mole as she took each of their horns and pulled them along.

"Quickly dragons no time for talking! Malefor will be here soon!" She said dragging them along.

"I guess she's hard of hearing too!" Silro said as they followed her into a large hut. She removed a rug and opened a trap door under it. She motioned for them to go inside and they descended the stairs, and found themselves in a stale, small dark room as they stumbled around in the dark.

"So we came here to get Lea and Draganta and we end up in some old ladies cellar. Want to explain how that one happened?" Silro asked confused.

"Did someone mention us?" A voice called out from the darkness as someone blew fire on an unlit torch. The voice was familiar to Flame, as the dim light revealed the faces of Lea and Draganta.

"Flame! Your alive!" Lea said hugging him with her wings around him and he returned the embrace.

"Is it time to go back?" Draganta asked.

"Yes. Spyro has returned with Cynder, and we need everyone back to the temple as soon as possible." Flame said.

"What are Gnorcs doing here? I thought they were evil too?" Silro asked.

"They were, until Malefor had all other villains arrested and killed. The sorceress, Gnasty, Ripto, he got them all. Now they are just another race of creatures oppressed by Malefors iron fisted rule." Lea said.

"Thank the ancestors he is ok. Luckily for us, its just you and us here in this cramped hiding place. Malefor's forces come here every day and turn the village upside down looking for dragons. We may have to wait until-" But he stopped mid sentence as he heard the flinging open of the door to the hut under which they hid.

He shushed them as they all looked at the ceiling, listening intently to the conversation above them.

"We know you are hiding dragons wench! Where are they?!" A gruff voice demanded.

"We've told you hundreds of times, we have no dragons here!" She pleaded.

"Lies! Search the house!" He said as they heard the sound of breaking things and crashing in the rooms above.

After a few minutes, it stopped, and they heard the gruff voice again.

"You're clean this time. But when you do harbor dragons, we will find them, and you will share their fate!" He said as they heard the door slam, then greeted only by the light footsteps of the elderly manwersmall.

They heard the rug shuffle and the trap door slowly creaked open to reveal the cramped dragons.

"Thank you Esleda, you have been more than generous these past three years, but now, we must leave." Draganta said to her climbing out of the stairs.

"But...where will you and sweet Lea go?" She asked concerned.

"We have another place arranged for us to stay. But please, we cant ever thank you enough, please take this." Lea said giving her a green crystal.

"If you or your villagers are ever in trouble, close your eyes, and think of the spirit of the earth, and her power will protect this place from any evil Malefor sets against it." She said.

"Oh, thank you Lea...I will never forget the two of you." she said softly and sadly.

"Nor will we you." Draganta assured as they all left the hut for the greyed stormy sky.

"Shall we?" Lea asked stretching her wings.

"I haven't flown in ages, I hope I'm still as fast as I was three years ago!" Draganta said stretching his wings as well.

"You mean you guys were down in that hole for three years?" Silro asked shocked.

"Well, most of our time. Every now and then we'd get to come up into the house, but we had to sleep down there." Lea explained as they slowly lifted off and headed back toward the temple.

Silro looked at the two dragons and smiled as he flew, happy that so far, his mission had been a success.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

CYNDER & SNOW

They flew as fast as the males, if not faster making their way south two find the youngest two of the missing dragons.

They saw the entrance to the lost way caverns, and descended.

The lost way caverns were aptly named, due to the fact that so many entered and never returned after becoming disoriented or scared literally to death by the illusions caused by the wind and underground rivers of both water and magma.

Cynder and Snow both waited at the entrance of the cave, Snow remembering the stories she had been told about this placewhen she was younger.

"They say a horrible giant snake lives in these caverns, and it eats whoever goes in..." She said.

Cynder looked over at her with an eyebrow cocked.

"You believe that? When was the last time you've seen a giant snake in the wild?" She asked.

"...Well...I haven't...but why would the guardians lie to us?" She asked.

"To keep you from going where you arent supposed to of course! Now C'mon, If Nero and Ash can survive in there, I know we can." She said trotting into the cave, the soft clicking of their claws echoing as they entered.

The light was almost non existent as even their excellent night vision was being strained by the caverns. They trekked deeper into the bowels of the cavern systems until they heard a roar that shook the walls around them.

"What the heck is that?" Snow said frightened as even Cynder was now scared.

"Its just the wind..." She told Snow and herself as they continued deeper.

As they came around a corner, they saw two large dragon shadows cast against the wall. They screamed in fear as the shadows ran toward them. But as they ran, the shadows shrank until they revealed two normal sized dragons, and to the girls relief, it was Nero and Ash. They were older and larger looking. Nero's frosted accents had grown out more elegantly and his muscles were much more toned, as were Ash's.

"Cynder? Snow? You're alive?" Nero asked shocked.

"Obviously!" She said as Snow embraced the both of them at once.

"Now C'mon boys, lets get back to the temple. Spyro is back!" She said happily.

"Really?!" They both said in joyous disbelief.

"Yes no C'mon before the giant snake that lives in here eats us." She said.

"Ugh, Snow there is no giant snake living in these caverns!" Cynder said loudly.

"I'm with Cynder on this one. We've been here for three years and never seen a..." He trailed off as he noticed Snows jaw drop as she looked behind them.

He looked behind him and saw the glaring red eyes of a massive cobra, hissing like mad at them.

"RUN!" Nero shouted as they flew at high speeds out of the cave. Ash stood to fight as the others fled.

"Ash what the hell are you doing?!" Nero shouted as he stood in front of the coiling snake, ready to inject him with its deadly venom.

"Get out of the caves, I'll buy you some time! I'll be right behind you!"

"Alright hissy, you want to play do you?" He said charging a fireball.

He fired first, hitting the snake below the head, knocking it back. It used its long body to then wrap its tail around Ash's body. It wrapped him up to his waist and bound his arms as well. He struggled to get free but it was no use. The snake raised its tail up to its mouth as it unhinged its jaws and prepared to swallow Ash whole. With one fell swoop, he swallowed him, and sunk slowly down into his stomach.

This was by far the most disgusting thing Ash had ever experienced. It was wet, sticky, smelly and dark. Once he finally stopped sliding he had figured he had reached the snakes belly. He concentrated hard and formed a large ball of fire energy and released it, blowing the snake apart and covering him and much of the caverns with green goop.

He looked at himself with disgust and began walking out of the cave.

"He's been in there a long time, maybe we should go in after him." Cynder suggested, but then saw him appear out of the entrance.

"Eww! Dude you reek! What are you covered in?" Nero asked as they shielded their noses with their wings.

"I don't want to talk about it. lets just get back to Spyro." He said spreading his goo covered wings.

Alrighty then, I was going to break up each search into separate chapters, but I think that would be dragging out the boring parts, so i'll move things along a little. Anyway, the song for the chapters since ember died and for Lost is called 'you're not alone' by Saosin. it hints at whats going to happen to the two main characters in the story. (hint hint!) a link is on my page and I think its the first one, so give it a listen, its good i promise! and its not face melting rock like the theme to black september was, you can actually understand the words. lol. ok i've rambled enough, see ya!