Spyro meets Pyro
Chapter 23: Let The Games Begin
Last time on Spyro meets Pyro: Pyro had gone off on his own to save Flare. As he arrived he began to test out his new powers. Pyro was using power he never knew he had and and vanquishing everyone and everything in his path. After that he found and brought Flare to the well of souls where they both learned the secrets of Convexity. After the explanation Flare was cured and turned back to her original form. Before they could leave Gaul showed up and challenged Pyro. However he was quickly overpowered and defeated by the new and evolved Pyro. Once the battle was done Pyro and Flare both went back to the lightning fortress where they met with the others. Now we come to a new day in the Dragon Realms.
Once again the sun rose over into the sky. As it finally made its way into the sky Pyro opened his eyes.
He let out a loud yawn showing his newly sharpened fangs. He stretched himself out like a cat getting a few of his joints to pop. He then reached up his back leg and scratched behind his right horn like a dog.
He then decided to head outside and get ready. He walked onto a balcony and bathed himself in the morning sunlight.
He then thought, 'Man if there's one thing I can always look forward to, its the sunrise. I just hope we can make sure that we still have a sunrise before this war destroys everything.'
He then heard someone behind him. He took a look back and saw that it was Sparx. He greeted his new brother with a warm smile and said, "Morning."
"Morning." The yellow dragon said, happy to see his new brother. Sparx then said, "You know when Spyro first went on this journey, I never thought I would become a dragon."
Pyro laughed and said, "Yeah, life is funny that way. When I was born I didn't even know I was a dragon, let alone the king of all dragons."
Sparx laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess life is funny. At least we've got some help with the upcoming battle." Pyro nodded and said, "I just hope she can help us. Those golden crystals aren't going to win the way for us."
Sparx then said, "You know for a dragon, Flare is kinda cute."
Pyro's eyes shot wide and a wicked grin went across his face as he said, "OH. MY. GOSH. You have a crush on her don't you?'
Sparx's eyes shrank as he responded, "What? No." He tried to keep his cool, but Pyro had caught him.
Pyro laughed and said, "Oh please, you think I'm actually going to fall for that. Just come clean, okay."
Sparx was about to say something back, but it was no use. He had been caught. Sparx shook his head and said, "Fine, fine, I like her, but I don't know why." Pyro thought for a minute and said, "Well, you are a dragon now. So you taste in females has changed. So your body and instincts find her attractive."
Sparx nodded and said, "That sounds about right. So what should I say?" Pyro thought for another minute and said, "Well, since she just got here, I wouldn't try anything just yet. Right now you should just be friendly. After a while you should make your move."
Sparx nodded and said, "Ok, thanks. Well, I'm sure they're all awake by now. We better get ready to leave."
Pyro nodded and followed Sparx back inside. As they both made their way inside they were met with happy faces of their friends.
Dian came in and said, "I hope you all slept well because you have a big day ahead of you."
Spyro nodded and said, "Yeah, we have two more elders to find. Next we meet up with Candice at 'Dante's Freezer'."
Dian then made a worried face as he said, "Oh."
Pyro then asked, "Is something wrong Dian?"
Dian cleared his throat and said, "Well at this time of year there are big storms at Dante's Freezer. Not only that the temperature can drops lower and lower as time passes. At night it will drop below freezing in an instant. You all must be careful."
Cynder began to shiver from the very thought of such cold weather. She then said, "I hate the cold."
Spyro brushed against her side and nuzzled her as he said, "Dont worry Cynder, I'll keep you warm." She nuzzled him back and said, "Ah, my purple hero."
Sparx rolled his eyes and said, "Oh would you two get married already." Both dragons then blushed at that comment.
Flare then said, "I'm afraid the weather isn't our only problem. The undead soldiers have resurfaced there and that's not all. A tribe of powerful wolves allied witht the dark master are stationed there as well. We're going to have to be careful."
Conner then asked, "Pyro are you sure we can trust her. I don't want to question your judgment, but I'm just saying that you may have jumped the gun with picking our 16th memeber."
Sparx saw how sad she looked and said, "I think we should give her a chance. She helped us so far. Not only did she give Pyro important information, she also brought back all these crystals for us. I say we give her a shot to prove herself. After all we gave Cynder a chance and look how good things turned out."
Cynder looked like she had just been hit with a rock. She then leaned over to Spyro and whispered, "What do you think got into him?"
The purple dragon shook his head. He had no idea what had gotten into his usually jumpy, scardy cat, non trusting brother. He then thought, 'Maybe the transformation did more to him then I thought.'
Flare gave a thankful look to Sparx who returned the look with a happy smile.
Pyro smiled and thought, 'Nice job, bro."
Dian smiled at seeing all these young dragons. It reminded him of older times before the darkness came. He could only hope that these new heroes could stop the darkness once and for all.
The lightning elder cleared his throat and said, "Well young ones, I suggest you get a move on while it's still morning. It will only get colder as the sun goes down."
"He's right we have to get going. Candice is probably waiting for us." Stella said, heading the lightning elders warning.
The group of dragons approached the lightning portal. As they stepped closer Dian activated it and stepped back.
Dian then said one last thing, "Good luck young ones and... be careful."
All if them nodded and jumped into the portal. As everyone jumped in the portal closed. Dian's smile soon faded as he thought of the many dangers that awaited them. He then thought, 'May the ancestors look after you may they look after us all.'
As the young dragons dove through the portal a swarm of snowflakes flew into their faces. They shielded their eyes and looked past the snow.
Spyro then looked behind his wing and saw what awaited them. He then yelled out, everyone open your wings!"
Hearing the purple dragon's warning everyone opened their wings and let the cool air flow into them.
Sparx however was having a little trouble. The hard, cool winds were to strong for him and he began to lose control. Then all together he fell out of the portal. He then looked out to see he was about to crash into the icy ground.
He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. Then after a few seconds he was wondering why he hadn't felt anything yet. He looked down to see he had stopped; not only that he was hovering.
The yellow dragon looked up to see Spyro had caught him. He also had a smug look on his face as he said, "Not so easy is it?"
"Shut up." Sparx said in a bit of annoyance.
Spyro put him down on the ice and landed next to him. Soon everyone else landed and grouped together.
Spyro and Sparx took a look around. Sparx then asked, "Isn't this the same spot we arrived at last time?" Spyro nodded and said, "Yeah, and nothing's changed apparently."
Conner was about to speak when his body suddenly felt really cold. He began to shiver and he wasn't the only one; Stella, Cynder, Sparx, and Ember were shivering too.
He then said, "Uh guys, nice to see that your remembering old times, but can we move along before most of us freeze to death?"
Cynder stepped forward and said, "W-We should heed for the I-Ice Kings c-c-castle. And we should p-probably move q-q-quickly."
"Hold on a minute." Everyone looked at Pyro waiting for him to say what he had to say. The red dragon then spoke, "Spyro, I almost forgot. Before we left the mountain of Malefor I got this."
He placed his paw on his chest and pulled out a sphere of purple energy. Spyro's eyes became glued to the sphere and he asked, "What is it?"
Pyro smiled and said, "This is pure convexity. This is what existed before Aikis and Malefor tainted it with their dark power. The ancestors told me it was to be given to you. Not only will it allow you to use the pure form from now on, it will also cure Cynder of her ties to the darkness."
Cynder's eyes shot wide and she looked at the sphere. She couldn't believe it, after all this time she would finally have her ties to darkness cut forever. She then thought, 'A cure. I can finally be a normal dragon... but ...'
Pyro held up his paw and blew the sphere over to Spyro. Spyro then held up his paw and held the convexity sphere. He then let took a deep breath and pushed the sphere into his own body.
As he did this his eyes shot open and flashed purple. His body then began to shine with pure purple light as it began to lift into the air. As everyone watched the shadows inside Spyro's body appeared on the outside. Then just as soon as they appeared they turned to thin air.
As the light died down Spyro landed back on the ground and opened his eyes. Flame then asked, "Well buddy, how do you feel?"
The purple dragon looked at his paw and said, "I... I feel... I feel good!" The purple dragon then opened his wings and took off. "Whooooo! Yeaaaaaaah!"
He began speeding and turning through the air. His body felt like it was brand new. It was completely clear of the darkness that once tainted his body.
He flew back down and said, "Man it's been a while since I felt this good." The purple dragon then turned to his mate and asked, "Ok Cynder, you ready?"
Cynder looked down at the ground and said, "I would love nothing more than to finally be cured... but I need these powers to fight. When this is all over, then I'll cure myself."
Spyro then asked, "Cynder, are you sure?" The black dragoness nodded and nuzzled the side of his head as she said, "I've waited this long I can wait a little longer."
Everyone smiled at Cynder's strength and determination. Pyro then decided to get everyone back on track. "Well you heard her. Let's get moving."
With that the group of dragons headed off into the icy horizon. Little did they know that their enemy was conspiring against them at that exact moment.
Mountain of Malefor:
Gaul and Sterns were both pacing around the well of souls. Inside the beam of purple energy they could see a very clear image of the dragons.
Sterns then said, "They are getting stronger like we had hoped. However I fear they are throwing our plans off a bit."
Gaul then followed saying, "Yes, they're getting too strong, too fast. Pyro defeated me without even using his full strength and Spyro Is well on his way to having that same power. We are to far behind. We need a way to slow them down, but how?"
An idea suddenly popped into Sterns's head and he said, "I think I have an idea." "Well, what is it?"
Sterns laughed and said, "From the past experiences in my world I realized that nothing keeps children distracted more than video games."
Gaul snorted and said, "I hardly think this is the time for games Sterns." The human laughed and said, "Trust me my ape friend you will like this one. Over time we humans have created many dangerous villains that could keep those pesky dragons busy for quite a while."
Gaul then said, "Right now the dragons must be pretty confident over their past victories. They will not be easy to take down as long as they work together. So what better way to slow them down, then to split them up."
Sterns and Gaul laughed and said, "I believe taking out one of their main players would be the best option, and if were taking out one of their players, why not their best?"
Gaul then asked, "Pyro?"
Sterns nodded and said, "Of course. You said he beat you rather easily. It's obvious the little king has gained an immense power that dwarfed whatever he had before."
Gaul snorted and said, "I hate to admit it but he did defeat me. Even if I challenged him now with my new strength, it be nothing more than a repeat."
Sterns snickered to himself and said, "Pyro already adopted one of our generals, but he doesn't know that we have others. Where are they now?"
Gaul walked over to the well of souls and began to manipulate the convexity flow. He then saw a very clear image of Spyro and the others.
The ape king then laughed as he said, "It would seem they have gone to Dante's Freezer."
Sterns couldn't help but laugh as he said, "That is just perfect, I couldn't imagine anyone else more qualified to deal with them. Contact Glacia and tell her to get ready. I have a plan that will not only buy us time, but it might also get rid of our Pyro problem for good."
Gaul then asked, "What about the plan? Don't we need him alive?"
Sterns walked over to a balcony and said, "Yes, so don't you think he'd be more helpful as our ally?"
Both Gaul and Sterns let wicked smiled creep across their faces as they looked into the dark sky.
Dante's Freezer at night:
A storm had blown in and everyone was still moving. Pyro was leading everyone out front. Spyro and Flame were not too far behind. Everyone else was following from way back. Their bodies couldn't take the extreme cold for much longer.
Spyro looked back and said, "Pyro, I think we should find a place to settle for the night! We can't stay in this cold!"
Pyro nodded and said, "I hear ya!" He looked around and saw dark hole in the side of a mountain. He then yelled, "There's a cave over there! Stay close and follow me!"
Everyone followed the red fire dragon and entered the cave. As they all entered they could still feel the sting of the storm. The girls were all shivering, even Flare and Ember.
Spyro used his ice breath to make an ice wall to shield the cave from the storm. That still didn't help with the ice all over the cave.
Cynder was the worst off; she didn't have an element that could fight the cold. She turned to Spyro and asked, "Hey, think you could get a fire started?" Spyro looked around and said, "Not in here, we've got nothing to burn."
Sparx then said, "If we don't find a way to get warm fast were all going to freeze to death."
Stella looked around and said, "There are few dead branches around here. We can use those, the fire won't be to big but at least it'll be warm."
Pyro looked around and said, "We should all get some sleep. We're going to have a tuff time picking up Candice's trail after this storm."
Pyro lay down and began to drift off. Star came over and nuzzled close to him purring softly as she did so. Pyro moved closer knowing it was her draped his left wing over her.
Cynder then looked at the fire and said, "It's still too cold." She then looked over to Spyro and said, "He's lucky he's part fire and ice dragon." She then looked over to Flame, Flare, Ember, Sparx, and Stella. Flame looked content by the fire. Flare and Ember seemed to be calm, but Cynder could see them shivering. Conner had already fallen asleep right next to the fire and was still shivering; Sparx had done the same.
Then she looked over to Pyro and Star; they weren't shivering at all. They both looked like they were lying in a grassy field in the forest. She then thought, 'How are they not cold after all this. I know Pyro's tough, but he can't be that tough, and what about Star?'
Ember, Stella, and Flare all looked at Cynder as they saw her creep over towards Pyro. The black dragoness then placed her paw on Pyro's side and was deeply surprised. His body heat was incredible. He felt like an open fire, a soft one.
Cynder then looked over to others and motioned for them to come over. The girls reluctantly came over quietly making sure not to wake up sleeping fire breather.
When they all touched they all had the same reaction. Ember then asked, "How is his body's this warm? This must why Star's not cold either." "I guess it pays to have all that fire inside him." Stella answered quickly. Flare then said, "Well maybe if we just stay close we… Cynder what are you doing?!"
They looked to see the black dragoness snuggle against Pyro's side. She let out low purr as she felt his warmth wash over and comfort her.
On instinct at feeling something snuggle against his side Pyro moved his wing over Cynder while he was still asleep. The black dragons nearly panicked at feeling move, but as his wing rested on her she let out another purr of comfort and laid her head down.
Flare then asked, "Have you lost your mind?" "Look its either this or we keep shivering and don't get any sleep, your call."
Cynder laid her head back down began to fall asleep. The girls all looked at each other then shrugged their shoulders and joined her. They could only hope that Pyro and the guys wouldn't mind.
As morning finally broke, Pyro began to stir. He woke feeling good really good; he felt like was surrounded by warmth and comfort. Then he finally opened his eyes.
He then felt some strange pressure all around him. As he looked down to his right soda and noticed a black figure beneath his wing; it was Cynder. He then thought, 'What the heck is she doing here?!' He then looked to the side to see Star still asleep.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his mate was still asleep. He then heard another sound next to him. He then looked down to see Ember across his chest, which meant that he had his chin on her back all night.
Right now Pyro was blushing so hard you could actually see it on his face. It was then he felt pressure on his back. He looked up to see Flare's head between his horns and her sleeping like a baby. The surprised fire dragon then looked back to see Stella lying full across his lower end (thank goodness he had no spikes down there).
As much as Pyro was tempted to scream, he didn't dare do it. If the guys saw him like this they would undoubtedly blame him for this. Not only that, but it actually didn't feel that bad. He let a warm smile come across his face as he lay back down.
The young king then remembered the immense trouble he would be in if the others woke up. He had to move and he had to move now.
He tried stand up but as soon as he made a move all the girls began to wake up. As all their eyes opened they greeted him in a soft tone, "Good Morning Pyro."
Star didn't look at all disturbed which meant one thing; she knew.
Before the surprised fire dragon could react all of them began to nuzzle him and purr loudly. That had done it, Pyro took deep breath and let out a big, "Ahhhhhhhhh!" That scream echoed in the cave and woke up everyone.
Spyro, Flame, and Sparx all jumped awake and looked around for any sign of danger. What they saw instead was shocking, but not dangerous.
Spyro and Flame were very curious as to why their mates were cuddling with Pyro. Sparx was just as irritated that Flare was over there, but he didn't know why.
Flame was the first to brake the awkward silence and asked, "Um… Pyro, you mind telling us why our mates are next to you like that?"
"Flame, I can honestly tell you I have no idea." Pyro said feeling very light headed at the moment. Spyro then looked over to the girls to see all their bashful smiles. The purple dragon then said, "I think he's telling the truth Flame."
Sparx was first to speak this time and asked, "Care to explain?" Spyro walked up beside his brother and asked, "Yeah, I'd love to hear it."
Cynder and the others looked up at them bashfully as she said, "Well it's just… it was really cold last night and that little fire… just wasn't doing it."
Flame then turned to Ember and asked, "And?"
The pink dragoness didn't look him in the eye as she said, "And we noticed that Pyro wasn't shivering at all so we decided to find out why and… well you saw what happen next."
Pyro then thought, 'Oh thank the ancestors, I thought they were all hitting on me. Star would have torn them apart and given me the beating of a life time. Wait a minute, if she didn't scream… then that means…'
The red dragon then showed a look of anger and turned towards the white dragoness who was sneaking away. She was heading deeper into the cave until someone grabbed her tail.
She slowly turned around and saw it was non-other than her mate who had stopped her. She gave him a guilty smile before she finally decided to spill.
"Okay, okay, I heard them come in the middle of the night. I didn't want them to freeze to death so I thought that… maybe you wouldn't mind sharing extra body heat… considering you have so much of it."
Pyro let go of her rolled his eyes and let go of her tail, only for her to turn around and start nuzzling him affectionately.
He knew she was just trying to butter him up so he would forgive them, but he didn't care. Even he had to admit last night was one of the best sleeps of his life.
Sparx then said, "Can we go now please before another storm comes in and we have a big repeat of this fiasco." Flame snorted and said, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
Ember feeling kind of bad stepped in front of Flame replied by saying, "Aw Flame lighten up. You know we didn't mean anything by it."
She starting giving him the puppy dog face with big Bambi eyes, with her pink eyes it was only more effective. Flame couldn't stay mad at her when she did this, and he couldn't look away. Finally he caved in, he just loved her to much to stay angry.
"Fine, I forgive you." The red dragon said in a bit of annoyance.
Spyro smiled and said, "Alright let's head out. If we leave now we might find some clue as to where Candice went."
The group of dragons headed outside and began to move. As they walked they were making sure to stay vigilant. Sparx was walking a few feet behind Flame, and was making sure to pay extra attention to his surroundings. he hadn't been a dragon for very long, so he needed to be careful. The yellow and blue dragon then looked up and saw something flying down towards them.
He then yelled, "Guys we got company!" Everyone looked up to see something flying towards them and fast. The object looked like a blue comet and it was heading straight for their position.
Feeling threatened they all entered their battle stances and prepared to attack. The blue object then instantly changed direction and headed straight for Pyro.
Pyro locked onto the object and used his thermal vision to take a look. As he examined the object he finally realized what it was and smiled. He then said, "Calm down everyone, that's just an old friend coming in for a landing."
The blue comet landed and dispersed a blue shockwave outward causing everyone except Pyro to shield themselves behind their wings. As the light faded the figure was revealed to be a dragon.
Everyone was still on edge until Pyro said, "It sure took you long enough Razor, was the training that hard for you?" Razor snorted and said, "Please, the training was easy. It just took me a long time to get used to my new power."
Stella giggled and said, "Great, can't wait to see it." Razor smiled to her and said, "Ignitus taught all kinds of ways to use my powers, ways I didn't even think were possible. However he sent me here and told me you guys could use my help picking up Candice's trail and finding the ice elder."
Pyro smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm glad you're here, we need all the help we can get, and I missed my best friend." Razor and Pyro bumped fists and they continued.
However high above them on the mountain, someone was watching them. His name was scar, leader of the wolf tribe and new servants to the dark master.
Scar smiled as he saw the dragons finally enter their territory. He turned to another wolf and said, "Send word to Glacia, and tell her we found the dragons. I'll gather the pack, the guests of honor have arrived."
As they walked Pyro began feel a bit uneasy and he wasn't the only one. Razor had started looking around while they were walking. Cynder was watching them both and were wonder why they were so on edge.
Razor then looked ahead and yelled, "I see something, over there!" They all walked over to where the grey dragon had pointed.
As they moved closer they saw that it was a foot print. Stella put her own paw in it and said, "It's a dragon foot print and judging by the size it must be Candice. We're getting close to her."
Flame nodded and said, "Well it's about time. Look there are more over and it looks like she was running, because of the space difference." Ember smiled and said, "She can't be far now, let's go!"
Pyro was happy at first but as they followed the tracks he began to notice things. Like that there were four slash marks on the glacier wall that looked like claws, the fact that they found foot prints at all even thought they were days behind Candice, and the fact that if they were close to her why wouldn't she show herself.
The fire dragon knew something was wrong. He looked down at the footprints and activated his thermal visions making his eyes turn white. He then noticed that all the foot prints had traces of heat in them. At that moment Pyro understood everything.
"Hold up, something's wrong!" Pyro said in voice of concern getting everyone to stop and look back at him and Razor who was standing next to him. "What's up Pyro, we have to keep moving or we'll lose Candice's trail." Cynder asked in a confused tone.
While they were talking the wolves were lying in wait. Scar then said, "They're not going any further. Spring the trap on my howl." All the wolves took out their weapons and prepared to attack.
Pyro continued, "All these foot prints have small but visible traces of heat in them. That means they were recently made." Everyone else was confused. Spyro then asked his brother, "Isn't that a good thing. That must mean she's not far away." Pyro then said, "That's just it, we were here for one day and got this far. Candice had to be here for at least a week. There's no way she'd be around here. Even if she was, these tracks wouldn't even be here anymore because of that snow storm last night."
Everyone finally saw the big picture. Sparx then asked, "So, what does that mean?" "What that means Sparx is that someone else made these tracks so we would follow them, and I'm betting they lead right into a trap."
At that moment everyone jumped as they heard a loud howl that echoed across the sky. They all jumped into their battle stances and prepared for a fight. They were all surprised as up to 20 or 30 wolves sprang out of the snow, from the glaciers, and off the snowy hills.
Everyone prepared for battle as the wolves surrounded them. However before they could react, a few of them jumped up from behind them stabbed them all with green knives.
After a few seconds they began to wobble and fall over. Pyro was the last to fall as he watched the wolves approach him. Then finally he passed out.
Hours Later In An Unknown Location:
Pyro's eyes slowly began to open and the images of his surroundings began to settle. He picked up his head and began to look around. Before he could fully get up he heard a voice, "Pyro, your awake."
The red dragon got up, but as he did he heard the sound of clanging. He looked down to see that he was wearing a strange collar connected to a chain on the wall. The collar had about four gems on it, and was covered in many strange symbols. That wasn't all, Pyro could feel something strange about this hunk of metal, something wasn't right.
The young king looked around and saw his brothers and his friends. He then noticed that someone wasn't here, although the count was the same someone wasn't here; it was Flame, Flame wasn't here.
He the looked to see Candice on the ground uncunciouse. She had obviously been through some kind of tourture, but at least she was safe.
Cynder then said, "Flame was taken an hour ago. Those mutts said, their leader would be down here to see us."
Just as she said that an ice door opened up and some wolves strolled in, each of them had a strange symbol on their arms. Behind them a much larger and stronger looking wolf came in behind them. Pyro then thought, 'He must be the alfa, but somethings not right. What are those symbols?'
They were all surprised when the wolves including the giant one stepped aside at attention. As they did this an ice dragoness stepped into view. Spyro then thought, 'I get it now, she's in charge. Man how many of these 'generals' did Malefor create?'
This dragoness indeed beautiful by standards of appearance. Her scales were a sky blue mixed with a snowy white sparkle, she had two horns that stuck out straight and pointed backwards like Cynder's, and her tail blade was shaped like a trident. Her figure was much like Cynder's if not a little smoother and slightly curvier. This female didn't seem to be any older than the others.
She faced them and said, "I'm glad to see you're all finally awake." Conner clenched his teeth and was about to try and shoot her with a lightning bolt before Pyro stopped him, "I wouldn't bother Conner. I'm guessing that these collar prohibit us from using our powers as well as some of our physical strength."
The ice dragoness looked to him with a smile on her face as she said, "Very good. As long as you behave yourselves we won't have to use the collars other functions."
As her eyes finally locked on Pyro her smile widened a bit, and she began to examine his body. Her eyes then fell on a spot that around his neck. The scar from the fight with Gaul seemed to intrigue her. From what Pyro was seeing, it was obvious this dragoness had some king of interest in him.
Star was not happy with way this female was eyeing her mate and decided to get her attention. "So who are you anyway?" The ice dragoness turned around and said, "My name is Glacia, Malefor's second general."
Stella then asked, "Why did you bring us here?" Glacia gave a slight chuckle as she answered, "I'm so glad you asked. You see Malefor and the others want to see the limit of your powers, so they asked me to find you and test you… by holding a tournament."
Everyone's eyes widened at the mention of this. They knew very well that this would be bad. Conner then yelled, "If you honestly think we're going to fight each other…" Glacia cut him off and said on no, no, no, we wouldn't even think of doing that."
Pyro interrupted and said, "He wouldn't make us fight each other because he knows we wouldn't do it and that I'm the strongest in our group right now." Glacia giggled and said, "Right again. Why don't you see if you can figure the whole thing out."
Pyro then said, "If i had to guess, I'd say Malefor and the others have picked opponents for each of us specifically to test our abilities. Everyone fights and whoever wins earns their freedom. Judging by the way Candice looks, i'd say she already fought her battle."
"Very good. Yes, your friend fought and won her battle today. She will wake up sooner or later. Each of you will be fighting an opponent picked to push you to to your absolute limits. You will not only be fighting for your freedom, you will be fighting for the freedom of the ice elder."
Spyro growled at her as she said this, but before he could talk she continued, "You can refuse if you wish, but that would mean you'd have to stay down here and who knows what could happen."
Spyro then thought for a minute and made up his mind. He looked over to the others who quickly nodded their heads. The purple dragon then said, "We'll fight."
Glacia smiled and said, "Good, get them down." The wolves removed their chains and let them loose. The ice dragoness then said, "I'm afraid we'll have to leave the collar on until you matches. Just a precaution. You all will be shown to your rooms and get ready to watch today's match."
Ember then asked, "Is that where Flame is now?" Glacia nodded and said, "Yes, I had a feeling you guys would agree. His match will be starting soon. You all can watch from your rooms. By the way you all get your own rooms, can't have you scheming of a way out now can we."
The wolves each guided the dragons to their rooms. The rooms were just big enough to hold them and contained food, water, a bed, and a window that let them see the arena."
Glacia escorted Pyro to his room. As he was about to enter Glacia stopped him by stepping on his tail getting his attention. He turned around and was met with flirtatious gaze from the ice dragoness.
She circled around and rubbed up against his side. She then used her tail to rub his other side. Her body was cool and smooth and the way she snuggled close to him made him shiver. She snaked her way up his body and nuzzled him under his chin.
Pyro tried to move, but something wasn't letting him. Some strange force was keeping him still and it wasn't the collar.
She then whispered in his ear, "I didn't expect to get such handsome guest with this lot." She placed a paw on his left shoulder. Pyro was still in shock so he didn't have time to react to this sudden act. She then dragged her tounge all the way up his neck getting him to moan and shiver slightly. She then said, "You be careful now, I wouldn't want you getting hurt in this little game."
Glacia then fully brushed passed him and dragged her tail under his chin. The red dragon began to breath deeply as he was surprised about what just happened.
He went inside his room and looked through the window and waited for the match to begin.
A wolf then emerged on top of a pedestal, he could only guess that he was some kind of announcer.
As the seats began to fill with wolves, apes, and humans, the announcer began to speak, "Alright everyone are you ready for a fight. (The crowd cheers). Well then let's get started. First up is the new fire guardian whose blood boils at the sight of our troops. Its FLAME!"
Flame stepped out into the open with his collar off. He stood tall as the crowd began to boo at him. Flame snorted not paying these low lives any attention.
Ember showed the fear she held for her mate. She knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but she couldn't help but worry; after all it was Malefor's plan.
The announcer continued, "And now his opponent. The red devil, the conquerer of worlds, and king of rage. It is my greets pleasure to introduce the leader of the red lanterns ATROCITUS!"
Pyro's eyes shot wide as he heard that name. He then said, "No way, that's not possible."
As the wolf spoke what looked like a red goblin in strange clothing stepped out into the arena. His eye and lip were scared from a past battle and that made him look even more threatening. However what caught Flames attention was the glowing red light on his right hand.
Pyro growled as he thought, 'So that's your game eh? Jones must have supplied the data for this little scheme. Flame, you better be careful. Your in for one tough fight."
Flame took up his stance and prepared to fight. However as he did this Atrocitus laughed at him. He then asked, "Do you truly believe that puny thing like you has what it takes to kill me?"
Flame once again snorted and said, "Your out of your mind to underestimate me. I'll show you how just how strong a dragon can be." The red dragon then thought, 'Don't worry Ember, until we finish off Malefor once and for all… I will never give up!'
The announcer smiled as he saw that both competitors were ready for the a fight, "LET THE MATCH BEGING!"
Without wasting a single second Flame and Atrocitus charged at each other. Flame jumped off the ground and began slashing at the red goblin. Atrocitus easily dodged him left and right.
Atrocitus then pulled back his right fist punched Flame dead in his face sending him flying with a red shockwave. Thanks to his draconic skull he easily absorbed the blow and managed to use his wings to flip himself up right.
Flame growled loudly and as he stared down at his opponent. That one punch had drawn blood from his mouth. 'This is not going to be easy.' he thought. The fire dragon then wiped the blood from his face and spat the rest out on the ground.
Flame took in a deep breath and calmed his mind. He then dove straight down at his opponent. Atrocitus blasted two large red beams at diving lizard. As the red beams came in Flame dodged them by dodge rolling to the left then right.
Atrocitus then flew up at him and tried to punch him again, but this fire dragon wouldn't fall for the same move twice.
As soon as the monster came within striking distance Flame flashed backed to a recent maneuver Pyro taught him
Flash Back - After the recent battle with Sterns at the Lightning Fortress - Battle Training:
"Okay Flame there are going to be situations that call for speed and agility instead of raw power. From what I've seen of your fighting style you don't use your speed and agility to often unless circumstances call for it."
Flame then said, "Yeah, normally I can use my physical and raw power of my element to overpower my opponent and…' "THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGHT!"
Flame flinched as his fire companion raised his voice at him. Pyro continued, "A true warrior uses all factors to fight. Now, I'm going to teach you a few maneuvers and techniques my past teachers taught me to use when fight a larger opponent."
"From now on you will train with me to become the best fire dragon warrior in the entire dragon realms.
Flame shook his shock out off his face and smiled. He then nodded and prepared his body to learn what his fiend had to teach.
"When they are bigger then you they tend to throw punches that are to wide and contain all of their power. So using a move that maneuver around that attack will get them off balance. One way we can do that is using the one thing we have that they don't."
Flame raised a brow and asked, "What's that?"
Pyro smiled and said, "Our tails!"
"Our tails?"
Pyro nodded and said, "That's right. It's instinct to use our tails in battle, but how we use them during battle is overlooked by a lot of dragons. So I'm going to show you a trick I learned."
Flame smiled and Pyro could see the fire that had lit in his eyes. He then said, "Let's get started!"
End of Flashback
Flame couldn't help but let a smile come across his face. He ducked the attack and hooked his tail around Atrocitus's arm.
With one strong pull of his tail Flame delivered a fire covered fist into red goblins face sending him into the ground. Flame landed on the ground with the same smile on his face. He then held up his arm and blew his fist out.
Ember was surprised by this move, it was completely out of his character. She couldn't help but smile as he looked really cool blowing his fist out like that.
Flame looked through the cloud of smoke he created with Atrocitus, but he saw no sign of him. His eyes then caught onto something. He saw a red glow for a split second before it came out and hit him dead center in his chest sending scatting and rolling across the ground.
Flame growled and said, "Dammit, I should have seen an attack like that coming." Flame stuck his paw out doing a hand stand and sending himself into a triple front flip, easily landing on his paws.
Before the fire dragon could react Atrocitus came trying to punch him. As he threw the punch Flame dodged the punch and went in for a counter attack. Flame delivered two strong slashes to his opponents chest and gut.
Atrocitus then thought, 'How is this possible? How can such a weakling be matching me? No I will not fall to this pathetic lizard!'
Atrocitus threw another punch that Flame once again dodged. The monster's fist easily smashed through the earth's surface. Flame used all four of his paws to jump up. Once in the air, Flame grabbed onto his thick neck, swung around and placed both of his back legs on his back. He then kicked the over sized red monster into the ground and sending himself into a backflip.
Spyro was beside himself. His best friend's fighting style had changed completely and he was now using moves he would never have even dreamed of using.
'I don't get it. How and when did Flame change his fighting style to 'this'? Spyro was completely impressed.
As he saw his friend make another move he saw a ghostly outer form of Ignitus appear over Flame as if he were in that same situation.
Spyro then said, "I guess Flame's finally become a truly worthy fire guardian. Man I don't know when this happened, but I'm glad it did. Go get em Flame!"
However this time he wouldn't get off scott free. Atrocitus pulled his arm free and sent red dragon flying with a powerful uppercut.
Flame used his wings to straighten himself out again, but just a he did this a large red beam blasted him out of the sky and onto the ground. Flame just barely managed to back flip and land on his paws.
Before he had a chance to recover the red monster came in gave him another red pulse uppercut sending him flying straight up.
Ember was horrified by the sight of this. Flame had started out this battle so strong, but now he was getting nocked around like he used to when they first started training.
Pyro then thought, 'Just what I was afraid of, the fights taking too long. Flame only succeeded in making this guy angry. The angrier he gets the more his ring will fill with rage, and the stronger he'll get. This is bad.'
Atrocitus was not finished with Flame. He used his ring to form a red whip and lashed out at the falling fire dragon.
Once it wrapped around, it pulled tight and yanked him downward. Atrocitus spun around and delivered a very powerful right hook into Flames face. The fire guardian was sent flying again and this time the rage filled brute went after him.
Flame was still conscious as he was flying towards the wall. His body was beaten and battered all over. His legs were shaking underneath him as he stood up again.
He thought to himself, 'Man this guys is a lot stronger than I thought… but I'm not some weakling whose going to just roll over and take a beating. Spyro, Pyro, Grandfather, Ignitus, Volcanus, and even you Ember, you've all been my teachers. You've all stood by me whenever I made some dumb mistake or went down the wrong path.'
With that last sentence Flame's eyes snapped open revealing his now burning eyes which reflected his fully lit fighting spirit, He then yelled in his mind, 'Now its my turn, I'll show you all what the next generation fire guardian is really made of!'
Flash Back #2:
"So when I gain the power I need, will I be as strong as you and Spyro?"
Pyro shook his head no and said, "No."
Flame turned to him and asked, "Why not?"
Pyro then said, "To have power is not to be strong. I know that better than anyone. True strength is having power and choosing to use it to do the right thing. You're already strong Flame, but all the strength in the world won't matter if you don't feel your own flow."
Flame tilted his head and said, "My flow?"
Pyro nodded and said, "Yes, the 'flow' or as most people would call it 'battle instinct'. All warriors have this ability, but only the best can use this ability to the fullest. Knowing when to dodge, when to block, when to attack, or counter attack. To know all this you must feel you flow, and fight till the end.
End of Flash Back:
Flames eyes shot open and locked on the red giant flying at him. Once again he stuck his paw out pushed up sending himself into a spin. As he landed Atrocitus began to shoot a barrage of red beams at him.
Flame then looked over to Pyro as he thought, 'I get it now Pyro. I finally get what you were trying to tell me back then."
Flame activated his claw gauntlet and blocked most of the blasts while dodging the others. As Atrocitus came within a few feet of him Flame jumped backwards without a second of hesitation.
Pyro then said, "He's got it, he's feeling his flow!"
The fire dragons thoughts continued to scream out in his head. "You were trying to tell me that even if I trained like you and Spyro, even if I tried to follow your example, I wouldn't become strong!"
As Flame flew back he landed on his back and his paws. As Atrocitus flew over him he kicked him into the air, flipped up right and flew after him.
The fire guardian then thought, "The only way I could become truly strong is to use what I learned my own way, and fight the way only I can! I am Flame, and I am the fire Guardian!"
The red lantern absorbed the blow and started floating. Just as Flame came within range and threw a punch he dodged it. He then turned his fist into a red claw and sent Flame flying with a punch of his own.
Flame quickly flipped himself upright and blasted Atrocitus with a comet-ball. Atrocitus and Flame were sent flying towards the ground and landed on their feet.
Atrocitus wasted very little time in blasting flame with another rage filled tried to block it with his gauntlets, but it was too strong and forced him back.
The fire dragon dug his claws in the ground and held his position. He had to retaliate by blasting the beam with his fire breath.
Atrocitus laughed at struggling fire dragon and said, "Well if you can't entertain me anymore, at least you can be a stepping stone for my legacy!"
Flame growled and said, "A legacy of murder and hatred!" Flame put all his power into his fire breath and forced the beam back at Atrocitus.
The attack was strong, but just before the beam reached him, Atrocitus blasted the ground and pulled up a rock slab blocking the beam and the fire blast. Atrocitus then used his incredible strength to smash the rock and sent it flying at Flame.
Flame ducked under the one piece of the rock flying at him only to look up and see the red goblin come flying at him with incredible speed. Atrocitus came in and punched Flame straight in the face and sent him flying with yet another upper cut.
He then used his ring to create another whip and wrapped around Flames body. He then swung him around and slammed him into a wall and then onto the ground HARD!
Flame managed to break free of the whip and took off into the sky. The enraged lantern went after and two began to blast each other left and right creating explosions all over the coliseum.
Flame had just managed to dodge two more beams but was throw off balance by the explosion of a third one. Before he could fully recover Atrocitus came in and smashed him downward.
Flame managed to use the force of his fire breath to stop his fall and land on his paws. Atrocitus once again landed in front of him and said, "You should really learn when to quit!"
Flame snorted and said, "No way, I won't ever quit. I'll keep fighting for…" "For your friends, and your precious little dragoness!" The rage filled monster once again sent the fire guardian flying with a powerful punch and went after him.
Once Flame finished bouncing off the ground he tried to get up only to have Atrocitus blast him and step on his head keeping him pinned to the ground.
He then yelled, "Do you think what she means to you, what you feel for her matters in the least. I am the conquerer of worlds. Nothing will stand in my way as I create destruction, and chaos, and hate!"
The red monster then grabbed Flames head spun him around and tossed him into a wall. He then grabbed him by the head and began to slowly crush his skull as he pushed him further into the wall.
He then said, "And you should know one thing, once I'm done toying with you… it will be I who slaughters your precious Ember."
That one line had done it. Flame reached within himself and pulled out every drop of power he had and grabbed Atrocitus's fist. He then began to push him back with both his paws letting out a very loud growl as he did so.
He then let out a loud roar and an even louder shockwave of fire. "RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Atrocitus was sent bouncing of the ground from Flames outburst of power and picked himself up off the ground. As he looked upon him, he and everyone else in the arena had shocked looks on their faces as they saw the fire dragons. Flame had unlocked his own nova mode.
His body was looked like it was shining like a red star, and his body was flashing a crimson red color along with the glow.
Pyro smiled and said, "Flame on dude."
The fire dragon landed on the ground locked his eyes on the red monster before him. Atrocitus charged him one last time, but this time it was over.
Atrocitus growled and yelled, "You can pull any trick you like, but I will never be defeated by one so weak!"
Atrocitus charged in and tried to puch him, but just as he came within striking distance, Flame disappeared.
He then turned around to see him standing behind him with the same angry and irritated look on his face (if you're having a hard time thinking of that kind of face, look at Gohan super saiyan 2).
Atrocitus flew into the sky and unleashed a barrage of red blast, blades, and bombs on Flame.
Ember looked away expecting Flame to be down for the count. Even if he wasn't he had to be in pretty bad shape. She then looked at the cloud of smoke in the middle of the arena and tried to find her mate.
Atrocitus landed on the ground and said in a cocky tone, "I guess that'll teach that puny lizard, to act so high and mighty, and teach him place. WHAT!"
Everyone then looked to see Flame was completely unharmed. He had the same look on his face and his eyes were still locked on the ugly goblin above him.
Atrocitus let out a mounstrous roar as he charged in. He then threw a powerful punch at the fire dragon only to have him catch it. He tried again, but he caught the other one too.
Flame then pulled Atrocitus forward and head-butted him sending him flying into the air.
Flame then yelled out an animalistic roar as he charged up and appeared behind Atrocitus and elbowed him in the face sending him down towards the ground.
He then dove down after him and used his comet gauntlet to drive the goblins head into the icy floor of the arena creating a small crater and explosion from the impact.
The re-born fire guardian wasn't finished yet. He wrapped his tail around the red beasts ankle, swung him around with all his strength, and tossed him into the arena wall hard.
He then said his final words, "This ends now."
Flame opened his mouth and blasted a giant red lazer beam that hit Atrocitus dead center. All that could be heard were his screams of pain as he was slowly vaporized by the super heated beam.
After the beam disappeared the announcer said, "And the winner is FLAME!"
As soon as the announcer said that Flame passed out. His body soon cooled down and reverted to normal. After a while a few wolves came and got him and took him to his room.
After a while he managed to wake up and looked around. As he woke up the door opened and a wolf faced him.
The wolf then said, "You have a visitor." Ember then stepped to the side, ran in, and hugged him as tight as she could.
Flame gritted his teeth but didn't pull away from her; he knew she needed this and so did he. She then said, "I thought… you were going to," "Don't say it." Ember eyes widened as Flame cut her off.
He then tightened his grip around her body and said, "Listen, until we defeat Malefor once and for all, I will never leave you, and I don't want to hear another word about it."
He then pulled the pink dragoness away and pulled her in for a kiss which she gladly returned. Once the kiss was broken the wolves said Ember had to leave.
She was reluctant, but she didn't have much of a choice right now. She decided to say the one thing that could be said at this point. "I love you Flame."
Flame replied, "I love you too, and don't worry. Everything will be fine."
The wolves escorted Ember back to her room leaving Flame to rest and heal.
Who will fight in the next round? What kind of opponents have Jones and Gaul created? What is Glacia planning with Pyro, and what does that scar have to do with it? All of this and more will be answered in my next chapter of Spyro meets Pyro!