The city burned. The hole that had been blown into the mountain caused several of the upper levels of the city to collapse. Everyone watched in horror as their city began to crumble.
"Oh my god." Ember gasped. Her heart began to ache inside her chest.
"We won't survive another attack like that!" Spyro cried.
"No we wont." Terrador agreed. "We have to keep that monster from using that attack again."
"I fear he's too far out of range." Volteer shot an angry glare at Titanus who was beginning to move forward again.
"Well we can't just sit here and wait for him to use that long range attack again!" Spyro protested. "We have to intercept him!"
Down below, Tremor burst free from his protective shield. "You alright Candy?"
"I'm fine thanks." The ice dragoness nodded. She did her best to hide her red cheeks as she got to her feet. She gasped in shock when she saw the city.
"Tremor! Candice! Let's move!" Terrador barked down to them, snapping them out of their trance. The three elder dragons took off towards the approaching monster in the distance as fast as their wings could take them. Candice was about to take off when Tremor grabbed her by the tail with his teeth.
"Ow!" The dragoness yelped and turned a heated glare on him.
"Candice, I want you to stay here." Tremor said sternly. "We need someone to help put the fires in the city out so we don't lose everything."
"The moles can handle it Tremor." The dragoness rebutted. "We need every available dragon out there to stop that monster from burning our home to the ground. If I stay here it will be hurting our chances at beating that thing!"
Tremor wanted to argue but knew the dragoness would counteract every argument he would throw at her. The earth dragon sighed. "Fine. But just promise to be careful. Okay Candy?"
The ice dragoness gave a haughty smirk. "You're one to talk pebble-brain. But I will."
"Good." Tremor nodded. "Let's go!" He sprang into the air and Candice followed. The squad of dragons flew out across the horizon at great speed. Spyro and Cynder took the lead with the elder guardians right on their tails. The candidates took the wing positions, spreading out to make their formation look more formidable.
Off in the distance, Titanus growled. He opened his mouth again and leaned towards the oncoming formation.
"Scatter!" Spyro called. The formation broke as Titanus unleashed another beam. The attack shot over Flame's head and he whirled to see it heading straight for the dragon city. He let loose a roar and fired his own concentrated attack. The counter attack collided with Titanus's and knocked the beam off course. The energy banked sharply and faded away into the dark sky.
The other dragon's gaped at the young guardian as he turned back to face Titanus. Flame reared his head back and took in a deep breath. Ember saw what he was doing and followed his lead. Both fire breathers fired a white-hot beam of energy from their mouths. The attacks streaked across the sky and struck Titanus in the chest and burned through his shoulder, leaving a charred and bloody wound.
Titanus bellowed in pain and the sound shook the dragon's heads.
"Aaarrggh! That hurts!" Tremor wailed as he clutched at his head, trying to stop the dizzying pain.
"Don't give up!" Candice urged as she pressed on.
"Flame!" Spyro shouted as he flew back to his friend. "You and I will hold here! The others will attack Titanus head on while we protect the city from any more of his attacks!"
"Gotcha!" The guardian nodded.
"Flame!" Ember hovered over to them and took Flame's face in her paws. "Be Careful." She looked deep into his eyes so he knew she was serious. "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't." Flame said with his usual confident grin. Ember kissed him before breaking off towards the others. As she passed Spyro the two of them exchanged looks and bobbed their heads in acknowledgement.
"Here he comes again!" Flame called as the other guardians faded into the distance. Titanus opened his mouth and attacked again. Flame quickly charged up another shot and fired. The beams collided and the explosion shook the earth.
"Dear ancestors!" Stella gasped as the guardians closed in on their target. Titanus rose over the land like a colossal, scaly, fire-breathing mountain. The ancient dragon was no ordinary fire breather, being covered in dark blue and beige scales, faded from being covered in mountain dust. The legendary dragon had wings but were too small to carry his massive bulk. The dragon's belly sank to the ground, dragging his hind legs and tail, leaving deep groves in the earth.
"I don't think this will be very easy, if at all." Liun gulped as the hulk loomed up in front of him, blocking out the horizon beyond.
"Stay focused!" Terrador ordered. "We must bring him down no matter what! If he reaches the dragon city, them we are all done for!"
Titanus let out another thunderous roar. The dragons all groaned as the sound reverberated through the air. The gigantic dragon raised its head to the sky and belted forth a tower of black fire. The stream shot into the air and began to take shape. The guardians bared their teeth as Malefor gave an angry snarl. As soon as he had appeared, the dark magic was sucked back into the dragon's body and he fired a beam of dark magic down at the guardians. The dragons scattered as the energy corroded the land and turned everything in the surrounding area to ash.
"We have to keep him from taking aim at any of us!" Tremor called to Cynder,Ember, Liun, Stella and Candice. "We need to attack his weak spots."
"Like where genius?" Candice demanded. "Do you see any on him?"
"No he's right." Liun intervened before Tremor could reply. "Each dragon has essentially the same weakness. It's nearly impossible to kill any dragon easily unless an enemy strikes one of three fatal points on a dragon's body."
The young guardians all stared at one another. "So where are we aiming at then?" Stella asked.
"His neck is the easiest target." Liun jerked our of the way as another blast of dark magic came pouring down at them. "Right in the pit of his neck where his clavicles meet."
"And the other two?" Candice spat an ice bullet against the monstrous fire dragon's rock-tough hide. The scales froze over but shattered almost instantaneously.
"The next one is right under his jaw, beneath his brain. "The tissue there is soft but the bone would be exceptionally hard for such a large monster."
"Move!" Cyril called banked hard. The guardians scattered and quickly regrouped.
"The last is his sternum!" Liun shouted, desperate not to become a sitting duck anymore. "Puncture any one of these and he should fall!"
"You heard him guys!" Stella hollered. "Attack!"
"Right!" Cynder and Ember broke off into a pair as did Liun and Stella. Cynder and Ember flew right up to the massive dragon and unleashed a wave of fire at the dragon's neck. The scales burned a bright orange but Titanus seemed unaffected. The girls looked at each other before nodding. They blasted the spot again, holding their breath longer this time.
"Make way!" Liun called as he and Stella came up behind them. He shot a block bolt from his mouth and Stella unleashed her own electric attack. The bolts of energy hit their mark and exploded against Titanus's hide. The monstrous dragon growled in irritation and looked down at them. He opened his mouth again and belched a hurricane of fire.
The four dragons split as the ground beneath them became a field of flames. Cynder glanced at the mark they had left from their attacks and frowned. The combination of their elements alone would have been enough to strike down a good-sized army. However, the protective scales on the ancient dragon's chest were hardly burned through.
Just then Flame and Spyro came soaring over the burning earth. The heat caused a thermal updraft and the two rose to meet their new foe head on. Both dragons stared Titanus in the face before belting out a shower of fire balls. The bombs exploded against the dragon's face and he snarled angrily. The two dragons fired another volley, this time seriously damaging the monster's tender facial scales.
"Whoa!" Stella yelped as the dragon raised a massive paw from the ground.
"Flame! Spyro! Look out!" Ember shouted from below.
"Son of a...!" Flame cursed as he and Spyro dove out of the way. The paw missed them but the slipstream caught their wings and both dragons were sent spinning out of control. Titanus's eyes flashed purple as Malefor took control of his body again. He opened his mouth wide and unleashed another beam of fire energy.
"Watch out!" Spyro called. He and Flame covered themselves with their wings and shrouded themselves in fire. The energy sprayed against their barriers sending the rays scattering across the land. Spyro and Flame dropped out of the line of fire and opened their smoking wings again.
"Now that was hot even for my standards." Flame breathed as he let the air cool his wings off.
"Spyro!" Cynder shouted, getting his attention. The purple dragon looked down at her as Cynder inhaled. She let loose a loud cough and a neon-green stream burst from her open jaws. The poisonous energy struck the spot where she and the others had attacked before but this time the scales began to dissolve.
Titanus growled and swung a paw to knock the black dragoness away. Having watched what happened to Spyro and Flame, Cynder was ready. With a mighty flap of her wings she curled into a ball and slashed with her talons, and blades as the paw brushed by beneath her. She left several bright green gashes along the hulking dragon's hide, allowing the hemo-toxin to eat away at his skin.
Spyro inhaled and fired a beam of fire energy at the spot Cynder had marked. The protective scales burned away leaving a smoldering, fowl smelling wound. Titanus howled and staggered slightly. The nerves in his neck were beginning to burn away. As the nerves died he roared and spewed another wave of fire at Spyro. Spyro countered with his own fire breath. The two forces clashed, Titanus the ancient dragon versus Spyro the purple dragon.
"You will die!" Malefor's figure rose up around the titan.
Spyro glared at Malefor and forced more power in to his attack. He began pushing Titanus's fire breath back into his mouth.
"Now!" Terrador shouted as he fired an earth bullet into Titanus's cheek.
The younger guardians all unleashed their elements in unison. They focused on the damaged spot in Titanus's scales causing the skin to burn away. But the nerves in the dragon's chest had already been disintegrated.
"It's not having any affect!" Candice shouted over the roar of their combined powers.
"Then I'll give it some effect!" Tremor pointed his head up and fired three piercing earth bullets into the enormous dragon's lower jaw. The consecutive strikes broke Malefor's attention for a split second giving Spyro the opportunity he needed. With a loud roar, Spyro's fire breath burst free from his mouth. The spiraling attack engulfed the head of the enormous dragon causing Titanus the roar in pain. The sound shook the earth, cracking the ground beneath his own feet. The smaller dragons all cried out in pain as the terrible sound rattled their brains. One by one they dropped from the sky, smashing onto the rocks below.
Spyro lay next to Cynder who was unconscious. The purple dragon's head spun. He tried to lift his head but he felt completely drained. Several yards off Tremor lay on top of Candice. He had tried to protect her from the noise and had his wings wrapped around her protectively. The dragoness opened her eyes when she felt a drop of liquid hit her cheek. She gasped when she glanced back at Tremor.
"How are doing sweetheart?" He chuckled. Blood trickled from his nostrils and eyes. Somewhere inside he had suffered more internal damage because blood was forming on the rims of his lips.
Before Candice could respond, Titanus raised a massive paw. Tremor saw what was coming and shoved the ice dragoness away from him. He jumped and slammed all four paws on the ground. The shock wave sent a ripple through the earth, carrying the other guardians out of the way as the foot came smashing down on top of him.
"Tremor!" Candice screamed and was instantly on her feet. She turned her fierce purple eyes up at Titanus and her rage began to show. The ground turned to ice, the chill instantly causing the other guardians to regain their senses. The dragoness's eyes began to glow like the sun on fresh snow. She opened her mouth and fired a beam of ice straight up at the head of the towering dragon. Titanus felt his neck freeze at the base of his skull and flexed his muscles, shattering the ice. Candice didn't stop there. She forced more energy into the attack causing Titanus's body to freeze faster than he could break free.
"Candice!" Cyril shouted as he got to his feet but his words didn't reach her. The ice dragoness took to the air and continued her rage. The mass of ice that once held itself around the fire dragon's neck had spread across his head. Titanus struggled to break free, but each time he managed to break the ice, those shards were held in place by a newly formed layer.
"I'll kill you!" Candice screamed. She took a deep breath before spreading her wings. She reached deep inside and felt the power she wanted to use. She let out a bone chilling roar as she unleashed her fury. The ice energy burst from her body, forming long spears of ice. She hissed, giving her wings a mighty flap, sending the missiles at the head of Titanus. The monstrous dragon gave a shudder before breaking free of his ice prison. He looked down at the dragoness just as the icicles met their target. Candice had been aiming for his kill spot just under his skull but since the dragon had turned his head they attack still had an affect. The spears punctured deep into the dragon's face and the side of his neck. One of the spears managed to lodge itself in the dragon's eye, blinding him. The monster roared in pain. The vibrations didn't affect Candice this time. She had shrouded herself in a semi-visible shield of ice particles, nullifying the sound's effect
Titanus clawed at his face, dislodging many of the spikes but not the main one that tormented him. Seeing that his foot had moved Candice dropped back to the ground, tired from the use of her fury attack. She still found the strength to run over to the hole the dragon's foot had left and look down into hit. In the middle was a spiked ball of stone that seemed to glow a bright green. Tremor burst free from his barrier and leaped out of the hole.
"Thank goodness." Candice sighed to herself before collapsing from exhaustion.
"Whoa! Candy!" Tremor caught her before she hit the ground.
"Tremor." Cyril called as he hurried over towards them. "You and the others focus your attacks on that beast. You need to finish him off here and now!"
"Yes sir!" Tremor saluted with his wing. By now the other guardians were back in the fight, sending bursts of elemental power at the juggernaut dragon. Cynder had been picked up by Volteer and Liun by Terrador. The elder guardians unleashed their elements as they began to back away towards the city.
"Rrrraaaaagggghhhh!" Flame unleashed another beam of fiery energy into Titanus's damaged neck. The wound began to bleed openly as he burned through the thick, tough flesh beneath the scales. "Almost there!" He gasped for air. He was feeling really drained from the repeated bursts of concentrated energy. He charged up another attack and was ready to unleash what he hoped would be the final blow when Titanus bared down on him. The titan fired another concentrated beam and Flame barely had enough time to turn his attack into an energy barrier. The beam sprayed around the glowing orb and burned into the ground leaving pools of white, hot melted rock. Flame gasped for breath as his barrier dropped. Titanus reared his head back and fired once more. Flame was too tired to put up a defense. As time seemed to slow he glanced over at Ember. The pink dragoness stared with wide eyes as he prepared to meet his end.
Just as Flame felt the intense heat against his scales something shoved him out of the way. Spyro turned on Titanus and stopped his energy attack with his own, keeping the deadly force just meters from his own face. The heat hurt Spyro's eyes and he was forced to shut them.
Malefor saw the young dragon's interference and smiled as he put more energy into the attack. Spyro tried to fight back but his strength was already beginning to fail. He beat his wings to try and remain airborne but the Dark Master sent pulses of fire into the beam, each one striking Spyro like a burning hot punch. With each strike Spyro would fall back, but he wasn't about to give up. Not for his friend Flame's sake. There would be no one dying today except for the Dark Master.
Titanus pushed Spyro back until he was nearly touching the ground again. Another surge of energy pushed Spyro down. The purple dragon cringed at the heat from the earth beneath his feet. His power wavered but didn't break. Titanus growled and forced even more power out. Spyro roared and forced his opponent's beam back.
"I won't give up!" He shouted in his mind. "I won't give up ever!" A roar came from deep within his soul. His body began to glow with a golden aura. His energy pulsed from his body. His scales flashed brightly then suddenly turned silvery-purple with a streak of his natural color down his spine. Spyro's roar burst from his jaws and his beam attack overpowered the Dark Master's.
Titanus moved his head in time as the beam shot by, but was left with a long burn mark on the side of his muzzle. Spyro's energy manifested into flames as swirled into the sky, parting the clouds. The now silver dragon spread his wings wide and began to absorb the rays of sunlight that now poked through the clouds, increasing his power.
Malefor saw the glowing dragon far on the ground and opened his mouth again. He would finish Spyro off before he could get the chance to unleashed his power.
"Oh no you don't!" Tremor flew out away from the titan and dove back at him. He folded his wings back, gaining speed with every inch he traveled. When he was close enough he began to spread his wings slowly. The earth dragon banked back up, retaining his speed. Just as Titanus was about to fire his beam attack, Tremor curled into a ball, covering himself with earth energy and slammed full force into the dragon's chin. The impact caused the massive dragon's head to whip back and his mouth to shut. The energy combusted inside the dragon's mouth, sending chunks of flesh and globs of blood spattering for miles.
"Get back!" Ember shouted seeing the damage Tremor had caused. She dove towards the ground with Stella and Candice close behind her. Titanus let out a shriek. His eye was wide in shock from the pain he had inflicted upon himself. In a feral display of ferocity, the dragon began to shake his wounded skull frantically as blood poured out of him in fountains and more chunks of skin burned away before falling off. He clawed at the ground tearing deep groves into the burned land.
"Hah! Take that you loser!" Tremor spat another earth bullet at Titanus as he went on another pass. The Dark Master glared at the young dragon with his one good eye and lunged. He managed to grab Tremor by the tail and swung him around, screaming.
"Tremor!" Candice shouted from the ground as she saw him get hurled around like an extra scrap of meat hanging from the dragon's jaws. Tremor curled up towards his bleeding tail and fired another earth bullet spike. The wounded titan paid it no mind as he only seemed bent of shaking the young dragon like a rag doll between his jaws. At last he tossed Tremor high into the air over his head. The earth guardian tumbled head over heals back down as Titanus opened his jaws to swallow him whole. "Nooooo!" Candice screamed. She was about to take flight again when another roar caught her attention. She and the other dragons turned to see Spyro charge forward. His fiery energy manifested into what could have passed as his adult form. Spyro's paws beat against the ground propelling him faster and faster until he became a streak of light.
"Rrrraaaaagggghhhh!" His roar seemed to shake the world. Titanus snatched Tremor out of the air in his mouth and Spyro sprang into the air. His energy focused into a spearhead and punched straight through the titan's neck. Every warrior gasped in shock and amazement as the dragon burst out the back of the Dark Master's neck sending bone and burned chunks of flesh everywhere. Spyro turned and shot back through his already burned shoulder. He hit the ground and cut right into the dragon's sternum, bursting from its back one last time. Titanus's eye widened and a deep groan emanated from his body as he crumbled to the ground. The warriors back at the city began to cheer as the colossus began to tumble to the ground. The Dark Magic that resided within the beast's body escaped through his wounds before dying away.
The dragons all stood in shock at what they had just seen. Candice was the first to come to her senses. She took off towards the fallen dragon's massive head. The jaws hung open slightly but for a dragon her size it was plenty of room to get through. As she got closer a splash of blood burst from the dragon's mouth and Tremor appeared. He spotted the ice dragoness rushing towards him and he hopped down to the ground, making his way towards her.
"Candy!" He called in his teasing flirtatious manner.
Candice ignored him. "You're alive!" She cried, tears wanting to burst from her eyes. She was about to fling herself onto him when the wind blew her way. The dragoness skidded to a halt just in front of him, and wrinkled her nose. "Ew! You stink!" She gasped. He was covered in blood, saliva as well as several other colors Candice didn't care to identify.
"I've been inside a dragon's mouth that hasn't been cleaned in ancestors know how long." He rolled his eyes. "So yeah. I probably stink a little bit."
Candice leaned in and gave a slight whiff to be sure and she curled her lips at him. "Yeah, you really smell bad." She took a step back to try and avoid the stench.
"So?" Tremor gave a devilish smile. "Doesn't mean you can't get a little dirty and give me a hug or kiss because you're happy to see me alive."
Candice's eyes went wide and she bared her teeth. "Ew! No! Not in your life! Gross! Especially when you're like this!"
Tremor smiled, happy to see the reaction he wanted. "Oh come on Candy. Just a little one." He leaned in towards her causing the dragoness to step back again. "Come on it won't kill you. A little sweetness might do me some good."
"Yuck! Get away from me!" She turned and ran. Tremor laughed and chased after her.
High above, Terrador and the three elder dragons stared at the scene below them.
"By the ancestors." Volteer gasped with wide eyes as they stared at Spyro who stood alone, staring at the fallen Titanus. "What in the world was that?"
"You mean you have no hypothesis for once Volteer?" Cyril raised a cold brow skeptically.
"I...I've never seen anything like it before. Not even so much as a rumor, a whisper, a subtle hint as to what we have just witnessed here today."
"Perhaps there is some literature you may be able to read back at the library." Cyril suggested. He too was still in shock as he glanced from Spyro back towards the city. "If it still remains that is."
"Ah, um, yes." Volteer nodded. "We should check that out
right away. As soon as possible."
Just before the guardians could head back to the city, Cynder opened her eyes. She was a little groggy but her vision soon began to clear. She let her eyes fall over Volteer's shoulder and lock onto Spyro. The purple dragon, seeming to feel her eyes on him, turned and looked back up at her. His silver scales sparkled in the sun that broke through the clouds. Cynder almost didn't recognize him.
"Sp-Spyro?" She groaned. She closed her eyes as the exhaustion began to take over again.
Down on the ground Spyro stood still. He felt numb all over. As he looked up at the elder dragon he spotted Cynder staring at him. She didn't stare for long and fell back asleep. As he watched the guardians fly back towards the city, his body felt like it was burning up. He coughed hard. A puff of smoke and few embers spat from his mouth but nothing more. He suddenly felt very tired and he collapsed where he stood.