Hey guys. I'm just here to announce that the first screen shot from AoH Book II is up on my homepage. So be sure to go and grab it. And just to be fair, it's a spoiler.
Spyro stared down at the pool of water before him. The surface was so calm it felt almost like glass. He sighed as he fought with himself for whether or not he wanted to find out if his dream was a premonition. At last he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He inhaled, slowly, allowing his heart rate to drop, calming his entire body.
He saw darkness at first. Then the shadows began to brighten as fog clouded his vision. The fog lasted for half a minute before clearing up. Spyro saw the world fly beneath him as the fog opened up to the frozen tundra before him. His body floated around in the air before drifting towards the ground. As he descended, he spotted some movement deeper into the fortress. He turned his attention towards the distraction and came to a hole knocked into the side of a stone wall. The hole led down into a dark cave where no lanterns had been lit. Spyro hovered over the entrance contemplating if he should investigate or not.
Suddenly he heard a crunch behind him. He jumped in surprise to see a wolf heading right for him. The canine stopped at the cave entrance just beneath Spyro. He looked around in all directions curiously before sniffing the air. Spyro noticed the metal beams and tools it carried in its muscular arms. The materials were weathered from the years of being frozen in the ice. Once confident that no one was around, the wolf disappeared into the darkness.
"Spyro." A voice brought him rushing back to reality. The purple dragon turned to see Cynder walking down the dark hall towards him.
"Cynder." He gulped nervously. He had thought she was asleep when he had left their room.
"I thought I'd find you here." The black dragoness muttered. "You weren't beside me anymore when I woke up so I thought I'd look for you just to be sure you were safe."
Spyro smiled softly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry."
"It's alright." Cynder sighed as she came to stop beside him. Spyro noticed the way her eyes seemed almost glossy. As if she were ready to cry or had ben crying. He also detected a subtle tone of sorrow in her voice.
"Are you sure?" Spyro leaned in towards her questioningly. "You seem kind of sad."
"I'm just a little groggy, that's all." Cynder bumped his chin with her nose, slightly harder than she usually did. The dragoness tried to hide the crack in her voice but wasn't sure if she was successful. She turned back to the pool of visions. "Have you been able to see anything?"
Spyro's expression hardened. "Yeah. The wolves are up to something. I'm not certain what they're doing at Dante's Freezer. It seemed like they were gathering materials left over from the war with the Dark Master."
"What makes you say that?" Cynder asked out of the corner of her eye, trying to see into the pool.
"I had a dream earlier tonight about it." Spyro looked her in the eye. "I was attacked by the wolves at Dante's Freezer and when I woke up I had to find out if they were really up to anything." He looked back to the still waters. "Unfortunately they are residing there as we speak."
"I see." Cynder looked down at her long talons and fidgeted uneasily. This was probably the first time Spyro had told her about a dream he had out front without her questioning him.
"Cynder." The black dragoness looked up to see Spyro's eyes locked on with hers. "I have to go to Dante's Freezer and find out what the wolves are doing there. I have a funny feeling that they're probably working alongside the Dark Master."
"Alight then I'll go with you." Cynder nodded.
"No, Cynder." Spyro shook his head. "You need to stay here. It's too dangerous."
"That's never stopped me before Spyro." Cynder pointed out. "We've been through worse."
"I know." Spyro nodded. "But if Malefor is there then I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't live with myself if I couldn't protect you."
"Spyro, you don't need to worry so much." Cynder reached up and placed a paw on his cheek. Her pads felt warm against his scales. "We've always been there to protect each other before and it's no different now. I won't let you go alone because I don't know if I could go on without you either."
Spyro stared at her. The sadness was still showing in her eyes, but she was also determined in her words.
"Alright Cynder, you win." Spyro sighed. "We'll investigate Dante's Freezer and find out what's going on there first thing in the morning. But we should try and get some rest first."
"I agree." Cynder gave a half smile. "It's much easier to sleep when you're around." The two turned and headed back towards their room. Cynder was deep in her own thoughts until she finally spoke up. "Spyro, can you show me your fire breath?"
"Huh?" Spyro stopped and stared at her. The black dragoness stood stiff in the middle of the hallway as she stared at him. "Sure, I guess. What for though?"
Cynder just shook her head. "I want to see if you've recovered from the battle yet with Titanus. That's all." The wavering of her voice planted seeds of suspicion in Spyro's mind but he quickly overcame those thoughts. He turned towards the open air over the city and puffed his chest out as he inhaled. He opened his mouth and hissed as if he were wheezing hard. Confused, he tried again. He coughed again and again, but no flames come from his mouth; not even a single puff of smoke. Spyro gave one last desperate try to unleash his flame but only ended up coughing hard.
"That's enough Spyro." Cynder said as she walked over and placed a paw on his shoulder as he hunched over, grasping at his sore throat. "I'm convinced."
"Convinced of what?" Spyro looked up at her with worry in his eyes. It was like in his dream, he couldn't use his fire breath.
Cynder sighed as she tried to find the right way to say what was on her mind. At the last moment she decided against telling him. "You're still recovering from your fight with Titanus. It may take a little while before you fully recover."
"Y-yeah." Spyro nodded and swallowed hard. "I guess so."
"It'll be okay." Cynder rubbed her side against his. "It's just like when you needed to recover your powers the first time. They'll replenish themselves and come back soon."
Spyro smiled softly at his dragoness. "How would I ever get by without you Cynder?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek. Cynder only smirked until he turned away, then her expression darkened.
"I guess Ignitus was right." She thought to herself as they headed back. She knew what was expected over her, but she still dreaded what was going to happen wither way. "I guess I don't have a choice but to go along with the plan."
"So how do you know that the wolves are tinkering about in this place?" Tremor asked.
The guardian candidates had all been informed about Spyro's idea to investigate Dante's freezer for wolf activity during breakfast earlier that day. Terrador and the other elder dragons had their suspicions about the territory the young dragons wished to explore, but had given into the idea in hopes of discovering what the link between the wolves and the Dark Master. Now the young dragons were soaring over the ocean, heading for what they hoped to be a simple investigation and demolition of the Dark Master's plans if any were to be found.
"I had a dream that something was going to happen and it took place at Dante's Freezer." Spyro replied over his shoulder. "After I woke up, I thought I would try and see if it was just my imagination or not."
"So in order to find out, you dragged us out here on a frozen field trip?" Tremor snorted at the cold air. He hated the cold.
"He was referring to the pool of visions pebble brain!" Candice pointed out. "Come on! Don't you listen to anything Volteer talks about?"
"I do." Tremor retorted. "But I'm not a kiss-ass like you who takes the time to memorize every sentence that zips from his lips."
"Up yours!" Candice hissed and was about to go on a rampage when something caught her attention. Tremor noticed and turned his head. On one of the nearby islands stood a small fortress. The upper tower had a cannon aimed outward towards any intruders that may have tried to enter the territory. As more islands began to appear, the more the dragons were able to spot enemy battlements stationed along the way.
"This place has homecoming written all over it." Tremor muttered as they passed the blockade of ice bergs.
"You have no idea." Sparx shook his head. "If there's one thing you should know about Spyro, is that he chooses the most comfortable places to drag everyone."
"Sparx." Spyro glanced back at his brother who was flying next to him.
"Hey I'm just stating the facts so the kids know now, rather than later."
"Kids?" Tremor raised a brow. "We're all the same age."
"True." Candice nodded with a smirk. "Until it comes to you of course."
"Bite me!" Tremor snapped.
"I would, but then I'd get carried away and end up kicking your sorry butt."
"You couldn't beat me even if your life depended on it Candy."
Candice whirled on Tremor. The earth dragon back-winged to keep from running into her in midair. "Do you wanna go right now boulder butt? I would be more than happy to put you in your place if it shuts you up!"
"That's enough you two!" Flame jumped in. He was already pretty angry himself with having to break up another of their childish fights. "We have a serious situation on our hands and this sort of squabbling is dangerous! Now get your tails in gear and stay focused! Understood?"
"Understood." Candice and Tremor replied in unison. Flame gave them both one last stern glare before taking back his position next to Ember.
"Well that was fun." Tremor snickered as they continued to bring up the rear.
Candice leered at him. "Oh, shut up."
Up ahead, Sparx watched the two put more distance between each other. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're doomed."
Spyro set down on the ground and looked around the fortress. Everything was quiet, but he knew better. The other dragons set down and scanned the area.
"Sense anything?" Cynder asked as she and Sparx moved next to Spyro.
"There's something beneath the fortress." Spyro answered after a moment's concentration. "It's deep though."
"Any idea what it is?" Stella asked as she sniffed the air. Liun looked around at the broken down machines and demolished walls. He seemed more wary than the other guardians for some reason.
"Not a clue." Spyro shook his head. "Let's look around. There should be a hole in a wall, tall enough for a wolf to fit through, that leads to the catacombs."
Spyro led the way and everyone followed in a tight cluster. When Liun bumped shoulders with Stella he yipped in surprise.
"Are you alright?" The lightning dragoness asked. "You seem really on edge."
"I'm just nervous." The black dragon replied sheepishly. "I'm not a guardian but I'm being sent on a mission with you guys. I'm not sure I can handle it."
"You'll be fine." Stella kissed his cheek. "And if you run into trouble, I'll always be there to protect you."
"Oh, I'm the one who needs protecting?" Liun raised a brow. "I thought it was supposed to be the male protects the female. Not the other way around."
Stella giggled. "Not with me around sweetie."
"What was that?" Sparx paused and the dragons all came to a nervous halt.
"What is it Sparx?" Spyro looked around with narrowing eyes.
"I thought I heard something moving." The dragonfly moved closer to his brother and Cynder.
"M-maybe we should spread out just a little bit." Liun suggested. "If we're too bunched up, and they take us by surprise, then we'll be sitting ducks."
"Possibly." Tremor muttered as he took Liun's words into consideration.
"Come on." Spyro urged. "We should keep moving."
The dragons continued through the fortress, checking every corner and crevice they could find, but found no sign of a cave entrance.
"We've been searching for hours." Liun grumbled in response to the cold as he marched alongside Stella. "Is Spyro just leading us on a wild goose chase?"
"Sh!" Stella hissed. "I trust Spyro with my life. If he says something is wrong, then I believe him."
"But how do we know this isn't a trap?"
Stella stopped dead in her tracks. She had never thought about that possibility until now.
"Spyro, stop!" She called.
"Stella, what is it?" He and Cynder stopped and turned to face the group.
"What if this is a trap? What if the wolves are setting you up for this?"
"Is that possible?" Cynder gave Spyro a worried look. "What if you were seeing into the future, rather than what the wolves were up to?"
Just then a howl cut through the air. The dragons all stood stiff and turned their heads up. The air was still but soon the howl was answered by another. Before they knew it, the howling was coming from all directions and growing louder.
"They're coming closer." Ember growled and bared her teeth.
"Stay calm." Flame reared his head high and spread his wings to make himself look as intimidating as possible.
There was another howl, but it didn't come from the wolves. The blizzard struck the dragons without warning. The particles of ice stung against their scaly hides and the snow blinded them.
"Ah! Damn it!" Tremor snarled. He heard a noise off to his side. He covered his face with a wing and stared in the direction of the sound. He saw nothing except for a pair of golden yellow eyes looking down at him through the sleet. "Wolves!" He shouted over the roar of the storm. The eyes closed and disappeared. Tremor fired an earth bullet but missed his intended target.
"Ah! Let go of me!" A voice cried out.
"Get off of her!" An angry roar cut through the wind and Tremor could feel the vibrations of a scuffle going on close by. A pair of dragons fought against several wolves clawing and snarling at one another.
"Stella! Behind you!" Candice's voice called out. An ear-piercing cry reached Tremor's ears. There was a yelp and something hit the ground just behind him. The earth dragon turned to see a bloody body laying before him. Several ice spears protruded from the wolf's body and its blood stained the snow.
With a mighty flap of her wings, Candice blew the blizzard away, instantly clearing everyone's vision.
"Oh, shit." Flame gulped. The five dragons were surrounded on all sides. The wolves snarled and gripped their weapons.
"Here they come!" Candice hissed and she spread her wings as the first challengers presented themselves. She beat them hard and sent a shower of spikes at them. The three wolves placed their hands into the snow and a wall of ice burst up, making a shield for them. "Shit! They can use elements?" The dragoness cursed. The wolves smashed through their own shield sending jagged shards at the dragoness. Candice ducked low under the shards blew across the ground. Spikes shot up from the snow and the wolves dove out of the way.
Just behind her, Flame and Ember simultaneously unleashed a tower of fire at the wolves in the air. The canines howled as their fur burned and melted to their skin. Once they hit the ground they began to roll around trying to put the flames out. The fire breathers took in a deep breath and exhaled another wave of fire. The wolves berried themselves in the snow, trying to get away from the heat. Just then the flames spilled over a dome of ice.
"What the hell?" Ember snapped. The wolves burst free from their protective shell and smashed the remaining chunks of ice, sending more shards towards them. Flame leaped in front of Ember and melted the shards. Just as his flames died away, one final shard shot through and hit him in the wing. Flame winced slightly but showed no signs of backing down. The wolves leaped into the air and bared down on the two dragons. Flame ducked as Ember sent a shower of sparkler fireballs up at them. The wolves were forced to shield their eyes as they dropped towards the ground. Flame and Ember launched themselves into the air and slammed hard into the first two wolves. As the canines started to tumble away, both dragons used their bodies as a springboards and tackled the last two wolves to the ground.
Stella rolled away from a blade that slammed into the ground where she had been standing. She rolled again as the wolf dragged the blade through the ice sending needles of ice at her. Four more wolves jumped in to help their comrade. The dragoness looked up as the blades came back down again. She stepped to the side, letting the weapons miss her by an inch. She slammed a paw down on top of them, holding them in place. The wolves tried to pull their weapons out from under her paw and were baffled to find they was powerless against her. Stella smiled and sent a surge of electricity through the crude weapons. The wolves mouths hung open as their insides fried. As they began to fall the dragoness whirled around, slamming her tail hard into them and sending their bodies crashing into a far wall.
The pack lunged for Tremor's throat. The earth dragon gave a mighty flap of his wings and jumped high into the air. The wolves skidded to a halt beneath him and looked up. "Perfect." He grinned to himself and shrouded himself in a ball of earth. The boulder dropped hard and slammed into the ground, knocking the canines off balance. Tremor's ball spun wildly before shooting through the circle of wolves. The two wolves unlucky enough to get hit were instantly flattened. Their pack mates stared in shock at them as the ball banked hard and came back for another pass. The wolves formed a thick wall of ice against the rolling mace but to little use. The ball slammed into the wall and Tremor forced more energy into the spin. The spikes ground against the ice, tearing off massive chunks. The wolves forced more energy into the wall and quickly put a stop to Tremor's onslaught. The spinning and grinding stopped. The wolves huffed a small cloud of ice, thinking they were successful. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble and suddenly spikes burst through the thick ice, impaling the wolves where they stood. A moment later, Tremor burst through the ground from beneath them and sent the spikes flying in all directions. He looked over at his teammates who were busy fighting off the attacking wolves. Candice dove to the side as another shower of daggers flew at her. The dragoness dug her talons into the ice to keep from skidding out of control. The wolves lunged for her and swung their weapons wildly. Candice sprang back, slapping the leader's nose with her tail blade.
Behind her, several wolves waited in eager anticipation on top of a wall.
"Look out!" Tremor shouted as the wolves prepared to strike. He fired an earth missile which struck the wall, breaking the stones from their places. Candice looked back over her shoulder to see the wall collapsing down on top of her. The wolves yelped and barked frantically as they tumbled to their deaths. Candice dove past the wolves that were rushing to kill her. The canines glanced back at her as she rolled behind them before being crushed beneath the massive stones.
Candice covered her head as several of the stones pelted her sides. When the rumbling had stopped she looked back at the fallen wall. She was gasping for breath from the sudden exertion.
Off to the side, Tremor sighed with relief that she was okay. He walked over as the dragoness picked herself up out of the snow.
"That was close. Are you alright Can..." The dragoness whirled on him and struck him across the face, knocking him to the ground.
Tremor and the others looked at Candice in wide-eyed shock. Tremor felt his cheek and looked at his paw; there was blood on it. He glared at Candice. "What the hell was that for?"
"You stupid idiot!" The dragoness shouted furiously. "Think before you do something like that again! You nearly buried me alive!"
"I'm sorry I pulled it so close." Tremor apologized as he got to his feet. "But you had enemies up on the wall behind you!"
"Tremor, you moron! This is my territory! As an ice dragoness, I rule here! This is where I'm at my strongest!" Candice was so angry she was shaking. "I was fully aware of them in the first place! I was positioning myself so they would take each other out and I wouldn't have to exert as much energy! My plan was going just fine until you decided to butt in!" The dragoness was so furious she shoved Tremor off balance and into the snow again. The earth dragon felt his temper flare up.
"Well I didn't know that!" He growled as he got to his feet. The other dragons gasped as he shoved Candice back with his muscular shoulders. "I'm not a damned mind-reader like Spyro so how was I supposed to know?"
"Of course you didn't!" Candice rammed him, sending him skidding several feet away. "That's because you never stop to think anything through! My guess is because your damn head is as hard as your pebble-sized brain is!"
Tremor felt the beginnings of a roar build up in his throat. "Well at least I'm not a bitch whose heart and soul are as cold as the damned snow!" He charged her head on in an attempt to ram her back. Candice easily side-stepped and turned the snow beneath Tremor's feet to ice. The earth dragon yelped in surprise and slipped. He skidded along the ice and collided with the pile of rocks.
"I have no idea why the elder dragons chose someone like you to be a candidate for guardian!" Candice had tears forming in her eyes. All her past hate for Tremor was pouring out all at once and she couldn't stop it. She almost didn't want to. "I still have no idea how Gaia could even stand being your twin sister when you're such an ass hole! I wish you were the one who had died and she were still here today!" The other dragons all stared at her in horror of what she had just said.
Tremor's pupils dilated and he narrowed his eyes into a killing glare. "You did not just bring my sister into this." He hissed with his teeth bared. The ground began to shake and Tremor's aura burst from his body. He spread his wings, preparing to charge. Candice spread her wings as well and was ready to defend herself when a fiery bolt struck Tremor in the side. The earth dragon smashed against the stones and bounced off before skidding against the remains of the wall. Ember's flames dissipated and she fluttered to the ground. Stella, Sparx and Flame all stared at her in disbelief.
Tremor opened his eyes and rolled to his feet. Ember had left him with a nasty burn on his side and he winced at the pain. He kept the same killing gaze on Candice.
Tremor growled slightly. "So that's how it is huh?" The dragoness watched him with her muscles tensed and ready to react to anything he might throw at her. "See if I ever help you out again. The next time you need me, I won't be there for you."
"I never asked for your help to begin with!" Candice spat icicles at him. The spikes stuck into the snow at Tremor's feet.
Tremor walked past Ember, paying her no attention at all and headed for the eastern end of the fortress. Candice and the others watched until he was out of sight. The ice dragoness clawed the snow furiously and hissed a large cloud of ice before storming off on her own.
Every head watched her disappear into the fortress. Sparx scratched his head. "Wow. I'm not sure who to fear more. The mutts or those two." Stella started after Candice but Flame jumped in front of her.
"Let them go." He shook his head. "They need some time to themselves right now." Stella looked after Candice then Tremor before looking back at Flame. "We'll find them after we find the entrance Spyro was talking about.
"Speaking of which." Sparx looked around. "Where is Spyro? And Cynder?"
"Liun?" Stella looked around frantically. "Liun, where are you?"