Snarl stalked through the deep dark caverns of the ice fortress. He had heard reports of the skirmish above, on the surface with the dragons. He had lost several of his pack but they had managed to capture the dragons they required. However, his blood still boiled.
He came to the deepest level of the catacombs and the sentries stepped away from the frozen iron doors. The Alpha entered the dungeon with the sentries following on his heals. Once inside, he looked down at the far end of the chamber at one of the cells. Cynder lay unconscious on the floor. Blood trickled from the gash on the side of her head where she had been struck. The wolf leader took the keys from the guards and prepared to open the gate.
"I will deal with this one. I want you two to begin with the purple one."
The guards nodded and smiled fiendishly. Snarl watched them disappear around the curving hallway towards the main chamber. He then turned to the dragoness and opened her prison door.
The two sentries rushed excitedly down the corridors to the main chamber of the prison blocks. The room was large enough to hold several large dragons with some room to spare. The chamber was filled with some old machinery as well. In the middle of the room was a cage hanging from the ceiling. The round bars were covered in metal barbs, cold and rusty from the years. In the middle of the cage was Spyro. The purple dragon was still out cold, but not for long.
The larger of the two sentries snorted and grabbed a barrel of water a the far end of the chamber. He hefted it up and walked close to the cage.
"Hey." He growled. Spyro's eyelids twitched but he didn't wake up. "Dragon!" The wolf said more forcefully.
"Uh?" Spyro slowly opened his eyes and the wolf thrust the freezing cold contents of the barrel all over the purple dragon. Spyro yelped in surprise and shock. He tried to curl into a ball to warm himself up but his tail and forelegs had been shackled to the bars, holding him in a very vulnerable position.
"Good, you're awake." The wolf sneered. "Now we can begin."
Back down the hallway Snarl stood over the dragoness before him. He picked her up in his massive hands and squeezed her tight. "Wake up!" He ordered.
"Wha-what?" Cynder's head spun as she began to open her eyes. "Where am I? What happened?"
"Get up now!" Snarl growled ad threw Cynder against the wall. The dragoness crumbled to the floor without so much as a cry. Snarl snatched her back up again and began to squeeze her tighter. Now, Cynder was awake and screaming as she felt her body being crushed. "That's better."
As Cynder's head slowed it's throbbing she faintly heard Spyro's voice call to her in the distance. Suddenly his scream echoed through the halls.
"Spyro!" Cynder cried and fought against Snarl's grasp but the wolf held her tight.
"You're not going to be able to help your friend out." The Alpha sneered. "You both will die here today."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Cynder hissed and bit down hard on the wolf's hand. Snarl gritted his teeth as Cynder sank hers deeper into his cold flesh.
"Is that all you can do dragon? You're not so tough when you don't have your powers to use."
"Oh yeah?" Cynder hissed and black flames burst from her bite mark. Snarl howled and released her. The wolf was trying to put the flames out when Cynder unleashed a gust of wind and knocked him against the gates. The metal dented from the quick impact but remained in tact. Cynder hissed again and coughed a spray of venom. Snarl rolled away, just narrowly missing being melted alive by the deadly poison. The venom burned through the metal quickly and the dragoness made a quick break for freedom. She dashed down the hall towards the sound of Spyro's cries and skidded to a halt in front of the doorway. What she saw was enough to scare her stiff.
Spyro hung from his wrists inside the barbed cage. Dark bolts of energy surged from a dark crystal beneath the cage. Spyro screamed as the dark magic tore through his body, threatening to rip him apart from the inside out. As the black magic infested his body, white energy flowed back into the crystal.
"No!" Cynder cried and leaped forward. The two wolf sentries turned as the dragoness soared past them. Cynder was almost to the cage when the dark bolts of magic knocked her back. She felt a surge of evil electric energy course through her body. The dragoness was thrown back into the wall, cracking the metal.
"C-Cynder!" Spyro groaned trying to fight against the immense pain. He could feel his energy slipping away and his will weakening.
The wolves stared at the dragoness in bewilderment as she struggled to rise again. The sudden exposure to the dark magic stunned her more than any other force had before.
"Get...out of here! Cynder!" Spyro wailed as another surge ripped through him. "Save yourself!"
"Not without you Spyro!" The black dragoness snapped and stood ready to engage the wolves. The two sentries gripped their weapons but didn't raise them just yet. "I'm not going to leave you to die here with these monsters!"
Cynder saw the last of Spyro's ice energy slip away from him and into the purple crystal. She lunged for it but the larger of the wolves stepped in front of her. He struck Cynder across the face. The dragoness rolled across the cold floor and sprang back almost instantaneously. She curled into a ball and slammed head on into the wolf. The impact sent the canine smashing into the crystal The crystal shattered and the ice energy that was once Spyro's was absorbed into the dazed wolf. The beast howled as it felt the massive power surge within his body. He rolled around on the floor, smashing into the equipment and knocking into Spyro's cage. The purple dragon hung limp in his restraints. The ice energy engulfed the wolf and it began to grow larger. It's long hair stood on end and the clusters of fur tipped themselves in pointed spikes of ice. Small ice spikes formed over the wolf's eye brows, knuckles and muzzle. It's eyes began to glow white-blue from the overexposure to the ice energy. The other sentry backed away with his ears pinned back and tail tucked between his legs.
Just then Snarl burst into the room. He paused for a moment, taking in the scene. He saw the broken crystal and glared at the black dragoness.
"Look what you've done!" He growled angrily. "You have ruined the plan!" He raised his claws, ready to strike down on the dragoness.
"W-wait." Cynder wheezed. Much to his own surprise, Snarl paused. He stared hard down at the dragon who was doing her best to appear strong, even though she could barely stand. Cynder looked up at Snarl and puffed her chest out to look more serious. She knew what she had to do. "Take me instead." She coughed hard. "If you let Spyro go, then I'll be your servant."
Snarl lowered his arm. He was amused by the odd request from the young dragon. The wolf laughed out loud causing the remaining sentry to stare at them curiously. As Snarl's laugh died down, he struck Cynder across the face with the back of his fist. The dragoness slumped to the floor unconscious.
"I make no such promises." He sneered sinisterly. He snatched up the dragoness in his claws and turned to look up at the ever-buldging power-weighed wolf. "Release the purple one. The cold will kill him sooner or later. But until then, kill the others!"
The large wolf howled in anticipation and licked his long fangs.