The wolf licked the earth dragon's blood off his claws as he climbed out of the crater. The earth dragon hadn't so much as twitched a scale for a long time. He turned and looked back at the fallen guardian. Blood still flowed from his wounds and stained the earth. Overhead, the clouds seemed to sense the young dragon's demise as they grew darker and the wind started to pick up. The wolf turned his nose up to the sky and sniffed the air. A storm was coming. Little did he know how right he was.
The beast continued to walk away. He was looking over his damaged weapon when a breeze hit him and sent a chill down his spine. He turned around but saw no dragon. After the paranoia passed he turned back and headed towards the forest again.
"Tremor..." A warm voice called out from the darkness. "Tremor...get up."
The earth dragon's eyelids twitched for a moment, then snapped wide open. His eyes were glowing bright green, and the energy began to spread over his body.
The wolf had just reached the edge of the forest when another chill ran down his spine. His attention was grabbed by a deep blood curdling growl. The canine whirled around. A bright green energy was rising out of the crater. The light became more intense and the wolf's hair stood straight on end. Slowly, Tremor climbed the small embankment out of the crater. He glared at the wolf; his teeth bared, broken wings dragging at his side and bleeding chest thrust out.
The wolf began to tremble in fear. Tremor was covered in dirt, cuts, bruises and blood. "Where do you think you're going flea bag?" A deep growl rumbled in his throat. "I'm not done with you yet."
The wolf growled and bared his long fangs. He snarled and tightened his grip on his weapon. Suddenly a pillar of earth burst from the ground and smashed straight through the blade. The wolf looked down in surprise then back to the young guardian.
"Not this time buddy." Tremor shook a claw at him. "This time, it's just you and me!"
The wolf roared and charged Tremor. He swung his claws and Tremor ducked before head-butting him in the chest. The wolf felt his sternum crack as he hit the ground. Tremor swung his tail and sent a wall of spikes bursting up from the ground. The wolf barely rolled away in time. Tremor fired an earth bullet and the wolf dove under it. The shock waved tossed the wolf off its feet. The earth dragon smashed his two front paws deep into the earth and sent up massive spikes from under the wolf. At the last possible moment, the wolf twisted to the side ,letting one spike graze his side and another his hind leg.
"Damn you!" Tremor cursed. The wolf smiled at the dragon's irritation. He breathed a cloud of frost across the ground, freezing Tremor's paws that were still embedded in the earth. The guardian looked down in shock, then up in time as the wolf charged in again, delivering a crushing upper-cut to his lower jaw. Tremor's feet were torn free from the ice and he was sent spinning through the air.
The wolf jumped high and reached out with his elongated claws. Tremor spat an earth missile down at his attacker. The blast struck the wolf in the chest, full force, and sent him shooting back down into the ground. The earth guardian curled into a ball of earth and dropped back to the ground. He slammed down on top of the wolf as the canine attempted to rise. There was a squashed yelp as blood spurted from the beast's mouth. Tremor spun the ball of earth around on the wolf's back, letting the stone grind away at the beast's bones and skin. The monster howled in pain as his skin was torn away, layer by layer.
At last Tremor stopped his grinding attack. The ball remained still for a long time. The wolf opened an eye and struggled to move. Suddenly, spikes burst from the ball. The beast howled in pain and dropped to the ground.
Another minute passed before Tremor emerged from his protective shell. He trampled over the wolf and headed back for the beach. He was in bad shape and needed to find shelter to heal himself up. He looked to the sky as the dark clouds rolled over the horizon.
"Thanks Gaia." He wheezed. His thoughts were interrupted when a massive claw came down on top of his head. Tremor saw stars as his face was smashed into the ground. The next thing he knew he was lifted up by his head and facing the wolf straight in the eye. The mutant was badly bleeding. His muzzle was dripping with his own blood, his back and arms were bleeding from the torn flesh and his body was punctured completely through from the spikes.
"Wh-what? What...kind of...monster...are you?" Tremor coughed and spat more blood onto the wolf's face. The canine just smiled. He began to emanate, ice energy and Tremor felt his entire body go cold. He began to go into shock as hypothermia began to take over. He felt his mind detach from his body and his world began to spin. The earth dragon watched as the particles of ice formed into a frozen dagger in the wolf's open hand. The beast snarled and drew his arm back.
"Move!" Tremor screamed in his mind. "Damn body! Move!" As the wolf thrust the dagger into him, a familiar green aura burst from his body.
"Tremor!" Candice cried as she flew over the trees. "Tremor! Where are you!" She had been searching the groves of trees below for any sign of the earth dragon. "Damn it Tremor!" She cursed and frost jetted from her nostrils. "Why is it you're so hard to find whenever I need you?" She paused for a moment and hovered in the air. Her heart was beginning to beat fast. "I just said...that I needed him..." She shook her head. "Think about that later Candice. Just find him first." She flew on for several more minutes, calling out his name as she went.
The winds were picking up speed, making it harder for her to fight against the wind currents. Then the rain started to come down. It wasn't hard but the wind did little to help the ice guardian's vision.
At last she spotted an open area in the trees. She descended lower to the ground and came to a landing on the edge of the field. "Tremor? Are you there?" She called as she looked around. When there was no answer she thought to herself for a long moment. "I don't think this is the place." She pondered as she walked along. "Stella said there was an apple tree in the middle of the field. But I don't see any..." Her voice trailed off as she came to the stump of the aforementioned apple tree. She stared hard at the stump. Fresh sap was gathering on it. A little ways to her right was an impact mark in the grass where the tree had been slammed. Leaves and chunks of wood littered the area. Candice bend down and sniffed the earth. The wood smelled fresh. She raised her head and looked around cautiously. Something wasn't right here.
The ice dragoness continued studying the area. There were several more areas of the field that the grass had been torn up or flattened recently. Candice took to the air again and hovered over the field. The marks in the grass were scribbled all around the field as if whatever had made them was trying to hit something. It was then that Candice spotted a patch of ice in the middle of the field. The broken, frozen remains of Tremor's earth ball were recognizable along with the broken wall of earth. Candice landed again and scanned the ice. She caught sight of something and walked around the remains of Tremor's barrier. Down on the ground was a massive paw print. Candice's eyes grew wide in terror.
"Wolves." She hissed and gave the area a quick sweep. Nothing moved in the long grass. The ice guardian took to the air again and looked around, searching for a sign as to where the earth guardian had gone. "Tremor!" She shouted as loud as her lungs would let her.
A gust of wind blew and a chill ran down her spine. Off in the distance the forest seemed to be glowing. The dragoness realized that the energy was spreading throughout the entire forest. Another gust hit her, but this one was warmer. The leaves below rustled and a loud agonized roar reached the young dragoness. Candice froze as the shock hit her.
"Tremor!" She whispered, unable to move. He was in trouble. She didn't know how she knew, she just felt it. The ice dragoness began to glow with energy. She gave a piercing cry and took off towards the hills as fast as she could.
Tremor glared at the wolf, defiance filling his eyes. He gritted his teeth against the nearly unbearable pain. The dagger had just missed his heart by a couple of inches and was lodged in between his shoulder and ribcage. The wolf was a little astonished that the dragon had managed to squirm away from the fatal blow. Tremor's body began to shake and the dagger shattered. The energy that surrounded him spread forth and struck the wolf in the chest sending him flying back into the mess of fallen trees. Tremor collapsed to the ground, blood spattering across the wet dirt. The glowing green dragoness stood before Tremor with wings spread wide and teeth bared, ready to go on the attack.
The wolf looked at the dragoness in surprise that he had been knocked back so far. Gaia glared daggers at the beast. The ground began to shake violently as the twins power increased. Fissures split open all around the twins, threatening to swallow the entire forest if provoked.
The wolf got to his feet and gripped his chest in pain. The blow had cracked his chest wall, making it harder for him to breath and move freely. He lumbered towards the dragons, claws ready and anxious to tear into them.
Gaia hissed and leaves rustled in unison, allowing the menacing sound carry through the wind. The wolf stopped where he was. The rocks at his feet were jumping as the earth began to shake again. "Don't touch my brother." The dragoness growled angrily.
"G-Gaia..." Tremor wheezed as he struggled to lift his head. His spirit was more than willing to fight but his body couldn't take anymore.
"It's alright Tremor." His sister's gentle voice whispered in his head. "I'll handle this. You just rest."
"N-no..." Tremor continued to try and get up off the ground. "I...won't...let you...fight...alone...again...I...won't!" Gaia turned to her brother then back to the wolf who was beginning to get his nerve back.
"Alright Tremor." She nodded finally. "I'll give you the strength you need. We'll finish this together."
"Y-yeah..." Tremor nodded. Gaia stepped back and her spirit combined with Tremor's. The earth dragon suddenly felt a surge of power course through him. His body went numb and he stood completely upright.
The wolf howled and charged in. Tremor unleashed a roar and rushed towards his opponent. The two combatants lunged and clashed in midair. They felt to the ground in a rolling fit of teeth and claws. The wolf slashed at Tremor, leaving more bloody gashes on him. Tremor kicked and clawed at the wolf's face and body. The beast raised a fist and slammed it into the ground causing spikes to shoot up. Tremor leaped into the air and landed on the wolf's back. He clawed at the wolf's eyes and bit down on the beast's ear. The wolf bellowed and shook himself, trying to get the young dragon off of him. When Tremor refused to release his grip, the wolf reached up and grabbed the dragon by his hind leg. He pulled the joint from its socket and Tremor screamed. The wolf slammed him into the ground again and slashed with his long claws. Tremor felt the claws bury themselves deep into his chest. Without missing a beat, he curled around the wolf's hand and bit down hard. The wolf wailed and swung his arm around, trying to toss the dragon off.
At las the canine had just about enough. He raised his arm high to hurl Tremor into the ground. The earth guardian bit down harder and fired an earth missile. The attack instantly broke the bones in the beast's arm turning the limb to mush. Tremor dropped to the ground and the wolf stood in shock as he watched his arm go limp. The nerves had all been destroyed but that didn't keep the beast from squalling in rage. He turned to lash out only to get the dragon's club tail across his face. The wolf staggered and Tremor delivered another blow to the back of its head. The sound of breaking bone seemed to hang in the air for a brief moment. The wolf fell to the ground. Blood poured out of its nose, eyes and ears. It began to go into convulsions, twitching and writhing around on the ground like a fish out of water. Tremor trudged over to the squirming mutant and slammed a heavy paw down on the beast's neck, holding it firmly in place. The wolf continued to twitch beneath the earth guardian's paw. He looked up with a pitiful look in his eyes, as if begging for to be spared. Tremor sighed heavily. There was a hint of Gaia's presence in the gesture as he stepped off the beast's neck. There was no way this mutant would be coming after him or his friends any time soon, if at all.
The earth dragon walked away, leaving the wolf to the fates. The rain washed over him, cleaning the dirt from his deep wounds. The numbness was beginning to wear off and Tremor was finding it harder to move.
"Thanks...Sis..." He whispered.
"I told you I'd never leave you Tremor." His sister replied and he felt a warm tingle throughout his body.
"Still...thank you..." Tremor was beginning to feel dizzy. He looked up at the dark rain clouds. "Candice..."
Suddenly a dagger plunged straight into Tremor's back. The wolf pushed it deep into the dragon's warm flesh.
"Tremor!" Gaia screamed as her brother fell to the ground. The earth dragon's eyes were wide with shock. Gaia's cry carried over the wind and her aura swept of Tremor's body. The earth dragon sprang back up at the wolf, the spike still in his back. He slammed into the wolf's lower jaw. The beast didn't let so much as a grunt as the spike burst through his mouth and out the top of his head. Tremor landed and slammed his clubbed tail into the ground causing the earth to open up and swallow the wolf. He watched as the limp body fell into the darkness and slammed his tail down again to close the opening.
Candice heard the roar echo in the distance. She recognized it as Tremor's, but there was something different about it; yet familiar. She beat her wings and squinted through the falling rain.
"Dear ancestors! Please let him be alright." She shouted in her own mind.
Several minutes later she spotted an open area in the forest. All along the perimeter, trees lay dead on top of each other. The open area was mostly flat dirt with a few large craters around it. Candice landed in the middle of the largest one and looked around. Her eyes were wide in shock as she surveyed the surrounding area.
Lying on the ground beside her were nine large ice spikes, covered in blood. Dragon's blood from the way they smelled. A small blood stain in the mud led the dragoness up the steady incline, out of the crater. The rain was beginning to wash the blood away, forcing the dragoness to move quickly. She followed the trail several yards away where another mess of bloodstains were scattered about in the dirt. She looked for a sign or trail of where the bloodstains had moved to but found none.
"Damn!" She cursed and stomped a puddle, freezing it instantly beneath her paw. "Tremor, where are you?" She turned in a circle several times searching for blood trails, foot prints, anything that would let her know where he was.
"Candice." A voice called out to her. The ice dragoness whirled around, wings spread wide. She gasped at the dragoness before her.
"G-Gaia? I-Is that you?" She leaned forward to get a better look at the glowing figure of her friend.
The earth dragon nodded and smiled. "It's good to see you again. But you don't have much time. Follow me." She turned before Candice could utter a word. She led the ice guardian towards the trees that were knocked over in a large cluster. Gaia stopped at the edge of the clearing and stepped aside. Candice watched as she smiled sadly back at her before fading away.
Candice smiled to herself for a moment. It was sweet that even in death she still looked after her brother. It was then she turned her attention back to the task she originally had in mind.
The ice dragoness peered into the cluster of trees before entering slowly. The clustered tree trunks made a crudely built shelter from the rain. Despite the wind outside, the trees retained some of the warmth fairly well.
As she moved deeper in, the trees began to open up to fresh forest. What little light there was shone through the branches, scattering patches of light around the forest floor. It was then that Candice found him.
Tremor lay at the base of an old willow tree. The fallen tree trunks were still propped up against its massive trunk shielding him from the rain.
"Tremor!" Candice gasped and rushed over to him. She gave him one look and her heart nearly stopped. The earth dragon was covered in blood. His wounds were still bleeding slightly. A large,bloody ice dagger was jammed into his back unable to be removed by the dragon himself. "Oh my god! Tremor!" She leaned down close to him. Tremor's sides barely moved.
"H-hey..." He mumbled and managed to crack an eye open.
"Tremor!" Candice cried. She fell to the ground and held his head close to her. "You're alive." She had tears coming down her cheeks and plopping onto the dragon's face.
"Hey...W-why are you crying?" He looked up at the dragoness knowing full well what was wrong, but trying to play it off anyways.
"Why do you think you idiot!" Candice would have hit him if he weren't in such bad shape already. "Look at you! You're a mess! You look like you jumped into a feeding pit with a bunch of hatchlings."
Tremor chuckled only to cough up more blood. "I...think I'd look a lot better... coming out of the hatchling pit."
"I'm sorry." Candice shook her head. "I didn't mean to call you an idiot. You're not an idiot." Tremor raised a brow slightly. There was something in Candice's voice that made him feel a bit out of place. "But even still. Why didn't you come get the rest of us? We would have helped you."
"I know..." Tremor wheezed. "But... you always say... that... I never think things through... So this time I did. I know you, Flame and Stella could have helped... But Ember was recovering still. She would have been... vulnerable. And if anything had happened... to her or you..." Candice felt her heart begin to beat faster. "I...wouldn't be able...to live...with myself."
"Oh Tremor." Candice hung her head down and nuzzled him gently, trying not to case him too much more pain. "I swear, that I'll never know what to do with you."
Several ideas came to Tremor's mind but he refrained from saying anything. He was just too weak to try.
"You know..." Candice whispered softly, her voice tickling Tremor's cheek. "You can call me Candy...if you want..."
Tremor noticed the way her cheeks flushed and smiled gently. "You know... I only called you that...because I knew you hated it..."
"I know." Candice smiled softly and a couple tears splattered onto Tremor's cheeks. "But it's kind of grown on me." She looked back at him and their eyes locked. "And...and..." She felt the lump in her throat again as she struggled to release the words. Just as Candice opened her mouth to speak, Tremor coughed hard, spattering blood onto the trunk of the old willow. "Tremor!" Candice cried and rose to her feet in alarm.
"I'm sorry." Tremor gasped. His sides heaved as he took a deep breath. "I didn't mean for it to be like this."
"You don't need to worry." Candice scooped his head up in her paws and held him close. "We'll have you fixed up before you know it."
Tremor shook his head slightly. "Sorry Candy. I don't think I'm going to be around that long."
"What?" Candice jerked back, stunned by what he had just said. "No Tremor! You're not going to die! You're going to make it through!"
"I'm sorry..." Tremor's side heaved. "I'm just...too...tired."
Candice squeaked, trying to keep from crying. "What? No! You can't!" She protested.
"I'm so sorry." Tremor gave one final gasp and his eyes began to close. Candice watched helplessly as the light died in his eyes.
"Tremor wait!" The dragoness shook him gently to try and coax him awake. She couldn't let him leave without telling him. "Tremor? Tremor wake up!" The earth dragon's body began to fall limp in her arms. His sides sank and didn't rise again. Candice sat below the old willow in a state of shock. She gritted her teeth, trying desperately fight back the oncoming tears but to no avail. The waterworks started flowing uncontrollably. She was crying so loud she couldn't hear the steady beating of wings growing closer.
"Tremor!" Her scream carried through the trees and across the mountains for all the world to hear.