Exile sat patiently in the cold darkness of the dungeon, listening to the sounds of the earth. The guards hadn't touched the door since Snarl had left Cynder in a rage, hours before. The black dragoness had been gone nearly just as long. As his powers of perception extended outward from the thick stone of the cave walls he felt the warmth from the outside. It was already morning and still Cynder had not returned. The old wolf took in a deep breath as he calmed his nerves. It was important for him to practice what he preached to Cynder if he were to truly become a role model for her.
All at once he heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the steps from the main chamber of the cavern. He recognized the irritated stomp as those of the Alpha's. Exile cracked one blue eye and glanced at Cynder's cell.
"Time is up Cynder." He whispered.
As if to respond, there was a soft whiff and a cloud of shadows drifted into his cell.
"What'd I miss?" The black dragoness asked, her eyes shining through the darkness.
Exile's nostrils flared. "I should be asking you the same question." He replied causing Cynder to blush with embarrassment.
"Oh...well..I...um..." She stammered.
"It's alright my dear." Exile waved a dismissive hand. "But..." He was interrupted by the sound of the doors to the dungeon opening up. With a loud snort Snarl entered the prison. He stomped past Exile, not giving the old wolf a second glance and stared into Cynder's cell.
"Get up!" He barked. "We're going! Now!" He was answered with a loud growl and shadows began to spread out from the darkness of the cell. Cynder's eyes burned with convexity and Snarl took a step back as the growl in her throat grew louder. He dove to the side as the barred doors went flying. The guards entered jump in alarm and drew their weapons as they rushed into the dungeon. Snarl coughed hard and turned to stare up at the terror of the skies. Cynder leered at the other wolves who shrank back in fear.
"I think your warriors are a little weak in the knees." She hissed mockingly. The pack leader looked back at his warriors and barked once. The warriors yelped in surprise and straightened up with a bit less nerve than they had entered the dungeon with. Cynder sneered and barreled out of the dungeon and spread her wings with a mighty roar. The sound of her voice carried throughout the cavern, shaking boulders free from the walls and ceiling. The wolves of the village howled in fright and scattered to the cave walls for shelter.
Cynder smiled to herself, pleased with making her presence known. She didn't know why but she was suddenly full of energy. She lumbered up to the main cavern and soared to the main cave entrance. Like she had before she tucked her wings to her slender body and shot like an eel through the narrow opening. Once outside she let the warm sunlight fill her wings as she beat them against the morning thermals blowing up against the side of the mountain. Several minutes later Snarl appeared at the mouth of the cave. He was panting from the exertion of racing across his tribe's village.
"What is taking you so long?" Cynder demanded, letting her hiss hang in the air. "We have work to do and I don't think my Master can be kept waiting much longer."
"I'm bringing a couple of my most elite warriors along this time." Snarl pointed a punishing finger at the black dragoness.
"I don't think that could help you much if at all." Cynder spat a tuft of black fire signing the stone just above Snarl's head.
"Oh I beg to differ." Snarl snickered. "These warriors were granted their power from none other than your master." Cynder cocked her head sideways as Snarl snapped his claws together. Immediately a trio of wolves emerged from the cave from behind the Alpha. These wolves were larger and had a more massive build than the ones Cynder had encountered before. Two had fur, bristling with ice spikes and eyes as white as the snow itself. The third had fir that stood on end and Cynder could hear the crackle of electricity.
It was Snarl's turn to sneer at Cynder. The black dragoness gritted her teeth as she landed for the wolves to climb onto her back.
"Mount up!" Snarl barked. The wolves yipped and hollered with excitement. Cynder suddenly felt dirty as she felt the canines climb onto her back. She hated them so much more than she had before and her shadows began to emanate from her body. It was then she remembered Exile's voice in her head. SHe took a deep breath and settled her nerves. Without warning she spread her wings and sprang into the air, leaving the wolves to yelp and bark in surprise, clawing at her hide, trying to get a grip.
Spyro walked back to the campground feeling pretty good about his morning so far. A new power seemed to swell up inside him. When he entered the campground every head turned to look at him.
"Hey Spyro!" Sparx perked up and flew over to his brother and draped an arm around his neck. "You feeling any better?" It was then he noticed the tooth marks on his neck.
"Yeah I'm doing much better." Spyro nodded with a smile.
"What happened to you?" Ember asked taking a couple steps closer. She leaned down and peered at Spyro's neck. The bite Cynder had given him had been almost healed over from when he used his special powers but the markings still remained.
"N-nothing." Spyro stammered. "Really."
Ember and Sparx both narrowed their eyes at him. They knew what the marks were and they looked over at Stella whose brows jumped in surprise.
"What?" She asked. "I didn't do it."
"Yeah." Spyro nodded. "Now can we just drop it?"
Ember raised a suspicious brow. "Alright,Spyro. If you insist."
"Thanks..." Spyro turned to the rest of the guardians. "We need to rest up. I'm almost certain that the Dark Master will send Cynder after us again soon. And we need to be ready for her when she does."
"What makes you she's going to attack this soon?" Candice asked. She was sidled up next to Tremor who had a wing draped around her.
"Because I know how the Dark Master thinks." Spyro narrowed his eyes. "We need to make sure we finish off the Dark Master's forces and defeat Malefor once and for all."
"You sure seem energetic about it." Tremor said, picking himself up off the ground.
"I guess you could say I needed to come to think things over last night." Spyro smiled and glanced over at Stella who smiled back. "I know these past several weeks have been tough on everyone." The guardians all chuckled nervously. Candice nuzzled Tremor as she stood up beside him. It was the first time Spyro had seen them acting in such a manner towards each other. He smiled to himself and continued with his speech. "I know that taking down the Dark Master is not going to be an easy task. Defeating him was the hardest fight I ever had to deal with before. I've watched you all grow as guardians. I know you're still in your training stages which is why I'm not asking you to assume active duty as guardians. If you choose to help me take down Malefor, it's going to be up to you."
"I'm in!" Tremor half barked, half roared and the ground thundered slightly beneath the dragon's feet.
"Well if you're going then so am I?" Candice said shoving Tremor slightly. "Someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble."
"How sweet of you Candy." The earth dragon chuckled and gave her a playful nudge.
"Well I'm already a guardian." Flame raised a paw so I have no choice. But even still, I'm in."
"And you know me." Ember giggled. "Where my Flame goes, then so do I."
"Stella?" Spyro turned to the lightning dragoness. "What about you?"
"I'll have to think about it...I'm in." She smiled with a determined nod.
"Thank you everyone." Spyro nodded graciously. "I don't know what it's gunna take, I'm glad to have you here with me."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Sparx piped up. "We follow you into dangerous situations all the time. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't do it this time?" The dragons burst out laughing.
"Alright everyone." Spyro nodded and thrust his chest out to them. "We've got some work to do before we rest up." He gathered them close into a huddle and lowered his voice. "Okay, here's my plan."