Tremor rolled and bounced across the ground. The blow from the attacking
wolf had surprised him but it wasn't as strong as he had expected. The earth
dragon heard an angry snarl behind him. The wolf pounced on him and slammed a
fist into his gut. Tremor immediately felt the blood rush up through his throat and out
his mouth. The wolf drew its blade and raised it high to quickly finish him off.
Just as he was about to bring the earth guardian's life to an end, a shadow
blocked out the sun. A split second later Candice came crashing down on top of the
wolf. The weapon struck the ground next to Tremor's head and the wolf howled in
pain as the dragoness sank her long teeth into the back of his skull. The force from
the hit knocked the wolf off balance and Tremor took the chance to wrap his
clubbed tail around the wolf's leg. The canine yelped in surprise and staggered
forward. Candice sprang off the wolf's back, kicking him down in the process.
The wolf hit the dirt and whirled on the ice dragoness. He lunged at her and
Candice somersaulted in the air. The wolf hit the ground with the ice dragoness
latched onto his back again. He shook himself but only succeeded in helping
Candice tear off a massive chunk of his flesh.
Tremor didn't waste any more time. He was on his feet in a flash and chasing
off after the wolf and his dragoness.
At last the wolf managed to get a hold on Candice's tail. This proved to be a
mistake. The dragoness pulled hard against his grip, pulling her tail free and
severing the wolf's fingers. The canine howled in pain and clutched at the bleeding
stubs. Candice shifted her footing on the wolf's back and raised a paw before
sinking her talons deep into the wolf's clavicle. The wolf bucked, trying to get her off
only to have his collarbone snap as she pulled her talons back.
"Candice!" Tremor shouted as he lowered his head to the ground and
charged forward. The dragoness sprang off of the mutant's back and into the air as
Tremor slammed full force into the wolf's stomach, sending him into the air. Tremor
slammed a paw down and a pillar of stone burst up from the ground, knocking the
canine higher. The earth dragon watched as Candice shot straight up and then
dropped down on the wolf's head, propelling him into the ground. Tremor jumped
out of the way as a shower of ice spikes pummeled the ground.
He stared hard as the cloud of dust began to settle. His eyes narrowed as he
saw a figure rise up in front of him. The wolf looked up at the ice dragoness then
back to Tremor, debating which it wanted to attack first.
The two guardian's muscles tensed as the wolf slowly reached behind its
back. It took hold of several of Candice's ice spikes and yanked them out. The ice
dragoness cringed in disgust at the sight before her. These wolves weren't mutants.
Not even monsters. They were abominations. She glanced at Tremor whose focus
was locked on the wolf. She couldn't begin to fathom how he had even survived a
brawl with one of these creatures.
Without warning the wolf flung the spikes up at Candice. The dragoness
shrieked in surprise and twisted herself sideways, letting the spikes miss her by the
merest of inches. The wolf yanked another spike from his arm and lunged for
Tremor. The earth guardian jumped back as the wolf swung wildly at him, panting
like a rabid animal. The wolf swung again, slashing Tremor across his chest,
reopening the puncture wound he had received from his last battle. Tremor
staggered back and ducked as the spike sailed over his head and impaled a tree
trunk at the edge of the forest.
Suddenly there was loud crash. Tremor looked to his left to see a shower of
ice shards coming right at them from Flame and Ember's direction. Tremor jumped
high as did his opponent. The wolf yanked the last of the spikes free and hurled
them at the earth guardian. Tremor back-winged to duck under them but one struck
him across his brow. The blow stunned him and he hit the ground hard. The wolf
landed and towered over the earth guardian. Tremor shook his head, and stared
up at the wolf, frozen in fear. The wolf drew his weapon again and brought it up to
his shoulder.
Once again Candice came in from above, but this time the wolf was waiting
for her. In a swift rapid motion the wolf whirled around, catching the the dragoness
in the side of the head with the flat of his blade.
"Candice!" Tremor shouted as he watched her body roll across the ground.
The wolf ignored him and sprang into the air, blade raised high, intent on delivering
the finishing blow. The bright green energy burst from Tremor's body again. He
shot like a rocket across the ground and jumped between Candice and the wolf.
The wolf bellowed with glee, hoping to finish them both with one strike. Tremor fired
an earth missile as the wolf thrust his blade out. The weapon shattered as well as
the bones in the wolf's hand.
The canine staggered back giving the dragons the moment they needed.
Candice was on her feet in the blink of an eye and sprang into the air. Tremor
shrouded himself in stone and barreled towards the bewildered wolf. The mutant
jumped over him and spat a burst of ice at him as he rushed past. Tremor banked
hard to avoid being frozen in place and burst free from his protective shield. Just
before the wolf hit the ground, Tremor sent a pillar of earth shooting up and into the
wolf's gut. The canine howled in pain as was sent high into the air. Candice
grabbed him in midair and bit down on his ear. She spun him around and flung him
even higher before spitting another barrage of icicles. The ice guardian looked
back down as Tremor flew up to meet her. He reached a paw out and she wrapped
her tail around it. With a tremendous heave she swung the earth dragon up after
the impaled wolf. Tremor beat his wings harder and whisked past the bloody body
above him. He watched as the wolf slowed its ascent and began to fall back to the
ground. A second later, Candice flew up and the two took hold of each other's
paws. With a loud flap of their wings, the two guardians shot towards the ground.
The wolf had a good amount of distance ahead of them, watching helplessly as
they prepared their final strike.
The air around the guardians began to swirl with earth and ice energy as
they spiraled downwards at an alarming speed. The two of them nodded to one
another and let out a thunderous roar. They became a glowing mass of
energy as they neared their target. The wolf hit the ground hard, leaving a deep
impaction in the ground. A split second later the two dragons cannoned into the
wolf. The ground beneath the mutant's body rippled then exploded in a burst of ice.
Inside the ice, Candice held Tremor close to her, his head resting on her
chest. She had never used this move before or even dreamed of combining her
fury attack with Tremor's meteor-strike he had come up with during their early
training days. She exhaled and Tremor's body began to shake. The solidified ice
cracked then shattered. The two dragons caught themselves and hovered just over
the wolf's carcass. When the beast didn't move they both looked at one another,
exchanging loving gazes.
Just then the wolf's leg twitched. The guardians jumped in surprise and
hovered back a couple feet.
"No way!" Candice gasped as she watched the monster struggle to rise.
Tremor's eyes narrowed at the wolf for a brief moment before something else
caught his attention.
"Move!" He shouted. The inferno Flame and Ember had created washed
over the ground beneath their feet. The wolf's agonized cries were drowned out by
the roaring flames that scorched his body. When the blaze subsided, Tremor and
Candice both breathed a sigh of relief. As they settled down to the ground, Candice
cooled the earth beneath their paws.
"I think you were crazy to take one of these things on by yourself." Candice
said as she caught her breath.
"I had no idea they were this tough until after it was too late." Tremor
protested. But then his cocky grin returned. "But would you love me any less if I
wasn't crazy?"
Candice just shook her head with a smile. "You doofus." She leaned in
towards him and Tremor moved his lips closer to hers.
Suddenly the wolf sprang up with an eerie howl. Candice screamed and
Tremor jumped in front of her. He spun around, smashing his clubbed tail into the
wolf's head. The canine fell backwards, blood seeping from the holes in his face.
Tremor slammed his paw down into the ground. A fissure was torn open and
swallowed the wolf up. With a sweep of his tail, Tremor closed the cavern up and
spat on the site.
"And that will be the end of that." He growled. Candice was still trembling
behind him, her eyes still locked on the ground where the wolf had fallen through.
Tremor sighed and nuzzled her cheek, breaking her from her trance. "It's okay." He
whispered. "He's not gunna hurt you anymore." Candice buried her face into his
neck. She wanted to cry but couldn't find a reason to.
"Tremor. Don't ever leave me."
The earth guardian nodded and draped his wing around her to help console
her. He closed his eyes and breathed softly on her neck. It was something he and
his sister used to do when the other one was scared and it seemed to calm the ice
dragoness just as well. If there weren't two battles going on around them and one
over their heads, this would have been a perfect moment for them to share.
Suddenly something snapped inside Tremor's mind. He jerked away from
Candice and his eyes began to scan the area
"Tremor?" The ice dragoness looked at him worriedly. There was something
strange about the look in his eyes. They looked almost feral. "Tremor, what's
wrong?" She moved close to him and tried to follow his eyes.
"I...I don't know." Tremor replied. He couldn't really control his body for some
reason. "My body...It's just moving on its own!"
"What? But how can..."
"Tremor!" The earth dragon shuddered and his eyes began to shine bright
yellow-green. His aura burst from his body and Candice stepped back as Gaia
stood before them.
"S-Sis?" Tremor groaned. He was beginning to feel slightly nauseous.
"It's him! He's here!"
"W-what?" Tremor groaned as he started to straighten up. "Who? Who's
here?"
"There!" Gaia turned and pointed across the battlefield. Tremor and Candice
squinted at the trees she was pointing to. They didn't see anything at first, but then
some movement in the shadows caught their attention. "There! Did you see?"
"Yeah." Tremor nodded. "Another wolf."
"Not just another wolf." Gaia shook her head as Tremor's aura began to fade
away. "He's the one."
"The one?" Candice looked at Tremor. His twin's voice came from the fading
aura. She was a bit confused by what Gaia was saying. "What does that mean?"
"He's the one." Tremor repeated. He tucked his chin down and puffed his
chest out, his eyes narrowing as they watched Snarl darting in between the
shadows of the trees. Tremor's teeth ground angrily and Candice saw how his
brilliant green scales darkened. "He's the one...who killed Gaia."