An explosion of electric energy filled the sky. The scream of the lightning guardian was drowned out by the thunderous boom that shook the air. When the light from the flash died away, the mutant wolf stood up and looked around curiously; his opponent had gone missing. His attention was grabbed by the sounds of the battle going on behind him. He turned and charged the two fire-breathing dragons across the field with an angry howl. Unbeknownst to him his enemy was still alive.
The force of the explosion sent Stella flying high and long across the open field and far into the forest. As she plummeted towards the ground she saw Spyro and Cynder high above her, locked in combat. The dragoness opened her mouth to say speak, when she fell through the canopy of the trees and slammed hard into a tree trunk. There was a loud crack and her eyes widened from shock. Stella hit the ground and didn't move. For a long time she was silent, only her raspy breathing and the noise from the battle beyond could be heard. The pounding of her heart hurt her body. The thumping seemed to drown out the sounds of fighting and soon everything began to grow quiet. Stella's eyelids began to fall along with her heart rate. A moment later she fell away from the world.
Shortly after the dragoness had lost consciousness, the sound of footsteps drew closer to her. The pair of black dragons stopped when they saw the guardian.
"Look at what we have here." The male leaned down and eyed Stella closely. She had burn marks all across her body. Blood trickled from her nose, mouth and the fresh gash on the side of her head. "It's one of the new guardians." The male continued to prod at Stella with his paw.
"Stop poking at her already." The female scolded and scowled down at the lightning dragoness. "I say we just kill her and scratch one more nuisance from our list." The dark dragoness stepped forward and raised her talons to bring an end down upon Stella's skull.
"Wait!" The male snapped. His tail shot out like a whip and wrapped around the dragoness's foreleg. "We should bring her back to the master first. Perhaps he can use her." The black dragoness paused for a moment then a wicked smile spread across her mouth.
Tremor groaned as a wave of pain swept through his head. He cringed and ground his teeth against the throbbing as he slowly began to wake up.
"Welcome back." A soft voice caught his attention. He turned his focus to see Candice sitting upright next to him.
Tremor groaned again and forced himself to sit up. "W-where are we? What happened?" He reached back with his paws and felt the burning spot on the base of his neck. He felt the tooth markings and his memory came flooding back.
Seeing that he remembered, Candice remained silent, waiting for him to speak again. She felt a knot swelling up deep in her throat as she watched him look around the trees. There was a small campfire built by Flame and Ember, but other than that, no one else was around.
"Where is everyone?" Tremor finally asked.
Candice sighed and stared into the darkness. "Stella's gone missing. They're out looking for her."
"So what are we waiting here for?" Tremor demanded and started to rise. "Let's go help Aaaahh!" A sudden bolt of pain struck him and he collapsed back to the ground.
"I suggest you sit tight Tremor." Candice suggested. "You haven't recovered yet from that nerve bite. It's gunna take a good hour to finish wearing off."
The earth dragon huffed and lay back down, clutching at his throbbing head and burning neck. The two dragons sat in silence for another long, tense moment. Once again, Tremor was the first to speak.
"Why did you do it Candice?" He asked. The ice dragoness remained silent. "Well?" Tremor repeated more forcefully this time. Again Candice didn't respond; she only hung her head and stared down at her talons. Tremor growled angrily and huffed again, causing a small mound of dirt to rise up in front of him. "I find the one responsible for my sister's death..." He turned his head and locked his eyes on Candice. The ice guardian had never seen him so infuriated before; not even with her. "And you cheated me!"
Tremor turned his head as a single tear slid down Candice's nose.
Another long moment passed. "I know how you must feel..." She started but Tremor jumped in, immediately cutting her off.
"Do you?" He snapped. "I find it hard to believe, that after everything you and I have gone through together these past several months, especially since the return of the Dark Master, that you truly know how I feel!" Tremor's harsh words felt like a knife in Candice's chest, but she was willing to bide her time and let him vent. "I don't know if you have any family that you can go home to, but Gaia and I were orphaned when we were still little! I don't hold a grudge against Cynder because I know it wasn't her fault! But Gaia and I had to rely on each other for strength just to survive all those harsh years! And she was taken from me! My last family member killed by one of those blood-thirsty bastards! And when I find the one responsible you tell me I shouldn't make him pay for what he's done to me? What he did to her?"
Candice bit her lip as the pain in her chests continued to swell. She watched as the earth guardian's scales began to darken again as his temper continued to increase. She dug her talons into the earth, preparing to strike if the situation called for it again.
"How could you?" Tremor's eyes were filling with tears as she stared up at her. "How could you side with them? I thought we were friends! I thought you were Gaia's friend! How could you protect someone who killed your friend, and nearly killed me too? I love you but..."
Candice had heard as much as she could take. In a quick flash of ice energy, her paw snapped out. Tremor felt the icy blow across his cheek and his eyes grew wide in surprise. His scales returned to their normal forest-green and he raised his paw to his cheek. He felt three markings on his cheek, frozen over in ice. The earth dragon stared at the ice dragoness in sheer disbelief. Candice's eyes were glowing in outrage.
"Don't you ever say that to me again!" The dragoness raged, turning the small campsite to ice, freezing over the campfire to nothing more than fading embers. "I hate those wolves justas much as you do! I hated seeing you in pain when you lost Gaia. And I couldn't stand the thought of losing you myself! But there is no way, in all creation that I will let you sell your soul for something as worthless as revenge!"
"It's not worthless!" Tremor shot back. "That wolf deserves..."
"I know what that wolf deserves!" Candice interrupted, frost jetting from her nostrils and between her teeth. "But killing him won't bring Gaia back!"
"I know that!"
"So why waste your time thinking about revenge Tremor!" Candice shook her head and locked him square in the eye. "It's not like you to just single someone out like this! What would Gaia say is she saw you behaving like this?"
Tremor was silent. He honestly didn't know. His sister had always been the kind and gentle one between them and was more interested in breaking up fights rather than starting them. But she had been the one who had pointed Snarl out to them.
When the earth dragon continued to stare at the ground, Candice breathed a deep sigh, letting her icy breath cool Tremor down.
"Tremor." She murmured and grabbed his attention. "I love you more than anything in this world or the next. I love who you are. I love what you do. Even if it does get on my nerves." A subtle smirk tugged at Tremor's cheek. Candice smiled inwardly when she saw it. "I almost lost you twice now. And I don't want that to happen after I just got you back."
"Twice?" Tremor raised a brow inquisitively.
Candice nodded. "The first was when I found you nearly dead back along the coastline. The second was today."
Tremor's mouth hung open slightly. He didn't know what to say. He felt his heart beat slow down and his shoulders slumped in shame.
Candice leaned in and nuzzled his frozen cheek. "Tremor, do you remember the promise we made..." Her cheeks began to flush as her thoughts drifted back to the events a few days prior. "You know...when we..."
"Promise?" Tremor titled his head to the side as he tried to remember. Candice waited patiently for a couple minutes, letting him fully recall their pact. At last Tremor looked her in the eye again. "We promised...never to change who we were."
Candice nodded with a slight smile. Tremor really was a good match for her, as dimwitted as he could be at time. "Vengeful is not a word I would use to describe you Tremor. You fight to protect those you love and care about. You don't seek revenge because you lost someone. You continue doing what you do best."
"And what is that?" Tremor asked almost mumbling in chagrin. He felt dirty all over; tainted by his earlier actions.
"Being a guardian. Protecting this world from those who would wish for nothing more than to see those who live in it suffer." She smiled as she prepared to say her finishing argument. "You're a pain and an idiot sometimes Tremor. But the fact that you're a true friend to those around you, more than makes up for it. And it's one of the many reasons I admire you and have come to love you for."
Tremor felt his heart swell up in his throat. Even in the darkness, Candice could see his eyes getting wet with tears. The light from the moons overhead made his green eyes shine like crystals in the night. Candice raised a paw and brushed the ice away from the three slash marks on Tremor's cheek.
"I know you miss Gaia. I miss her too. But avenging her death won't make things any better for us in the long run. Vengeance isn't in your nature Tremor."
"How do you know?" Tremor choked back his tears, trying to fight the urge to cry.
"Because I know you. And I know you better than anyone else around. I would admire you more if you didn't fight that guy just to get back at him for what he did to Gaia."
The tears started to flow from Tremor's eyes. He lay back down on the ground, letting his head erst on his front paws. Candice gently stroked his back with her talons as she listened to the stifled sobs he tried to fight off. The two guardians sat in relative silence, only the wind could be heard interrupting Tremor's muffled sobs.
"I promise." The earth dragon snorted loudly without looking up at his dragoness.
Candice smiled and lay down next to his, draping her head on the back of his neck. "Thank you." She whispered. Tremor squeezed his eyes shut letting the last of his tears flow from them.
"I'm not going to fail you this time Candice." He thought to himself. "I promise."