"I forgot how big this place is." Sparx shuddered. He and the guardians had made the climb up the side of the volcano, slipping past the guards who were distracted by the periodic blasts of convexity shooting into the sky. With each one the situation grew more urgent as the guardians ducked inside the main entrance of the mountain. Inside it was even hotter than the air outside.
"That would make sense," Ember pointed out as they descended into the seemingly endless caverns and tunnels. The guardians had split into their separate groups several chambers ago. Now Flame, Ember and Candice were following Sparx deeper into the volcano.
"Would you guys keep your voices down?" Candice hissed. "We want to make this rescue as quickly and quietly as possible."
"Yeah I know." Sparx waved dismissively at her. He rounded a corner and almost immediately zipped back around, slamming into Flame's muzzle.
"What the..." Flame tried to speak but the dragonfly pulled his lips shut.
"Big...wolves...coming this way!" He whispered harshly.
"Move, move, move!" Flame hissed, pulling he dragonfly under his wing. The three dragons darted back down the hall and around the slight curve where they could see the hallway intersection. They held their breath as they waited for the wolves to pass. The long shadows of the wolves stretched across the floor and soon they appeared at the hallway crossing. Flame's eyes widened when they stopped and began talking to one another.
"Damn it!" Candice cursed as she peered around Flame. "We don't have time for this." She slipped out of hiding and into the open hallway.
"Candice, what are you doing?" Ember hissed urgently. The ice dragoness just looked at her.
"Cover me," She whispered. She began creeping towards the wolves and Ember suddenly understood what she was doing.
When she was close enough Candice inhaled deeply. She exhaled and sprang into the air. She landed on the closest wolf's back and drove him into the ground, snapping his neck in her powerful jaws. There was a quick yelp then silence. The second wolf stared down in shock at the dragoness and reached for his weapon. Before he could draw his blade Ember slammed into him, clamping her teeth around his throat and preventing him from sounding the alarm. The wolf gagged and sputtered on his own blood as he hit the ground. Flames came from deep inside Ember's throat and burned straight through the wolf's neck. The beast squirmed and writhed as the temperature increased. Ember bit down harder and focused on her fire breath. The flames spread across the wolf's body and burned it to a black crisp within seconds. Candice looked in disgust at the solid black mass that was charred wolf. Ember gave an even more sickened look as she spat the ash that was stuck to her tongue out.
"Good work you two," Flame complimented as he and Sparx rejoined them. He motioned for Candice to step away from the wolf she had killed. As soon as she was clear he unleashed a blast of fire, engulfing the body and burning it to nothing.
"Now that we're done disposing of corpses, can we get back to the task at hand?" Sparx crossed his arms impatiently.
"Patience is a virtue Sparx," Candice pointed out as they slipped back down the hall.
"Not in this situation it's not," Flame whispered.
"And plus it's not something I really picked up on growing up," Sparx added.
As they continued down the passageway the tunnel opened up into a vast central chamber.
"Whoa." Flame gasped as he and the two girls took in the expanse of the chamber. The cavern was almost like a giant honeycomb with multiple levels and stairwells leading to the other levels of the volcano's interior.
"Stay low!" Ember hissed when she spotted a patrol of wolves high above. The dragons crouched down. As they crept across the open path across the main chamber, each kept one eye on the on the overpasses and one eye on their direction. Candice dared to glance over the edge of their path and swallowed hard when she saw the fiery magma miles below. She shuddered and dug her talons into the rock with each step she took.
Sparx flew ahead down the corridor to see if the coast was clear. The dragons ducked inside and quickly caught up with him.
"Are we getting close?" Flame whispered.
"I think so." Sparx nodded. "See for yourself."
The dragons poked their heads around the corner. Standing at the far end of the hall was a pack of six muscle-bound canines. Each held a long spear and a poorly formed metal shield. They were lax on their watch and didn't even notice the intruders spying on them from down the hall.
"Looks like the mutts got some new equipment," Ember growled.
"So what do we do?" Candice asked when the ducked back around the corner.
Flame glanced at Ember for a moment as they read what the other was saying. They both turned to Sparx.
"What! Me?" He exclaimed.
"I see no better candidate." Flame gave a slight snicker.
Sparx sighed and his antennae drooped. "You know I sometimes hate you guys more than Spyro."
"We love you too Sparx." Candice giggled as she took up an offensive stance for what was to come.
The wolves remained ignorant of the impending attack as they went out their conversation. It wasn't until a glowing little dragonfly zipped into the middle of them that they stopped talking.
"Hey fellas!" Sparx waved nervously. The wolves barked in surprise and leaned in close to sniff the little insect. "Whoa hey!" Sparx jerked away from the wolves' wet noses. "Back off the merchandise buddy!" He slapped the nearest nose and the wolf yipped, shocked that the little dragonfly could deliver such a startling hit. Sparx swallowed hard as the beast growled at him with angry yellow eyes. The wolf snapped and missed. The other wolves hesitated not sure if they should take the insect serious or not. Sparx grabbed a small handful of whiskers from the wolf. With a startled yelp from his victim, Sparx yanked the long hairs from their roots. The wolf clutched at the stinging spot on his muzzle as tears came to his eyes. He glared at Sparx who was already flying back down the hall.
"Here boy!" He whistled playfully. "Come and get it!"
The wolves all barked furiously. They dropped their spears and shields and took off on all fours after the insect. The instant they all rounded the corner they yelped in fright. The cries of bewilderment quickly turned to wails of pain. The wolves flew back, pinned to the wall by Candice's ice spikes. A split second after, a wave of fire hit them, drowning their cries and burning every remaining trace of them away.
"Let's move." Flame thrust a paw forward. The dragons stepped carefully over the deserted weapons and down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, Sparx flew on ahead again.
"All looks clear." He shrugged after returning.
"Really?" Candice cocked her head to the side. The others looked at her inquisitively.
"What are you thinking?" Ember asked reading the look on her face.
Candice locked her fierce purple eyes with Ember's baby blues. "Something's not right. It's too easy."
"You're probably right." Sparx scratched his chin. "Cynder used to bait us all the time. I'm pretty sure that's what tall-dark-and-ugly is trying to do."
"Let me take a look." Candice pressed forward and slowly peered around the open chamber. Not a wolf in sight. She narrowed her eyes and sniffed the air but the ash and soot was all she could smell. She flicked her tongue out several times taking quick samples of the particles in the air. Dragon tongues were very sensitive tools for detecting anything in the world around them. Her Jacobson's gland on the roof of her mouth detected something her nostrils could not. The room was littered with the stench of canines. Candice ducked back into the hall.
"It's bad," She reported. She looked to Flame. "Swath the room. I'll handle the rest. Ember, you and Sparx standby."
Flame stepped towards the chamber. He took in a deep breath. With a piercing cry he released a super heated stream of fire across the floor of the chamber.
"Don't let up!" Candice placed a paw on his shoulder. Her tail twitched anxiously.
The air temperature began to rise and the floor began to glow yellow. Candice felt the bottom of her paws begin to burn and she immediately took to the air. The intense thermal from Flame's breath allowed the dragoness to hover just above the scorching floor with relative ease.
At last the wolves couldn't take the heat anymore. They burst through the stone floor with angry howls, throwing burning stones everywhere. No sooner had they emerged, Flame retreated giving Candice a clear shot at her targets. In quick rapid-fire succession the ice dragoness spat a shower of ice balls into the air. The spiked orbs began to melt almost instantly before shattering and covering the entire room in frozen spikes. The mutant wolves gagged and choked as the spears punctured their bodies completely through. Flame followed up with another wave to deal away with them. The mutants' bodies burned but didn't disintegrate like the others.
Flame paused for a moment when he saw this. His eyes narrowed at the bodies. "Ember, Candice. I want you two to wait here for me."
"What?" Candice hissed, trying to keep her voice down.
"Flame, are you nuts?" Ember demanded in a hushed tone. "We need to work together on this! You can't just leave us here because you're worried we'll get hurt! We know the risks just as well as you do."
"That's not it at all." Flame whispered back. "The wolves from here on most likely going to be those monsters we fought before. I need you and Candice to wait here and watch my back in case they come after me." He looked back at the scorching bodies. "We all know how hard they are to kill. We need to be smart even if they aren't."
Ember ground her teeth angrily and smoke came in angry rings from her flared nostrils. "Fine!" She muttered and poked him in the chest with her talon. "But you have better be careful yourself. You got that mister?"
"Anything for you Ember." Flame chuckled before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Come on Sparx, let's go."
"Aw man, why do I have to be the one who knows this place?" The dragonfly mumbled.
Dark Spyro slammed against the wall, bringing an avalanche of rocks crumbling down on top of him. Liun landed and gasped for breath. He was winded but not out of the fight yet. Purple beams of light broke through the pile of rocks and Dark Spyro burst free with an angry roar. Blood trickled from his forehead and into his eye. He could feel the blood from his nose and mouth flowing down his jaw to sizzle upon the burning rock. He was covered in cuts and gashes from the black dragon but he didn't care. He was going to make the dark dragon pay for what he did to his dragoness.
Liun took in a deep breath and spread his wings. Spyro growled and unleashed a wave of convexity. Liun countered with his own but Dark Spyro quickly overthrew him. The force sent Liun bouncing across the ground before he managed to dig his claws into the rock and brace himself against the immense pressure. His eyes flashed deep purple and he rolled out of the path of Dark Spyro's breath attack. Liun fired a single blast and missed. The ball of energy hit the wall behind the enraged purple dragon and exploded. Dark Spyro was hurled forwards from the force. Liun took the chance to leap in front of the reeling dragon and ram his hind legs into Spyro's gut.
The purple dragon coughed hard as the wind rushed out of him. He crumbled to the ground convulsing like a dying animal and gasping for air to return to his lungs. The ash was horrible and left him with a bitter taste in his mouth along with his blood. Liun walked over and pressed his claws down on Spyro's neck to hold him in place.
"I never knew how powerful your dark side was." Malefor pondered aloud as his dark energy began to spread from Liun's body. "It's a small wonder you defeated Gaul using it. And to think you were nothing more than a whelp when you did it." He laughed and Spyro's white eyes flashed. His cuts and slash marks began to release clouds of convexity. Liun felt his paw burn and he yelped in pain as he stepped off Spyro's neck.
Spyro swiveled his hips around and kicked the black dragon in the chest, sending him into the air. Liun spread his wings and recovered in time see Spyro rushing up after him. The black dragon fired a bolt of dark lightning that struck Spyro head on and glanced off his blackened scales.
"What the!" Spyro slashed him across the face with his claws and slammed his tail into the back of his head. Liun slowed his plummet to the ground but Spyro landed on him, driving a deep crater into the ground. He retreated back out of the crater and watched as Liun rose to his feet. "That was a pretty good hit." He groaned as he wiped his cheek. "You should have finished me off there Spyro. You know what your problem is?" He stepped away from the center of the hole. Liquid rock was beginning to seep up from a lava vein underneath and fill the crater. Liun licked his blood from his claws. "You're not strong enough to kill anyone. You couldn't even kill the Dark Master. And now look where it's gotten you."
Spyro roared and fired a beam of convexity. Liun dodged as he leaped into the air, a trail of magma trailing after him as he beat his wings up towards the darkened sky. Dark Spyro chased him with another beam of convexity. Liun looped around it and dove for the dragon. He fired a ball of dark magic catching the young dragon by surprise. The strike hit Dark Spyro head on. The explosion absorbed all the dark energy from the purple dragon and sent him flying through the air before landing on the ground.
Liun laughed as he felt Dark Spyro's evil energy merge with his own. "Wow! That's a lot of power you were wielding there Spyro! It's amazing! It's so...fresh! I love it!" He began to get a twisted look in his eyes as Spyro struggled to pick himself up off the ground. He was bleeding badly and his wounds were taking a much greater toll on him now that he had been drained of his dark energy. "I want some more!"
Liun charged the weakened purple dragon. Spyro opened his mouth to fire an earth bullet but only managed to cough out the last of his earth powers. He didn't have time to dwell on it when Liun slammed his paw into his gut causing him to cry out in pain. He buried his claws deep into his stomach inflicting even more pain upon his enemy. Spyro screamed and writhed beneath the weight of the dark dragon. He couldn't get away with his strength being depleted with each second that passed.
Liun bit down on Spyro's throat causing the dragon to gag and wheeze before hurling him high into the air. As Spyro's body sailed across the crater he seemed to feel as if time was slowing down for him.
"Cynder," He sobbed in his mind as tears began flowing from his eyes. "I'm sorry...I...wasn't strong enough...to save you..."
Liun's tail twitched in anticipation before letting out a blast of dark lightning. Spyro saw the attack coming but was too exhausted to fight back. "I guess this is the end." He wept silently.
Suddenly the lava inside the crater burst towards the sky. A ball of black fire intercepted Liun's dark lightning attack and the two forces combusted. The explosion sent Liun skidding backwards as he tried to dig his claws into the ground to keep from being thrown around like a rag doll. "What the hell!" He fumed. Suddenly an adult black dragoness burst through the tower of lava and slashed at the dark dragon. Liun dodged her long talons just in the nick of time.
Spyro wailed helplessly as he was sent spinning through the air.
"I've got you Spyro!" He felt something grab him from behind and steady him.
The purple dragon looked over his shoulder into the smiling green eyes of the young earth guardian.
"Tremor? How did you..."
"Save it for later buddy." He smiled. "We're here to get you out of here."
It was then that Spyro looked down and his heart nearly stopped. A large black dragoness hovered in the air between them keeping her furious red eyes on Liun.
Down below Liun was trembling in fear. "C-Cynder?" He squeaked like a frightened hatchling. "B-but it... it can't be!" His thoughts flashed back to the ambush attack. He had plunged his tail blade extremely deep into her chest, so how was she alive still? He noticed the mangled scales on her chest where his tail had punctured her. The wound hadn't fully healed but it was enough.
Malefor's consciousness began to take over the black dragon's mind again. "So you're back!" He growled, his tail lashing the air.
"C-Cynder?" Spyro wheezed. "Is that you?" The purple dragon could hardly believe his eyes. Tremor released him as he glided over to his over-sized black dragoness. "Am I dreaming?"
Cynder smiled. "No, you're not dreaming Spyro. It's me. You're going to be alright." Her eyes fell upon Tremor who nodded. The earth guardian landed on the ground and spread his wings wide. Liun growled and focused on the young dragon. Tremor staggered slightly and shook his head. He suddenly felt dizzy and weak in the knees. Liun noticed but kept the same killing glare on him.
Tremor leered back at Liun. "Payback time you bastard!" He slammed his feet into the burning earth. With a loud roar a wave of spikes burst up from the ground all around them. Liun jumped into the air long before the spikes reached him.
"Pathetic Tremor!" He laughed.
"Who said I was aiming for you?" The earth dragon scoffed.
"What?" It was then Liun realized what was happening. The spikes that curved over the area crumbled to the ground and the crystal containing Spyro's power was knocked into the air. "No!" Liun dove for the shard. Tremor leaped forward and slammed his clubbed tail across the dark dragon's head before grabbing the crystal. Liun crashed into the ground, destroying several of the large spikes upon impact.
"Go!" Cynder shouted urgently. "I'll hold him off! You know what to do!"
"Right!" Tremor nodded. "Come on Spyro, we need to get you out of here!"
"What? No! Cynder!" Spyro started to argue.
"Go Spyro!" The black dragoness ordered. "I'll be right behind you! I promise!"
"But Cynder!" Spyro shook his head. The black dragoness snatched him up in her massive talons.
"Spyro, do you trust me?"
Spyro was frozen for a moment; then he nodded. "I trust you Cynder."
The dragoness smiled. "Then go. I promise I'll never leave you again."
Tremor dove back towards the ground and fired an earth missile into the wall. He and Spyro darted through the falling rocks and back into the volcano.
"No! I won't let you take my power!" Liun roared as he burst free from the ground. He was interrupted by a blast of convexity.
"You're not going anywhere." Cynder hissed. "Now you face me at my real power!"
Liun froze again. The dragoness's eyes locked with his before Malefor intervened yet again. "So be it!" He growled as Liun's dark energy allowed him to manifest his own body. "I'll be sure to make sure you die this time!"
The two dragons roared in thunderous fury and lunged for one another.