FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 15

It was like the whole scenery of Munitions Forge just changed in a moment's notice after they entered the tunnel, leaving the serenity and normality behind. Despite the fact that they were traveling through underground tunnels dug in the deepest parts of the volcano there was a barely noticeable chill hanging in the air, or perhaps it were just shivers. It was unimportant what symptoms incited the misgiving, what really mattered was the actual feeling, a feeling that they were unfortunately in their young age very familiar with, it meant danger.

It felt almost like they would step into an entirely different world, leaving behind the one filled with noise and light and entering a dimension that was entirely opposite. The tunnels here were completely dark and unsettlingly quiet, every now and then they could hear something moving inside the walls, but they kept telling themselves that this is only their imagination, the miner said that he bugs hated digging after all, they cannot be distracted by fear of the unknown.

The tunnels here were completely devoid of light, if not for three shining beams appearing on the walls, the mine would look like some kind of abandoned crypt. The only noise that broke the eerie silence was the hoarse breathing and clicking of claws, however putting all that creepiness aside there was actually one good thing- the tunnel after the miner's camp was undoubtedly bigger and wider, yet it was only a tiny drop of positive thinking in a river full of misgiving.

" I don't like it here" Sparx wavering whisper echoed through the shaft " I propose to wait here for some time and tell the rats that we dealt with the problem"

Cynder rolled her eyes " Stop whining coward"

" I'm not scared, I'm cautious" the dragonfly shivered

" Yeah, in your case it makes a big difference. Just relax, it could be worse"

" Worse?!" he scoffed " What's worse than a big dark mine filled with small bugs with an appetite for eyes?"

The dragoness smirked " A dark mine with big bugs"

" Lookie here, a jester, we will see how you will sing when they will claw out your eyes"

" Hmm" she huffed thoughtfully " I would go for something dramatic and worth of remembering, eye-catching so to speak"

Sparx sighed " Please bro do something to shut her up, I would suggest a blow to the head"

Spyro smiled while he turned his head towards his brother, he was already familiar with the way how both of them deal with stressful situations, he decided to play along " I won't risk that, I value my life too much"

The dragonfly pushed his hands outwards joining them in front of his eyes to block the beam coming from the dragon's helmet " Dude not in the face!"

The purple dragon quickly turned around " Sorry"

" I have no idea how the rats did such a thing with the light, what the hell is that thing anyway"

" Achromantine" Spyro replied instantly

Sparx frowned " What?"

The dragon poked the container holding the candle on top of his helmet with his claw, a metallic sound was emitted just like he would touch any other metal " Pure achromantine, a metal which is harvested in the brightest places of Munitions Forge that looks like glass, you know the merchant in the smithy told us about it"

" That's right" Cynder huffed remembering the situation " I knew it was familiar but I forgot where did I see it" she smiled " You really did remember every detail, I'm impressed"

Spyro shrugged " No big deal, I just listen when people have something interesting to say, I need to feed my curiosity somehow"

" That's interesting for you?" Sparx shook his head and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder " Bro find a hobby"

All of them gasped when a crashing sound came from behind them " What was that?!" the dragonfly blurt out

The beams instantly were focused on the tunnel behind them, they stopped on the raising form of a fire dragon. Flare winced to protect his eyes from the beams while he pushed himself up " Sorry, I've tripped"

" Dude seriously get a hold of yourself!" the dragonfly exclaimed " You want to give us a heart attack?"

" I've said I'm so-" his eyes widened when he spotted the thing behind his misfortune, it was a small arm laying on a stone with three claws missing. It laid here for a while because the coat fell of completely revealing an extremely pale skin. Even if the hand was clumsily cut just below the elbow it was clear that it once belonged to a manweersmall

Flare's mouth shut when he thought that the arm shook slightly, he brought his head closer to check if he was not imagining things. Then the severed hand moved again, he frowned and delicately poked the arm with his claw. Flare screamed in horror after he did that, tiny worms pushed out from the inside of the arm. Screaming he forcefully pushed his body to the opposite side of the tunnel, he didn't care that the jagged rocks tore through his scales.

The moment he connected with the wall he felt as if worms began to slither down his shoulders, with another scream he jumped to the opposite side of the tunnel.

Cynder kicked the arm away and rushed towards the fiery dragon and looked directly into his wide unfocused eyes " Flare, Flare look at me"

He didn't respond, the sound of his hoarse rapid breathing was the only answer

" Look at me" she pinched him

Flare jerked back and looked at her with horrified eyes

" Calm down Flare they are gone"

Her words didn't cause any reaction, he still panted uncontrollably

" Calm down"

Finally her tender and stern words had a reaction, he threw a glance at the wall just behind her, there were bugs crawling on the wall. He closed his eyes

" There is nothing there. Breath slowly"

He listened to her advice, his rapid panting began to slow down, yet when he delicately opened one of his eyes he could still see bugs crawling on the wall

" Slower"

Even if she was speaking tenderly to him there was something in her voice that left no space for argument. He slowed his breathing even more and the moment he opened his eyes the bugs were gone

Cynder smiled inwardly when she noticed focus returning to his eyes " That was only your imagination, nothing is there"

Flare looked at her, embarrassment and gratefulness shining in his eyes. It was such a strange feeling to know that there is someone who actually tries to help you wanting nothing in return " I'm s-s-s-sorry"

She smiled " You don't have to be"

" Yeah right!" Sparx blurt out indignantly and grabbed the red dragon by his horns " Dude you seriously need to chill, we know now that the bugs mean business so stay focused"

" I'm trying to" Flare mumbled

" Think man! What can a tiny worm do to you when your ass is literally on fire? They won't even get close"

Spyro examined the red dragon, he had that unexplained fear of worms but now they also discovered that he is claustrophobic, the tunnel here isn't that cramped but still those two phobias added together can't be really pleasant " Flare maybe you should wait for us outside"

" No" the red dragon replied sternly

" Hey bro that wasn't nice!" Sparx folded his arms " Why you never propose me that offer?" he turned towards the fiery drake " I would take it if I were you"

" No"

" Oh come on man, don't be stubborn"

" No"

Sparx threw his arms up " Why not?" he whined

Flare lowered his head " I don't want to be alone again" he muttered

Cynder frowned, it all made sense right now. He was locked in a cage for all his life and the captors there clearly abused him, there is no one else in the world who could better understand what being someone's puppet means than her. She can relate with his situation, if by luck you manage to claw your way out of that horror you need an anchor to hold onto or the past and the feelings it drags with it will consume you and eventually drive you crazy.

Cynder delicately raised the dragon's head and smiled kindly " Flare, clean sheet, remember? You have already added friendship to it and you know what that means? It means that no matter how far life may throw us away from each other we will still remain friends. You will never be alone again"

Flare tried to look into her eyes but just couldn't, her words and the glimmer in her green orbs intimidated him, impulsively he averted his gaze blushing slightly " I d-d-don't know w-w-what to s-say"

She giggled, the light stammer meant he was nervous and she was the one that caused it " Hehe, I'm to die for"

He was nervously shifting his claw alongside the stony floor

" Oh come here you" she hugged him causing a surprised gasp from his side as she squeezed him

Sparx grinned and instantly dashed towards his brother and elbowed him " Now ain't that sweet"

Spyro observed his two companions closely, it made him happy to see that Cynder tries to help Flare as best as she can, he knows how important someone else's support is but on the other paw the sight made his stomach turn for unexplained reasons and the longer their closeness lasted the worse he felt

He coughed gaining everybody's attention and interrupting the friendly bonding " We better concentrate and get moving, that arm was real and we don't want the bugs to surprise us"

As they progressed further down into the mine Spyro could hear happy chatter and giggling coming from behind him, it was perhaps Cynder's way to take Flare's mind off his phobia but no matter her good intentions he just couldn't take it. Not really understanding what is happening with him Spyro sped up trying to get as far as possible from them without raising any suspicion.

" Where is he running off to?" Sparx muttered breaking the conversation between the three of them

" Spyro what are you doing?" Cynder exclaimed in a loud whisper " Slow down!"

" Without suspicion my tail" the purple dragon mused and slowed down, he had to come up with a good excuse to keep his charade up " I thought I heard something" he said after a barely noticeable break

Cynder furrowed a brow, he would probably fool everyone else but not her, she spent with him more time than anyone else and she just can tell when he is lying, however she didn't understand why he is doing it

" Just wait!" she exclaimed quietly again " We are going to-" her eyes widened when the beam of her candle illuminated a top shelf of the mine's wall with a hole in it, inside there were four small critters the moles warned them about, to make things worse they have already detected the purple dragon

" Spyro watch out!" Cynder yelled while she dashed towards her friend directing the beam she emitted to somehow blind the creatures if that was even possible

It turned out that light didn't bother them but thanks to the months of experience while being chained to each other Spyro understood the warning she sent him immediately. He jumped and flipped in the air so his back was turned towards the ground, at the same time he charged his electrical energy. The moment he looked in the direction her light pointed he spotted four incoming bugs leaping at him with their sharp pincers at the ready, the dragon instantly released an Electric Orb at the incoming creatures.

Before he hit the ground the cracking yellowish orb struck the attacking enemies, it exploded sending small electric pulses through the cave illuminating it slightly while throwing the incoming enemies upwards. The bugs were shot into the air with such a force that when they collided with the ceiling they were turned to a pulp. When Spyro landed on his back with a grunt the only thing he could see before the strap below his jaw unstrapped itself and his helmet slid down his forehead blocking his vision were four green stains on the ceiling above. After hearing the sound of delicate clatter he yanked his helmet up and spotted Cynder's snout directed at the ceiling above before her half closed eyes focused on him, he only smiled bashfully.

A smile of her own appeared on her snout as she leaned closer towards him " Good to know that you are fast, you know, for a guy" she yanked his helmet a little higher so she could open her eyes fully " but you still need to work on your carefulness" she tightened the strap below his jaw, he could already tell that the helmet was now laying properly on his head .

" There" with a grin she withdrew her head and her eyes returned to him again, she just couldn't help but to notice how cute he looks when he gives to his natural clumsy childish nature

" What?" Spyro asked seeing her cheerful stare, he smiled " Are my horns sticking out?"

Cynder laughed and with a grin gave the newly set helmet a firm pat " No daydreaming, get your lazy tail up"

" Bro damn" Sparx huffed proudly while observing a small piece of a chitin husk stuck between the rocks in a nearby wall " You blew those uglies to pieces"

" Whoa" Flare mumbled shocked " What did you just do? And how?" he bit his lip realizing that he pushed to far demanding answers from him and the best solution out of this situation was to take it all back somehow but a brief glance at the black dragoness changed his mind.

Spyro pulled himself from the ground " The attack I used is called Electric Orb. I created it by charging my electric energy" he frowned when he turned towards the fiery drake, something didn't add up " You've spent your whole life around purple dragons and you don't know what I did?"

Flare lowered his head humbly " I've thought you only breathed fire"

It was strange to know that the red dragon doesn't know anything about his kind, as he said he spent his whole life around purple dragons as crazy as that sounds. If Flare was living in a training facility as he previously thought where purple dragons were in charge then how is it possible that he doesn't know anything about them? Were they keeping information from him, or perhaps it wasn't a training facility at all? Spyro decided that there is too many questions and to little answers, in time they maybe will figure out what's going on but in the meantime he is able to lift one mystery, at least for their new companion.

" Fire and Electricity are only two of my powers, I also wiled Earth and Ice"

The red dragon's eyes widened " Four? Seriously?"

" Yup, but I will tell you about it some other day, now it is not the time" Spyro raised his head and directed his beam of light at the spot where the bugs leapt at him, it currently being examined by his brother " it worries me that the bugs managed to surprise us, they weren't supposed to dig"

" They can't" Sparx replied from above " The hole was made after a loose stone fell off or something. They didn't set up an ambush either, we interrupted their dinner. They have a taste for meat, good thing that I'm used to seeing disgusting things or I would puke here and now" the dragonfly descended down and placed his hand on Cynder's shoulder " Thank you for that" he said with faked gratefulness and a wicked grin tugged at the corner of his mouth

She snapped her teeth and forced a startled yelp from the dragonfly as she scared him away.

With a deep breath Spyro turned towards the dark tunnel ahead " Ok guys enough fooling around, focus, there are probably many more holes up ahead where the bugs might be hiding"

With that the group continued their venture into the unknown darkness, this time however no one spoke, they have tasted danger here and it requires great deal of concentration to prevent it from escalating. They were now progressing with a careful pace, examining closely every corner and loose stone, it's better to be prepared for everything.

Soon Spyro stopped and with a motion of his paw he gave a clear signal to the rest of his companions to do the same. The moment everyone stopped Spyro began to listen intently, it turned out that he wasn't imagining things, there were actually some clicking sounds coming from inside the walls.

" There seems to be quite a lot of them" Cynder whispered after a moment of silent listening

Spyro inwardly voiced his agreement, even if most likely every draconic member in this group was a capable fighter it would still be difficult to face that swarm all at once. It would be in their best interest to not alert the bugs to their presence, For the moment they had other things on mind like examining their surroundings for instance, so they forgot about the clicking sounds if only for a moment.

The cavern they were currently was quite big so they decided to scatter to cover more ground yet for safety remain at speaking distance to each other. This particular part of the mine seemed to be in worse condition than the previous ones, many of the surroundings walls were cracked and had holes in them where once were the many rocks responsible for the walls integrity.

There was debris practically all over the place, starting from the rocks scatter across the ground, to parts of broken rails to end on completely destroyed transportation wagons. Not to mention the bodies or what was left of them of bugs and manweersmalls alike, whatever happened here happened quick and pretty unexpected leaving the ones unfortunate enough who stayed near the affection zone without a chance for survival.

" We've got a problem" Flare's voice echoed in the cavern, he instantly gained the attention of his companions. The three friends made their way towards their fiery companion who was now closely examining a wall, illuminating every part of it with his concentrated light.

" It's a dead end" he continued his monologue the moment his companions stood next to him

Two more beams of light were added to the wall, as they examined this obstacle they had to agree with Flare, this was their only way forward and it was now blocked by a wall of stones. However it wasn't natural, thanks to their experience in cave crawling they could easily discern that this blocked was created by a recent cave-in it most likely was caused by the manweersmalls integration into the mine's foundation when they narrowed the tunnels to their camp.

Sparx clapped his hands " Ok team time to go home, as much as I hate to say it but unfortunately our deadly mission has to end here. Tragic but what can you do"

" We have our mission and we have to finish it, there is no turning back" Spyro stated while he began to examine the wall up close

The dragonfly darted in front of his brother's eyes and spread his hands wide open gesturing at the wall " Bro can't you see? It's not like we can make a decision here"

His amethyst eyes never left the wall " We can hear the bugs moving on the other side, we know that they attacked the miners in the camp somehow so there is a way deeper into the mine we just need to find it. If we can hear the bugs moving then this wall cannot be thick"

Sparx folded his arms " Fine do what you want but I'm staying out of this, I'm telling you this is a dead end"

Without hearing any more words of displeasure the dragons began to work, inch by inch they carefully checked the wall, careful not to cause too much noise. Spyro decided to walk alongside the wall where the clicking sounds were the loudest, he was certain that there has to be a way across this fallen rocks, the noise is just too loud. With great care he examined every part of the collapsed wall that his beam of light allowed him to, he was making sure that he didn't miss a single spot.

After a long annoying while Spyro stopped for a moment and cocked his head slightly, either it was his mind playing tricks on him finally tired of this boring endeavor or the clicking sound of the bugs reached him without the usual echo for a brief moment. He started to listen intently, it turned out he was right, there was a barely noticeable change in the cacophony of noises and it was coming not far away from him.

When his other two draconic friends started letting out tired and bored sighs he pushed with greater determination. Spyro moved slowly, concentrating on every barely audible sound and he followed it. As he pushed forward the noise he was looking for began to intensify, barely but it was still a clear sign of progress, he kept moving until the sound was coming just from the spot he was currently standing on.

However no matter how long he stared at the wall in front of him he couldn't see any entrance, running on pure instinct he began to examine the wall on every level starting from the ceiling and getting lower. It was when his head was directed at the ground that the light on his hat created a shadow that was no longer a solid black spot below his paws but was now somewhat more flattened just like the light would find a place through some cracks where it could shed its beam even more. He dropped to the ground and his eyes widened immediately after the discovery.

" Found a way through" Spyro announced

Everyone was shocked by the revelation but momentarily the three remaining companions darted towards the purple dragon. Cynder grinned as she bent on her paws and noticed the features of a tunnel when her head was hanging just slightly above Spyro's.

" Atta boy" still grinning she patted and tenderly rubbed his back.

Spyro's tail waggled happily for a short while after hearing her praise.

Sparx on the other paw was not happy with the discovery in the slightest and he didn't even try to hide it as he kept gesticulating and muttering something under his breath while hovering in front of his brother's snout and staring into the opening ahead. With an angry frown he turned around and pressed his forefinger to the purple dragon's nose which made Spyro jerk his head a little.

" I hate you" the dragonfly hissed

Being already accustomed to his brother's whining Spyro paid it no heed, he instead concentrated on the matter at paw.

The beam coming from the candle at the top of his hat illuminated the passage perfectly, it didn't look good. Besides the jutting rocks from the fallen wall the tunnel was tight, there was no space to maneuver, the passage was extremely narrow.

Seeing him in deep concentration the two other dragons decided to join him in his contemplation, Cynder dropped on the ground to his left while Flare bent on his paws to his right. Six draconic eyes were now assessing the situation.

" It's going to be a tight fit" the dragoness next to him commented

" Yeah" Spyro agreed worryingly " We will have to go one after the other"

As if out of spite the clicking sounds intensified

" I don't like this one bit" Cynder added " There seems to be a lot of bugs out there somewhere, how do you propose we get past them?"

" We will have to crawl all the way and hope they won't notice us"

The dragoness eyed him with a frown " That's not much of a plan. What if they will find us, what then?"

She had a point there was no denying it, with their bellies pressed to the ground they won't be able to inhale enough air to even let out a dangerous breath but unfortunately they didn't have a choice in this matter, this was their only way.

" We still have our claws" Spyro said

The dragoness huffed " That's comforting" she replied sarcastically and sighed " Ok, make me some room"

" What?" the purple dragon turned his head towards her

" I'm going in"

" No way!"

Cynder narrowed her eyes on him " And why is that?"

" I'm going first"

Sparx rubbed his forehead " Here we go again..."

She snorted " What makes you think that?"

" I can zap them if necessary"

Cynder snorted once again " You won't even charge enough power to shock them"

" You don't know that" he replied slightly offended

" I'll go first, I can cover myself in venom"

" I'll go" a third male voice muttered

" These are bugs Cynder..." Spyro shook his head " They are probably used to toxic environment. I'll go first, I'll form an electric orb around myself"

" That thing that shoots pulses?" she snickered " You would most likely zap us than those tiny bugs, what if you miss one? We would be defenseless. I'll go, I can scare them off"

" Bugs Cynder remember? You don't even know if your Siren Scream will work on them. I can turn into a boulder"

" That one with the spikes? Please, you would send the whole tunnel down on us with those things. I can be more subtle by releasing my fear empowered ghastly orbs"

" They explode with a concussive force, you know what the manweersmall said about even the slightest earth-shaking attacks. I should go I can suspend the bugs and finish them easier after that"

" If more than one bug jumps at you, you won't be fast enough to trap all of them in your position. I however don't need much time to release my shadow breath, I'll suffocate them"

" There is barely any air here, you would pull us with them" Spyro sighed tired of this unending argument, she is stubborn, he has to give her that, there is no point in recalling their elemental powers any further, if he is going to win this fight he need to focus on some mundane arguments.

" I'm stronger" Spyro straightened up proudly trying to force his point across

Cynder wasn't impressed by his display in the slightest " I'm faster" she retorted

" Argh, will you two shut up already!?" Sparx exclaimed in a loud whisper and pressed his hand to his head " You are so annoying" he rubbed his forehead " Decide finally who is going first or we are going back"

" I'll go" Flare stated with a louder tone, instantly gaining everyone's attention

" You?" Spyro blurt out surprised

" You?" Cynder mimicked her purple friend's reaction

" You?" Sparx did the same

Flare just nodded, not really shocked to see their dumbfoundedness

" Dude you know that we want to live right?" Sparx added sarcastically " Leave it to the pros"

" Flare, that tunnel is very narrow" Cynder said caringly " You are claustrophobic and to top that bugs may attack you. You really want to do this? Remember that you don't have to prove anything"

The fiery dragon stared at the tight passage and gulped " I don't want to do this but I don't have any other choice, I don't want you to get hurt only because you risked going there without your powers"

" That's sweet of you but we can handle ourselves" she raised her paw and nodded at her claws " We have got these"

" They won't help you when a bug jumps at your back from a hole you didn't see"

Both Cynder and Spyro looked at each other, that wasn't a thing they have considered earlier. Their new companion was right, it would be problematic to fend of enemies that would strike like that.

" You were arguing who should go first, pointing out your powers as your arguments, trying to convince everyone that you are the most suitable dragon for the task, however both of you already know that either of you isn't"

" Damn Dude" Sparx interjected while eying the fiery drake closely surprised to see such a sudden change in his behavior. For the very first time he could not see any gullibility, no uncertainty, no shyness in the drake's eyes that are so typical for him. Now he was speaking with confidence and reason, these emotions were mixed with fear of course but that didn't change the fact that he was actually making some sense"

" Who are you and what did you do with Flare?" the dragonfly quipped

The fiery dragon frowned, he didn't understand what the dragonfly meant by that.

With a grin Sparx opened his arms " There he is!"

Flare cocked his head he wanted to ask what he is talking about but decided not to, there are more important things right now. He shook of the confusion

" I've spent my whole life as a prisoner" he continued his interrupted monologue " I know a thing or two about survival and I tell you that I'm the most suitable for the job" he raised his paw and presented his claws " My wings are not the only thing I can heat"

Momentarily tiny flames appeared at the tip of his claws, the whole silvery layer was being covered by mirage, just as if his laws would be burning. With palpable confidence Flare delicately moved his risen paw, trails of flame were left in the air after his burning claws.

" Whoa" the three remaining companions gasped in awe

" I... I've never seen anything like it" Spyro mumbled " With difficulty I could convince myself that heating your already burning wings was normal but to see someone that can actually heat his claws, it's just...wow. How do you do that?"

Flare threw the purple dragon an alarmed gaze "I just do" he replied icily and lowered his leg. The flames died down the moment he placed his paw on the ground with a deep breath " Every creature that touches me will fry"

" Every power has its limit, how long can you last like that?"

The fiery drake fixed him with a stern gaze " Long enough"

" Why do I even ask?" Spyro muttered under his breath, blaming his curiosity for ignoring the palpable hostility in the drake's eyes

" It's settled then" Cynder interjected quickly just to end the palpable tension in air " Flare is going first"

" Sparx you will be his scout" Spyro added

" What?!" the dragonfly blurt out

" You are small, you will fit there together with Flare without problems, you will an another set of eyes, warning him of incoming danger" Spyro bit his lip realizing that he rushed things again " If that's ok with you I mean" he muttered as he looked at the flaming dragon

" Sure" Flare replied

" But...but..." the dragonfly muttered as he looked over every dragon, their draconic eyes were set on him meaningfully, with a sigh his shoulders slumped down " I hate you"

" Let's do it" Spyro politely moved out of the way and looked at the fiery dragon meaningfully

Flare with shaking confidence took Spyro's position and dropped to the ground, he was now staring into the stretching narrow passage ahead of him, he had a hard time swallowing everything that's happening, literally.

" Flare are you alright?" Cynder asked seeing his uneasiness

" No" he replied with a wavering voice

" You don't have to do this"

He could feel his every muscle tensing, anxiety curled his stomach and he was most likely deathly pale by now. However despite those barricades he pushed forward, he has his first true friend now and he just can't let her down.

" Wait a sec Dude" Sparx stopped in front of the dragon's snout " Heroes first" he turned towards the tunnel and shook his head before looking at the red dragon behind his back and pointing a finger at him " If I die I'm going to kill you" he hissed threateningly and flew inside the tunnel " Come on Braveheart"

With a deep breath Flare followed the dragonfly, he stifled a terrified gasp the moment he crawled inside the tunnel and the rough walls brushed his scales.

" He's not going to make it" a male whisper belonging to the purple dragon reached him

" I believe he will" this time he heard a female whisper.

The male's voice was irritating and demotivating however the female's voice had a greater effect on him, encouraging him to push onwards despite the odds. It was extremely tight here, as he kept crawling his scales just slid across the walls leaving scratches all along his body. Not to mention the jutting rocks from the ground that in this conditions resembled tiny spikes that pierced his orange underbelly. He kept hissing in pain as he pushed forward, some of those rocks managed to pierce his leathery armor sending a painful sting through his body, not to mention the dripping blood from the ground that he smeared all along his underbelly and floor as he crawled forward. He wasn't alone in his struggles, the two remaining draconic companions that followed him had the same problem.

However the physical pain was the least of his worries, he has to go through an ordeal that he would rather avoid. He kept crawling forward, and the longer he did so the more he kept thinking just how narrow this tunnel is, just how little space he has to breath, that every escape route is blocked. Not to mention the clicking sounds that only seemed to intensify with each passing moment, the only thing that was missing were the worms, or perhaps they were here already but he just doesn't see them? After all they've ran into some already.

He kept following the glowing shape of the dragonfly, trying to set all of his concentration on him but the thing he was fighting with can't be defeated by simply gritting his own teeth. Flare kept thinking just how close these surrounding walls were and what would happen if they would actually move towards him. What if the clicking sounds aren't created by the strange bugs but by worms slithering across rocks just as he is right now?

The unending cacophony of clicking noises was giving him a headache, with each passing moment his vision started to become more blurry. Moments later he started to feel dizzy, his focus returned to him when he noticed that the walls started to move in his direction, ready to crush everybody. He wanted to scream but couldn't utter a word of warning, Flare found himself unable to move, the walls were barely leaving him enough room to breathe, it won't be long now before he will choke. Flare shut his eyes preparing himself for the impending doom.

After what felt as an everlasting moment he opened his terrified eyes, the walls returned to their former place and the glowing shape of the dragonfly was floating ahead. Flash. His heart jumped to his throat when suddenly the light of his candle died down and shrouded the whole tunnel in complete darkness, he was now alone in the most terrifying place in the world. Flare blinked not wanting this to be happening. The light returned, he was once again looking at the floating dragonfly ahead.

The dragon closed his eyes and started to breathe slowly convincing himself that this was just his imagination playing tricks on him. He opened his eyes and the choking fear gripped him again when the barely illuminated tunnel was now filled with many old bones that crunched under his weight. He shook his head forcefully trying to convince his mind that this Is just an illusion.

Once more the bright tunnel appeared, a tiny glowing shape was rounding a corner ahead, he tried to follow it but something blocked his path. Flare looked down and screamed, a severed draconic head was laying on the ground, he could barely control his beating heart, nothing seemed right here. He thought that he will never again see this image again, how is it possible that it appeared before him? Didn't he scape from that prison? Everything was so confusing now.

Flare raised his gaze, his heart almost jumped from his chest when to the piles of bones were added the bodies of many draconic creatures, some of these carcasses were fresh, the blood was still pure crimson, while others started to decompose leaving only portion of rotten flesh on the remaining bones. Flare shook his head, this can't be happening, he can't be in this hell again, he got out, he had to.

Eyes opened. Everything gone, slowly growing glowing yellowish shape was heading in his direction. Why does he keep seeing it? Is this some kind of new torture developed by his captors? To give him a bit of hope? Flare shut his eyes, the echoing laughter, that tormenting laughter filling the dark passage. Panic, tears, he needs to get out of here. He barely moves forward, bones and body parts block his way, he tries to grab onto a wall, it's so slick and sticky, blood is streaming down from it.

Scream, once more the glowing yellow shape appears in front of him, it is swinging its arms chaotically. Why does it do that? He ignores his question, he just doesn't want the only source of light in this tunnel vanish again, please let the glowing shape stay. The walls shift, laughter fills the passage again, the shape disappears, darkness engulfs him. Flare trips, his paws crack through something, whimpering he raises his paw, its sticky and slippery. The light from his burning parts illuminates the ground below him, he screams when he sees his paw. He pierced the chest of an already rotten draconic body, dried blood and thousands worms covered his paw. The stench, that horrible unbearable stench.

He doesn't want to be here, he needs to get out, he needs to get out. Eyes opened once more, the shape was now just in front of his snout, it was some kind of glowing flying bug, there was fear in its eyes. It raises its hand, why? Does it want to comfort him in this horrible moment? Or is it an apparition of relief? Is it here to finally take all that fear and pain away? It takes a swing.

A slapping sound could be heard in the cacophony of loud clicking and hissing noises " Dude! DO SOMETHING!"

A stinging pain was sent through his cheek. Flare rubbed the painful spot, did he just got smacked across his snout?

" FLARE!" a female shout shook his entire body

Impulsively he looked ahead, the tunnel in a blink was once again back to its normal tight self, yet this time it wasn't empty. Bunch of bugs with their jagged pincers at the ready were pouncing at him, before he could react one of these creatures clamped one of its pincers on his shoulder. Flare groaned painfully when the critter yanked its pincer back, drawing blood and ripping bits of his scales. The second pincer took the same toll before the aching dragon grabbed the critter and flicked it away.

Flare didn't have the time to breathe as another one of these creatures leapt at his eyes. The drake blocked its advance with his paw, the creature furious about it failed attempt in rabid anger burrowed its round maw filled with razor sharp teeth into the obstacle. Flare yelped in pain as the creature tore into his paw before he threw the bug away.

Another attack was coming his way, the dragon realized that the situation is getting out of paws, after that enlightenment adrenaline kicked in. A bug jumped on his folded wings but before it could land a strike the burning ground below it blurt out flames, the creature didn't even let out a noise as it fried momentarily.

Flare grabbed another attacking enemy, the bug wiggled and grunted agonizingly in his grasp before it was turned into a crisp. More oblivious critter blinded by their primal instincts jumped on his back and every single one of them burned. Flare slashed with his flaming claws and cut one of the leaping bugs at his snout, there was only a hiss of flame before the insides of the creature dropped onto the ground together with its severed in half body.

The dragon repelled attack after attack and with each deflected one he felt better and better. He was unstoppable, he could feel the power rushing in his veins, let the lesser beings burn and die at his paws, they are only a foretaste before the main treat, a stop to his true goal.

All that boiling hate vanished the moment a loud rumble shook the entire mine, even the remaining bugs scattered in fear.

" What the hell is happening?!" Sparx exclaimed

Before anyone could answer there was another violent shake and a deafening rumble, the mine kept trembling violently, it seemed like there was no end to it. All of the group members yelped in shock when suddenly a ray of white light burst through the ceiling and into the ground, silence has befallen on the mine after that display.

" Did the volcano erupt or something?!? The dragonfly exclaimed once again

A familiar sensation shook Spyro's entire body, the tingle was so strong that he trembled uncontrollably for a short while before he recovered control of his limbs. Spyro raised his foreleg and clenched his numb paw " No..." he muttered " that was something else"

Before he could elaborate on his thought the cavern shook violently once again, an extremely loud roar and rumble filled the tunnel as rocks burst from the ceiling and blocked their path ahead. Dust filled the passage, draining almost completely the scarce air making all of the companions cough. Their eyes widened when suddenly a bug dropped onto the ground from one of the holes in the ceiling, then another one and another, in mere seconds it started literally rain confused bugs from above.

" Oh fuck" all of them muttered, they might be powerful but they have no chance against such a swarm in their vulnerable positions

The swarm of creatures recovered their bearings and took notice of their presence, the critters ignored the fact that it constantly rained more of their little companions, instead they focused on their vulnerable prey, hissing the bugs leapt at them. However before they could reach their destination a large rock burst through the ceiling and smashed into the ground squashing the impatient bugs.

Another violent shake, loud cracking noises filled the cavern. Flare began to look for the source of the sound, his eyes widened when he managed to locate it, cracks started to appear on the ground below them.

"GET BACK!" the fiery dragon yelled

It was too late, the already weakened floor gave up and with a loud rumble it collapsed like it was made from blocks for children dragging the shocked, scared and screaming dragons with it into the pitch dark void below.