FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 33

None of them pretended to be cocky, whether they were powerful and mysterious black dragons, or basically living, walking legends didn't matter in the slightest when facing such a threat. If they would put their all into the battle slaughter would follow of course, they would wreck havoc among their enemies, but the longer the skirmish would last, the more people from their group would fall.

It was undeniable, especially so close to damned Pit, the enemy could replenish their numbers easily, while each wound taken on their side would bring them closer to death. There were no allies that could help them anywhere close.

There were however many enemies that would gladly see them dead, appearing from their sides rushing to cut their way off.

Danox noticed them too.

The black veins around his eyes began to bulge, pulsing as if they were bodies of snakes that devoured still beating hearts. He teleported forward in a cloud of dark smoke, the dark veins made circles around his eyes, went down his neck and towards the heart where they formed a one, thick solid line.

Splotches of shadow from the natural curtain created by nature, from those blobs rose momentarily ghastly creatures made of shadow with white, otherworldly eyes. The artificial creatures charged towards the incoming group of enemies from the sides, stopping them in their tracks as they hacked their unnatural swords at the monsters.

Streams of black blood followed, hard to tell if it was the Wretched bleeding or the shadows were being shredded, most likely both.

"Cynder, Sugar!" Danox exclaimed happily, eyes devouring the carnage that his creatures created

"Our honorable guests on the other side could use the same dance partners!"

With adrenaline pulsing in her veins and a threat to her and her companions lives hanging above her head she didn't have any second thoughts about obeying the given order, instinct taking the reins immediately. Black veins also appeared on her body, not in the same amount as Danox had, but it was enough to summon several of the scary creatures who immediately clashed with the other group of charging monsters, stopping most in their tracks.

The ones that slipped through were no match for the combined breath of ice, fire and earth. The smaller monsters were dispatched easily and since they were the only ones that slipped through, the group managed to continue their escape without much issue.

They reached a small rise in the terrain, it was dotted with trees that both blocked and obscured the way, a perfect way to lose the chase or at least confuse some of the monsters.

During the escape however the group forgot about one really, crucial thing, sometimes the things that they considered as good fortune might work against them.

The rise ended as quickly as it started, with the trees in the way it was impossible to see where exactly is the top, or where is the descent. The most important thing however was the fact that it was nearly impossible to see what is exactly hiding on either of those paths.

Luckily for them the wind blew from another direction and twisted part of the crown of a tree on the lower level of the terrain away.

It revealed a row of burning heads that were well too organized to be just mere fires.

Spyro spotted the high creatures first, immediately realizing that this was no coincidence that they were here, mind instantly making the connection with Iris' words and accepting them as the most solid of facts.

This was a trap.

They knew where they would be going.

These creatures were waiting for them, at lower level of the hill they were now descending, quickly, there was hardly any time to react and almost none to acknowledge what is truly happening. The brandished, sharp axes were like teeth of an alligator just waiting for the right moment to part its mouth and devour the oblivious prey.

They will be sucked dry from any sort of magic, this was a death sentence if he ever saw any.

His Time powers kicked in immediately, there was no possibility in averting this situation by the standard rules of battle.

Even though the world slowed down he still had a trouble slowing down his descent, it was thanks to his skills and the respite freezing of time provided that he managed to disperse his speed and stop. Even though the time was basically stopped and he halted his uncontrollable fall quite a distance away from the row of monsters he still could feel their draining energy poking at his essence, tasting it merely slightly that could be taken as imagination as well.

Yet he couldn't stop thinking about a tongue licking fervently a side of the mirror, on the opposite spectrum of which stood him and his friends.

He decided against redirecting his companions, they were too spread out for him to push them all away from the monsters and into a safe direction.

There was nothing else left but execution.

The scars on his heart began to burn.

This time though he didn't mind, accepting the fact that battle is an ugly thing and as a leader he needs to follow another rule unspoken one, especially now when his brother isn't present here.

Better for him to get his paws dirty and bloody than force his friend through this endeavor, even if some of them surely wouldn't mind a little bloodshed.

He sprang to the side, keeping his distance from the creatures he spat at them fireballs, ice shards, streams of shocking current and finished it all by putting into a swinging motion a green ball of energy.

If he cannot move his friends out of the way of the monsters, he will move the monsters out of the way of his friends.

The time returned to normal.

The deafening cracking of colliding magical energy silenced the surroundings, Danox, Hunter and Cynder didn't budge at the sudden noise, familiar with their leader's abilities. Flare flinched, his flames slightly dimming in shock. Iris gasped loudly, muscles flexing and claws thrusting into the earth, automatically wanting to stop and change directions, as far as possible from the noise.

Cloudas took it the worst, completely unfamiliar with the purple dragon's skills he never expected such an explosion to occur, especially when nothing foretold something like this.

He screamed, body reacting automatically to the unexpected frightful noise, jerking every limb away from it. He tripped over some branch, making a forward roll he hit the ground with his back the flip making him lie upside down. He slid down before he could comprehend what is truly happening.

"Shit!" Spyro cursed, jumping after the white dragon, slamming his paws tightly against the ground he began his own quick descent down, manipulating the balance of his body perfectly, swishing and cutting through bushes and branches with ease

Cloudas landed on the bottom with a painful scream, one of the trees sprouted wicked roots down below and he had the unfortunate fate of crashing into them. Their rough, creased surfaces were like sharp spikes that just hungered to slip between scales and taste some flesh.

Sadly for him, one managed to find its mark.

The branch pierced the left thigh, he screamed loudly when a powerful bolt of pain shot through his nerves.

Danox cringed at the sight, the hordes of beasts basked in the screams of the wind dragon, knowing just well that it meant blood. The roars that followed were like a rumbling of a hungry stomach that tries to forget about food but then gets the unfortunate whiff of a delicious pie getting baked in the nearby house with the open window.

He knew from experience that no matter what the plan might have looked like before, when appetite snatches the reins, it's very hard to stop.

"Food tastes best when you eat it with your own spoon" he quoted, the masses of bodies swarming towards the fallen dragon

This time, after many years of indifferent and arrogant attitude, his dark voice was riddled with sincere gloom.

The streaming masses of bloodthirsty monsters closing on their position really solidified that feeling. Why he wasn't afraid of death, something that is impossible to achieve for him cannot be scary after all. He was afraid of loss, his companions weren't as indestructible as him, if even one of these bricks of the future cracks, everything will fall apart.

Why he put it as his most important goal to clean himself off of his parents lessons, in this moment one sentence, a proverb of its own, crossed his mind. A very ugly one he tried for many years to forget about.

"Fun can be dangerous" he recited, despite the determination that guided him from many years

"Why I am surrounded by retards!" Iris let out a roar of anguish, her protesting tone driving the legs, despite the annoyance she ran towards the fallen dragon

Knowing well that the group will go there, knowing that without them she has no chance of leaving this place, or coming out from this whole mess alive for that matter.

For some reason though, even if she knew in every fiber of her being that this situation sucked, being dependent on someone wasn't infuriating.

"Cloud?!" Spyro reached the dragon first, the specific smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, he looked over the dragon quickly, searching for the wound

"It went up my leg!" the wind drake squirmed, reaching down towards his thigh, arching his body at the mere touch of the sensitive flesh

Flare blinked towards the two of them, his fiery teleportation setting up nearby grass on fire. He quickly moved around the drake, reaching the stretched out hind legs, spotting the protruding, bloody branch. With the drum of battle, something he was very familiar with after so many years of being someone's toy, shaking his blood he acted automatically, retracing steps he retraced many times before.

He could no longer remember just how many foreign objects protruded from his own body, being impaled onto something was a daily attraction from where he came from.

Without thinking he grabbed the branch, squeezing it tightly as if it would stick out from his own flesh, magic rippled around his paw, his burning body flared up with scorching flames that it was no longer possible to tell if Cloudas was moaning from the irritation Flare's grip caused or the heat.

A swift tongue of fire spread all along the branch, turning it black momentarily.

This time when the wind dragon screamed it was obvious that the heat was responsible, the tongue reached inside his punctured body as it ate away the wood.

The branch turned to dust in seconds.

The hole which it created in the scaly body was cauterized.

Cloudas continued screaming, his entire body wrecked by a spasm, nerves shocked by the sudden heat, the world danced around his eyes, this was the worst physical pain he ever felt in his life. It felt as if there would be a horde of little monsters inside his body, ripping and tearing tissue with their claws like it would be an old paint demanding a scrubbing.

"What the hell Flare?" Cynder yelled at her fiery friend "We want to help him not kill him!"

"He will live, pain is temporary, there is no time to be nice"

The dragoness balked at the cold, rasp response, Flare's behavior startling her. She was already familiar with his peculiar condition, yet no matter how much they fought during this adventure Flare somehow managed to retain his sanity, before he snapped at the mere flick of a claw.

There was no sign of the otherworldly tone in his voice.

Flare was himself, or at least to some degree, he didn't attack them, instead focusing on the approaching enemies. He matured in this moment, no longer resembling the naïve, sweet boy, turning into something she didn't have the heart to say out loud.

He reminded her of herself.

When she was Corrupted all that mattered was the job, everything else was just a nuisance, the obligations she had nothing more than an unworthy distraction. She had her flow, like Flare did now.

He was on his territory, a familiar one, a traumatic one and she was the one who knew a thing or two about trauma

It never lets go.

All you can do it to silence it, but eventually a moment comes where all your tragedies kick you in the ass so hard that you start to choke on your own intestines.

With the swarming enemies all around them and a fading hope of pulling out of it in one piece she could guess what this situation reminded Flare of considering his history.

A hopeless bloodbath.

It didn't bode well for success when a dragon like Flare who spent years on surviving judges a battle to be a deadly one.

The perspective became so much more dreadful when she reminded herself that the huge monster they met at the very first minute here, back on the ice, didn't leave an impact on him.

"Can you get up Cloud?" Spyro grabbed one of the white legs and without waiting for the dragon's response he started pulling gently

The wind dragon yelped in anguish when he merely moved the wounded leg, his whole body toppling over, overpowering Spyro's delicate grip and slamming back into the earth.

"It hurts!" he cried out, tears filling his eyes "I can't move my leg!"

"You are a fucking dragon!" Iris roared at the injured drake "Stop being a fucking pussy and move your ass! One hole is just a scratch, did you never got hurt before?!"

"No!" he screamed, biting on the lower lip slowly that a tear of blood slipped past the fang

"Wonderful! A useless idiot!" the feathers on the wings bristled, she so wanted to leave all this fucking crap behind

She fucking hated helping.

She fucking hated sticking her neck out for a weakling.

Weaklings die, that's how this world works.

But of course Goldie in his retarded crusade for the title of the dragon of the year can't see shit.

There was a loud snap and then a thud followed by a shower of splinters and sparks, the fire that Flare started caught a nearby, flourishing tree, devouring it and sending it crashing down in flames.

More tongue of flames spread out on the nearby grass.

The creatures backed away from the destruction with irritating hissing.

Hunter noted this, his heart started to bleed when a ugly, but probably the only reliable idea crossed his mind.

"Forgive me Mother" he muttered to himself as he dropped his weapons and pressed the hands to his mouth, creating a tunnel for his voice that would reach louder notes than the surrounding rumbling of growls and roars

"Spyro, Flare!" he shouted, snatching the attention of both dragons immediately "Start a fire around us! Burn the forest! Cynder will use her wind magic to spread the flames farther! Cut the hordes off before we get overwhelmed!"

"Are you insane Kit?" Iris punched the cheetah with her tail, making him instinctively reach for his daggers "We're going to burn alive!"

"Burn it down" Danox intoned, his deep voice echoing with a cold command of someone who is no stranger to sacrifice

Both Flare and Spyro reacted immediately, not thinking about the consequences when basically certain death is so close and advancing quickly. One of the dragons started breathing fire from one side while the other from the opposite one, they turned slowly, maintaining the stream of magical energy, drawing a circle of fire around themselves like the Destroyer marks the world with its Belt of Fire.

The Wretched didn't expect such a desperate attack, they pushed away from the spreading quickly fire and burning flora that momentarily turned into blackened, hot traps. Some of the monsters managed to push through however through the barricade when it wasn't fully developed yet.

Thick smoke started to rise in the air.

As both Spyro and Flare were completing their circle of destruction, the beasts that slipped through the wall of fire attacked, throwing themselves at the group of friends.

The atmosphere became dry, the air thick and choking, tongues rolled out from the draconic mouths, yet even that didn't stop the remaining drakes from clashing with the incoming forces. Iris threw herself at the monsters approaching from one direction, while Danox took the opposite side.

Hunter loaded arrow after arrow, skewering the closest beast possible.

Iris rammed into the creatures, impaling two on her horns, thick, black blood gushed onto her head as she lifted the creatures and holding them still on the horns smashed into the nearby group of beasts, toppling them over.

Thick, white substance from the glands of the first creature she impaled coated her horns, making them glue themselves to the holes and the flesh inside. No gentle tug was enough to break her horns free.

She slammed her paw against the creature's chest, thrusting her claws into the chest, keeping away from the glands as best as she could, the ugly material though touched her paw still. With a proper grip on the body she threw her head back with all the might in her neck, the horns popped from the flesh, two streams of blood gushed into the air from the wound, the tips of her horns drawing a black arc over the air as they dragged tendrils of the gore behind them.

She used a similar amount of power to tear off her paw from the chest, yet with the amount of the white goo on the chest she couldn't tear the paw away without straining the bones in her leg.

She momentarily charged magic into her leg, the body below her was being turned to ice momentarily, the temperature around her cooling visibly, the flames in the distance feeling it and shying away.

While it looked like a willing suicide, this little trick of her was enough of evidence that she has to keep her magic at bay, otherwise she risks making a hole in this wall of fire. This wasn't an ideal situation and she would gladly castrate Kit for it, but nevertheless it prolonged their existence, something that was impossible to achieve if they would get rammed by this huge mass of bodies

She jerked her leg again, this time she managed to pull it away without issue, it didn't matter to her in the slightest that her paw wasn't entirely free, it instead ripped off the piece of the frozen body her claws were attached to from the chilled flesh, she involuntary held to an ice block of flesh. The gaping hole the paw created ripped the nearby glands, their roots that went into the black guts cracked, spilling the white fluid everywhere, clogging the creature's organs, making it choke on its own sperm.

The pulled out leg was immediately pushed into a swing, forcing her body to pirouette in the direction from which she heard the closest snarl followed by a wet spurt.

The hide made into the block of ice cut the air just in time to stop the incoming sticky projectile from the snarling creature's glands, the freezing magic from which it was made cut the artificial spider-web with ease, freezing and shattering most of it, those strands that remained were stripped of their properties, turning into nothing but chilly noodles.

Besides spurting the trapping web, the creature also threw itself at her, yet it didn't expect the block of ice to cut through its attack so easily, if at all. Before it curled its claws, Iris' modified paw reached the creature, the freezing block shattered against its head, the hit throwing the creature away.

Sharp, magical pieces were thrown in all directions, their empowered by elemental energy structure made them extremely resistant, the spikes that were thrown in the direction of the creature run through its head, so deeply that it shot through the other end. One of the spikes pierced one of the bulging, eyes, it popped like a pimple, the gore it spat landed on white, scaly chest of the dragoness.

The creature was dead before it hit the ground, its lifeless body sliding along the ground right towards Cloudas, stopping just next to him. The empty, bleeding socket staring right back at the disgusted, terrified dragon.

For a moment he forgot about the pain completely, rising on all fours with a startled yelp as if his legs were in perfect condition. He momentarily began to retch when the rotten fetor of the fallen Wretched invaded his nostrils.

Noticing the movement two of the creatures changed their target, deciding to throw themselves at the easy prey seeing as it was wounded and the dragoness their companions fought with was a fierce fighter.

Iris noticed the two monsters splitting from the group, she immediately dashed after them, she perhaps wasn't built like a true fighter, lacking Tat's slender, irritatingly alluring shape of muscles, but she knew a thing or two about running, years of humiliating escapes tempered the necessary joints to get that extra sprinting power.

The years she spent fighting for her life stripped her of control when adrenaline kicks in, she no longer cared about striking vulnerable spots that would grant swift death to her enemies. Whenever she caught her stalkers off guard she made sure that they would never follow her again, or even get up for that matter.

Brutality was a perfect insurance.

She sprinted after the monsters, a couple of strong swipes of four legs was enough to close the distance to one of them. The creature heard her charge, it stopped, letting out a panicked whimper it rose on two legs, rising clawed paws for a strike.

Iris sprang forward, fangs glistening.

She bit into one before it could complete its course, teeth clamping over the foreleg, near the elbow. The beast howled when the powerful fangs crushed the bone in a single, fierce bite.

Iris immediately put her leg muscles on hold, kicking her rump up she forced herself into a rough stop, kicking earth in the air as she began to spin, with ease lifting the creature with her strong, draconic neck muscles. The white, gluey substance in her paws providing a perfect support for her turn.

Another crush, teeth sunk deeper, bone and blood gushed into her mouth, some splattering against her palette while some bits running straight down her throat. She didn't even gag, this wasn't the first fucker she dismembered. Her teeth on the hide were the only thing that held the foreleg to the rest of the body together.

With the speed and power she had accumulated so far one turn was enough to fulfill her plan. In the right moment she pressed harder with her fangs, snapping every shred of skin and flesh, the body of the creature was sent flying at the second running creature, the stump of an leg spilling black bile everywhere.

The creature's leg dangled from her mouth as she rushed after the flung carcass, drawing a black line of blood on the grass.

The howling of agony was intermixed with a yelp of surprise coming from the second beast, the two creatures formed a ball of limbs as both were sent crushing on the ground.

Iris was on top of them in seconds, jumping right at the crippled creature who had the unfortunate fate on landing on top of the other. She sunk her claws deep into the scaly back, ripping the tendons that connected the spider like protrusions, silencing them. One paw automatically reaching for the leg in her mouth.

The creature arched its body, letting out an anguished blare, ungluing itself from its companion for a moment.

A moment she took advantage of.

She swung her free paw down, thrusting the torn off leg straight into the seconds creature's gaping maw, silencing its blaring. She forced it down with one jerk despite the limits of the beast's jaw, she could hear its lips cracking and teeth shattering as the leg went down its throat, jaw that was not made for housing such objects.

Without hesitation Iris gave the stump a solid blow, the bodies of the creatures bounced slightly as the bottom monster quaked in shock.

It made her job easier.

She dived down at the throat of the creature she pinned, the bounce creating an opening where she snapped her powerful jaw, ripping the beasts throat out with one solid shake of head. The amount of blood that splashed against her cheek and into her mouth was impossible to measure.

The beast hacked, gripping the hole in its throat with the other leg, in a futile attempt to stop the blood flow and save itself from the mortal strike.

Iris threw her paws up, claws curled into talons as they went down, they struck the round eyes of the second creature, eyeballs popping with a wet sound, claws sinking into the gelatin mass as if it was butter.

With the arm sticking out of its throat, the Wretched could only hack quietly when the agony invaded its nerves.

The claws went deeper and finally there was a wet crack, the pressure in the veins sent blood flying like from a fountain when veins were snapped, Iris had so much gore on her already that she didn't feel the difference.

She withdrew her claws with a slurp, giving the beats four solid slashes across its snout, two on each paw, giving all she had into them. The creature was dead after the second slash, draconic claws empowered by adrenaline were a weapon that only a draconic hide can withstand to some degree.

After those four slashes the monster's snout looked like a piece of paper cut by a child in random places.

She knew however that this was not enough, some of these fuckers are clever bastards and pretend to die. Never again she will fall for a trick like that, brutality ensured success.

Fuck the rules and sense.

The fire will hold.

She arched her upper body in the air, intertwining her paws into a fist above her head. A block of ice formed itself around them momentarily, trapping her paws and turning them into a freezing club.

Forelegs went down sharply.

The wet smack and crack that followed when the solid, magical club hit the already devastated snout resembled a sound of a bare foot stepping and trampling a pile of beetles.

Blood splashed in every direction.

The draconic body went up again and then fell down.

Another splatter.

Once again.

Splatter.

And again.

Splatter.

And again.

Nothing, but a hollow thud against the ground.

Snarling, she dispersed the magic, jumping off the creature, nothing remained of its snout, but a big, gaping, bloody hole the size of a dark throat of a cannon.

More of the beasts charged in her direction.

Iris flexed her muscles, sight obscured by irritating, black, spots, she flexed her muscles and released an earth shaking roar.

The creatures stopped in their tracks with scared whimpers, creatures that came from a place that could be easily taken for Malefor's destination after his death and the crimes he committed, were rooted into the ground at the sight of the fierce beast ahead.

Whatever alluring force she ever had was gone, her body was soaked in blood and guts, eyes narrowed in feral, rabid aggression, tail standing high and the snout twisted in a wicked snarl. Blood dripped from her now black fangs, a tiny bit of bone was stuck to the left corner of her lips, a tongue of black blood and saliva stretched and dangled from the lower lip like saliva from a hungry beast.

The wings, once inviting and soft were now tarnished and matted with dirt and gore, standing in every direction. Spread open in an aggressive pose, the ruined, bent feathers looked like dirty talons that even the spider legs on the creatures backs curled in fear.

With a terrifying roar Iris dashed at the monsters, the gore maiming her features and especially her snout gave her the image of a hellish demon herself, whatever she reminded the creatures of, paralyzed them.

As a dragon who had to fight for survival she could take some of those monsters in a fair fight, this moment of hesitation they displayed shifted the creature's chances of surviving this skirmish to zero.

Danox roared on the other side, some of the small nuisances tripped against their legs at the mere sound of it. Using magic in this moment was risky, perhaps Dark doesn't have much to offer when it comes to quenching fire, but he is no normal dragon with normal powers.

He knows a trick or two that could change this whole situation, he sucked life from so many things that killing fire wouldn't make much of a difference.

People might say many things about him, but when he sets his mind on something, he makes sure that it gets done.

Right now he didn't want any of his friends to die.

Also a little struggle here and there was fun, what's life good for without fun?

Not all creatures were intimidated by his blare, some kept on charging, oblivious or simply indifferent to their certain demise. When you're powerful fights can be so boring.

He swiped with his paw, the sharp claws on his big paw struck the closest creature, its frail body hardly serving as an obstacle, the blades went deep, right to the bone, grazing over the ribcage. The creature's chest exploded as if there would be a lit dynamite hidden inside its body.

A lung dropped on the ground with a wet sound, soaked in black bile, followed by the body which it housed soon after. The swipe ruining the charging monster in a moment's notice, making it drop like a torn, wet sack of clothes.

The claws caught two more creatures, one followed in the wake of the first one while the other got struck in the neck. Hide or no, a meeting with the claws of a big dragon when you are a little larger than a mole can't protect you well enough without armor or dragon scale. The creature nearly got decapitated by the strike, the head was thrown to the side by the wave of air and remained there, hanging at the side, supported by the strain of flesh only.

When the body dropped down blood started to flow from the hole in its neck, slowly, lazily, pilling under the corpse as if the veins themselves would be surprised that it was over already.

It proved that the monsters weren't dragons, they might bare scale similarity, but it's only that, if there is a dust of draconic essence in them than it is not enough, their unarmored bodies lacked the endurance of a true draconic scale.

It was a vital tactical information.

Not for Danox though, he didn't care, every creature that stood against him had its weakness exploited, whatever it might be. For him it was simple, he was strong, they were frail, like always and forever.

He made a swift spin, sending his big tail flying, the blade tip burning with the reflection of the surrounding blaze, the move of his paws twisting the grass from the earth.

The blade caught three more of the small beasts, running right through them, their bones providing no resistance, the blade severing them in two pieces like a knife shredding a cucumber.

The creatures stopped their charge when their companions were gone in a blink of an eye, they rose on their hind legs and exchanged painful glances followed by even more pitiful whines. Beasts that previously had no regard for their lives were struck by hesitation, even in their feral, simplified thought processes they regarded their enemy as an obstacle which rendered all this fight useless.

Danox smiled at the sight, chest swelling with pride, no matter how many times, seeing doubt in his oppressors eyes was always a satisfying effect. It empowered the perspective of darkness and really built the legend around black in general. Dragons of his scales are a menace.

It was always good to be reminded of it, it made this situation all that more tolerable, something that previously he thought was an upcoming disaster that got out of paw.

"Come on now" he waved at the creatures invitingly, one of his bloodied claws making seductive swivels as it called for them

"The fun has just begun." he pressed the dirty claw against his shoulder, thrusting it into his body and sliding slowly down, opening a wound, blood pushed from the parting scales, glistening like wine

"I promise you that the taste is most exquisite" he pressed the claw on his tongue, tasting it with flirtatious attention "You will get a bite surely" he smirked with the claw still in his mouth, some of the blood shimmered on the tips of his fangs

The group of creatures looked each other over, in a few seconds coming to an agreement, following a path he was certain they would take. Hunger is the most carnal of urges and one that cannot be simply ignored after all.

The monsters roared, their spidery wings shaking fervently, stabbing at the air blindly as their hosts threw themselves at the towering, deadly obstacle of black scale and muscle.

Danox laughed, rising on his hind legs, opening up his forelegs wide in a welcoming pose, spreading out his wings at the same time, the thick blades on the thumps quickly shook the inviting aura, mixing it with an intimidating vibe.

The running creatures growled and whined, undecided, they didn't know if they should cry or roar.

The dilemma forced another chuckle out of the black throat.

Some of the creatures reached the legs, jumping at them, momentarily beginning slashing, stabbing and biting, the vigor with which they committed to the act only proved that they liked what they got.

The sight of its friends feasting empowered the motivation of the rest of the monsters that remained slightly behind, their roars now edging with a cocky triumph.

This was the moment to remind them just how false it is.

The amusement was gone from his snout with the first jerk of his body, he dived down, neck lunging in the direction of the charging creatures, mouth parting and head turning. The beast didn't even have the time to change direction when suddenly draconic teeth snapped around one of their companions, crushing the Wretched in their grasp.

The creature went still in a second, body ruined and its dark blood splashing against the inner sides of his cheeks.

A stinger shot in his direction, connecting with his scales right above the left eye, there was no poisonous numbing affect, just a dangerous stab.

With a growl he jerked his head fiercely, smashing his snout against the creature that attacked him, it was sent flying, kicking some other enemies off their paws.

A bolt of pain shot through his groin, some of the creatures started climbing, using their stingers as hooks, reaching the inner side of his thighs.

Danox jerked back, catching one of the top monsters, pulling it out roughly away from his body, the stingers ripped pieces of his flesh as they were pulled away, crimson blood shot in the air, the spider legs hungrily stabbed at the flying tears, still thinking they were inside the warm body.

He used the creature to swat away the other monsters who were high enough to become irritating, each strike sounded like a bone being crushed by the teeth of a hungry wolf, the living hammer he was holding becoming lighter with each strike.

He shattered the monsters on his forelegs with his teeth. The destroyed carcass that he held was sent flying at the closes group of monsters, killing many on the spot.

He was bleeding, the creatures made a mess out of his forelegs, some even managed to reach the chest, yet even despite all these wounds he didn't show any sign of weakness, something that the remaining creatures noticed, immediately losing their appetite, most trying to avoid the big dragon.

Most didn't make it past his teeth, tail blade and claws.

The ones that slipped by Iris and Danox were skewered by Hunter's arrows, not even one got close enough to threaten the injured wind dragon, alive that is. There were some that dropped dead at the level of the devastated creature that Iris flicked near Cloudas.

He moved swiftly between targets, arms and hands operating the bow and arrows with the precision and automation of the cart railway in Manweersmall's home. There wasn't even a single miss, every arrow finding its mark, most aiming for the vulnerable parts like the legs, crippling the creatures before another projectile was sent flying to finish the job.

While the three worked tirelessly to protect their group, the two fire wielding dragons continued their circle of blazing destruction,, renewing their rounds, this time followed by Cynder and her wind breath. Instead of trying to extend the already burning barrier she supported herself on the fresh breath of their companions, this way the flames reached farther while keeping the burning circle intact, her breath also serving as the perfect tool to keep the flames away from them.

The fire spread in every direction, yet they kept standing on a relative green earth, it was catching on fire of course, but the spinning of the three drakes slowed the process down. Their small ring was like an eye of a burning cyclone.

More roars filled the air when the spat flames caught the creatures that believed to be safe from the flames, the pain pushing some into a desperate frenzy which made them throw themselves in their direction, right at the wall of fire. Their hides scorched and organs melted in a blink of an eye.

Cloudas observed the destruction with wide eyes, surprisingly all the fear he felt previously was gone, replaced by the most breathtaking awe he ever felt in his life. He heard tales about the greatness of the Shapers, his rather imaginative mind coming up with really exciting and passionate images of how this greatness could look like.

Yet he never imagined this.

It was both fascinating as it was terrifying.

The Shaper's companions for instance, the blue dragoness, covered in black gore, a fierce, terrible warrior who splits skulls with such ease as if they were fruits. The strange, two legged scout with the perfect aim, the red dragon who burns like a torch and is basically a walking fire.

Creatures of exceptional power, devastating power that they use and are familiar with as if they would be breathing.

Then there are the Shapers of course, creature that according to stories are capable of everything, both construction as destruction. While being here, trapped in this circle of death he became certain that all these stories he heard weren't merely fairytales, but truth.

The forest around them was becoming a scorched pile of rubble, consuming both earth and sentient life alike.

Not to mention the numbers of their adversaries, far more greater than their numbers, impossible to count and yet they held their ground, with great effect he might add. While he was sure that he would be overwhelmed by maybe three of these monsters, the black dragon, Danox, had many of them clinging to his body and yet he remains standing, stronger perhaps than at the beginning.

And there were only three of them, something told him though that this display of power wasn't the maximum of their abilities however. This was the point where his imagination couldn't reach further, if three Shapers are capable of such destruction, then what can be said about a whole citadel of them?

All his life he was living under a hammer without even realizing it. Were the Elders aware of this? They probably were, while he shamed his family, he no longer blamed them and the whole city for the hostility that followed later.

If the hammer would fall down, far more death would follow than merely his own.

A triumphant roar filled the air, the girl, Iris, announced her victory over the group of enemies. She was standing on top of three bodies, her forelegs pressed against the corpses while the hind ones dug into the earth. She looked like a howling wolf to the moon, the body covered in blood and gore.

Most of it was black, she had several cuts and punctures on her sides, the holes seeping lazy red tears of red blood. If nightmares had a physical form, he could imagine them looking like her right now.

"Enough!" Hunter roared at the top of his lungs, the choking air of the fire irritating his throat, making his voice sound extremely hoarse

The three dragons that kept the hordes at bay ended their onslaught at the command.

"We need to go!" Danox added his own words to the mixture of noise, his eyes looking into the distance and right at the approaching rows of burning heads that walked straight into the fire, making nothing of its scorching energy

Their gazes fixed at him, the itching that followed was strangling, he could feel the draining aura even from here, a dangerous potential, a very dangerous potential that can ruin everything.

"Can you run Cloudas?" Spyro asked, voice wary

"I'll try" the wind drake glanced at his wounded leg, the cauterized wound looked ugly, yet it wasn't as drastic as he thought it was, paw was bent in the air, but he was sure that if he pays attention and applies gentle pressure he will be able to move with relative speed

How was no longer an issue, where was the biggest problem now.

His green eyes scanned the area, seeing nothing but fire all around, they were in a trap from which there was no escape from. If the heat won't get them, the Wretched eventually will.

"But where do you want to go?" he gulped, ash pilling on his tongue" There's fire everywhere!"

"We make a run for it in the direction of the Pit! Right through the fire!" Spyro stepped forward, determined, tear filled eyes glaring ahead "I can protect myself, I don't know how to spread the shield to others, but Flare knows, he can grab Iris, Hunter and you in it I think" he glanced at the fire drake to make sure that his idea is correct

Flare gave him a stern nod.

"Cynder and Danox can shadow walk on the other side"

"I can't without seeing the other side" she shook her head

"But of course you can" Danox noted, offering the dragoness a warm smile, he reached out to her, stretching out a single claw that aimed at her flank

He touched her, but instead of his claw bending her scales there was only a puff of smoke and the claw turned into a burning shadow like one of the creatures she summoned. It sunk into her body, drawing circles inside her flesh.

She felt absolutely nothing.

"You are Shadow after all" he pulled his claw back, it still carried the smoking, burning form, he twirled it around, examining it with fervent fascination

"Adopt your form, run straight at the fire, you know how to accomplish that already, I can feel it. Then sink into your realm, do not try dragging it to you, do not blink, you are not ready yet for projection. The two however combinations will be enough to take you to the other side"

The claw adopted the firm, sharp shape again, he winked at the black dragoness.

"Help will always be there if you need it"

She heard Creep whimpering inside her soul.

"Can you make it Cynder?" Spyro inquired, his mind already searching for another plan, he will never accept an idea that risks the life of his mate

She didn't know.

But there was no way she is going to tell that to Spyro, she believed she could make it. She had faith in her skills and Creep, also she trusted Danox in this particular case. If there would be any danger he would never propose such a thing, Danox is mysterious and it is hard to tell if he is truly an ally or just a helper that found it convenient to assist them. Whatever the case may be it is doubtful that he would willingly endanger her knowing that without her there was no chance that Spyro would get them out of here.

Getting stuck in a different world with bloodthirsty monsters all around wasn't anyone's favorite perspective.

She swallowed a bulge of saliva, throat muscles rattling with nervousness, yet the nod she gave her partner was a confident one.

"I can"

"Come on guys!" Flare blared out, waving his paw, voice wavered with a hoarse tone "Get close and stick to me!"

Cloudas bounced on three legs to the fire drake's right flank, Hunter ran over to the left one. Iris remained in place.

"There's no time!" the fire drake protested, pulling the wind dragon closer so their flanks touched while he himself leaned into the clothed embrace of the cheetah "Get behind me Iris or you're going to burn alive!"

The dragoness rubbed her fangs over her lower lip, each swing feeling her mouth with the stronger taste of ash.

Fuck.

She sprinted behind the fire dragon, the red tail flicked to the side, giving her more room to approach him. She groaned in annoyance, she will be sticking to the red ass while the other two hug the fucker like some teddy.

What a fucking disgrace.

She moved forward, leveling her shoulders with the base of the tail. Tail that swung back and tenderly touched her body, wrapping itself gently around her own.

A male's touch all over her again, groping and testing and she allows it to happen.

Not again.

Never again.

She shivered all over.

Flare whimpered quietly, his tail unfurling automatically, the shiver that Iris projected over to his bones felt like a burning touch of magma, a permanent touch of destruction that cannot be healed. He felt as if a part of him died in that moment.

It was a weird, scary feeling.

"I need to hold you" Flare let out a begging whisper "I don't want to lose you, I need to feel you to make sure you're there" his tail moved again for the grab, this time however he didn't complete the move, stopping at giving the blue tail some warm taps, asking for permission.

Iris shut her eyes tightly that wrinkles appeared on her bloodied snout, glancing at her in this state made his heart bleed. In this moment she reminded him of some of the prisoners, they usually huddled in the corners of the cell, serving as stress relief for him and the other cellmates, no matter how hard you clawed and kicked them they never whimpered, whatever they fought with in their heads was far more painful than any physical torment could cause.

"Please Iris" he begged "Just for a short while" he rubbed the blue tail warmly

After some time she could hear her let out a resigned, depressed sigh, her tail pressed weakly against his own.

He grabbed it in a tender embrace.

Iris didn't open up her eyes.

A tree collapsed near them, spitting out burning sparks of bark and twig.

"We must go! Now!" Spyro commanded, nodding in the direction of the wall of fire while he himself remind behind, watching his companions progress

Only when everything will work out he will cross over.

The group that Flare led was the first who touched the wall of fire, some distance before the actual blazing barricade Flare already had the protecting bubble wrapped around himself and his friends, as a fire dragon he had a natural experience with heat and when exactly it becomes irritating and painful from the main source.

Cynder and Danox followed soon after, he held his breath when Cynder crossed, waiting for any sign which would tell him that she has troubles, a scream or a whine, he was ready to get her out of there no matter what.

It was not important that he had no idea how exactly he would do this.

There was nothing.

Squeezing his teeth he ran right into the wall of fire, barrier activating the moment the first whip of heat lashed against his scale. Besides feeling warm there was nothing else, actually the ordeal was quite pleasant and awe inspiring. It was like diving into an ocean, with the difference being in the shape of the water, instead of bubbles and fishes there were only red and yellow tongue of flames.

He felt like a bolt shot from a crossbow that cut through armor, if such a projectile would have a sentient consciousness he was sure that the ripping of armor would look similar to this, surrounded by strands of heated whips that would ruin you if you just allowed it, no matter their awe inspiring glory.

Then it was over, just as quickly as it began, before he knew it he stood on the other end of the fire ravaging the forest.

All of his friends were here.

The spreading blaze they created slowed down the mass of monsters, the small creatures didn't have any protection from the heat, the burning forest forcing them to look for another way, spreading wide and thin around the fire. Luckily they acted quick enough to prevent the horde from cutting them off completely, starting the fire created an opening, a spot that the monsters didn't manage to reach.

Their escape route.

"Dear Ancestors" Cynder gasped

Spyro's eyes widened before they reached their destination, his mate's worried breath the only evidence they needed to take the situation seriously.

When his eyes finally took into their sight the image that caused Cynder's reaction he did exactly the same thing, the barrier around him popping like a bubble, the fire lashed at him, whipping his butt to remind him that he was yet still too close.

He didn't care about that.

Something that couldn't be said about the rows upon rows of burning heads and swinging axes in front of them, spilling right from the crack in the growing hills.

Spilling from the crack that was their escape rout.

The combined draining magical aura of the creatures gripping his ribcage, pulling at the bones and demanding his heart.

"What now?" Cloudas whispered, the growing noises of the surrounding monsters as they searched for them deafening even the raging fire

Danox spread his wings with a wicked snarl, shadow enveloped and stretched out from the wings, creating a similar shape of his membranes, burning like Flare's wings, yet not with fire but dark energy.

"We feed" the black veins around his eyes began to shine ominously