FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 14

The tunnel was exactly what one could expect it to be, it started wide, at first if somebody wanted he could fit a small army in there without the risk of getting someone trampled. However the longer the tunnel stretched forward the jagged walls began to close in effectively thinning the once big open space.

Just like in almost every part of Munition Forge there were also rails here, it seemed like they were running through the tunnel, but from the group's perspective it was hard to judge just how exactly deep the rails went. Carts are essential way of transportation for every respectable mine, however these carts either seemed to be broken or they were currently unused due to the recent events since every now and then they could spot an empty cart sitting on the rails.

What really was interesting about this tunnel was the light, one could expect the tunnel to be dark or at least dimly illuminated but here it was quite the contrary. It was dark In the place where the tunnel spread into the wider cavern that held the city and when the group thought that it would look like this through the whole journey it only got brighter farther down.

It was no surprising that the lighting changed since the manweersmalls could barely see they needed all the light they could get to enhance their poor sight. For the recent arrivals it was too much however, the group had to squint to push through the almost already blinding tunnel. No matter how uncomfortable the situation was the group pushed forward relentlessly, they have a task to complete and to finish it they need to find those miners Mole-Yair spoke of.

Not only the tunnel got brighter the lower they went but it also got slightly hotter, the air slowly began to become more dry, after a while the sounds the group emitted were hardly resembling calm breathing, instead their lungs and throats let out sounds that resembled wheezing. How the manweersmalls could work in such conditions was beyond their expectations, perhaps it's only a matter of getting used to the stale air, or perhaps only this part of the mine was so annoying, or this living conditions are solely for the natural inhabitants of the underground caverns. Whatever the case may be, the group wanted to, without any exceptions to finish the task they were given as fast as possible and get out of here to taste the wind on their hides again.

One rasp breathing stood out from the others, while the three breaths were showing the normal signs of stuffiness in a problematic breathing environment, the fourth breath was not only showing signs of deepened airlessness but was also strangely wavering. Discomfort was not the only emotion the owner of the fourth breath was struggling with right now.

Cynder looked worryingly behind her shoulder, the red dragon was following them at his own slow pace, he had his eyes closed and kept muttering something under his breath

" Flare, how are you holding up?" she asked tenderly even if the answer was obvious

" I'm fine" he replied automatically, only for a moment opening his eyes to check the road ahead him before shutting them again " Everything is ok, everything is ok" he whispered the last sentence barely audible before his voice completely died down again

Cynder just couldn't stop but to feel pity for their red companion " If it's too much you can wait for us outside"

" I'm fine" he repeated " Everything is ok, everything is ok"

Sparx sighed " Just give it a rest, can't you hear? He's fine and everything is ok" he scoffed

The dragoness stopped in her tracks and turned towards the red dragon, she extended her paw towards the approaching dragon with closed eyes. The moment her paw met with his scales Flare jumped backwards with a stifled startled yelp. She gave him a meaningful look.

The dragonfly stopped near the dragoness' head and pointed at the fiery dragon with his open palm " See? That was perfectly normal, he's fine"

Cynder paid no attention to the dragonflies' sarcastic remark, she was entirely focused on their new companion " Talk to me Flare"

The red dragon swallowed hard and wiped his sweating forehead " I'm fin-"

" Oh please don't give me that I'm fine bullshit" she snapped back at him, only when she noticed his shocked look her expression changed back to normal. She realized her outburst was an unnecessary one, yet Mole-Yair's words still affected her and she just has to prove to herself that she can take care of her friends

" I'm worried Flare, are you sure you can make it? Who know how deep we will be going" she asked, however this time her voice was stripped of any anger, it was only fueled by sincere kindness

" You don't need to worry about him, if he really didn't want to go he wouldn't be here" Spyro commented with a somewhat cold and irritated tone

She turned towards him with an angry frown " What the hell is your problem?" she snarled

The purple dragon growled " I don't have any problem"

" Yeah? You are acting strange since we left the lift, wanna share what's so upsetting you?"

He snorted, part of him really wanted to throw out all his feelings, but there was still the other part which held him back. Combined they made him confused, and that confusion was what angered him " I'm acting strange? What about you?"

She growled " There is nothing wrong with me, but you seem to have a problem with Flare, care to explain?"

Spyro threw the red dragon a quick irritated glance before he focused on the black dragoness " I don't have a problem with Flare, you are delusional. Besides it was you who triggered this argument by attacking me all of a sudden, care to explain why?"

Cynder eyed her purple friend intently, tiny green flames were wafting through her nostrils " No"

The purple dragon sneered " You demanded an answer from me but you won't answer my question? Why?"

" Spyro, drop it" she hissed threateningly

" I've answered your question, now I want you to answer mine"

" Spyro..."

" Hey, leave her alone!" Flare snarled and approached the purple dragon despite the fear tying his paws

" Stand back" Spyro hissed as he threw the red dragon a furious glance " This does not concern you"

" You have no right to speak to her like that!"

" Flare, mind your own business"

" Just because you are a purple dragon doesn't mean you can do everything you want! I won't allow it to happen again!" Flare growled angrily

Spyro furrowed a brow seeing the dragon's aggression, his fighter's instinct was slowly kicking in but he held it back" What are you doing?

"You won't fool me you are just like the others but out of respect for Cynder I'm trying to put some sense into you"

The purple dragon snorted " What sense? What am I doing wrong? I just asked her a simple question which I want her to answer, nothing else"

" Don't talk like I'm not here" Cynder growled

He turned towards her" Just answer the question, why you don't want to?"

" BECAUSE I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" she roared

Spyro jerked back, her sudden outburst caught him by surprise. In a mere moment everything came back to him, realization struck him in the hardest way possible. He realized that there was no logical explanation for his anger towards Flare, hell he didn't even know why he was angry at him in the first place, it was all so stupid. Then he remembered that Mole-Yair called Cynder for a quick eye-to-eye talk and how distressed she looked after it.

Spyro lowered his head in shame " I'm sorry guys" he muttered in a hurt tone

" No way!" Flare growled " You are not goi-" his eyes widened in surprise " Wait, what?"

He looked at the fiery dragon " I'm sorry Flare, you have all the right to voice your opinion, you are a member of our group now, like it or not so our business is also your business, mostly"

He stared at the purple dragon with eyes filled with disbelief, not really caring about the whole monolog, he only focused on the first part of the sentence " You are sorry?" he muttered shocked " I never heard a purple dragon saying sorry before" instinctively he looked at the black dragoness, remembering her words

Cynder greeted him with _I told you so_expression " It's ok Spyro, you don't have to apologize" she stated calmly, as she turned to face her purple companion, her rage finally gone " We both acted stupid, irritation did the rest"

Sparx yawned and pushed himself of the wall he was leaning against " You are done finally?" everybody looked at him with tired eyes " Now imagine that we were somewhere deeper into the tunnel and were surrounded by bugs and you start argue. They would eat and crap us out in the corner by now, how awesome would that be?"

Every dragon acknowledged the dragonflies' story with a frown

" You get my point don't you? If you really want to argue, AGAIN, do it where..." he extended his hand with his forefinger above his thumb and began slowly pushing them closer to each other "...it's a little bit safer. OK?" he whispered

The dragons looked at each other, there was unlikely that any bugs were here in such a still hospitable part of the mine but there was no denying that Sparx was right, they can't let their emotions get the upper hand when danger is so close.

Seeing as the drake's were considering his words Sparx flew next to Flare and pulled him to the side by yanking one of his horns " Word of advice Dude, when those two are arguing don't interfere, you are only going to make it worse by picking sides"

" What? How?" Flare blurt out " I defended Cynder because it was the right thing to do, he was pushing things way too far. That was wrong"

" it doesn't matter who was right or not, trust me Dude, I've been through this many times"

The red dragon furrowed a brow " That wasn't their first time? Just how many times do they argue?"

Sparx sighed " Plenty, I've lost count a long time ago"

" I don't get it, I've thought they are best friends"

The dragonfly nodded " They are, they spend a lot of time together and that's what makes them argue"

Flare observed the dragonfly pondering his words " I don't understand" he said after a while

Sparx sighed " Argument not always means that you don't like the other person"

" I still don't understand"

The dragonfly rubbed his forehead " Am I the only one seeing what is happening?" he muttered to himself. He clapped his hands " Ok Dude, I'll give you a hint and maybe you will figure it yourself because I really hope that you are blind and I'm not crazy. What caused the argument?"

Flare shrugged " Something about a problem, probably with me"

" Close dude but you are not the point of focus, dig deeper, read between the lines. What made Spyro bitter?"

" I don't know, he is a purple dragon, maybe a little different but he is still purple, they usually don't make sense, or hide it very well"

" Ok we try a different approach, when they start arguing again, pay attention to something other than the words, pay attention to what triggers the argument"

" But why?"

Sparx raised his forefinger " One, as I said before I want to see if you are blind or if I'm crazy" he raised his middle finger " Two, because I'm bored and want to play a game" he raised his ring finger " Three, show you why you should stay out of this"

" Ok, I'm going to risk my head here" Spyro finally gathered enough courage to ask her the question that bothered him, that's the best time for it since she is obviously calmer " What Mole-Yair told you?"

Cynder smiled inwardly, despite the shouting earlier he still put her well-being as a priority " Your head will be fine" she said with a slight giggle " And don't worry about Mole-Yair, what he said was nothing drastic, I can take care of it"

" I can help"

She smiled " I know you can, but this is something I need to do alone. Be sure that everything I'm doing is for you guys, you are my friends after all"

" WHAT?" Flare blurt out excitedly and ran towards the dragoness barely keeping his glee in check " I'm your friend?"

Cynder's smile widened as she noticed the dragon's expression " Of course Flare, maybe we don't know each other for long but you are willingly travelling with us, you are part of our group that means you are my friend"

The fiery drake visibly beamed " Cool! I've never had a friend before I don't know what to say" he lowered his gaze, searching for the right words on the floor

" You don't have to say anything"

He lifted his eyes, there was a great dose of sincerity and gratitude shining within his fiery sight " I'm proud to be considered as your friend. Nothing better ever happened to me before"

Cynder was taken aback by his comment, his words filled her heart with a tremendous amount of joy and bashfulness, leaving her speechless

Spyro smiled as he saw her reaction, there was that strange and unexplained hatred for the fiery drake gnawing at him but it was effectively quenched by the feeling of pure joy as he watched his best friend's spirit being lifted up

A tear appeared in the corner of her eye " I... Flare... I..." she swallowed the gulp in her throat " Thank you" she said with watery eyes

" Whoa, whoa, whoa" Sparx exclaimed and began circling the three dragons before hovering in front of the dragoness " Did you just call me your friend?"

Cynder wiped her eyes and smiled " Perhaps"

The dragonfly began rubbing his chin " I don't know Cyn, are you really sure that we should take our relationship to the next level?"

Cynder laughed, it was somewhat nice that Sparx broke the awkward moment with some humor " I would rather not but I'm forced to take what I've got"

Sparx pretended to ponder the proposition " Ok fine for me" he spat on his hand and extended it towards the dragoness

With a grin Cynder spat on her paw and both friends shook on it

Sparx clapped his hands " So friends how about we go celebrate this union with our digging friends, huh?" he dashed towards the exit

Spyro blocked him with his wing as he began descending deeper into the tunnel " We are going forward"

Sparx sighed with a shrug " It was worth a shot" he muttered defeated

The purple dragon waited for his female friend to catch up with him so he could walk next to her " If one day something will start really bothering you, share ok? I'm here for you"

She smiled, there was no one who can possibly replace him in her heart and she is constantly reminded of that, how her life would turn bleak if he ever turned his back at her. However from now on, she has a friend that is from outside their little group, what a relief that is on her burdened existence, what a relief that is to be able to rely on someone else. Perhaps Mole-Yair was wrong, and everything would turn out good in the end, anyway, at least this is a start.

" Promise" she said with a broad smile

The descent was a slow one, every now and then they had to stop to allow Cynder to comfort their fiery companion so he could overcome his fear and push forward. Seeing in what state he was she wanted to convince him to leave and wait for them in the city but no matter how hard she tried the dragon just wouldn't listen. It was hard to tell if it was only a simple stubbornness, the urge to learn more about the world or something completely else. Whatever the case may be Flare's persistence remained unhindered.

More and more lanterns dangled from the ceiling as they progressed further into the mine, eventually the light started to become more dimer as the tunnel began to narrow almost to the point that forced them to crawl, they could feel the rough edgy walls scratching their scales, the dragons had to be very careful while swinging their tails to not send sparks flying which might accidently hurt someone.

Spyro was leading the group so he was the first one who picked up a noise that sounded like a muffled conversation, he motioned for his brother to come closer to check if he is not hearing things. Sparx understood the sign and started to listen intently, after a short moment he nodded confirming his brother's suspicion. They pushed forward, here the tunnel grew completely dark and even more narrow than before.

It just occurred to Spyro that the last wagon that was meant to transport the mined metals was last seen just before the tunnel got more tighter, why mine in a place that is not suitable for comfortable transportation was beyond him, however that was unimportant right now, curiosity has to be eclipsed, his main concern right now were the muffled voices coming from ahead.

The voices became louder and more comprehensible as he crawled further into the tunnel with his companions closely following him. The tunnel was becoming more dark with each step but now it turned completely black, even the natural light Sparx emanated wasn't much helpful. Spyro's only way of knowing what surrounds him was the feeling of the rough surface of the walls on his scales.

He frowned thoughtfully when his tail ran across something metallic and smooth, he would check it out but there was no time, besides his whole concentration was now focused on the loud voices, there was no doubt about it now, these have to be the minder Mole-Yair spoke about. Seeing that this very hateful crawl will soon end Spyro pushed forward with great determination, it was only a matter of seconds before they reach their goal now.

" OW!" Spyro yelped when he bumped into a solid invisible barrier just when he thought he will reach the miners

" I CAN'T BELIVE IT!" a furious, slightly muffled shout came from ahead " Another idiot didn't read the sign and hit the door! How are we supposed to squash the bugs when they are sending me morons!" the manweersmall reached for the handle of the doors and opened them " Listen dipshit I won't be-" his angry yelling came to an abrupt end when he peeked inside the door and spotted a purple dragon inside who was rubbing his nose

Spyro fixed the rodent with an irritated glance but not for the manweersmall's insult but for his own clumsiness, he curled his nose a few times and pushed himself into the cavern

The mole bowed deeply while tightly clenching his iron hat near his chest " I'm deeply sorry I didn't mean to offend"

" It's alright" the purple dragon assured the mole and began looking around the cavern while wiping his watery eyes

The cavern he found himself into was way wider and bigger than the tunnel he just left, much to his relief, he is not claustrophobic but he hated that cramped place, he could only imagine how Flare felt. Here they have found the lost wagons that so suddenly disappeared back into the tunnel, the carts were pushed down from their rails and their lids were wide opened, nothing was inside them excluding a simple crumpled blanket, it looked like the wagons served as makeshift beds.

All kinds of tools, weapons, metals and other things were strewn all around the cavern, what really worried him was their look, many of them were dented and practically everything was covered in blood, be it fresh or dried. The tunnel ahead that led deeper into the mine was also narrowed almost to the point that even a fly could have troubles squeezing through, to sum up the whole cavern looked like some sort of organized chaos.

And in the middle of the chaos were the miners, there was quite a big group of them, however the overall sight was disturbing. The miners seemed to exchange their working tools for something more practical when it comes to fighting like swords, but also a pickaxe could be seen every now and then. Just like the tools the manweersmalls were strewn all around the cavern, some were sleeping, some were laying on the floor, others were walking all around the cavern with their noses pointed at the ground, others were intently staring at the tunnel leading out of the cavern while others were doing something completely else.

What they had in common was a bloody injury, practically all the miners were wounded one way or the other, starting from annoying cuts to deep lacerations, some of them even had missing claws, or other body parts, the rodent that so politely greeted him for instance had his right eye replaced by a bloody bandage, it seemed like the miners had a really rough time here.

However the culprits also received their share of failures, many of the bugs to Spyro's surprise were now being served as a snack, the sight made his stomach curl.

" Please forgive my outburst" the manweersmall continued to apologize with a hurt tone " With the bugs constantly pestering us we are all on edge" his eyes traced a glowing dragonfly for a while as he left the tunnel " These days you can never be sure when some horror decides to show itself"

The rodent yelped and his iron hat clattered on the stony floor when he recognized the emerging black snout of a dragoness. Almost every miner looked in the direction of their screaming leader, when they spotted the shape of a black dragoness in trained unison they reached for their weapons and adopted a defensive stance

" WHAT IS THIS?!" the one-eyed manweersmall exclaimed horrified while threateningly waving his sword in front of the black snout.

Some other rodents joined their leader and directed their weapons at the dragoness, forcing her head back and preventing her from completely leaving the narrow tunnel, only the upper part of her body was completely free of the cramped space.

Sparx dashed towards the commotion and patted the dragonesses head " This is Cynder"

The rodent remained silent, he only eyed the dragonfly with shock filled eyes.

Sparx cocked his head pretending he doesn't understand the mole's reaction " You know, the chick that enslaved you and made you her bitches. That Cynder"

" I KNOW WHO SHE IS!" the manweersmall blurted out furiously, if he could roar that would be the best way to release all that boiling anger. In his fury the rodent yanked his word closer to the dragonesses' head, pointing it directly between her eyes. She had to jerk her head back even more to avoid the sharp tip

" I'm more concerned with finding information telling us what this slut is doing here!"

" She is with me" Spyro growled while he approached the rodent, his voice was filled with intimidating anger. The irritation gnawing at him basically since he entered the Munitions Forge now combined with sheer fury after hearing someone with no regard insulting his best friend made him boil from inside.

The manweersmall threw his hand up " Are you insane Spyro?!" You know who she is?!"

The purple dragon looked directly into the mole's eyes " She is my companion and a friend"

" A frie...She had to put a spell on you or something!"

" She didn't do such a thing"

The manweersmall observed the dragon with wide eyes " She seduced you! I can see it in your eyes !" in panic he looked into the direction of his co-workers " Chop her head off!" he yelled

Spyro roared and grabbed the mole by his shoulders before slamming him into the wall which made the whole cavern shake slightly " DON'T YOU DARE!" he roared again while turning to look at the gathered miners, red flames bursting out through his nostrils

" What are you doing?!" the pinned rodent hissed through clenched teeth, pain ripping his back after the impact

" Spyro!" Cynder shouted and wanted to jump towards her friend but the sharp tips of the swords that yanked in her direction made her slid back into the tunnel again

" Put your weapons down" Spyro growled while eying the gathered miners with a cold gaze

" Don't listen to him!" the one-eyed manweersmall exclaimed before a grunt escaped his throat as he was once again slammed into the wall

" I won't repeat myself" the purple dragon snarled at the pinned mole

With a cough the rodent slowly raised his head " And what are you going to do?" he looked into the dragon's amethyst orbs " Kill me?" the rodent's eyes widened when there was no reaction from Spyro, not even his pupils dilated " By the Ancestors...you would, wouldn't you?"

" Order your men to put down their weapons"

The rodent closed his eyes defeated " You can't even see what you are doing" he sighed " Do as he says"

The miners did what they were told, not even trying to hide their hesitation. Cynder despite everything that's happening let out a breath of relief, even if it looked safe she still crawled from the tunnel slowly with her emerald eyes fixed on the miners

Spyro let go off the mole " Was it so hard? Everything would turn out differently if we had only started like this"

The manweersmall stumbled for a short while before he straightened up, recovering his balance " You are right about that" he massaged his sore shoulder " We would never know how seriously she brainwashed you"

The purple dragon didn't answer, he just stared at the rodent in complete silence

The mole shook his head " How can you not see it?"

" What I see is blind superstitions and unexplainable level of despise. I'm tired of it"

" Wake up Spyro! She wrapped you around her claw"

Spyro growled quietly, the gnawing irritation mixed with the mole's annoying words created a most unwanted combination that he struggled to fight back " I know what I'm doing"

The rodent frowned " Do you really?" You just raised your paw on an ally! And to top that you threatened to kill me, you would sacrifice everything for her. She had to put a spell on you!"

" I've never said that I wanted to kill you, it's just your imagination" the dragon corrected the mole, yet he couldn't deny the fact that he was completely overwhelmed by fury back then ' Besides you wanted to kill my best friend, I had to do something"

The injured manweersmall shook his head " I just don't understand how can you call her a friend"

" And that's exactly the reason behind every argument, ignorance"

The rodent snorted " Ignorance? This is not ignorance but reason. You haven't lost everything and everyone because of her, we on the other hand lost our friends, families and children. It doesn't matter that perhaps Shadow now somehow turned younger and seems calm, her other self is still there. You have to lose much to be able to notice it, because people Spyro don't change at a day's notice. If there was evil in her before then it is still there but hidden"

" You are not talking about reason, you are talking about hate"

The manweersmall narrowed his gaze on the drake " You really believe it is possible to change that much?"

" Yes" Spyro replied without hesitation

" Then tell me, if Malefor, the one responsible for Ignitus death would show up one day and just like her he would be filled with guilt and sorrow, would you believe in his change of heart without a doubt?"

Spyro opened his mouth but no words came out, he averted his gaze, the manweersmall had a point, it would be really hard to forgive him. But on the other hand this is a completely different situation, one was a creature of pure evil while the other was forced into the decadence

" You can't compare the two" he answered finally with a wavering confidence

" I can and you know it, you deny it because you want it to not be true but unfortunately it is and you can do nothing about it" the rodent leaned closer " She will be your downfall"

The purple dragon didn't look at the mole, he was watching Cynder with a corner of his eye while pretending to stare at the wall in contemplation.

The mnaweersmall without any more words rubbed his painful shoulder, picked up his iron hat, straightened up and started to walk away " Let her in" he announced emotionlessly

Cynder slowly crawled from the tunnel while intently eying the retreating miners, the glimmer in their eyes was enough for her to know how pleased they were with their leader's decision, however she was glad to finally free her body from that tight place. As soon as she left the tunnel she immediately darted towards Spyro

" Bro that gave me the creeps" Sparx started to circle around his brother's head " You really need to get a hold of yourself"

" And what was I supposed to do?!" the dragon snapped back in a loud whisper

" You know I have a high tolerance for crazy but that was reckless even in my book"

" Yeah Spyro, what has gotten into you?" Cynder inquired

" I don't know ok? I've been walking angry basically since we got to the city. I don't know what's happening I can't explain it"

Sparx shook his head, he elbowed Cynder and urged her to say something with a nod of his head. He had a hunch that only she is able to calm his brother.

The dragoness threw the dragonfly only a brief glance before she approached her friend " I know it's hard to quell emotions, believe me I do, but you cannot allow them to control you"

" I can't stand how they treat you" he snarled angrily " Not only they insult you but also try to kill you. I won't stand idle and watch"

" I know you won't and despite what I usually say I'm glad that you watch over me"

Spyro's mouth twitched into a brief smile " Good to know that my head is safe"

" You know how temperamental I am, you know in how much trouble I get because of that, but you cannot be like me, you are the idol of these people and you need to give them an example. You can't end like me, I beg you Spyro don't go that way, do it for me" she mumbled pleadingly

He looked at her with guilty eyes " You don't need to beg, you just need to ask"

Cynder smiled gratefully " And if as every hero you will need a shoulder to lean on remember that I'm here for you and only for you"

Spyro felt that a weight was lifted from his heart, a great sense of relief overwhelmed him, completely destroying all that boiling anger within. Her words felt like needles and pins piercing directly his heart, it felt like something he just waited for. Not only his heart began to race but that strange feeling in his stomach returned, it was somewhat painful but also oddly pleasant at the same time.

" SOMETHING"S COMING!" one of the miners exclaimed while he rushed into the direction of the tunnel Cynder just crawled out from.

" HOW?!" another miner yelled shocked while he gripped his weapon tightly " IT"S IMPOSSIBLE!" he dashed towards the tunnel, a strange reddish light was emanating from within

The one-eyed manweersmall turned towards the tunnel, the strange light made him alarmed, but then he noticed the recently arrived dragons, they weren't panicking in the slightest. It could only mean one thing

" Let him or her in" the rodent ordered with a tired sigh

The miners took some steps back yet they were still carefully watching the inside of the tunnel

" Boss that is no dragon!" one of the miners shouted nervously when a pair of reddish eyes appeared illuminated by the fiery flames protruding from the creature's red body

" What the hell is that thing?" some other miner exclaimed

The disfigured manweersmall approached the three friends " You've brought backup?

" We wish" Sparx scoffed

Suddenly there were some startled gasps when the creature clumsily popped from the tunnel and dropped flat onto the stony floor, seeing the hanging mouths of his co-workers the one-eyed rodent quickly entered the scene of amazement.

The moment the rodent did he didn't look different than the rest of the miners, all of them were stating at the slowly raising creature, their confusion was broken by the three friends breaking through their little circle of shock.

" Man, you look like crap" Sparx announced straightforwardly

Despite the bluntness of his words, the dragonfly was right. By spending countless time stuck in that tight tunnel he lost even more of his vigor. He was shaking, every muscle in his body was flexed to the point of stiffness, even his scales lost the bright red color, paleness taking its place

" You brought a claustrophobic here?" the one-eyed manweersmall blurt out shocked " Are you insane?"

" He insisted" Spyro replied

" Forgive me that I won't ask what the hell he is, I have enough shock for one day. Come kiddo, I'll give you something to ease your nerves, then let's talk business"

" I've told you to go back Flare" Cynder hissed irritated

" Everything is ok" the reddish dragon replied with fear and extreme hoarseness in his voice " Don't worry about me" to avoid any more explaining he quickly followed the manweersmall

" I feel like this is going to be an interesting trip" Sparx sighed " Why it can't go well for once? We need to retire bro"

" Come on Sparx it's fun, you always complained that you are bored anyway" Spyro joked

" Hey I have nothing against some fun but I would rather like..." he rubbed his neck "...some fun that doesn't put my head on the line"

The purple dragon smirked " Don't worry I've got it covered"

The dragonfly folded his arms " Very funny smartass"

" You feel better Flare?" Cynder changed the topic as soon as she noticed the red dragon approaching with the one-eyed manweersmall fallowing him

" A bit but I would really to do what we came here to do as quickly as possible"

" Agreed"

Sparx clapped his hands " So..." he turned towards the rodent and his eyes widened instantly when he noticed that the mole was chewing the remnants of the bug they were sent here to investigate " YOU EAT THAT?" he exclaimed shocked " That's disgusting!"

The rodent shrugged and as if to provoke the dragonfly he took a bite of the small bug again " I've seen more disgusting things" he answered while throwing both Spyro and Cynder a cold glance before he waved his hand gesturing to the group to follow him " They are pretty eatable if you don't have any other options"

He stopped by the exit into the deeper parts of the mine " Ok so situation looks like this, first some bad news" he pointed at the tight tunnel " We had to narrow the tunnels so we could spot those uglies better, they are quite fast so be careful, so stay sharp, one mistake and..." he pointed at his missing eye"... this might happen"

" By narrowing the tunnel we shook the whole foundation of the mine, so if I were you I would avoid using any earthshaking powers or you might cause a cave-in. Also no flame breaths, as you already noticed the air is pretty stale here, you don't want to suffocate after all" he looked at the fiery dragon " I don't know how you will manage kiddo since you are practically a walking fire but if it were up to me I would also change dented weapons for dragon claws"

A miner carrying three strange looking helmets approached them, the one-eyed manweersmall smiled and took the helmets into his own hands " Now for some good news" he thanked the rodent with a nod of his head before he presented one of the helmets to the group.

The helmet looked like an iron cap with two holes in it and a leather strap attached to both it ends, on top of it there was a candle burning encased within what looked like glass " This is not iron don't worry, your necks will be fine. I won't bore you with names so let's get straight to the point, this helmets are made from a very light metal" he pointed at the candle " This here is not glass but a very transparent metal, it focuses light so instead of a candle illuminating the area around you get a beam of light allowing you to see some meters ahead of you. Useless for creatures with weak sight but for dragons like you it can make wonders"

He placed the helmet on every dragon's head, Spyro's and Flare's horns perfectly fitted into the holes. Flare laughed when he looked at Cynder " You look silly!"

" Took you a while to notice that, Cyn put down the helmet it didn't help you" Sparx commented

The dragoness just playfully poked her tongue at him

As the dragons tightened the straps around their jaws the manweersmall looked at the dragonfly apologetically " Your natural light will have to suffice, I'm afraid we don't have a helmet for your size"

" That's ok, he is used to being unnoticed" Cynder smirked

Sparx darted towards the manweersmall and placed his hand on the rodent's shoulder while eying the dragoness " Maybe you will reconsider chopping her head off?"

The miner shook his head after seeing the dragoness smile and yanked his way out of the dragonflies grasp " During the eruption" he quickly changed the topic " by yet unknowns reasons fresh air manages to slip through. It's not much but for someone like you who aren't used to stale air this will be quite a breather" the rodent waved for them to approach " As far as we know the bugs are poor diggers so their nest shouldn't be hidden well"

With a wave of his hand he excused the two guarding miners to make more room for the group while he himself took a brief peek inside the tunnel " Find the bugs and find a way to stop them" he turned towards them " good luck, you are going to need it"

" You are not coming with us?" Spyro asked

" My orders were to fill you in not to accompany you, besides we would only get in your way anyway"

With everything clear and their mission set for them the group's only choice now was to pursue their quest. Cynder took the lead, the moment she wanted to enter the narrow tunnel a dragonfly beat her to it

" Hey!" she blurt out " What happened to ladies first?" she asked ironically

" What ladies?" Sparx' shout came from inside the shaft

" Ass" Cynder giggled and entered the tunnel with Flare closely following her. Just when Spyro was about to join his companions he was stopped by the manweersmall's hand

" You are supposed to be a leader one day so start acting like one. Sometimes you need to put the feeling of your underlings aside. What are you doing now is reckless, trusting a vile creature and bringing a kid who is claustrophobic. Evil and fear can be overwhelming."

" First of all" Spyro replied calmly " They are not my underlings but my friends. Secondly they come with me because I respect them, I'm not their boss, they can do whatever they want. Third thanks for your advice but we will manage"

The manweersmall sighed " You have yet much to learn"

Without any more words Spyro entered the tunnel, reckless or not he has a job to do and if his friends want to help him they have every right to do so. When will people finally learn that he is just a common dragon willing to help innocent people not some sort of a leader. If the manweersmall believes that by sorting people by their feelings and emotions is right he will prove him wrong, they are a team and only together they will be able to accomplish anything.