FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 17

Spyro had enough of this adventure already, why didn't he listen to his brother? After preventing the world from breaking apart he should have retired, who would blame him? He is still young and was thrown into a fight nobody else wanted or couldn't participate in, didn't he do enough?

But noooo, he had to dive willingly into another whirl of swirling uncertainties and unknown danger because that's what he does! Because he has to help everyone! He risks his own life so other people don't have to! He helps the innocent because if you are strong and capable of defending yourself it's your holy duty to protect the weak! He protects them because it needs to be done, because that's how his parents raised him! Damn heart of gold...damn.

Him, Sparx and Cynder formed a great team, a team which defeated The Dark Master and brought back peace to the Realms so everyone could live happily ever after. At least that's how it plays out in the many books for children that his parents used to read him.

Now he knows they were just stories, a fiction and nothing else. People call him a hero, why? His fairytale didn't end like all the others, if it ever began in the first place that is. His worst fears came true, his gut told him that this was just the beginning of another life threatening experience, just as soon first troubles ended, new arose in their place momentarily.

And what troubles those were! Just in this place Sparx got missing, they fell down into the deeper parts of the volcano almost breaking their necks, they blocked their only one known way out and to top all of that one of his newer companions is unstable and tried to attack him, just like that! Spyro could only wonder if it could get any better than this. He just loves deadly surprises!

The purple dragon snorted, the boiling irritation within him was insufferable, he even started to talk with himself! The only thing he needed right now was to find out that he actually said all those things aloud and his companions heard him, they would think he is losing his mind, just how awesome would be that!

A delicate anxious smile appeared on his snout as he instinctively turned off his conflicted mind for a while and began to listen intently. It was a juvenile goal, but it was a goal nevertheless, he just had to know if he said all those things aloud. Even if he was driven by curiosity he knew he had to play it cool without raising any suspicions, so the purple dragon in all of his ingenious plan kept on walking down the dark tunnel.

And most likely just like any other dragon in his place would do after creating such a deceitful plan- he slowed down his pace, that way he could focus on what is really important and leave the creepy unknown and probably even more dangerous surroundings of the newly discovered tunnel for later, simply brilliant!. Spyro kept on walking, like nothing ever happened, not wanting to spoil his amazing and very important plan.

He kept on listening but there was only silence, minutes passed, nothing changed- silence. Besides the ragged breathing of his companions there was no other sound echoing through the tunnel. His smile grew bigger, it spread itself across his whole snout forming a very broad grin which displayed rows of razor sharp white teeth.

Victory!_Spyro screamed inwardly, his plan has worked, he didn't spoil his thoughts, he has triumphed! The sly grin disappeared from his snout moments later, when his senses returned to him. " _What the hell am I doing?" he mused and stifled a chuckle, realizing just how stupid this whole thing was. All this time he was joking but now he realized that he might actually going mad, oh well, nobody's perfect_._

Spyro shook off his stupid smile, this was not the time nor the place for such dumb games, just how old is he again? The dragon sighed, reality came back at him in an instant, perhaps it was stupid but at least it kept the boiling irritation and anger in him at bay for a while.

The last few hours weren't exactly the best ones of his life, the constant threat by those deadly creatures, the fear of losing his life, his brother disappearance and especially Flare's hostility. All these recent events mixed with the pounding feelings of dread, irritation and feral survival instinct put him on edge.

His troubled mind sent him constantly images of Flare pouncing at him from behind, the red dragon's fiery claws ready to peel the flesh from his bones. Spyro really tried to ignore the nudge of anxiousness which could be considered by more specialized people in the matters of psychology a first state of panic.

Yet when he succumbed to the feeling and his pupils jumped to the far side of his eyeballs to cover as much ground as possible without turning around and raising any suspicion regarding his state of mind. The purple dragon's heart worked faster every time he scanned the surroundings with a little wider amethyst orbs, his pupils kept dilating whenever he looked behind his shoulder, expecting that soon there will be a roar and once again he will have to fight for his life.

Luckily for him the images his mind created never came true... at least not yet. It was really tough to remain calm in this circumstances but he did this for his companions, he didn't want to make the atmosphere worse than it already is.

When Spyro's thoughts jumped from one horrible thing to the other, imagining probably every possible scenario to make their adventure even more disastrous, they eventually found its way to Cynder. Irritation and anger vanished instantly replaced by inexplicable feeling of guilt and...fear.

Everything inside him screamed that it was wrong to consider his best friend to be beautiful, that it was wrong to constantly think about her, that the odd sensations that accompany the thoughts about her were wrong, that it was not supposed to be like that. They are best friends after all, their relationship is based on friendship and solely on friendship, anything more than that felt like betrayal. He had to push those strange feelings aside, he can't and doesn't want to ruin the relation between them, he can't strain the trust they share between each other, he can't push her away because of his sudden obsession.

Yet whenever he tried to convince himself that the crazy thoughts that are running through his head are just the consequence of their fall, he just had to hit his head a little too hard and it confused him. No matter how hard he tried, his attempts of deceiving himself were to no avail.

Spyro's mind kept projecting images of Cynder, two to be precise, the images were quickly blinking in front of his eyes just like somebody would be jumping from one picture to the other by quickly pushing an arrow button on some kind of panel. Both of these images represented the sleeping form of Cynder, one was from the cave where they have spent the night after their unexplained appearance in the Valley of Avalar. The second one was from this mine, it all happened minutes ago, the memory was so fresh that he could still feel her laying on top of him.

Both images were concentrated on Cynder's snout, everything else was blurry, deep down he knew the reason behind this, the answer was simple- everything else was unimportant. The images achieved their goal, Spyro kept staring at that black snout, as his eyes began to travel across it the dragon's heart started to beat faster, he could hear working, it sounded like a drum. His breath became even more ragged, his stomach curled and twitched, the odd feeling of thousands of butterflies swirling inside his belly returned. No matter how strange and uncomfortable he felt, he just couldn't get enough of Cynder's black snout.

Spyro saw clearly every grimace, every twitch of her mouth as she dreamed, every black soft scale, he saw absolutely everything with great detail and no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't notice any flaw, she was just so perfect.

" By the Ancestors, what the hell am I doing?" he heard his own uncertain voice pounding inside his head, besides the confusion in that tone, there was also a very palpable hint of warning.

The dragon ignored it.

His eyes stopped on her fluttering eyeballs, a sign she was dreaming, he felt her soft breath on his nose, it felt like some kind of aphrodisiac, it made him dizzy, he noticed her mouth twitching into a smile, her unwittingly efforts sent shiver through his body. His pupils eventually stopped on the white markings around her eyes, they were like some sort of shining beacons, just like a pair of angelic wings which burst with a blinding light just to reveal a figure he could never possible dream of.

It was the same with Cynder, when the bright light finally faded it revealed his draconic angel to him, the sight knocked the wind out of him, she was just so beautiful. Dear Ancestors, how he loves to watch her sleep.

" BETRAYAL!"

A sudden scream inside his head changed everything, it was just like a thunder that hit him from a cloudless sky, he shivered as the howling noise passed through his body. The images of Cynder disappeared, together with all that strange feelings, a strong overpowering sensation of guilt took their place.

" BETRAYAL!"

His mind kept screaming this one single word over and over again, making the dragon focus only on that word and the feeling of guilt that followed in its wake.

" Shake it off, shake it off" Spyro muttered inwardly

No matter how hard he tried it was just impossible to get rid of this feeling, it was there like a lingering open wound that sent surges of pain whenever he tried to move. Realization came sooner, after moments of unending struggle he finally understood while the feeling doesn't want to go away. It was his conscience talking, it realized that he was weak and took matter in its own hands, effectively blocking the one road that was so very tempting on the moral crossroad he found himself to be on to.

All his life Spyro walked down the roads that he himself trampled down, nobody could sway him from that, not even the Chronicler. However it took him to live to this day to finally figure out what pushed him down those paths, it was friendship.

Because of that friendship he decided to leave the Chronicler's safe haven and help Cynder break free from Gaul's iron chains, even if their friendship wasn't developed as it is now, he just knew, deep down he knew that he has to do it.

Now ironically he was forced to take the road that sustained that companionship, he went down that path because that was what he wanted from the beginning. Yet when he thought that this road was the only good choice there was something nipping at his heart, like somebody would poke it with a needle.

The a sudden spark of clarity ran through him, how is it possible that friendship made him throw everything away and go look for Cynder all that time ago when they barely knew each other back then? If companionship was the reason he decided to trample down his own road then why he feels the tempting pull from the blocked side when friendship is just at paw's reach? He only now realized that he felt greatly attached to Cynder from the very beginning, nobody becomes friends at first glance, then why would he sacrifice everything for her without even blinking? It can't be friendship, all this time something else led him to her, if it isn't companionship then it has to be...

" Spyro!"

The sound of his name, that distant shout bounced inside his head making the images and his train of thought waver.

" Spyro!"

With a gasp he was forcefully pulled back to reality, as he exhaled everything around him suddenly became dark, the only thing he could see were those three white beams of light illuminating some jagged rocks protruding from the walls. He found himself staring at one of these lights.

" Spyro"

He heard his name again, but this time he recognized the voice who was calling him. He turned around, the moment he laid eyes on her confusion filled his entire body, everything he was thinking about moments ago was gone. The hard crash with reality destroyed every spark of clarity, now it was total chaos. He had no idea what just happened.

" Geez Spyro!" Cynder exclaimed as she hid behind one of her black wings, the white light was blinding " Point that thing somewhere else"

Her every word came back at him with a ringing echo, his mind was slowly processing the spoken letters, as if waking from a deep slumber, step by step turning them into comprehensible sentences.

" Spyro!" she shouted again

" Ekhem?" he only uttered an incomprehensible grunt as he stared at her illuminated black form with unfocused eyes

" The light! Please!"

Another shout, this one however felt like a shrill scream, that threw away and disoriented the uncontrollable pensiveness lingering inside his mind, returning control to his body in an instant. Instinctively but sloppy he moved his head to the side.

" Thank you" Cynder replied with a delicate hint of irritation in her voice as soon as the blinding light moved away

" Sorry" Spyro whimpered as he drove his gaze into the ground

She narrowed her gaze on him " Is everything alright?" the dragoness tone changed, there was only pure kindness and sincere worry ringing in her voice " I think you dazed off there for a while"

" I'm ok!" he blurt out without thinking, failing to hide the panic in his voice. They need to move, she will know that he is lying and if she confronts him about it, he has no idea how he will pull through that, he has to protect their trust.

" Let's...let's continue forward" he mumbled and turned around

Sparx dashed towards his brother and snapped his fingers in front of his snout making the dragon balk " Hello?" Earth to Spyro, do you copy?" the dragonfly waved in front of his eyes before grabbing the dragon's horns to get his attention " There is no forward" with a delicate yank he let go off his brother and spread his arms aside pointing out at the surroundings with his opened palms " We are on a freaking crossroad"

Spyro's amethyst pupils dilated as they were getting used to the crashing reality, the still shrouded in darkness surrounding area started to become more and more solid and realistic. It turned out that Sparx was right, they have indeed reached a crossroad, which Spyro found as a very far-fetched irony. Ahead of him was an illuminated by a bright light wall with protruding sharp rocks like spines, the wall split the cave they were in into two identical tunnels. Even if he would not believe his brother, this would convince him.

" I hope that whatever you were daydreaming about wasn't creepy, you know what would people think about me if they would find out that I only just now realized that my brother is mentally sick?" Sparx commented mockingly.

The dragonfly waited for some kind of snarky response but to his surprise nothing like that happened. He sighed with another full of disappointment shake of his head, his brother is so boring lately.

" Fine whatever," Sparx snorted and looked around the cave " So which way?"

" How am I supposed to know this?" Spyro asked almost indignant, completely forgetting about his portal detection abilities

" Use your mojo" Cynder answered the question as she approached her purple friend, she didn't have to hear him say that he is looking for one of the portals, she could already tell what he's up to by his reaction. He had that focused expression whenever he felt a Veil is nearby, she'll never forget that look after their little adventure with the Keeper. However this time something was different, he somehow lost that concentrated look after some time, or she just got used to it and no longer can tell the difference. Whatever.

Her sudden appearance startled the young dragon, he barely stifled a gasp of panic, however the sight of her being so close to him will betray him eventually, he could feel it in his gut. His troubled mind started to scream.

" She will see through your lies! She will see your confusion! She will feel your uncertainty! You will break the trust! She knows!"

" BETRAYAL!"

Spyro gulped, panic was overpowering him, yet part of his mind still thought clearly, calmness still ruled there and it urged him to save their friendship and to do this they need to move, quickly so her mind can focus on something else. That's the plan.

" This way" Spyro blurt out while avoiding his friend's emerald gaze and darting into the right tunnel.

Cynder watched him go with a furrowed brow, she was right after all, there was something going inside his head, she could see it. She looked at Sparx, they understood each other without words, it was obvious they were thinking about the same thing, yet she hoped that the dragonfly knows the answer.

Sparx could feel her unspoken question hanging in the air, he shrugged, there was only one explanation " It's the stress I guess"

At hearing his answer Cynder impulsively threw a quick glance at the fiery drake. Flare was creeping behind them, with his head hanging low, he dragged his tail and wings along the ground as he moved forward. Behind this image of guilt and shame there was that proud, impulsive dragon somewhere that tried to attack her friend, Spyro has all the right to feel nervous.

" You're probably right" Cynder agreed with the dragonfly but she did so half-heartedly her feminine intuition told her that there is a second bottom to his behavior.

Spyro walked fast, the beam of the light from his candle shook slightly as his head kept twitching nervously. The young dragon walked for the sake of walking, without any goal and interest in his surroundings at all. His panicking mind kept only thinking about Cynder and her reaction when she would read his thoughts about jeopardizing their friendship.

" Get a grip on yourself_"_ Spyro growled in frustration under his breath

They were in an unknown dangerous territory and all he could think about was his strange feelings and everything that was related with them, his distraction is like an invitation saying "EASY PREY! COME AND GET IT!" for the bugs living here. He is putting everyone at risk, hell of a friend he is. Enough is enough, it's time to wake up.

Out of nowhere the familiar tingle has returned that sent a shiver through his whole body just like someone would splash on him a bucket full of freezing water. The portal was somewhere here inside this mine, he could feel it, yet not on this level, it was somewhere deeper. Spyro smiled inwardly, he finally shook off the confusing feelings and could now entirely focus on the matter at paw, what a relief that is. With a determined breath he continued onwards, it was time to deal with the bugs.

As the group progressed forward Spyro couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something different about the tingle that was running through his body, it felt distant but at the same time oddly strong. Like it was here but at the same time it wasn't, he couldn't make sense of it, it was all so confusing.

The young dragon in his distraction didn't notice the tiny round bit of rock protruding from the ground, he tripped over it. However countless time spent on harsh training with Ignitus regarding balance and movement prevented him from falling flat onto the ground. Spyro regained balance even before his front paws touched the floor, yet the ground was so uneven that it was impossible to retain a straight posture, the landing proved more difficult than he thought. The patchy ground shook his body as soon as his paws touched the floor, the uncontrollable force threw his body to the side and straight into a nearby wall.

The moment his left flank touched the face of the mine his body shivered with more intensity, he could feel the portal, it was past this wall. At first he had no idea how it was possible, how could a veil open itself right inside the mine's structure? There were only thick solid stones there, even as powerful and unexplained force of the portals leading to other time zones has to follow some basic rights of natural order.

Then enlightenment struck him and everything became clear- the mine had two tunnels. He remembered the crossroad, in his haste he picked this one randomly just to get moving but it turned out that his goal lays in the other path. It was clear now, the Veil has to be somewhere in that second tunnel, that's why he feels the portal behind the wall, it all makes sense now. Everything that's left now is just to change the tunnels.

" Crap" Spyro grumbled, in his panic he made a mistake and rushed down the wrong path, in any other situation nothing drastic happened, he would just change the tunnels and be done with it but now he will have to look at Cynder again, give her another reason to ask about his distraction and when she does, she will KNOW.

" Crap" he grumbled again and with a quick breath spun around and began returning the way they came, there was no other choice.

As he retraced his steps Spyro kept staring at the ground trying to be invisible but that poking inside his head told him that he is only losing his snout, at least what's left of it anyway. He raised his head, there was his brother there staring at him with confused eyes, just right behind him he spotted her, she was there watching him with the same abashed expression.

" Wrong tunnel" Spyro announced with a uptight smile before he aimed his gaze at the ground and walked past by her, quickly and without elaborating much further

Sparx and Cynder exchanged another dumbfounded glances between each other

" Wrong tunnel" both of them repeated after the purple dragon nonchalantly and fell quiet soon after. Quite used already to the drake's odd behavior.

" So? Any ideas?" the dragoness finally broke the silence

The dragonfly scratched his chin thoughtfully " It looks like your craziness is finally starting to influence him"

" Oh boy, you are right!" she exclaimed with a faked excitement " How could I not see this earlier!?" she snorted and her expression returned to the normal serious self " Idiot" with that she started to follow the purple dragon

" Crap, crap, crap" Spyro kept grumbling under his breath, his trance of sweet words was ended by the reddish light illuminating the ground, he raised his head just to meet with Flare's yellow gaze. The contact lasted less than a second since the fiery drake hastily averted his gaze and covered himself behind his fiery wing.

Spyro couldn't care less why he acts the way he does, the dragon seems to be afraid of him, his experience with the purple dragons, if that was even true since he had a hard time believing that more than two of his kind were alive at the same time, had to do something with it. Good riddance, Spyro could barely look at him and even those brief glances they shared lately triggered that stinging anger within him, the farther Flare stays away from him the better.

He eventually reached the crossroad, the moment he did he took the path leading inside the other tunnel without even slowing down. Spyro exhaled a long stifled breath of relief, this innocent turn felt like a second wind, he suddenly found strength inside to press forward without worrying about anything expect the unrevealed darkness ahead.

The group of companions made their way down the new unexplored tunnel, besides the slowly intensifying tingle that harassed him in this part of the mine Spyro could not tell difference between this tunnel and the one they so hastily left minutes ago.

Judging from the solid and unblemished walls or by the lack of dust and tracks on the ground only one conclusion occurs- the cavern has never tasted civilization, in fact the four companions might be the first sentient creatures that ever walked through these tunnels. The still untamed mine had that peculiar slightly ominous glamour which was intensified by the surrounding darkness giving it even more malicious appeal.

Not to mention the sound, or the lack of it for that matter as if the thick darkness had the capability to block sound, the absolute silence shrouding this place only added to its creepy mysteriousness. Only the ragged breathing, clicking of claws and the occasional splatter of a drop of blood on the stony floor echoed throughout the tunnel, the noise bounced off from wall to wall sounding more like an alarm than a natural consequence of walking across solid surface, the noise the group emitted warned everyone interested in listening that some unwelcomed guests have arrived.

Good news is that this cavern is much wider and higher than the one above they so unwillingly left, the bad news is...well everything else actually. Yet it wasn't that bad as Spyro firstly thought, after some time the tunnel presented two more openings, with one of those entrances more appealing than the other.

" Another intersection..." the purple dragon muttered inwardly. How the Manweersmalls found their way in those maze- like mines he had no idea, dear Ancestors, he really wanted to get out of here already.

Learning from his past mistakes Spyro focused, the itching intensified, he located the path to the portal, they just need to move forward. However this time the choice wasn't that simple, instead of one there were two tunnels, delicately separated by a thin wall which granted passage in a straight line. One of those tunnels was completely dark like the rest of the mine, from the other one a delicate colorful light emanated.

He focused again but unfortunately got the same result, there was no telling which tunnel led to the portal, they were just too close to each other and he wasn't experienced enough to tell the difference. He heard Cynder approaching from behind, he'll recognize the sound of her claws everywhere, again he thought about her, such a little detail that was but it still made his heart beat a little faster.

Spyro shook his head, can he really tell that she is approaching by the sound of her claws? Who the hell recognizes such things? He shook his head again, no time to dwell on it, he needs to pick a tunnel to avoid her questions which he won't have an answer for, and he needs to pick one fast. With a determined breath the dragon took the one where the slight hint of light could be seen, for a simple reason really, he had enough of dark corridors for a lifetime.

" Seriously Dude?" Sparx blurt out from behind him " Don't you know that you shouldn't go into the light while in a tunnel?"

In any other situation his brother's comment would put a smile on his snout, but now it wasn't the right time for humor, he just was not in the mood for jokes.

" Spyro, Sparx might be right, slow down this might be a trap" Cynder added

The dragonfly snapped his fingers " There goes my good mood. " he shook his head resigned "You really know how to ruin the moment"

A trap? Here? And who would set it up? The bugs? It was doubtful that there was some deadly surprise waiting for them. She just came up with a random idea to make him slow down a little, but he won't fall for that, nu-uh he won't.

" Spyro!" Cynder hissed seeing that her friend kept going blindly into the tunnel even after her warning. He didn't listen to reason, with an irritated frown she went after him, the rest of the group followed

She's overreacting, if there was something here he would smell it or his sensitive instinct would already warn him of incoming danger and since he couldn't feel any hostile presence Spyro safely assumed that the cost is clear. The purple dragon smiled inwardly, he knew what she was up to, that was only a pity excuse to make him stop and question him, oh no, he won't fall for her trick.

He could hear the group catching up to him, Spyro sped up even more at the sound, he was more terrified of his friend than imagined danger from up ahead, nothing could stop his escape. At least he went on with that thought until he turned around the corner.

He squinted when the rainbow- like colored light hit his snout, all that blue, yellow, red, purple, and more, he could discern every hue even through his barely opened eyelids. It took him a while to adjust to the almost epileptic display of colors, yet when his amethyst eyes were ready to finally ingest the racy display and when they did he couldn't help it but to let out a breath of sincere awe. He was so enthralled by the sight that he even didn't hear the approaching angry sound of clicking feminine claws he knew so well.

" You reckless fool!" Cynder growled as she barely held herself back from pouncing at her idiotic purple friend when she approached him. His huffish attitude was getting on her nerves, she really wanted to beast some sense into him, literally.

" What? You are stopping now? Only when you think it's appropriate? You cocksure bast-" her serenade of insults ended abruptly when the colorful lights hit her snout.

" Look at this..." Cynder muttered in awe and entered the illuminated cavern the moment her eyes adjusted to the light, all the irritation evaporated when she lost her train of thought

This particular spot in the mine was quite a sight to behold. In between the jagged rocks there were inserted plenty of different colorful gems, veins of ore and who knows what else. What really was peculiar that there wasn't only one vein available here, but many more, the veins were all so stacked up together that it was hard to tell when one ended and the other one began.

Both Spyro and Cynder found themselves in more than one mine in their adventures but they have never seen anything like this. Gem upon gem, ore upon ore, were cramped together embracing the walls of the mine in their colorful web, the mining materials differed from one another, many of them were red, some blue, others purple and even some black. Those weren't the only colors that illuminated the mine but there was just so many of them that it was hard to keep track of them.

All of those metals and gems shone brightly, reflecting the light from each other, they could see delicate lines of colorful lights bouncing from one vein to the other. Depending from which angle one looked the delicate light changed colors, the illumination shifted with every move of one's eyes just like somebody would be tracing with his pupils the whole length of a rainbow, yet this rainbow was formed from many more colors.

The Manweersmalls would probably go crazy if they would discover this particular place, so many ore veins in one spot. It would be a happy mining day for all of the Munitions Forge, one could only wonder how many more secrets are hidden deep inside this volcano, so many mines are yet to be explored. One thing is for certain, the people of Dragon Realms have enough firepower to secure the safety for future generations, only know the dragons could really tell how important Munitions Forge to be able to secure a safe future.

" What is this place?" Cynder mumbled in awe as she spun around in the middle of the tunnel, playing with the shifting lights

Spyro's eyes shot wide open the moment she passed by his pupils, the cavern shocked him so much that he didn't even hear her approach, only the black form of her body pushed him back to reality. Wanting to take advantage of her distraction Spyro moved forward, walking past by her and slowly leaving the colorful spot behind.

" Hey Spyro..." the dragoness blurt out as she laid eyes on his tail farther into the tunnel

The purple dragon balked startled

"... you have a head for little details. Are these the metals the mole in the store talked about?"

" I don't know" he replied quickly and began to move forward again, not far, not wanting to leave his friends behind but far enough so she wouldn't be able to catch up with him so easily when she would finally shake off the enthrallment.

Smiling Cynder raised her paw at one of the colorful lines and looked at her foreleg, she began to move it slightly back and forth, the colors on her paw kept shifting with each of her motion.

" Come on, you have to remember something" she said impassively, not really knowing why she is asking about this.

" I really don't know" Spyro answered, struggling hardly not to succumb to his natural curiosity, part of him really wanted to know what this place if made from, yet he quenched that feeling with great difficulty.

She dropped her paw to the ground and started to look around the cavern once again, the smile never leaving her snout " This place is way to pretty, these can't be metals" she answered her own question.

Sparx poked at one of the crystals with his finger " What's with girls and shining things?" he asked and made some sort of a stupid face at his own reflection.

A sudden delicate shrilling sound ran through Cynder's head, which really sounded like a whizz of an arrow " Did you hear that?" she asked startled, the enthrallment gone in a second.

" Hear what?" the dragonfly asked nonchalantly still playing with his own reflection

She began to listen intently, a barely audible hum reached her " Can you hear this...humming?"

Sparx strained his ears " Nope" he returned to his very creative activity

Cynder focused on the sound " It's coming from over there..." she muttered and followed the humming, with each of her step the noise was getting louder and louder " You really can't hear this?"

Spyro turned to watch her with a cautious gaze, he didn't hear anything but it didn't prevent him to watch over his friend anyway.

Sparx sighed and flew away from the crystal " Don't turn into my brother" he started hovering next to her and focused. Silence " I can't hear anything"

The dragoness stopped at one of the nearby veins and began to trace her claws alongside the shimmering veins " It's coming from over here..." she kept running her claws across the stony surface.

Suddenly her claw fell in forcing a startled gasp from the dragoness. She poked at the loose stone and it fell down shattering on the ground. The humming intensified, with an anxious swallow she reached into the freshly created hole, her paw touched something smooth, she clamped her claws around the object and withdrew her paw.

" All right..." Sparx mumbled, trying to hide the fear in his voice but failing " that was perfectly normal"

Cynder opened her paw and her eyes were greeted by the sight of an extremely black stone, the strange crystal was so transparent that she could see her own paw on the other end. It looked like some sort of black glass but strangely it was very firm to the touch. The humming stopped.

The dragonfly stared at her paw dumbfounded " What is this?"

" I have absolutely no idea" the dragoness mumbled.

She began to observe the strange crystal intently and while she kept moving her paw to take a glimpse of the glassy stone from every angle suddenly her shoulder began to sting. She hissed from the unexpected pain.

" What now?" Sparx asked slightly terrified

" I...I don't know, my shou-" she never got to finish her sentence, there was a brief glimmer from the stone's surface, strange white glyphs flashed for a moment before vanishing moments later " Did...did you see that?" her shoulder stopped aching

" I didn't see anything"

" Oh" Cynder once again started to examine the stone, but no glyphs were visible " I..I might have been imagining things" she swayed her tail forward and placed the stone on the flat side of her tail tip before reaching to her choker and sliding a claw there to yank it forward a little

" What are you doing?!" Sparx blurt out shocked

" I'm taking it with me" she grabbed the stone with her free claws and slid it behind her choker.

" What?! Didn't the way how you found it seemed strange to you? You should throw it away!"

" It did" she let go off her choker and began to swirl her head around, the stone didn't fall out " And that's why I'm taking it with me"

" WHAT?!" Sparx exclaimed again " Are you nuts?! Spyro tell her something!"

Spyro even if he wanted to never got the chance to utter a word since the cavern started to suddenly shake. Moments later the group could hear a rumbling sound in the distance. Second later the cavern was filled with fresh air. Eruption

The purple dragon opened his mouth but once again he didn't get the chance to utter a single word since the fresh air suddenly brought a horrible stench with it that twisted the groups snouts, everyone expect Flare covered their noses.

" Geez Sparx!" Cynder exclaimed with stifled voice " Stop breathing in my direction!"

The dragonfly ignored her " What is that smell?!"

" Rot" Flare announced emotionlessly

Sparx turned towards the fiery drake " You can talk?" the dragonfly snapped sarcastically

The red dragon was unmoved by the dragonflies' response " Decomposing bodies are nearby. Plenty of them"

Cynder narrowed her eyes on the fiery drake, his taciturnly tone was somewhat troubling, yet there was no doubt he was correct " I'm afraid Flare's right"

Sparx turned towards his brother " Please bro tell us we aren't going that way. Please, please, please"

The dragonfly and the dragoness looked at the purple dragon hopefully.

Spyro focused, no good news are coming. He turned towards his friends with hurt expression

" Sorry"

" Crap" Sparx and Cynder said in unison

The situation might not look optimistic but Spyro still managed to smile at hearing their response.