With Volteer assisted, and having departed for Warfang so he could tell Cyril about the Apes that were attacking their allies, Spyro and the others left the Ice King to whatever it was doing by heading for the surface, even though Spike was the last one to do so since he was collecting the collar the elemental had been wearing, though this time around, instead of just sending Bianca back to where Fury had docked the airship, Spyro, Spike, Ember, Cynder, and Sol spread their wings and took off, which was the moment that Bianca used her magic to teleport herself, Elora, and Hunter out of the area as she followed the group. Spyro and his siblings had to admit that this was something they could get used to, as in flying whenever they wanted to and not being restricted by their age, which was what they had been told or learned a long time ago, where each of them rolled through the air a few times, to make sure they knew the tricks that they had been taught in the past, all while Cynder and Sol watched what they were doing, though the former joined them and the latter decided to stick to what he was doing at the moment. It did give them a good view of Dante's Freezer, even though the view from the airship itself was even better than what they were seeing at the moment, and as they did that they could see the rest of the Apes, ones they hadn't fought due to them being either elsewhere on the island or ones they had knocked out and had regained themselves, were retreating from the island by using their own inferior airships, like the one that the group had seen in Tall Plains. It did look like the Apes were retreating, something that seemed to be correct when the group noticed that the Ice Elementals were making sure the invaders were leaving the island, and that included the Trolls, who seemed to be filling boats that looked like vikings created them.
It was good to see that their enemies were fleeing from the island, especially since the residents of the land didn't want either of them there in the first place, before they located the area that the airship was resting in and headed for it, so they could land and Spyro could tell Fury which of the two remaining islands he wanted to hit next, since they knew that the Apes were planning something and Terrador would likely need some assistance in freeing the Magma Golem if their enemies managed to place a collar around its neck.
"Spyro, it is good that you and the others are unharmed," Nestor said, though at the same time he knew that three members of the group, the siblings who saved the Dragon Realms from Gnasty Gnorc and Avalar from Ripto, were great heroes and at this point he was convinced that the only way to bring them down was by exhausting them in battle, and he was also happy that Elora and the others were just fine as well, despite the fact that they were a few years behind what the siblings were capable of, "So, have you decided on which island you want to tackle next?"
"The Isle of Bozibig, where Terrador went," Spyro replied, as the island that the Magma Golem called home seemed to be the best place to go next, though his decision was more due to the other name that the landmass was called, as it had been called 'Munitions Forge' at one point, meaning weapons and armor had to be made there and he was worried that the Apes might try to seize control of the island so they could claim the weapons that were meant for Warfang, "and then, once we're done checking that island out, we'll head to Concurrent Skies and help Ignitus out, before heading back to the city and seeing if we can figure out what the Apes are doing."
Nestor nodded as the group made themselves comfortable, though due to the fact that Fury had been standing near him and the other Leaders it wasn't long before the airship took off and headed in the direction of the island Spyro had mentioned, giving the group a chance to rest and recover before they reached their next destination, where they would repeat what they had just done in a new area. Spyro, recalling what he had done during their journey through Dante's Freezer, took some time to meditate while they traveled through the air, so he could contemplate his new abilities, as in the awakening of the Lightning and Ice elements, giving him two new types of breaths to use without having to use the Powerup Gates anymore, and in addition to that Cynder told him that he had four different elements to tap into, or at least that was what her memories told her. Spike sort of confirmed what she was saying, reminding Spyro and the others that purple dragons could tap into all the elements while some dragons, such as Volteer for example, could only tap into a single element, so based on that he had to determine that Spyro had access to all four Prime Elements, as in Fire, Earth, Ice, and Lightning, and, if he trained hard enough to be able to withstand the strain that was placed on his body, he could even tap into the Aether on command, the element that only purple dragons could tap into. Of course most of the group knew that such a thing was no long entirely valid, as there was one individual, Ember to be exact, who could tap into the element, despite the fact that she shouldn't be able to, but they kept that information quiet as Spike helped Spyro gain some understanding of the elements he had just unlocked, that way he could develop his true powers over the course of their adventure, as well as prepare him for when he tapped into the power of the Earth Element.
Bianca and the others were interested in what Spyro would be capable of in the future, since he was only starting to tap into the power of a purple dragon and was in the process of catching up to what Spike was capable of, but, despite all of that, they spread out and took the chance to rest so they would be ready for the moment they reached the island that they were heading towards. Hunter returned to his chamber for a time and came back out with some replacement arrows, as he had lost a few in both Tall Plains and Dante's Freezer, though he found that it was a good thing he had prepared so many, in the off chance that a new adventure started when they found the continent that Warfang rest on, though at the same time he had a number of arrows that had elemental markings on them, where the siblings and Elora knew that they were elemental arrows, meaning he could deal lightning damage to an enemy if he used that arrow, and the only reason he wasn't using them was because he only had a few of them. Elora spent some time making sure her armor was ready for the intense heat that they might be dealing with when they reached their destination, as they had seen that there was an active volcano on the island, Boyzitbig as the residents of the island called it and not to be confused with the name of the island, though they had no idea how hot it would be and would have to wait and see if her current suit of armor could handle everything that was throw at her. Spike, despite helping Spyro with his meditation and whatnot, spent most of his time thinking about everything they had discovered during their journey through Dante's Freezer, where he determined that something definitely didn't add up and he couldn't quite place what that something was, which was going to bother him as they made their way through the next island and possibly the one that Ignitus went to.
Cynder, of course, stayed near Spyro and did her best to help him out in his attempts to understand his powers, as all she knew was that he had learned them over the course of a few days, or at least that was her assumption since it made the most sense, as even purple dragons needed a few days to truly tap into the powers they had access to, but that didn't stop her from helping him out. The older dragons, not to mention those that stayed on the airship to protect it, did focus on the newest addition to the group for a time, though at time point they knew that she fit in with everyone and decided to focus their efforts on trying to figure out what the Apes were up to, so they could help Spike figure out what their true plan was, as even they had to admit that there was something off about all of this. Of course Alvar also served them a quick meal, so the group would be able to regain some of their energy before they reached the next island, which gave Cynder the chance to taste his food and found that it was actually quite delicious, something she wasn't expecting to find and eagerly devoured the rest of her meal, all while no doubt wondering if he could teach some of the chefs in Warfang a few things before he had to go home, as she suspected that once their mission was over the group would head back to the Dragon Realms, though she was hoping she was wrong about that. Spike could tell that she was thinking about her and Spyro, the memories that they apparently shared, where he was curious about the mysterious Chronicler that had been mentioned during their talk with Ignitus and the other Guardians, especially since the dragon in question was the only one who could help Spyro out, something that would happen once they dealt with the Apes and whatever foul plans they were trying to set in motion.
It took them about an hour and a half to reach their next destination, which made sense given that the third island was a bit further away from where the rest of the continent, that way the eruptions didn't disrupt the lives of the dragons that called Warfang home, though the approach gave them time to look out at the island that they would be exploring for the foreseeable future, until they chased the Apes off and gave the Fire Elementals back their home. From where they could see the volcano was definitely active, given that it was in the middle of spewing lava out into the surrounding area and was pumping ash into the sky, though from what the group could tell it almost seemed like the Magma Golem and the rest of the Fire Elementals kept the fire and ash from spreading too far and kept it contained to the island, for the most part, as all of them were sure that some of it had to spread beyond the island, just not far enough to endanger anyone else that could be living near Bozibig. Of course Fury noticed all of this and directed them to a safer place where they could dock while the group headed out to see if they could find Terrador, to which they descended towards the water and docked near what had to be the edge of the island, though it was better than staying in the air and risking some damage to the airship due to how much ash was in the air, even though there wasn't a lot of it near the ground yet. While that happened the group took in the dark purple volcano that had red lines of lava running down the sides of it, the partially blackened beaches that had to go all the way around the island, bits of machinery that looked like forges or smithies, which the Manweersmalls would have used to forge weapons and armor, tracks that were no doubt connected to the mines, and who knew what else, so it was hard to figure out where Terrador could have gone, as it didn't seem all that straightforward this time around, unlike the last two islands the group visited.
While they docked, and Sheila's group prepared to stay back like usual, Spike made sure to switch the Heat Aura spell with the Cold Aura spell, meaning they would be able to handle the heat of the island while they figured out where to go from here so they could begin the search for Terrador, hence the reason that he and the rest of their eight member group disembarked from the airship and walked out onto the beach Fury had docked near.
"You know, I know the name of the volcano is a play on the phrase 'boy is it big', but, well... boy is it big!" Hunter said, as he and the others were staring at the massive active volcano that was either at the heart of the island or the backside of it, something that was hard to tell from the air due to all of the ash that was up there, where the name and description of the volcano didn't prepare them for just how massive it was, and even then it was dwarfed by the massive inactive volcano that was located in what appeared to be the heart of Doxantha, probably a day or two walk from Warfang, maybe more since they had no idea how big the continent truly was.
"You've got that right," Cynder remarked, though even as she said that she couldn't help but stare at it for a few more seconds, because she had only been here once or twice over the years and it never ceased to amaze her as to how large this one volcano was, especially with the inactive one near her home, before she shook her head and glanced around the area that they had docked in, as it was time for them to get moving, "Okay, Terrador should be here... somewhere... so all we have to do is find a path to take and then follow it... hopefully it will lead us straight to him and the Magma Golem, who might be pissed off if what we've seen so far is to be believed."
"Both the Stone Sentinel and the Ice King were pissed off when we found them, so chances are the last two Elemental Scions will be the same way," Spyro stated, because while he would like to be wrong about this, since he'd rather beat the Apes to the punch and save one of their allies before the collar was put around their neck, he had the feeling that they were going to have a repeat of the last two islands, something that Spike and Ember definitely agreed on given the serious expressions on their faces, and that wasn't counting the other members of their group, "Come on, let's start searching this island and see if we can't find Terrador, even though we'll have to smash our way through the Apes that are bothering the Fire Elementals and the Manweersmalls that live here."
What was interesting was that there were two Ape Soldiers hanging out near where Fury docked the airship, though this time around the smaller Apes were wearing almost nothing save for a tunic and a soldier piece, no doubt minimizing how much they had to wear due to the heat that the island possessed thanks to the seemingly always active volcano, and neither of them were paying too much attention to what was going on as the group approached them... though when they spotted the group both of them became active, until Spyro iced them with his Ice Breath, allowing one of the others to break the ice and knock the Apes out.
"Okay, so either the heat is getting to the Apes, or those two were lazy," Spike commented, though either option was plausible at this point, as he wouldn't put it past some of their enemies to be exhausted from the heat that was around the island, as he was sure most of them, save for Sol, would have been weakened a little by what the Apes were feeling, while the lazy option was less plausible given how strict and active the other groups of Apes had been, but there was always the chance the pair had ignored their superiors and were just lazy, before he shook his head, "oh well, we had best get moving before the rest of the Apes realize those two haven't reported in yet."
As he said that and the group walked forward, however, four more Apes, three being Soldiers and one being a Leader, walked down one of the metallic rails that were in the area and noticed them walking, to which the Apes hooted for a few seconds and then charged at them, where none of them had weapons this time around, so Hunter and Elora punched the Leader into the ground, Ember and Sol charged into one of the Soldiers, Bianca tripped another so Spike could charge into it, and Spyro and Cynder knocked the last one to the ground with their tails, making it easy for them to knock it so they could move forward. With those enemies taken care of the group looked around the rest of the area and found that the only way forward was by using the same opening that the Apes had walked out of, so they walked over to where the rail was located and started to head up it, walking towards the opening as they kept their eyes open for enemies, even though there didn't appear to be any at all. What the group discovered, while all eight of them entered the tunnel the Apes had come from, was that there were a few beetle-like creatures, which had purple shells and fire red wings, that rushed at them and tried to bite them into submission, or at least they tired to as Spike threw up a barrier to keep them from him and the others, all while Bianca blasted them with a Lightning Bolt here and there, taking care of some of the Fire Beetles, as Spike called them, as they moved forward. Once they reached the end of the tunnel they found a more open area that had one Ape Commander, whose armor was dark purple and hammered together rather crudely, who watched over a few Ape Soldiers, three of them to be exact, and the Commander used the mace and its magic to seal the door that appeared to be the way forward.
The group was used to that happening, as in the highest ranking Ape sealing the way forward so they had to fight all of the Soldiers and Leaders, so what they did was lash out at the enemies that were down there, where Spyro and Cynder charged into the Commander and knocked it off the edge that it was standing on, allowing Spike and Bianca to blast one of the Apes with some Earth Spikes, Ember and Sol knocked another one around until it was knocked out, and Elora and Hunter punched the last one down. As that happened five more rushed into the area from a pipe that was above where they were standing, so Hunter used one of his arrows to knock one out of the air as Bianca blasted another one, leaving the other three to the rest of the group, though what was interesting was that the remaining enemies accidentally stepped in one of the pits that were around them, which had to be full of rather hot metal or liquid, that distracted them so the group could knock them into the walls and take them down. After that group was taken care of another group of five Ape Soldiers, this time joined by an Ape Leader, jumped into the area Spyro and the others were fighting in, though that was when Spyro blasted a few of them with his new Lightning Breath, knocking his targets to the side, while Cynder lashed out with the with, knocking the other Soldiers to the ground so the rest of the group could tackle them while they were unable to do much else, leaving Bianca to knock back a few sticks of dynamite and take out the Ape Leader. Once all of the Apes were down for the count, and the group made sure of it as they checked all of the unconscious enemies that were around the area they had discovered, they headed for the door that the Ape Commander had sealed with magic and found that part of the way was open, where the only thing left to do was break down the door that seemed to have been made by the Apes, which would be easy since it was mostly wood.
As such it didn't take them long to smash their way through the wooden door, an odd and poor choice when they considered all the fire that was around them, and enter the next part of the island that they would be exploring, though as they did that they walked down into an open area that clearly had a path leading forward, though it was the small gray furred creature that was in the middle of the new area that drew their attention, since it looked sort of like the Professor, only without all of the scientist equipment and had a hat on that happened to have a candle on top of it.
"Whose there?" the mole asked, where Spike had to determine that this was one of the Manweersmalls that they had been told about, due to the description of a Mole that was similar to the Professor despite no having the coat, glasses, and everything else that the Professor had, though at the same time it was easy to figure out that the individual had to be blind to some degree, as he turned his head a few times before pointing his nose at them, "You don't smell like the Apes, nor do you spell like one of our Fire Elemental allies... you are you people?"
"Allies of Warfang and the Guardians that watch over Doxantha," Spyro replied, knowing that if he announced that he and the others were allies to the races that called the continent and surrounding islands home, like they were, it would tell the Manweersmall that they could be trusted and that they would do everything in their power to restore order to the land that the Apes were in the middle of disrupting, while at the same time Hunter made a small comment about 'smelling fire', which was mostly ignored so they could focus on what was going on, "Terrador, the Guardian of Earth, came here earlier, to made sure the Apes weren't causing any problems and check on the Magma Golem, the Elemental Scion that lives here, and we came to help him do just that."
"I see. Well, I am Mole-Yair, leader of the Manweersmalls," the individual stated, though at the same time he appeared to be thinking about something and might not know how to tell them what his mind had come up with, even though Spyro and the others had a good idea as to what might be bothering him right now, since they were recalling what they had seen back in Tall Plains, "though my people have been captured by the Apes, who are forcing them to forge weapons for their army, or at least they're trying to, as I know the rest of my subjects are trying to defy the Apes to the best of their abilities, so we don't betray the trust that the High Guardian put in us."
"Then we'll smash the Apes, free your people, and assist Terrador when we find him," Cynder remarked, as she had the feeling that Mole-Yair would mention that the Manweersmalls were trusted by her father, in what way she had no idea and was likely never going to find out, though before she could say anything else the island shuddered for a moment and they had to brace themselves, before everything seemed to return to normal, "Please tell me that Boyzitbig isn't becoming more unstable, because that's the last thing we need right now."
"Unfortunately, it is... which means the Magma Golem is displeased about something." Mole-Yair said, though as he said that the group glanced at each other for a few seconds, because that meant that the Apes had already secured the black collar to the neck of the Elemental Scion that they and Terrador were here to help, and, at the same time, it seemed to be connected to the volcano in some way, meaning that if they failed to free it this entire island, at the very least, was going to be finished, "Listen, I might be able to help you find where the Guardian of Earth went, so you can assist him and try to appease the Magma Golem, but first we need to free my people along the way, to get them out of harms way in case you fail in your mission."
"Then let's not waste anymore time and get moving!" Hunter stated, showing the siblings and the rest of the group, as in those that knew him, that he was definitely no longer the scared and cowardly cheetah that had failed to stop Ripto, rather he was a warrior who wanted to make sure the residents of this island were fine and that they could flee in the off chance that they failed their mission, and his seriousness rubbed off on the group as they nodded their heads and started to move once more, now that they realized that time was of the essence.
As such the group headed down the path that was in front of them and found a drop off point, a small one that Spike altered with his magic so it was a ramp that would allow the Manweersmalls they saved to retreat to a safe point, even if that was the beach they lanced on if need be, before they found one of the Moles working near another ledge and there was a purple crystal that had some magic attached to it, forming a collar around their neck, to which it was shattered by Spike's magic and he collected the trap in a spare sack. Spyro, Ember, and Elora realized what he was doing, he was picking up all of the mind control items so they couldn't be used against the residents of the areas they were found in, and maybe contained in the Arcanaeum where none of their enemies could get at them when he thought about it, though as they did that Spyro had the Manweersmall head back to where the first Ape Commander of this island had been, where he and the others got the chance to see that Mole-Yair was definitely following them, while also maintaining some distance so they could fight the Apes that were along the way. Once that was done the group headed down the steps that were in front of them, where Spike used his magic so the nearly blind Moles would have an easier time moving towards the edge of the island and be safe in case they failed to stop the Magma Golem from raging to the point where it detonated Boyzitbig and took the island with it. The only thing the Apes gained from the volcano becoming unstable and wiping out the island was that it would erase any evidence of their crimes and future plans, though they had to put their thoughts on hold as they found two more Ape Soldiers standing in their way, were Elora kicked one into the air and Cynder used the wind to create a little whirlwind below the other to do the same thing, allowing Hunter to knock them out of the air with some well placed arrows so they could move into the area they had been guarding.
The passage that was at the bottom of the steps, and just beyond the pair of Ape Soldiers, brought them to an area that had an Ape Commander that was in the middle of commanding three Soldiers and one Ape Leader that stood near it, using them to defend itself and the way forward from the group, to which the eight of them readied themselves for what was coming their way as they stepped into the chamber. Bianca stood back so she could deflect some of the dynamite to the area that the largest foe in the area was standing in, as in the Ape Commander, so she could blow it up, though at the same time Spyro and Cynder charged into the Ape Leader and knocked it down, allowing the rest of the group to tackle, hit, or blast the three Ape Soldiers that seemed to be the rest of the guard, meaning once they were down they could see if there were any Moles in this area. Beyond the first chamber they found two paths that seemed to cut through the hill or small mountain that lead to where their target was waiting, where the Apes were in the middle of forcing the rest of Mole-Yair's tribe to dig out gems from the ground, to since it seemed that the paths would regroup at some point Spyro, Cynder, Spike, and Ember took the path on their left while Elora, Hunter, Bianca, and Sol took the path that was resting behind the area the Ape Commander had been standing in, to which they smashed their way through the wooden doors and entered the caves the Manweersmalls were being held in. From what both groups could tell there were a decent number of Ape Soldiers, a few Ape Leaders, and a number of Fire Beetles residing in the two tunnels, so Spyro charged into his foes, Spike and Bianca blasted the Fire Beetles in their tunnels, Ember cut through her foes with her blades, Elora and Hunter punched their foes into the walls, Sol used his Phoenix Dash to take his opponents down, and Cynder used her wind power to knock her targets down so she could finish them off with her tail.
While they fought the Apes the group, even if they were separated, made sure to smash the devices that were being used to enslave the Moles that called the island home, freeing them from the work that the Apes were forcing them to do, allowing them to flee from the area as they moved through the tunnels, before eventually meeting back up at the end of the cave system, in front of a boulder that seemed to be blocking the way forward.
"Thank you for saving my people, even though my brother is not among them," Mole-Yair said, eventually catching up with the group as they stared at the boulder, which didn't last very long as Spike used his magic to transform it into a small stone that Hunter or Elora could throw at the Apes, something that would really surprise their enemies the next time they found them and started to engage them, "I suspect that the Apes are keeping my brother, Exhumor, near the volcano, in one of their labor camps, and he might be able to direct you to where the Magma Golem's domain is located, once you tell him we're allies... though do try to stay on his good side, just trust me on this."
"Okay, we can do that." Cynder replied, though at the same time the group started to move through the opening that was in front of them, showing that they were eager to keep moving since the volcano was becoming inactive, especially since no one wanted to be caught out in the open if the volcano was detonated, hence the reason they were helping the Moles so they could leave the island if the worst case scenario were to happen.
Once they knew that there was someone they needed to find and talk to, so they could figure out the path that would take them to the Magma Golem's domain, where it took them a few seconds to find four Ape Soldiers heading towards the opening they had walked through, where Hunter tossed the stone at them and Spike undid the magic, allowing the stone to return to being a boulder so it could crush them into the wall. Of course it looked like they were knocked unconscious by what they had done, though that allowed the eight of them to turn their attention to the two Ape Leaders that were also coming their way, to which the four dragons beat one of their enemies up by charging into it and whacking it with their weapons, spells, or horns while Elora and the others knocked their foe out with some well placed hits and an arrow in the knee, causing the Ape in question to raise its fists to the sky in annoyance before Elora knocked it out. There were two more Ape Leaders further along the path they were following, which appeared to head through an area the Moles used to either heat metal or move it, so the group simply repeated what they had done to the last group of Ape Leaders and took these ones out in a couple of moments, allowing them to head to what appeared to a curved path that lead to a new part of the island, before they paused as the lava to their left shook for a moment. That was followed by four worm-like creatures, who had natural armor that looked like the Fire Beetles the group had fought earlier and was even colored the same way, bursting out of the lava and came to a stop on the ground as they glared at the eight of them, no doubt trying to determine whether or not they were allies or enemies, but it quickly became apparent that no one had to say anything for the local creatures to determine whose side they were on.
The reason for that was due to four flaming elementals, looking similar to the Ice and Stone Elementals they had seen so far, except for the fact that these ones were made of fire and possibly molten stone, though they appeared to be the ones that the Magma Worms, as Spike would call them, and it wasn't long before the Fire Elementals nodded their heads and departed from the area with their pets, no doubt heading to find the Apes that were invading their home, just like the last two types of elementals they had seen.
"While I don't think I'll get used to having allies during our visits to these islands, I'm glad those worms obey the Fire Elementals and left with them," Bianca commented, though it was easy for the group to determine why she was saying this in the first place, mostly because she was looking at the lava pool that the Magma Worms had jumped out of and had caused them to stop in their tracks, at least until the elementals came to collect their pets, "especially since I'm sure that the worms are immune to fire, based on the fact that they're capable of swimming through lava, which would have forced us to rely on the rest of the elements to fight them."
Spike had to agree with Bianca, as the Magma Worms would be immune to fire and that would have forced them to use one of the other elements if they were enemies, but it was pretty clear that they were allies, especially since the next group of Apes, which were just beyond where they had encountered the worms for the first time, were in the middle of being taken out by the angry Fire Elementals and the Magma Worms grabbed onto the Ape Soldiers and hurled them at the rock walls that were around them. Basically the same thing they had seen during their visits to the last two islands was being repeated once more, where they had a chance to watch the local elementals beat the Apes up for their crimes, but it did force them to wait for a few moments before their new allies cleared the area and allowed them to head down the path the Apes had been guarding, allowing the Fire Elementals and their Magma Worms to head out and find another group to engage. What was interesting was that there was a short path beyond where the group of Apes had been waiting and that brought them to a short passage, one that allowed them to reach an area where a large scorpion, which had the same natural armor that the Fire Beetles and Magma Worms possessed, while having the same coloration as well, though while the Magma Scorpion stared at them the group could see that there was a black collar around its neck, meaning the Apes had placed it on the creature so they could control it, which no doubt infuriated the Fire Elementals. So what they did next was what they did for the Stone Sentinel and the Ice King, instead of lashing out to take their foe down they dodged the massive pincers that tried to snap them in half, jumped over the tail when it came at them, and used their power to lash out at the collar, where Spyro found that using Windshear on the metal collar was the finishing blow that broke it into pieces and freed the creature from the mind control the Apes forced upon it, all while knocking off the Ape Leader that had been on its back.
What Spike noticed was that the Fire Elementals were watching them as the fight unfolded, where freeing the Magma Scorpion from the mind control and returning it to normal caused their new allies to nod their heads as the creature took a moment to turn and stared to move towards the next part of the path it had been tasked with guarding, as now it was out for revenge and the group was more than willing to help the Magma Golem's people in reclaiming their home, as it did allow them to conserve their energy for the big fight that was coming up in the near future, and the first thing their new ally did was knock out the Ape that had been riding it. With that done they came to a ledge, which was at the edge of the area the Magma Scorpion had been guarding, and found out something interesting, they could jump over some metallic platforms that looked like they were rocking and totally ignore the area that was below them, though at the same time there were a few Ape Soldiers and maybe an Ape Leader in the area, though it was the Magma Scorpion that rested near the back of the area that drew their attention. Spike had an idea and quickly shared it with the rest of the group, where he made sure to put an enchantment on the platforms so that the Apes couldn't see them, in fact the Apes seemed blind to the fact that they were even up there, since at this point the ones in Tall Plains or Dante's Freezer would have hooted at them, to declare war or something like that, but the lack of enemies coming after them was all Spike needed as he set up a set of shimmering walls to keep them hidden as they moved towards the opening that would lead them forward. While he did that he also added in a little whirlwind near the Magma Scorpion that was in the area they were staring at, though as they moved through the area Spyro quietly dropped down into the area and slashed through the collar with Windshear, which broke the collar and freed the creature, allowing Spyro to rejoin the group as they watched the creature go to town on the Apes that were around it, especially when it was joined by the rest of the Fire Elementals and the creatures that were allied with them.
As such it took the group of creatures a few moments to take out the enemies that were down there and retreat so they could find another way to move forward, even if the group knew that they would likely meet up with them at some point in the future, but Spike made sure to pick up the pieces of the mind control collar before they moved down the path that was beyond the opening they had stopped at... which brought them to an area that had an old stone structure, one with a bell that seemed to be made out of either metal or tough stone, causing them to spread out for a moment as they took in the object they had discovered.
"While this seems to be out of place, it was probably used by the Manweersmalls in the past," Spike commented, as it was the only thing that made sense to him when he considered what they were seeing and why this might be here, where he could see Bianca nodding her head in agreement, though as he said that he quickly made a note of the bell and the rest of the shrine that they had discovered, before focusing on something else, "still, there is some sort of power in this area, a faint one to be exact, though I suspect that it might be a link to the final element a purple dragon can tap into, the Earth Element... Spyro, do you feel like taking a moment to see if you can tap into a new power?"
"I guess so. A new power would be nice." Spyro remarked, where he stepped forward and came to a stop in the center of the shrine that they had discovered, which was when he closed his eyes and focused his mind for a moment, allowing the others to stand around and see if any enemies rushed out into the area they were standing in, as they knew that such a thing had come to pass during their visits to the other two islands, but they kept their guard up as a few moments ticked by, moments that they might not have if the volcano acted up again.
As they stood there a number of Apes, about six of the Soldiers to be exact, emerged from the path that would allow them to head deeper into the island that they were exploring, though as the group readied themselves for the battle that would be starting soon, Spyro joined them and blasted the group of Apes with a burst of earth magic, as in thick stones that struck his foes and knocked all of them backwards, the Earth Shot spell according to what Spike knew.
"Nice, now you have access to all four of the elements you used in the past!" Cynder remarked, though while she said that Ember and Elora moved forward to knock the Apes out entirely, that way they would sleep while the group moved further along the path they happened to be guarding, while the others could tell that she was referring to the memories that she and Spyro supposedly shared, or at least that was what the Guardians told them.
"Using the Ice, Lightning, and Earth Elements is going to take some time before I get used to it." Spyro stated, because that was the truth of the matter, it was one thing to tap into a brand new power for a short period of time, but it would be some time before he was able to truly master the new elements he had access to, which was why it was a good thing that Spike was an Archmage, as he could have his brother give him some pointers at some point during their quest to help the Guardians restore order to Doxantha, before he focused on what they were doing, "Come on, let's get moving before either Boyzitbig blows or the island shakes again... I'll try out the Earth Element a few more times while we face the rest of the Apes that will be in our way."
Cynder nodded her head in understanding, as she knew that it would take Spyro some time to re-familiarize himself with the powers he used to wield, just like it took her some time to do the same thing once she realized that she had some memories of the past, before they headed for the set of stone steps that the group of Apes had used to reach this area and used them to move onto the next part of the island, even though they were quickly stopped by two Ape Soldiers and an Ape Commander when they reached the top of the steps. While Spyro considered using his new element in battle he eventually determined that it would be best if he held off and waited for when they were heading to the final island, which was why he blasted the larger Ape in the chest with some lightning, knocking it to the side so that he could open the way for someone to do something, which was when Cynder dove into the shadows and used her Shadow Play skill to knock all three of their enemies down, opening the way for them to move forward. It didn't take them long to find the next area of the island, where it looked like a mining area that had been wrecked by the Apes at some point, making all of them take a moment to think about how organized the Apes had to be and who was controlling them, as at times it didn't seem like their enemies were all that good at what they did, but this was different, as someone smart was leading them to do war with the residents of Warfang. That was around the point that they found what appeared to be the front of a train that had three Apes, two Soldiers and a third that stood taller than them, who wore a conductor's hat, through from what they could tell the Conductor was either hooting or actually talking to his subordinates, as it was hard to tell what was being said due to how far away they were, but before they could do anything the Apes climbed aboard the train and it left the area they were in, using the tracks that the Manweersmalls had installed to depart to another area.
Fortunately their enemies did one thing that made it incredibly easy for them to determine what to do next, they took turns flipping three levers, each one being flipped once, which sealed the opening that the train had gone through, so all they had to do was fight the Apes that were in the area and then flip the levers, which would no doubt open the way for them to head deeper into the island. Another thing that they had going for them was the fact that the Fire Elementals had come to do war with the large group of Apes that were in this area, and they were joined by the Magma Worms and the Magma Scorpions that Spyro and the others had seen since they arrived on the island, where the group basically didn't have to do anything to the Apes, but, despite that fact, they separated from each other and assisted their allies, as it would be rude of them to make the elementals do all the work. It was then that the group discovered this island's cannon, due to the fact that Spike found an Ape that sat on a metallic cannon that seemed to fire either molten metal or spikes that were made out of fire, though what he did was shield himself as Bianca blasted with a Lightning Bolt, allowing them to break the cannon before they moved out to continue the fight, even though they found another cannon and broke it as well. While they did that Spyro and Cynder found a group of Ape Soldiers that were in the middle of getting ready to head out and tackle the Fire Elementals that were burning their comrades, while their pets knocked them down a peg or two, though the two of them did something interesting in Spike's eyes, Cynder used her power over the wind to knock their enemies into the air and keep them up there for a few seconds, where Spyro blasted the wind with lightning and the shock knocked out their enemies, allowing them to drop them on the ground and move forward. Elora and Hunter punched their enemies and blasted a few, even if the former was using her blasters and the latter used his arrows to knock a few Apes down, and Sol used his Phoenix Dash to push his foes around, leaving Ember to use her metallic claws to deal some damage to her enemies as they assisted the Fire Elementals in their war against the invading Apes.
It took them a few minutes to clear out the area that they were fighting in, mostly because the Apes had left a decent number of their forces behind to guard the levers, but in the end the group were able to claim the area and flip the levers, opening the gate that the Apes had closed when they first entered this area, before they found what appeared to be a section of a train, one designed to carry large pieces of metal, so they moved it back onto the track, thanks to the bits of machinery that were nearby, and were off in the next couple of moments, with Cynder using the wind to give them the push they needed to get moving. The plan was simple, head down the tracks and find the next part of the island that they needed to explore so they could get to the area that Terrador and the Magma Golem were in, though what was interesting was that the train the Apes were riding was in front of them, like they had simply moved the train into the tunnel that had been carved into the mountain they were now under and only moved when the group came for it. That, of course, didn't stop them from attacking the back of the train, because there was the chance that the Apes might have something aboard it that didn't belong to them, even though the Fire Elementals were already pissed off due to their leader having the black collar put around its neck, so taking this obstacle down would help them appease the elementals that called the island home, for now at the very least. About the only way they could accurately attack the train, especially when they jumped to two separate tracks in a larger portion of the tunnel and would meet up again at some point, was by having Spike and Bianca step forward and blast their target with their magic, going for anything and everything that might slow it down and make it stop, while at the same time staying away from the more destructive spells that would collapse the mountain on them, which they didn't want, so they just had to be patient and wait until the train derailed or something.
Eventually the Ape that was acting as the conductor for the train got tired of them and, at the moment that the tracks lined up again, rammed them off onto a third track they were only now seeing, where they braced themselves for a trip to another part of the mine before realizing that the tracks eventually stopped and the section of the train they were riding would land in one of the lava pits, so they jumped off and both Spike and Bianca made sure those that couldn't fly landed on the ground safely, before they glanced at the track that lead out of the mountain and watched the train go by, no doubt heading deeper into the island, which was what they had to do as well.
As they moved forward the group found two of the Magma Scorpions hanging out in this area, complete with collars and riders, so what they did was focus on taking out the riders and smashed the collars, though while they did that Hunter used his arrows to take out the Dreadwings that were in the air, mostly since he wanted to make sure neither of them and their riders tried to bomb the area they were in, allowing the others to free the Magma Scorpions and collect the remains of the collars before they moved forward. With those individuals freed the group moved forward, where they had to jump over some small rivers of lava to reach a larger patch of land, which was about when they found a pair of Dreadwings that were coming towards them, where Hunter knocked one out of the sky with his arrows and Bianca combined a Lightning Bolt with Spike's so they could bring down the other foe, much to the dismay of the riders that fell with their mounts, as the Apes hooted in annoyance when that happened. From there they crossed over another section of stone platforms and found that there were a couple of Magma Worms hanging out in the rivers, where they stared at the group for a second or two, like they were trying to determine something, before they realized that they were allies and disappeared into the lava, leaving them to their work as they headed for the next part of the area, even though it brought them to another Magma Scorpion that they freed from the Ape that was riding it, thus allowing it to leave and join the rest of the forces that were standing against the Apes, though how it was going to do that they had no idea. After that they found an area which had some steps that lead up to another area, and possibly the tracks from the looks of it, though the Dreadwing that landed in front of them didn't stand much of a chance when the full power of the group was turned against it, so they dropped it and headed up the steps that they had discovered.
What they discovered was that they couldn't head down the track that was beyond the gate at the top of the steps, so what instead of heading through that opening they turned around and headed back the way they came, where Spike and Bianca blasted the Apes off the platforms they were standing on, which were to the side of the tracks and used those to traverse the distance between the end of the tracks and where they were heading, something that allowed them to avoid the couple of smaller metal minecarts that were transporting items between the areas of the island. It didn't take them all that long to reach the tunnel that was sort of connected to the one they had come out of, which just so happened to be around the time that the last minecart moved through the area and missed all of them, where they headed inside the new tunnel for a few moments and found another Manweersmall standing near the edge, something that informed them that the tracks they were following weren't connected to the cave they had been in earlier.
"Whose there?" the Mole asked, where he turned around and stared at the group for a few seconds, showing that his sense of smell was great or he had some sight that allowed him to see them better than the first Mole did, though at the same time the group came to a stop in front of him, mostly since they didn't want to piss him off since they had the feeling that this was the one they had been sent to find, as he looked so much like the other Mole they had talked to, except for the fact that he had a blue neck piece that was attached to his hat, "Who are you allied with?"
"The Guardians of Warfang and the Elemental Scions... oh, and Mole-Yair sent us." Spyro replied, figuring that this had to be the brother that they were looking for, even though it was odd that the path he and the others had taken had met up with the Mole they were looking for, since he had the way into the domain of the Magma Golem, before the volcano went and blew up on them, but he wasn't about to argue with the results of what he and the others were experiencing right now, not with what was ahead of them.
"My brother sent you? Then that is good news, because it means you can help us," the Mole, Exhumor, said, where he turned and glanced at the area that was beyond the tunnel they were in, giving the group a chance to see a massive camp that the Apes commanded, which meant that they would be facing a small force of Soldiers, Leaders, and Commanders before they could reach the area that was their main destination, "the rest of the Manweersmalls are being held in this camp, even though they are doing their best to resist the slavery that the Apes are trying to force upon them, so we need to free them and fast, before..."
It was in that moment that they, not to mention the Apes in the camp that they were spying on, had to pause what they were doing and brace themselves as the island shuddered again, this one more violent than the one they felt earlier, meaning the volcano was reminding them of the danger it posed, before everything returned to normal, causing the Apes to hoot at each other as they returned to their business, as they wanted to get done before the volcano detonated and swallowed the entire island, while the group stood up and glanced at each other.
"Before Boyzitbig blows." Cynder finished, as she understood the danger that they faced, they had to clear out all of the Apes and free the Manweersmalls before the volcano finally erupted in an event that would definitely be one for the history books, if they didn't get to the Magma Golem and free it from the mind control necklace the Apes had forced onto it before they arrived on the island, which was when she turned towards Exhumor for a moment, "Out of curiosity, how much time do we have left?"
"I... I honestly don't know. That was more violent than the last, and sooner than what we normally experience, so I'd have to guess maybe half an hour, at best." Exhumor stated, where he knew that his statement had a chance of being right and a chance of being horribly wrong, showing the group that the Apes messing with the Magma Golem was throwing the daily lives of the Manweersmalls into chaos, preventing them from using their knowledge of the volcano to accurately read what was going to happen next, meaning they would have to be quick before the island shuddered again, because if that happened it would no doubt mean they were out of time.
In that moment Spike smiled as something incredible unfolded, as the Fire Elementals, Magma Worms, and Magma Scorpions invaded the camp that was in front of them and started beating up the Ape Soldiers, Leaders, and Commander that were in the area, and some even hurled fireballs into the air to knock down the Dreadwings that were in the sky and prevent them from bombing the area, showing that they had certainly had enough of the Apes and were declaring war on them, meaning the group didn't have to waste energy fighting the Apes. Of course they still headed down into the camp and smashed up the cages that the Manweersmalls were trapped inside, freeing all of them from the slavery that the Apes had been trying to force upon them, and occasionally they helped out their allies by charging, blasting, or hitting some of the enemies that were in the area, to level the playing field in a way, even though one of the Fire Elementals beckoned for them to get a move on. That was all the motivation Spyro and the others needed as they departed from the area their new allies were in and headed through the now opened gate that had opened once all of the Manweersmalls had been freed, which was oddly specific when they thought about it, and as they walked into the passage that was on the other side of the gate they found that more of the residents of the island were fighting back against the Apes, allowing the eight of them to move deeper into the island and not waste any of the time that they had, especially when they had no idea when Boyzitbig was going to explode. In fact the next part of the Ape camp the group walked through was being overrun by the residents of the island, once more confirming that none of them liked the Apes that were trying to claim the island, allowing them to press onward as they used some stone pillars to reach a tunnel that might be the ticket to the area they were looking for, or at least they hoped so since time was ticking and they couldn't afford to waste what time they had.
That brought them to an area where they had to drop down into a more light blue colored area and smash through a rock wall to move forward, and they even freed two more Magma Scorpions that took out their riders before heading right through the opening so they could find some Apes to punish, before that brought them to a massive nest of Fire Beetles, the only fire based creatures that didn't care for them. Of course the Fire Beetles tried to attack them, though Spike and Bianca focused on breaking down the massive hive and wiping it out, just so it didn't mess with the Moles whenever they returned to their normal lives, while the group took care of the vast amount of beetles that were flying through the air, an easy feat considering the two elements that Cynder used and the powers that the others commanded. In fact it didn't take them all that long to wipe out the nest and open the door that was somehow connected to it, allowing them to move even deeper into the island, even though they had to blow down a wooden door after that. Once that was done they found yet another area, this one with a circular ramp of sorts that lead to a higher level, where the Fire Elementals were battling and beating the Apes, so since it was clear that their allies wanted them to move forward, as indicated by the first elemental they came across, the group simply headed for the highest point of the area and watched as the Apes were beaten by the Fire Elementals and the creatures they had thought they had enslaved, along with seeing a few minecarts move through part of the area, before they reached their destination. From there they passed through the door and found themselves in what appeared to have been a throne area of some kind, no doubt where the Magma Golem was located due to the fact that Terrador was up here and nodded to them once they entered the area, though it looked like the Apes had put train tracks in this area, which were mostly busted up, and off in the distance rested the volcano, meaning there was much more to the island that what they had seen so far, though if Spike was correct there was a hollowed slot, like the one the that was in the Ice King's domain, that was missing whatever was supposed to be inside it.
That just so happened to be the moment that the Conductor and his train entered the area, only for a massive molten hand to come crashing down on top of it, where the upper body of a creature, one that was similar to the Stone Sentinel and the Ice King, except for the fact that it was made out of molten rock and fire, rose out of the lava that was around the area and gripped the train as it picked it up, where the large black collar around its neck revealed the truth of the situation, the Magma Golem had arrived and it easily crushed the train like it was nothing, before hurling it out towards the water as it turned towards the group.
"This is the Magma Golem? Dude, it's like three or four times the size of the other two, and yes, I'm referring to all of its height and not what we're seeing!" Hunter remarked, though at the same time he and the others split, because now that they had the Elemental Scion's full and somewhat divided attention it started to try and smash them, hence why they split up so they could hit the collar with everything they had, since that was the key to saving the Magma Golem and even having a chance to stop the volcano from blowing.
Spike understood what Hunter was talking about, as it made sense that the Elemental Scions would have shrunk their forms to a more manageable size so they could better hide themselves from their enemies, or Malefor's enemies since all of them had followed the first purple dragon here, but instead of focusing on that for too long he and the others took to the skies or stayed on the ground, as they knew what they needed to do next. Everyone attacked the black collar that the Magma Golem was wearing, to wear down the metal so it was easier for them to break, just like they had done during their visit to the last two islands, though this time around their foe's size made things much harder for all of them, as they had to be more careful with an opponent of this size since they didn't want to hit any of the other parts of its body with one of their attacks, even if they were sure that a good portion of their attacks wouldn't do anything to it. Even Terrador, who was good at fighting and flying, had to be careful of where he attacked, because the Magma Golem really wasn't giving any of them any openings that they could exploit, not like when they fought the Stone Sentinel or the Ice King, though they had to do something, otherwise the volcano was going to blow and take the island with it, not to mention everyone that was near the island as well. It was Bianca who managed to push them in the right direction, where she teleported into the air that was behind their target and blasted the back of the collar with a powerful Lightning Bolt, causing the Magma Golem to stagger for a moment, which opened the way for the rest of the group to do their best and hit the collar with everything they could muster, just like they had done to the Stone Sentinel and the Ice King.
It was hard to tell if they were making progress, given the fact that this collar was massive and it was attached to an even larger individual than the ones they had faced in the past, but in the end Spyro noticed that the collar seemed to be weakening and that was the opening he was looking for as he flew into the air and used Windshear to cut into the collar from the back, just like he had done in the past, and the collar came apart, allowing the Magma Golem to stagger and then pause for a few seconds... and when it regained itself the first thing it did was turn towards the volcano and focus, where the group got the sense that it was correcting the problem the Apes had caused.
"Well, the island endangering explosion has been stopped," Terrador said, where he landed near the group, who had regrouped after the Magma Golem had been freed from the collar it had been forced to wear and Spike had claimed it so he could seal it away, though he had to admit that they were skilled and that he and the other Guardians were fortunate to have them as allies, especially when they came to Warfang in their time of need, "I must return to the city and inform the other Guardians as to what the Apes are doing, as this is far beyond anything we have ever seen them do in the past and I fear that there is more to this than what we are currently seeing right now. While I do that, however, I would ask that you head to Concurrent Skies and assist Ignitus, or head to Dante's Freezer if you've already helped Ignitus so you aid Volteer, so we can stop the Apes and figure out what they're really planning, as there is a reason behind these attacks and I fear that we're not going to like the answer."
Spyro and the others nodded their heads in agreement, as they were planning on heading to Concurrent Skies next, before Terrador took off and headed back for Warfang so he could inform Cyril and Volteer about the true danger the Apes posed to Doxantha and those that called it home, which was when the group started to leave the throne area that the Magma Golem resided in, even though they had the feeling that this was simply the start of something big and that it wouldn't be long before they understood whatever plan the Apes were trying to set in motion.