Forgotten Heroes

14

APOLLOS' POV.
I slash and growl and cry.
I ram into everything.
I suddenly see a rush of blood red, and stop.
I wipe my face with my paw.
A red smudge streaks my paw.
I cry in pain, and shrink onto the floor.
The Wint side takes over, and I shrink back to my normal self.
I stay on the ground, not daring to stand.
I heal myself, and stand up.
I grab the door, and release a surge of Hyper into the door.
It caves in, and I break it off.
My attacker backs up, and a faint glow catches my eye as soon as he's gone.
It's muffled through my shirt, so I fix the problem. I  shift into a bobcat, and walk to a mirror.
A black swirl is glowing from over my bobcat heart.
I wonder, "What caused this mark?"
I lick it, but nothing comes across as unusual.
I hear dragons roar in joy and triumph.
They cry in dragon, "LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG THE KING! LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS! LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS!"
They repeat it until all the guards are in the stable.
Crack. Crack.
I stand tall, and wait for them to reconize me.
One drops his sword, and all his weapons.
The others drop theirs.
Luke is the leader? Huh, go figure.
I step forward, warping back into an upright Wint midstride.
I smile, and push past the gaurds.
I use my Hyper powers, and flick open the stalls.
The dragons cry in half human, half dragon, also called Drumin, "LONG LIVE OUR TRUEST KING! LONG LIVE THE FAIREST EMPRESS! LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS!"

All the gaurds but Luke turn white.
I nod in his direction, and smile evilly.
I turn into the bobcat mid stride, and keep running.
I smell that Libby and the dragonette had intertwined scents, meaning Libby had my friend.

I follow the scent for a while, until the moon rises high.
A zap of pain hits me, and I'm in Eclipse Mode.
I run faster, stronger than before.
I see a trail of scent, like a red and pink line of smoke in the air.
I see the trail thin, and remember to look for teleport marks.
I stop short of a wall, and look for the secret lever.
I pace back and forth, loosing precious time.
I eventually resort to breaking the door down out of sheer anger.
I run fill tilt, and hit the wall.
But a weird thing happens, I fall forward into a secret hall.
Secret entrance, cool.
I take off at record speeds for man, beast, or vehicle.
I see nothing but a blurr, and my legs are using more force than an airplane turbine.
I see a turn, and put extra pressure on my inside leg.

I drift around the corner like a race car, and take off.
I see a the tunnel getting smaller, and stop cursing.
It's big enough for a big fox, but it would be tight.
I'm suddenly whisked into the forest.

I see a wolf and a tiger sleeping, and all my other Shadows by a pond.
I walk east, then northeast.
I stop when a fox, average sized, steps in front of me.
I get warped back.
I turn into the white fox, Arti. Short for Artic.
I crawl after Libby, determined.
I crawl out into a huge cave, an obvious secret air over the place.
I growl when I see Libby and the basket.
I crawl into the shadows, turning into the dragon to keep the dragonettes calmer.
They instead clustered around me, leaping and squirming.
I'm sweating, and my scales are itchy, but I sneek right behind Libby.
Using a gentle but strong air whip, I collect the basket and try to teleport.
To far! I'm too far from Pandora!
I quickly begin to run for the exit.
I turn fox, and dive with the basket in my mouth.
BOOM!
A large rock seperates me and Libby as my tail enters the tunnel.
I tuck it in quick, and barely get it in time.
Libby, however, was crying and screaming.
I send her calming telepathic waves, weaving her into a Dream Weave.
She stops fighting afrer about a half hour struggle between us.
I turn dragon, but it doesn't work.
I get an idea, and run out with the dragonette.
I set it down a long ways from the hole, in the stables.
I turn dragon, and remember  a secret of the Shadow Riders Shade told me.
They can become Drill Dragons, or DeDes'.
They can drill right through the earth, all the way through the molten core.
I turn into one of these dragons, and notice an immediate change.
Why do I lack legs?
In thier place I have huge tallons attached to huge paws on very short legs.
I feel stupid.
I turn invisible and begin to dig.
I follow Libbys' scent, deeper and deeper.
Soon, my DeDe form no longer suffice. I turn into a normal dragon.
I claw away dirt, sending it all the way to the surface.
I hear suprised shouts and curses, but I keep going.
I use the intensity of my Dream Weave to gauge how close I am.
A question strikes me by suprise, "If I'm a Shadow Rider, who's Shadow am I?"
I wonder that along with a game plan as I dig deep into the earth.
RRRAAAWWWWWWWKKKKK!
Suddenly, a bunch of dragonettes and hatchlings attack me and fly away.
I hear Libby groan.
I dig a little deeper, and land in the cave.
I see Libby on the floor, but the bolder is on her leg and hand.
Oh. Ow.
I prepare to break the boulder apart with my elemental whips.
I lash at it, but it isn't working.
How do I get her out of this?

I remember catching Jacks' dragon, and decide to use that trick.
I wrap the whips around the boulder.
Being inconsistent, they can go under it.
They wrap around it like whips.
I pull up by flying backwards, and it just groans.
Do I seriously need to do this as a Wint?
I turn Wint, and grab the whips.
I back up, towards the hole.
I strain and jerk. It just wiggles and groans.
I use all my strength, and rip it backwards.
Nothing. Okay, let's try pushing it off.
I push forward,  and decide to use it as a wall support,
I set it down in a sinking spot in the tunnel.
I retract the gentle element whips, and pick up Libby.
She's light.
I fly her out, and realize the Dream Weave is weakening.
I strengthen it, and call the nurse using a mind beacon.
They can alert medical staff in an emergency quicker than screaming "Medic"!
I see a nurse rush forward, and takes Libby.
She notices the near crushed bones, and asks, "What happened?"
I reply, "She was in a cave, and a boulder fell on her as she was leaving. I got it out, but it took a lot of wiggling to get it loose. The DeDes' couldn't even break it."
She nods, and asks, "Any medical training?"
I pull out my healing whip, and it turns into a garder snake.
It wraps all the way around her leg, then it turns into a splint.
A hamster appears next, and lays on her broken hand.
It turns into a hand splint.
The nurse smiles, and recalls, "You know, I only knew one man who could do that. He had a Shadow just like you. He said it got mad and broke away prematurely. He said it turned into a babe, no memories at all."
I ask, "Who was it?"
She whispers, "The hidden dragon king. He is said to be looking for his lost Shadow. It bears the Mark of the Dragon King, and it's next in line... provided he finds it."
I smile, and the Mark of the Dragon King glows white beneath my black tunic.
The nurse stares in awe, and gasps, "Apollo! You're the lost Shadow and the missing prince?"
I bow low, a gesture often done to royalty.
I comment, "At your service."
She whispers, "He gave me these to give to you if I ever came across you."
She hands me a pair of samurai swords.
I thank her, and strap them on. They bear the Mark of the Dragon King. The black swirl.

A/N what did you guys think of Apollos' rescue mission.