"Well, that's pretty impressive, but we've got a fire going on here!" barked Aku Aku.
Indeed, many of the flames were licking at the trees and threatening of becoming a full blown wildfire.
Smirking, Dingodile focused.
The flames leaved their trees and bushes and flew towards the hybrid, who absorbed them, and grew once again.
This time, he didn't really grow taller, but his muscles swelled like balloons.
When he was done, he dwarfed effortlessly all the others of the group. He actually dwarfed Kong and Tiny combined, and still had room to spare.
"There, no more fire," he smiled.
"That's great, maybe you'll be able to get a job as firefighter with that," spat drily Kong.
That got him surprised looks.
"Anyway, we should do some guard duty watch tonight, I don't wanna take the risk to see these clingy assholes come back again," muttered Pinstripe.
"I doubt they'll come back after what I pulled on them," laughed Dingodile. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll do it. I'm not gonna sleep anytime soon," he added while caressing his overblown pecs.
A wail grabbed their attention.
"Tiny?! What's wrong?!"
"Whaaaa!! Tent's all burnt!" wailed the thylacine.
"That's all?!"
"But was Tiny's tent! Others are taken by you!"
Indeed, the group had salvaged five two-persons tents from the guarimpeiros. Kong and Tiny had taken one each because of their bulks, and the six other uplifted shared the three remaining ones.
"Tiny don't wanna sleep on ground! Wet and cold! Tiny catch a cold!" kept whining Tiny.
"...Look, we can share mine," muttered Kong.
"Really?!"
"Yeah, it's the last night out, normally, it's no big deal."
"Oh thanks! You so kind!" exclaimed Tiny while glomping Kong.
The koala, silently thanking the darkness for hiding his blush, awkwardly patted the thylacine's back.
And noticed that Ripper, in spite of being visibly in Crazy mode, was grinning wrily at him.
"What?!" hissed the grey burly one.
The blue kangaroo replied with a "I didn't say anything" shrug.

"Okay, except that," called Pinstripe. "No one's wounded?"
The general answer was "some little bruises and cuts, nothing more"...
Except for Joe, who had been bitten by a dog.
"You've got to disinfect this wound now!" exclaimed Coco.
"I know, but we don't have medical alcohol!" protested the Komodo.
"Don't you have some other alcohols?"
"Well, I've got beer, but it's to drink," suggested hesitantly Dingodile.
"Not strong enough!"
"I've got the bottle from Sinta," said Rilla. "You know, the one Kong bought, with the hornets?"
"You kept that horror?!" yelped Moe. "What were you thinking?!"
"That we could use it to poison big dangerous animals if necessary."
"Let me see. Yeah, that'll do the trick."
Once the improvised disinfectant was done doing its job (and Joe stopped dancing the Saint Vitus' dance), the Commandos and the four critters tucked in for the night (Kong and Tiny had a bit of trouble getting in the tent, but managed), except Dingodile, who sat besides a small fire to watch for the night.
As he closed the portal so he and the Bandicoots could go to sleep too, Aku Aku reflected on the hybrid.
On his behavior since the events of last day.
And on the fact that when he unleashed his new powers on the guarimpeiros, he deliberately did nothing more than roast their butts. The bastards didn't notice, but Aku Aku did.
All this gave him a lot to reflect about.

"Ooooh... Fuck... That feels soooo gooooooood..." moaned Dingodile as he fondled his gargantuan muscles.
The sound of a branch snapping cut his self-worship session short.
"Who's there?!" he barked.
A little silhouette appeared in the fire's light.
Penta.
"You? Why you're not sleeping?"
The penguin gestured that he had an urgent night need.
"Ah."
Now that this was explained, Penta started going back to the others...
"Wait!"
Penta turned back to Dingodile, surprised.
"Look... I... I mean, you... Ah fuck, I dunno how to say..."
Penta looked confused.
And Dingodile was awkward. What he was going to do was not something he was used to.
"Look, I... You... You saved my life. Litterally. What you did for me, making me realize I can still love fire and not be a monster... Without that, that bastard Py-Ro would have possessed me. I wouldn't have had a chance. But thanks to you, I had one. And it paid off a lot."
Here, he smirked and flexed a humongous biceps.
"And even before... You did everything to comfort me, to help me get back in my game. Even though you had the right to let me wallow after I tried and roast you. So why you didn't?"
(Because at Sinta, you showed some regret about it already with the ice cream. And... I don't know, to see you show a nicer side... It made me want to see it more. That's why I saved you from the spit roast. And after, when I realized something was wrong with you, I wanted to help you, even with what happened before. Because you knew what it felt now, and regretted it.) answered Penta in the animal tongue.
"I see," answered Dingodile. "Then I have one last thing to say."
A warm smile appeared on his face.
"Thanks, Penta."
Penta had a happy smile himself, and hugged Dingodile.
Or rather tried, since he was now too huge and muscly to be hugged properly.
"Come here!" chuckled the hybrid as he grabbed the little critter, put him on his boulder-sized-and-hard shoulder, and petted him.
And in the night of South America, in the light of a small fire, was thus born a friendship.
An extremely unexpected one.
But it was the sweeter for it.

Art by  geltydrake
Color by  yoshils
Colored original here: https://twitter.com/Yoshils/status/.....59787763224577
Dingodile and Penta © Naughty Dog