OFF: Finally, after much, much time spent working, my newest Spyro fic is ready for posting! This is the prologue, out of nine chapters.
This fic take place in the Spyro 6 & beyond-verse (A New Beginning) and doesn't take into account the older games. This fic is an alternate sequel to A New Beginning and thus, conflict with The Eternal Night (the official sequel). Keep this in mind.
Note that it's noted PG-13 due to violence.
Enjoy!
Prologue: Prophecy
Error is in the nature of all souls. Revelations have the power to enlighten and doom alike...
In a world beyond the known Realms, near the edges of Reality and Perceptions, a place bound in fate and prophecies...
Three months have passed since the sealed gate of Convexity, which had held back the Forces of Darkness, was opened by the possessed dragon hatchling, Cynder.
From the depths of the Dark Realm, ancient demons and horrific experiments alike emerged to join the legions of shadows and shattered souls that serve the deepest of all darkness, the Dark Master.
To oppose the overwhelming flood of monstrosities, one warrior.
Chosen by Fate, a sole dragon, the dragon chosen by the Prophecies...
Every ten generations, an unique dragon would be born... one with an unnatural color for its scales: purple.
Such is what the Prophecies say...
Through the skies, the grim machine flew through effortlessly, massive engines of unknown technology spewing a trail of fire and smoke behind the mechanical monstrosity as it flew toward its intended destination and target, the Dragon Temple.
The Sign of Ruin, the demonic metal ship that announced the end. Within was a force that would annihilate the last few survivors of dragonkind... and even if it still didn't accomplish its mission, the machine had a legion of monsters, a thick veil of darkness following it.
This was the last chance for dragonkind. Although the chances of survival were nigh, it would be better to try and weather the endless flood of dark beings than to be obliterated by the force within the metal behemoth.
Thus, so it began.
BOOOOM!
The deck of the metallic ship shook and the vile gorilla-like creatures within, Dark Ones, begun to panic.
"Damage on left side of the hull!" screamed one of the small monkey-like monsters.
"What was that? What hit us?" demanded the largest, meanest of the Dark Ones.
"I... I don't know! It was some kind of purple comet with a small yellow light spinning around it!" replied back the smaller Dark One.
The captain of the ship muttered under his breath. He had come.
Fwooosh!
"AAAAARG!" screamed the poor Dark One in pure, raw pain as his fur burnt away, half of his face melting away under the intense heat of the flames consuming him.
The creature didn't even have the time to move that a sharp blow separated the disfigured head from the shoulders, sending the whole thing slamming into the wall and painting the metallic red surface with an even redder taint of red.
Moving at lightning-quick speed, the yellow light hovered above one head for a second before a purple clawed hand swiped at it, slicing it neatly. The light then followed, almost jumping to another Dark One's head, followed by a set of four purple paws slamming violently in the creature's chest.
Slicing, bashing, slashing, clawing, smashing, and kicking about, Spyro fought as hard as he could, cutting himself a path through the endless flood of foes, Sparx constantly flying about, scanning foes and showing to his best friend those whose guard was down.
Spyro didn't feel like it was going too well. Although he was rather proud of how he had used his powers in such an inventive way, using that newest ability of his to shroud himself in a given element to send himself soaring through the air like a living missile, fact is, it still ended up tiring him... and considering that the flood of enemies is probably not going to be dying down, it's bad news for him.
But then, did he really have a choice? He barely had the time to recover from that fight with Cynder, four months ago, that he was now on duty once again, facing off legion after legion of foes.
Four months... four months of pure hell. Why did the Dark Ones try so hard? The dragon specie was almost extinct, only him, Cynder, and the Guardians remaining! Why was the Dark Master so hellbent on destroying his specie? He basically owned the world already! Couldn't he just, you know, stop sending those stupid gorillas after him and leave him and the others alone? After all, why should he feel threatened so much by a little hatchling such as he... especially if he was soooo god-like and all?
But then, the young dragon didn't have much time for thought lately. Ever since, it had been nothing but fighting with very brief moments of training when he was at the temple.
How did he long to be given a moment of respite. Just a moment to sit down, relax, and have a breather... maybe even playing, asking questions, getting to know the Guardians and Cynder? Cynder... he barely had any time to speak to her since he saved her. He had been so busy and well... all he has been doing is training and fighting. No hatchling should go through this... but then, Cynder wasn't like him and the Guardians are old and tired...
So, here he is, fighting for his life desperately. Sure, he had been trained and all... but nothing could really prepare you for, you know, a BILLION baddies all charging at you at the same time?
The so-called ancestors, if they really do exist, they better take into account that he's probably the only warrior, and a hatchling at that, to face a few thousands Dark Ones by itself and actually live through it.
But then, if the ancestors have any kind of kindness in them, they will have mercy upon him and let him to get some shuteye or something. His paws have been killing him for, how long now? Days? Weeks? Three months? So much fighting... when will it end?
"LOOK OUT!"
His eyes widened and he yelped, barely dodging the barrage of sharp and pointy objects that were directed at various points of his body, all of them missing barely. He had no time to recover however for already, a few dozens swords were being swung all coming from potentially lethal angles.
This was not going well at all. He should focus, focus! ...but then, that's what he has been doing for weeks.
Why is he doing this again?
Why is putting his life on the line like this?
Because he has no choice. Because this is all he knows. Because...
...who is he kidding?
He chose to put his life on the line. He's the one who followed that big red dragon on day one when it told him itself that it was insanity and that he would be doomed to try anything.
Yet, he insisted. He wanted to try. He wanted to do his best. He wanted to act and to change things.
So young... a small, little defenseless purple dragon hatchling. So small, so harmless... Who would have suspected he was destined to anything of importance? ...especially considering his rather disproportional limbs, underdeveloped wings, and that larger, twitchy left eye? Not only was he a small child but he was also a runt. Oh my...
...and now, here he is.
Should he feel regret? Should he feel fear?
He's a kid stuck in a conflict definitely not meant for hatchlings, one that left an entire army of adult, well-trained warriors powerless, leading all of them to their dooms. The temptation of giving up, of giving in to fear and despair is strong...
But then... he made it here. He made it this far. With only Sparx at his side. They, the harmless little runt and the bad-mouthed mosquito, managed to make it this far. They managed to drive away the Dark Master's forces countless times, foil his best generals, and even cast down and free Cynder, the Dark Master's very second-in-command. They had succeeded to do what an entire army of dragon warriors died trying to achieve.
Why did they do it?
Destiny? Honor?
Frankly, the words were beautiful... but it was not what motivated him. In truth, he cared about it as much as Sparx did, which is very little if at all.
However... when he see the Guardians' faces when he returns to them whole, the expression of the different tribes and species seeing the darkness leave their lands, Cynder's smile and gratitude after saving her... Truly, it was what made it worthwhile.
He couldn't stand still and let the Dark Master cause chaos not because it was his fate or because of any misplaced pride. He did it because that the Dark Master brought pain to the world and that he wanted to protect everyone and everything from his corrosive, vile power.
Yeah, Sparx taunted him about it. Savior boy, hero wannabe. Maybe it's true... but well, he lives for it. It is his purpose. It is his reason to fight. He shall never give up because people depend on him and that he shall not let anyone down.
Such is his desire. To see the Dark Master defeated so that no more pain might befall the world.
Looking before him, the flood of monsters. Surrounding him, from all sides, their faces distorted in a mix of rage, sadistic anticipation, and just plain insanity. They inspired him with disgust and not because they were ugly, although they truly were ugly, but because that those were faces of beings who cared not for life and saw everything with contempt. Those beings are an offense to all things, mock-ups of life spawned from the twisted imagination of the Dark Master.
Those faces taunted him, inspiring him with righteous fury. He shall sweep upon them all, even if he's outnumbered, even if he's just a kid! He feels the power and he shall unleash it. They shall taste their own medicine, they shall face his wrath for pursuing their demented dreams of world destruction!
All of the foes stuck their swords, spears, and various other tools of destruction toward him. They inspired no fear upon him.
He charged toward them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing smart guy?" asked quickly the dragonfly, nervousism and worry betraying his feelings.
"Cutting my way through!" replied back the purple dragon, a smirk coming to him.
The foes' garbled taunts grew louder as the circle tightened. He quickened his pace, intend on meeting them head on. He had noticed that primate holding his spear a bit more weakly than the others and he knew what he had to do...
"Man, you're insane!" said the dragonfly, rolling his eyes as he went to follow.
"Yep! Absolutely!" maybe he truly is insane after all... but well, only makes life more fun!
The foes stuck their weapons out like a compact wall of spikes, not leaving a single hole, waiting for the dragon to impale itself upon it.
CLANG!
...but it did not happen. Changing his trajectory at the last second, Spyro spun around and whipped one of the foes in the face. A clear cut that sliced the face wide open, causing the creature to lose grip over its spear and scream... and as it did so, it swung its spear around, smashing it into a nearby fellow soldier. The impact caused a chain reaction, causing the foes to collapse on top of each others like a bunch of cards.
"That's our cue! RUN!" Spyro's smirk widened as a response to Sparx as both of them charged with as much speed as they could muster, the road now clear.
The voices of the foes seemingly merged into one huge roar of anger as they all tried to give pursuit... but they had formed such a tight circle around Spyro that now that he was escaping, the monkeys were all running into each others as they tried to give chase. Soon enough, the foes formed a huge mess of bodies on the floor as they knocked each others out in their mad attempts to give chase. They will be back... but Spyro and Sparx will be far by then.
Racing through the corridors, Spyro's smile widened and soon, Sparx grinned as well, giving his adoptive brother a thumbs-up.
"Hey! Made it! That was cool, dude!" said the insect.
"Not that much, really! I mean, they all ran into each others the second we broke their ranks!" replied the dragon, smiling.
Running as fast as he could, Spyro remained focused, his sight locked on his target. He didn't know much of flying ships and other complicated machines...
...but he knew that this thing had a core of sorts and that he had to destroy it. Only by destroying the mechanical heart of the Sign of Ruin will he stop the massive metal behemoth and prevent the destruction of the Dragon Temple.
Thus, he ran, totally focused.
The purple dragon and his dragonfly friend seemed to be in a kind of trance as they ran. As childish and chaotic as they were at times, at this moment, it was obvious that there was more to the two young beings, that they indeed were more than just children and had went through such things before.
A purple thunderbolt... such was what the foes sometimes whispered among themselves. Frail, rather weak, a bit disformed... Spyro was obviously a pushover and yet, the Dark Ones' swords and spears only struck air as the reptile and his insect friend effortlessly dodged them, not even slowing down, barely noticing them, as if the Dark Ones were not even trying.
Heck, the two could even afford to let their guard drop a few times, throwing a nasty comment or taunt at the Dark Ones and each others as they flew through. To them, the Dark Ones were nothing.
Spyro truly was the Dragon of Prophecy. There was no doubt in the minds of the Dark Ones. No other being could. They were feared, experienced soldiers, they had slayed countless dragons, gigantic ones at that! ...yet, they were nothing but mere insects compared to Spyro. Although the purple one was eye-to-eye with the smallest of them, he actually stood tall above all of them on the battlefield, like an unstoppable giant.
No one had been able to stop him. The Ice King, the horrific half-dead monstrosity that had been serving the Dark Master since times immemorial had been unable to do anything, his overwhelming ice attacks striking only air. The famed Conductor, a small but clever high-ranked general, couldn't even catch the purple pest once no matter what kind of machine he thrown at him; even the almighty Steam, which had been feared over the world for its destructive power and speed, couldn't stop him. Heck, even the almighty Cynder herself, the Dark Master's very second-in-command, the one who brought down almost single-handily the dragon specie on its knees, didn't stand a chance!
It was a miracle the plan had not been thrown into jeopardy considering the force they were facing and even now, many were afraid, doubting that the Sign of Ruin would arrive at destination as planned. Was their streak of luck going to run out, will the infernal hatchling crash their plans and make the Dark Master's master plan fall apart after countless years of hard work?
No! Definitely no! The Sign of Ruin is the instrument of destruction that shall terminate the last dragons, just as the Dark Master foresaw it! The Prophecy is false! Spyro will not stop the Sign of Ruin!
...and the captain was going to make sure that the Sign of Ruin will fire its cannon at the Dragon Temple!
"To all crew! This is your captain!" yelled the elderly Dark One from his seat on the main deck, all of the other Dark Ones stopping what they were doing and activating the flying ship's communications systems.
"This is the decisive strike against the dragons! We are on the very verge of ultimate victory! The Dark Master shall dominate this world! The Prophecy is false! ...and we shall certainly not allow a little dragon hatchling and his stupid insect partner to bully us anymore! All crew not manning the cannon and vital systems, go to the engines room! Activate the Sheepaminator! Protect the core! Eliminate those vermins, once and for all!"
As the captain's orders echoed through the entire ship, Spyro noticed how he no longer had to dodge anything, his foes indeed obeying their orders. Sparx rose an eyebrow, turning his attention to his friend.
"Sheepaminator? Sounds rather... lame! This is supposed to be the Dark Master's so-called ultimate weapon and the best thing he can find to protect it is a "Sheepaminator"? Sheesh!" Sparx was right. It did sound weird that the Dark Master's final weapon 's final defense would be something called the "Sheepaminator". Doesn't sound very menacing nor scary, that's for sure!
"Yeah! They should have definitely found a better name for it! I mean... that's their final defense, probably even the final battle... and the foes throw something at us named after a sheep. I think they ran out of ideas for names, frankly," replied the dragon, smiling as he found himself amused by it all.
So ironic that he could find the time and will to smile when he was probably charging toward death...
Then, finally, running through, the two saw a blinding red light beyond the hall, temperature rising. The core was just ahead...
CLANG!
Spyro landed on the metallic floor of the humongous engine room, finally stopping. Breathing heavily as he recovered from so much running, the dragon looked around. The room was so gigantic one could think he had emerged in another world, a metal horizon stretching endlessly before him.
It was quite an incredible sight and the two were in awe... although also creeped out at the same time. Although the place wasn't creepy like, say, Concurrent Skies or Convexity had been, fact remained, it was a gigantic room of pure metal that seemed to stretch into the infinite.
...and then, both of them saw it.
"Whoa. I'm speechless." said Sparx and for once, he truly found nothing else to say as Spyro's jaw hanged there, the dragon unable to close his mouth as he stood there, wide-eyed.
Before the two was the most gigantic, incredible machine they had ever seen. A huge cone that stretched toward the sky, an inverted cone of the same size connected to the unseen ceiling, a constant and massive stream of energy connecting the two.
"The core..." whispered the dragon.
More silence... and then, after what seemed to be forever, Sparx turned to his adoptive brother.
"So... how do we destroy it?"
That was... an excellent question. All Spyro got to answer that was: "Errr..."
And well, he had no time to think of anything else as a loud noise echoed. Startled, both reptile and insect turned to the side... and saw the most horribly oversized sheep they had ever seen. It was truly massive and judging from its glowing red eyes, it was certainly not a regular sheep. But that, one could tell it on its size alone. It as truly... humongous beyond belief. Giant enough to make even Cynder, back when she was possessed and forced into an adult form, look like a tiny insect. This new foe was truly giving a new meaning to the word "towering".
"BEEEEEEEH" the sheep's cry echoed through the entire room, making it shake and almost causing the purple dragon to lose his balance.
bzzzzzzt...
CLANG!
Then, out of the giant sheep's back, two massive cylinders, bazookas more exactly, emerged. Then, the sheep let out a deafening roar of sorts.
"O-o-okay... I'm just confused whenever I should just call it the lamest giant bad guy we ever faced or the scariest," said Sparx, hovering back, eyes widening, his voice shaking as violently as his body.
Spyro himself just stood there, unable to say anything. That thing was... creepy.
"Hahahaha!" way, way above, on a bridge near the core, there was a little dot... but both Spyro and Sparx easily figured out that this dot was the captain of the Sign of Ruin. "Although I must commend you for making this far, know that you will not get any closer to the core, not even one step! This... this is the Sheepaminator, the Dark Master's pride and joy! His ultimate creation! It is a marvel of technology and unholy magic! So... are you scared, little insects? You are sorry now, aren't you? HA! There shall be no mercy for the enemies of the Dark Master! So... ready to meet his wrath? You better be! SHEEPAMINATOR!"
The speech completed, the giant robotic sheep stood there, as if awaiting the last part of its order...
"KILL! KILL! KILL KILL KILL THEM BOTH!" screamed the little Dark One, pointing at both Spyro and Sparx.
The sheep slowly turned to face the purple dragon...
"Err... S-S-Spyro?" asked the dragonfly. Slowly turning his head, now shaking like his dragonfly friend, Spyro faced Sparx.
"Y-yeah?" asked back the dragon.
"RUUUUUN!"
And with that said, both of them turned around and ran.
BOOOM!
...and it's a good thing they did so for just as the two begun to run for it, a massive explosion echoed behind them, the strong burning wind picking them up and flinging them across the room with great strength, interrupting their escape as both of them slammed into the floor and slided for a bit.
On one hand, that explosion caused by one of the Sheepaminator's missiles only served to prove how overwhelming of a foe it was... but on the other hand, Spyro narrowed his eyes at the same time as Sparx as they both got back up.
"HA HAHAHA!!! Had enough, dragon? Pah! So much for the Dragon of Prophecy!" taunted the captain from his bridge, which only served to further make the two change their minds about their original course of action.
Sparx hovered there, crossing his arms, a frown on his face as he stared at his friend. "What the heck are we doin', Spyro? We're not REALLY going to lose at the very end... and at the hands... err... paws of a silly robotic sheep, aren't we? I mean... come on! It's a big sheep, true, but it's still a sheep!"
The dragon nodded before turning back toward the giant sheep, an expression mixing determination and anger. The dragon rose, looking straight at the foe, chasing all of his nervousism away and shoving all of his fear deep in a forgotten part of himself.
"You're right. Come on! Let's trash that thing!"
And with that said, the dragon lowered his head and charged straight toward the humongous machine, the yellow dragonfly flying by his side.
Seeing this, the Dark One smirked. What are those fools doing? Can't they see that they are no match for the amazing might of the Sheepaminator? That automated war machine is the most powerful fighting force in the entire Universe! Even if the Sign of Ruin was to fail, the Dark Master would have still ruled the world through fear, fear of the Sheepaminator! Do those two truly believe that they can outmatch the most magnificent of the Dark Master's creations?
"SHEEPAMINATOR! ACTIVATE SAW BLADE SPIN DECK! CRUSH THEM! CRUSH THEM LIKE PANCAKES!!!" screamed the monkey at the top of his lungs.
Immediately, the robot obeyed. It withdrew its head within inside of its fluffy shell alongside with its limbs and then, rose slightly above the floor, revealing a battery of thrusters spewing flames. Then, flames begun to emerge from the holes where the limbs used to be as the thing begun to spin and spin and spin like a top at an increasingly dizzying speed!
Then, the whole thing sent itself flying straight at Spyro at an absolutely incredible speed! Unfortunately, due to its size and speed, Spyro figured he had no time to evade.
"AAAAAH!" yelled Sparx as fear once again rose and as he barely dodged, flying above the thing at the last second.
Spyro, him, yelped and dived on his stomach, protecting his face with his paws and waiting for the impact...
FWZOOOOOOOM!
...but once again, Spyro's small size proved to be an advantage as the thing zoomed harmlessly above him... although he felt unpleasant friction on the spikes on his back and his tail. The thrusters' exhaust flames also barely missed him, almost scorching him on the way.
Still, fact is, the thing missed him.
Spyro, realizing that he was still alive, placed his paws off his head. That had been WAY too close...
"Phew! Well, that was..."
CLAAAAANG!
"LOOK OUT!" Sparx interrupted Spyro's thoughts as he pointed toward the back, where the noise came from.
Spyro's eyes widened as he saw the Sheepaminator charging back at him after bouncing off the wall! Man, that thing's nasty!
...but on another hand, it doesn't seem like it can change directions very well and this time, he has enough distance to dodge. His smirk returning, Spyro waited until the thing was close enough and then, jumped to the side! Just as the monstrous machine passed by, just next to him, the dragon opened his mouth, inhaled deeply, and then unleashed his power. Considering this was a machine, electricity was the most obvious element to use and thus, out of his mouth, a serie of thunderbolts emerged and slammed into the fluffy artificial fur of his foe.
The Sheepaminator slowly skidded to a halt after being shocked and then, its thrusters shutting down, its limbs and head emerged as it once again stood.
"Hahahaha! Your efforts are useless! The Sheepaminator was designed with the best in terms of magical defenses! None of your breath attacks will work and its armor plating is reinforced! Your puny little claws will not make a scratch on that war machine, believe me!" Yet another taunt from the monkey and one that was especially frustrating for indeed, it did seem that the robot had taken absolutely no damage.
"Darn! The fur must have absorbed my attack..." said aloud the dragon, more to himself than to anyone else.
...and then, Sparx had an idea. He smirked evilly and then, approached the dragon...
"Reinforced and magically shielded right?" said the dragonfly before pointing at the gigantic core, behind the Sheepaminator.
That's right! Why didn't he think about it? They were fighting in the engine room, just by the core!... and well, that is actually a good coincidence! After all, he wouldn't be able to destroy neither the core nor the Sheepaminator by himself... but on another hand, having the robot crash into the core will most probably make a dent into it and well, that big stream of energy surely cannot be healthy for that huge sheep!
Now, to get that huge sheep to charge into the core...
"SHEEPAMINATOR! FIRE THE NAIL GRENADES! PIERCE, PIERCE, PIERCE PIERCE THEM 'TIL THEY LOOK LIKE SWISS CHEESE!"
Well, darn. The thing got a whole arsenal of attacks. Looks like he'll have to do a bit of dodging before the thing charges at him again. But well... this is the core's final defense. Did he truly expect it to be easy?
The two bazookas on the back of the robot slowly moved, placing themselves almost in a vertical position. Just in case, the dragon ran the opposite way of the Sheepaminator, putting some distance in-between himself and the thing...
BAM BAM!
"INCOMING!" yelled Sparx. Spyro heard it and indeed saw the two weird spheres heading toward him. He brought his wings to his sides and then flapped them, sending himself skidding away from the two spheres.
The two spheres harmlessly bounced on the floor, away from Spyro.
"Well, that was disappointing," commented Sparx. No big explosion? That was a lousy attack!
BOOM BOOM!
Sparx yelped as a rain of huge nails flew past him, one of them nearly slamming into him...
SCRUNCHL!
Sparx... did not like this sound. It was the sound of something metallic piercing through flesh at high speed and as if on cue, it was followed shortly after by a deafening scream of pain.
Spyro clawed at the floor, maintaining his balance. Fortunately, he had been looking away when the two grenades exploded but his side had been pierced by a dozen of giant nails, his entire side covered in red, a crimson pool slowly forming. The purple dragon tried to keep tears from forming but he couldn't help it. That felt... awful, completely and totally awful. He had been struck countless times with countless types of weapons and he admitted, right here and now, that was probably one of the most painful injuries he had ever received. Even being bitten and thrown about like a ragdoll by Cynder had not felt this painful.
But then, Sparx, him, could see that Spyro was not in a good shape at all. Thankfully, the nails did not strike his head, neck, or limbs... but one nail had pierced right through his left wing, leaving a gapping hole where there should be skin, and one could see the giant metal poles on his side, blood streaming out at an alarming pace.
It was obvious that Spyro would not be able to survive too many hits like this one.
"HAHAHA! Hurts, doesn't it? Well, you have seen NOTHING yet! SHEEPAMINATOR! ACTIVATE BLADE CANNON! CUT! CUT AND SLICE AND CUT'EM 'TIL THEY'RE IN SLICES THIN ENOUGH TO FIT MY SHOES!"
Gritting his teeth and fighting the incredible pain, Spyro turned to see the monstrous sheep's two cannons slowly uniting and then, transforming into a sole, much bigger cannon... as if the original two were not big enough already.
Then, slowly, he saw a huge circular saw blade protruding from the cannon's opening... and well, it was quite obvious that it was going to be fired at him.
PTOING!
Spyro dived down as the blade was shot...
CLANG!
... and it collided with the floor, just in front of him and bouncing of it, barely missing him.
shlsh.
Oh great. The sound of a blade slicing through flesh. He must have been hit, again. Annoyed, the dragon got back on his feet and looked at himself. Still pretty hurt... but he saw no new injuries. His tail? Nope. No scratches either...
The dragon looked up and then his eyes widened when he realized what the sound was.
Sparx hovered there, eyes widened. "Ha... ha... that was way too close. That blade... I REALLY saw it from too close, I tell you..."
"S-Sparx?" the dragonfly turned to face his friend, wondering why he was suddenly acting so strange.
"What now? Why you're freaking out like that... and someone tell me why..." The dragonfly didn't finish his sentence when he realized why his friend was so worried.
The blade had passed close enough to actually slice into him and the dragonfly noticed a rather wide opening in his chest, close to his shoulder, a bit of green dripping.
"Drats." was all the insect could find to say.
...and well, Spyro had enough. Yes, he could bear the bad guys beating him up... but no one, NO ONE hurts his brother. NO ONE! The dragon turned to the huge machine, eyes lighting up, rage rising quickly. He was so enraged... he could feel the flames escaping his nostrils, a hurricane building up inside him and longing to be unleashed upon that dumb machine.
"Okay. I just had enough of this guy! Sparx! Take cover above me! Protection or not, I'm frying that thing!"
The dragonfly wanted to tell the dragon that he was okay despite it all but noticing the sudden rise in temperature and the weird red particles, he figured it was not the best moment to object. After all, the only thing he could do when Spyro was unleashing a Fury Attack was to hide above him, at the only safe spot, and wait for the reptile to take out his anger upon his victim... in this case, the Sheepaminator.
"Well, about time you brought out the heavy cannons!" replied quickly Sparx as he flew toward Spyro and then, grabbed into his right horn.
Slowly, the dragon allowed his body to relax, letting the gathering power blow through his body, making him rise as the flows of fiery energy gathered into him, making him rise as a tornado of flames slowly formed around him.
"Hahahaha! It's useless! Not even your Fury Attack can harm the Sheepaminator! Your efforts are in vain! Give up!"
That worried Sparx... but then, he looked at the situation at hand. Sheepaminator in front of them, the core behind the Sheepaminator and well, he remembered that although Spyro had not damaged the thing with his breath earlier on, he had still knocked it back a bit... and well, when it comes to knock back, nothing beats the Fury Attacks. A smile came to Sparx as he bent down and whispered to the raging dragon...
"Spyro. Aim a bit more to the left..."
Spyro grinned as he understood and realized this fact as well. He turned a bit to the left and then, just as the power peaked and that he felt his entire body burning, he gasped and screamed in rage as he allowed his feelings to overwhelm him for a moment, becoming one with his fury as he unleashed the gathered power.
As the fiery energy was expelled, it caused a brutal explosion, ejecting the nails that had struck him earlier out of his body.
The gigantic wave of flames travelled quickly and then slammed into the giant robot. Above, the captain laughed as the wave slammed into the machine. As if this was going to do any damage!
The Sheepaminator was flung high in the air by the massive wave.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! See! Even your Fury Attack won't..." But then, he stopped in the middle of his speech when he realized, much to his horror, toward what the Sheepaminator was flying.
Both Spyro and Sparx, them, grinned.
SLAAAAAM!
The Sheepaminator slammed straight into the middle of the lower cone of the core, coming into contact with the stream. Instantly, it crushed the top of the cone, causing the core to malfunction while the intense streams of energy went straight through the machine's circuits, soon causing it to explode violently, sending metal bits flying everywhere while the core itself begun to malfunction and detonate.
"No... no... NO! M-m-my Sheepaminator! MY BABY! W-w-what have you done?!? It was the Dark Master's finest machine! This is impossible! The Prophecy is false! THE PROPHECY IS FALSE!" the captain was in total denial. This just couldn't happen. The Sheepaminator destroyed by a ridiculous purple flea? Insanity!
"Oh really? Well, now's the time to believe!" taunted Spyro as the core continued to explode...
And then, suddenly, a loud alarm echoed as well as a monotone, robotic voice.
"The core's status has went critical. Auto-repair attempts have failed. Evacuate immediately."
"B-b-but... my... my precious Sign of Ruin!" almost cried the captain, still in denial.
Grinning, the dragon turned to his friend. "Well... that's our cue. Let's go!"
"I'm right behind you, Spyro!" replied Sparx.
And with that said, both turned and begun to run as the captain stood on the bridge, cackling madly, not believing that this had happened to him...
Watching from the other bridges, the other Dark Ones swore and trashed about in total rage. The Sheepaminator had failed and the ship was scrapped. Now, the Dark Master's plan was in jeopardy! How dare this purple pest do this? That stupid reptile will not escape with its life!
Captain or not, the Dark Ones rushed through the various doors, intent on preventing the dragon from escaping.
Despite his injury, Spyro kept running. It seemed that adrenaline was numbing his pain totally...
It was only now that they were escaping that the two realized just how huge the Sign of Ruin truly was... and the alarm kept echoing along with the robotic voice, telling them that they were going to run out of time.
"WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" yelled Sparx, most of his voice covered by the alarm.
Spyro frowned as a response, running as fast as his little legs allowed him to. But then, finally, the two saw light!
...and a few dozens of angry Dark Ones intent on keeping them from getting out.
"Evacuate immediately. Core explosion imminent. Fifty seconds before core failure." echoed the voice.
"DARN! NO TIME FOR THEM!" yelled the dragon to himself in frustration. So close yet so far...
They couldn't fail now! They couldn't die just as they destroyed the Dark Master's super weapon! Ignitus and the others had to learn that they succeeded! He wanted to tell them himself! He had to!
...and for that, he had to pass, no matter what.
"SPARX! ON THE COUNT OF THREE..." Sparx wanted to ask his friend what he was talking about... but seeing him not even slowing down, it became obvious what he was going to do. But then, what choice did they have?
"THREE!" yelled Spyro and then, both dragon and dragonfly thrown themselves towards the light and the Dark Ones.
SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH!
As they leaped above the horde of furry monsters, they stuck their spears and swung their weapons madly. Sparx managed to fly just about out of reach... but Spyro, him, widened his eyes as an unspeakable pain struck him from every single point in his body.
Finally, the two emerged outside!
"MADE IT! Now..." the dragonfly stopped as he turned around. Spyro had not opened his wings when he thrown himself through the opening. In fact, he saw his friend drop down and through the clouds...
"SPYRO!" the dragon never heard his friend as he lost consciousness, overwhelmed by the injuries he had received.
After a very long fall, the dragon slammed into a giant toadstool within the swamp near Dragon Temple, piercing through its cap, and then landed in a rather painful way in the mud below. Spyro had about less than five percent of chances of surviving all of this, his shape almost unrecognizable from the various injuries and his body nearly drained of its blood due to said injuries.
The explosion of the Sign of Ruin could be seen from the Dragon Temple. Ignitus, Cynder, and the others smiled as they saw the gigantic ship break in two and fall from the sky.
Spyro had done it. The Sign of Ruin was no more...
Yet, not all of the dragons were there to watch the Sign of Ruin's end. Terrador, the green Guardian of the Earth element, stood in the deeper parts of the temple.
The stone upon which the Prophecy had been carved, so long ago... many years had passed since anyone had went there to read it and look at its depictions of the past, present, and future. After all, the Dragon Temple had fallen into enemy hands years ago and with the events of the last months, there had been no time to read the Prophecy after retaking the temple.
But now, Terrador thought the time had come. With the future becoming blurry and uncertain, maybe the ancient words of the Ancestors would give them guidance...
He looked at the Prophecy... more exactly, the part about the Dragon of Prophecy. The purple dragon...
Spyro was quite surprising as far as it went. Who would have thought that the Dragon of Prophecy would have been...
...huh?
For a moment, Terrador thought he read that wrong so he read it again.
...what?
He read it again... and then looked at the picture engraved next to it. The description of the Dragon of Prophecy and the image of what he shall look like...
"The Dragon of Prophecy, the purple dragon blessed with the powers of the Ancestors..." read aloud the ancient dragon. "A magnificent creature, pure in shape and in essence, perfect in both body and mind..."
The picture on the stone shown the picture of a beautiful purple dragon with large wings, perfect proportions for its body, and an overall graceful appearance.
...totally the opposite of Spyro. But then, he was young. He would eventually grow into such a dragon...
Still, there was one part of the Prophecy that had always bothered him. It was the name of the dragon. For some reason, that part of the Prophecy had always been unreadable...
Of course, "Spyro" was writen there. It was common sense and he knew that if the symbols weren't so strange, it would be written like this.
He slowly touched the stone... and then realized something. The unreadable part... at this spot, the stone stuck out, as if not fitting.
The dragon grabbed into the stone and realized why it was sticking out like this. It had been placed upside down. He replaced it in the correct direction and read the inscription again...
"The name of the Dragon of Prophecy, of the pure purple dragon... shall be Astrial."
Ha, so at long last, the inscription can be fully re...
WHAT?!? Astrial? Not Spyro?
TO BE CONTINUED