-AUTHOR'S NOTES-

It's time once again for me to upload a fanfiction here. In spite of getting back into this more recently, this is actually my first solo-fandom fic since The Black Tide well over two years ago.

And it's in this one that I've gone to tackle my first EVER attempt at a fanfiction based on Spyro the Dragon, a franchise that I spent a fair chunk of my teen years growing up with alongside many PS1 classics. I ended up including said purple dragon in a few crossovers (most of which not even being fit for the site), yet after going through the later few titles in the series I thought I would feel more ready to write a fanfic on this particular scale.

Here's a brief synopsis. The idea for this is that not long after defeating Cynder at Convexity, Spyro suddenly sees himself in the face of a storm. Unable to save himself, he is left to drift to a distant land – a land where strangely enough, everyone knows his name but he doesn't know any of them. Oddly enough, there's always danger lurking around the corner, and so he's left to defeat this danger as well as find a way back home.

I see it more as a way to try and clear up some plot elements left behind from the end of the original series storyline, most notably from the conclusion for Shadow Legacy. It doesn't matter if you haven't played that title or not – even if you haven't, I've still been able to go through the critical points of the game brief enough to tie into the fiction's storyline nonetheless.

Let's face it. The Theoropolis Saga, my more recent entry to the site, ended up being a flop. I had a lot of fun writing it and all, but in spite of it I only had one consistent reader. I still really hope to gain some good feedback by being able to focus on just the one fandom at once this time, as well as being able to dedicate more time and energy to the writing as well.

I hope you enjoy reading it as well. What else can I say at this moment in time? Feel free to read, and if you want to drop a comment, please do so. Thank you very much for your time.

Peace out,
-Rexy-

It was the Year of the Dragon. It was meant to be a time of peace and prosperity as the Dragon Guardians watched over the eggs granted at that time, waiting for them to hatch.

A dragon can be hatched and spawn any kind of color dependant of the egg that it hatched from. Red, blue, yellow, green, even black… it could mean so much to the capabilities of the being.

It was also claimed for a prophecy that a special purple dragon can be born once every ten generations. And at the time of a more recent Year of the Dragon, that event happened.

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But unfortunately, not only the dragons know about it, but also a mythical being known only to the dragons as the "Dark Master" know about it as well. That night, he dispatched an army, aiming to dispose of the new arrival.

But before it could be done, one of the guardians claimed the egg and left it to sail on an upturned mushroom head down a river, far away from the chaos that was ensuring inside.

A Spyro the Dragon™ fanfiction by RexRock

The egg finally reached a family of fireflies, where the dragon was left to rise among them, believing that he was a dragonfly of monstrous proportions. Regardless, he accepted the world that he lived in as his own, living with his family for years.

And that was until he discovered the ability to breathe fire, on a fateful venture that lead him to defend his dragonfly "brother" from a group of simian soldiers dispatched from a creature only referred to as Cynder.

With that, he and his dragonfly brother left home and started to explore their true origins. Meeting with the dragon guardian that sent him down the river started to reveal the earliest trace of his true origins – his origin as an actual dragon.

And so, his venture began.

The Tempest of Trust

The dragon had a name, and his name was Spyro.

He ventured across distant lands, saving the other fallen dragon guardians from the simian soldiers one by one, and in the process learning everything about what it means to become a valiant dragon warrior – a rare purple dragon with extraordinary power.

It all resulted with being able to confront Cynder, whom in the end was being used by the mysterious Dark Master as a puppet to free him from his prison. In the end, she was saved, reverted to her natural form, and returned home.

As soon as his briefing with his companions were over, Spyro managed to relocate himself into a quiet area away from his peers, lying down gently and looking on at the sky from the position on his back. The scent of the chlorophyll and the cool air were enough to bring him out of touch with reality for several moments.

Yet in spite of that, his thoughts would go straight back to one sighting that he faced moments before his homecoming – having to go through Convexity, the air lock that acted as a separate void between the Dark Master and his home. The very thought of its surreal atmosphere, complete with flying fish, nearby planets and chilled air, can be enough to send shivers across the body.

Having to fight against Cynder - the monstrous black dragon that claimed the powers of the Dragon Guardians - was a colossal challenge in its own right. Even with all of his power within him, she still proved herself to be a very powerful adversary, even if she was his first.

"Spyro, look out!" exclaimed his dragonfly companion. "Cynder's coming right towards you!"

Quickly, Spyro turned to his right, and saw Cynder speeding towards him, breathing intense flames from his mouth that could temporarily burn his vision if exposed too much, but regardless would still make his vision feel as if he was walking directly through an oven.

He then made a charge towards her as soon as she sped past him, and just like that he jumped onto his back, digging his claws deep inside her chest. As soon as that happened, they both stumbled to the ground, clutching onto each other and rolling across the ground like tumbleweed among a desert stretch.

And just like that, his sight completely changed. Gone were the dark blue and purple colors, and there came a beautiful golden sky ahead of him. A black dragon still looked over him however, but her facial structure looked drastically more youthful than what the one he saw.

"Spyro, are you sure you're okay?" she asked him with a slightly raspy voice tone. "You've been having problems trying to re-focus for quite some time."

"I know", the purple dragon replied with a melancholic tone. "I already mentioned that the battle between us drained the last bit of our strength. That's why I needed to find somewhere to rest."

Sighing with a more hesitant look, Spyro brought himself onto both feet and observed his surroundings. A bright meadow was seen ahead of him, with the occasional red mushroom growth on either side as well as several large trees showering with gentle passion pink cherry blossoms falling gently towards the floor.

"Now that you mention our battle", the black dragon asked, "I suppose that you know anything else that could have happened at Convexity during that time, right? I'm just really nervous over the Dark Master's next move."

Spyro reluctantly responded with a nod. "I feel the same way. But there's no way that we can counter him in the state that we're in."

He lifted one of his paws and looked on at it. It may look empty, but the feeling that remained upon lifting it showed signs of weakness, which were easily transferred to his eyes. Maintaining that glance, he turned around and walked slowly, back where he came.

"We need to give in some more time. Then we'll make a decision on how to tackle him, if he starts to become a direct threat again."

He looked on ahead of him, and saw a giant temple overlooking the entire area. Blinking gently, he made his walk towards it and started shifting his way towards the right hand side of it, looking cautiously towards the ocean view that was shown towards his right.

Like an anxious puppy, the black dragon followed him, making more tentative footsteps towards him. As soon as she reached him, she sat down gently and looked on at the view with him, with the winds gently blowing and allowing for a slightly chilled sensation to show across her flesh.

"Now that I think of it, couldn't this Sparx character do anything to protect you?" she asked Spyro with a blink.

"I don't know", he shook his head slowly. "We may be best friends and all, but the biggest problem was that he seemed to be under prepared for the experience we faced together."

Just like that, Spyro looked down, with the black dragon looking on at him. Surely he must be referring to the dragonfly that was always flying around with him, she thought to herself. And as if he was reading her mind, he looked back at her with a worrying yet truthful glare.

"I just wish he could overcome his fears and start standing up more for himself, as well as being able to travel with me for the sake of the friendship connection."

"It'll come in time", reassured the black dragon. "You two are the same age, so I'm sure that he could mature in time for that."

Smiling gently, she brought her tail towards his, and towed it around him gently like a lock on a ponytail. The reassuring feeling was more than enough to show a smile on his face in reply, no matter how small it could be, and react by starting to brush his tail gently against hers.

Regardless of the comfort granted back from the black dragon, his eyes still showed a slight sense of insecurity. That was soon reflected back upon her as well; in a sudden movement, she ended up standing up on all fours and looked around her immediate area, her evening shadow shifting gently among the grass reeds below.

"Now that we brought him into the conversation, where did he go?"

She took a small step to the right followed by a skip towards the entrance of the building. And then she made a slight dash further out into the meadow, maintaining that moderately perplexed expression. Spyro soon followed suit, albeit looking a slight amount more optimistic.

"He can't have fled to his parents early, couldn't he?" she asked hesitantly.

"I doubt it", shrugged Spyro. "Just as I left them, he came to me and stated 'best friends belong together', quote unquote. He might be just finding some time for himself."

Thinking carefully about the possibility of the dragonfly's decisions, Spyro sat down among the grass and looked up ahead. The sky started to show a small lining of clouds starting to drift above, each of them covered in a contrastingly dull shade of pewter.

His calm facial expression remained the same for a short period of time, but that was until… it started to drop. A strange chilled sensation started to flow upon his flesh, yet it felt to be significantly more unnatural than the air currents that graced the meadow initially.

"Now what?" the black dragon cautiously approached him.

"Cynder, be careful", addressed Spyro. "I think I can sense a strange presence in the air."

Spyro looked upon the sky, with Cynder – the black dragon – looking up in response. Several moments passed, and not long after that, her face started to show a slightly unconvincing glare upon her. Sighing, she stood up and leered back towards her accomplice.

"It doesn't feel any different from your natural wind current", Cynder sighed.

"It does to me", the purple dragon replied more convincingly. "This must be the same kind of wind force that I felt when I saved you from Convexity."

"What? If that's the case, how come it's not strong enough to suck us in?"

But then… before anything else could happen, a distant thunderclap was heard. Both dragons looked ahead, and right in front of them, the sky started to turn into a slightly duller shade than the usual. Even the cloud lining started to become increasingly thicker in that time.

The wind currents then started to pick up in speed, getting to the point that the grass and tree leaves started to blow more vigorously over time. It didn't take long until much of the grass reeds were left to blow with their tips shown to be directly horizontal, pointing towards the direction of the current.

"The grass!" Cynder quickly reacted to the sight of it, turning towards Spyro in the process. "What's happening?"

"We must find shelter now and ask questions later. Let's head back to the temple!"

Gritting his teeth tightly, Spyro started to make his run back towards the temple. His pacing was very brisk in spite of the coming winds, and the two elements combined ended up leaving him to form deep footprints among the soil that was graced beneath his feet.

Cynder soon made her own pursuit, making a similar dash, but it was too late for her to achiever her maximum running speed. Just like that, she ended up slipping from her position, sliding upon the grass on her back, with the winds starting to push her backwards inch by inch.

"Spyro, help!" she called out towards him as loud as she could.

Quickly, he turned around and saw her starting to slip. With panic showing on his face, he made a mad dash towards her, being careful not to slip and get towed into the currents himself. Eventually, he reached her, where she ended up resorting with holding onto an upturned rock for safety.

"Hold onto my tail, quick!" he cried out to her upon arrival.

With most of his paws holding onto the rock, he brought his tail towards Cynder's front paws like a lasso, leaving her to quickly grab onto it and reclaim herself onto all fours once again. And then, they both started to run straight through the growing currents together, with only a few inches separating them.

The sky above them started to transform from its golden colour to a worrying shade of dark orange. Even the change in color wasn't enough to show panic upon Spyro's face at all, as he continued to charge his way through the currents with such courage and care with every footstep made.

Cynder, however, struggled slightly to try and keep her footing. But whenever she did, Spyro backed down slightly and brought out his tail again to try and support her up. This happened several times between the rock and the halfway point between there and the temple.

"Come on, Cynder", Spyro called out to her with a slight hint of impatience. "We're just a few steps away. We'll get settled back inside."

"But what if I can't hold on?" she shouted back with concern.

"There's no 'what ifs'. Trust me on this!"

Showing a determined facial expression, Spyro started to run once more, but this time it was to the point that the currents were strong enough to actually start slowing him down. Even at that point, the grass roots that were beneath his feet were slowly being torn away by the force of the wind.

Continuing to maintain a determined facial expression, he continued to plow ahead either way, being sure to focus on his footing and Cynder's pursuit at the same time. Yet… it didn't take long until one of the damper parts of the meadow left him to suddenly slip up and land on his stomach.

"My footing!" Spyro reacted with panic.

"I've got your back!"

Quickly, Cynder made her run straight towards Spyro and used her tail to tow him back onto all fours. By then, the wind currents were almost unbearable, to the point that if any of them could make a sudden stop, they would end up being sent flying back a foot or two.

There, they both ended up holding onto each other, with their tails locking onto each other and each of their front legs being locked as if they were walking in a three-legged race. They looked on at each other, knowing that the storm was certainly not going to get any better.

"We can get through this together" the purple dragon persuaded her. "Come on!"

And with great determination, Spyro and Cynder cooperated together, braving the storm while holding onto each other for support. By then, most of the grass roots were upturned, allowing bits of reeds to end up starting to be sent in their direction, attempting to blind them.

It wasn't long until they finally reached the step that lead straight towards the interiors of the Dragon Temple. There, they soon made a stop, and looked straight on at the interior – the warm torchlight and brighter colors made it feel so safe and rewarding for their coming efforts.

"Cynder, just take a hold onto the footstep and climb it yourself!" Spyro commanded to the black dragon as he released his grip on her.

The command left her to start making a tight grasp towards the ground beneath as she tried to pull her way towards the front step. It almost looked as if she could be unable to reach the step, yet in a daring leap of faith, she ended up clutching onto the step as if she was struggling up a steep cliff.

"That's it!" the purple dragon called out to her proudly.

With a face filled with determination, she – with the help of Spyro supporting her from behind - pulled herself straight up the stair and made her way straight towards the next. Another brave climb soon saw her secured straight inside the Dragon Temple, out of the hazard of the braving winds.

Spyro saw that he was then ready to follow suit. In an equally daring leap, he managed to make his grasp upon the step and started to make his climb to the next, but it was by then that the winds were too strong for him to keep his footing firmly on the ground.

"Spyro!"

Cynder's shout of encouragement wasn't enough as Spyro suddenly slipped his hind legs to the point that he was left to hang on the lower step once again. With a worried glance, the black dragon made her rush towards him, her green eyes showing deep concern for her companion.

"I can't hold on!" he winced with a struggle. "I'm… too weak…"

"Just hold onto the step! I'm coming for you!" Cynder called out valiantly.

True to her word, she made her rush back towards the second step, hung down and outstretched her tail to try and reach for him. Yet in spite of her best efforts, he struggled to find any form of means to hold onto her for support, thanks to his current situation.

Hesitantly, she turned around and picked up a loose pole at the side of the interiors with her mouth, before returning to the scene, hoping to get it out ready for Spyro to grab onto as she sent it straight out into the vicious open shown straight ahead of her viewpoint.

One glance at the pole was enough for the purple dragon to try and swipe towards it. He knew that it was then or never as he swiped towards it and clutched on… only for the force of the stick to start to struggle in the storm. And eventually… it snapped in half, causing both Spyro and the other half of the pole to be sent flying into the abyss.

"Cynderrrr!" he cried out to her as he was sent further and further above.

"Spyro!" she gasped, dropping the other half of the pole on the floor. "Where are you going??"

Cynder's shouts from the scene were not enough to reach Spyro as clearly as she anticipated. All she could do was look on, and see the purple dragon get towed further and further away, through the heavy storms that intensely surrounded his field of view.

In spite of his struggle, he surrendered his body to the might of the storm, leaving him to make his fall wherever possible. Wherever he would land would not matter; as long as he would practically survive the wind currents all in one piece that was all that mattered.

As soon as he reached his highest point in the sky, he suddenly felt a change of scenery – an envelope of darkness that covered his eyes with a thick canvas, followed by the sound of silence. At the sense of that, he knew that there was absolutely nothing that he could do at that moment in time.

Several moments later, the stale air around him started to change dramatically. A trace of another wind current commenced to blow around him; however in comparison to the storm at the temple, it was felt to be considerably milder as well as becoming increasingly colder.

It didn't take long until the darkness suddenly started to take more of a shape. A brief blur of gray was shown in front of his eyesight, and it was there that a blur of a wide-armed creature was shown right in front of him, with a monstrous face to rival that of any soldier he might have faced.

A cackle was heard from the creature – one that would match with that of a screeching dreadwing if it had the potential to be able to do that. As soon as it finished, a faint glow of yellow was shown to go right across its eyes, lighting like a pair of high-energy light bulbs, yet were unable to penetrate the darkness.

And then, it brought up one of its hands, holding what looked like a strange horizontal object. The strange dark textures were too difficult to identify it immediately, yet what was witnessed from the tip though was a strange flow of indigo that surrounded it with a feel of fear.

What is that figure ahead? Could that be some kind of nightmare monster, or even worse, the Dark Master himself? In spite of wanting to see the shapes so much more clearly, Spyro felt absolutely powerless to do anything about this mysterious figure at all…

"Spyro, can you hear me?"

The blur started to change shape, and over time it slowly started to become slimmer and slimmer, to the point that it started to become less inconclusive and more significantly masculine. The colors even started to become significantly brighter to match, shifting from the blacks to an awkward shade of brown.

The colors continued to get brighter beyond there, and it was there that white was soon seen. The blurs then completely vanished, and right there, a hand was seen. Two fingers were held into the air in a peace symbol, held firmly into the air as firm as peas in a pod.

"Look at my hand, buddy. How many fingers am I holding up?"

The purple dragon quickly brought himself to a conclusion to the creature's identity. "…Sparx?"

Spyro looked straight on at the figure in front of him. Right there, he identified the creature to be Sparx – a yellow dragonfly with deep teal eyes, with a pair of antennas that blew gently upon the wind and four white wings gracing upon his back. He looked back at him, folding his arms slightly and showing a slightly toothy leer back.

"Great, welcome to the storm recovery club", he replied with mockery. "I never thought it could be bad enough to send you flying this far."

Spyro's eyes widened quickly. "I did what?"

With a slightly hesitant facial expression, he brought himself back on all fours and looked around his surroundings. All that he could make out was a gritty cave, complete with shades of blue and gray among the rocky structures that formed it. The stale atmosphere inside led him to look back towards Sparx with a hint of panic in his eyes.

"Tell me, what kind of place is this?" Spyro quickly asked while clashing his head with the dragonfly. "And for that matter, how did you get this far?"

"Oh, I was just taking a stroll around here, minding my own business", Sparx explained as he hovered back to his original distance from the ground. "I never thought I'd get as far as this doozy of a cave, but you know me, I can get too carried away at times."

With a slightly sarcastic look, Sparx hovered his way towards another end of the cave, allowing for a set of small yellow balls of light to trail down underneath him as he hovered higher and higher towards the ceiling. Tapping onto the walls was enough to know that they were in a genuine underground location.

Showing a slightly worried look, he ended up hovering his way straight down towards the ground, the glistening yellow glare still showing around him. As soon as he reached Spyro's level, he ended up resorting with lying on top of his head, his back twisting like a magician's pencil.

"Still, do you know of a way back to the Dragon Temple?" Spyro asked as he tried to make eye contact with his partner.

"I could if I knew the way I came. This place is so twisting with all these different paths it's unbelievable."

Sparx ended up sighing as he made his roll towards the ground. Once there, he ended up bringing a finger out, trying to demonstrate his points by attempting to draw his directions from the Dragon Temple to their current location. Yet in the end, all that was shown was a mass of curly lines that resembled more like a plate of pasta.

Growling, he ended up using the rest of his hand to scratch it off and turn it into a murky surface. That as a result left his fingertips to be completely covered in grime; not even trying to brush it off amongst his body was enough to remove it straightaway.

"I suppose we can only try and get used to our bearings", the dragon reluctantly spoke. "Which way is out?"

"I may be no Einstein on the matter", Sparx began speaking as he rolled his eyes. "But I suggest we step into the light ahead."

With a face that almost spelt irony, Sparx pointed his way towards a nearby exit. And true to his word, a burst of white light was shown bursting out from it. Upon witnessing it, Spyro immediately started approaching it, with his dragonfly accomplice not too far behind.

"And your draining of power from the fight against that sexy Cynder was that bad?" Sparx questioned him with a questionable tone. "Sheesh, I can't believe I'm destined to become your loyal caretaker."

Upon the remark, Spyro quickly stopped and turned towards Sparx, as if to say 'what was that supposed to mean' with a slightly annoyed facial expression. That left the dragonfly to sheepishly take cover behind the dragon's head, hiding from view for only a few moments.

Knowing that smart remarks would only get them nowhere at that moment in time, they both pressed on ahead and continued to make their way towards the light. And as soon as they got there, they felt a more pleasant wind start to blow among their flesh, knowing that they have both made their way towards the outdoors.

All that remained from their exit from the cave was a pathway that led its way through a surreal landscape of rocks, plants and grasses. And so, they went further and further ahead, knowing by the structures that they could be further away from the Temple than anticipated.

It wasn't long until the path started to become less rural and slightly more populated. Several buildings were seen poking over hillsides, and the very structure of which somehow started to leave unsettling facial expressions upon Spyro and Sparx as they came closer towards them.

They soon went around a nearby corner, and right there, they saw the buildings in full view among several others. If they were able to identify habitats like that, they would know for sure that they were in a village. Yet, if anything could look more puzzling, it could be the residents that would reside there.

"What kind of society is this?" the dragon started to puzzle himself.

Spyro looked straight to his left, and he saw a tall lizard creature holding onto a grocery basket, giving it towards a nearby bear in Arabic attire. He then looked to the right and saw another one, talking with a cheetah holding a crossbow. Blinking with a slightly insecure expression, he looked back at Sparx while maintaining it.

"Are those…" he started asking, but he soon paused. "No, they can't be."

"Come on, let out your feelings", assured Sparx as he held onto the dragon's cheeks. "We've been best friends for God knows how long, so surely you can't share something as trivial as the creatures that live in this village, right?"

As much as Spyro didn't feel like admitting it, he felt that he had to. He looked on at the walking lizards around him, further observing their stances. A distinguished set of wings, spikes down their back, straightened horns, claws and ridged stomachs made them distinguishable enough to be lizard-based in structure.

"I was claiming that they could be dragons", he started to respond back, "but I haven't seen any being adept enough to walk on their hind legs."

"Two-legged dragons, huh?" puzzled Sparx.

"And what's this fur that they're wearing as well?" Spyro remarked as he saw one walking around wearing a grass skirt. "I can grow to the idea of the Atlawa and Manwersmalls wearing furs like that, but not dragons."

"For all we know, they could be a different species than us", Sparx remarked with a shrug. "But do you honestly think that I'm going to become a biologist when I grow up?"

Sparx's brash comment suddenly left Spyro to give out a confused blink as he turned back towards his partner. The dragonfly could only just sneer as he brought himself into a graceful bow followed by a full spin on the spot, cackling gently as he managed to do that.

"I rest my case."

"Still, if they could help us find our way back to the temple, it might be required to ask them", hypothesized the dragon.

Looking slightly more determined, Spyro made his footsteps towards the town, walking gently and further into the center of the village. Sparx wasn't too far behind, leaving him to leave a trail of yellow lights as he went closer and closer towards his companion.

In spite of the village showing itself to be optimistic in terms of some of the personnel that were there doing their daily business, the strange feel of the creatures were enough to send a sense of unease around the pair, flowing through their blood like ice cubes in a volcano.

"Sparx, wait", Spyro commanded his companion, coming to a screeching halt.

"What?"

Looking tenser than the usual, Spyro brought up one of his paws to stop Sparx in his tracks. And there, they both noticed something odd – they were feet apart from any building, yet they were still enveloped by an eerie shadow that was cast directly above them.

They looked up, and right there they ended up fixing their eyes straight towards what looked like a cloud in the shape of a galaxy. Yet, identifiable shapes including rounded planet-shape objects and hexagonal platforms along with a color scheme with varying shades of blue, purple and red were enough to clearly identify it.

"That cloud", the dragonfly stared at it with awe. "It looks just like what we saw at Convexity, minus the weird looking flying whales that we saw there."

"I can see what you mean, but it feels too timid for the Dark Master to deal with that", replied Spyro with a gentle shake of the head.

Sparx, however, didn't look too convinced. "But it might still govern this strange place to some extent. Maybe even worse than whatever democracy could govern the world back home if any."

Shrugging, Sparx made his way further down the street, going down there by his own accord. Looking cautious, Spyro soon followed him, looking concerned for his own safety. No one would really know what kind of reaction that they would get from the villagers that would reside there.

Yet, just before the dragon was able to catch up with him, the dragonfly suddenly made a zoom straight towards the left, leaving them to briefly get separated amongst the midst of alleys that surrounded them. Silence enveloped the area briefly, right until…

"…AAARGH!"

Spyro quickly turned to the direction of the shout. "What is it?"

"Look!" Sparx replied from a distance, sounding shaken. "Look over here…!"

Upon hearing Sparx's response, Spyro soon made his pacing straight towards him, now clearly finding him at the end of a smaller alley. And there, they brought their eyes straight towards the strange yet familiar sight that was witnessed right in front of the dragonfly's eyes.

There in front of them was a campfire, complete with a series of creatures dancing around them with a joyful yet disturbing jig. The anatomies of the creatures were enough to know that they had a similarity – a similarity to the soldiers that once served under Cynder.

"Those soldiers", Spyro began confirming his suspicions. "They look just like the creatures that assaulted us while I freed the dragon guardians!"

"Those monkey guys!" Sparx looked at them almost bitterly. "I thought they were all but gone when Cynder was uncorrupted!"

The sight of them was enough for Sparx to quickly take cover behind a nearby post, trying his best to escape from their field of view. All that Spyro could do in reaction was look towards Sparx's direction, concerned over the point of hiding from creatures that were unable to see them.

The least that the dragon could do was watch them as they danced, drank and conversed with their peers almost too joyfully than anticipated. But it wasn't too long until one of which raised its hands straight into the air, sniffing in the air. In a quick reaction, it pointed straight towards Spyro and Sparx, knowing that it managed to sense intruders coming into their camp.

"They've spotted us!" Spyro exclaimed with alarm. "I don't think we stand much of a chance at a time like this."

"Quick!" Sparx pointed towards a nearby willow. "Let's take hiding here!"

Just like that, they made their roll straight underneath the lowest tree branch, taking hiding among the shadows inside it. And as they did so, the monkeys tried to keep searching around their surroundings for them, looking more and more hesitant as time went on.

Back in the shadows, the dragonfly was left to recompose himself in the little space that he had, while the purple dragon was keen enough to look on at the soldiers. They almost resembled the simian soldiers that initially served Cynder and the Dark Master, but their faces looked more canine and/or lupine in structure.

"Some of those creatures look different too" Spyro confirmed his observation. "I can't sense much of connection to the soldiers we faced or anything."

"If you want an opinion out of me chief, I'll just refer to them as 'fuzzy frogweeds'", shrugged Sparx. "That's possibly the only thing on my mind at the moment."

The remark left Spyro to suddenly turn to Sparx, whom was seen trying to snicker in response at the looks of the creatures that were around them. Yet, in spite of his light-hearted response, that somehow left them to show facial expressions of concern as they looked at the creatures surrounding the tree once more.

They continued searching around their immediate area, trying to trace the pair, but over time, they started to become less and less convinced that they could be found. Eventually, one by one they started to leave and return straight back the way they came.

And just as when the last one managed to leave the scene, the pair managed to get out from the tree branch that completely covered them and re-emerged into the open. They looked to the left, and then to the right; at that, they knew that the creatures will be unable to make their way back.

"That was almost too close", smiled Spyro with a sigh of relief. "But what could they be doing at a time like this?"

Sparx reacted with a shrug. But in spite of their reassurance of the escape, the appearance of those soldiers could only add to the mystery of the village. With that thought in mind, they both made their way straight towards the area where they saw the black cloud once more.

"And what explains the black cloud?" Spyro asked his companion once again. "I still believe that it doesn't feel as strong as what the Dark Master could usually do."

"Spyro, is that really you?" shouted a distant young voice.

The voice left them both to look around their immediate area for it. It was sensed for it to end up coming from straight ahead of them, but in spite of that, no creature was seen in their sight. The voice left Spyro to suddenly make a jump to a conclusion regardless of the lack of form presenting it.

"Cynder?"

Sparx instantly shook his head as fast as a pendulum. "Nah, the last time I checked she spoke like she had a cup of water down her throat. This voice sounds different."

As soon as Sparx mentioned the water comment, Spyro looked straight on at him with a slight leer in his eyes, leaving the dragonfly to quickly use his hands to cover his mouth. Before anything else could happen, however, the sound of footsteps was heard ahead.

"Yes, it IS you!" shouted the voice again.

The voice led them to look on, and right there, there stood a small creature standing on two legs. But it wasn't shown to be a dragon – it was shown to be a rat-like creature with brown fur around him, with occasional traces of peach among the lower half of his face.

A green backpack and a blue cap with matching shoes and gloves graced his body, complete with golden yellow goggles that were placed on top of his head. His iris-less eyes showed an enthusiastic expression as he started to make his run towards the dragon, his arms outstretched.

"I can't believe you're still alive, after everything that has happened in the past six months!" the creature smiled happily as he brought his arms into an embrace around the dragon. "Man, I need to tell the professor! He will be so happy for you!"

"What are you talking about?" Spyro quickly pulled himself away from the creature. "I never knew a "professor". And I've only just met you as well."

"You mean…" the youth paused. "Have you lost memory of all that is here?"

With a face of worry, the rat-creature looked towards the dragon, trying to get as much of a response out of him. Yet, all it caused were for them both to remain in silence for several seconds. Sighing with hesitance, the creature lowered his arms and looked down to the ground.

His focus was brought upon the dragon's feet with that instance. Not long after that, his thoughts started to become slightly more hesitant as he slowly brought his head up towards Spyro's head. Continuing to shake, he crouched down one knee and placed one hand upon his shoulder.

"Spyro, can't you remember me, Blink the Mole?"

The dragon paused for several seconds, trying to recall the name, yet nevertheless it drew up a blank. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know you. I also don't know of any 'moles' either."

"I do, though it's more of the annoying kind that pops out of your back", beamed Sparx with a hand raised in the air.

"Sparx, not now!"

"Oh, sorry."

"This is strange", Blink puzzled as he placed his right hand on his chin. "I somehow have come to find you out of coincidence, and now you're telling us you don't know who you are anymore. On top of that, your friend Sparx sounds like his voice just got broken prematurely."

Sparx's pupils dramatically shrunk. "Hey, what's THAT supposed to mean?"

Raising his fists towards the air, he tried to fly towards Blink and attempted a playful punch towards him, but before he could do that, the mole quickly responded by holding onto his wings and hanging him upside down with a moderately unconvincing glare.

"Honestly Spyro", the mole frowned upsettingly. "What kind of creature are you?"

Sighing, he then released the grip on Sparx, causing him to release his balance and start drifting down towards the ground, causing him to land head first among the ground beneath, leaving him to have his head completely buried in the mass of dirt beneath.

And then, Blink turned his back and started to walk back the way he came. Concerned over the meeting's rough start, Spyro soon followed suit. As soon as he caught up to him, he raised a front paw, tapped onto the mole's back and waited patiently as he saw the youth come to a stop.

"Look, if there's anything I've said that disappointed you, I'm really sorry", the dragon apologised as truthfully as he could. "But the fact remains that I am very unfamiliar with these surroundings."

The remark soon caused Blink to respond. His ears then slowly twitched first, and then he turned back, his arms obviously folded as he made a slightly more confident glare back towards the dragon, his tail starting to twitch a little bit more passionately than before.

"Given that you haven't been around here for a while, I shouldn't be surprised", Blink replied with a deeper voice tone.

"Well, is there any chance that you can direct me to this 'professor'?" requested Spyro. "He sounds helpful enough to aid me in this situation."

"Right atcha, but I don't know how he would react to see you unaware of this place. But I'll take you to him anyway."

And so, Blink outstretched his arm, leaving Spyro to look on at him with a light blink. He then turned back towards Sparx, whom in spite of looking the most confused of the pair, ended up having to hover between the pair either way. The sight of his glow was reflected in the mole's eyes with a powerful sheen.

And so, the dragon made up his mind – he started to walk his way towards the mole. As soon as they were side-by-side, they both started to make their walk across the village. Blinking with a slightly puzzled look, Sparx hovered his way straight towards the dragon, before holding onto his horns as soon as he caught up.

"Okay, so you're actually going to go ahead with this crazed kid?" Sparx questioned the dragon, twitching his mouth.

"It's the least that I can do for the time being", Spyro started to explain. "And besides, trying to understand the locals could be one way to help me find a way back to the Dragon Temple. I'm sure that there will be a path out of here, given how easy it was for you to get here in particular."

"Fair enough, but I don't like the idea of getting a lecture from a self-proclaimed brainiac. Mom gave me enough lectures to last a lifetime; we all know that."

The remark suddenly left Spyro to look back at Sparx with an eye twitch, resulting in the dragonfly blushing once more and taking hiding behind his head. As far as the dragon knew, he somehow thought that remarks relating to his home of origin would rather be the last on his mind.

For the only way that they could concentrate now was find out everything they can to be able to find a way back to the Dragon Temple. Yet, wondering how the creatures in the village somehow knew Spyro by name already, all that he would know was that a way back home might not come so easily.

-end of chapter-