Okay, I'm getting this out of the way now. I may have started listening to A LOT of Avenged Sevenfold lately and gained a ton of song ideas…so if you don't like A7X…skip a few of the musical parts…and Leon will be singing most of them, but not all…that said, this will be the final book of this series.

Chapter 1

Many years ago…

"That was wonderful, Leon." Sierra said as she and Leon sat in on the edge of the Lassarios lake. The two of them were in their adolescent years.

"Do you really think so?" Leon asked.

"Yes, you sing better than any boy I've heard."

"Maybe I should give up on being the king then." Leon said, jokingly.

"No reason you can't do both." Sierra said.

"Yeah…maybe someday...I'll be on a stage…with thousands of people watching me."

Sierra giggled, "And I'll be right there cheering for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Leon said.

The two of them continued staring out over the lake, "What do you think the future holds for us." Sierra asked.

"I don't know…but I'm sure that it'll be filled with happiness." Leon said.

Present day…

It had been a full week since the vanguards had helped defend Warfang from Malefore's forces. As the sun began to set over the dragon capital, Flare and Crystal walked down the street towards the healer's den. "So…tomorrow then?" Flare asked.

"Yep." Crystal said, "Spyro says that we don't want to give the dark master another chance to attack again."

"Right." Flare stated, "I still wonder why the dark master wants Spyro, though."

"Hopefully…we'll never find out."

"Yeah, I guess that'd be for the be-" Flare's sentence was cut short as he began coughing violently.

"Geez, you okay?" Crystal asked, worriedly.

"I'm fine." Flare stated.

"You've been coughing like that for a few days now."

"It's just the cold getting to me."

"Well…okay." Crystal said, half believing him.

Elektra emerged from the pavilion just in time to see the two young dragons approach her, "Oh…what are you two doing here?" She asked, "Shouldn't you be at the opera house already?"

"Icarus asked us to be your personal escorts." Flare said, cheerfully.

"Dear ancestors," Elektra said, shaking her head, "that dragon needs to stop worrying about me."

"He means well." Crystal stated.

"I know he does…but it can be so annoying sometimes."

"Well…we should get going." Flare said.

"Right…we wouldn't want to be late." Elektra stated before following the two dragons towards the eastern side of the city.

"The entire city showed up." Magma said as he peaked through the space between the two curtains.

"Right…and almost all of them hate me." Leon said.

"Actually…I think that you gained a few friends after the battle with Malefore's forces." Icarus said.

"I wouldn't call them friends." Leon began, "They may see me as less of a threat, though…which is still a good thing."

"Regardless of how they feel about you...they can't deny the talent of this choir, and, by extension, the talent of you." Magma stated.

"I hope you're right…otherwise this night may take a turn for the worst."

"Word of advice," Icarus began, "focus on your mate…that's what I'll be doing."

"Oh, you and Elektra finally completed the act?" Leon asked.

"Well, no…not yet."

"Why not…it's painfully obvious that she's into you."

"Yes…but, in case you haven't noticed…we don't really get too much private time with you and the other vanguards around."

"Oh…right…then I guess you'll be happy to see us leave tomorrow."

"In a way, yes."

Leon chuckled slightly, "Just make sure that you stay on her cushion…or at least wash the linens before I get back."

"Will do." Icarus said, saluting.

"Did we miss anything?" Crystal asked as she, Flare, and Elektra approached the vanguards, who sat in the front row of the massive auditorium.

"No…I think they're just about to start." Cynder stated.

"Oh good." Crystal said as she sat beside Zephyr. She then noticed Athena, who sat quietly and was lost in her thoughts. "Hey, Athena. Are you okay?"

"Hmm…oh yes, I'm fine." Athena lied. She hadn't stopped thinking about the one that had taken over Leon's body and defended her from Sin. Leon remembered the voice in his head, but then, his memory went blank. Athena had not told him or the other vanguards about what had happened after that. Leon hadn't bothered questioning her about it. He refused to let whatever was happening inside his head to interfere with the mission ahead, and he figured that maybe if he ignored Sin, then Sin would get bored trying to turn him back to his old ways.

"Hey, I think it's starting." Spyro said. The vanguards turned their attention to the stage as the curtain split open. The audience clapped, or, in the dragons' case, slapped their wings against their hide, as Magma and the choir took a simultaneous bow.

"Thank you all for coming." Magma said, raising his voice so all could hear, "We appreciate you granting us the opportunity to enchant your ears…now, allow your mind to become lost in our melodies." Magma then turned to the choir. The band began to play, and Leon took Icarus' advice and kept his gaze focused on Athena, who smiled lovingly at him, before he began to sing;

So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't be much more from the heart.

Forever trusting who we are.

{And nothing else matters.}

Never opened myself this way.

Life is ours, we live it our way.

All these words I don't just say.

{And nothing else matters.}

Trust I seek, and I find in you.

Everyday for us something new.

Open mind for a different view.

{And nothing else matters.}

{Never cared for what they do.}

{Never cared for what they know.}

{And I know.}

So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't be much more from the heart.

Forever trusting who we are.

{And nothing else matters.}

{Never cared for what they do.}

{Never cared for what they know.}

{But I know.}

Never opened myself this way.

Life is ours, we live it our way.

All these words I don't just say.

{And nothing else matters.}

Trust I seek, and I find in you.

Everyday for us something new.

Open mind for a different view.

{And nothing else matters.}

{Never cared for what they say.}

{Never cared for games they play.}

{Never cared for what they do.}

{Never cared for what they know.}

{And I know.}

So close, no matter how far.

Couldn't be much more from the heart.

Forever trusting who we are.

{And nothing else matters.}

The crowd clapped loudly as the notes faded away and Magma gave Leon an approving nod.

The concert lasted another six hours until the choir played their last song and took their closing bow. As the vanguards exited the opera house with Elektra, they circled around to the back entrance of the building. They spotted the choir conversing amongst themselves and began searching for Leon. They found him in the middle of a conversation with Magma and Icarus, "I think that this show couldn't have gone better." Icarus stated.

"I agree." Leon said.

"It was definitely one of our better performances." Magma stated. Leon jumped slightly when he felt Athena's hand on his shoulder.

"Someone's a little jumpy." Athena said.

"Sorry," He said, "but you can't be too careful."

Athena giggled before putting her arms around him, "Don't worry, I wont let anyone hurt you." She said before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Species be damned," Magma said, "you two were made for each other, don't let anyone tell you differently."

"Thanks," Leon said before looking at the other vanguards, "how did you guys like it?"

"It was great." Cynder said.

"Yeah, I can't wait for the next show." Flare said.

"You sang wonderfully, Icarus." Elektra said.

"Well, it's easy when I have inspiration like you." Icarus stated.

"Aw…you're such a liar," Elektra said smiling, "but maybe that's what I like about you." She then kissed Icarus on the lips.

"We should get some sleep," Spyro said, "we head out tomorrow."

"We're going to the tall plains, correct?" Leon asked.

"Yeah…have you ever been there?"

"Once or twice…but back then they were still glued to the ground."

"What happened to them?" Fang asked.

"Well," Leon began. He noticed that the dragon choir also seemed interested in this information as they turned their heads toward him, "at some point in history, the magnetic minerals built up in the region reversed the gravity of the area and lifted the plains up into the air…it left behind a land of darkness that you know as the shadow lands…the history of that place shows us that darkness…" he then tapped his foot on the ground, "…can be right below our feet."

"A little morbid, don't you think?" Sparx asked.

"Maybe…but it's the truth." Leon said, "I haven't been back there in a while, I had the orcs place the machine up there."

"Why didn't you go?" Cynder asked.

"I…couldn't."

"Then I guess you wouldn't know an easy way up the shadow mountains, huh?" Spyro said, slightly disappointed.

"That's…not necessarily true." Leon said, hesitantly.

"You do know a way?" Spyro said, happily.

"I do…but it's not a pleasant path."

"Is it dangerous?" Cynder asked.

"No…but it's not a path I want to traverse." Leon replied.

"Why not?" Flare asked.

"Because…it…it's just…"

"Because why?" Fang asked.

"I just don't want to, okay!" Leon snapped, causing the other vanguards to jump.

"Whoa man, calm down." Twitch said.

Leon took a deep breath to calm his nerves before pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry." He said.

"What could you possibly be so upset about?" Elektra asked.

"It…it…it's not something I can explain." Leon stated.

The other vanguards raised a skeptical brow before Spyro spoke, "I'm not saying you don't have your reasons…but we need to get to that machine in the quickest way possible."

"I know." Leon said before sighing again, "I'll take you there."

"Alright." Spyro said, "Now let's get some sleep."

"You go ahead, I'll be there in a minute." Elektra said to Athena and Leon.

The vanguards bowed to Icarus and Magma before departing. As they headed towards the temple, Cynder and Athena noticed that Leon was keeping his head down as he did when he was bothered by something. They entered the temple, ascended the stairs, and entered their respective bedchambers. Leon immediately took off his leather tunic and threw it to the side before lying on his cushion and facing away from the entrance. Athena looked at him sadly before stripping down and crawling onto the cushion next to him, "What's wrong?" She asked as she wrapped her arm around him.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Leon said.

Athena slowly forced Leon to roll over to face her, "I can see that whatever this is…it's hurting you…and that means it's hurting me too…so, please…tell me."

Leon sighed deeply and closed his eyes. Athena placed her paw on his face and Leon's savored the touch of her four long, slender fingers on his skin. Athena noticed a few lone tears run down Leon's face as he opened his eyes, "I can't." He said.

The cheetah sighed sadly as she held Leon's head close to her chest, "Okay…but know this…I'll always be here for you…and so will Cynder." She felt Leon nod against her and the two of them fell asleep.