This is the 2nd book to the Aftermath series, I hope you'll like it! Thanks for supporting my stories!

Cynder and Spyro were in the nursery, curled up next to 4 eggs while Bolzan and Hunter were downstairs, patiently awaiting the hatching with Baero and Solaris..

After Malefor's defeat, they headed back to the valley where Hunter welcomed them back in open arms. Shortly after, in the middle of the night, Cynder laid 4 eggs. The first egg was red with orange, flame-like markings. The second was a light blue egg with a few swirls of white mimicking a snowstorm. The third egg was obsidian-black with dark purple highlights and the final egg was dark grey, covered in broken streaks of lighter grey curling around the egg.

After Bolzan made sure the eggs were free of any darkness they might have picked up from Malefor, the waiting began…

Now, 1 and a half weeks later, which was about the time most eggs hatched, Spyro and Cynder were particularly excited. They spent their time around the eggs, willing them to hatch soon. Baero and Solaris thought this was fairly amusing but they still left them alone. After all, those eggs were really lucky to be even born, considering what Malefor put them through so, their excitement was well justified.

Bolzan returned a week after he left and was equally excited about the eggs hatching. Being a stranger to family life, he spent the first few days of living with Spyro and Cynder in relative isolation, being uncharacteristically shy around them. Eventually, he got used to it and became extremely close to them. Hunter, even though he was the leader of the Village, was also excited but he kept his composure much more than any of the dragons, mainly due to his maturity. He was older than the 3 dragons, after all.

That night, while Cynder and Spyro were sleeping next to the eggs, curled up with them, a small tap could be heard. The taps gained momentum and became louder, eventually waking Cynder up. Groggily, she looked around to locate the source of the sound. It took awhile for her to realize it was coming from a nearby source and she looked at the eggs.

The red egg had a small crack on it that was slowly spreading. Exhilarated, Cynder shouted hysterically.

"One of the eggs is hatching!"

Spyro jolted awake, panicking slightly as he scrambled to his feet and looked around the room quickly as if an apocalypse was happening right there. He quickly calmed down and noticed the crack on the red egg followed by a tapping sound. Bolzan was the first up, tripping over his own paws in his hurry. As he tumbled into the room, a slightly lopsided grin on his face, Hunter walked up, shaking his head in disapproval, a small grin on his face. He was followed closely behind by Solaris, who was equally happy that the eggs were hatching. Baero was the last to come up because of the size of his wings, which were above average. He was nonetheless glad that the eggs were hatching.

The nursery was fairly spacious, easily able to accommodate all of them and still feel comfortable. There was a changing table to one corner as well as a large playpen and a large cot big enough for 4 baby dragons was behind a special glass door that was soundproof to the outside world when only the babies were in there while, at the same time, allowing adults to hear the situation inside the room without entering and allowed sound both ways when an adult was with them, all courtesy of the Moles' expert craftsmanship. All the furniture had a dragon motif that didn't look intimidating. Rather, it looked quite cute and elegant with smooth flowing lines and soft, velvety mattresses and pillows and blankets. The playpen contained multiple toys provided by Terrador, Cyril, Volteer, Baero and Solaris. The nursery was, in all, the ideal place for a young dragon.

The cracks grew rapidly and Spyro peeked into it, trying to catch a glimpse of the newborn. He nearly got a nasty burn when a few sparks flew from the crack. He jerked his head backed and, as he was rubbing his eyes, the eggshell gave way, leaving a small baby dragon where the egg last stood. It had Spyro's body and muzzle but Cynder's wings. Its tail ended in a 3-pronged spear and its scales were a warm red. It had a light orange underbelly and had a pair of horns on its head. It looked curiously at Spyro with its bright yellow eyes as he tried to pick up the little dragon and, suddenly, it lashed out and bit Spyro's finger, holding on tightly, unwilling to let go. Spyro drew his paw back, the little dragon still attached and checked its gender.

"It's a feisty boy!" Spyro said as he tried to make it let go. The baby giggled slightly, still not letting go of Spyro's finger until Spyro was forced to gently pry open its jaws. He cradled the baby in his arm as he slowly opened its mouth with his other fingers. As soon as the baby let go, however, it began bawling loudly. Startled, he tried to calm the screaming infant before Cynder took him from Spyro, smiling cheekily. She gently rocked the dragon until it calmed down.

"So, what should we name him?" Cynder asked, cradling the little dragon who had now taken to playing with Cynder's wings.

"I kinda like the name Ferno; it feels really fitting for a feisty fire dragon, don't you think?" Spyro suggested, looking at Ferno fondly.

"Yeah, I like that name. Ferno it is!" Cynder proclaimed before suddenly stopping, looking shocked.

"What's the matter?" Spyro asked, mildly concerned.

"I have no idea how to diaper him…" Cynder said, embarrassed. Solaris laughed gently and placed her paw on Ferno.

"Come on, Cynder, I'll teach you and Spyro."

As Cynder nursed Ferno, the others all fussing over him, the second egg started to hatch, this time more slowly. Bolzan, being the closest to the eggs, heard this and turned around.

"Is another egg hatching, Bolzan?" Spyro asked, following his gaze.

"Yeah, I think so, I heard some tapping coming from them." Bolzan stepped closer to the eggs and saw small cracks on the light blue egg.

This time, the egg took longer to hatch and Cynder had just put Ferno to bed when the cracks grew at an alarming rate. Bolzan happened to be nearby when the cracks extended and when he turned to look at the eggs, he saw a small light blue dragon where the blue egg was, now in pieces around it.

It looked remarkably like Cynder except for the tip of its tail, which resembled Spyro's, and its wings didn't have metal tips. Its scales were light blue with faint, sky-blue streaks and its underbelly was white like freshly fallen snow along with 4 horns on its head. Bolzan walked over and the little dragon regarded him with its light blue, innocent eyes. He picked it up to check its gender but the little dragon sneezed, covering Bolzan's face in a fine frost. The baby giggled as Bolzan cleared the frost with his free right paw.

As he cleared the frost, he felt something touch his muzzle and sweep back and forth gently. He opened his eye and saw the infant gently stroking his muzzle, as if to help remove the frost.

"Aww… How sweet!" Bolzan jumped when he heard Cynder behind him, looking on admirably with Spyro and Hunter.

Bolzan smiled and nuzzled the baby, making it giggle slightly.

"It's a little girl."

"Why don't you name her?" Hunter said as he walked over to examine the infant along with Cynder and Spyro.

"Uh… How about Neve? It stands for snow and I feel that's what she is, a gentle snowflake."

"That's a nice name, Neve… Yeah, I like it!" Spyro said as Bolzan passed the infant to Cynder to be diapered and fed.

The next egg to hatch was the black egg although, it more or less didn't really hatch, it just crumbled around the baby inside. Cynder was in the nursery tending to Ferno and Neve when it happened. The eggshell collapsed to reveal the baby dragon. It had Spyro's muzzle shape and wings but Cynder's body and a tail that resembled a small scythe, with its slightly hooked tip. Its scales were jet-black and it had a deep purple underbelly. A dark grey insignia surrounded its right eye, serving as a sort of birthmark. Its eyes were dark grey and it immediately tried to hide amongst the blankets surrounding the eggs, diving into the folds. Cynder gently unfolded the blankets around the baby and lifted it up, cradling it in her left arm. The baby began crying almost immediately when Cynder picked it up. She checked its gender which was quite a chore, considering it kept squirming and curling up into a ball but, she eventually got it. Solaris was walking past the room when she looked in and saw Cynder struggling with the baby, she stepped in and helped Cynder hold the screaming infant.

"Well, is it a boy or a girl?" Solaris asked as she held the whimpering baby by its underarms.

"It's a really shy boy!" Cynder said, the little dragon still crying in Solaris' arms. Spyro stepped in at that time, wondering what could be crying that loudly. Solaris turned and saw Spyro and, flashing a warm smile, handed the baby to Spyro.

"It's your turn to learn, Spyro!"

"Learn wha… Really? Do I have to…?" He complained as he picked up the baby.

"Yes, you do." Spyro sighed, hanging his head dejectedly. The baby stopped crying shortly after Spyro finished diapering him and he handed the infant back to Cynder.

"Have you named him yet?" Spyro asked as Cynder nursed the infant.

"No, not yet, I was hoping you could help me." Cynder replied, the infant cradled in her arms.

"Go ahead, name him! I've named one of them, Bolzan's named one of them, and Hunter's probably naming the next so that leaves you, Cynder!" Spyro said cheerfully, kneeling in front of her.

"Alright then, how about Noctis? I mean, it was around midnight when he hatched."

"Alright, that's a nice name for him."

Shortly after, Hunter was in the nursery, looking at the infants' sleeping forms when he suddenly heard a loud crack. Pieces of egg shell landed near Hunter's feet. He suddenly felt something bump against his leg and he looked down.

He was greeted by the sight of a little grey dragon that had a large piece of egg shell on its head sitting beside his leg, looking slightly dazed. Apparently, it had bumped into Hunter's leg. It had light grey scales with a dark underbelly, Cynder's muzzle and body and Spyro's wings, its tail resembled a spearhead with 4 backward pointing hooks. As Hunter was about to pick the infant up, it suddenly got up and bolted away, running haphazardly around the nursery.

Hunter, afraid that it would injure itself, began chasing it around the nursery but the baby eluded him every time. It was all just a game to the baby, who was giggling as it cantered around the nursery. Eventually, Hunter gave up and, panting fairly heavily, he slumped onto the ground. The baby turned to look at Hunter and failed to see that it was about to crash into a wall. It hit the wall headfirst with a loud thud, causing the egg shell on its head to shatter. Hunter immediately rushed over to its side, concerned that it might have hurt itself. Thankfully, there weren't any injuries but the baby was crying fairly badly. Hunter lifted it up and rocked it gently, cooing. It eventually quietened down when Bolzan, Spyro and Cynder stepped into the nursery.

"I take it the last egg hatched?" Bolzan asked sleepily.

"Yes. And…" Hunter checked the gender of the baby, who was now sniffling softly.

"It's a girl! She is a handful; I had to chase her around the nursery before she accidently ran into a wall. She's alright, thankfully."

"OK the, what should we name her, Hunter?" Cynder asked as Hunter handed her the baby dragon.

"I feel Arashi would be an appropriate name for her, she really is like a storm!" Hunter laughed, tickling the baby on her muzzle causing her to burst out in laughter, playfully swiping at Hunter's finger.

"Nice, I like that name! Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going back to bed. Good night!" Bolzan said and left the nursery, with Hunter, leaving Spyro and Cynder in the nursery alone with their children.

As he walked towards his room after bidding Hunter farewell, Bolzan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, causing him to gasp and double over. Subconsciously, he knew what this meant, due to the fact that he still had a fragment of Malefor's power in his heart. This fragment instinctively alerted him to Malefor's actions and, even though he had never felt this sensation before, he knew what it meant.

Malefor would return.

He returned to the nursery where Spyro and Cynder had just put the children to bed and told them about the news. To his surprise, they took it in stride, saying that, since he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon, there was no use fretting over it. This also set Bolzan's mind at rest but deep down, he knew that they were afraid as well. True, he wouldn't come back for years but, in the end, he would still return.

But no matter what, they would be ready for him.