One Week Later

"Ember! You need more speed! Fly around the trees, not above them!" commanded Spyro. "Be subtle Flame! If your enemy doesn't see you coming, you have the advantage!" Alex stood against the balcony's railing in the Dragon's Dojo watching Spyro and two recruits fly around the forest below him. Their movements were so agile and swift. Alex had not turn into a dragon for some time now due to his wounds from Vaermina and the mysterious droid. He missed the ability to fly.

"There you are. I've been looking for you," spoke a male voice behind him.

"Sorry Hunter," Alex spoke, turning around. "Is it time for training now?"

"Yes child, follow me to the training room," he said. Alex followed Hunter back into the dojo. The past week had been very strange for Alex. About a day after Alex awoke in the Dragon City, he forgot almost everybody. He even forgot his own name: Alex.

Eventually, Ally was able to jog his memory. He didn't know why he had forgotten everything. He wondered if he ever would. Alex followed Hunter into a massive chamber with a large dragon statue in the center. Ally stood against the wall, waiting for them. She pressed against a brick on the wall and the large statue slowly sunk beneath the floor of the chamber.

"Good morning gentlemen," she spoke in her full set of armor, minus the helmet.

"Hello Ally, why are you here?" Hunter asked.

"I'm here to discuss how Alex's new weapon functions," she answered.

"Weapon? What weapon?" Alex asked Ally.

"Your gauntlet. You no longer have the ability to harness the powers of a dragon on your own, so I created this gauntlet to help you," she answered. Alex stared at his robotic arm for a few long seconds. The strangest thing was not that he had this arm, but the fact that somebody who didn't seem much older than him, created it; a teenager had created it.

"What does it do?" Alex asked.

"Well, one of Cynder's most amazing powers is her power over the shadows. She has the power to make herself invisible and now, so do you," she explained.

"No way! How?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well I was able to attach electronic pylons that'll emit an electromagnetic field around your body, causing light to bend around you, thus rendering yourself invisible," she spoke rather quickly.

"So…how do I turn it on?" he asked, looking all over the gauntlet. Suddenly, eight small spikes emerged around the edge of his robotic arm.

"The same way you were able to fly, it's like a nerve," she answered. Alex heard a small humming sound and stared at his arm; he couldn't see it. All he could see was a small outline of his gauntlet, and even that was barely visible. He looked at the rest of his body and it was the same way, camouflaged with his environment.

"I am such a genius," she spoke to herself. Alex could feel the pylons like little fingers and he pulled them into his gauntlet. The field dissipated and Alex was visible again.

"That… is pretty awesome," he said admiring the gauntlet.

"I know," she spoke, proud of herself.

"Are you ready to start training Alex?" asked Hunter.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" he said, anxious to try his gauntlet in action. Hunter held out his left hand and a blue keyblade appeared. It had a round handle and a keychain hung of the edge of it, bearing an arrowhead at the end. Two, slightly curved, metal rods made up the blade along with a piece of metal, similarly designed to the bit on the end of Nelsine's keyblade.

"Wait, I'm fighting you?" he asked.

"Why yes. You don't have robes or simple clothes slowing you down. You have light body armor. It's very good for somebody of your fighting style," he explained. Alex stared down at the attire he was wearing.

"What fighting style is that exactly?" Alex asked.

"That, of a rogue's," he answered simply.

"Okay what do I have to do?" he asked.

"Simple, hide," Hunter said.

"You're kidding right? You do know I have this invisibility?" Alex spoke.

"Yes, but can you use it?" Hunter asked.

"Alright then," Alex spoke while readying his gauntlet for invisibility. Hunter turned around and Alex's body blended in with the walls around him. He walked normally around Hunter, waiting for him to strike. Hunter shifted his feet ever so slightly and looked at Ally. She closed her eyes and, seconds later, a blue quiver filled with arrows appeared on Hunter's back. He flicked the hand holding the keyblade causing it to split and shifted into a new weapon, a bow.

String shot out of both ends and connected in the middle. Hunter quickly grabbed an arrow and drew his bow. Alex flinched as the arrow shot out of the bow. It went right through his robotic arm and hit the wall, before disappearing.

"What? But, how did you-"

"The humming. Your arm makes noise that my ears can pick up easily," he answered.

"Well, that's more of a technical flaw," Alex said.

"Hey! I'd like to see you make something like that," Ally defended.

"Oh don't worry. I still think it's the best thing ever," he complemented.

"Until you get a keyblade," Hunter added.

"Wait, why does your keyblade…transform?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Why is that Ally?"

"I don't know either. I've always wondered that myself,"

"So… did I pass?" Alex asked Hunter. He concentrated for the moment before answering.

"Listen… Spyro, Cynder, and the recruits are gonna spend the night in the forest. If you aren't spotted by Flame or Ember during that night, we'll continue with the training," Hunter said.

"But, if they see me, they'll know about the other realms," Alex remembered.

"Exactly. So stay out of sight," he suggested as Ally and Hunter walked out of the chamber. Alex stood there wondering if he should stay here, in this realm. His friends, Ashley and Jacob, had died on Corouscant. Since then, he didn't want to return. His head spun with so many thoughts. Behind him, a piece of stone had fallen of the wall where the arrow hit.

Alex walked over to observe it. On the ground, laid a small stone. He picked it up, with his robotic arm, and flipped it over. On the other side, purple, jagged crystals poked out from the inside of the rock. He felt a massive jolt traveling up his arm and dropped the stone. The crystals shattered on the ground and bolts of electricity, from the crystals, shot at the wall and formed a point.

Then three creatures appeared, one at a time; it seemed as though they came from the electricity. Alex fumbled at his waist, looking for his dagger, but didn't see it there. The creatures were about seven feet tall and mostly black. Stone-like skin covered their bodies. Their left hands were much bigger than their other hands. Large spikes were attached to their stone-like skin. Alex slowly stepped back as they slowly proceeded. He unlatched his, non-robotic, gauntlet from his right arm and threw it at the creature in the center. It stuck out his left arm and a large white energy field appeared in front of it.

The piece of metal bounced off of the shield and onto the floor.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he said as they approached them. However, seconds later, they stopped advancing. Alex was in shock, but something caught his attention. His robotic arm was shrouded in black mist. Suddenly, he remembered what Ally had told him about the gauntlet. He tried turning invisible, but he couldn't move the pylons. The creature on the right threw some sort of purple energy sphere it had created at Alex. He placed his hands in front of him as the orb sped towards him. The next second, he couldn't feel anything. Alex couldn't see anything either.

In a way, he was able to detect the creatures; he could feel their presence. He had become a black cloud of mist and the orb went right through him. The creatures stared at him as if they had made a mistake. The three of them kneeled before Alex.

"Forgive us my lord," one hissed, "We did not realize that you have returned." Alex switched back, he didn't know how, and stared them.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"My lord, your army has returned. And we are ready to cast your shadow among the realms," another hissed.

"My army?" he asked.

"Of course. When you are ready, we at your command," it hissed again.

"Um… await my command. Return to where you came and… await my arrival," he struggled to say.

"As you wish," the creature replied before the three of them returned to the wall of electricity and vanished. Alex picked up the remains of the stone and shoved them into his only pocket.

"What was that?" shouted a female voice. Ally walked into the training room. "Alex, was that you making that noise?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It sounded like you were speaking gibberish to somebody," she explained.

"Um… it was me singing, it's been a long time since I last sang," he lied.

"Apparently," she said, not believing him. She walked out through the large circular door. Alex stood there, thinking. Not only did he speak to these things, but it wasn't even in his language. What were they? What was this stone? What happened to him? There were so many questions. Alex was back to square one with who he thought he was.