Echoes of the Past

Gone, but not forgotten.

It's such a simple phrase, really. To most, it's easily understandable and the meaning will fly out of their maw as soon as you mention it.

To others, like me, it's so much more.

I can hear his voice in my head sometimes, calling me, talking to me. It's almost like he's there, a little bird on my shoulder, following me around and guiding me.

But then, I realize the truth.

He was the most selfless person that I have ever met, and yet...

He's gone.

I think about him often, not knowing exactly how he died. He was a fire dragon, after all, why couldn't he survive flames like that? He was the Master of Fire, for Ancestors' sakes!

I sigh as the thought comes back into my mind: He's dead. There's nothing I can do about it.

I shook my head and closed my eyes as a few tears started to come down my face. I'm not normally a crier, but today...today is different. Today is the anniversary of that horrible day...

Today, three years ago, was the day that my mentor, my friend, my...father, Ignitus, died.

I shook the tears away from my face as a small knock on the door awoke me from my daydream. I got out of the bed and tried to collect myself and prepare to receive whoever who disturbing my rest. I walked slowly over to the door and slowly opened it. As it creaked and shuddered, I found myself face to face with a pair of beady eyes staring up at me.

I sighed softly to myself and mentally shook my head. "Of all the dragons to see me like this..." I thought to myself.

"Hi, Spyro!" The dragon standing in front of me shouted, smiling and still staring up at me with those yellow, beady eyes.

"Hello, Tyron. Do you need something?"

"Just wanted to know if you wanted to come out and do something! I'm bored."

I sighed. "Maybe later, Tyron. I was just leaving to go take a walk.

"Alright, buddy! See you later!" And with that, the young fire dragon was gone.

How does he do it? That little guy always seems to be happy. I've never seen him cry or even shed a tear. Better upbringing then me, maybe? I pushed the thought from my mind and walked down the empty corridor of the Dragon Temple. Today was Sundurdras, the end of a long week for most of us. Classes were off today, like they always were, and most Dragons spent it away from the temple, socializing and having a good time. Normally, I'd be there too, but...

Slag it! Why did he have to die? I could have done something, anything. Instead, I just stood there and accepted it...no, that's not right. I didn't accept it. I called to him, wanting him to come back, but something stopped me. If only I had listened to myself...

I rounded the corner and went into the large Eating Area. There were a few moles around and two dragons as well. An Earth Dragon that I didn't recognize and...

"Spyro! Hey, buddy."

I sighed once again and went to join the other dragon at his table. "Good afternoon, Thane. How's the lunch?"

Thane shook his head and made a slight flick of his tongue. "I gotta say, the skeleton crew on the weekends could use a bit of work."

"Really? I thought the crew does a nice job."

"Compared to the normal fare during the week? Give me a break, purple boy." He said as he laughed. I chose to remain silent.

His normal quiet demeanor returned as he stared off into the distance for a moment before turning back to me and saying, "Listen...Spyro...if you need to talk to anyone today, I'm there, okay?" He knew. They all did.

I forced a fake smile and nodded. "Thank you, Thane, but I'm fine. Really."

He cringed slight, saying, "Are you sure? I'm here, anytime you need me..."

I smiled again as I got up from the table. "I'm fine, buddy. Thank you for caring, though." I nodded at the Ice Dragon as I walked away.

He knew, but he didn't understand. No one could understand. They might try to, try to share my pain and hurt, but it never worked. Every time this day came around each year before, they had all tried to understand, but it didn't happen. They would care for one minute, and the next, they would take off to do something else. No one else truly cared about Ignitus. No one but me.

I rounded the corner next to the training arena, and I could hear sounds of combat coming from inside. I raised an eyebrow as I used my front right paw to push open the great door and peer in.

Two dragons, an Earth Dragon and an Ice Dragoness were sparring. It looked as if they had just finished, with the Earth Dragon standing with a paw on top of the Ice Dragoness' chest. They both turned their heads to the door as I entered, smiles forming onto both of their faces.

The Earth Dragon approached me first, grinning from ear to ear. He pulled me in, in a friendly sort of manner. "Spyro, thought you'd never wake up. It's almost high noon, bud!"

I forced another smile to my face as I responded, saying, "Needed to sleep in, Richter. Not like you'd do any differently on Sundurdras normally.

He laughed. "Well, Miss Icey over here wanted to test her combat abilities again."

The Ice Dragoness, trying to look offended, said "That's Miss Tamara to you, stones for brains; and I'll have you know, I went easy on you."

"Sure, that's why I beat you in thirty-six seconds."

"Hey!"

I shook my head and chose to remain silent once more. Both dragons shared a glance at their failed humor and gave me the same look that Thane had given me earlier. Richter chose to speak first, saying, "Hey, Spyro...I know how hard this must be on you. I lost a lot of friends to the wolf attacks on my hometown too. Coping with that loss...it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." He lowered his head for a moment, looking like anger was mixing with a feeling of melancholy in his mind. Tamara noticed this and draped one of her small wings over him.

"It's alright. I'm still here, remember?" She said.

He nodded and nuzzled her snout before returning back to me, his head cocked to the side slightly. "So, if you ever want to share your feelings...I'm here."

"So am I." Chimed in Tamara.

I continued smiling and nodded at both of them. "Thank you both." I said. "But, I'm just fine. I'm just taking a walk, gathering some thoughts."

Richter nodded slowly. "I understand. Just please, don't let it build up, okay?"

"It won't." I said with a smile, which was still faked. I nodded to both dragons once more as I wheeled around and left the room.

As I walked down the lengthy hallway, the thoughts returned to my mind, but I pushed them away. I continued to the nearest stairwell and slowly walked up the winding steps, towards the Great Observation Balcony near the top of the Temple. After a climb that seemed to take hours, I rounded the last stair and stood out on the length of the balcony.

Below me, the lights of the great Dragon City, or Warfang, were shimmering in the darkness. It really had taken me hours to make the climb up to the balcony. The sun had already set and the moonlight made the torch light below glimmer with streaks of white and gray dancing off of the yellow and red flames. It was beautiful. Despite the fact that I had grown up in the Swamp, the tall buildings and people of Warfang had impressed me significantly ever since I had first seen it. I loved the city and the people. I would do anything to defend it.

I looked up above, the stars were unusually bright tonight, much more than usual. I could see the rings of stars and the galaxy above me, and some seemed to twinkle in the night sky. Suddenly, a bright flash streaked across the sky. A shooting star. I closed my eyes and made a wish, saying to myself, "I wish I didn't feel so alone."

I opened my eyes and began to sniffle slightly, with small tears coming down from my eyes. I couldn't take it anymore, not having him in my life. No one felt my pain, no one understood. No one cared.

"Spyro...?" A voice suddenly came from behind me. I spun around, only to find myself face to face with a black dragoness, her emerald eyes full of concern. I relaxed as I realized who it was.

"Cynder...what are you doing up here? It's late."

"I came looking for you. Everyone else says you've been avoiding contact today. Niere even said that she hasn't seen you all day. What's going on, Spy?"

I turned away from her, once again facing the shimmering skyline below. "You know what today is, right?"

"Of course I do." She said. "How could I forget? I was there, remember?"

"I remember." I said slowly. How could I forget? If she hadn't been there...I would have gone back in to save Ignitus and probably would have perished myself.

"Then talk to me." She said slowly. "Why is this still bothering you?"

I shook my head, choosing not to answer. I lowered my head to the ground in shame. She walked around me and picked up my maw with one of her paws and brought it up so that I was staring her directly into her eyes.

"There's nothing you could have done, Spyro. He wanted us to go on, but his path ended there. He made his choice, but he wanted you to keep living, even if that meant without him."

"I batted away he paw and looked away from her again. "But I should have done something...anything! He's dead because of me."

"No, he's not. He's dead because he chose to save us instead of himself. Spyro, he led a good life, a long life. He got to see you grow into the person that you became today, he saw things most of us would never see in a million years. His path ended there, but ours is just beginning."

I looked back at her and smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She smiled back. "You would keep living."

She moved to my side and put her head on my shoulder as we observed the city below.

Maybe I'm not as alone as I thought I was.

A/N: Hey, guys. This is just a quick one-shot that I decided to make just to let you know that I'm still alive. Chapter 13 of Eternal Slumber is dead in the water right now, but I am NOT discontinuing it. I promise you that. I just need a bit more time.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed it.

Dominis det vobis fortitudo.

Unit Omicron