Author's Note:
It goes without saying that this is a continuation of a prior story. If you wish to know the whole of Part 4 EX, then go to the Prologue story in the Mario part. If you care for Spyro content, then keep reading. Reviews and such are very, VERY welcome here too.
"So here you are again."
"…Or perhaps, this is your first time? I cannot fathom when it comes to someone of your disposition."
"The story of Alex Whiter and Shina Aurora has begun. Are you excited to see it unfold?"
"Oh don't give me that smile, I can interpret it so many ways, none of them good."
"The true meat of this story isn't until later though, you and I know that, but…"
"Even so, we should pay attention. The journey of a thousand miles always begins with a single step, after all."
"Again you laugh. I don't know if I'm the entertainer or the entertained sometimes. But enough stalling, you have your part to play in this tale, old friend. For now though…"
"Our story begins…in the land of Dragons."
CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4 EX STORY 1:
YEAR OF THE DRAGON
Chapter 1: Irregularity in the Dragon Realms
A sphere of pure air moves rapidly through the cold depths of space, carrying within it two people journeying to find the same thing, an incredible stone known only as the "Cosmos Drive". While they are searching for the same thing, their reasons for helping one another are unique. Guiding the air sphere was the young Elemental Overlord Alex Whiter, a boy wearing a normal red shirt and blue jeans, having a generic brown hairstyle and blue eyes.
He glances back, looking at the girl he travels with named Shina Aurora as she's currently sitting and chomping down on a juicy pomegranate in her right hand, with a saggy banana peel in the other one. Even as her cheeks puff from all the food in her mouth, any juice that leaks through her lips doesn't drip down onto her blue shirt or beige pants, which is pretty incredible considering her long legs and developed chest. But it was the smile and gentle hums she made that Alex paid the most attention to as she ate.
"I see you're enjoying yourself. Want anything else?" Alex asked while raising his right hand up. Devoid of the ability to speak, Shina blinked twice and then shook her head, giving her enough time to swallow and then properly reply.
"I'm good, thanks! I've never had some of these fruits before!" She then glanced down at the pomegranate rind still in her hand and her green eyes glistened.
"How come?"
"It's too cold to support gardens in Sancturia. Someone else brings fruits and stuff to our stores…I think?" Shina glances around aloofly for a little while thinking that over, though Alex just droops his mouth open a little and lets out a puzzled groan before shaking his head and facing forward. Shina stopped thinking for a moment to focus on Alex, curiosity filling those bright eyes of hers.
"You haven't eaten since we left. I heard you can only survive for thirty days without food, soooo…"
"My body can sustain itself off elemental energy. I'll be fine for a few months thanks to what I got on Plit." Alex gave his answer rather dryly as he tapped his right fingers atop his crossed arms and closed his eyes. Shina took the time to rise to her feet, brushing her long blonde hair away from the front of her face before she slowly approached Alex with a humored smile on her face.
"So you're like a plant, an element absorbing plant!"
"…If that's your comparison, then sure, I'm a plant." Alex sarcastically replied while feeling Shina's movements and wondering what she's up to. Nothing, however, could've prepared him for her to casually lean forward and rest part of her arms on his shoulders, raising a finger up and gently feeling across the right side of his cheek. Alex grits his teeth and quivers as he leans his head away and looks Shina straight in the eyes, her lips pressed into a tiny "o" until she stops feeling his face.
"W-What are you doing?!" A flustered Alex blushes red in the cheeks as Shina chuckles and replied with a grin "I was checking for chloroplast pores in your skin!" Alex then swipes his right arm out and brushes Shina across the stomach, causing her to back off with arms held behind herself and a nonchalant look on her face as Alex clenches a fist before his chin and looks a little peeved.
"T-That's not how that works! And…and what did I tell you about physical contact?!"
"Hey look, there's some weird looking planet out there!" Shina lifted her head to look past Alex and completely ignored his outburst, causing Alex to almost call her out on it while he turned out, only to stop when much to his surprise he finds she wasn't trying to distract him. Indeed, there was a spherical planet in the distance with a rather fantastical appearance, as it had tons of floating continents spread above a clean blue sea, and there were hundreds of large clouds resting within the atmosphere.
Alex stared blankly at the planet for a while before Shina brandished a pointer finger over his right shoulder and exclaimed "We should go there for info on the Cosmos Drive! Whatcha say Alex, ya up to trying it out?" Alex looks back at Shina, and her cheeks were puffed from how big her grin was as she also tried to keep her squeals of excitement held in.
"Can't blame her…It'll be her second time going to a whole new world. Hmph, can't say it'll be that exciting for me, but…" As Alex's heart beats heavily from that brief glance at Shina, he turns back around and holds his arms out before saying "It's worth a shot. Lets try not to anger any aliens though…"
"Yaaaay! Ihopethisworldhasfreakywildlifeandenvironmentsandafuturisticsociety-" As Shina clenches her fists and goes wild with expectations, Alex quickly speeds up the sphere with a big enough jolt that it makes Shina sway back and forth while swinging her arms around, though she lets out a joyous cry before she's able to get her footing back. Alex sighs at that and then guides them towards the southern part of the planet, thinking it was the best place to start.
Not long after passing through the clouds and thus the atmosphere, Alex and Shina's bodies involuntarily twitched. Alex blinked a little and then glanced back to ask "You felt that, didn't you?"
"H-Huh? Yeah I did. It was like touching someone after rubbing your shoes on the carpet…" Shina made light of the strange feeling even with the very curious look on her face, and Alex just turned back and said "Ugh, never mind, lets just be careful, we're trudging unknown territory here."
Their flight towards the planet continued as they kept their guards up, though Shina was more relaxed and nonchalant as she continued to sway back and forth while humming a tune and looking towards the violet colored sky. Alex meanwhile grimaced and wished for her to be quiet so he could concentrate. Shina then paused suddenly and let out a curious murmur, looking forward and closing her eyes with a hand raised up. She saw an aura in the distance that was as dark and purple as the sky, but upon trying to sense it she felt a cruel and cold sensation that was almost like a hand was feeling up the back of her brain.
Widening her eyes, Shina pointed in the direction of a floating island surrounded by towering and distorted looking stones while saying with a little panic in her voice "There's something going on over there! Fly that way Alex!"
"Last thing we want is to make a bad first impression on the locals by getting involved in their conflicts." Alex said while closing his eyes and being a bit blunt as he flew the sphere past the island. Shina looked back and forth at the island and Alex, clenching her fists against her chest and letting out concerned groans of increasing volume before suddenly running in front of Alex and leaning forward enough to look him straight in the eyes. His heart skipped a beat and then started going at a rapid pace as she smiled at him and asked "It wouldn't hurt to take a detour to check, right? We could find info on the Cosmos Drive for all ya know!"
Alex stared at Shina's face as her eyelashes flapped like a butterfly wings and she put on an almost pitiful puppy dog pout. Before his face was as red as beet Alex glanced away and quietly bemoaned "This is going to be a long journey…" before letting out a sigh and forcing himself to say "F-Fine…But we're going to survey the island before landing, ok?"
"Thank you Alex! I knew your kindness would come through!" Shina said while clapping her hands and standing back upright.
"N-Nnnrrrg!" Was the only thing Alex could respond with before he flipped his body around and pushed the sphere back towards the island. "That smile of hers is more dangerous than anything Joe Dark ever threw at me! …Deep breath Alex, you need this to work out…" Alex did exactly that as he moved the sphere over the island, breaching the light fog hovering over it as the pale light of the planet's two moons laid everything bare for the duo to see.
There was a circular arena with a pool of green lava surrounding it, and at least four creatures were on the arena. There was a blue penguin with a white belly, a pair of rocket launchers on his shoulders, a jetpack strapped to a belt around his body, and a metal army helmet on his head. The second creature was a small green dragonfly with eyes as big as it's head and a light glow around it, and the third one was a small four legged purple dragon with curved yellow horns and small wings on his back.
Noticeably though, those three are all lying on the ground badly bruised, with the dragon trying his hardest to stay on his feet before the creature that had grabbed Shina's attention earlier. It was a large monster with two thick furry goat legs and a muscular upper body with small horns on his shoulders. His green eyes were devoid of pupils or irises, and he carried with him a large sparking blue cannon. Right now though, the monster had a thick, wavy purple aura around his body and his eyes released a red glow for a brief moment as he pointed the weapon at the dragon and beat a fist against his chest.
He was likely one shot away from finishing the three other creatures off, and the dragonfly let out a few weak buzzes that sounded like he was saying something. The dragon looked at him and let out a light chuckle, remarking weakly but confidently "We're not done yet Sparx. Don't worry, we can still make it through this." As the glow of the cannon entered his line of sight, the dragon turned and glared fiercely at the monster in front of him as it let out a bellowing laugh.
In the sphere, Shina suddenly lurched forward with widened eyes and exclaimed "I-I recognize that dragon! Oh my gosh he's going to die if we don't step in!" She looked at Alex expecting him to respond, but the boy was currently frozen in disbelief at what he was looking at.
"T-That's Spyro…I-I can't believe the Mushroom Kingom isn't the only video game world out there…" He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Shina at first, and was thus completely surprised when she held her hand behind her back and sprinted right out of the sphere while summoning her rapier in her grasp.
"S-Shina, wait a second!" Alex exclaimed to no avail as the girl landed on the ground and skidded until she was between the monster and the purple dragon right as he fired. She swung her rapier in front of herself and repelled the large sphere of electricity into the air, keeping her weapon held high as the sphere burst into a field of electricity that brightened the skies. Needless to say, the purple dragon widened his eyes at the sudden assistance he received.
Even against his better judgment, Alex broke the sphere apart and landed on the ground beside Shina, bluntly telling her "Darn it Shina, I told you we were just observing!" Alex widened his eyes for a moment and raised a hand to his mouth. His thoughts had him wanting to say "damn" but instead "darn" came out. He quickly began to suspect something about that sensation he felt from entering the atmosphere.
"But Alex, we just saved Spyro! You know, Spyro the Dragon?!" Shina was absolutely excited and pumped her fists before her face even as the monster aimed his weapon at her.
"T-That's…What?! I mean yeah it's him, but…No! You can't just casually reveal you kn-" Even in the middle of being flustered, Alex sensed the electricity building in the monster's weapon and right as it's being fired his body reacts on instinct and he leaps forward with his teeth grit to push Shina in the gut and get her out of the way. Then the attack connected and Alex was launched over Spyro, landing on the edge of the arena with his right arm smoking a little.
"Ghhh…!" He let out a cry as he clenched the lower part of his arm and heard a light sizzle, thinking to himself as he glared at the monster "There's no way it's this strong…" He then swung his fingers out and called forth a series of flames that merged into the shape of a blade, and a second later a burning sword with a slick surface and the colors of the sun on it fell into Alex's grasp. He then leaped back into the fray and swung down at the beast as hard as he could, leaving a burning indent in the air as his foe was pushed back.
Alex then held onto the burning part of his arm and swung it around to blow the smoke off, letting out a slight grunt as he commented dryly "So this is what it feels like to fight again after so long." His muscles, while stiff, could at least recall the memory of swinging the blade.
Meanwhile, the dragonfly Sparx lifted his head up and made some more remarks in a rather crass and confused tone. Spyro just looked his way and replied "I'm just as confused as you are buddy." Shina turned around and then kneeled down, looking the puzzled purple dragon right in the eyes with a very wide smile on her face. The two stared at each other for a few seconds until Spyro let out a simple "…Ummm, hello?"
Shina suddenly picked up one of Spyro's claws and shook it repeatedly, telling him with increasing fascination in her voice "I'msogladtomeetyouSpyrosir,I'mareallyreallyhugefanof-" Spyro widened his eyes quite a bit and tried to interrupt with an inquiry of "Ummm…Who are you?" Shina stopped immediately and then let go of his claw so she could smack her forehead, followed by her cracking a grin with her eyes shut.
"That was rude of me. The name's Shina Aurora, and the boy behind me is Alex Whiter! We're-"
"Shina! This monster's not budging, so you mind helping out?!" Alex suddenly exclaimed after being pushed back a few inches from a couple blasts from the monster's weapon as it laughs at him. Alex grips his sword tightly and tenses his muscles, and Shina could feel his aura roughing up. Shina then looked back at Spyro and held her hands out, saying in a chipper voice "Let me just get you back into tip-top shape, Spyro!"
Shina then poured some aura out of her hands that quickly wrapped around Spyro's body, making it glow and sparkle as the pain of his wounds quickly subsided to his surprise. He stands stable on his feet and flaps his wings a little, then looks up and says with a bit of appreciation "Thanks, but can you get my buddies patched up?" He then nudged his head towards the dragonfly and penguin.
Shina proudly nodded her head and then gently picked up Sparx in her palm and infusing him with a bit of her aura. The dragonfly turned blue and then golden, with it doing a flip off of Shina's hand and flapping it's wings while letting out some joyous buzzes. Shina held her hands together and smiled, then quickly moved over to the penguin while Sparx tilted his head a little and spoke with his friend. Spyro raised his brows a bit and commented "Like the tastiest butterfly huh?"
After one more aura treatment, Shina backs up as the penguin's eyes open up, and with a little dizziness he said with a slight British accent "Haven't felt this winded since Hummingbird boot camp." The penguin then wiggled back and forth, trying to get back onto his feet. "It appears I am stuck. Oh the pains of having tiny arms sometimes…" Quickly, Shina stood up behind the penguin and rested her hands around his body, caressing his cold feathery body a little and letting out a tiny squee before propping him upright.
"I thank you for the timely assistance lass. Can't say I was expecting more reinforcements in this critical hour!" The penguin said as he turned around and looked the kneeling and smiling girl in the eyes. Shina gestured her hand out and asked "What happened?" The penguin held a flipper out in the direction of the monster Alex has currently attacked with a giant exploding fireball, which made the penguin pause for a moment in order to slap himself and make sure he wasn't still dreaming.
"W-We were in the middle of combat with one of the Sorceress' creatures, fighting the valiant fight if I do say so myself…But out of nowhere the creature exploded with a strange purple field of energy around his rugged body and turned the tide on us. Fair to say had it not been for your timely arrival, we'd be six feet under." The penguin then looked at Shina and said "My apologies, I hadn't introduced myself. Agent 90068, or Sgt. Byrd if you prefer."
Shina and Sgt. Byrd shook hand and flipper as she replied "Shina Aurora, and my friend is-"
"Introductions later, fight now!" Alex's said with his impatience growing as he swung his right hand out to catch an electric sphere and then crunch it down to nothing with a single grasp. Shina however just looked at both Sgt. Byrd and Spyro and asked them after a brief chuckle "Just do what you were doing before, we're here as back-up." She then summoned her rapier again and flipped it around as it was held behind her before standing back to observe the monster.
Sgt. Byrd looked to Spyro and reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out a sparkly sapphire crystal with many points on it. "Shall we go another round Spyro?" He inquired before tossing the crystal at Spyro, who opened his mouth to put it in there, leaving his scaly cheeks so puffed he could only reply with a nod. Sgt. Byrd then used his jetpack to take flight above the arena while Spyro turned and spat the crystal out in an arc. Pushed back by one of Alex's kicks, the monster suddenly swung his right hand up and caught the crystal, letting out a laugh before he swiftly stuffed the crystal into his weapon and slammed the front of it against the ground.
Building up pressure against the ground, the weapon made lava crack out of the floor before a gigantic wall of fire flies towards Alex. As the monster is left staggering with recoil, Spyro is tossed another crystal so he can launch it at them, but Shina suddenly widens her eyes and sprints forward, ducking underneath the crystal and pulling back on her rapier. The monster turns and is hit in the face by the crystal, blinding it long enough for Shina to thrust her rapier out and pierce the weapon.
She then pulls back and holds the rapier by the handle on a finger, balancing both weapons before her head while waving a hand at the now defenseless monster. The monster raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking to the right at a burning glow, as Alex now held his hands close to his chest after condensing the wall of fire into a sphere.
"Move, Shina!" Alex exclaimed as the fire crackled loudly in his eardrums, and Shina leaped back gently with an anticipating smile on her face. Thrusting his hands out, Alex fired upon the monster with a powerful beam of flames that seared the floor beneath it and increased the temperature in the atmosphere, which even a dragon like Spyro felt as he widened his eyes and let out an impressed "Whoa, cool!"
The monster tried to take it's hands to the front of the beam that was bigger than itself, but the strength of Alex's attack pushed it back towards the edge of the arena. Even with the monster digging it's claws into the ground enough to rip it up, the push was only slowed. The monster growled and moaned until it's heels were starting to go off the edge of the arena, when all of a sudden it's aura flared up and it's eyes glowed red again, allowing it enough strength to stalemate the beam.
But Alex did not need to apply anymore pressure, as Spyro leaned forward and lined himself up with the monster, charging forward with his horns at the forefront, and with a brave leap he struck the monster right in the gut as Alex dispelled his flames. There was more than enough force applied to make the monster stumble back as Spyro landed on the ground and safely leaped back, watching as the monster waved it's arms around then turned to the group with a surprised expression right before he's plunged right into the lava with the aura surrounding his body shattering.
The last thing the monster did besides having a spotted ivory egg tossed onto the arena is give a thumbs up. Shina dispels her rapier and leaps to catch the egg, turning around as she sticks the landing and bundles the egg warmly in her arms, it's rough but cold texture giving her goosebumps.
"Mmm…" She hummed for a while, the egg feeling just right in her arms until Spyro stepped in front of her and said "I'll take that egg now. Sorry, it's important I get them all back." Shina widened her eyes and then gently placed the egg on the ground, but for a moment she thought back to cuddling her baby sister in her arms. Her hands stayed on the egg for a moment before she smiled and pulled back, quietly watching as the egg began to shake and hatch while Alex walked up beside her.
"I'd really like to know what the hubbub was with that monster's strength…" Alex stood still and blinked blankly a few times at what he said again, but Shina raised a finger up to his mouth and wanted him to be quiet as a baby dragon was hatched from the egg. It was small and grey with blue wings barely bigger than a human's finger and slightly curved back blue horns. It looked up at Spyro and wagged it's tail, making a tiny leap to tap snouts with it's elder. Spyro flinched a bit but let out a tiny chuckle, but the baby dragon could not stay for long as a few rings of magical energy surrounded and warped it away to safety.
Shina's eyelashes were left fluttering again as she held her hands against her cheeks and let out prolonged hum of joy. Spyro turned around as Sgt. Byrd landed and gave his best salute with a flipper "That was quite the close call Spyro. We have our new comrades to thank for this victory on the battlefield!"
"Yeah, good job you two. You guys planning to stick around for a while?" Spyro asked while turning his head to look at them.
"We really should-"
"Sure! You want our help?!" Shina interrupted Alex's attempt to respond, leading to him grumbling as he closed his eyes a bit and glared at the girl, who was holding her arms behind herself and was rather perky in the way she stood upright.
"Nothing wrong with having a couple more allies, right Sparx?" Spyro asked while glancing at his little friend, who happily buzzed a response to him.
"Then I suppose this matter is settled. I'll see you another time then Spyro my boy. Keep fighting the good fight!" Sgt. Byrd then flew off, while at the same time a whirligig dropped down safely onto the edge of the arena close to the dragon. With the wooden platform and the tiny propeller you wouldn't think it capable of flight, but Spyro's confident boarding of the machine said otherwise.
"Don't think there's enough room for three." Spyro commented as he turned around. Shina casually lifted herself up off the ground with hands held out and smiled, and the dragon raised his eyebrows and after a chuckle commented "You two are full of surprises. Alright Sparx, next stop…Evening Lake!" The dragonfly tapped a button on the bottom of the propeller to get it to start flying away from this arena.
Shina begins to follow Spyro through the air and Alex, dragged into what's going on almost against his will, just grits his teeth and mumbles "Doggone it Shina…!" before taking off after the two.
Next Time: The Relaxing Lakeside