Mysterious Colored Castle:
Spyro, Spearo, Spiro
The time to cross the portal...
To Spyro, the act of crossing portals had become relatively normal. After all, he had warped to countless Realms, crossing the barriers of different locations and alternate timelines to reach places in space and time away from his own.
Yet, deep down, he had always kept a contempt for it all... a sort of childish awe colored with the words and thoughts of his experiences and ideals.
Almost instinctively, crossing through a portal that lead almost certainly to an ambush and even maybe to his doom, Spyro recited the same lines he always whispered to himself each time he left a world and entered the unknown...
"I am not afraid of death for it is my fate to die for the sake of all beings. I will not cry if my ideals are not fulfilled. Regret is a word I do not know."
To control fear and eventually overcome it... such is the difference between the one who will run from trials and the one who will face and overcome them. Sparx knew it all too well and he said nothing. There was nothing to say. This was serious stuff. Sure, the lines were taken from pieces of wisdom found here and there, inspired by the cryptic words of the Prophecy which colored Spyro's scales and imbued him with the potentially dangerous power to control the chaotic magic of Dark Gems... but well, since it calmed him down, why not? Rushing into an ambush was bad enough. Panic was the last thing they needed.
Pulled by the currents of space-time continuum, the two were not afraid of being separated. They knew that although the warping process were throwing them about silly and making them feel very sick, they remained bound by unbreakable bonds. Sparx regretted that he was being thrown around for such deep thoughts are also great potential for cracks. Making fun of Spyro's weight is great to an extent... but a cryptic insult that make you offended on a deeper level is funny, too!
"So... done with the deep stuff and all? Calm, ready, and focused?" in the depths of the dimensional tunnel, in the depths of the void where neither matter, energy, time, nor space made sense, the magical link between the two allowed Sparx's thoughts to reach his friend even without speaking.
"Yup! I feel ready to take on anything!" Spyro's reply came without hesitation and yet, no word had been spoken. Sparx understood all of it, as strange and improbable as it might seem...
There was nothing to say. The two expected their arrival to be brutal and as such, despite the lack of orientation, managed to position themselves in preparation for their arrival...
Their arrival was, indeed, brutal.
SLAM!
Thrown violently out of the gate, the dragon and the dragonfly were sent slamming straight into a big wall made of large stone bricks!
Slowly, the two fell off the wall, the world spinning out of control all around them...
"Ugh... I... hate... dimensional... travel..." whined Sparx, feeling as if his insect frame had been squished completely from the impact.
The purple dragon let out a slight whimper as he held his head, but then, as reality kicked in, Spyro's eyes widened and he shook his head, finally getting a hold of himself.
Looking back, there was nothing... which meant that the portal had closed behind them. As for their current location, they were in some sort of ancient castle of sorts. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of big, ugly stone blocks and there was a definitive lack of furniture, decorations, and windows. It was just a big, ugly grey room. Furthermore, it was a dark room, only a few small windows on the left wall letting in sunlight in.
"This place is a bit of a dump," commented the dragonfly. Spyro simply nodded as a response. Indeed, it was ugly, empty, and well, ugly.
"Yeah... That was disappointing." The insect turned to his friend, raising an eyebrow, not sure what to make of that last reply.
"What?" he said, expressing both his feeling about the reply and asking indirectly to have an explanation.
"Well... for an ambush, that was pretty boring," explained the dragon, causing Sparx to cross his arms and roll his eyes.
"Oh, very funny, purple boy." Spyro couldn't help but smile at his partner's reply. But well, who could blame him? After all, he wouldn't be the last one to whine about a lack of action!... although, on another hand, he hoped the place wouldn't be totally devoid of... interest.
"Well... it's not that I don't enjoy a little chat and all but... don't we have a chick to find or something?" Always the first to make cracks, always the first to remind him of the duty at hand too. That's Sparx for you. So weird yet so logical at the same time...
Well... it IS true that they came here to find Ember, isn't it? Ha, sweet, adorable Ember... always so full of energy... and always so much trouble. Who knows where she could be? He wondered... how is she doing? What is she doing?
In fact... at this moment, he felt a rather unpleasant emotion surge through him, sending a shiver down his spine. She could be anywhere... she could be doing anything... she could be hurt or even... even...
No, no use in being worried. It's Ember he's talking about, after all! She's probably scarier than anything that might live in this Realm!
Wonder why the Realm's inhabitants created this portal...
Well, time to move on! Not gonna find her by sitting there and worrying, isn't it? Forward!
The dragon walked to the only part of the wall that wasn't made of grey stone and pushed against it with his front paws, expecting it to be a door. Just as he had guessed, it was indeed a door and he had no difficulty in opening it.
Beyond the door, a hall. No way to tell what's in it with so few windows, those windows being so itsy bitsy tiny. Heck, Sparx's own glow is shining more light in the hall than anything else!
But well, as he proceeded and entered the hall, he noticed the sound as his claws no longer touched cold stone but now brushed on the surface of a carpet. Well, looks like there's at least a little furniture here, after all.
"That's just wrong. It's too quiet, too easy," said Sparx, piercing the eerie silence. Spyro couldn't help but agree. It was, indeed, too quiet. This is obviously a castle of sorts so... where are the inhabitants? This is supposed to be a hall, isn't it? Why didn't they run into anything yet?
Then, as if on cue, a shadow of sorts.
"You know... THAT is why you should stop saying stuff like that!" Spyro glared a moment at Sparx and then, turned to the shadow. Despite the darkness, it was easy to notice that it was a four legged reptilian shape with horns and wings... which most certainly meant it was a dragon!
But then, before they could say a word, the shadow took off, sprinting through the hall at a surprisingly fast pace.
"HEY! WAIT UP!" yelled Spyro as he ran after the dragon, Sparx following closely. However, the figure was quickly gone...
The two stopped, catching their breath. Frustration and confusion filled the dragon. What had this been all about?
"That... isn't possible! You... you are dead!" the two turned and saw another figure. This one, the two could clearly identify. It was a relatively large teenager dragon, standing a few times above the purple dragon. Its face was somewhat pale for some reason.
Neither Spyro nor Sparx could speak that the dragon had run away.
"What's the deal with everyone here? I mean... you don't smell THAT bad!" Spyro glared at Sparx.
"Oh really? I thought it was your whining that was scaring them." replied the dragon.
DIRECT HIT! The dragonfly's smile turned into a frown as he crossed his arms, visibly upset. Heh! Can't take insults as well as you can dish'em out, can you?
"Hmph! Whatever! Let's see what's out there!" A classic strategy. When you're stumped, change the subject! But then, well, Spyro IS quite curious about it all. Why are they running away from him? What was the deal with the green dragon? Where are they? Where is Ember? How is she?
The purple dragon turned toward the direction Sparx had pointed and walked ahead, the dragonfly following. Still more walking, still more darkness, still no signs of other inhabitants...
Then, finally, after what seemed to be forever walking with a whole lot of nothing happening, the two reached a massive double door. Sparx opened his mouth to fill the air with his sarcasm but before he could say a single word, the door slowly creaked open, covering whatever he had said with loud metallic sounds.
"Well, that fixes the door issue." said Sparx in a flat tone, disappointed that his witty reply got lost due to a door creaking loudly.
Spyro walked through the door, the dragonfly hovering next to him. This room was actually different. It was still dark but it was also not so dark, in a way. Sure, it was plunged in shadows like the halls... but unlike the halls, one could see the walls and stuff close to the floor. Judging from how high the windows seem to be, the room probably went quite high... and well, it did seemed pretty massive actually.
At the edge of the room, stairs that lead most probably to a throne, judging by how it looked. Also, a large emblem inscribed into the center of the room. This place is most probably a throne room of sorts...
"Finally... you have arrived." Spyro rose an eyebrow and so did Sparx at the sight before them...
"Spyro... am I seeing double or am I..." Sparx trailed off, not finishing his question. The purple dragon quickly shook his head.
"N... no no... We're really in front of, well... myself." as hard as it was to believe, Spyro stood before a perfect copy of himself in every single way. Same purple hide, same purple eyes, same horns, same claws, same wings, same tail, same frame, same everything. It was a bit... weird... to say the least.
The copy stepped foward, a serious expression on its face. Spyro asked himself at the moment if he REALLY looked that scrawny and well, fat. What is he thinking? It's a bad copy of himself! He doesn't really look like that!... well, he hoped.
"The Ancestors felt that your duty, in your home Realm, is done. I need your body. I will take it from you and use it to fulfill my destiny." Huh? Take his body to fulfill his destiny? The purple dragon understood quickly enough. It was planning on stealing his body from him!
Spyro assumed his battle stance, lowering his wings, preparing in case the copy acted. Sparx, seeing this, also made the connection and hovered to his side...
"My body is mine! Use your own!" said the reptile in a harsh tone, intent on not letting that freak take over his body!
The copy rose an eyebrow, upset. "What? But you have fulfilled your destiny! Your life has no purpose anymore! I still need to fulfill my own fate and your body is the only one suitable for such a purpose. Destiny come before your selfish wishes!"
"Okay... that is messed up. That guy is asking you to give up on your life? I say we just beat some sense into him already and find Ember," suggested Sparx, not wanting to remain near that freaky thing too long.
"Yeah. Let's do that," Spyro agreed without a hesitation. His life was his and well, why can't this freak use his own body, considering he is basically identical to him?
The copy rolled its eyes, sighing. "I can't believe this... You understand nothing. Oh well... you might be the same as I am but fact is, Fate stopped smiling upon you while I still have a task to complete. If you will not give up upon your life by your own will... then I will have to take it by force!"
The copy charged forward.
Spyro waited for the foe to come closer, preparing to meet it with a headbutt. The usual thing he did with foes that charged right into him...
... but it didn't go quite as planned.
As the copy came closer, Spyro brought down his head and sent himself forward but met only air. Their foe had sidestepped the attack easily.
SWIISH!
Sparx clenched his fists as the destructive energy pulsed through Spyro from the cut in his side, absorbing the attack for him. Although he wasn't properly injured, Spyro still felt pain as the copy's claws racked into his side, the enemy easily countering his headbutt.
Annoyance and rage beginning to rise, Spyro slammed his right paw into the floor as he moved his weight to the side, spinning around with the intent to slam his tail into the copy and send it away from him.
SWASH!
The usual whip-like impact echoed like music in Spyro's ears as the identical copy was whipped right in the face, the foe's rather slow and overdone headbutt of its own interrupted. The foe's eyes widened as a bit of red flowed from the cut all over its face... but despite the incredible pain that such an attack inflicted, managed to keep its balance.
The purple opponent stepped backward and then, trying to sound impressive, roared as it telegraphed a fire breath attack. Spyro left no time for it to pull it off let alone finish its roar. The childish roar of the hatchling's copy was interrupted as Spyro followed his tail whip with an upward headbutt to the underside, as Spyro usually did after a tail whip.
The foe was sent upward, spinning about, vulnerable.
"It's on the ropes! Smack him GOOD!" Sparx cheered for the purple dragon as he smirked, leaping upward with all of the strength his hindlegs and wings could give him.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
SMAAAASH!
Once he had made it to the copy's height, Spyro pulled off a standard aerial combo. Effective and quick, why fix what isn't broken? Spyro spun about, slamming his tail into the copy's underside, forcing it to stay airborne and to spin wildly while he folded his wings, now spinning horizontally, before slamming his claws and double-kicking the purple imposter's side in quick succession. Finally, Spyro beat his wings anew and used the last of his momentum to smash his tail into the foe's head violently, slamming it into the ground brutally.
Then, to add insult to injury, the dragon hatchling spun around as he fell back and dived into the downed foe, smacking it with a flying headbutt. Spyro used the recoil to put some distance between himself and his opponent, landing gracefully on all four.
Covered with various injuries, the imposter didn't look so good anymore, various cuts all over its body. Still, the foe managed to get up and glared at him...
"Hmph! You are quick... but you don't fight like a REAL dragon. You have no technique..." taunted the foe. Spyro rolled his eyes, his smirk widening at that.
"Really? Well, at least, it gets the job done... much unlike your 'technique'," taunted back Spyro in his usual, infuriating little voice he took when he made fun of villains and their predictable, cheesy remarks.
His copy, like the usual common villain, had its face turn red with anger. "How dare you! What do you know about being a dragon?" Then, he reared and roared again, once again telegraphing a fire breath attack.
Sparx noticed that Spyro was flexing his hind legs, preparing to charge despite the fact that the foe was about to attack. Better warn him now, before it's too late...
"Hey!" YES! It worked! Spyro stopped to look at him! "You're quick but not that qu... LOOK OUT!"
Too late... The copy opened its mouth and a surprisingly large stream of flames came pouring from the enemy's mouth. Spyro turned just in time to receive a nasty third degree burn to pretty much all of his body's left side. Spyro yelped as the flames hit him and then, feeling intense pain from the molten flesh, beginning to wail loudly. Sparx closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he took the hit once again. THAT one was a much harder one, however, and he could feel his wings being singed.
Spyro quickly leaped out of the stream and trashed about, the tip of his tail on fire, not noticing that Sparx's yellow glow had turned to a blue, dull glow. He hadn't noticed that the foe had stopped and was now staring at him, smirking in a mocking way not unlike his own...
Blowing the fire off his tail tip, he turned to face his foe and noticed the smirk. Spyro's eyes filled with rage, a low growl escaping his throat.
"Now, you see what a TRUE dragon can do? Resistance is futile!" Man! That imposter might look like Spyro... but he sure talked nothing like him! No way he's losing to a prick like this!
"You wish!" replied quickly Spyro as he gathered his powers. So, he think he's hot and all with that little stream of flames? Sure, he admitted it was impressive... but well, he can do better, MUCH better than this!
Sparx, seeing Spyro close his mouth and stand there as if he had something in his throat, instantly recognized the attack. The dragonfly flew away, putting some distance between himself and the two opponents, covering his ears in preparation for what was to come.
The copy understood almost immediately what was going to happen and dashed, intent on preventing Spyro from doing what he wanted to do.
... but well, it was quite a foolish move. No longer able to contain the magical energy in his mouth, Spyro spitted it out violently. Upon coming in contact with air, it was set almost instantly ablaze, the explosive fireball now flying at the copy at a high velocity.
The enemy's eyes widened as he attempted to screech to a halt... but it was way too late.
BOOOOM!
There was a loud explosion as the sphere slammed into the copy's chest, bursting into a large wave of flames and covering the room in a veil of smoke.
Considering the injuries already inflicted upon the copy, Spyro expected it to call it a day already. After all, he did beat it up pretty badly and now probably burnt it to a crisp.
The smoke slowly cleared... and Sparx hovered back to Spyro's side to see the enemy's state. To the shock of both reptile and insect, the foe was still standing. Burnt pretty badly and covered in injuries... but still standing.
"Dude! What does it take to bring that thing down?" commented Sparx, baffled. Spyro was shocked too... although he reminded himself that since that being was a copy of him, he was probably as tenacious and hardly as he was.
"So you have some skills..." Judging by the foe's voice, he was at the end of his rope. Badly damaged, yes... but still standing. The two had to give it credit for being Spyro's size and enduring so much punishment.
"However... I am the Dragon of Prophecy. I will not fall to someone like you!" The purple enemy sprung up, standing on his hind legs, in a familiar pose. Spyro's and Sparx's eyes widened, recognizing it.
The Fury... the copy was going to unleash Spyro's own strongest move!... and as streams of flames begun to gather near the foe's frame, their fears were confirmed.
... and then, before they could even react, it all stopped.
"ENOUGH!" a familiar feminine voice boomed through the entire room as everyone stood seemingly frozen in time and yet, still conscious...
"But... but..." The foe tried to protest but the feminine voice echoed anew. "You dare object to one of MY orders?"
The copy frowned and slowly, the flames disappeared as the being landed back on its four. The imposter glared, Spyro and Sparx noticing that time had seemingly resumed...
"If you kill him, all of our efforts will have been for nothing. Although he might be rude... you shall let it slip for this time." this comment caused both Spyro and Sparx to raise an eyebrow.
"What? Rude? What's your problem, people? You try to steal my buddy's body and we're the rude ones?" commented Sparx, Spyro nodding in agreement.
"We meant no harm. Spearo, this Realm's Dragon of Prophecy, just went a bit ahead of himself..." continued the voice. The voice... so familiar... Spyro was sure he heard it somewhere before.
"Ahead of himself? He asked Spyro to throw his life away!" Another reply from Sparx. The copy, Spearo it seemed, was glaring in a way that made Spyro feel so very uncomfortable...
"That is incorrect. All that we need... is for you, Dragon of Prophecy from another Realm, to share your body with our own Dragon of Prophecy, so that he may be able to fulfill his destiny. That is all that we ask..." resumed the voice. The purple dragon's eyes widened as he finally recognized the voice. Ember! It was Ember's voice!
"Oh yeah? His body seems the same to me. Why would you need Spyro's body?" Spyro looked around and noticed that Sparx's reply had caused Spearo's face to turn bright red with anger... and embarrassment.
Also, for the first time, Spyro noticed a detail about this castle. Looking at the windows more carefully, had had this definite feeling that the light felt a bit... fake? He had the strong feeling of looking at one gigantic illusion...
"Be silent, inferior being!" Spearo basically barked his reply, stepping forward, glaring at Sparx in a blatantly murderous way by now. The reply made both the dragon and the dragonfly jump.
"Inferior being yourself, jerk!" spat Sparx while Spyro glared at the so-called Dragon of Prophecy of this Realm. How dare he insult his best friend in such a way?!?
"ENOUGH! Silence, all of you!" The voice that sounded like Ember's once again echoed about and caused Spearo to instantly calm down and become silent. Whoever it was, Spearo was listening to her, that's for sure... and it probably wasn't Ember after all. The voice was so similar and yet... Ember would never speak like this. Spyro was sure of it.
"Now... The reason why we require you to share your body with Spearo is that due to a distortion in the path dictated by Fate, Spearo lost his own to his destined enemy, the Luminous One. Without the help of Spearo, our Realm is doomed. Such is why you are here... because we need your help," explained the one who sounded like Ember.
At this moment, Spyro made the connection. Considering how Spearo acted, no one would accept to help him and yet, if what the voice is saying is true, this Realm would be desperate for help... which mean that they would be willing to use a portal to lure the Dragon of Prophecy from another Realm into their own world in order to force him or her to help them!
... and well, the truth is, he IS the Dragon of Prophecy of Dragon Land, the dragon chosen by the Fate of his Realm to defeat whatever evil might threaten the Realms.
Spyro rolled his eyes. "Well, that is quite... nice... of you but well, I don't want to be rude but... I have someone to find..." he stated. It's not that letting a Realm be ruined is morally right to him but considering how he has been treated so far and how Ember is probably out there, in a dangerous situation, he kinda have more urgent matters to take care of...
"You are looking for... Ember, right?" both the purple dragon and the dragonfly stared at each others as the feminine voice spoke. How did it know?
"She is alright but... we will have to keep her as a guarantee that you will help us," explained the voice.
At this moment, the two had a vision... they saw a pink dragoness, Ember, inside of a cage, guarded by a pack of green and red dragons. Spyro gritted his teeth. Looks like he doesn't have much of a choice...
"Well... looks like we have been had..." said Sparx before sighing loudly.
"Fine fine! I'll do it, I'll do it!... but why must I share my body with your Dragon of Destiny? Shouldn't my own power be enough if I'm, like, the same as Spearo?" said the purple dragon. Sparx nodded. He did have a point, after all.
Spearo approached, seemingly annoyed. "Because that I and only I have the power to defeat the Luminous One! Do not question Destiny!"
"And what if I'm not affected by YOUR destiny?" replied Spyro, feeling that his other self was so very overreacting...
No answer... and then...
... out of a sudden, Spyro and Sparx were outside. They could see that they were in some of highlands, greeny terraces located in strange mountains made of cyan rock, high above the surface. In the distant hills, flocks of colored dots flew about... the local dragon nests. Well, looks like they had been kicked out of the illusion.
... and since Spearo was nowhere to be seen and since Spyro didn't felt an exterior presence or anything, he assumed they had forgot to infuse his spirit in him or something like that, not that he minded. Only Spearo's power able to defeat the Luminous One? He's Spyro the dragon, the famous hero from Dragon Land! He shall see for himself if this being is so powerful...
"I am definitely here. Now, we must move forward!" this voice in his head... oh dear. Looks like they didn't forget.
Spyro sighed. This was going to be mighty annoying but oh well...
At least, he got to explore an all-new Realm. Adventure is always fun, after all...
TO BE CONTINUED...