Here we go again, and this one made me feel just slightly evil. But we must press onwards with hope in our hearts and our friends on our minds. As long as there is life, there is hope. Now, on to the next installment of The Stars are Calling... Enjoy! R&R!

The Search Begins

Spyro, Cynder, and Lucresi drifted through the air south from the temple, making their way across the wilderness in the direction signified by Ignitus. Spyro was in a good mood, for some unknown reason and so he began to hum as they flew. Cynder noticed this and smiled, feeling strangely happy as well. And idea crossed her mind and she grinned mischievously, performing a barrel roll as she sped over Spyro's head, lightly clipping the back of the dragon's head with the blunt edge of her tail.

Spyro turned his head just slightly, enough to allow him to glare at Cynder until he saw her playful expression; her eyes dancing and her grin devious. He growled low and dove after her, a smile flitting about the edges of his lips. She looped out of his path and zipped past Lucresi as the purple dragon gave chase.

"Get back here, Cynder!" Spyro followed her maneuver and tried to close the gap between them. But as he neared the black dragoness, she rolled to the side and curved around in a different direction, making Spyro turn his momentum around completely before he can give chase once more.

They dipped and dodged about in the air for hours as they played, but their actions steadily got on Lucresi's nerves, the earth dragoness still hurting inside from having Drifton taken away from her. She knew that he didn't share her feelings towards him, but she still was sad, and she scowled at the dragons accompanying her for playing at a time like this. Being slightly older than them, she now felt a certain authority, but she knew that she would not be listened to if she tried to exert it. Spyro and Cynder were just so much more experienced in this than she was so she kept her mouth shut.

The two dragons finally felt the strength leave their limbs as the sun was brushing against the horizon, and they came to the decision that they should stop for the night. The group of three descended to the forest below and found a small burned out area. Lucresi found a large hollowed out tree trunk, big enough for the three of them to lie in comfortably. Cynder lay down on the soft grass and Spyro curled around her, both soon succumbing to the dark grasp of sleep.

But slumber was not that simple to obtain for Lucresi. She tossed and turned on the earth beneath her, finally snapping her eyes open as beads of sweat formed over her scales. Her breaths came short, her mind racing as she glanced around the burned out section of the forest, no life showing through the layer of ash outside the tree. Emotions roiled within her body, spilling over into physical form as small droplets of warm water seeping from the corners of her eyes. The tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned her forlorn gaze towards the sky, staring up at the glowing specks of light that lay beyond their world. Oh Ancestors…where is he? The stars above her went on flickering, looking down on the earth dragoness with an unrelenting intensity.

Her thoughts calmed, the gentle light radiating from above soothing her inner being a small peace. The stars above were watching her, and she felt her eyes drooping under their unrelenting shine. Her limbs grew heavy and she found herself drifting into the world of dreams.

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Pain. Beyond imagination. The burning sensation filled his mind and set his entire body on fire. A feral scream of hurt erupted from his maw and he jerked his body forward, only to be yanked back to his original position by the chains that held him there. A film of red covered his vision, the pain so intense that he could no longer perceive anything with his senses save for the massive amount of hurt taking hold of his form. His mind was devoid of all thoughts but one. Make it stop! He yelled the line over and over in his head as he lay with his paws over his head, as if he could protect himself from the excruciating feeling rampaging through his nerves.

After hours of bearing through the pain, the haze finally lifted from his vision and he could see his place of imprisonment. The hurt still remained, but it lessened to a small trickle in his senses, and he could ignore it. His gaze flicked around the small stone room. There was a door at the other end of the room, but it was solid wood and he could not see through it to whatever lay beyond. His dark blue eyes roved over the entire room until they came to rest on the restraints attached to his legs and tail. He lightly pulled on them and saw that they disappeared into the floor a few feet behind him.

A sound reached his ears besides that of his own breathing. Footsteps echoed down whatever lay outside his door and they grew closer to the entrance. Suddenly the door swung open and he gasped. A pair of apes stood on either side of the opening and between them stood a small purple dragon that he knew so well. His eyes grew in shock and horror as the purple dragon strode forward, leaving the apes at the door.

"Spyro? What are you doing here?" He spat out at the dragon approaching him. "What's going on?"

A sneer appeared on the dragon's snout and he stopped his walking to stand directly in front of his prisoner. "Drifton, it's so nice to see you again. And what am I doing here? You'll find out soon enough." He nodded to the apes and they came forward with a sharp piece of metal in each of their hands that Drifton had never seen before. "No one can hear you scream, Drifton. So go ahead, let out as many as you want. It makes this all the more enjoyable."

Drifton's horror morphed into sheer terror as the apes stepped towards him with the metal instruments raised above their heads. One brought it down across his side, opening a shallow gash from the dark yellow scales and crimson tears of blood leapt to his scales from his veins. The other ape slashed his metal object across Drifton's chest, and more of the life giving liquid oozed from his body with the cut left behind. Pain once more coursed through his limbs and his mind fogged over from the feeling.

Then the slashing stopped and he felt his body moving. The movement was then halted, and he felt his frame crushed against the stone wall that stood behind him. He reopened his eyes and saw Spyro's sneering visage right in front of his own face. The dark yellow dragon was pinned to the wall by the slightly smaller purple dragon, and he felt his wings crumpled painfully between him and the wall. Spyro once more spoke, his tone malevolent and cruel.

"You will be broken, you can not resist. You will die before you are set free, so don't think of trying to escape. You can't and no one is coming to save you." Spyro pressed down harder on Drifton's left foreleg and the dark yellow dragon cried out in pain as he felt the bone snap under his former friend's paw. Then Spyro let his body drop back to the floor where he landed in a crumpled pile of blood and tears. The purple dragon turned and strode out of the room with the apes following him.

Drifton was alone once more in the cold room, the only sound being soft sobs of pain originating from the lightning dragon.

Hmm....well, there you have it. until next time, I'm out!

Laters!