You guys are too nice to me. Anyway, I hope you like this. Fair warning, there is a lot of talking.
The Electric Dragon: Into the Abyss
Chapter 7: Kingdom of Dragunov
When Cole returned to the town with the freed captives, the populace was overjoyed. They reunited with their loved ones with hugs of rejoice, but they did not forget the one who had accomplished the heroic deed it in the first place. In fact, the conduit was a celebrated hero, almost as much as Spyro and Cynder back when they defeated Malefor.
The electric man didn't know what to think; Nobody has ever treated him like this before, not even back in Warfang. It felt good to him, like he was reminded why he was a hero in the first place. Saying he was abashed would be right on the money; The unnecessary praise was overwhelming, and when the dragons finally stopped, he could finally take a breather.
His friends did nothing to help, to his dismay. Instead, they opted to just watch while laughing at his distress. Uranium seemed to take it the hardest, as even when the townsfolk were done celebrating, he continued to laugh. Lemon, on the other hand, laughed the least, only giggling occasionally. Cynder was the only one to notice her hesitation, and knew she had to talk to her soon.
The group decided to stay another night, since they were kind of tired from the day, and the sun was setting. The conduit and dragons had two rooms, one for the men, and the other for the women. Uranium was baffled at the segregation, clearly not understanding why, and the others didn't bother filling him in.
As the conduit rested on his pillow bed, his head leaning against a soft part, he could only think about the town and how they treated him. New Marais liked him, but not that much, and Empire City wasn't even close to it. It's strange to think that in a world where he is an alien, he is more accepted then he ever was back home.
"Cole?" Spyro called from the other bed where he rested, making the conduit turn his head to him.
"You alright?" the purple dragon asked with a chuckle, "You seem a little... out of it."
The conduit raised a brow, "Maybe if I wasn't swarmed by those dragons, I wouldn't be so bitter."
"I didn't say that," Spyro retorted, with a sly smile. Cole sighed and looked at this ceiling again.
"I was comparing how these people treat me with New Marais. It's just..."
Spyro nodded, and Cole knew that he didn't need to explain. After all, Spyro was in the city with him.
"Just what?" Uranium interjected, raising his head from his pillow bed that was across from Spyro and Cole. The conduit rubbed his eyes with a groan; The earth dragon didn't know about where he was from.
"I'll just sum it up, okay?" Cole snapped harshly, "The people where I'm from never gave me a celebration like these people did."
Uranium stared at Cole for a good long while, then he spoke, "Fascinating, the people from where you're from must not like you very much."
The conduit turned away from the two other dragons while grumbling, "That's an understatement."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Cynder and Lemon just lied in their beds not really doing anything. The black dragoness felt uncomfortable about what she wanted to ask Lemon, but knew she had to do it eventually. Lemon, while rather calm, had troubling issues on her mind.
For one thing, she was about to return to her home town, and more specifically, Magma. The thought of it made the yellow dragoness dread the moment as time went on. She had enjoyed the adventure with Spyro and the others, and wished it would last a little longer. Another thing to consider is the fact that she had these feelings for Cole. She couldn't understand why at first, but upon reviewing the cause and the symptoms, it couldn't be denied.
"Hey," Cynder began hesitantly. Lemon said nothing, nor did she move. Cynder wanted to stop, but pressed on anyway. "You've been... well, different lately. Are you alright? Is there something on your mind?"
Lemon gave a heavy sigh, and looked over to Cynder with a sad expression. She then quickly looked down, seeming ashamed of whatever was on her mind.
"I don't think I'm alright," she admitted, "I'm conflicted and..."
Cynder saw her reluctance, and made her way to Lemon's side, resting a wing over her. "Hey, it's fine," she said soothingly, "if you don't want to talk about it, then we can drop it."
Lemon considered it for a moment, but shook it off. "No," the yellow dragoness declined, "I need to tell somebody."
Lemon made sure she was ready to say what has knawd at her for some time. She exhaled slowly, looked up at Cynder's emerald eyes, and said with a hint of regret, "I... might like Cole."
Cynder didn't know what to say or do, though the first thing to find out is if Lemon meant what she said, "You mean... more than friends."
Lemon gave a single nod, and Cynder was dumbstruck. Her good friend might be in love with an alien, no offensive to Cole in any way. It was not uncommon for a dragon to love a member of another species. There were dragons who loved Cheetahs and Atlawas, but this was probably the first time a dragon loved a completely new species. Cynder wasn't even sure if humans did this often or not.
"How long?" Cynder squeezed out, still thinking about everything that this has brought up.
"I think since he protected me from Magma, back in Warfang," Lemon explained, head hung low.
The black dragoness began to understand her situation, but was still confused to one aspect. "Have you told him yet?"
Lemon was shocked by this, and vigorously shook her head, "No, of course not! What would he say? What would he do? I don't think he even likes me back!"
"Calm down," Cynder said sternly but softly, "I understand how you feel, I behaved the same way with Spyro. You just have to tell him, trust me."
"I would," Lemon cried out, tears brimming on her eyes, "but I'm still with Magma, and I don't even want to say what he would do to me if he found out!"
"Why are you even with him, then?" Cynder asked desperately, "Why do you have to be with a jerk like Magma?"
"Because..." she trailed off while tears began to fall, "...I can't tell you, even if I wanted to. I... promise I'll tell you, but not now."
Cynder hugged her distraught friend, comforting her as she cried. The black dragoness began singing a song she had learned from Spyro. The purple dragon had sang it to her when she was upset, and now she was passing it along.
As she sang, Cynder glanced out the window at the dark and starry night. She hoped that whatever is keeping her with Magma would crumble, so she could be happy. The conduit, however, was a different story. The black dragoness didn't know if Cole even liked Lemon as well, or even if loving a different species was normal with humans. The time for secrets to reveal themselves would come, but that time was not now.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Once everyone was awake again in the morning, the group left, with the towns folk waving them off. Though Cole appreciated their enthusiasm to cheer for him, the constant thanks was wearing on him, and he was becoming down right annoyed.
Thankfully, the group got far enough away so the shouts and yells of gratitude faded until it was silent once again. The conduit shook his head at their persistance; They must have really needed his help. And so the four dragons and human continued traveling to their destination.
The atmosphere was quiet, as no one spoke, and it remained that way for the whole trek. The scenery changed from a Savannah landscape, to rocky terrain with a few patches of green grass. The conduit wondered if they were even going the right way, but the others examined the map and said they were on the right track.
The sun made its way across the sky as the group walked on a surprisingly flat setting. Nothing to see but the multiple boulders and land fixtures. Day shortly turned to night, and the group slept under the stars for the time being. They weren't interrupted by any enemy, so they were able to stay to themselves. This gave them ample time to think about whatever they wanted.
While Cole took look out once again, Lemon stayed on the other side of the camp, moping pitifully. Cynder wanted to do something, but wasn't sure what. Spyro and Uranium were no help whatsoever, as the purple dragon fell asleep early, and Uranium is downright unreliable.
The sun rose over the horizon and the group packed up and advanced on the nearing city. An hour passed, and Cole was the first to finally see a city, being the tallest.
"Please be the city," the conduit grumbled, rubbing his sore head.
"Uh, Cole," Spyro said nonchalantly, "It is the city."
The electric man didn't say a word, instead, he gave a grin with a small chuckle. As the Kingdom of Dragunov neared, the sight of the city became one of awe. Though Warfang was magnificent in its own respective way, this city was uniquely marvelous. It was built on top of a cliff, with a large tower looming over the smaller buildings. The tower itself was on the closest to the cliff's edge, and the other buildings were all in a semi-circle around it.
"I'm going to make a guess," Uranium spoke up, pointing to the tower, "That the tower is the palace."
"You deserve a gold star, Uranium," Cole commented dryly.
The city was also surrounded by a large wall, like in Warfang, and two ice dragons stood in front of the gate. They wore steel body armor that hugged the body not too tightly, but enough to keep make them look ready for a fight.
At the sight of the approaching group, the guards jumped to a combat stance, glaring at the group, but more at Cole specifically. In a instant, the guards leaped towards the conduit, and everyone dived out of the way before the guards landed where they once stood.
They set their gaze on Cole, and began heading toward him slowly, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Being threatened, Cole allowed electricity to flow through his arms, getting ready for another attack. Before any sort of fight could ensue, however, Spyro and the other dragons stepped in between the three, and stared at the guards with anger.
"What are you doing!?" Cynder spoke first, furrowing her brow deeply.
The guards' faces suddenly shifted to shock, and they glanced at each other before one of them asked, "Wait, he's with you? An unknown monster is traveling with a bunch of dragons?"
Spyro shook his head in disbelief, scoffing. "Of course!" he shouted, "Why else would we bring a bipedal creature with us? He's our friend!"
The purple dragon took a deep breath, calming himself down and said with composed features, "We're here on important business. We have permission from the Guardians to speak with your king."
The guards were hesitant, eyeing Cole suspiciously, but eventually gave in. With defeated sighs, the two guards walked up to the closed gate, and grasped the handles firmly. They then pulled with all their might, and the two doors opened outward, revealing the city within.
The group hastily made their way inside to see a form of chaos. The streets were bustling with dragons, each going in different directions to different locations. They hardly noticed the group at first, but within a small amount of seconds, the dashing dragons stopped and stared at the new arrivals. They probably would have ignored Spyro and the others, if they didn't bring a strange and potentially dangerous bipedal creature with them.
The expressions of the dragons were generally the same, all with anger etched into their features. They did not attack, but they gave hateful looks at Cole nonetheless. The conduit gave an exasperated sigh, and began walking to the palace tower. The dragons stepped out of his way, and cleared a path for him straight towards it. Spyro and Cynder looked at each other worriedly, and followed along, with Lemon and Uranium in tow.
The conduit couldn't help but look at the menacing glares he was receiving; Not even Empire City hated him this much. It was at this moment that a shout of anguish cried out, "Monster!"
The crowd seemed to join along as everyone began throwing insults in the wind, some of which were very unnecessary. Though the constant shouts and jeers made it difficult to hear, the conduit was able to pick on some of the insults.
"Get out of town!"
"Why would you even do such a thing!?"
"Leave our city alone!"
"Look at this freak!"
One bystander had the audacity to throw a rotting tomato at the electric man, which hit the side of his face. The juices leaked down his cheek, and what was left of the fruit was wiped off by the conduit's hand. Cole clenched his teeth and eyes tightly, wanting nothing more but to lash out at the crowd. But the paw that rested on his right forearm, stopped those thoughts instantly.
Looking down, Cole could see the sad eyes of Cynder. She didn't have to say a word, only by looking at her pleading eyes did the conduit get the message. Making a sad exhalation, the electric man trudged on, accepting the abuse with the little dignity he had left.
After what seemed like hours to Cole, the group finally entered the palace tower. Once the palace doors slammed shut, the sounds of outrage were instantly cut off, putting the whole atmosphere in silence. Not even Uranium dared utter a word at the display.
The conduit was used to offensive words, but this takes the cake. Those dragons out there genuinely hated him for what seemed like unknown reasons. Meanwhile, with Lemon, she felt even worse for Cole. It was already bad enough that he was stuck in this world with dragons, but he had to be ridiculed for nothing at all as well?
Everybody stared at Cole's back, waiting for him to react in some way to the recent uproar. However, the conduit's shoulders slumped, and he whispered dejectedly, "Let's just go."
The dragons wanted to say that it was alright, but no words could cure what those dragons had said and done. The conduit at last noted the room in which they stepped in. it was large for one thing, with three floors dedicated to this room alone. The room stretched for many yards, and four marble columns supported the large expanse. The floor was also made of marble, with a red rug that started from the palace doors and ended at what looked like a throne area.
Three thrones sat there, and three dragons occupied them, with another sitting to the side of a throne. Cole narrowed his eyes and walked in that direction, intent on seeing the king that forced him to walk all this way. As he neared the King and the other three dragons, he noticed the large colored glass-paned windows. They towered over everybody and held a large red dragon. Upon coming to a halt, the conduit could see the King and everyone else as well.
In the center throne sat what Cole assumed to be the King. He was overweight, and had a uncaring gaze. His scales were a rich crimson, and his underbelly had a dark orange look. Upon his head was a gold crown, with dull jewels attached around it.
To his left, the electric man saw two other dragons, though only one sat in the throne. This dragon had a striking resemblance to Spyro in a way; his horns and figure were almost perfectly matched, and he seemed the same age as well. His scales were a plain red, and his underbelly, wing membranes, and horns were a rich yellow.
The other dragon who sat on a pillow beside the red teenage dragon was definitely feminine, for the pink scales. She had an innocent face, with a white underbelly and matching wing membranes. Her horns were a light yellow.
At last, Cole looked to his right, and almost lost his cool. In this throne sat the one and only Magma, smirking like he had the conduit pinned. The electric man ground his teeth and faced the King, hoping to get this over with.
The King remained sitting on his throne, but raised his right paw in a lazy wave. "Hail, dragons of Warfang," then with a last and bitter note, "and company."
Spyro stepped up to stand at Cole's left, and also raised his right paw, "Hail, dragons of the Kingdom of Dragunov. We are honored by your presence."
"As are we, Spyro," the King grinned, "I am King Dragunov." He gestured to his Cole's left, "This is my eldest son, Flame, and his girlfriend, Ember." Spyro nodded to them, and they reciprocated. Cole was hesitant at first, but gave a small bow in their direction. Though the conduit wasn't liking the situation he got himself into, he knew that those dragons were probably the nicest here.
Ignoring the electric man's bow, Dragunov gestured to Cole's right, "And I'm sure you already know Magma, Flame's twin brother."
"All too well," Cole grunted to himself, crossing his arms annoyingly.
"We came here to seek peace," Spyro explained, "and show that we meant no harm to your son."
"Understood," the King nodded, "Now, would you be so kind to apologize to my son, Magma?"
Cole sighed, this was the moment of truth. He had traveled more than 50 miles just to do this. He had better not mess it up. However, upon seeing Magma's smug grin, the conduit nearly ran up and sucker punched him in the jaw. Restraining himself, Cole fully faced Magma, gave a single curt bow, and mumbled, "Sorry."
Magma only laughed at the display, "Really? That's all I get for being beaten up?"
"You're lucky I didn't kill you!" Cole snapped, taking a step forward.
"Cole!" Cynder hissed from behind, "Just keep going!"
King Dragunov was not happy with the conduit's behavior. Narrowing his eyes threateningly, the King pointed straight at Cole, and ordered, "Respectively apologize to my son that you nearly killed, or I shall smite you where you stand."
The electric man was about to protest, but held his tongue at the last moment. He looked over to Spyro, who nodded sympathetically. Cole gave a defeated sigh; There was only one way out. The conduit dropped to his knees and placed his hands down on the ground in front of him.
'Magma better appreciate this,' Cole said in his mind, 'Who am I kidding, of course he's not.'
Giving one final heavy exhale, the conduit stared at the red carpet underneath him. "I am truly sorry," Cole stated flatly, "I'll watch myself next time."
Though Cole couldn't see it, he could tell that Magma was giving a huge sneer, "Apology accepted... monster."
The conduit clenched his fists and slowly rose, not taking his eyes off the ground. Suddenly, he could hear a dragon approaching from where Flame was sitting. Looking up, Cole came face to face with Magma's twin brother. Flame seemed intent on studying the conduit closely, as if judging his strength.
Then with a chuckle, Flame turned to his brother and laughed, "You lost to this wimpy thing? I know you're not much of a fighter, but even Kindling could take him on."
Magma scoffed, but did not utter a word. In his stead, Dragunov spoke, "Do not underestimate him, Flame, he is a terrible monster that might possibly rain destruction upon us."
The conduit looked at the King with a raised brow, thinking he was joking. Upon seeing his serious face, however, Cole determined he was not.
"Wait, monster? Destruction?" Cynder repeated in bewilderment, as Flame made his way back to his seat, "Cole would never do such a thing. He saved a town just two days ago."
"I must disagree on that, Cynder, for this... Cole was it?" the King asked as an afterthought, and the conduit nodded, allowing Dragunov to continue. "for this monster will eventually eradicate us all."
"Who told you that?" Lemon spoke up defensively, and Magma's eye twitched.
"Lemon!" Magma scolded, causing the yellow dragoness to flinch, "Come to my side, and do not speak against my father!"
Lemon stared in shock at the red dragon's command. She almost forgot why she came here in the first place. Dipping her head down low, Lemon reluctantly walked to the pillow beside Magma.
"Good girl," Magma snarled happily. Cole growled, but did not lash out. He knew that it would be pointless to attack or say anything against Magma. Although, he did send a mental barrage of curses his way. Lemon was growing on him, in more ways than one, but he did not fully recognize it yet. When Lemon sat down with a depressed frown, King Dragunov answered the yellow dragoness' question never the less.
"Anyway, I was told by my new adviser that Cole here is the problem," the King informed.
"Cole's not the problem," Spyro said calmly, "Malefor is, he has returned."
"Nonsense," Dragunov objected, "There is no evidence of his return."
"Cole saw him," Cynder said gesturing to the conduit, who had not moved a muscle, "In his dreams, The Dark Master conversed with him."
The King gave a blank stare, before he gave a bark of laughter, "A dream? That is not concrete proof of his return. Just the imaginings of a monster."
There was silence as Spyro's group had no remark to his reply. It was true that it was only in Cole's head, but the conduit could not have known about Malefor any other way.
"Who's your adviser?" Cole questioned quietly, his gaze steadily on the King.
Dragunov tilted his head in confusion, not understanding the question, "uh, pardon?"
"I said who is your adviser?" Cole replied quickly and with more volume, "You said you're adviser told you about me, but that's impossible. I only arrived a few days ago, there is no way he could have known about me before hand at Warfang. So answer me: Who, is, your, adviser?"
King Dragunov grunted at the conduit's rude behaviour, but put it to the side for the time being. "My adviser is Milson, who, coincidentally is standing behind you."
Cole, Spyro, Cynder, and Uranium whipped around to see a large ape standing with a hint of anger in his eyes. Meanwhile, with Cole's eyes, they were widened with shock. He had seen him before, he had fought him before!
"This ape attacked Warfang!" Cole stated angrily, pointing at the ape.
Everyone in the room was puzzled by the conduit's accusation, especially those from the Kingdom of Dragunov. "Are you sure?" Cynder asked politely.
Cole nodded, and said, "He led the army I took down! He was the only survivor, he must have ran here to say that I'm a monster!"
Milson stood with an unfazed expression. He walked around the group and stood by the King's side. "My king," the ape started with respect, "I must decline these accusations, as they are too improbable. Me? Attack Warfang? Ridiculous."
"It's the truth," Cole said in exasperation, never taking his eyes off of Milson.
"Regardless," the King spoke up, putting a paw up to silence the others before they could protest, "He is my adviser and you shall be kind to him like any of us. Is that clear, monster?"
The electric man waved his hand to the side, "Stop calling me that! I'm not the monster here!"
"You're the only one acting like one," Magma observed with a dark chuckle.
The conduit placed a hand on his head in vexation. They would not listen at all, and arguing with them was getting him no where. Taking a deep breath, Cole glared at Milson with an astounding amount of hate. It was probably the ape who spread the word around town about how he "attacked" Magma, how he was the monster. "So now what?" the conduit said in defeat, "Do I just walk away now or do you have anything left to say to the monster?"
"Last order of business," Dragunov reassured, "What are you four going to do now? I just can't have this... beast run around my city without security."
"We planned to stay here a couple of days," Spyro explained, "Just to have a rest before we head back. If you want security on Cole, you can assign one. That is," he looked over at Cole, "if you don't mind."
The electric man rubbed his chin in thought. Having someone monitor him 24/7 felt wrong, like with Sparx back in Warfang. However, if things turn out well, Cole can prove that he isn't some kind of being bent on causing others harm.
With his mind made up, Cole shrugged his shoulders, "Do what you want."
The King nodded, "Very well, Flame, Ember, would you be so kind as to watch over Cole during his stay?"
"Of course, father," Flame replied, rising to his feet, "I shall make sure he doesn't harm a soul."
"Very good," Dragunov responded, "Then I decree that Flame and Ember shall accompany you four where ever you go."
Flame and Ember walked over the group, but Cole didn't acknowledge their presence. Instead, he spun on his heel, and began walking down the large hall to the palace entrance. The other dragons followed behind, not wanting to be separated from the conduit. Cole grabbed the handles on the doors and pulled outward. As soon as he did, he was instantly met with jeers and shouts from the other side. Apparently, the citizens had not left their positions from before.
The conduit, already at the end of his rope, shook with anger, then unleashed his built up aggression. "Shut up!" he roared, and though it came from one man, it was enough to silence the crowd, and even earn a couple scared faces.
"I had about enough of this place," Cole grumbled to himself before running to a nearby building and climbed it. He did this just when the group came barreling out of the palace. Turning every which way, Spyro could tell where Cole went; Everyone was staring at a single building like it had insulted them.
"Um, sorry everyone," Cynder shouted to the crowd, "he just... has a lot on his mind."
No one said anything, only giving each other glances. Spyro shook his head, and took flight determined to get to Cole quickly. The other dragons followed suit, and they all soared away toward the human.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
When Cole and the other dragons left the tower palace, Dragunov sighed while rubbing his forehead. "That thing will be the death of this town," he said to no one in particular.
"I concur," Magma agreed.
Lemon remained quiet. Though she would have gladly defended Cole, she couldn't do it. The promise she had made long ago forced her not to. A part of her wished that she could tell her friends, but it was for the best that they didn't know.
"Hey, Lemon," Magma called, furrowing his brow, "Come, we have some... catching up to do."
The yellow dragoness shivered, but followed him anyway. She had to keep her promise, she just had to. When they left, Dragunov gave another sigh, realizing he was alone at last. However, a cute yet firm shout of joy canceled his peace.
"Father!" the voice yelled, the source of which was running quickly toward Dragunov. The King smiled happily, for his youngest son, Kindling, had that effect on others.
Kindling was rather small, being about half the height of Flame or Magma, as well as being half the age. His scales were orange, with his underbelly being yellow as well as his horns. Surprisingly, this young dragon had no wings, as he was born that way. Though he was very different from the common dragon, Dragunov loved his son very much.
The young dragon jumped into his father's outstretched arms, and gave each other a warm hug. After which, when they pulled apart, Kindling sat on the arm rest of the throne, looking up at Dragunov with his brilliant blue eyes.
"Who was that earlier, father?" he asked curiously, "he looked kind of cool!"
The King gave a small chuckle, "Were you watching another one of my meetings?"
"I don't know," Kindling answered quickly and playfully. Dragunov gave a laugh and patted the dragon's head.
"I shall take my leave," Milson announced, doing so hastily. Dragunov watched him go, kind of surprised that he was still here as well. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to his son, and said sternly, "Now, Kindling, I want you to stay away from that... thing. He is very dangerous, and I don't know what I would do if you got hurt."
"Aww," the young dragon cried, "but he looks so cool! With his clothes, and that metal thing on his back, and-"
"I know, Kindling," Dragunov interrupted kindly, "but just promise me you'll stay away from him."
"Alright," Kindling groaned, looking down in sadness.
The King gave a small smile, and hugged his son again. No matter what happens, he will never let anything happen to his wife's last child.
I hope I did well when describing these characters, it isn't exactly my strongest trait. If you have some ideas for this story, I'll listen, but I can't promise that it'll be in this; Just for consideration.