Chapter 6: A new arrival
(Authors Notes: There is a two-week time gap between this chapter and the last chapter, and unlike previous chapters, this one will not be focusing primarily on Obsidian. Please note that I am not, technically speaking, introducing a new character here. I've also had writers block for the past couple of days, so sorry about the late upload and the short(er) chapter length. With all that said, enjoy!)
(Lewis White's POV)
It has been roughly three weeks since Thomas disappeared, and I'm starting to worry that this is more than a simple disappearance. I mean, Thomas wouldn't just disappear like that, would he? I'm aware that I don't know him as well as I like to think, but I am… was, his only friend. Wouldn't Thomas have warned me? Possibly not, but there weren't any signs of suicidal thoughts, and I'm good at picking up things like that.
Oh, forget about it Lewis, you're just overreacting. Thomas will be… is fine! Worst-case scenario, he had enough, packed his bags, and left… Alright, that isn't the worst-case scenario, but I don't want to think about the alternatives…
"Lewis, could you come downstairs and help me with the recycling?" Mother and chores…
"Yes mum, I'll be down in a minute."
For goodness sake, doesn't she realise that I'm in a bad state of mind right now? I mean, my best friend flat out disappeared! I can't just get on with life as if nothing happened!
Walking downstairs, I really hope Mum hasn't let the recycling pile up like she did the last few weeks… I had to say it didn't I?
(Time skip)
Collapsing in bed, I really hope that Thomas turns up again soon. I know that he hated his life, and that he wanted to get away from all this, but I can't rest easy without the knowledge that he's okay.
Closing my eyes, I fall asleep almost immediately. Just before I completely lose consciousness, I feel a slight tugging sensation above me…
(Time skip)
Ow, my head… wait, is it me, or is their grass underneath me? Opening my eyes, I find that my skin does not, in fact, deceive me. I am lying on grass. Panicking, I try to jump to my feet, only to feel a sudden pain in my back. Dammit! I can't stay here, I'll end up dead if I do. Slowly standing up, ignoring the pain, I quickly glance at my surroundings. Multiple trees, short grass, and… a large temple on top of a cliff in the distance? The foliage is making it difficult to see. Well, at least I have a destination now… but how did I get here? The last thing I remember is falling asleep, and I think I'd remember getting teleported into the middle of nowhere…
Suddenly, I realise something. My clothing is gone! Panicking, I quickly glance around until my eyes fall on my arm… Scales. Silver scales. What?! Since when…?! How even…?! You know what, I should probably stop questioning it before I go insane… I'm probably already insane… Why is my head spinning…?
(Obsidian's POV)
"You filthy *** ******* ***** ****…"
Alright, I surprised myself with that particular string of curses… Then again, these training dummies are ridiculously tough, so I suppose I'm excused there…
I have been training rigorously for the past 2 weeks, and it must be said, I've improved considerably. I've gone from barely being able to beat the weakest dummy, to being able to take on a large-size ape dummy without breaking more than a couple of bones. Anyways, back to the task at hand, killing this batch of ape dummies!
Looking around, I make mental notes on my enemies… 4 small apes, and one medium ape. Semicircle formation, medium ape in the middle. Quite challenging all things considered. My best bet: letting the smaller apes charge to their deaths, then taking my time with the larger ape.
WARNING: VIOLENCE AHEAD
Unfortunately for me, all the apes, including the larger ape, attack me at once. Smart, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. The small ape from the far left reaches me first. Swinging his club in a sweeping motion, I catch the strike with my right paw before stabbing the throat of the wooden dummy with my claws. Jerking my tail blade backwards, I meet slight resistance. I must have hit something, and probably impaled that something.
Dislodging my claws from the dead ape's throat, I barely have time to react to a sudden pain in my side. MUCH worse than what the smaller dummies inflict, so I'm assuming that I got hit by the big boy. Fortunately for me I discovered something… unique, about my element. It responds, without my consent, to two things. Anger, and pain.
Blood quickly flowing to my eyes, I easily recognise the tell-tale signs of my element emerging. I don't have much control over it, but the passive effects are always the same. Heightened strength, adrenalin rush, plain stupid amounts of rage, and clearer vision. According to Volteer, my eyes go bloodshot whenever this happens, and a fiery glow appears from beneath my scales. Intimidating, but since it only reacts reliably to anger and pain… not as useful, or as reliable, as a simple fireball.
As soon as my element finishes manifesting itself, I turn towards the nearest dummy, an unfortunate small ape, and rip it's arms off. If I was fighting a live creature there would be screams of agony. Turning towards the next dummy, I use the severed arms as makeshift clubs, causing the wooden skull of the poor thing to cave in. Discarding the now battered and useless limbs, I turn towards the large ape. Fearless, but it is an emotionless training device…
Dashing towards the medium sized dummy, I grab hold of it by the throat, lift it of the ground, and start squeezing. Not much to see, since wooden dummies don't react the same way as the living thing, but my foreleg/arm is being clawed at all the same. Squeezing harder, the neck of the training instrument finally gives way, and collapses…
VIOLENCE ENDS
Throwing the lifeless wood down on the ground, I turn towards Volteer. Unfortunately, before I can ask how I did, a loud explosion sounds through the temple. And here I was hoping I would get a peaceful day today…
(Time skip)
Flying. As much as I enjoyed it, that didn't make it any easier. Just because some random meditation session taught me how to fly doesn't make me any good at it… Straits I can handle. It is the turns I have trouble with…
The Guardians sent me, Spyro, and Cynder out in different directions in an attempt to find the source of the explosion. Considering the amount of noise created, a simple lap or two around the temple would probably have sufficed, but noooo, we have to search everywhere… It is times like this I question how Malefor didn't succeed.
Spotting something in the foliage, I fly down towards the forest below me. As I get closer, a silver gleam catches my eye. Probably some metal, but better safe than sorry.
Once it becomes possible for the individual trees to be distinguished from each other, I notice that it was not, in fact, metal that caught my eye. It was an unconscious silver-scaled dragon. Well, I might as well ask the dragon a few questions… correction, more than a few questions…
Landing next to the unconscious form of the downed dragon, I patiently wait for it to wake up. Correction, HE, not it. If Spyro and Cynder are anything to go by, there is too little form for this dragon to be anything other than a male…
(Lewis White's POV)
Zzzzzz… so sleepy… I'm going to wake up in my bed any minute now…
Unless a… lizard of some sort decides to start nudging my head! Seriously, does no-one ever respect boundaries? Or am I imagining things? Probably the latter… I hope it's the latter…
Opening my eyes, painfully thanks to the sun, I find that I'm being nudged by the head of a large, black lizard! Panic sets in, paralysing me in fear. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, this stupid lizard is going to eat me, I'm going to die…
"You alright?"
What? A lizard that speaks? What even… you know what, I'm not going to question why a lizard can speak… but why does the voice of this lizard seem familiar…?
"Can you even speak?"
Well… I haven't tried yet… although I'm probably going to pass out any minute now…
Well, I should at least try to reply… I think…
"Yes… err… my name is Lewis White… could you, err, give me some help here?"
It was at that point that I noticed the wings on the back of the black lizard… wait, a dragon?! This is getting more ridiculous by the second…
"Lewis? Lewis White?"
Why does that voice sound familiar…? I swear it belongs to someone I know, but I can't place who… I'll have to ask…
"Do I know you?"
I have no idea who this is, but it can't be coincidence that I recognise that voice… can it? I normally believe in coincidence, but…
"Really? You don't recognise my voice?" I do, I just can't place it… "For goodness sake Lewis, what was it you said the night before I disappeared…? Something along the lines of 'Let me handle Hura for you' am I right?"
Hold on… the night before who disappe… But that is impossible!
"Thomas…?"
The black dragon nodded, and my brain decides it cannot handle it anymore. My legs give way, and I lose consciousness…
Sorry about the late upload. I'd also like to give a quick thanks to SnickerToodles for A. the review and advice he gave me, and B. for recommending Aimless by TheSilentInsomniac. If possible, have a read of the review SnickerToodles gave me, if only to laugh at the mistakes I've made. See you next time…