Disclaimer: Cynder is property of whoever the hell owns the Spyro Franchise at this moment.

OC Disclaimer: Alex, Mera, Ferrosa, and the storyline of A Newcomer: Book 1 belongs to The Constitutionalist.

This chapter takes place in Chapters 24 and 25 of A Newcomer: Book 1 by The Constitutionalist.

Linkage: The Constitutionalist's story, A Newcomer: Book 1, is the original storyline, as Crushed Dreams is A Newcomer: Book 1, but from Rift's perspective. I'd recommend reading A Newcomer: Book 1 for the whole experience.

Thanks to The Constitutionalist for not only beta reading this story, but making sure it stays consistent with his.

This chapter switches from third-person, to Rift's point of view.


'I really hate water.' Rift groaned as the rain increased and lightning flashed across the skies. Mera was concerned with the storm, saying it was the work of a dragon. The more Rift thought about it, the more it made sense. The frequency of the lightning was more than nature could create. "Well, whomever's caused it," Rift interjected, "I'm going to kick their ass for it." The two dragonesses groaned at his comment.


Enter Rift's POV


A few minutes passed, and I looked down to see Mera just above the tree-line, but Alex wasn't with her. I grew nervous and questioned her. "Mera, where's Alex?" "What do you mean? He's on my ba… Shit!" Cynder was the first to the forest floor, Mera and I following. Reaching the bottom, my eyes widened. Alex was easily being owned by a yellow dragoness, about the same age as Cynder and Mera, a few years older than myself. Mera charged in front of the new dragoness and demanded she stop, surprising everyone that they knew each other.

With Mera helping Alex up, Cynder and I both waited for the others. Alex now standing, Mera introduced us to her old dragoness friend. "Cynder, Rift, this is Ferrosa, an old friend of mine." "I'm Cynder, Nice to meet you." Cynder added, myself following. "I'm Rift, It's a pleasure to meet you." Ferrosa giggled at my comment. "Nice to meet you all, Rift, you sound familiar." I was confused at her comment but shook it off.

Ferrosa ran to Alex to apologise while he made some comment about the rest of the group has attacked him, save for me. 'Nope, just dropped you 200 feet.' I still felt bad about that, but was distracted when Alex decided it was time to go, Ferrosa joining us. A few moments passed, and Alex broke the silence. "I'm gonna get some shuteye, try not to drop me." Mera chuckled, and I cringed. I was sure that he was just joking, but the fact that just yesterday I nearly killed him, started to wear on me. The pain in my chest returned, but just enough for me to remember it.

An hour passed, and I looked over at the sleeping Alex. I couldn't help but make a joke; "Lucky Alex, knows a dragoness for only a few days and he's already sleeping on her." Mera laughed, while Cynder smacked the back of my head. Ferrosa giggled, ready to respond. "Oh, honey, are you tired? Do I need to be your pillow?" Cynder and Mera burst out laughing, while my face reddened. "N-no, i-i'm f-fine." "It's alright, I don't think you would last anyways, little one." Cynder basically dropped out of the sky laughing, Mera noticing my growl of annoyance. She moved to Ferrosa, whispering back and fourth. Mera must have told her my story, as Ferrosa gasped and immediately apologised to me.

"It's alright, I just prefer not to talk about it yet." Cynder looked to me, concern in her eyes. "You know, I've never seen you eat. You should probably snag something before you have problems." "I'm fine, Cynder. Don't worry about me." In that instant, I suddenly felt dizzy. My body began shaking, and I felt my energy fading. "Give me a second, I need to grab a fish." I quickly grabbed a tasty salmon and rejoined the group. "I have to say, salmon tastes good if you haven't eaten in a week." The women all stared at me; "A Week!" Their shouts merged into one.

"The last meal I had was with my mate." The three looked away as we approached Warfang. Alex woke up as we reached the gate, where a five minute argument took place. Apparently, some people still thought Cynder was evil. The Cheetah guard let us through, though I couldn't help but slap the guard in the face with my tail blade. 'Now I know why Dragon's Claw and the cheetahs never worked together. They are more paranoid than I am.'

To say that the city was packed would be an understatement. I lost count on the number of times I wanted to just force people out of our way. Some people glanced at us while a large amount started thanking Cynder and then-good Spyro for defeating the former dark-master, further upsetting my friend. I growled the rest away as Alex went on a pessimist spree. 'Careful Alex, last time I did that, Cynder and Mera nearly castrated me.'

We entered the guardian temple, my curiosity peaked, pictures of former guardians lined the room. "I thought the temple would've been bigger on the inside," Ferrosa commented, Alex having a response. "There's a joke from my world that would apply in a moment like this…" Cynder smacked the back of his head. "...never mind then."

I brought my head near Alex and asked; "What was the joke anyway?" He whispered back, not knowing that Cynder could hear him. "The standing joke is, 'That's what she said', it's pretty funny when used correctly, makes a great innuendo." I chuckled; 'I'm so going to abuse the shit out of that joke.' "I'll do well to remember that."

Cynder led us to what she called the "Pool of Visions," the guardians awaiting us. Mera pointed out the guardians to me. Terrador, the green earth guardian and leader. Cyril, the blue, stuck-up, ice guardian. Last was Volteer, the yellow, long-winded guardian of electricity.

Cyril was the first to speak. "So, you've taken down one of Spyro's strongholds?" Alex responded. "Cynder, Mera, Rift and myself have dealt with it, yes." Cyril's gaze shifted to me. "I take it that you joined up with Alex, Cynder and Mera during the mission?" I looked back at the last few days and answered. "Circumstances changed for me, so I decided to join up with them, yes."

The meeting went on as the guardians, or Big-Ass Dragons (BAD), as I coined them, discussed research on curing the darkness in Alex and Spyro, when Ferrosa came in, and Alex deciding that we should form a task-force and bring the battle to Spyro. Alex and Cynder, being the original members of our group, were named the leaders.

Volteer looked at Mera, Ferrosa and I, asking if we would remain in the group. I was the first to respond. "I'll definitely be kicking some ape ass with Alex, he's proven to be one heck of a fighter." Mera also agreed, as did Ferrosa, although she seemed iffy at first. "Well," Cyril began, "I believe things are wrapped up and in order. The research team and construction crew will be with you two days from now, so tomorrow you can relax and rest up. You may be dismissed." As I was beginning to stretch my muscles, Cyril slipped a note in my direction. I opened the note and read the contents; "See us when you have time." I nodded at Cyril in acknowledgement.

Right as we were walking out, Terrador called out; "You should relax for the rest of the evening, there's the festival tonight!" Cynder explained the festival to Alex. I was reminded that Dragon's Claw held annual festivals. 'Fuck, I can't dance.' Back in the day, Kara would always try to get me on the dancefloor, but the thought of making a fool of myself kept me away, thus giving me no reason to learn.

Thanks to the moles, Alex was now wearing a shirt, much to the disappointment of Mera. Ferrosa caught on and started giving Alex crap about what he and Mera might do after the festival. Never in my life would I ever think Mera and Ferrosa were open minded, but it was obvious that both were willing to share the human. 'Wait a second, that giggle, those eyes, the name. It couldn't be...'


Flashback: Valley of Avalar, 2 years ago, 10:14 PM


Kara and I were laying on a hill, watching the stars, when she suddenly started talking about a long lost sister. "I was 5 at the time, my sister was 11. She had begged and begged to go on a solo hunt, and my parents finally let her. The problem was that she never returned." Tears fell from her cheeks as I gently licked them off. "Her name was Ferrosa, a yellow electric dragon that was unusually skilled in her element."


End Flashback


I shook my head, putting the puzzle together. 'I don't want to, but I need to tell Ferrosa everything. She seems occupied for now, so I'll talk to her at the festival.' I gulped; 'I just hope I don't have to dance."


A/N: I can see the future!

Rift: Don't mind the boss, he's tired. The last few weeks have brought back his imagination and he literally thinks about what to add in this story all night.

A/N: The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow is a simple question of weight ratios.

Rift: I guess it's hard to sleep when your mind is traveling at 5000 miles per hour. I might just tell him to take a break, he gets both sick, and weird when he's lacking sleep.

A/N: Rift, any luck getting laid?

Rift: And now I'm gonna kill him. Come here you bastard!

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