A rabbit hopped though the forest minding its own business with not a care in the world. It hopped its way to a nearby bush, and greedily helped itself to the wild berries that grew upon it. Unfortunately the little critters meal was cut short as an arrow sprang out from behind a nearby tree striking it dead. Once the rabbit ears hit the ground Hunter emerged from his cover, and swiftly scurried over to his catch afore any other random creature could come by and steal it away.
"That's four down." He boldly stated as he removed his arrow from the limp carcass, and proceeded to tie the little fella's feet onto his belt, which upon already hung three other rabbits. Once his catch of the day was secure he stood up, and started to head back to the campsite that he and his reptilian friends had chosen for the night. Along the way he noticed Spyro heading in the same direction, and the two dead dear carcasses he had boldly splayed out on his back. "Nice catch my friend." He said drawing Spyro's attention.
"Thanks. Looks like you didn't do too bad yourself Hunter." Spyro replied taking notice of the dead rabbits on Hunters belt. "I think we may have leftovers." He said with a cocky grin on his face.
"Indeed my friend you may be as good a hunter as me, and that is literally my name." The cheetah state while boasting about Spyro's hunting skills. "Tell me friend, how is it that you are so good."
"It's simple really. I've lived on my own in the wild for five years now. So I either had learn how to hunt or die of hunger." Spyro stated with a sense of pride in his voice.
"Now that's survival at its most basic level my friend." Hunter said in response, but then another question popped into his head. "I have another question for you if you don't mind." He stated, and Spyro agreed to hear it. "I don't doubt that you lost your memory Spyro, but what I'm wondering is how is it that you have such a high level of mastery over your elements?" The question seemed to confuse Spyro as Hunter could practically see smoke coming out of his head from trying to find an answer.
"I… I honestly don't know. It's really strange Hunter. I know things like umm… ah! That mushroom right over there can poison ten dragons." He said as he pointed out a rather funny looking piece of fungus that was covered in large orange dots. "And that these leaves here have some medicinal properties." He stated as he picked out a couple of green leaves from a bush that secreted a sticky substance. "It's really strange Hunter. I know these things, but… I can't remember how I know them." He said in a rather sad tone.
Sensing his friend's sadness Hunter firmly planted a hand on Spyro's shoulder, and that gesture alone was enough to perk him up a bit. "Don't worry Spyro; me and Cynder will do what we can to help."
***Meanwhile***
At the base of a vast river Cynder, Flame, Ember, and Crystal had just finished setting camp for the night, and they were all now waiting for Spyro and Hunter to return with the night's meal.
"Ancestors I'm starving." Flame cried out as his stomach rumbled loudly.
"Me two, we haven't eaten since we found Spyro, Hunter, and Crystal here four days ago." Ember stated agreeing with Flame.
"I'm sure they'll be back soon. In the meantime could you guys not mention how hungry you are? It's reminding me of how hungry I am right now." Cynder stated with a small smile even though her stomach made a growling sound that dwarfed flames.
"Gee Cynder you seem to be in a good mood for some reason." Ember stated with a knowing look in her eyes.
"Yeah that's true. Since we first set out you've kind of kept to yourself, but ever since that make out session with- OW!" Flame was cut off with a slap to the back of the head by Embers tail blade. "What was that for?!" He shouted at the pink dragoness who's only response was to point back towards Cynder.
Looking over Flame noticed that Cynder's face had gone almost turned as pink as Ember's as she blushed heavily. "W-We weren't making out. It was just a hug." Cynder stated trying to defend herself.
"Yeah, but if I hadn't coughed- OW!" Once again Ember was forced to knock some sense into her orange friend seeing as he clearly didn't learn his lesson the first time. "Alright fine I'll shut up." Flame mumbled in defeat.
The whole scene that had just taken place enticed an involuntary giggle from Crystal, Who had been acting like the quiet shy type since joining the group.
"D-Don't laugh! My pain isn't funny!" Flame shouted while rubbing the bump forming on the back of his head.
"I'm sorry." She apologized before breathing out a small chunk out ice and handing it to Flame.
"Thanks Crystal." Flame said as he held the chunk of ice up to the bump on the back of his head. "Did you really have to hit me so hard Ember?" He asked the pink dragoness with disdain, but only got a sly innocent look from her like she didn't do it.
It wasn't long after until Spyro and Hunter returned with dinner, and not long after the scent of cooking meat filled the nostrils of everyone nearby. While they waited everyone was sitting around talking amongst each other. Flame and Ember were talking to Crystal with the intent of getting to know her better, and Cynder and Hunter were busy telling Spyro about random events they shared when they were traveling together during the war hoping to jumpstart his memory.
"What about the time we saved Meadow from the grublins? After we saved him we had to grab a key from a crazy hermit, open a supply cave, and carry two heavy weights across a raging river to get a raft on the other side of the valley. Just because Chief Prowlus wouldn't have trusted if we went back to the village without him." Cynder stated giving a short version of what happened in Avalar, but it still didn't ring any bells for Spyro.
"I know that Prowlus can be a bit stubborn, but he was just doing what he thought was best for the village at the time. Though I am glad he finally saw reason, and that he finally decided that we couldn't just try and sit the war out anymore." Hunter said while thinking about his old chief. "You know I just realized something." Hunter stated while looking around the area.
"What." Both Spyro and Cynder asked in unison.
"We're pretty close to where Chief Prowlus and the other warriors of my tribe ambushed us." Hunter said with a bit of joy backing his worlds.
"That means we're in the valley of Avalar!" Cynder stated loudly. We could save a week's travel if we were to use the forbidden passage to get back to Warfang." Cynder stated loud enough for everyone to hear.
"That's great! I'm getting kind of tired from all this flying." Ember said as she stretched out her leathery wings.
"Come on Ember dragon were born to fly, but I would rather return home sooner than later if that were possible." Flame chimed in agreement with Ember.
"But why is it forbidden though?" Asked Crystal.
"Because that passage has so many twists and turns that countless souls have been lost. At first it was created as a secret escape route should Warfang fall, but over the years it was adapted and changed into a trap for the dark master's forces that were looking for a way past the cities walls. Only a select few knew the correct rout to take, but if you make just one wrong turn you could be lost in the dark forever. Eventually though far too many of our own kept getting lost so the last Chief before Prowlus had it sealed, and you can only get in with the current chief's permission, but unless you have a map or have gone through it before you still run the risk of getting lost." Hunter explained to the group.
"We went through it before so we should be able to find a way." Cynder stated with much confidence.
"Maybe, but just in case I'd ever had need to call upon it again I kept the map Prowlus gave me five years ago." Hunter said as he began rummaging through his pockets until he pulled out an old piece of wrinkled paper with various markings sketched on it. "Sadly though this map is useless to us, because without Prowlus's permission we wont even be able to enter it."
"Then I guess our next step is clear then." Spyro spoke up after taking everything he'd just heard in.
"We go to the cheetah village at first light, and we ask the chief for permission." Crystal stated surmising what Spyro was going to say next.
"Hey does anyone smell something burning?" Ember asked as a strange scent entered her nostrils.
"The meat!" Flame shouted as he and everyone else rushed to pull the deer and rabbit away from the fire before it was all burned.
***A bit later***
As the night drew on, and the others slept Spyro found himself unable. As he stayed awake staring at the charred wood that used to be a roaring fire; his felt mind begin to wander. The last few weeks had been a bit more eventful then what he was used to. He had rescued a wounded scout, fought those responsible, nearly lost a leg, and he'd learned more about his past then he'd ever hoped for. Hunter and Cynder had virtually told him his whole life story, but sadly though he still couldn't recall any of it. And then there were the things that they didn't know about him. Things he probably kept personal from them like, his most embarrassing secrets, or who was his first crush. It was those little details of his life that he missed the most.
The only things he could remember were the dream with the dragonfly; which according to Hunter and Cynder might have been a real memory, and those three words that used to ring in his ears. "I love you." The voice rang in his mind again. He was absolutely certain by now that it was Cynder's voice he heard, but every time he went to talk to her about it, or even when the mere thought came up in his head he'd freeze up for some reason, and he didn't know why.
Finally after he'd had enough of mulling over his own thoughts, he decided that a walk might help. As he got up though he failed to notice the stirring Crystal who opened her eyes just in time to see Spyro disappear into the thicket. As Spyro walked he became unaware of how far he'd gone, but when he finally decided to stop he found himself out of the woods and standing in a vast valley. There was green as far as the eye could see, various flowers, a raging river that diverged and rejoined itself around a small island, and at least two visible water falls.
"This must be Avalar." Spyro thought to himself as he looked around until he spotted a raft suspended above the river. Curious if that was the same raft Cynder mentioned earlier he flew over and landed on the other side of the river. "Yep these look like pressure pads." He said as he came up to the raft's release system. Remembering that Cynder mentioned weights he tried to imagine them on the pads. Vividly he then saw a small glowing orb on the pad directly in front of him, and looking to his left he saw a younger version of Cynder throw her weight on the pad in front of her. He then heard a loud splash and looked back to see the raft set sail down the river. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief, but when he opened them again the raft was still there suspended above the river and not floating in it.
"Couldn't you sleep Spyro?" Came a voice from behind nearly scaring Spyro into the raging river below.
Looking behind him Spyro instantly recognized who the voice belonged to. "Crystal, don't sneak up on me like that." He said as the scout took a seat next to him with a look on her face that virtually screamed sorry.
"That wasn't my intent. I was just curious as to where you were going." She explained.
"It's fine. I just went for a small walk. I… have a lot on my mind is all." Spyro stated. Looking back at Crystals face he could easily tell that she wanted to tell him something, but was keeping herself back for some reason. "Something on your mind?" He asked her.
Looking a bit nervous Crystal was still trying to decide whether or not she should say something, or if she should just just bite her tongue and keep quiet for now. Finally though after a few seconds of internal debate she took a deep breath and spoke. "Yes. It's the real reason why I volunteered to search for this mission Spyro. But it was a reason I didn't even know I had until about a week before the guardians asked for volunteers for this mission, so I'm still trying to figure out for myself if it's true or not. But I know; like you said that you have a lot on you mind, and the last thing I want to trouble you with is something that may or may not be true so… I'll just go." She said as she turned to leave, but Spyro stopped her determined to hear her out now that she's piqued his interest. "O-ok fine, but I think it would be easier to explain if I just told you a bit about myself first."
"That's ok with me." Spyro stated interested in the idea of getting to know crystal a bit better.
"Ok hear goes. I was born into a relatively poor family, and my parents couldn't afford to send me to the dragon temple eighteen years ago… so I guess you could say I was lucky. When the war started both my parents signed up just so that they could make money to make sure I had a roof over my head, b-but they never came back." She paused for a bit as a small tear ran down her cheek, and worriedly Spyro put a gentle paw on her shoulder. "It's ok… I'm fine now. Anyway… after that I was on my own, and after a while the money they saved up for me started to run low. So at the young age of sixteen I joined the Warfang guard like my father did. It's a relatively easy job; especially now that the war is over, and the pay is decent. I was placed directly under Master Cyril himself, and after a while he eventually took me in as his own. But one day he came to me with news that I never would have expected."
"What did he say?" Spyro asked with interest.
"He said that… that I wasn't my parent's only egg, and that they had sent the other egg to the guardians. At first I didn't believe him, but then I questioned why the other egg got to go and not me. Cyril's answer is something I'm still finding hard to believe, but he said that it was because the egg was special. He said it was because the egg was… Purple." She said while looking straight at Spyro's shocked face. He clearly knew what she was going to say next, but after admitting this much she decided to speak the whole truth. "Spyro… I'm you twin sister."
