Hey everyone! Not much else I can say but thanks to those who've reviewed and kept track of this story. Hope you enjoy this new chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spyro characters or games. They belong to their respective owners. I do own the characters Matt and Selema.
When he awoke the next morning, the first thing Matt thought to himself was that he'd had the best night of sleep in a long time. The bed on the Gummi Ship wasn't bad, but this one was just flat out more comfortable. After stretching himself out, he walked over to the water jug and splashed some water on his face. The sunlight shined brightly through his window.
Had it already been three days since he'd gotten here? Three days? Everything had happened so fast. It was truly hard to believe.
Matt then wondered whether or not to sprint to the ship and check to see if he had any messages...
I probably should…he thought. What if the King needs me?
Matt walked over to the door and opened it. He noticed on the other side that there was a note pinned to the side. It was addressed to him:
Meet us at the main hall for breakfast when you're ready. Spyro
As if on cue, Matt's stomach growled instantly. It had been a little while since he'd had a good meal. Eventually, he had to have something that wasn't from his backpack. While he wondered the halls of the Temple, Matt pondered over what kind of food that could be served in a place meant for dragons. He gulped hard at the idea and prayed that there would be something edible for him.
Soon, he found himself standing outside the door of the chamber that held Selema. He still hadn't seen or spoken to her since he'd revived her. As tempted as he was to find out, Matt decided that it was probably a good idea to just let his new friend rest. She'd been through a lot…and that was only from the day before.
After a few more minutes, Matt managed to find the main hall of the Temple where Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx were waiting for him.
"Hey, Matt," Spyro exclaimed. "Glad to see you could join us."
"Morning," Matt replied. "I just want to say now that whoever does the beds around here deserves a pay raise. It was like sleeping on a cloud last night."
"I agree," Cynder added. "After a couple nights sleeping on the ground, a nice comfy bed was more than helpful." She nuzzled up to Spyro. "Especially when you have someone there with you to snuggle with…"
Spyro chuckled. "I couldn't agree more…"
"Aww…," Sparx groaned. "C'mon…you two. Can you at least wait until after I eat before you get all cute. I'll lose my appetite."
Matt just smiled and shook his head at the comment. He followed his friends into what seemed like a large dining hall. In the center of the room was one long, wooden table that was only suspended a few feet above the ground. There were already plates set up for each of them, with a metal lid over each of them. A small bowl of water was also sitting in front of each tray.
What surprised Matt about this place was that there was much more room than there should have been. He had already known that the Temple itself could hold about fifty or so dragons…but for the moment there wasn't many dragons to put them there in the first place.
The two dragons and Sparx led him over to the table and they all sat down. Spyro explained that the Guardians already had eaten and were already back at the Pool of Visions trying to find out more about any other dragons that could be out there.
"Enough chat," Sparx exclaimed. "Let's eat!" He immediately threw off his lid to find several grubs and dead butterflies sitting on his plate. "Alright!" The dragonfly immediately dug in.
Spyro and Cynder also each removed their lids to find a huge chunk of meat sitting on their plates, along with some fruit. Matt saw a look of extreme hunger in their eyes and watched as they started tearing in to their meal as well.
The young human looked curiously at his tray. He gulped and picked it up slowly. Matt sighed in relief as he found two cooked eggs, a slab of meat, and several pieces of fruit as well. Unfortunately, there was something missing…
"Need something, Matt?" The young human turned to see Hunter the cheetah standing over him. He held a standard metal fork in one of his paws. "I have plenty of these if you'd like one."
Matt smiled and took the fork. "Thanks, Hunter. I forgot that you have opposable thumbs too." Spyro and Cynder smirked at him for a second before they continued eating. Hunter also sat down with the group and ate as well.
The meal was surprisingly very good in his opinion. He had been eating ship food for so long that he was surprised that he hadn't devoured his breakfast faster. Even the water tasted great for some reason.
During the meal, the group decided to brief Hunter on what happened during their mission to save Selema. The cheetah nodded in admiration over the fact that Matt had beaten a dozen apes with one attack.
"All of you young heroes cease to amaze me," Hunter exclaimed.
"Hey, don't forget me!" Sparx yelled. "I helped too! Tell him, kid!"
Matt rolled his eyes and admitted that Sparx had done his part to help him find Selema.
After they were all through eating, Matt decided to take the opportunity and check on his ship. He hadn't forgotten about the idea of a possible message waiting for him. "I'll be back in a little while!" he exclaimed.
"Ok," Spyro said. "Just don't go flying off on us!"
"I won't." Matt laughed. After bidding his friends goodbye for the moment, he walked through the door towards the main entrance.
Suddenly, he heard a strange noise to his left that he looked curiously towards. It was one of the moles, and he was carrying a large tray over his head that was about his size. Matt watched anxiously as the mole swayed back and forth to try and balance the tray on his small hands.
"Whoa," the mole said. "Oh boy….not good." His eyes widened in panic.
Out of instinct, Matt hurried over to the mole's aid. "Here, let me give you a hand." Bending over, he managed to take the tray off the struggling mole's hands.
The mole let out a sigh of relief. "Oh…thank you good sir. That thing is much heavier than it looks."
"It's no problem," Matt replied. "You looked like you needed some help."
The mole sighed. "You can't help who you are I suppose. Now if you don't mind, I have to get bring this meal to the new dragon's chamber pronto."
Matt's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, you mean Selema's room?"
"Yeah, that's her name! I heard the poor girl was in pretty bad shape. I was ordered to take this food to her room so she can get some strength back."
An idea suddenly formed in Matt's head. "I'll tell you what. How about I take this off your hands and bring it to her?"
The mole beamed up at him. "You'd really do that?"
"Sure, I was heading in that direction anyway. I can drop it off real quick and you don't have to risk spilling any of it."
"Oh, thank you young human. Spyro did say you were a good, kind soul. It seems he was right." He bid Matt farewell and hurried off back to the kitchens.
The young human quickly hurried in the direction of Selema's chamber. He stopped at the door before taking a deep breath. With one hand underneath the tray, he slowly opened the door. Peeking his head in, he quietly gasped at the sight.
The dragoness he had rescued was lying on the bed stomach down. From what he could tell, she was resting peacefully. Her breathing was still a little strained, but it was much better than it was the previous day. A few bandages rested on her body where the worst cuts had been before.
Matt sighed deeply in relief. It would be wrong to disturb her now. There would be time to talk later. As slowly and quietly as he could, he walked over to her bedside stand and firmly placed the tray on top.
"Sleep well," Matt whispered before he turned to leave. Before he went two steps, he was surprised to hear a small groan. He turned back to find Selema stirring a little, her eyes flickering a little.
Matt looked around the room and found a small stool handily sitting in a corner. He went over and grabbed it quickly and sat it next to the bed. He waited a few moments before Selema fully opened her eyes.
"Hey there," he said. "Welcome back."
Selema looked around the room for a few moments. "Where…where am I?" she asked weakly. "How did I get here?"
"It's alright. You're in a safe place," Matt replied. "We're far away from that camp now. You have nothing to fear."
Selema looked at him for a few moments. "I thought…I thought I was dead. How am I still…?"
Matt thought quickly with his choice of words. "Well, to put it simply, I dived in and pulled you out of the lake in time."
Selema could only stare at him. "But…how? How did you get past those things?"
Matt rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…I had to beat them all quickly…so I did." He paused. "Let's just say I'm pretty good with a Keyblade in my hand."
"I guess for a moment I thought I was saved." Selema's eyes drifted back to her pillow. "I really thought I was going to die…but you saved me." She paused and looked back at him. "Why? Why would you go so far for me? You've never even met me until that day."
Matt smiled. This was a little easier to answer. "Because…it was the right thing to do. I said I'd get you out of there…and whenever I make a promise to someone, I try my best to keep it."
Selema looked back at him with tears in her eyes. "I don't know how to thank you. I feel like I owe you something…"
"You don't owe me anything," Matt interrupted her. "You needed help."
"Still…there has to be something I could do in return."
Matt placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "How about this? You and I can be friends. That way we both win. What do you say?"
Selema nodded her head in acceptance. "I'd like that very much. Thank you."
They looked at each other for a few moments before Matt broke the silence. "So…," he said. "How are you feeling? Would you like something to eat?" He picked up the tray. "I brought you this…in case you were hungry at all."
Selema moaned a little. "I'm actually a little thirsty. Could…could I…?"
"No need to ask," Matt said. He walked over to the water jug on the table at Selema's bedpost and poured some into a bowl. He brought it over to her and she drank it all in a matter of seconds.
"Thanks," she said. "I really needed that."
"No problem," Matt replied. He took the lid of the tray to find a bowl of warm soup waiting for Selema. "You want some?"
Selema nodded in response. He placed the bowl next to her head. Slowly, but steadily, she drank her meal until there was nothing left. "I feel a lot better now."
"My pleasure," Matt replied back. "Why don't you go ahead and rest a little more? I bet you'll feel even better once you wake up."
Selema looked a little reluctant at first, but she nodded. "Alright," she said. Matt deduced she didn't want him to leave just yet.
"I'll come later on to check up on you if you'd like." Selema nodded eagerly in response. "Ok, then. Have a good sleep, Selema."
"I will," she said softly before she closed her eyes. Matt slowly walked out of the chamber while quietly shutting the door behind him. He then started for the Gummi Ship once more, a smile across his face.
After making the long trek to the ship, Matt stepped inside. Unfortunately, what he found was something unpleasant.
It seemed as though in his hurry to meet up with Spyro and the others on their mission, he'd forgotten to close the ship's door. Two small chipmunks had found their way inside and were now chewing on some of the ship's wires…
"Hey!" Matt yelled. "Get out of here! Shoo!" His booming voice drove off the two animals faster than ever. He went over to inspect the damage.
"Oh no…," he mumbled. The little rodents hadn't just bitten off one wire…they had bitten off at least a dozen of them! Matt quickly tried to start the ship up, but it wouldn't even make a sound. After several more attempts, he realized it was no use.
"Oh…crap…"
Hmm...there's a small little twist there. Is Matt stuck int he Dragon REalms for good? What else is in store for him and the others? Find out next chapter!
Peace out,
Biz
