A/N: I'm alive! I think. Yeah, I've been really lazy the last week, but here's another one shot. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, it's greatly appreciated.

Shadows

Spyro, stop!

That voice…so fragile…so afraid. Where had it come from? Who had it come from? He couldn't remember anymore, and as he tried in vain to reach out to those faded memories they slipped away like tendrils of mist between his claws. His head was full of static noise, a deafening roar like that of water falling from a great height to crash upon jagged stones below.

He couldn't see. His vision was filled with light and shadow, clashing and waring before him, twisting into haunting shapes. Desperately he struggled in the hold of something that held him, like a bird trapped in a predator's grip. But he could not break free. He was drowning in shadow…suffocating in light.

I…I can't…

That voice, so frail and weak; was it his own? He had not felt himself speak, but the words had tumbled forth nonetheless. For a second the claws that held him loosened, and the shadows that obscured his vision faded—but only for an instant. Then it tightened again, around his squirming body, and the darkness enclosed.

But in that instant he'd almost broken free, he'd seen something through the shadows. A pair of terrified, green eyes. He knew those eyes. But who did they belong to? His memory flickered and waned in the inescapable grip of whatever it was that held him captive.

Something collided with his body, so suddenly that he was wrenched from his prison with violent force. His body struck cold stone and he laid stunned, shadows and light receding from his vision. The deafening roar inside his head had stopped, and he opened painfully dry eyes. Shapes blurred and focused before him, until he found himself staring at a familiar figure.

Words tumbled from his tongue, excuses and apologies. A feeling of utmost shame had wormed its way into his heart, and he could not shift it. He felt so very weak, so very ashamed. But the figure before him smiled and offered only soothing words.

Forgiveness.

"You're ok, Spyro. You're with friends."