Ezio awoke to find himself in a low roomed, well lit, stone cavern, with the sun shining in his face from the open wall in front of him. On the balcony stood two figures, whom on inspection, was Spyro, watching the sunrise, with Cynder by his side. The two stood stock motionless, like sentinel statues, standing guard until the end of time. He could feel Nova on his back, her steady breathing matching her heart rate. Eclipse also lay in her bowl, though she was alone, her broken wing still stretched out in an awkward position. Ezio also saw several dark figures on the far side of the tent fabric, all of which were hunched over a lone table. Ezio got up, and with a closer look around their room, found that several simple clean well woven linens were on a small shelf by the door way. He also saw a small alcove in the tent wall, which was a tiny area that served as a wash house, including a toilet recessed into the wall, yet he saw no shower. Ezio dressed in the new clothes, and found that they were superbly made, very soft, and yet strong at the same time, but simple and utilitarian, so that no corners could snag. Whoever had left them seemed to have notice that Ezio liked cargo pants and baggy shirts, for when he put them on, could almost swear he had just walked into a department store and bought the best shirt and pants he could find in his favorite sizes.
Ezio was also impressed by how well built the entire dwelling was. The construction of the tent was very firm, and he found that the thing was made through a method of double curvature, where the tent was anchored by two points instead of one, and never flapped or billowed with the wind, only swayed ever so slightly. He also found that the wires inside the fabric folds were part of the construction, and the fabric was simply anchored to the wire mesh, creating a tent that would never tear, nor could be torn. He also finally discovered the showers while admiring the building. It was rather distasteful he thought, as the showers were a mass design, and there was no discretion of gender in the area.
"Hang on a second, there isn't a female human, and the dragons don't seem to bother with covering up, so I guess it doesn't really make a difference." It was almost funny to him, but he decided to suppress the laugh, as it would only bring him teasing from the squadron. Especially Blaze. Ezio tested a nozzle by running the water over his hand, and found that there was a large supply of water in both hot and cold, and it never got unbearable in either direction.
"Man, what kind of madness have I gotten myself into?" Ezio asked himself, running his hand through his hair as he walked out of the bathing chamber. Spyro and Cynder were still standing out on the porch. Neither had moved a single inch.
"Why am I here? I could just go back home. Dad wouldn't accept me into the house, but I and Jeeves could easily find plenty of work. The economy has improved greatly in the past few years, and jobs are easy to find now. Why do we not say, 'It was fun, luck with living and all that Jazz.'?" Ezio stared down at Nova sleeping while he pondered the question. He never even heard Jeeves sneaking up behind them.
"I won't go back." Ezio whirled around, the dagger drawn from his sheath before he realized who it was. Jeeves just stared hard at him.
"Why not?" Ezio asked, sheathing the blade in the holster strapped to his calf.
"Because, even though they might not be humans, they are still good people. And they have one big problem. No matter how long they live, unless someone helps them, they will never be safe from humans." Jeeves said, looking out at Spyro and Cynder, "You might want to go back to your boring old life. But I won't leave those who could use my help." He started to walk out to the balcony, but he paused, and looked back, a smile on his face, "Besides, this sounds like more fun than I have ever possibly dreamed of having, don't you think so?"
Jeeves walked out to stand next to Spyro. Spyro showed no signs of even knowing that Jeeves was there, he just continued to stare out into the distant sunrise. Ezio scratched his chin, deep in thought, then turned towards the recreation room. He passed over the threshold, and a sneering voice brought him back to reality.
"Ah sleeping beauty awakes. How was your night honey?" Blaze said, smiling over the bowl of pudding he was enjoying, spoon in his paw.
"Shut up. And how the heck do you know how too use a spoon? Come to think of it, you guys know a lot of stuff you shouldn't. Shoot, you guys know English!" Ezio said, sitting down and helping himself to a lemon poppy seed muffin. Whoever had made it was an excellent cook. His mother had always made lemon muffins before she had died, and it almost tasted exactly the same. The thought almost brought tears to his eyes, but he forced the thought away, and enjoyed his breakfast, and its delicious taste.
Quake answered the question from the far side of the table, his cheeks full with ripe fruit, "We knowth a loth of thing we thouldn', if you puth ith lith thath."
"Huh?" Ezio said, half confused by the earth dragons muffled words.
"What he means." Frost answered looking up from her yogurt, "Is that many of the things we developed, including our language, was passed onto humans when they arrived on earth. And what you're thinking of 'Arrived' isn't what I mean. Humans arrived by what some would consider an asteroid, but it was much bigger than that. Your ancient planet had been destroyed, quite similar to ours, and if I understand Needlefoot right, we felt pity for them, because we knew what they had been through. And we also found out how fast they multiplied. If you ask me, we made the wrong choice."
"Frost?" Thunder said in a low tone.
"Humans should have been whipped to extinction as soon as we saw them." There was a sharp collective intake of breath around the table, and Ezio growled in a low voice.
"And why do you say that?" Ezio challenged in a dangerous tone.
"Look around you. We dragons strive for existence at the edge of a crumbling society. And you know that if humans discovered us that would be it. We would be all dead; it would only be a matter of time. You humans seem to think that superior species as a plague on the earth, when you are the ones who are parasites!" Frost said, almost laughing at the look on Ezio's face. None of them noticed Blaze shrink back, his head dipping below the table, and his tail slithering out of sight.
"Perhaps it is the superior species that is a plague. Maybe their arrogance hides it from them." Ezio countered, and there was an outraged roar from the far end of the table, as Quake stood up. Thunder kept his peace, but his eyes narrowed maliciously.
"You dare say that we are the invaders!?" Frost said, pointing a claw at Ezio, in an almost drama like effect. Ezio would have laughed at the scene before him if he hadn't been threatened right now by three dangerous dragons. He might be able to take one if he were properly equipped, but against three with only a dagger? Impossible.
"No, I'm just saying that you're a hypocrite. You say that we cannot take another species? It seems like you can't either." Frost dropped her jaw at this statement, and Quake stopped himself, lowering into a half sitting position. Frost however, tensed herself. She was cornered, and she knew it.
Careful Ezio. Even one could be a danger to you. Especially Frost.
Ezio noticed a very dark shadow behind the tent fabric, and he knew someone was listening in. Frost lowered herself to the ground, but Quakes voice brought her back from the edge.
"Frost, don't you dare! Spyro would kill you personally! He would treat it as if you had killed me!" Quake said, his deep baritone ringing throughout the room. Frost glanced at him, but relaxed, and spun on her toes, walking with a stiff back and her nose held high, as if they were all below her.
Ezio let out a long slow whistle, "I thought she really would kill me."
Blaze walked back in again, this time with Spyro in tow, but they both stopped in their tracks upon seeing Ezio eating his muffin with an air of amusement.
"What just happened?" Blaze asked, and Thunder burst out laughing, surprising them all.
"None of you get it?" all of them shook their heads except Ezio, and Thunder continued, "He played Frost at her own game. You didn't mean a single word of it did you?"
"Not a syllable. If I had, then I think you might have killed me yourself." Ezio said, smiling.
"Ezio acted as if he hated us, and Frost bought it. You certainly gave her something to think about. If you really thought about us like that, then I doubt you would have helped us at all." Thunder burst out laughing again, "All my years in the squadron, and I've never seen her so miffed. Spyro, if he gets out of this alive, then he deserves a medal, cause he cured Frost of her arrogance."
Spyro chuckled, "Cyril, the previous Ice Guardian was a bighead too. It only seems fitting that his successor should be as well. Even still, Cyril's was tolerable, but Frost's needs to be cured before she says the wrong thing. Ezio, if you get out of this, you will indeed be in my debt."
"I'm already in your debt, but I appreciate it." Spyro laughed at that, but nodded. Quake still looked a bit angry, and Blaze looked down right confused, but Spyro spoke up.
"Anyone who actually makes a threat against Ezio or any of his race will be considered an enemy of mine, and be treated as such."
"Well she never actually threatened me. She just greatly insulted the general human race." Ezio said, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Then she will get an earful." Spyro said, frowning. Blaze grimaced.
"Death by lecture. Tragic." Blaze said, looking at Quake, who rolled his eyes. Decibel shouted from the outside then.
"HAIL ALPHA SQUADRON!" He thundered, his voice echoing off the little alcove their dwelling was recessed into.
"Damnit! Nearly blew out my ears!" Blaze murmured, rubbing at his skull. Ezio heard Nova wake up, screaming.
"Oh my god! They dropped the bombs!" and then Eclipse woke with a slight scream, being woken by Nova's exclamations. Nova ripped through the flap seconds later, and brought her tail point up to Decibels throat, quivering at the spot under his chin.
"Nova!" Ezio tackled her to the ground. When Nova still struggled, with Blaze laughing his head off at the side, Ezio grabbed Nova by the horn, and brought his fist down on Nova's head, pistol whipping her into sub-consciousness. Blaze was still chuckling to himself as Ezio grabbed a small pitcher on the table and dumped the water out on the dragoness's head.
"Huh? OW! Why does my head hurt so much?" Nova said, rubbing the back of her skull. Blaze went into hysterics again.
"Wh – who dropped the bombs, Nova?" he laughed.
"Wha? How could you possibly know what I was dreaming?" Nova said, rubbing her head as Ezio knelt down beside her and checked the contact point. There was a little purple bruise, but nothing more.
"Because you went into hysterics and acted as if decibel here was the bomb." Blaze acted as if he was crest fallen.
"Awe, but I thought I was da bomb." And Quake actually laughed this time, with Spyro joining in.
"I'm assuming Nova, that I might have been too loud."
"You could say that again." Blaze smirked.
"Well if you want, I could – "
"NO!" they answered in unison.
Fifteen minutes later, the tent was a flurry of activity. Decibels first question had been whether they were ready for an audience with Ignitus. When Spyro had mentioned that some of them had broken limbs and wished to recover, Decibel had grabbed a medic and attended to their injuries immediately. It seemed as if Eclipse had settled down at least, and the rest of the dragons all seemed to finally be at ease. Decibel had also mentioned a tour through the village, although what was considered to be a village was now starting to grow into a city, from what Ezio heard.
"How many inhabitants are there?" He asked out of curiosity. Decibel answered enthusiastically, he seemed to enjoy his job, and he knew a ton about the city itself, seeing as he had lived there all his life.
"Over thirty thousand. But most of them live throughout the gorge system. Our city stretches for many miles, and we are not the only one of our type. Too the far east is the grand city of New Hvadia one of the old ancient cities, which is almost as old as Warfang. And to the far west is the city of New Ascari, which is newer than Warfang, but has just as much history. By tradition, the largest city is named Warfang, although that's only according to Ignitus. Our city is in the lead by over three thousand now, which may not seem like a lot, but it's a huge amount in our terms. New Hvadia is led by Volteer's ancestor, whom goes by the name of Nobel. He is a very powerful electrical dragon, and has led us to victory in many fine battles. His tactical knowledge is even greater than Ignitus's. New Ascari is led by one of Terrador's mighty ancestors, whom goes by the name of Goliath. He is indeed a monster of a dragon, easily towering over two stories in height." Decibel finished his lengthy tail, gesturing for the other dragons to follow him. They all squinted as the early morning sun shown in their eyes.
"Holy shamoly! That's a big ass dragon!" Blaze said. Decibel sniffed, but didn't comment. Spyro seemed lost in thought though.
"I had no idea that the Guardians had had mates at one point." Spyro said, drawing abreast of Decibel. The grey dragon nodded.
"All except Ignitus. It was customary for dragons too stay part of the Guardianship for a set amount of time, after which they could leave, and raise a family, or stay with the current course, and raise a new generation. If there were no dragons in the Guardianship at the time, then the Chronicler would train them. However, in ancient days, before the wars with Malefor, it was customary to have many different guardians, one for each element. The four main ones you know are a very small portion. You have proved this with the elements of shadow and light. I am also living proof, as my great grandfather was the grandson of the last Audio Guardian. His name was Shockwave. But he was killed in the planetary wide destruction. Besides Terrador and Volteer, Cyril also had a child, whom is with us today." Decibel peered back at Frost, whom snapped out of her quiet contemplation. She gave an Icy cold stare and dived back into her thoughts.
"Frost is the daughter of a guardian?" Eclipse whispered to Spyro. Spyro only nodded ever so slightly. Eclipse muttered something along the lines of 'Kinda fits' but didn't say anything else. Decibel showed them many sights in New Warfang, including the great library the moles had dug underground and the massive stargazer pavilion they had built as well, for astral sightseeing. The telescope there was the largest he had ever heard of. Decibels voice echoed off the chamber walls as he spoke.
"Over 82 feet across each lens. Because of the magical properties Ignitus himself imbued in it, it adjusts automatically for the refraction of the atmosphere. And it can see as far as 800 billion light years, which is insanely good for an earth bound telescope." Decibel commented. Ezio couldn't wait to get some snapshots of far off galaxies that were just going through the very first stages of life.
When lunch time came around, the dragons ate in a large pavilion. Decibel proved that his mouth was good for more than talking, as he ate twice as much as any of the dragons. All the while, many creatures came forward and greeted them. Some were friendly, and some were not. One dragon even came up and greeted Spyro and Cynder, but when Blaze asked him who he was, the dragon point blank refused to say anything too him. His coloration was different than most dragons, being a bright sickly acid green, with black stripes running down his legs and the spine of his back. The frills on his neck and hips where the same color as the stripes, but they had perfect holes in them, as if there was something bubbling up from his body. His tail spade consisted of the same type of frills, although on closer inspection, when he took off, all the frills, including his tail spade remained rigid, and Ezio realized they were stiffened. Before he left however, the dragon may have been rude to the other guardians, but he had been downright mean to Ezio and Jeeves. He had slapped the both of them upside the head, but when Spyro jumped up and challenged him about it, he simply said in a sickly smooth voice, almost as if sludge were flowing, "I didn't see the monkey's, my bad." And then he flew away. Ezio almost preferred Frost over this dragon.
"I apologize for Hydro's behavior. You can't blame him though. He was mistreated by the Russian government for a number of years." Decibel said, ushering Spyro to sit back down, "Some humans accept us, while others can be downright nasty. Especially some of the governments, they think of us as visitors from another planet, and they run experiments whenever they get the chance.
"Lousy untruthful greedy creeps!" Ezio said under his breath. Frost gave him a strange look, but said nothing else.
As far as Ezio was concerned, his day had been excellent, even with the rudeness. He could take insults, so in his book, it was a good day. The weather was warm and his stomach was full, and for the time being, he could stop running, and had a minimal amount of things to worry about. He slept next too Nova again that night, his back against hers and the sounds of the ocean lulling him to sleep.
Ezio felt movement in the bowl, and opened his eyes a crack, expecting blinding sunlight again. All he saw was a bright moon over a calm glassy ocean in the background, and one lone figure out on the balcony. Nova stood there, her golden body in stark contrast to the night time sky. Ezio got up, rubbing sleep from his eyes and went out to join her. He leaned up against the rail next to her, and spoke softly.
"So what was that whole ordeal this morning?" Ezio inquired, looking back into the dark room.
"Hmm? What'r you talking about?" Nova asked, looking in his direction.
"Nova, I haven't known you for long, but even still, I know you more than any of the other dragons. And the fact that I was the one to rescue you, and I called your bluff that night means that I know when you're lying to me. You are so convincing at it, but whenever I get the feeling that your so convincing that it's without a doubt true is when I know your lying to me, cause your just that damn good. Now what's bothering you?" Ezio said, looking at her. She turned back to the ocean, peering at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You got me. Ezio, I'm sure Eclipse has told you some of the stories of our squadron correct?" Nova said solemnly.
"Of course, ever member has a story. But it always seems to be sad." Ezio said, scratching his chin.
"She knows everyone's story except mine, and she's got the truth right, more or less. However, she doesn't know mine, because you're right, I'm just that damn good. Ezio, we all have stories. Even Spyro and Cynder, though they have each other. Shoot everyone has someone. Eclipse has Thunder, whom she can read exceedingly well, even though he's tough to read for the rest of us. Quake and Blaze have each other as friends, because of their exceedingly different personalities."
"What about Frost?" Ezio said, looking at the blue dragoness in her sleep. Despite the hatred towards him, he knew it was magnified by Frost's icy personality. She really did hate his race, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she didn't hate him as a person. He genuinely felt concern for her.
"She has herself. Frost has learned to cope with life as a lone wolf, and even though she is part of the Squadron, she still prefers to work alone. It is her choice though, and even though we all know she needs someone, she is happy where she is. And I get the feeling that Blaze and Quake would redily support her if she ever needed it."
"I find that hard to believe."
"She has hardened her exterior shell. Ezio, if you truly knew her, then you'll know when she gets angry. And you'll also know when she is content, because she will talk far more. Let her go for now. She'll come 'round later, I promise, and I get the feeling she will be far less hostile."
"OK, so what about you?"
"I'm a damn good liar."
"OK, so what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means what you get on the outside isn't what you would see on the inside."
And with that, the light dragoness took off into the night, her brilliant colors fading as the shadows enveloped her. Before long, Ezio was alone on the porch, staring out after her.
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that she has no one." Spyro came up behind him, "Sorry, was thirsty."
"For what? Cynder, or some water."
"You're going a bit far, Ezio." Ezio was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry you're right. I guess I have a bit more too worry about than I thought. My mind is a bit confused right now. What do you mean by she has no one?" Ezio asked. Spyro titlted his head back and coughed, shooting an ice spike straight up in the air. It flew up, hung for a moment, then fell back down along its original flight path. Spyro waited till it was within range, then quietly breathed a stream of fire over it, melting it in midair, and then stretch his mouth wide, opening his throat to allow the water mass to slide right down.
"OK, I'm sorry, but that is kinda cool." Ezio commented. Spyro grinned rather sheepishly.
"She has no one, as in no one is there to support her. Ezio, she is one of the few people who knows the right thing to say in almost every situation. However, when she needs some support herself, no one, ever is there for her. Any of us would be glad to help, but we can't. She won't let us into her past. I know of it, but that's only out of necessity, and I won't even speak of it until she gives me permission. What she needs right now is a friend to be there for her. Not someone to pry into her life, but to just say, 'I don't care who you are, or what's happened in your life, I'm just a friend for you, and I'm here for you when you need me.' That kind of friend. Not someone to ask why do you feel so bad?"
"I didn't know. Why not one of you though. You've known her far longer than I have." Ezio said, picking up a water pitcher on the table and consuming the liquid the normal way.
"We've known Nova the solar guardian not Nova the young Dragoness with a painful history. You seem to know the most about her, despite the fact that you only have known her for three weeks. Shoot, you've gotten her too smile!" Spyro exclaimed, pacing along the deck.
"Wait you never saw Nova smile before you came to this age?" Ezio asked, skeptical.
"Never."
"Didn't you think something was funny?" Ezio said.
"I knew something was funny! I'm not only the right person to say anything about it, but I also don't know what to say! Besides, she was the one that helped with Cynder the most." Spyro said, hanging his head, "We had other things to worry about anyways, like staying alive. The few weeks before planetary destruction, we had been fighting constantly, and I do mean constantly. All three cities were under siege, with no end in sight. Then all of a sudden, the planet begins to crack apart from one of Malefor's attacks, and we knew then that most of the planet was dead. So we ran, hoping to fight another day. Malefor caught up to us while we were escaping, and Nova fought him. The moment you found Nova on the side of the road, and held her body in your hands was the moment our planet was destroyed. There's a reason for this though, something that has to do with the purple dragon I'm sure. But right now isn't the time to worry about it."
"What happened with Cynder?"
"The one she loved betrayed her and left her. He hurt her more than any physical wound could. She nearly committed suicide, though I only found out just recently. Nova was the one who kept her from doing so. I owe her everything."
"Hmm, I'd like to get my hands on the one who hurt her so. No dragon should be made to suffer like that."
"Oh , trust me Ezio, I'd like to punish the wrongdoer as well, but he did what he did to keep her safe. He found out later that it didn't work so well, and he has made amends."
"Wait, I thought almost everyone died?"
"Ummm." Spyro looked a bit awkward.
"No way! It was you? OF course! Why didn't I see it? It was that rule, wasn't it? Something about not carrying out a relationship, because of focus on the battlefield?" Ezio's eyes widened.
"Yes, it was me." Spyro sighed, "You see now why I say I'm not the right one. I nearly killed the one I loved, what would I do to a person I know nothing about?" Spyro said, rubbing his temple, "Also, we see the effect that that rule has had on the squadron." Spyro peered inside the pavilion at Eclipse and Thunder, who was again curled around each other, thunders muscles raising and falling in tempo with his breathing.
"What are you going to do about the rule?"
"Well I can't revoke it, for fear of looking selfish. I can however, work around it. I'm thinking up a plan, but it's taking a bit. We should know in a few weeks what happens, when I make an announcement."
"OK, so why are you telling me this?"
"Because, Ezio, I trust you. Not only that, but if anyone can console Nova, it's you. She has had a very rough past, and the last thing she needs is someone bringing it up again. She'll talk about it soon, but she'll do so when she feels ready. In the meantime, what I think she needs is someone to just be her friend. Least I can figure out that much."
"I shall do my best, Spyro. I'm honored that you trust me so." Ezio said, turning back to the ocean.
"Thank you, Ezio. That's all I ask." Spyro turned back to go inside.
Ezio stood at the rail for a moment, before turning back to the darkened room and whispering.
"Spyro?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm gonna go and see her now."
"Be careful."
And with that, Ezio grabbed his sandals and slipped into the shadows of the wall, quietly padding along.
