Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.

If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.

Enjoy

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~Chapter 9~
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While we were eating breakfast, with Spyro and Mal who followed us of course. I mean, neither of them were willing to let Cynder be on her own, even though technically she was with me. I guess they weren't willing to let me be on my own either with my paw how it is. Anyways, like I was saying, with Spyro and Mal, we went to the dining hall. Since Spyro had just come from their, he wasn't hungry. Mal on the other hand didn't seem hungry either, but he hadn't eaten yet.

But as we ate, we had a chance to talk with Sienna and little Ember. I just can't get past how cute Ember is. But anyways, we got to get to know them. I even told them about the Human Realm. Cynder also told her version of the story. Cynder's version sounded allot more fascinating than mine. I guess she saw wonder in what I usually take for granted.

Then again, they probably take the Dragon Realm for granted where I find wonder here.

"I still think that story is a little far fetched," Sienna said, "But I guess there's too much detail to just be fantasy."

"You knew about this world and made games about it?" Ember asked.

"Not exactly," Alec corrected, "In my world, this world is just a fantasy world made by video games. We didn't actually know this world existed. In fact, dragons are mythological creatures in my world."

"The guardians can even confirm that Alec is really a human," Spyro said, "He helped us save Mal here."

"Technically, I used the power that the dark dragon gave me when he tried to corrupt me," Alec said, "I guess I was too stubborn to let him fully corrupt my mind."

We all had gotten into the habit of calling the Dark Master Malefor simply as the 'dark dragon'. For starters, it helps to differentiate him from Mal, since Mal is technically Malefor. And secondly, it's been years since the Dark Master was heard from last. Even if you count the last time I was here nearly three years ago, that was still nearly three years ago. Many dragons now think of Malefor as the past. It's officially a historic event. So we chose to refer to him as if he was long forgotten.

"Don't forget you had my help to keep your mind in check," Mal said, making sure he got his credit, "You even did start to lose yourself, and you injured Cynder doing so."

"Well...I got caught up in the adrenaline rush," Alec said sheepishly, "It's not like I wanted to hurt her or anything. And besides, if I had truly lost myself fully, she could've been allot worse off. But can we change the subject now?"

I don't like that I had that moment where I lost myself. It's why I usually don't talk about that incident anyways. It's not that for that moment I lost myself to the darkness that I don't like. It's that I knew what I was doing, and I liked it. I refer to it as an adrenaline rush because that is how it felt, so I believe adrenaline had a fair part in it. But I won't try to make excuses. That adrenaline rush did allow for the darkness to corrupt me for that one moment.

"How about we talk about our dad," Sienna suggested. This got everyone a little tense. Everyone that is except for Ember. She had forgotten...again...that Ignitus was dead, "I do honestly want to talk about him."

Spyro had told us about how Cyril asked him to ask us to distract Sienna from the death of her father. And this was the complete opposite.

"I know Cyril doesn't want me thinking about our dad," Sienna said, "He thinks that's the reason why I haven't been eating. And to some extent, he may be right. But first off, it's only been one night. I would still need some time to get over that. Secondly, not talking about dad won't stop me from thinking of him."

"Why? What happened to daddy?" Ember asked cluelessly.

"I know Cyril means well. But he just doesn't know how to take care of children," Sienna said, choosing not to answer her little sister, "But the reason I haven't been eating isn't because of the news of my dad. I just haven't been feeling well since last night."

"Is it by any chance a feeling like you want to throw up?" Mal asked, receiving a nod from Sienna, "I think I have whatever it is you have. I haven't been feeling too good this morning either."

"If we're sick, should we be around Cynder right now?" Sienna asked, realizing the situation, "I think until we can confirm that whatever we have isn't contagious, or until we're feeling better, me and Mal should keep our distance from Cynder."

"She's got a point," Spyro said, "We wouldn't want something to happen to your eggs."

"Why didn't you tell Cyril that you weren't eating because you didn't feel well?" Alec asked.

"Like I said, he doesn't know how to take care of children," Sienna said, "And...I didn't want to worry him. But for now, I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

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Cyril was against the idea of eavesdropping. But he also wanted to know how things were working out so far without interfering. So he did what he was against and stood outside the dining hall to listen in.

"I know Cyril means well. But he just doesn't know how to take care of children," Cyril heard Sienna say. It was hurtful that Sienna thought that of him. But perhaps what was more hurtful was that it was true. What was Ignitus thinking making Cyril their godfather? "But the reason I haven't been eating isn't because of the news of my dad. I just haven't been feeling well since last night."

"Sienna's sick?" Cyril asked himself, "Maybe her illness is connected to her emotions." As much as he didn't want it to be true, Cyril seemed desperate to connect Sienna being sick to her father.

"Is it by any chance a feeling like you want to throw up?" Mal asked, receiving a nod from Sienna, "I think I have whatever it is you have. I haven't been feeling too good this morning either."

"If Sienna being sick is emotional, why would Mal have the same illness?" Cyril wondered.

"If we're sick, should we be around Cynder right now?" Sienna asked.

Cyril couldn't help but smile. Sienna seemed to have inherited Ignitus' wisdom.

"Why didn't you tell Cyril that you weren't eating because you didn't feel well?" Alec asked.

"Like I said, he doesn't know how to take care of children," Sienna said, "And...I didn't want to worry him."

"She has her father's wisdom and his caring nature," Cyril told himself, "If she really thinks I'm not fit to take care of her, it's obvious that she's been able to take care of Ember this entire time. Perhaps she could help me help them. Meanwhile, perhaps I should look into this illness that Sienna and Mal seem to have."

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Later that day, everyone was generally doing their own things. Mal and Sienna were keeping their distance from Cynder until they could figure out what's making them sick. For all they knew, it could just be a simple stomach bug. But better safe than sorry. Sienna hasn't even left the bathroom for several hours. She's been throwing up the entire time. Mal wasn't exactly as bad as Sienna. But he wasn't feeling too great either.

Cynder wasn't doing much. But only because the weight of her gravid belly made getting around difficult. Although she was curious as to why the weight of her belly seemed so much more obvious now. Maybe it's because she's used to relaxing more, so the recent activity was more blatant. Spyro was keeping an eye on Cynder as he always did. Though for some reason, he had a feeling that he needed to protect her from something.

Alec wasn't doing much because of his paw. But he was at the portal using the monitor to talk with his mom. He talked about how he officially got to know Sienna and Ember, and that they were Ignitus' children. He told her about how Sienna and Mal weren't feeling well. He talked about how he's getting to know his dragon senses that much more. It was still a strange sensation to him, noticing these new senses. But at least he understood what he was sensing...more or less.

Cyril was trying to get advice from the other guardians to see if they could help him to learn how to take care of Sienna and Ember. But neither of them had any experience either. All they could say was to trust his instincts.

But all in all, everyone was doing generally their own things. They were all blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

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Out in the city of Warfang, many dragons were active. Many parents were getting their children ready for the academy that was going to open at the temple. Some were out running errands. And some were just out enjoying the weather.

There was one dragon who seemed irritated. He was most likely a fire dragon, seeing as he had red scales. But the dark earthy shade to his scales made it possible that he was an earth dragon. Perhaps he was a hybrid or something.

The red dragon's irritation came from searching for his nephew. It was really annoying how much that kid got into trouble. Perhaps his trouble making had to do with the death of his parents, who were killed when Malefor attacked. And that's why he was sending his nephew to the academy. To learn discipline.

"I swear that hatchling will cause me to go insane," the red dragon said, "We're not here to play hide-and-seek! If you don't come out soon, then I'm just gonna have to leave you here!"

As the red dragon continued to search for his nephew, there was suddenly a commotion going on. This got his attention, thinking somehow his nephew was involved. But instead what he saw was a pack of wolves attacking. Now he was more desperate to find his nephew.

"Seriously, this is not the time to be playing games!"

Meanwhile, as the earthy red dragon looked for his nephew, a red dragon hatchling was in a bush. The hatchling desperately wanted to get to his uncle. But he was held in place being pinned down. He wanted to call out to his uncle, but a gray paw was holding his muzzle shut so that he couldn't call out.

"The more you struggle, the more you should realize how pointless it is to struggle," the hatchling's captor said, "You're using up all your strength to try to escape, yet I'm barely doing anything to keep you restrained."

The hatchling watched as his uncle went to look for him somewhere else. The hatchling released one more burst of energy to try to escape. When the escape attempt failed, the hatchling fell into despair as he realized he couldn't escape. Tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

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Elsewhere in Warfang, wolves were causing destruction. It was amazing how much destruction a pack of wolves could create. They had no elemental powers. And unlike the cheetahs, the wolves were quadrupedal. It must be a combination of their speed and their numbers.

"Somebody get the guardians!" one of the dragons who was fighting off the wolves called out, "They'll know what to do! Maybe the legendary purple dragon can help!"

Hearing this command, an electric dragon broke away from the battle and headed towards the temple. The electric dragon wasn't sure of what to think. All this was happening so fast that his brain couldn't catch up.

When the electric dragon was coming up to the temple, he came to a realization, "I could end up meeting the legendary purple dragon!" the electric dragon realized.

While he was distracted at the thought of meeting the dragon who defeated the Dark Master several years ago, he ended up flying into an earthy red dragon.

"Oh, sorry for running into you," the electric dragon said, "I was just a little distracted."

"No harm done I suppose. Though I suggest you look where you're going next time," the earthy red dragon said, "I must go now. I'm on my way to the temple to talk to the guardians about a wolf infestation."

"You're going to the guardians about the wolves too?" the electric dragon said in an increasingly hyperactive manner, "I just came from the market where several wolves are causing lots of damage."

"Since we're heading to the same destination, we might as well go together," the earthy red dragon said, "I'm worried though. I couldn't find my nephew. I didn't want to leave him alone like I did. But I needed help. He's probably just playing another one of his pranks again. But I'm worried with the arrival of these wolves."

"My name's Voltra by the way," the electric dragon said.

"You can call me Trai."

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As I was sitting by the portal...doing nothing, I started to feel something in the ground. I didn't know what it was. But I could sense that it wasn't good.

Alec was sensing something through the ground, a disruption in the natural flow of life energy. Alec then got up to go see the guardians to ask if they know anything. But as he got up, he was stopped by Cynder, "And just where do you think you're going?" Cynder asked sternly.

"I was going to go see the guardians," Alec said, "I...I sense something. And I don't think it's good."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until one of the guardians comes here," Cynder said, sitting Alec down.

But Alec couldn't shake the feeling that something's wrong, "No...I have to go talk to them," Alec said, getting back up.

"Sit down!" Cynder commanded, "Whatever it is can wait."

"And what if you're wrong?! What if it can't wait?!" Alec snapped, "What if this is something serious?! And what if waiting will end up putting you in harms way?! Don't forget, if you're in harm, your eggs are in harm!"

Cynder sat back down and let Alec go, partly because of what Alec said, and partly just because of the shock at what just happened.

Alec limped his way to the guardians' quarters as fast as he could. He needed answers.

After a harsh limping session, Alec got to the guardians' quarters. He knocked on the door, hoping one of the guardians was there. Alec would've hated to have to limp his way all around the temple looking for one of the guardians.

Alec waited...and waited...and waited. Apparently there was nobody there. As he was about to head back, Terrador came walking up to the door, "Alec, shouldn't you be off that paw?" Terrador said.

"I'm sorry. But I had to see one of you," Alec said, "Have you heard if anything's happening in Warfang?"

"Something happening?" Terrador questioned, "Like what?"

"I don't know. Just...anything!" Alec said, "I have a bad feeling that something's wrong."

"Well, we haven't heard anything," Terrador said, "You are still getting used to your new senses, right? Perhaps what your sensing is nothing important."

"I really hope you're right," Alec said.

Before they could change the subject, a couple of dragons, a fire dragon and an electric dragon, came running down the corridor.

"Somebody help us!" the electric dragon exclaimed, "There's a pack of wolves attacking Warfang!"

It seems that both Sienna and Mal have come down with something. I hope it's not serious. And the wolves have struck.

Please R&R.