AN: Not much to say here except I want to say thanks for all the views and reviews.
The four dragons flew through the sky over Warfang. It was already long past midnight. The dragons were all tired from the exhausting events that had preceded the flight back to the dragon city, and everyone was relieved when Spyro, who was leading them, dropped down towards the guardian's house. The purple dragon landed heavily on the balcony with a thud. Three other dragons landed behind him with equal speed. Together they stepped inside the house.
The dragons slowly walked across the room. While they walked Sparx sped across the room and face planted into a pillow. The dragonfly began to snore almost before he landed. All of the dragons had wounds that were in need of nursing, but none of them cared. If they had survived this long they all figured they could wait until morning. Spyro fell face first on a large pillow not even caring to make himself comfortable. He felt Cynder lay down next to him. As soon as he heard her steady breathing he let go of his worries and fell asleep.
Azshea and Aegis stared at the two sleeping dragons for a moment before looking at each other awkwardly. Azshea quickly turned and went off to her own pillow leaving Aegis to stand alone in the room. The golden scaled dragon looked around the room. Even though his fatigue was overcoming him he insisted on inspecting the new location to make sure no harm could come to him or the others. As Aegis' eyes slowly shifted around the room he noted a large earth dragon standing on the stairs that he assumed went to the first floor. The green dragon was staring at him, and it appeared as though he was trying to identify the golden dragon. Aegis dropped to a fighting stance, but his body was sluggish and he heard the green dragon chuckle.
Terrodar just shook his head and walked back down the stairs. He had seen Aegis come in with the other dragons and figured he was no harm. The earth dragon knew he could deal with the new visitor in the morning.
Aegis watched the adult go. After Terrodar had left his eyesight the dragon tried to stand up straight again, to his surprise that his muscles would not even respond. The golden dragon suddenly collapsed onto the floor, his fatigue forcing him into a deep sleep.
Over on the other end of the room Azshea chuckled slightly as she watched the scene play out. The dragoness had wanted to make sure that Aegis actually slept, instead of running off by himself. She didn't know why but she could see the dragon leaving to find Reave on his own. Out of kindness the dragoness rose up slowly and walked over to the unconscious dragon. Her bones and muscles ached as she picked up the dragon and slowly moved him over to a nearby pillow. As she set the dragon down she turned to go back to her own spot. For some unknown reason the dragoness felt herself sway. Azshea's legs buckled and she fell down onto the pillow next to Aegis. Once she landed she immediately fell asleep unable to keep her eyes open any longer.
The morning sun shone brightly through the window on the second floor of the house where the four dragons slept peacefully. The light slowly crawled across the stone floor as time passed. The bright rays eventually reached Spyro and Cynder. The black dragoness felt the warming sunlight on her skin. Her eyes opened lazily and as they adjusted to the ever brightening room she saw Spyro lying in front of her. She sighed with satisfaction at being so close to the dragon. The dragoness after a few moments of waking up slowly brought her forearms under her and lifted herself up to a sitting position on the pillow. The dragoness stretched her neck and turned her head getting rid of the kinks. As she ended the movement she could see across the room.
The dragoness gave a little gasp when she saw Aegis and Azshea lying on a nearby pillow. Her gasp woke up Spyro who gave a small snort, at being disturbed. He quickly rose up to a sitting position. "What-
Cynder put a paw up to his mouth to silence him. The purple dragon looked at her curiously. Cynder moved her paw and pointed to the two sleeping dragons. Spyro's eyes followed her claw and when he registered what was going on he turned back to Cynder quickly with wide eyes.
"What did we miss last night?" He whispered so he wouldn't wake the slumbering dragons.
"I don't know. I fell asleep right as you did." Cynder said still staring at the two.
"I can't see Aegis…" Spyro trailed off not knowing how to finish.
"Yeah, I don't know." Cynder said blankly.
"Hey what are you two babbling about over there? Some of us are trying to sleep you know." Sparx said groggily. The dragonfly had just woken up and was looking at the two with tired eyes.
Spyro and Cynder turned to look at the dragonfly. Upon hearing his loud voice both of the dragons shook their heads and tried to quiet him. Sparx looked at them suspiciously before scanning the room. He then noticed the two, still sleeping dragons.
The dragonfly's jaw dropped. "Whoa! When did this happen? I must have missed out on something because this isn't right!" While the dragonfly spewed out more comments about the odd situation, Azshea and Aegis woke up.
"Follow my lead." Sparx said mischievously and Spyro and Cynder nodded giving him a small smile.
The red dragoness stretched slowly and looked over to the dragons with sleepy eyes. When she saw their questioning stares she looked at them quizzically. The two dragons said nothing as they watched Aegis slowly get up and yawn loudly. Azshea turned her head to look at Aegis. Realizing where she was at the dragoness snapped her head back and forth between the golden scaled dragon and Spyro and Cynder her face growing hot.
"What the…" Aegis trailed off as he noted where he was and who was next to him. Azshea twitched slightly when she heard his voice and quickly jumped off the pillow and backed away from the dragons. Spyro, Cynder, and Aegis fixed her with questioning stares.
"Uh…" Aegis said fumbling for his words but never found any. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the floor. When he had woken up though he was on a pillow, and Azshea was next to him. The dragon was confused but decided to remain silent for the moment.
"So Azshea, anything happen last night?" Sparx asked making Spyro and Cynder grin all the wider.
"N-no I-I was just…I didn't…" The dragoness fumbled for words trying to explain what had happened. In the back of her mind she knew that even if she did explain it they probably wouldn't believe her story. The dragoness looked to Aegis for some sort of help but the golden dragon was looking to her for answers.
"Aegis how about you do you want to explain to us what happened?" Spyro asked figuring that Azshea would take a while with her words.
"I fell asleep on the ground. I don't know what happened after that." The dragon said eyeing the ground while he talked.
"Which leads us back to you Azshea." Cynder said smiling at the nervous dragoness.
"I saw him pass out." Azshea said pointing to Aegis. "and I moved him onto a pillow." The dragoness explained quickly.
"Then you conveniently fell asleep right next to him." Sparx pointed out making the dragoness' cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. Luckily her crimson scales covered the color making it hard to notice.
"Look I don't know what to say. I didn't mean to do this, it just happened." The dragoness said hanging her head in futility.
"So you're admitting that you did it on purpose?" Spyro asked.
"I-I…" The dragoness looked over to Aegis but he made no move to help her. "Yes, I guess." She finally said.
Spyro and Cynder laughed. "It's okay Azshea we believe your story."
"What? Really?" The dragoness asked looking to the dragons hopefully.
"Yeah, we were just messing with you." Cynder laughed. "Why would you do that after just meeting Aegis anyway?" Cynder said chuckling at her own question.
"Yeah." The dragoness said trailing off and drifting into her own thoughts. The dragoness didn't know what to think anymore. All of the insinuating, made her think about what had just happened. Aegis would have been fine but the dragoness had decided to move him anyway. Azshea pushed the thoughts from her mind as she looked up at Aegis. The golden scaled dragon gave an understanding nod and even a small smile. The gesture only confused the dragoness even more but she didn't have time to think about it as she saw her mother enter the room.
Everyone immediately quieted and looked to the adult fire dragoness. Ashe fumed angrily as she stared at Azshea. She exhaled large streams of fire from her nostrils. Sparx flew over to hover above Spyro as the hot fire threatened to incinerate him.
"Hey watch the fire lady!" Sparx said angrily.
Ashe's head whirled around to stare at the small dragonfly who was now regretting his words. The dragoness glared before opening her mouth to let loose a wave of fire. Spyro and Cynder were caught off guard and hadn't expected an attack. Luckily, Azshea was close enough to the group to react. Azshea slid in front of the dragons and spat fire. The two bursts fizzled out between the two dragons.
"What are you doing mom?" Azshea growled.
"Mom?" Aegis asked momentarily put off guard by the term. In that moment Ashe whipped around her tail slamming Aegis and sending him tumbling across the floor.
"You all took her from me. What you were thinking I'll never know, but my daughter stays with me. She is far above your kind!" The dragoness scathed.
"Ashe what are you talking about?" Azshea asked as she rushed to help a stunned Aegis to his feet.
"You do not belong here Azshea, you must come with me!" The dragoness said.
"No, I came here of my own free will, and I intend to stay until the job is done!" The crimson dragoness retorted.
"Then I have no choice, you will come with me one way or another." The adult dragoness said calmly. Ashe advanced slowly across the room towards Azshea. The smaller dragoness didn't back down this time. She had grown tired of her mother long ago. Azshea leapt over a swipe and dived into the dragoness' chest. The blow took Ashe by surprise and she fell backwards. She was hardly stunned though and almost before she landed she breathed a wave of red hot fire from her mouth.
The tremendous blow sent a wave of burning pain all across Azshea's chest and sent her up into the air before falling back down into the floor. Spyro and Cynder cringed when they saw the blow.
"What do you think we should do?" Cynder asked as she watched Azshea recover from the attack and vault back into the fight.
"I don't know, but I think we shouldn't interfere." Spyro answered as he too watched the fight.
"What? Why?" Cynder asked tearing her own eyes from the two wrestling dragons.
Spyro shook his head. "It isn't our place. Ashe is Azshea's mother so I think its best that we don't act in this situation. Besides I don't think Azshea will come to harm."
"What about that scar? Her mother did that." Cynder reasoned.
Spyro blinked as he considered his current course of action. The dragoness made a valid point but for some reason he knew that they should do anything. Azshea would handle this her way. "If it comes down to it, then we'll help." The dragon finally said and Cynder nodded before turning back to the fight.
The small crimson dragoness rolled from away as Ashe's deadly tail blade pierced the floor where she had been moments ago. The action almost made Spyro reconsider his opinion but he held still and trusted that Azshea would work her way through this.
"What is the meaning of this!" Terrodar yelled as he and the other elder dragons entered the top floor. They watched with anger as Ashe continued to fight with Azshea. Neither of the dragons stopped to regard the three outraged elders. Terrodar was about to shout again when he heard lightning crack.
All heads, excluding Azshea and Ashe who were caught up fighting, turned to Aegis just as the dragon unleashed the sizzling electricity. The bright yellow bolt snapped forward and shocked Ashe. The large red dragoness' joints went stiff and she convulsed for a moment before falling to the ground where she lay still occasionally twitching from the voltage that was coursing through her body.
Everyone turned to Aegis in shock. While Spyro and Cynder had decided to avoid interfering Aegis obviously had other plans. After being struck by the dragoness his anger had begun to well up. When he saw how violent the adult was towards her own daughter he snapped and decided to act.
Azshea turned at the dragon with an angry glare. She held almost no love for her mother but she also didn't want to see her hurt. Azshea figured that she could have handled the dragoness herself. Aegis had no right to step in. Azshea gave a snort expelling some flames before launching herself off of the balcony and towards the city.
Aegis looked at her shrinking image in dismay not sure what he had done. He turned to the others with a confused look. "What did I do?" He asked.
Spyro and Cynder shrugged. If they were in Azshea's place they would have welcomed Aegis' help. Neither of them had the answer to his question and they just stared at him blankly unsure of what to say.
"Would either of you like to explain what just happened, and maybe tell us who this stranger is?" Terrodar asked looking directly at Spyro and Cynder.
"It's a long story…" Spyro said losing his words as he wondered where to start.
"Wait one second." Cynder interrupted. "Someone needs to go get Azshea; I don't think she should be left alone right now."
Spyro nodded. "I'll go get her then." He said before moving towards the window. Cynder stopped him with a gentle paw.
"Actually, I was thinking that I should go." Cynder said.
Spyro looked at her curiously. "Why would you go?"
"I don't know." The dragoness paused for a moment. "Girl time." She said coming up with the first excuse she could think of.
"How does that apply?" The purple dragon asked.
"Why does it matter?" Cynder asked.
"Why are you so intent on going?" Spyro retorted.
"Spyro, Cynder!" Cyril said rather loudly getting both the dragons attention. Both dragons turned to stare at him.
"Your friend already left. He said that he would take care of it." Cyril continued.
Spyro and Cynder gawked at them. Both looked out the window to see Aegis already flying off towards where they had seen Azshea go.
"Why would he go?" Spyro asked.
"He said he wanted some answers." Terrodar answered his rhetorical question.
"That's why I wanted to go." Cynder said.
"Same here. I wanted some answers about her." Spyro said nodding his head towards the fire dragoness who lay temporarily paralyzed on the floor. The adult growled angrily but could do nothing more.
"Hah! Not so tough now!" Sparx said floating right in front of her. Ashe let a few flames fly from her nose. Sparx gave a yelp and flew back behind Spyro's head for safety. Despite the paralysis Ashe gave a slight grin at the dragonfly's reaction.
"That is all beside the point. Aegis is gone now, so let him go about his business." Volteer said.
"How did you know his name?" Cynder asked curiously.
"He told us before he left. He also thanked us for letting him sleep here. He seemed quite polite." Terrodar paused. "Unlike a few others I know."
"Hey we're polite." Spyro retorted.
"I'm kidding." Terrodar laughed. It's good to have you all back. Now while we wait for Aegis, why don't you tell us what happened." The dragon continued.
Aegis cut through the air. The lightning dragon shot through the morning sky his eyes peeled looking for Azshea. The dragon didn't have to look long, since almost no other dragons were flying. As he flew over another cluster of buildings he spotted the dragoness who was flying lazily through the early morning skyline. Aegis beat his wings trying to speed up.
The sky was quiet as Azshea floated through the air. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. The red dragoness couldn't piece it together. Her mother was acting insane. She hadn't even given a reason for Azshea to stay with her. Instead Ashe only demanded it and expected her to follow like a blind whelp. Aside those thoughts were ones of Aegis. The dragoness didn't know what to think. Could she trust him after what he had done? He was only trying to help but still. She didn't know, and her conflicted thoughts distracted her and she didn't hear the yellow dragon coming up behind her.
"Azshea, wait up!" The dragon said catching her attention.
Azshea snapped from her inner thoughts and looked back to the dragon in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone to follow her. Without giving it any thought the dragoness beat her wings and sped on ahead. She wanted to be left alone right now.
As Aegis watched her go, he growled in irritation and beat his own wings. The two dragons flew on over the city, Azshea, upon realizing that Aegis was still on her tail proceeded to loop through the air hoping to just tire out the dragon. As she went into a loop she looked below to see the yellow dragon gaining on her. The aerial dance continued for a few long minutes with the dragons shooting up and down and spinning through the air until Aegis finally got level with Azshea.
"What are you doing? I just want to talk!" The dragon yelled over the wind.
"Obviously, I don't so go away!" The red dragoness stated plainly. The dragoness turned violently to the left and dove towards the ground. Aegis watched her drop and growled as he dived after her. The two dragons fell through the sky, nearing the ground at overwhelming speeds. Azshea realizing that the dragon was not going to stop until they both hit the ground decided it was best to pull up.
Almost effortlessly the dragoness came out of the dive. She pulled up close to the ground and leveled off quickly before landing on a nearby roof. There was a sudden explosion and the dragoness snapped her head back. Where she and Aegis had been diving seconds before there was now a cloud of dust. The dragoness looked desperately at the dust knowing she had gone too far. "Oh by the ancestors Aegis, please don't be dead." She said worriedly.
Cynder sat patiently as Spyro told the elder dragons what had happened. Occasionally, she threw in her own input to make the story more complete. For the most part though the dragoness was thinking about Azshea and Aegis, the two dragons had left a long time ago. She was wondering what they were doing.
After Spyro finished he watched as the elders thought about what had been said. "So any thoughts on the subject?" The purple dragon asked. His question brought Cynder back to the conversation, as she realized that the story had ended.
"It seems that you four are looking for a weakness." Terrodar said.
"That would help." Cynder said tracing a design in the stone.
"Well, unfortunately I have no idea what to tell you." The earth dragon said, and both dragons head's sagged.
"But." Spyro and Cynder perked up at the word. "I do know of one who might be able to help you."
"Who?" Spyro asked hopefully.
Terrodar was about to respond but Cyril cut him off. "Go and find your friends first you should all hear this."
Spyro and Cynder looked at him curiously. As his stare hardened they decided to not ask any more questions.
"We'll be right back." Cynder said as she dived off the roof.
"Are you thinking of the dragon I believe you are?" Volteer asked.
"You'll see." Terrodar responded.
"He's dangerous; you can't send them to him." Cyril said.
"What else can we do?" Terrodar almost yelled.
The other two shrunk back slightly as they looked at the earth dragon. After several tense moments Volteer and Cyril nodded having nothing else to say.
One the floor Ashe's thoughts swirled as she pieced the story together in her mind. "An interesting development" The dragoness thought.
As Azshea surveyed the area a sudden force knocked her to the ground. The weight that toppled her over quickly jumped off, giving her the chance to get up. At first she figured it was one of the seven back to finish the job. The dragoness almost attacked but she first realized who it was.
"Aegis!" She said in surprise.
The golden dragon looked at her with curious eyes. "Who were you expecting?"
"You-you crashed into the ground over there." She stuttered as she looked at the supposed impact sight.
"It was a distraction; I shot lightning at the ground. I guess it worked." The dragon explained nonchalantly. "I'm kind of surprised you fell for it." He almost laughed.
Azshea let out a deep breath and walked up to the dragon and gave him a hard slap.
"What was that for?" The yellow dragon yelled when he recovered from the harsh blow.
"Don't do anything like that ever again." The red dragoness said quietly but with more force than Aegis had ever heard in her voice.
"Sounds a bit personal, don't you think?" Aegis asked giving a playful smirk.
"Shut up." The dragoness said half-heartedly losing her stern tone. "Look since you are so intent on catching me, what do you want?"
"I want to talk about what happened back there." Aegis said simply.
"You, of all people want to talk to me? Why not Spyro or Cynder?" The dragoness asked curiously.
"Thanks, that wasn't a hurtful thing to say or anything." Aegis said rolling his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that." The red dragoness said quickly hoping to mend the damage. "It's just that I wasn't really expecting you."
"Yeah, it's okay. Look what happened up there. I didn't mind being hit but, is she really your mother?"
"Yes, she is, and I want to apologize for her behavior." The dragoness gave a little bow.
"It's okay really." Aegis said.
Azshea gave a thankful sigh before continuing. "My mother isn't the most conventionally dragoness in the world."
"I'll say, but why did she attack you?" Aegis asked still confused.
"I don't really know. I think that Ashe cares, but she doesn't know how to show it." Azshea said trying to explain as she twiddled with her bronze leaf pendant. The leaf caught the morning sun and it temporarily blinded Aegis.
"Who gave you that?" Aegis asked eyeing the pendant.
"My father, just before he passed away." Azshea said her voice cracking slightly.
"I-I'm sorry." Aegis said feeling awkward. A few minutes passed and the only noise that the two heard was the slightly morning breeze.
"I don't know what to do about my mother." Azshea said after a few moments trying to get them back on track.
"Right." Aegis said trying to think of something that he could relate to his own life. "Look Azshea." The dragoness perked up and stared at the lightning dragon's forest green eyes. "I think that maybe your mother is trying her best. I know someone in my family that was the same way."
"Who?" The dragoness dared to ask after the dragon trailed off.
Aegis sighed. He never really card to talk about his past. The painful memories of what had happened had never sat well with Aegis. This time though he felt that he should tell Azshea, if it would help her then Aegis figured it was worth it.
"Uh, Aegis?" The crimson dragoness asked again meeting his eyes to get her attention.
"Reave." Aegis said bringing a small gasp from Azshea. "It all happened a few years ago back when I was little…"
Aegis sat in the underbrush of the forest. The greenery was covering his bright yellow features. The small dragon poked his head over the bushes to look into a small clearing, in the open area a lone deer grazed, unaware of the small dragon's presence. Aegis licked his lips hungrily as he eyed the deer. He had placed himself close enough to attack the deer and hopefully kill it.
Aegis sucked in a deep breath and then leapt from the bushes. The deer's head immediately shot into the air. It was too late though as Aegis latched onto the mammal with his teeth and claws. His sharp fangs sinking into the deer's neck and his claws piercing the deer's hide. As Aegis held on the deer bucked and spun trying to shake off the young dragon. Aegis was easily shaken free. The dragon tumbled to the ground and watched with sadness as his prey ran away towards the surrounding forest. Looking at the fleeing deer he realized how big it actually was compared to his child like body. The deer was at least three time his size.
A sudden spike of ice shot out of some nearby trees and struck the deer in the neck, killing it instantly. Aegis' eyes lit up and his energy returned to him, as he saw his brother Reave step out of the woods. The dragon was sky blue with white specks on his scales. His horns bent back at a ninety degree angle. They were a dim grey color that matched storm clouds.
"You always did go for prey that was too big for you." He chuckled as he looked at Aegis with his soft grey eyes.
"I just want to catch something that's as big as the things you catch." Aegis said as he charged forward and jumped on his brother's broad chest. The small golden dragon slid down slowly and bounced on the ground before giving his brother a wide childish smile.
"Yeah, well don't get ahead of yourself, I wouldn't want you to become the prey. You're all I have left."
Aegis' smile suddenly faded. "I miss mom and dad." He said sadly looking down at his paws.
"Hey, hey, look at me." Reave said pushing up Aegis' face with a gentle black claw. "You still have me, alright. That's all that you are going to need."
Aegis looked away from his brother after a moment. "One day I'll kill Malefor for what he did!" The little dragon said angrily.
Reave stared blankly at his little brother not sure of what to make of the statement. He thought about the statement, and considered scolding him for saying such a thing. He held his tongue though as he considered what Malefor had done to both of them. Suddenly, the dragon began to turn the thought over in his head.
"Kill Malefor." He whispered.
"Reave?" Aegis asked looking up at his brother. While Reave had been considering the idea Aegis had gone and chased a small butterfly, which had quickly fluttered out of his reach. Now the small dragon was back and his mind had reverted to its original thought, food. Aegis eyed the deer hungrily. Reave noticed and quickly dragged the deer back to a nearby cave. The two dragons sat down and ate the meat. They had no means to cook it but they hardly cared for they were both hungry.
After they had finished Reave continued to ponder his thoughts about Malefor. The ice dragon felt the same as Aegis did. How hard could it be to kill Malefor. The young overconfident dragon thought about his parents, the dragons that had nurtured him and his brother. They had died defending them both, victims of Malefor's agents.
As the dragon continued to think about it he realized he had nothing lose. The two dragons were alone in the world. They both lived in the wild. Suddenly the spastic thought from his little brother was turning into a plan. A plan that Reave suddenly wanted to execute.
"Kill Malefor." The ice dragon said to himself.
"Um, Aegis I don't mean to interrupt but how does this apply?" Azshea asked. She was genuinely interested in the story. Ever since she met him Aegis had been wrapped in mystery. His entire existence had seemed so complex but now he was explaining it.
"Trust me Azshea, this story applies, but it looks like we'll have to finish it later." Aegis said and nodded to the sky behind the red dragoness. Azshea didn't have to look to know who it was. Spyro and Cynder fluttered down and landed next to them both.
"Did we interrupt something?" Sparx asked looking at the two with a grin.
"No, just a story about Aegis' past." Azshea explained.
"Oh, come on I want to know that!" Spyro said and his head sunk.
"Later. What did you come out for?" Aegis asked.
"We have to get back to the guardians; they have something to tell us." Cynder said as she gave Spyro a pat on the back. Cynder and Spyro took flight as he finished his sentence, with the two dragons close behind.
"I'll finish telling you the story later." Aegis said to the dragoness who bobbed her head in response. "And Azshea." He added getting her attention. "If you need someone to talk to you know you can talk to me." Aegis said. When Azshea raised a brow in surprise he quickly added. "I'm sure Spyro and Cynder would be happy to listen as well."
Wow I just realized how many names I have that start with A, oh well too late now. As always reviews are appreciated.