Chapter 10 The Greatest Gift

Standing upon his hind legs, and resting all of his weight upon the gold scale of his sturdy purple tail, young Malefor starts to reach out his right paw but suddenly stops for a moment. His eyes fill with the glare of the blade before him, and his heart races again, just like it did when he first saw the sword his father had made for him.

The blade, shaped exactly like the one at the end of his mother's tail, catches the light from a steady fire lit in his room, and Malefor smiles wide. Seeing the craftsmanship in the red-orange glow, he can tell it took months to craft a sword of this caliber, and now knows his father must have planned this birthday gift well in advance.

Malefor places all three of his talons into the specialized handle of this sword and clenches his paw into a fist. Designed for a creature with no thumbs, the young dragon quickly feels the balance of the blade's weight and swipes it down from the display case in his room. He swings it several times before him in a basic pattern, getting a feel for this sword, and smiles wider as the balance in his paw is perfect.

"That is awesome, Dad!" He says to himself aloud, feeling total control of the sword without having to secure it to his paw with a leather binding.

Malefor looks at the mirror before him and smiles at his own reflection before swiping the replica of his mother's tail-blade down to the ground, stopping it an inch from the stone floor. The young dragon rolls to his right, holding the sword out as he tumbles, then leaps across the room to strike a solid chunk of wood standing in the corner of his room.

Laced with thousands of slash marks, the thick log of oak Malefor has struck for the last three years, finally gives in to the power of a supreme blade.

"By the ancestors!" he remarks, as this sword cuts completely through the tree trunk he spent countless hours with, almost as though feeling a loss of a good friend.

"Wow! I didn't think I could do that!" He says emphatically, looking at the large chunk that's still rolling around on the floor.

"Dang, Malefor!" A familiar voice calls out from behind and the young purple dragon turns to see a very special guest that came for his birthday. Which didn't take much, considering he lives in the valley as well.

"Hey, Nicholas," he replies to his neighbor, and one of the heroes of New Warfang from a decade ago.

"I guess Stryder is giving you the advanced lessons already!" the blue dragon remarks, staring at the log he has seen Malefor pummel for years split with ease.

Malefor remains up on his hind legs for a moment, sheathing the sword behind his back, and the blue teenaged dragon shows a pain-filled expression.

"I'll never understand how you can bend your arm behind you like that!"

Malefor stretches his paws to the sky, making a cracking noise that forces Nicholas to wince again.

"I can dislocate my shoulders at will," he replies nonchalantly before returning to a four point stance and walking up to his best friend like a dragon. "It doesn't hurt anymore and allows me to fight with a sword."

"WHY?" Nicholas replies.

He rubs his own shoulder from the thought and stares at his friend with no understanding of his quest to learn a weapon that dragons don't use.

"My dad asks me that question all the time!"

"So what's up, Nick?" Malefor asks, wondering why the two-toned blue Wind dragon is inside his house when the party is outside, and Nicholas' eyes suddenly show some anxiety.

"Your father just took off..." he says without delay, never keeping anything from his best friend. He quickly places a paw upon Malefor's side, as disappointment fills his purple eyes.

"...Sparx said it had something to do with a Skylander issue and then he followed him!"

"Damn it!" Malefor barks.

Then he looks up at the Skylander armor his brother wore when he was younger and feels the same anger towards it that he has for the last two years.

"I am getting tired of this!" He continues with rage.

Infuriated, he draws his sword, leaping towards the display case with Sparx' affects. With pure anger at how much he has missed his brother, Malefor swipes the blade of his mother's tail through the entire case, slicing the pure titanium helmet in half.

"By the ancestors!" Both dragons remark with shock.

Nicholas never expected this much anger from Malefor. Nor did the young purple dragon believe his sword could do that. They look at each other for a moment with complete surprise until Nicholas cracks a smug smile.

"Your brother is going to kick your butt all over the valley for that!" He declares with a certain amount of arrogance in his voice, and Malefor's tensions quickly increase.

He looks down at the two pieces of helmet laying upon the floor, then at the sword in his paw.

"I actually hope he stays around long enough to do it!" The young purple dragon replies somberly, returning his sword to the sheath angled between his wings from the right shoulder.

He strides over to the blue dragon he has a personal connection to; this good friend replaced a piece of the void his brother could not fill for the last two years.

"But, most likely he will have to leave, and I'll be alone. Again."

Nicholas places his paw upon Malefor's shoulder then quickly removes it, feeling the bone click back into place.

"DUDE!" He says with a look of sickness in his eyes that makes the purple dragon laugh slightly.

"Come on, Mal, don't do that to me!"

Feeling his friend's shoulder pop back into place grosses the older blue dragon out. However, the smile he can see on Malefor's face shows him that his friend is still in decent spirits.

"You know something, Malefor, you don't have to wait for Sparx to kick your ass. Because I'll do it myself, if you ever do that again!"

The smaller and younger dragon laughs louder, knowing his superior abilities leave Nicholas no chance in winning a fight. However, it is calming to him, knowing his best friend will still be a big brother when necessary.

"Sorry, Nick. I couldn't help it," he replies, lowering his head with a bit of shame and walking out the door of his sleeping chamber. "I was just trying to cheer myself up."

"Yeah...well, make sure it don't happen again! Or else!" he says in an authoritative voice, and Malefor stops two strides into the living room, then turns to look at his best friend.

"Or else what?" He asks with a slight bit of anger, snapping his tail to the ground.

Nick's eyes suddenly show fear. He knows Malefor would never get vicious with a dragon that was out of his class but could still inflict a humbling amount of damage without breaking a sweat. However, with this knowledge in his head, the three year older Wind dragon walks right up to his best friend with conviction in his strides.

"Or else I'll get my sisters!"

Malefor's tail goes limp, and his eyes show fear.

"That's messed up, dude!" he replies, recalling the beating he took from them two years ago in a training session. "You know I won't hit a girl!"

"HA!" Nicholas barks in his face, recalling the fight himself. "You couldn't hit them was what I saw!"

Both dragons begin bickering back and forth as they head for the exit, shoving one other after insults, and grinning at each one.

The crowded Valley cheers as Malefor emerges from his home where most were eagerly awaiting a demonstration of his skills and the sword that Spyro was bragging about more than Malefor himself.

"Sorry it took so long, everyone..." The young purple dragon yells out, as the crowd packs in closer to the entrance of his home. Malefor looks towards the north with anger in his eyes.

"...I'm just glad a few of you guys stuck around to see what I learned!"

The crowd hushes uncomfortably, knowing the young dragon is referring to his brother and father, whom they all saw take off like lightning a minute ago.

"I hope we will not see that anger in your demonstration, Young Master!" an old voice calls out, and Malefor's eyes lock upon the father of his teacher.

"I can tell you now, that if you use this type of emotion with your sword, you will show none of the skills I have seen you display with Stryder."

Malefor lowers his head for a moment, then looks at the graying-haired cheetah as he walks up through the parting crowd of dragons.

"Sorry, Chief Hunter..." He replies, showing regret in his outburst of anger and then looking at the eager crowd of his friends and their parents. "...I will settle myself down before I start."

Hunter gives a wide grin as he approaches the purple and gold replica of the young dragon's father and places a sturdy paw on his shoulder as he would Spyro.

"You are as emotional as your father..." he says with a chuckle in his voice, looking upon the sword in Malefor's paw, and admiring the craftsmanship himself. "...but I also see the focus your mother has. And that is what I want to see when you use this...do you understand?"

Malefor looks up at his old teacher. Hunter was the first to find the young dragon's passion for swordsmanship, and gave the whelpling his very first lessons in control.

"I do." the youngster returns, slowing taking a deep breath and meditating for a moment.

The crowd becomes anxious and Hunter smiles, as Malefor sits down on his hind quarters, breathing deeply and clearing his mind.

"Anytime now!"

A loud voice barks out from the crowd and Malefor's eyes are startled open wide, locking on the patronizing brother of one of his friends from the university. Stubborn as a rock, this large Earth dragon came uninvited, if only to make his brother's day miserable.

"Are you going to show us this pointless skill you learned or what?"

The crowd murmurs loudly at the defiant earth dragon's outburst, including his kin, who becomes embarrassed in how his older brother acts around his purple and gold friend.

Hunter's smile slowly leaves his face replaced by an angered scowl. However, his mood lightens quickly as Malefor begins laughing.

"Do you know how rude that is?" The young purple and gold dragon asks with a sarcastic tone.

Hunter abruptly flashes back to a moment when Malefor disrupted his meditation, hearing the same tone he had in his voice before hastily kicking the butt of a disrespectful dragon.

Hunter begins laughing himself, then looks down at Malefor with an arrogant grin.

"Don't hurt him too much, my young friend," he bellows loudly, making sure everyone around can hear his voice, and Malefor takes his cue to show a demonstration of his skills in swordsmanship...and respect.

Suddenly standing up on his hind legs and gaining perfect balance with his tail, Malefor draws his sword from the right shoulder, then lowers it to the ground.

"I will not use magic, Master Mouth!" He remarks, lowering down to four paws, jamming the tip of his blade into the ground.

"THE NAME'S 'MOUNT', MALEFOR!" the large dragon barks back, stepping through the crowd to get closer to the relaxed purple dragon and his sword, before becoming even more indignant.

"And you are too small to act this tough without your big brother or father around!"

The murmurs get louder as the crowd begins expressing their own anger towards the large green and brown dragon. However, they stop as Malefor begins laughing again.

"And you are too dumb to know that my size means nothing in a fight."

The stubborn Earth Dragon becomes enraged as the much smaller Malefor continues to show no regard or respect to his size and strength.

Mount suddenly whips his tail towards him, swinging the mace-like stone ball attached to its tip at Malefor's gold chest. The younger and faster dragon pivots on his right leg, allowing the ball to pass harmlessly. Then in the same movement, he grasps his sword and pulls it down.

Hooking Mount's tail with the notched back edge of this unique blade, Malefor buries his sword into the ground, pinning the Earth dragon's tail, and leaving him off-balance for a quick take-down.

With great agility in his movements, Malefor leaps up on Mount's neck, and grasps his right horn. Using his own momentum, and Mount's falling weight, the smaller purple dragon drives his brown horns into the ground, leaving the Earth dragon pinned on his back and unable to right himself.

"So that is a demonstration about why you shouldn't disturb someone who is meditating, and owns a sword!" Malefor remarks to the crowd of awe-struck guests, pointing at the defenseless dragon laying painfully on his wings, forced to stare helplessly into the sky.

"It is rude, and you will usually end up on your backside!"

His blue eyes are focused forward and his brow lowered to scan the terrain that passes by fast, but rage still blinds Jak's view.

"TREE!" Daxter barks emphatically, and Jax suddenly snaps out of his haze, refocusing on the path his hover-board has just left.

With a precise kick of his left heel, the board's nose pops up, lifting off the ground, and sending both occupants flying through the air.

Daxter flips up towards his best friend's shoulder, grasping Jak with a single paw, and pulling his body sideways. Both slip between several branches without striking a single leaf, returning to the board that found its own path around the tree's trunk.

Daxter quickly leaps back down to his position, on the nose, as their flight becomes heel heavy, and balances the hover-board perfectly upon hitting the ground.

"Nice move, Jak!" Daxter remarks sarcastically, keeping his eyes forward as his best friend continues blasting through the Forbidden Forest with reckless abandon.

"Shut up, Daxter! I'm still not talking to you..." He replies, banking a hard left, and returning the hover board to the narrow path that heads toward the Valley of Avalar. "...I can't believe you got me involved in this!"

"ME!" The orange ottsel barks with rage, still countering Jak's weight, allowing them to maneuver without losing speed.

"You always find a way to get us in trouble, Daxter..." He continues, and notices the hard stare he is receiving from below, but still finishes a statement he knows is wrong. "...and now I have to help you find some dragon in the Outer Realms!"

Daxter stays silent, shocking Jak, who was expecting his friend to erupt, knowing it was his outburst that spurred Cynder into pulling rank with her son's help. He leans over to make sure his friend is not that angry, and it is at this moment, Daxter decides to push all his weight forward, then leap from the board.

"OH SH..." is all Jak can say before the nose of the unbalanced board bites a thick root crossing their path, sending Haven City's hero into the muddy ground face first.

Orange Lightning waits for Jak to stop tumbling before running up his back and standing on his shoulder to stare him eye to eye.

"What was that?" he asks with a such a overwhelmed tone of disgust in his voice that even through the excruciating pain of his face plant, Jak can only smile back.

"OK, Buddy. This one is my bad!" He replies, slowly sitting upright, as his thirty-something frame was not very receptive to the sudden impact of the planet's surface.

Daxter loosens up his anger, quickly feeling bad for what he did.

"Ah sorry 'bout that, Jak..." He remarks, picking up his best friend's mud covered goggles, and handing them back with an embarrassed look himself. "...I just really needed to get off the board...if you know what I mean."

Jak can hear the slight tone of sarcasm in Daxter's words and places his hand upon his best friend's head.

"I gotta give you credit, little buddy, waiting for that exposed root was brilliant!" Jak replies.

The small ottsel quickly smiles, hearing his friend's spirit may be improving. However, Daxter knows better, as Jak looks back towards the city of New Warfang with depression.

"She'll get over it, dude!" Daxter suddenly remarks, trying to get his friend to focus again, but Jak continues to look back.

"I don't know, man...Keira was ticked-off when I told her the trip had to be postponed," he replies, showing the rage he saw in his wife's eyes.

"She said she was going to go without me and find a new guy that can be more dependable!"

Both friends look at each other for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"OH MY GOODNESS! Is she kidding?" Daxter cries, holding himself up as he laughs uncontrollably

"Is there someone more dependable then you...HUH?! I mean, how many times did you save this girl's life? And she is still questioning your dependability?"

Jak laughs with his friend, knowing Keira is not going anywhere. However a single thought still consumes the brave Skylander and he voices it with a somber tone.

"I was really looking forward to seeing her in that bikini I bought!"

Daxter's eyes open wide, and a smile crosses his smug face.

"So was I!"

"HEY!" Jak barks, showing his little friend an angry frown.

Daxter places his small paw upon Jak's arm, and looks up at the only person he would lay his life down for, showing him a genuine smile of friendship.

"Don't feel so bad. Jak. She'll be happily awaiting her hero when we return..." Daxter looks back towards the city as well and takes a deep breath. "...whereas my baby is going to be ruined, and I will have to find a new place."

Jak suddenly feels his friend's anxiety and grasps his paw.

"You really think Tess would do that?"

"I'm not talking about Tess..." Daxter remarks sarcastically, recalling the only one he was able to talk to before leaving on this special quest and forced to ask him, of all people, to watch over his precious girl.

"...I left the key to the Naughty Ottsel with Samos!"

Jak immediately begins laughing again, knowing the old man will most likely shut the bar down and throw a party for himself and the other old sages.

"I hope you didn't leave the key to the liquor shed with him too!" He says with a humorous tone, and Daxter lowers his head, knowing his own laziness will cost him dearly.

"It's the same key as the front door," he whimpers, and Jak begins laughing harder.

"It's all gone already!" The hero cries out dramatically.

Daxter slumps his shoulders lower, knowing his friend is probably right. However, before Jak can taunt him with a few more discouraging words, several shadows darken the area, forcing the two to look up.

"Wow! Look at all of them!" They both remark, as nearly a hundred dragons begin flying overhead, blocking the little amount of light reaching the forest floor.

Daxter retrieves the hover board, tossing it before his friend who gets up on his feet, and both leap back on to follow this entourage.

"I can't believe he's gonna fully retire from The Skylanders," Jak remarks, locking eyes on the two lead dragons as they head for the Valley of Avalar.

"Yeah! Well, I'm more annoyed that Spyro is taking the crown from Malefor," Daxter replies.

He knows the purple dragon very well and has heard his distaste of royalty several times in the past. It is the main reason he and Spyro don't get along very well. Daxter is treated like a king in his home and usually overplays his part towards the powerful purple dragon.

"It stinks! I can't force him to bow before me in Haven City anymore!"

Cynder flies lead beside her husband and looks back to see the group of witnesses that have decided to watch this special occasion. Every dragon in the city is behind them and all their auras sparkle brightly, knowing their hero is taking the place of another hero. However, one dragon's Spirit grows dark, and it happens to be the one flying beside her.

Cynder grasps her husband's paw, and the soon to be crowned dragon shows the fear he has inside to his Queen.

"I can't believe you are taking the throne without an argument," she says, and Spyro's fake smile drops away.

He grasps her paw tighter, sending only one thought to his wife: the real reason for him saying yes.

I want another chance to make things right with my son, he confesses, looking back towards the massive army of dragons flying behind, and focusing in on his oldest child.

"I just hope he gives me that chance," he continues with a more somber tone, and removes his paw from Cynder's grasp. He knows the thoughts he's having are easy to read, and doesn't want her to just hear them without his words.

"I never meant to push him away from us, Cynder, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings," he confides, returning his eyes forward.

"I was so ashamed of my selfish emotions that I couldn't tell him how I felt about Malefor. And now, I'll never get my son back."

Cynder stops dead, causing Spyro and the entire entourage following the new king to hold their position.

"Please don't feel that way, Spyro," she whispers, using her paw to lift his head, and making him look at the pain in her eyes. "You should not be ashamed of wanting to be his only father, as he feels the same way about it himself."

Spyro's eyes open wide, hearing a secret his wife was told never to talk about, and seeing the conversation she and Sparx had years ago.

He wants you to fight for him, Cynder relays emphatically.

She shows him the pain-filled sight she has held inside as requested and feels ashamed herself in revealing these images. Even though it threatens to break up her own family, the Spirit Elder is bound by Ancestral Law, not to speak of what is confessed to her. However, as a mother, Cynder could no longer hold on to this secret.

"...he wants you to fight, like you would for his brother!"

The purple and gold dragon stares at his wife, sinking lower in his depression

"I never know what to say to him, Cynder." he says.

Spyro feels a disconnect from his son, who spent the first eight years of his life with the former Dark Master. And he knows he never really taught his first-born a single thing in life.

Spyro stares at Sparx, as he continues talking with Malefor and Mya, then lowers his head with no confidence. He can see him enjoying a conversation filled with laughter, and pain fills Spyro's heart. He and Sparx have not laughed together for years. Always arguing about how to win battles, instead of talking about the simple things in life, like the Dragon Games or even girls.

"I always feared that he doesn't respect me as much as Malefor."

Cynder becomes angry with this statement, knowing the truth, but contains these emotions as her son turns his attention to them. She knows he can see her aura, and quickly calms herself before speaking the truth.

"You must overcome that fear, Spyro, because it is not warranted."

"I will try my hardest, Cynder," he replies, returning his eyes to hers and showing a humbled look.

"NO!" She barks loudly, startling everyone behind them. Everyone except Spyro, as he heard her anger build with his already defeated reply.

You need to be stronger than that, she returns with thought, making sure no one but her husband can hear this conversation, especially her son. He will feel that weakness, of not wanting to aggravate him, and that will only enrage Sparx further.

So what do I do?

Cynder can see her son break from the group, and knows this conversation must end now or Sparx will be able to sense their argument himself. A smile fills her face as only one thought comes to mind and her husband is usually the perfect dragon for the job.

Aggravate him!

"Mom! Dad! Is everything alright?" Sparx asks with concern, as his parents seem to be finished with this argument.

"It's nothing, Sparx..." Cynder replies, turning away from her son so he cannot read her lying eyes. "...your father was having second thoughts about taking the crown."

"Come on, Dad...you can't have cold paws if you're gonna lead the Dragon Race," Sparx remarks with a wide smile, knowing his father is a perfect choice to replace his other father.

"I just don't like the idea of being the King is all," Spyro says unconvincingly.

He tries to cover his wife's lie with a reason for his sudden change of heart and fails at it badly. However, seeing the look of disbelief Sparx is giving him, as he lowers a single brow over his right eye, Spyro quickly thinks of a better excuse.

"I mean I would need to replace myself as Master Guardian, and at this moment, Cyril is next in line."

Sparx laughs for a moment, looking back to the Ice Guardian who was forced to return, before leaving the city. However, he can feel both of his parents are holding back, sensing different emotions than they are showing on the surface.

"I can't say I blame you Pop, seeing what happened with the Manweresmalls. Just think of how angry he'll make the Guardians," the two-toned purple dragon remarks sarcastically, keeping with the conversation.

However another thought comes to his head and quickly he tests his abilities to read his mother and father.

"It's odd when you think about it though, since nothing will really change for me if you do decide to take over for Malefor!" he says with a smug grin, looking over towards the King and giving him a very pronounced wink.

"My father is replacing my father as King."

"Would you please stop saying that?!" Spyro grumbles under his breath, then turns his angered eyes towards his son.

"He's not your father, damn it!"

Sparx's other brow lowers down and he shoots this angered look at his mother, knowing he did hear the conversation right.

"I can't believe you told him, Mom," he says with disgust, seeing her reaction to his rage, an unable to look him in the eye.

"That's bullshit!"

"Don't talk to your mother like that, young dragon!" Spyro barks, grasping Sparx by the collar-bone with a strong paw and sending a fear into him he's never felt before.

An image of his right paw striking across his face is flashed from Spyro's mind, and a single thought is echoed hard within.

Or I will make you understand the meaning of respect, RIGHT HERE...RIGHT NOW!

Sparx can see the resolve in his dad's eyes, and a little smile crosses his face. He slowly raises his paw, placing it securely on the arm his father is holding him with.

"Well...It's about time, Dad!" He replies, then glances back at his mother, showing a very wide smile.

"I told you!" She remarks sarcastically, nodding her head with accomplishment.

"WHOA! WAIT A MINUTE!" Spyro yells, looking at the smile on both Cynder and Sparx, and realizing he has just been played.

"I'll let you and YOUR son talk alone for a few minutes," she concedes, placing a paw upon her husband's cheek and showing a look of affection that cools his emotions. "You two have some serious issues to resolve and since we are only ten miles from home, you had better find a way to fix this before we get there."

Cynder places a paw upon Sparx' chest, and smiles wide for her son, knowing he was the one that wanted this meeting.

You need to be honest with him this time, Sparx! She remarks with a thought, then looks at her husband once again before telling her son a secret that he is keeping.

"He still thinks you love Malefor more than him."

Spyro's eyes open wide, and he stares at Sparx with embarrassment, hearing his wife reveal his most painful secret. However, his son's reaction is more surprising, watching him show embarrassment of his own.

"And, if you ask me," she continues, staring at her son with the same anger he showed her before.

"...that's bullshit!"

Sparx and Spyro watch her glide back to the pack behind them, and both purple dragons look at each other for a moment without speaking.

"You know she's right, Dad."

The younger dragon breaks the silence first, before showing his father a grin and turning towards his home.

"Of course I do," Spyro returns, feeling more love for her than ever, as Cynder turns around and shows her two purple dragons the same smile from before.

Spyro cranes his head towards the Valley of Avalar and takes a deep breath, before resuming his course towards home. His son quickly takes position by his father's side, and the hovering group of dragons follow along.

"I never meant for this to happen, son. I just..."

"I know, Dad!" Sparx cuts in, before his father can apologize.

He places a paw upon his side, giving him a taste of the Spiritual power he possesses.

"It was more my fault than yours."

Spyro looks to his left and can see the pain in his boy's eyes.

"How is this your fault...?" He questions, lowering his head with his own disgust, knowing the truth now. "...I'm the one that let you go!"

Sparx holds his breath for a moment, realizing he is at fault for pushing his father to discipline him, and getting angrier when he would back down.

"No, Dad...I was stupid to think that you didn't care."

Spyro stops short, holding up the massive entourage again, and looking at his son with anger.

"You don't think I care about you?" He replies, and Sparx quickly places a paw across his father's mouth, never wanting to hear those words from him again

"Of course I know you care!" He barks, then looks back to his mother, who is ready to return in a moment's notice. He removes his paw from Spyro's muzzle and keeps his mother at bay, and show his emotions by embracing his father tightly.

"But that's also what hurt me, Dad..." He whispers hard in his father's ear, keeping his embrace tight to show his pain in this discussion. "...especially when I see how much more you cared for Malefor."

Spyro holds his breath for a moment as Sparx accuses him of favoritism. Because he knows this to be true himself.

"You don't understand how hard it is to watch you guide my brother and then leave me to fend for myself."

Spyro can see the tears begin forming in his son's eyes, and thinks wise not to dispute it, even recalling a moment that he brushed Sparx off to help his youngest with a task instead.

"I was embarrassed, Sparx," he replies somberly, looking at his son with only truth in his eyes. "I don't believe I have anything to offer you."

Sparx grasps his father by the collar-bone, and uses his other paw to gesture his mother to stay put again, already sensing her charge. He turns Spyro's head toward the crowd, and barks in his ear.

"LOOK AT ALL OF THEM, DAD!"

Sparx pulls his father's eyes back to face him, showing the resolve he has in what he is saying.

"Every single dragon in the city has dropped what they were doing. Flying thirty miles across the Forbidden Forest. If only to witness their hero taking the crown from a dragon they all respect. How in the name of the Ancestors, can you say I have nothing to learn from that dragon?"

Spyro is dumbfounded by his son's wisdom and looks over at the crowd that begins muttering to themselves. He can see the anxiousness in all their eyes but more so from his son.

"You really mean that...don't you?"

He is asking rhetorically but Sparx answers his father anyway with a very genuine smile. A well of pride suddenly overcomes the purple and gold dragon, and he quickly take his son in a strong embrace.

"I love you Sparx, and I'm sorry for making you feel that way..." He cries, flooded with several different emotions at once, and sharing them all with his son. "...I swear I will never let you feel like that again."

Meanwhile, back in the Valley of Avalar, the party still continues. Hundreds of dragons, Manweresmalls, and Cheetah Warriors watch the son of Spyro demonstrate a more humbling skill set.

"This is not how a dragon should fight!" Mount remarks, standing on his hind legs beside the one that took him down hard before the crowd. But Malefor takes a hold of the green and brown dragon's tail, and coils it behind the erect Stone Master.

"Just prop yourself up on this and strengthen your legs, Mount," he replies, grasping his sword from the ground, and handing it to the larger dragon. "A little balance is required, and as an Earth Master, I know you can do that with ease."

Mount smiles slightly, hearing a convincing tone from his brother's friend and realizing he can stand up on his hind legs. He grasps the sword from Malefor's outstretched paw, sliding his talons into the three-holed handle, and griping tightly with a clenched fist.

"This thing is light as a feather," he remarks, slicing the air with the blade in his paw, and suddenly feeling the control he has with it. "But how in the name of the Ancestors can this stop anything?"

Malefor turns to Hunter, who still remains up front, and shows a wide grin. The old Cheetah, hearing this question, bends down to pick up a very large rock.

"HEY, MOUNT!" He barks, and whips the rock towards the green dragon's face. "THINK FAST!"

Without thinking, the large Earth Dragon raises the paw without the sword, and catches the stone in his palm with magic.

"OK...NOW WHAT?!" He replies sarcastically, and Malefor gives a slight chuckle.

"Now we try something different big guy...if you can handle it that is!"

The brown-chested, green-scaled, massive-sized Earth dragon looks down at Malefor and shows him no regard for his threat.

"I can stop anything with my power; I don't need this stupid sword, little one."

"OK!" Malefor replies with the same sarcasm, then disappears into his home. Only a minute later he emerges again, holding a small gem in his paw with care.

Everyone in the valley balks with fear as the purple dragon shows off the small crystal that matches the color of his scales, now resting in his paw.

"THAT'S A POWER DRAINING CRYSTAL!" Mount barks with shock, and Malefor simply nods his head.

"I know that!" He replies, then tosses the gem at Mount's feet.

It shatters the instant it hits the ground and the Earth Master is quickly attacked by its magic draining power. The large dragon falls back to his four paw stance, dropping the sword before him.

"ARE YOU GIVING UP ALREADY?!" Malefor suddenly barks, startling everyone with his complete change of emotion, acting more like a drill-instructor, then the well-behaved dragon they all know.

Mount's eyes open wide as he looks up to the smaller purple dragon, and fear strikes his heart as Malefor begins forming a massive boulder with his power.

"PICK UP THE BLADE, YOU WEAKLING!" He continues, grasping the two-ton rock with a single paw and tossing it up in the air.

Mount becomes very worried as Malefor catches the rock with that same paw and whips it directly at his face.

"BY THE ANCESTORS!" He cries out, then suddenly a tingling sensation covers his body.

"Easy!" Malefor remarks, suddenly standing by the green dragon's side with a paw against his cheek. "I won't let it hit you...I promise!"

Mount stares at Malefor with shock, and more so as he turns back to the floating boulder held in position by time itself.

"WHAT THE HELL?" He says, noticing everyone in the Valley of Avalar is frozen like the incoming boulder.

"We are moving very fast, Mount, and I only have a minute to teach you basic defense, so be quiet and pay attention."

The purple dragon lifts his sword as Mount returns to his hind legs and he hands it back to the stunned Earth dragon.

"Hold the blade before you, and don't move a muscle...understand?"

The Earth Dragon shows confusion, but nods his head in acceptance, holding the blade sideways before him.

"Like this?" He asks, and Malefor covers his head with a paw, stunned at the stupidity of the green dragon.

"NO!" he replies with a bit of sarcasm, grasping Mount's paw, and turning it to face blade side out.

"Like That!"

Mount watches with fear as Malefor begins walking away and stares at the rock.

"WHAT NOW?!" He cries out, and Malefor raises a paw in the air.

"Now...it's time to look cool!"

Malefor drops his paw, and time returns to normal. The Earth Dragon has no chance to move before the boulder continues its path, striking the blade only a few feet from his face.

The stone splits down the center, sending both pieces around his head, missing the green dragon by inches.

"HOLY SH..."

Malefor is fast to Mount's side, placing a paw upon his mouth to keep him from swearing before the younger dragons in the crowd.

"Easy, Potty-Mount!"

The Earth Dragon looks totally stunned, and stares down at Malefor, still holding his mouth shut. However, the oohs and ahhs in the crowd take his attention and he can see their stunned looks as well. He turns around slowly and his eyes open wider, seeing the two pieces of stone resting behind him.

"WOW! THAT IS COOL!" He barks out, staring at the blade in his paw and admiring it more every second.

"There isn't even a scratch on the thing!" he continues, looking at his reflection on the mirror-like sheen of this stainless steel blade.

Malefor smiles again and glances at his former master.

"I think your son might be getting a new student, Hunter."

Mount shows off a wide grin, and hands the sword back to Malefor.

"I don't think I can do this, Malefor."

"Nonsense!" The young purple dragon replies as he sheaths the sword behind his back and places his paw on Mount's shoulder.

"Any dragon can learn this skill, Mount...It just takes time, patience, and something you have a lot of," he says with a smile, waiting for Mount to turn back to him, so he can tell the large dragon this final ingredient for a good swordsman.

"The stubbornness to continue when you fail."

Mount laughs hard and places a paw upon the young purple dragon's head.

"Thanks, Malefor, and I'm sorry about before."

The proud dragon returns the kind gesture, placing a paw on Mount's back.

"And I'm sorry for knocking you down like that. I kinda got carried away."

Mount smiles, and shakes his head no, keeping his paw upon Malefor's head.

"I got carried away, young Master, believe me...this is not your fau..."

Suddenly the large dragon stops talking, as a massive group appears from behind the large mountain that Spyro calls his home.

"Holy shit!"

"HEY!" Malefor barks, but notices the stunned look in Mount's eyes, and turns around.

"Holy shit!" He replies as well.

His uncouth comment draws an odd stare from the dragon beside him, whom he just scolded for cursing. However, it is not the sight of a hundred dragons that has startled Malefor, but the image his sharp eyes can see in the front of this pack.

"SPARX! DAD!" he says with total disbelief in what he is seeing, as his father and brother fly side by side with wide smiles.

The two purple dragons fly towards the front of the crowd of stunned party goers, as this second group begins filling the Valley of Avalar to capacity.

"Happy Birthday, little brother!" Sparx barks out as he lands before Malefor, his father only a second behind.

"Sparx...Dad...what the hell happened?" he asks with surprise, staring out to the crowd that has doubled in size, but more freaked out about his family's sudden connection.

"You guys were at each other's throats twenty minutes ago!"

Spyro lowers his shoulders for only a moment, feeling the depression that haunted him returning, but Sparx picks his Spirit back up with a single statement of the truth.

"Yeah, but that is all over now, Malefor," he says, grasping his brother tightly in his arms, and holding him like he would years ago. His eyes focus on his father, before finishing this heart-felt apology.

"I missed you, little whelpling," he says with tears in his eyes, squeezing the purple dragon in his arms tighter. "And I'll never make you feel that way again."

"That sounds familiar," Spyro remarks with a slightly sarcastic tone.

He recalls the exact thing he said to his son and meaning every word then too. He strides forward to his boys, wrapping his wings around them together for the first time in two years, feeling the love from both.

"I am so sorry..." he begins to say, but Malefor breaks free from this hug, and stares at his father and brother.

"Why are you sorry, Dad?" He says with conviction, feeling the love between he and his brother is strong again. "You gave me the greatest gift of all...and I'm not talking about a sword!"