A/N: I seemed to make another mistake. If you have been reading, then you have noticed that there is a dragon by the name of 'Angle', well her name is supposed to be 'Angel', makes much more sense like that.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.

Chapter Ten: The Albinos

Dimitri, Syra, and Sparx all sat in a small carriage pulled by very large horses and driven by a mole. Dimitri remembered that the carriage driver had called the horses 'draft horses', but that mattered little. Dimitri left his armor behind, the set would've stuck out too much, and the sound would have set off any nearby apes. He only had his blade-sheath, which was the leather sheath and metal blade that was strapped to his hind-quarter. Blade sheaths were hollow blades that were fashioned to fit over a dragon's tail spade. Most dragons considered them impractical, despite the fact that they were extremely dangerous, mostly because of the expensive and long process that it take to make them. Plus the fact that a dragon would most likely grow out of the blade-sheath just adds to the dislike of them. But to the Knights of Warfang, blade-sheaves were both a mark of their knightly status, as well as invaluable tools and weapons. The Knights blade-sheaves were enchanted to follow the growth of the owner, so that way they will never outgrow the blade sheath.

Dimitri laid down on his side, his forepaws folded neatly in front of him and his hind legs splayed out to the side; his wings were held formally against his side. Syra was napping, her back pressed against his side and her head twisted around to use his shoulder as a pillow. She held Sparx like he was a teddy bear with her arms cross over the little dragonfly. Dimitri had learned that Syra, when sleeping, likes to have something to grab and something to rest her head on. Since there were on pillows on the carriage, she used the closest things possible, Dimitri and Sparx. Sure, they protested, but Sparx couldn't quite fight back against the much larger dragon, and Dimitri wouldn't use force to remove a young female such as Syra. So she just napped as he went over all he knew about the Crags; not much.

Last he had heard was that apes were crawling all over the Crags. The panthers that had lived there had made an agreement and joined the Dark Armies, but the apes still manned the area due to the mutual distrust between Spyro and the Panther chieftains. But Dimitri and Ignitus had been away from any reliable intel for a long time. He sighed as he went over what he had been told by Syra. She had told him that there was only a one place that they could hold a dragon, but she didn't say where, only that panthers could open it. Or knew how to open, she didn't specify that. Not much and it meant they either had to kidnap a panther, or sway one their way.

Once more he looked at the hatchling that was using him as a pillow. How can she display an unnatural control of her elements, and then throw a fit about having to take a bath? He thought to himself. It was strange, that such a young hatchling could easily act her age, or her age plus twenty. Right now, she had a peaceful look on her face, enjoying her nap very much. Every now and then, she would snuggle her head closer to the crook of his neck and coo happily. Dimitri sighed. He wished that this female didn't grow too attached to him. Knights weren't really supposed to have friends outside of the Knights of Warfang. I hope that I don't get too attached. He thought to himself. That was one of the reasons that Dimitri didn't like being a knight sometimes. He knew that if it came down to Syra's life, or the lives or several dragons from Warfang, he would have to choose the civilians. He hoped that if he was forced to make that choice, he would choose the rightly.

After a few hours of sitting in the carriage, Syra finally woke up. She picked her head up from Dimitri's shoulder and let out a yawn that revealed her pearly teeth. She yawned again, but a smaller yawn this time. She released Sparx, who yelled, "Freedom!" and then rolled onto her other side so she could speak with Dimitri.

"So, what do you know about the Crags?" She asked as she stared at Dimitri questioningly. Dimitri relayed back all of the info that he had. She chuckled. "You have been out of touch with the world for a long time, haven't you?" She asked redundantly. Sparx snorted.

"You're one to talk. I bet you don't even know what the Crags are!" Sparx challenged, while Syra rolled her eyes.

"The Crags is desolate area by a small desert. It is the home of the Panther tribes. They are not as skilled as fast as cheetahs, or as strong as wolves, but they will always find a way to survive." She said firmly. Sparx just stared at her.

"You could've gotten that anywhere." Sparx said. Syra just gave her signature smug grin, the one that seemed to say 'you think I know nothing, but I really know more than all of you.'

"The panthers have recently joined forces with Spyro and Cynder, more with Spyro though. By what you told me, you are working off of old intel. Right now, most all of the apes have left the Crags. A few commanders are still there, but they are more of a formality than anything else really. Spyro's personal general and bodyguard, Aiden, regularly travels there. In fact, lucky for us, our visit should coincide with his. Yippee..." Syra said, her last sentence dripping with sarcasm. "Traveling through the Crags silently should be easy enough. Right now, an army of panthers are on their way to Concurrent Skies, so few soldiers should be there. A few of the chieftains elected to stay behind to watch after their tribes. This only presents a minor problem. Although, the small band of albino mercenaries creeping up on the Crags should be able to give some help."

Dimitri stared at the dragoness. "Where did you learn all that?" He asked. Originally, he was skeptical about Syra's report, but when she mentioned the albino mercenaries, the same ones that he, Iedus, and Ignitus had hired to scout out the Crags, he was now curious.

"Learned it all from the source." She stated smugly. "You have talked to the mercenaries yourself?" Dimitri asked. Now that, he doubted. She looked at him with her signature grin, still saying 'I know more then you, I know more than you!' in a sing-song voice. "No, I mean I learned it from Concurrent Skies. I am going to take another nap now." Syra said as Dimitri's eyes widened. She rolled over towards him, snatching Sparx out of the air along the way. Syra settled the position she had taken earlier, her back pressed against Dimitri's side with her head resting on his shoulder, before he could ask any questions, her paw shot up and grabbed his muzzle.

"Don't say anything." She held onto his muzzle and kept him quiet. Dimitri just submitted, knowing that he will never sway this stubborn hatchling. Instead, he dropped his muzzle down to his paws, closed his eyes, and hoped that he could sleep.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri was woken by a dull thump and a loud whiny. He snapped his head up, only to find that Syra had rolled over and now stood in a defensive crouch. He motioned for Syra to stay put as he walked out of the small carriage. Since they were a few miles away from the Crags, the ground had turned dusty and the sun burned all who stood under it. As soon as he was out, he walked around to the front only to find that the mole driver now had an arrow through his throat. He twisted around and raised his wing, using the motion to create a thin wall of ice that was then shattered by another arrow. There was the sound of a commanding officer's voice then a battle scream as a two dozen panthers charged from either side of the road. Dimitri cursed as a panther launched himself at Dimitri.

The ice dragon took a step forward and slammed the front of his horns against the panther's chest. He then stepped to the side and spun to face another panther, his tail flicking behind him and lodging the spade in the first panther's throat. Dimitri reared and quickly raked his claws against another panther's chest, then spun around and let out a large burst of ice. The ice flew out of his mouth like shards of broken glass, cutting and lodging into the panther's flesh. They all began to swarm him now. He jumped back to avoid the swing of a sword, only to have the pommel of another slam into his back. Dimitri spun around, coating his tail with many spikes made of ice and flinging them as he spun. Now facing the panther that had hit his back, Dimitri dropped his head and rammed his horns into the panther's chest before he pulled them out. He lashed out with his claws at another panther's knee, causing the panther to fall over. Dimitri then leapt onto the panther and jabbed his claws into the panther's throat. Dimitri felt a boot slam against his side. He rolled away from it, but mid role someone stepped on his back. They delivered a stomp to the side of his face. And another, and another, until Dimitri's vision was fading.

A large panther, presumably the leader, pushed his way through the crowd until he stood over Dimitri. He raised his sword to stab the fallen knight, but something stopped him. He looked up, but before he could move, a dragon landed on him, crushing the panther. This dragon wore a tattered brown cloak, concealing his scales. But his identity was revealed as the two blades slid out from between his knuckles.

"Talos?" Dimitri asked. He had heard of Talos; the leader of the Albino Mercenaries, famous for his metallic blades and four wings, Talos was possibly the most dangerous albino in existence, he had severely mauled a dragon one day which caused him to run away from his home. One thing Dimitri wasn't so sure about was how the massive albino's blades and spikes seemed to be made of metal. The cloaked dragon didn't pay him any mind. Instead, he let out a roar as several more dragons landed, each having pearly white scales or creamy colored scales. The all had pure red eyes; all of them Albino Mercenaries. Two were wearing leather armor that covered their chests, limbs, and necks. One wore heavy metal armor that covered his scales, while the last wore plate-and-mail-armor. Talos was the first to attack, leaping forward and shearing a panther in two before twisting around and slamming his tail spade, which for some reason was a cluster of metal spikes, into another panther's chest. The other dragons leapt into battle, one of them grabbing Dimitri and dragging him away from the carriage before leaping back into the fray.

Five dragons were more than enough to take on the panthers. After the fighting was over, and the bodies were moved, Talos walked over to Dimitri, who was struggling to stand. He was knocked over again by Syra, who jumped out of the carriage and rammed into Dimitri. She stood up and stared down Talos as the larger dragon walked to them.

"Well, what do we have here then?" He asked as he looked down at the two smaller dragons. He had removed his hood, revealing his chalk white scales. He had two horns that start from his forehead and ended in two points that curl upwards, a natural head guard that was clearly very useful for head butts. His tail, which instead of having a tail blade or mace, had a cluster of razor sharp spikes. On the outer sides of his forearms were several spikes extending past his elbows, as well as the two blades that slid back between his knuckles until only the tips showed. Instead of the traditional red irises that albinos usually have, Talos' eyes were silver, another abnormality that marked him. In addition to his normal wings he had a secondary pair of wings lower down his back, he folded these secondary wings over his primary ones, evidently he had no problem with what he was. Like all albinos, he was smaller and thinner than the average sized dragon. But like most Albino Mercenaries, his thin frame had a wiry musculature to it.

"I could ask the same thing." Syra said as she stretched her neck to stare at Talos. He regarded the small dragoness before turning to Dimitri and seeing the tattoo on his arm.

"You, you're a knight." Talos stated as he now looked at Dimitri.

"That is true. We have come here because we have reason to believe that the guardian of wind, Angel, is here." Dimitri stated as he stood and rubbed his temple, the spot that had been stomped on. Talos nodded.

"Aye, she is here. Not only her, but another female you should be acquainted with." Talos said as another mercenary walked over and dropped off several gems. "Heal up. We'll be leaving for our camp soon." Talos tossed over his shoulder as Dimitri absorbed the gems. He stood up and rolled his shoulders before spreading his wings and crouching to take off. He heard Syra gently cough in her throat. He looked over to her, and she was flexing her wings meaningfully. "Oh." He said as he remembered that Syra couldn't fly yet.

"Talos!" he called to the albino. "My friend, Syra can't fly yet. Would you mind too much to have one of your soldiers carry her?" Dimitri asked politely. Before Talos could answer, Syra said, "No, he won't." and jumped onto the closest mercenary's back. The mercenary just grunted at the unexpected weight. They all took off then.

"Who is 'Talos', anyway?" Syra asked as they were flying. It was the dragon she was riding that answered her.

"Talos is the leader of the Albino Mercenaries corp. The only one that can beat him in a fight is Plymouth Dodger!" At the name 'Plymouth' Dimitri stiffened a bit, but no one noticed.

"Great, another name I don't know!" Syra exclaimed as she smacked the back of the albino's head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked.

"For assuming that I knew who this so called Plymouth Dodger is!" Syra said sternly. "Now explain who he is." She commanded.

"The second-in-command. They say his real name is 'Plymouth Reznov', but everyone knows him as 'Dodger' because he dodges everything thrown his way." The albino explained. A few minutes passed before Sparx spoke up.

"Yet another brilliant adventure, glory awaits!" He stated as he stared humming. Sparx was flying by Dimitri's head.

"Is he usually this peppy?" Syra tossed over the wind to Dimitri.

"No, and I'm slightly worried that he is now." Dimitri stated as he looked at the dragonfly.

"Leave it to me; I have experience in this field." She said as she made the albino she was riding fly closer to Dimitri and Sparx. She started to sing.

"Bravely bold Sir Sparx, rode forth from Warfang, he was not afraid to die oh brave Sir Sparx, he was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Sparx." She sang, only bolstering Sparx's ego. But her smile turned evil as she continued.

"He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken. To have his wings split and his body burned away, and limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Sparx." Now Sparx was trying not to throw up, while Dimitri was trying not to laugh. The albinos showed no such restraint, and began to vocalize along with Syra as she drove her verbal dagger deeper. Even Talos was smiling.

"His head smashed in and his heart cut out and liver removed and his bowels unplugged and his nostrils ripped and his backside burned up and his antennae-" She was cut off by Sparx yelling, "NO!" as he grabbed his antennae and pulled them over his ears and flew behind Dimitri's horns. "My work here is done." She said with a smug smile. Sparx shuddered and Dimitri let a chuckle escape.

≤Ω≥

When they were only an hour away from the Crags, the albinos landed. There were bed rolls set up around a shouldering camp fire as well as a familiar face for Dimitri. Lying at the camp was a grey-blue dragoness, with purplish wing membranes, under-bell, and tail spade. Her tail spade was two curved blades that met up and firmed a tip, and left the middle empty. Her horns started at the crown of her forehead and traveled over the top of her head till the tips pointed down over her head, much like Dimitri's. There was a pile of neatly placed armor by her side, a leather case shaped to her tail spade strapped to her hind-quarter, as well as a small, black tattoo of a heavily armored dragon mid-way down her back. Eight scars marked the inside of her right forearm, all of them uniform and right next to each other.

"Lady Sarah!" Dimitri called as he landed. When he landed, he did the dragons' version if a bow. He bent his forelegs, bringing his chest closer to the ground, brought his right wing around so that it was in front of his chest. His left wing went straight and up while his head bowed. "It is well to my hope that I can see you again." Dimitri stated as he stood up and faced the larger dragoness. Syra cut in, not by saying anything, but by jumping off of the albino she was riding and landing on Dimitri's back. After she stepped off of Dimitri, she turned to Sarah.

"Who are you?" Syra asked the larger dragoness, not a shred of respect in her voice. Sarah smiled at the hatchling.

"I am Lady Sarah, the Warfang Knight of Ice." She answered. Syra looked confused.

"I thought Dimitri was the ice knight-thing-bobber or whatever." Syra stated as Dimitri stood.

"She is the female Knight of Ice. I am the male Knight." Dimitri said as he took a step towards Sarah. "Male apprentice; I never knew you to be prideful, Dimitri." Sarah stated with a motherly smile on her lips. Dimitri's once cheery face was now gone as he remembered he had to tell Sarah of his late-master's fate.

"Sarah, my proper title now is Sir Dimitri." Dimitri said stiffly, doing very well at keeping his sadness out of his voice.

"Do you mean that...? Iedus, is he...?" Sarah tried to ask, not wanting to believe that Iedus was dead. Even though Iedus was only a few years older than Sarah, he was like a father to the female Knight. Dimitri only nodded. She leaned forward and entrapped Dimitri in a caring hug. "It must be hard on you." She whispered into his ear quietly, setting down the young knight.

Talos had landed by then, to everyone's surprise he landed heavily with a dull thud. He looked at the scene, coughing in his throat. "I am saddened by his death. And whoever killed him... best not mentioned really." He said awkwardly. He was obviously not used to having to say something about a dead friend, and clearly the fate he planned for Iedus' killer was quite unspeakable. Syra scrunched her face up at him.

"Is that the best you got?" She asked as she looked at the larger albino dragon. Talos ignored her as he continued speaking. "Right now is not the time to mourn, he would agree. We have food to eat, business in the morning, and Angel to save." With that, the other albinos started to carve the antelopes that they had caught earlier. After everyone had eaten their fill, they all laid down to sleep. Except for Dimitri.

"Talos." He said in a harsh whisper to the sleeping dragon. "Business is in the morning. Go to sleep." Talos grumbled.

"This cannot be discussed in the morning. It is important." Dimitri insisted. Talos only said, "Oh, fine." and stood up, following Dimitri a little bit away from the camp.

"What is it?" Talos asked grumpily, although deep down he was curious about Dimitri's behavior.

"I am looking for Plymouth 'Dodger' Reznov."

"Why?"

"Iedus told me to find him, he is my father."

A/N: Talos does not belong to me, he belongs to my beta, Dragon. of. Chaos97. If you don't know who Talos is, read 'the pale dragon', which was written by my beta.

REVIEW GOSH DANGIT!