Chapter 11 - Seeing Red

Cynder rolled sideways, barely dodging the large boulder that rolled her way. Her claws scratched against the ground as she brought herself to a halt, managing to stop in time to avoid the next boulder that landed exactly where she would have been. Cynder took a deep breath, awaiting Gaia's next move.

She didn't have long to wait. Gaia charged forward again, creating a shock-wave that traveled across the floor. Cynder leap up in the nick of time, soaring up and away from the attack. She saw a flash of movement and felt something brush past her head. She reacted instinctively, dropping her left wing to dive away from the unknown object. Two more fist-sized rock pelted past her, each aimed precisely at the space she had just vacated. Without any second thoughts, Cynder flapped her wings and sped off, avoiding additional missiles shot up from the ground.

Cynder grimaced as she executed a sharp loop, the unusual maneuver gaining her a temporary respite from the barrage. The fight had progressed in this manner for the past few minuets more or less. Every time Cynder tried to retaliate, Gaia merely created an earthen shield or dodged. And whenever Cynder tried to get up close and personal, Gaia just knocked her back with that cursed concussive blast of hers. So Cynder had no choice but to run and hope the earth dragoness would eventually tire. But it was becoming increasingly clear that Cynder would likely make a mistake long before that happened. What would Spyro think of her, running away from a foe like this?

That momentary lapse in her concentration as her thoughts drifted to Spyro cost her. The next projectile struck her squarely in the chest, the force of the impact shattering the rock into tiny pebbles. Cynder flailed, tumbling end over end as she fell. At the last second, she managed to twist so that her feet hit the floor first. The impact sent a shock through her system and for a second she feared that she had broken something. Her bones ached from the abuse, but remained intact. Great, there was no way Spyro missed that screw up.

Gaia remained in the center of the arena, grinning cockily as she prepared the next wave. Cynder growled. The fight could not be allowed to continue in this way. It was time to get creative.

Focusing her own elemental power, Cynder willed darkness to consume the arena. It instantly became blacker that the eternal night, the advantage now hers for the taking.

The ground at her feet trembled and Cynder was suddenly catapulted into the air as the earth below her jutted up. She had no opportunity to right herself in the air and she landed on her side, badly scraping her wing membrane against the rough ground. Shaking herself, Cynder rolled away to barely avoid the next uprising of rock. With darkness still shrouding the arena, it was comforting to know that Spyro had not witnessed that mistake at least.

Confusion clouded her thoughts, preventing her from forming any coherent ideas. This didn't make any sense, nothing but another shadow dragon was supposed to be able to see through the fog, so how was Gaia as accurate as ever? Then it hit her. "Of course." Cynder thought to herself. "I'm still standing on the ground. That's how she's doing it."

With this knowledge in hand, Cynder opened her wings, wincing as the raw membrane throbbed angrily. She flapped her wings tenderly, raising herself off the floor slowly, hoping that she could stay airborne. As Cynder silently glided around the arena, she could hear Gaia beginning to get desperate with her attacks, trying to locate her through a lucky hit. Cynder climbed steadily higher, knowing that the slightest sound could give her away.

Despite not being able to see her enemy, Gaia had a premonition that an attack was incoming. She quickly raised a sphere of rock around her, encasing and protecting her until Cynder made a move. Like that was really going to make any difference.

Tucking her wings back in, Cynder swooped towards Gaia's protective shell. Cynder dipped into her reserves, drawing out enough power to create a small green orb. Shooting it out in front of her descent, the ball splashed against the rock wall. It hissed and popped on contact, slowly reducing the wall to a pile of dust and green sludge. Before Gaia had a chance to rebuild, Cynder slammed home, easily knocking through the weakened wall to strike against the dragoness within.

Cynder's momentum carried both her and Gaia through the opposite side of the shell. Both dragons tumbled across the floor, painfully rolling across the debris strewn arena. As she rolled, Cynder dispelled the cloud of darkness around the stage. She had a feeling she would need all of her strength and concentration for the finale of the fight.

Both dragonesses came to a halt at the same time, eagerly scrambling to their feet. Cynder didn't know if it was because of her close proximity or if Gaia was just more exhausted than she was letting on, but either way, instead of knocking her away like before, Gaia lashed out with tooth, tail, and claw. Several blows landed before Cynder could react, tearing several gashes in her side. This wasn't the advantage she was hoping for.

Growing loudly, Cynder parried the next blow and struck back at the green dragoness. Gaia block the swipe with one of her wings, Cynder's claws harmlessly bouncing off the boney edge. Cynder saw Gaia winding up for a powerful knock-out hit using her club-like tail. Cynder ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow. Sensing an opening, Cynder's own tail darted forward, the blade opening a shallow cut across Gaia's chest. Gaia hissed in pain and counter-attacked, driving Cynder back several steps.

The situation was grim. Even with all her combat experience, Cynder was no match for Gaia, both close up and at a distance. Blood from several cuts, both deep and shallow, dripped down off of Cynder's scales, blotting the floor with little red spots. Each new injury restricted Cynder's movements and sapped away at her strength. It was time to play her last card.

Fear. It was the one element she only used as a last resort. It reminded her too much of her old days, when she instilled terror at a single glance. It had its uses, such as giving her and Spyro some room among the hordes of enemies. But using it against friends? It seemed too much like an intrusion, a manipulation of their thoughts. And that was something Cynder never wanted to do again.

But she was out of options. And she refused to let Spyro see her lose like this. Taking a deep breath, Cynder faced Gaia, making eye contact. As she stared into Gaia's green eyes, Cynder's eyes flashed red for a brief second. Cynder made sure to tune down the intensity so that Gaia wouldn't experience an all out, nightmarish-vision as what the fear element normally induced.

Gaia stopped mid-swing, her eyes growing wide as she stared at Cynder in slight shook. Cynder didn't hesitate, leaping forward to pin Gaia to the ground. Gaia fought valiantly, but Cynder manage to secure all of her limbs and use leverage to hold her there. After ten seconds of pointless struggling, Gaia gave up as Terrador's voice rang out over the silent arena. "And the winner is Cynder. Good match you two."

Cynder got off of Gaia and offered a paw. Gaia grabbed it and Cynder pulled her to her feet. Cyril walked forward, handing red crystals out to both of the dragonesses. As their wounds healed over, Gaia pointed a questioning paw at Cynder. "What was that you hit me with at the end there? I felt like I was paralyzed."

Cynder looked away, ashamed of using the terror element against her allies. "Fear. I'm sorry I used it on you. I really shouldn't have done it. I... I don't want to be remembered like that."

Gaia shook her head. "It's fine. If I had enough energy for an earth blast back there I would have used it. It's part of who you are, good or bad. It's my job to come up with an effective defense, not your job to never use it."

Cynder considered her words and nodded. "Alright. I still don't like using it though. But thanks. It was a good battle out there."

"Don't worry, I'll be looking for a rematch." Gaia smirked as they rejoined the other young dragons in the stands.

Cynder made her way back to where Spyro was sitting, talking casually with Sparx. Sparx had largely been absent from their training so far and only appeared now because "This is the first thing you guys have done that is even remotely interesting." She didn't know how Spyro put up with him.

Before she and Spyro could do anything more than nod a greeting, Terrador called out the next participants. "Next match is Spyro vs. Electra. Good luck to the both of you."

Spyro groaned and dragged himself back down the bleachers as Cynder sat down. Sparx grinned and zipped down next to her head. "Cynder! Good match. Yet another reason why I should never tick you off."

Cynder snorted disbelievingly. "That's never stopped you before if memory serves."

Sparx shrugged it off. "So what? Come on, I want to see how Spyro does in his second match."

Since they had an odd number of students, that meant that someone would have to fight twice. Spyro had already competed in the first match, soundly beating Connan within a minute. It was almost like the ice dragon was distracted by something...

/~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Meanwhile, as Spyro and Electra took their stances, Pyrus and Connan were huddled in a corner of the stands. They were conversing quietly, only half paying attention to the matches. "Connan, what were you doing that first match against Spyro? I know you may not be the best here, but that was just pathetic!"

Connan growled, his uncharacteristically morose mood clouding his normal good humor. "The Guardians already give me enough criticism, thank you very much. I don't need you butting into my life as well."

Pyrus sighed. "This is about yesterday, right? When we found out Gaia was going out with what's-his-name, right?"

"No, it's because it's a few degrees too warm in here." What normally might have been a joke was turned instead into a sharp insult soaked in sarcasm. The message was clear: buzz off.

Pyrus racked his brains for an answer. With all the comforting he was doing, he might as well be appointed group therapist. "I don't know what to tell you Connan. I don't think there was anything we could do. So stop acting like it was my fault at least."

Connan studied him for a few seconds before sighing and loosening up his tense muscles. "You're right. It's just... I got a lot on my mind right now, okay?"

Pyrus nodded. "I understand. Heck, the first few unrequited crushes I had were pretty harsh too. We just need to get up and move on."

Connan stared over Pyrus' shoulder for a few seconds, gazing at Gaia. Finally, he spoke up. "Could you explain something to me Pyrus? I thought I was doing everything right. I was nice to her, I made her laugh, and I always had her back in battle. So why does she ignore me and fall for that perfect little Prince Charming that she barely knows at all?"

Pyrus could only shake his head. He had been in this position a few times and had never gotten a proper response either. "I got no answers for you buddy. The world may never know."

"Alright, what are you guys talking about over here?" They both started and looked around to see who intruded into the private conversation. Pyrus noticed a little golden glint out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Sparx floating a foot above their heads. Connan's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Pyrus frowned. He had met Sparx before, briefly, while the hunt for Spyro was still on going. The dragonfly didn't leave the kindest impression.

"Nothing." Pyrus said quickly, covering for Connan. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm bored." Sparx turned around to watch the arena again. "You know, when I heard you guys were sparing, I imagined something more than just one dragon running in circles while the other one shot at them." Pyrus spared a glance at the action, noticing what was going on for the first time. Currently, Spyro was running through a gauntlet of lighting bolts, attempting to get closer to Electra in any way he could. It bore a distinct resemblance to the last match. Maybe Sparx had a point.

"And anyways," Sparx continued. "You both suck at lying. I've been listening to you for the past few minutes."

Connan instantly went on the defensive, pointing a paw at the insolent dragonfly. "Not a word to anyone! Is that clear?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Sparx said, displaying his two empty palms. "Chill out. My lips are sealed."

Connan lowered his paw, eyes still shooting daggers at Sparx. The dragonfly seemed unperturbed by the attention. "You know, there is a very simple solution to your problem. Just tell her."

"What!?" Connan yelled out. After checking to make sure no one else was listening to his startled outburst, he continued in a quieter tone. "Are you insane? I couldn't do that! What would that accomplish anyways?"

Sparx shrugged. "I don't know, maybe after you express your deep love for her, she will realize she made a tragic mistake and romantically fall into your arms."

Pyrus and Connan just stared at Sparx with skeptical expressions. "Sparx," Pyrus said. "You do realize that that only happens in crummy romance novels. I'm pretty sure that it won't work the same way here."

"And besides," Connan looked away for a moment. "If that's who she really wants, then I have no right to ruin that."

"Suite yourself. Hey, look, the match is over." Pyrus looked and saw the two dragons healing their wounds with the stash of red gems. From what little he had seen, the match had been relatively straight forward. Electra had dominated the field early on, sending Spyro on the run while she executed large, area-of-effect lightning attacks. In the end though, she grew tired and Spyro was able to use his superior close quarter fighting skills to subdue her. Pyrus slowly got to his feet. There was only two dragons left after all, so he had a good idea as to who his opponent would be.

"Last match for today. Pyrus and Zero, please step forward." Pyrus moved down, glancing back at the white dragon descending behind him. Pyrus' fire element gave him an edge over Zero, so this spar should be a piece of cake.

They both took up starting positions, awaiting Terrador's command. It didn't come. Instead, Cyril walked toward Zero, offering him a red crystal. When Zero refused it, Terrador spoke up. "Zero, your leg is still injured. You need to heal up before we begin."

Pyrus looked and saw that Zero's left foreleg still had the cloth bandages around, a testament to the battle under the Badlands. Had Zero really not healed that already with the ample supply of red gems in the temple?

"That is not necessary Master Terrador." Zero told the earth guardian. "It is a small wound, it will heal on its own eventually."

"And I have let it slide thus far." Terrador left little room for any argument. "But I can't allow the possibility of you making it worse during the fight. This is not a choice Zero."

Zero stared at Terrador for a few seconds before lowering his head in submission. "Very well Master Terrador." He took the offered gem from Cyril and Pyrus saw the energy transfer to Zero. Using a single claw, Zero sliced through the bandages around his leg, revealing the unblemished scales beneath.

Next, Terrador turned to Pyrus. "Now Pyrus, since Zero does not posses an element, it would be unfair for you to use yours. Melee contact only."

Pyrus opened his mouth to object, but Zero beat him to it. "No."

A startled murmur spread through the watching crowd. Even Terrador looked surprised at the statement. "No? What do you mean Zero?"

"Forgive me Master Terrador." Zero bowed his head respectfully in Terrador's direction. "But I believed that the purpose of this training was to better prepare us for actual fights out there in the wilds. In a true engagement, an opponent would use every single advantage he had over me. If you insist on handicapping others to make the fight fair, then I fail to see the point of these exercises."

Pyrus had to admit, when Zero did speak, his words were always eloquent and carefully chosen. Whenever he talked with a guardian, it was always with the utmost respect. It was a courtesy that was never conveyed to him or any of the others when they managed to wheedle a few sentences from him.

Still looking slightly surprised, Terrador nodded. "Very well Zero. Pyrus, you are free to use your element however you see fit. All other rules still apply. No attacks with an intent to kill and a ten second pin to win. Now, begin!"

Before Pyrus could even begin to formulate a strategy, Zero dashed forward. Lowering his head, Zero charged at Pyrus, his horns pointed squarely at the chest area. Pyrus opened his mouth to blast Zero with a fire ball, but then closed it. Zero had taken the moral high ground by insisting that Pyrus be able to use his element. He needed to show everyone that he wouldn't need to use fire to win this fight.

At the last second, Zero pulled up short and attempted to rake Pyrus with his claws. It was child's play to block the clumsy swing and Pyrus felt a confident grin coming on. This was easier than expected.

They exchanged several more blows, each of Pyrus' strikes getting stronger and Zero being forced to slowly fall back. Pyrus drew first blood with a thin set of scratches on Zero's right foreleg. This fight would be over soon.

Although his expression never changed, Zero appeared to be getting more and more desperate. In an effort to break the cycle, he lowered his head again and prodded Pyrus with his horns. In response, Pyrus dropped his own head and locked horns with Zero, pushing back in an attempt to end the battle once and for all.

The blow came out of nowhere. Pyrus gasped as his side exploded in agony. Glancing down, Pyrus saw Zero retracting his leg, claws stained with blood. Pausing momentarily, Pyrus moved a free paw to his side to assess the damage. Unfortunately, Zero didn't let up. Pyrus felt his neck twist as Zero pushed him away with a lot more strength than before. Pyrus hit the ground hard, his side burning in pain again.

The tide of the battle turned almost immediately. Where as before Zero's attacks had been sloppy and weak, they were now hard-hitting and performed with pin-point accuracy. Zero focused on light, quick strikes that left a stinging impression each time they collided, the intent mainly to disorientate. Pyrus could do little to block or strike back against the withering onslaught.

Pyrus grimaced, every inch of his body aching. He couldn't take much more of this. Opening his mouth, he spewed out a wide cone of flames, attempting to get some breathing room. Zero leaped back, the fire dancing across his scales, but not enough to cause any burns. So maybe Pyrus would need his element to win this fight.

Keeping a wary eye on the white dragon, Pyrus felt the extent of his injuries. A series of small cuts and bruises peppered his body, but the first wound was by far the worst. Three long gashes ran all the way along his right side, each one bleeding profusely. Pyrus had the sneaking suspicion that were there not any rules regarding lethal attacks, Zero would have gone a lot deeper.

Ignoring the pain, Pyrus returned to the matter at hand. He was being beaten quite badly, and he meant to change that. Zero was going down. Taking the initiative, Pyrus charged forward, laying more flames down in front of him. Zero was forced to retreat, not prepared to face getting too close to Pyrus again. Noticing Zero attempting to skirt around the fiery river, Pyrus swung his tail out. The flat side of his trident struck Zero across the face, sending the dragon staggering back a few steps. Pyrus grinned, the heat from the fire around him leaving the air dry and parched. It was time to put this dragon in his place.

The battle now flip-flopped in Pyrus' favor. Zero could not bear to approach him again without sustaining severe burns, preventing any additional attacks against Pyrus. For the most part, Pyrus concentrated on herding Zero with the flames, stopping Zero from going anywhere near himself again. If Zero could be kept at arms length, he was helpless to strike back.

Pyrus began to get bolder. After realizing that simple fireballs were too easy to dodge, Pyrus cautiously closed the distance. Halting a few feet away from Zero, Pyrus released another burst of flame, filling the space between them with smoke and fire. Pyrus reached forward, pushing his paw through the flickering pillars. Feeling something hard, Pyrus immediately dug his claws into the object. He was rewarded by seeing the smokey outline of his opponent suddenly draw back. Determined not to let Zero slip away in the smoke, Pyrus erupted forward into a comet dash. For a second, Pyrus worried that he had missed, but then he felt the impact. Landing on all four feet, Pyrus looked around and saw Zero sprawled out a dozen feet ahead of him.

Zero certainly looked worse off than Pyrus from the look of things. Three small puncture wounds dotted his left shoulder, mirroring the injuries he had inflicted on Pyrus. His normally white scales were covering in ash and were beginning to match the same shade of his gray stomach scales. The formation of a nasty bruise was rapidly appearing on his chest, the same place that Pyrus had hit him with the comet dash. But none of the pain that he obviously had to be feeling made its way to his face. Zero's expression remained calm and collected as he stared back at Pyrus. Did nothing get through to this guy?

While Pyrus debated as to how to best finish the conflict, Zero moved forward again. Reacting instinctively, Pyrus blew another wall of fire in front of him, cutting Zero off. But Zero didn't stop. Instead, he unfurled his wings, placing them in front of his face to act as a primitive shield. Putting on a burst of speed, Zero rapidly closed the distance.

All too late, Pyrus saw the danger he was in. So he did the one thing that might let him get away in time. Taking a small skip backwards, Pyrus spread his own wings and took off. He barely got more than a few feet off the ground when Zero burst through the burning wall. Realigning his wings, Zero jumped up towards Pyrus, not bothering to slow down. Pyrus pumped his wings in rapid succession, attempting to gain enough altitude to evade Zero.

He did, but just barely. Zero past by below, the gray horns just barely missing Pyrus' legs. Just as Pyrus began congratulating himself, Zero's tail whipped up and struck his already injured side. Pyrus cried out in pain, his wings involuntarily freezing up and dropping him a few feet. Biting the inside of his cheek, Pyrus fought to keep himself from yelling out again. A white blob moving into his blurred vision and Pyrus had to blink several times before the image came into focus. Zero, who was also airborne, was turning back around, preparing to do another pass. Out of the haze, Pyrus spat out several fireballs, none of them even remotely close to hitting the white dragon. Nevertheless, the projectiles convinced Zero to break off and he looped back around, looking for an opening. Pushing the pain from his mind, Pyrus took off in hot pursuit.

The two dragons raced around the arena, Pyrus taking pot-shots at Zero at every opportunity. With each wing stroke, Pyrus slowly gained ground, closing the distance between them and increasing the accuracy of each shot. He was vaguely aware of passing over the stands, shooting fireballs the whole way. An angry shout came from below and Pyrus dimly noted that he had almost fried Sparx with one of his shots that went wide. But he could care less at this point.

Zero turned and banked back towards the center of the room. Pyrus followed, this time taking a few seconds to line up a proper shot. Just as he fired, Zero flipped up, going up and away. He was trying to do a tight loop to get behind Pyrus and knock him out of the sky. It was an easy trick to do once you knew how to and one that Pyrus practiced often. Pulling his wings back, Pyrus followed Zero into the loop.

No sooner had he gone vertical than Pyrus realized that Zero had never intended to do a loop. Instead, Zero had gone straight up and folded his wings, dropping like a stone. Contorting his body, Zero managed to turn himself around so that his head was pointing downward again. Pyrus opened his mouth to shoot, but Zero was moving too quickly. They slid by each other, somehow managing to avoid a head-on collision. As Zero went over him, he extended his claws, ripping into Pyrus' wing membranes.

The shock spread through Pyrus' system, threatening to make him pass out. He couldn't remember the last time he was in so much physical pain. It overrode every single other thought in his mind, making it impossible to even think. The only thing he could make out was a white leg dangling in front of him. Stretching his neck forward, Pyrus bit down on the offending leg. The rich, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and acted as a sort of primal stimulant, bringing him back from the brink. His vision sharpened slightly and he became aware of them falling, the ground getting ever closer...

Zero's other rear leg struck out, connecting with Pyrus' temple. Still in shook, Pyrus released his grip, drifting away slightly from Zero. Managing to complete a single thought, Pyrus fired one last fireball at where he thought Zero should be before flaring his torn wings in an attempt to slow his fall.

Pyrus slammed into the ground, his back taking the brunt of the impact. Every cell in his body urged him to just quit and get healed, but he ignored them. He was a lot of things, but a quitter he was not. He was going to see this through.

Panting hard, Pyrus pulled himself up, turning to see Zero doing the same a little ways away. Pyrus' last fireball had been right on the money, striking Zero dead-center. The entirety of Zero's left wing was badly burned, effectively grounding the dragon. Blood dripped down the right rear leg, forming a small puddle below. Zero slowly turned to face Pyrus, heavily favoring his other three legs. Like Pyrus, he was breathing hard and showed no signs of quitting.

For the first time, Pyrus noticed all the other dragons lined up at the edge of the arena, looking on worriedly. Cyril was prepared to dash in with his gems the second the fight was finally called. Connan, Spyro and several of the others all stared at Pyrus pleadingly, urging him to just give up already. Pyrus only shook his head. Not this time.

Zero limped forward, trying to make do with only three feet and no wings. Pyrus consider going out to meet him, but though better of it. Summoning up his last reserves, Pyrus spat a fireball directly at Zero. Zero tried to dive out of the way, but his leg failed him and he fell to the ground. The fireball exploded, sending waves of flames over the crouched dragon. Zero slowly stood again and began hobbling his way towards Pyrus. Pyrus shot another fireball, which also hit Zero dead on.

As Pyrus watched Zero try to shelter himself from Pyrus' attacks, the pain from his wounds began to slowly ebb away. At his feet was a dragon who acted like he was quietly superior to everyone else. Someone who purposefully pushed them away at every opportunity and stared at them with disdain. And here he was, helpless.

Pyrus shot more fireballs, each one hitting their target. Pyrus' wounds were no more than a dull throb and a red haze clawed at the edge of his vision. When he thought back on it later, he would realize that he was not really mad at Zero, it was more just he was sick and tired of everything he had gone through. It was about not being able to do anything meaningful in his life, about always being stuck away from the action and not being able to prove himself. And for the first time, he finally felt like he had a chance to.

The rage didn't last long. A little voice in the back of his head finally got enough volume to be heard. "There is no need for this, just end the fight already."

Unconsciously obeying, Pyrus stopped shooting and stumbled forward slowly. Zero saw him coming and tried to rise, but Pyrus got there first and pinned him down.

Ten. Even after all that had happened, Zero fought as hard as he could.

Nine. Pyrus grabbed Zero's right wrist, forcing it to the ground.

Eight. Zero's tail lashed out, hitting Pyrus' injured side again.

Seven. Moving his rear legs, Pyrus stomped down on the tail, preventing any further movement.

Six. Zero's breaths were pained gasps, he was still trying to escape.

Five. The pain from Pyrus' wounds was returning. Just a little bit longer.

Four. Zero tried a head butt and Pyrus moved back slightly, avoiding it.

Three. Pyrus looked down at his opponent, making eye contact. And he saw something that he didn't expect to see.

Two. In that one instant, Pyrus saw actual emotion in those eyes. It was a mixture of pain, anger, and... Hate? Hatred at what though? Pyrus somehow got the feeling it wasn't being expressed at him.

One. Suddenly, Pyrus felt himself pushed back. Zero surged forward, acting with a lot more power than seemed possible with his injuries. In the space of one second, the roles were reversed, with Pyrus on the ground and Zero pinning. Pyrus vainly struggled, but quickly felt his strength leaving him. The adrenalin drained from his body, leaving him exposed to the full scope of his injuries. There was nothing he could do.

"That is enough!" Terrador's voice rang through the hall and Pyrus felt Zero's weight vanish. He just lay there, too tired to move. There was a clattering sound and a few red crystals dropped in front of him. Reaching a single paw out, Pyrus sighed with relief as his wounds finally healed. The pain faded away, allowing him to stand up. Looking over next to him, Pyrus saw Zero also getting to his feet, his wounds similarly repaired. They both looked up to see Terrador towering over them.

"When we set the rules for this little competition, we trusted that one of the dragons would surrender before things got this far. You both nearly killed yourselves.!" Pyrus and Zero bowed their heads, accepting the admonishment. Terrador looked both angry and ashamed. "I can see now that while both of your combat skills have increased, you still don't know how to properly use them. As bad as things get, sometimes the best practice is to live to fight another day and if this was a real fight, neither of you would be doing that!"

Terrador sighed, rubbing his face with one of his massive paws. "I can not in good conscience order either of you to do anymore training today after the display I just watched. All of you, go to your rooms, that concludes today's lesson."

Terrador immediately convened with the other Guardians, talking in hushed tones as the dragons filed out of the room in silence. As they walked along the corridor outside, Pyrus did some thinking. Despite all the effort he had put in, despite all the pain he had endured, he still basically lost in the end. Not only that, but instead of a 'job well done', he got a lecture! He had just blew another chance to prove himself, just like that! The one thing Pyrus knew was that he did not want to be in the temple right now.

"Pyrus, are you okay?" Spyro asked in a concerned tone. Pyrus looked up to see everybody looking back at him, pity in each of their looks. Except for Zero, who had already disappeared around the corner.

"I'm fine." Pyrus replied shortly. Making up his mind, he strode over to one of the windows, unfurling his newly made-whole wings.

"Hold up Pyrus, Terrador said to go to our rooms." Gaia stepped forward, holding out a cautionary paw.

Pyrus shrugged. "So? It's not like he's going to find out, right?" And with that, Pyrus jumped out of the window, plummeting several stories before opening his wings and gliding out over the city.