A slight blue glow was emanating from the large hourglass in the middle of the room, but that was the only source of light. On the walls of the large room, you could just faintly see the outlines of bookshelves, filled with books of all lengths and sizes and colors.

At one end of the room stood an adult bluish colored dragon, although not much could be described about him, as the darkness partially hid his features. Floating before him was a book. One page was blank, and the other depicted a picture of the world as it was cracking and breaking apart.

"Be welcome friend. I have long been expecting you," the dragon said, glancing to his right. "A new age is beginning. With each new age, a worthy dragon is chosen to chronicle the many triumphs and failures of that age. This has been my duty for many millenia. And now, Ignitus, I pass this honor to you." True enough, Ignitus stepped out of the shadows and approached the dragon now revealed to be the Chronicler.

"And... what of Spyro and Crystal? Are they...?" Ignitus asked, trailing off.

"Hmm, that is the question, isn't it?" the Chronicler asked.

"You see, each time a dragon dies, a new page is written in this book." The book that had been before the Chronicler closed and floated back over to a shelf. A new book floated over and opened. "I've done my best, but I can't seem to find any trace of them." With that, the Chronicler began to glow a bright blue light. When the light faded, Ignitus' color was replaced with the bluish hue and he was wearing the crystal necklace.

"Well, young dragons..." he wondered aloud. "Where might you be?"

~~...~~

I shot up into a sitting position, but I didn't open my eyes. My breathing was loud and heavy. I was gasping for breath. My vision was blurry and I could hear my heart pounding. I closed my eyes and steadied myself, slowing my breathing until it was normal and I calmed down. I felt weak and my head hurt. What...?
Everything hit me then. Everything that had just happened. The fight, the volcano...

I killed myself, I realized.

My eyes snapped open. We weren't in the chamber anymore. I could feel the soft trickle of a breeze. I looked up into the air, streaked with brilliant colors of purple and orange and even a splay of pink. The stars were beginning to come out. Above us as well were the Floating Islands.

I looked around. We were on a hill, but the land was unrecognizable. There was the volcano, but...

It was the Burned Lands! Already they had healed. Grass was sprouting up through the dirt and the lava that had plagued the stream beds was now replaced with a bubbling brook.

I wondered for a moment how we had gotten out, but I shook the thought off and stood up. But... where were Spyro and Cynder?

It didn't take me long to find them; they were laying right behind me, still passed out. I sighed and sat down. They were alive. Somehow, we were alive. This was amazing. Malefor was imprisoned forever, Spyro and I had put all of our life force into that power that restored the world, we somehow gotten out of the volcano, and now here we were, living!

I sighed and went about gathering wood and twigs to make a fire. I couldn't carry both of them together ten feet, much less all the way to Warfang, and I would not feel safe leaving one or both of them to go get help, so I thought I may as well camp out there until they both wake up.

~~...~~

I was staring listlessly into the fire, consumed by my own thoughts, when a terrified scream drew me out of them. I screamed as well and hopped to my feet. Cynder was in a panic.

"Cynder... Cynder, calm down!" I exclaimed.

"Crystal? Where... where's Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"He's right there, just calm down. It's over." Cynder took my advice and sat back down.

"It's over..." she repeated. "Wait, do you mean..." She looked at me in surprise.

"We did it," I whispered. "We're still alive and everything's okay."

We were mostly silent after that, keeping our thoughts to ourselves, but I knew we were both... what was the word? Excited? It didn't seem quite right. Thankful, maybe. Thankful it was just over.

I noticed that Cynder sometimes gazed at Spyro, almost sadly. I didn't think very much about it, as my thoughts were elsewhere. Finally, I grew tired and eventually fell asleep.

~~...~~

I yawned and opened my eyes, sitting up. The morning was a bright one, blue skies with golden clouds swirling about. Cynder was already awake, pacing.

"Why won't he wake up?" she asked me nervously.

"Why are you so worried about him? Since you're so very concerned about him, I'll get him up now." Promptly I walked over to Spyro and stomped on his tail.

Spyro cried out and hopped to his feet. I was suppressing laughter by now. "Crystal, why in the world did you do that? !" he demanded, glaring at me.

"Because you wouldn't get up," I replied, no longer able to contain my laughter.

"Crystal, we don't have time for—" It hit him suddenly, the realization of what had happened. "What happened down there? How did we get out of the volcano?" Spyro asked.

"I don't know. But it's okay. We did it, Spyro, all of us!" I was filled with sudden joy by my statement. Finally, everything would go back to the way it was before! Well, not exactly... this would impact my life forever. But, still, the days would be peaceful and happy again.

"Woo-hoooo!" I shrieked, taking to the air, reveling happily in the fact that I wasn't pulled back by the chain anymore.

Spyro and Cynder exchanged soft smiles and flew after me, catching up quickly.

"Where are we going?" Spyro asked, laughing. I wasn't even flying towards Warfang.

"Who cares? !" I laughed and spiraled closed to the ground.

Finally, finally. I had been set free. For three years, although I admit only a small fraction of that time conscious, I carried the weight of this mission, but now it was over and I was free!

I hovered in the air for a moment, gazing at the sky. Spyro and Cynder swooped up from the ground and extended their paws towards each other. I interrupted them, speeding over them and calling over my shoulder, "Race you to Warfang!" followed by a laugh.

Spyro smiled at Cynder and turned towards me. "You're on!" Cynder was already gone, though, speeding past him, and Spyro was right behind her.

~~...~~

Cynder won.

"No... fair..." I panted, tired from the energy expense. I landed on Warfang's walls to catch my breath, Spyro flying up behind me. Cynder didn't even look tired!

"Come on, Spyro, let's go find Spa—" I was interrupted by Sparx attempting to tackle Spyro in a hug.

"You're alive!" he exclaimed.

"Glad to see you too, Sparx," Spyro said with a laugh.

Sparx next hugged me. "I can't believe it! You fixed it!" was his next exclamation.

"We just wouldn't settle for anything less," I said, grinning.

"I knew you three would be able to do it!" Sparx exclaimed. He flew over to Cynder.

"Cynder... thank you," he said.

"You're welcome, Sparx... but for what?" Cynder asked quizzically.

"You kept your promise." Sparx was actually being sincere. This was surprising, as Sparx had done nothing but taunt and insult Cynder since he had met her, but now... they were almost friends.

"Well, since we've found Sparx, or more like he found us, let's go find the Guardians," I said, standing up and flying below.

The city's population was low at the time, unsurprisingly, and the few dragons or moles that were scattered about were scarce and too busy trying to rebuild the buildings that had been damaged to pay us any mind. There was no sign of Chief Prowlus, Hunter, or any other cheetahs. It took some wandering to find the Guardians, but eventually we did. They were together and walking along the streets.

"We did it. Malefor's dead," Spyro said. They turned, obviously surprised to see us.

"When the night passed we believed you weren't coming back, yet here you are!" Cyril exclaimed.

"Glad you had faith in us," I said, rolling my eyes but grinning good-naturedly.

"This is stupendous! Why, this is exhilarating! You've defeated Malefor against all the odds!" Volteer exclaimed.

Terrador was about to say something, but he glanced around quickly. "Where's Ignitus? Has he returned yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, where's the big guy gone?" Sparx asked, flying around us.

Spyro, Cynder, and I looked away. Pain flashed across my face. The Guardians' features saddened.

"We understand," Terrador said. The others, even Sparx, remained silent.

I continued to gaze at the ground sadly. Everything would have been perfect, if only Ignitus had survived.

"Anyway..." Spyro said quickly, changing the subject, "I think we're going to go back home. To the Swamp, I mean."

I was confused as to what to do next, really. In my early life, there was nowhere else other than the Swamp. Then, when I had discovered my powers, my suspicions were confirmed... I knew I had to find my homeland. But now that it was over, I didn't know what to do. I had found my home, but now I wanted to go back to my true home. I just felt so lost. It was less confusing when I had no other choice but to stay or go. But, of course, I had to go home. So... there really wasn't a choice. Not that I would choose differently, of course. I belonged in the Swamp.

"I guess I'll stay here, in Warfang," Cynder said. Spyro and I looked at her suddenly. But... it seemed impossible, life without Cynder. Once she had come, she had imprinted herself into our destinies. And now we would barely ever see her, if ever again...?

"You may come with us, if you wish, back to the swamp," Terrador said.

"Why are you going back there?" I asked, confused.

"The Temple is being rebuilt, along with the town just outside it," he replied.

"Town? There was a town before?" Spyro asked.

"Yes, when Malefor's forces invaded, the inhabitants fled and the town was burned. But now, we and a group of civilians that used to live there are heading back to rebuild it to what it once was," Cyril said.

"What was the town's name?" I asked.

"Saifae."

The word was odd, 'Saifae', and kind of pretty the way it was arranged. It must have been a beautiful town before the war.

"When are we leaving?" Spyro asked.

"Immediately, if you're ready," Terrador replied.

"I'm ready."

"Me, too," I said.

"I guess I'll come along," Cynder said indifferently, but she looked relieved.

"What about you, Sparx?" I asked.

"Sure, let's go," Sparx said quietly. I glanced at him. He seemed unhappy.

I sighed. "Alright, go round up everyone. Let's go," I said to the Guardians.

Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, and I flew off and waited outside the gates for the Guardians to come along with the others. We only waited for about fifteen minutes. Soon they were there and we headed out.

I looked back over my shoulder at the Dragon City one last time. I knew I would come to see it again someday, and I looked forward to that. But for now, I was content with just going home.

The civilians were diverse; dragons of all different elements and colors, a few cheetahs thrown in here and there. One of the cheetahs was, oddly, black, and had a different body structure. They were of all ages. Some walked and some flew. There were a few dragons and cheetahs who looked about my age, but I didn't make any move to talk to them. I didn't really care. I had all the friends I needed.

We traveled for a long time, hours, even. I didn't recognize landscape for much of it... at least not until the ocean came into sight. I remembered then, the unremarkable landscape as we headed for the Well of Souls. I wondered how the cheetahs could have lived there, so close to the mountain. Maybe they had only moved to Avalar after it was destroyed.

When we came to the ocean, all aerial dragons landed. We would have to travel through the Grove, as the cheetahs obviously couldn't walk through the ocean. I was not looking forward to this. I had had quite enough of the Grove before. We trudged into the dark forest-like grove.

"Stick together, and keep your eyes open," I commanded the others.

"For-for what?" a younger dragon with pure white scales asked timidly.

"Oh, nothing much. Mites, Grove Worms, Growths... especially the Growths." I sounded annoyed, and I was. I spoke from experience. Growths were not fun. The white dragon looked visually disturbed and shrunk farther into the group.

All in all, though, the journey was somewhat peaceful. We didn't get attacked very often, and the Growths luckily didn't make an appearance, although we had to stop fend off Grove Mites a few times. The poor dragons and cheetahs obviously hadn't ever been exposed to those wretched things before, and I knew quite well they could be very, very painful and irritating.

Finally, the group came out on the other side. It seemed Spyro and I had put pirating to an end in this area, as there were no ships in the water or the air.

I sighed. Now it would only be an hour or two before we were home again. I was excited. I took to the air and fell back, allowing the Guardians to lead again. I could see it in the distance, just over the horizon... home. The sun would set in a few hours, but we had enough time.

The Silver River, by now, had become just that... a river. It spilled into the ocean, but now we were traveling against it. I wondered briefly what would have happened had my egg not landed in the swamp... I might have ended up either dead or all the way to Avalar or Twilight Falls. It didn't matter, though, why ponder on something that never happened?

I felt relief when we entered the cover of the large mushrooms, like a weight had been taken off me. From here, I could probably traverse the place blindfolded. Spyro and I exchanged glances and smiles. I looked at Sparx. He seemed visually happier as well.

I quickened my pace. This was all starting to look familiar, fast. We were nearing the Temple... or what used to be the Temple. It was built on the outskirts of the swamp, I remembered... from the balcony, you could see a forest easily. That was probably where the town used to be.

It didn't take long to arrive at where the Temple had used to be. It was nothing but an overgrown clearing now, but I knew it when we got there.

We continued on, though, until we left the swamp and reached the forest. We traveled through there until we finally reached a vast clearing in the forest.

Here were the sad remains of what had once been. The town had been fairly large and highly populated before... not as large as Warfang, but still.

The largest remains were an almost tower-like structure that was not quite as tall as the ancient trees.

"What building was that?" I asked the Guardians, my voice hushed, nodding to the building.

"That was the school, once before," Terrador replied. "We camp here tonight. Rebuilding starts tomorrow!" he announced to the others.

We helped set up camp quickly, but that was all we could do. We were dying to get back home.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Spyro promised the Guardians and Cynder, and then we were off, Sparx leading the way.

There was the pathway, the long, winding pathway, that led to the clearing where we had lived. We landed on the ground and skidded to a stop. Finally, I knew, we were home.

"Mom, Dad!" Sparx yelled, flying forward first.

"Sparx?" Mom flew out from behind the tree, surprise in her voice. "Sparx!" She flew forward and hugged him tightly.

Spyro and I stepped forward into the light, beaming.

"Spyro! Crystal!" she exclaimed next and we were the 'victims' of her next hugs. "Flash!" she called back, before turning back to us. "I can't believe you're alive..." she said with disbelief.

"Neither can I, Mom," I said, shaking my head.

"What's wr—" Dad began as he flew from behind the tree, but he stopped when he saw us. "You're... you're alive!" More hugs came our way.

"We're so glad to see you guys. After the Destroyer... I mean, when the world was ending, we thought that the fire had reached you before we could fix it..." I tried to explain, but it came out wrong.

"We got word from a falcon to get underground, and quickly, but we didn't know why," Mom said. "What's happened the last three years? We thought that all three of you were..." She didn't finish.

Spyro and I exchanged glances. "It's a long story," we said together.

"We might as well start right after we left..." Spyro said.

So the long story was told, about everything that had happened. We explained our true natures, the past, the people we had met... everything we could remember. Sparx got his word in a few times, and he enjoyed relaying his left-hook punch he delivered to Sniff. Finally, though, the tale was over. Mom and Dad didn't really seem very surprised for the most part.

"But, that's over now. Now there will be peace. The war is over," I said, closing the story.

"You were right, Dad," Spyro said. "All gifts do come with a price."

I glanced at Spyro and up to the stars. "Why put it like that, though? The past is the past. Be thankful for the gift's you've received." I grinned at Spyro, which softened into a smile. He smiled back.

Once again, our family was reunited. We sat together and stared at the stars silently, finally together again.

And so a story ends. A family has been restored, love has been sparked, and peace has reigned over the land. The book has closed on my legend... for now.

A/N:

And that's it. That's all of it, all of the Legends. Well, except for one. We've had a good run, you know. One year... it doesn't seem like enough, does it? There will be more stories starring Crystal, of course. One of them should be out tomorrow. I just want to thank... everyone. Everyone who's reviewed or PMed or just offered support of any kind. Without it, I might not have made it this far. You're all awesome, you're all important to me. Thank you. For everything.