Eclypse: Alright now that that HELL of a two weeks is over… NEW PANIC AT THE DISCO ALBUM! ONE PUNCH MAN! MIRACULOUS LADYBUG! KUNG FU PANDA 3! OVERWATCH! FINALLY MY LIFE HAS PURPOSE AGAIN!
Equinox: Don't you still need to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies as well?
Eclypse: I'VE TOLD YOU I CAN'T FIND THEM.
Equinox: Alright, also, the camera is on.
Eclypse: Wait what? Shit! Umm… We don't own the rights to the Spyro Franchise, The Legend of Spyro, or anything that is referenced in this story
Equinox: While the characters Eclypse, Equinox, and Umbrus belong to the creator of this story, all other OC's belong to their creators who have given us permission to use them.
Eclypse: *Listening to Panic at the Disco* Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 25: Discovery
Starts from Equinox
We arrived at Scalerun's temple with Eclypse in tow after about 30 minutes of walking. We would have gotten there sooner, but we were absolutely drained after the fight with the Fire and Wind elementals, not to mention we had to carry Eclypse the entire way.
"Hey, Umbrus. Which way to the medical ward?" I asked
"It's right down there." She answered, "I'll catch up with you guys later, I need to check in with the other Guardians."
For someone as hyperactive and energetic as Umbrus, she seemed to take her role as a Guardian incredibly seriously.
"All right then, see you later." I waved as Flame, Ember, and I began to walk down the hallway to the ward.
"So what are we going to do now?" Flame asked
"What do you mean?" Ember responded
"Well, we're now completely out of leads on Malefor, the cloaked cheetah, and the last four elementals. Are we just supposed to wait around until Malefor or the cheetah make another move?"
"Maybe the other Elementals know something." I said
"Yeah, but even if they did, they may not be able to tell us because that would 'interfere with our fate'." Ember said, making air quotation marks with her paw.
"Speaking of the Elementals," I interjected, "Once we drop off Eclypse, we should probably go with the Guardians to check on them."
"Alright, sounds good." Flame confirmed, "I think I remember where we left them."
We reached what seemed to be the frame of a doorway covered in stone. Flame touched the center of it with his paw and the stone slid away revealing the medical ward. Inside, various other dragons slept on beds made of straw. Along with them we saw Cynder who had a large bandage wrapped around her waist.
"Cynder!" We cried happily as she waved us over. It seemed my idea of cauterizing her wound had worked.
"Hey guys." Cynder said weakly, "I'm going to assume that you guys managed to take care of the Elementals?"
"Yeah, we were planning on going back to pick them up after we dropped of Eclypse and checked up on you and Spyro." I explained
"What happened to him!?" She asked with a worried tone in her voice
"Don't worry!" Ember reassured, "He's just really tired. He used up a lot of stamina and mana during the fight, but other than that he didn't really get hurt too much."
Cynder sighed with relief, "Alright, that's good to hear. We don't need any more injuries after today."
"Do you know where Spyro is?" I asked
"No, I don't." Cynder answered, "After I woke up and he made sure I was alright, he went into the temple and hasn't come back since. The guardians probably know where he is though."
"Alright, thanks." I said as I put Eclypse's body onto the nearest bed, "We'll be back after we find him and the Elementals."
"See you guys later!" She waved as we walked towards the medical ward's exit.
I let out a huge sigh of relief, "I can't believe my idea worked. Thank Go- I mean, thank the ancestors she's alright." I was still trying to get used to the idea of the ancestors.
"We were pretty lucky." Ember admitted, "Now, how do we get to the Guardians' chambers?"
"I'm pretty sure Umbrus went down that way." Flame pointed
"Alright, let's get going." I said
10 minutes later
After searching around for a while, we finally found the Guardians. They all seemed either incredibly tired, hurt, or a little bit of both.
"Umm… Hello?" I said as I poked my head into the room. As I expected, the Guardians were incredibly surprised by my appearance. But they quickly calmed down and realized who I was.
"You… You are a part of the reinforcements from Warfang, correct?" The Guardian with white scales asked, "I am Tempet, Scalerun's Wind Guardian and the Leader of The Guardians of Scalerun."
"You mean The 'Unofficial' Leader of Scalerun's Guardians." The Guardian with Dark Green Scales retorted, "Just because you say you are something doesn't make it true."
"My father led the last generation of Guardians, so it only makes sense that his title is passed down to me." Tempet argued, "I've told you this hundreds of times, Toxak."
"Yeah? Where was your leadership these past few days? At least half of the city has been devastated, countless lives have been lost, we had to rely on the help of Warfang who actually did a better job taking care of the problem than the three of us did, and there are STILL apes roaming around the city! Your age has not done your so called 'leadership' any favors you old fool." Toxak yelled at Tempet
"Why you disrespectful little…" Tempet yelled angrily as he began to charge at Toxak. Before the attack could make contact, the final guardian stepped in between them and Tempet screeched to a halt. She stared disappointedly at him. The Guardian was covered in dark brown scales with violet wing membranes and horns. She also wore iron cuffs around her legs and tail. Her tail blade was made up of many small, iron claws and ended in a small blade on the tip of her tail.
"First of all, we have guests here." She lectured, "You of all people should know a thing or two about etiquette. Secondly, if you want us to respect you as a leader, earn it. Show us that you deserve to lead us, and not just because your father used to lead the guardians."
Tempet lowered his head in shame and Toxak let out a small snicker of enjoyment and had a grin on his face that showed the same emotion.
"And then there's you Toxak." She continued, "You had no right to say those things. We all did our best to defend Scalerun, and the damage to the city and the lost lives aren't because of him. It's because of Malefor. We did our best to defend this city, as did the citizens, but in the end we couldn't save everyone and, as much as I wish we could've, it's just something we have to accept.
Toxak sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just been a stressful couple of days. I just reached my limit and needed to vent."
Toxak scales were dark green, much like a pine tree in winter. Like Umbrus, he had shaggy, black hair that covered a part of his crimson, downward facing horns. His wing membranes were the same color as his horns and his tail had a mace like weapon on the end of it instead of a normal blade.
Tempet had completely white scales, almost as if someone had run bleach through every single one. His light purple horns were not curved what so ever and his wing membranes shared the color of his horns. Finally, he had a tail blade seemingly made of Silver that was like Spyro's except much larger.
The female Guardian let out a long sigh as she walked over to us. "Sorry about that, those two are always arguing about something. I'm Dismer, Scalerun's Fear guardian and resident academic." She held out her paw for us to shake.
"I'm Equinox, one of the two Wyvern's from Scalerun." I told her as I accepted her gesture and shook her paw, "Cynder and the other Wyvern, Eclypse, are in the medical ward."
"I'm Flame." Flame told her
"My name's Ember." Ember said, "You said you were an academic, what do you study?"
"Oh boy, here we go…" Toxak groaned as a large smile of excitement formed on Dismer's face.
"I am SO glad you asked! I study the various cultures of this world!" She beamed, "I feel that, without understanding the various religions, arts, traditions, and civilizations of the world, we cannot evolve as a species and we will never be able to innovate past the technology and cultures of today!" She then turned her attention toward me, "Speaking of which… Cyril told me that you and Eclypse have come from a different realm! Would you mind if I asked you both a few questions about what life was like there once he is feeling better?"
"Uhhhhhh... Sure?" I answered, questioning if it was a good idea.
"Great! Thank you so much!" She said.
Umbrus then entered the large chamber sleepily. "What's with the racket? I'm trying to get some sleep."
Umbrus then saw the Flame, Ember, and I with the Guardians and immediately became her perky, energetic self again. "Oh hey guys! Let me guess, Dismer is trying to interrogate you about your world?"
"It's for my research…." She said defensively.
"You can wait a while Dismer, you all just finished saving the city right? Let them rest for a bit." She told Dismer as she hugged her with her wing.
"Oh! That reminds me!" Ember realized, "We can't thank Umbrus enough for the help she gave us today."
"What?" Tempet said in surprise. Umbrus suddenly started to slice her paw across her neck, trying to tell Ember to shut up, but Ember didn't notice.
"Yeah! She was amazing! I've never seen someone use the Shadow Element like that! How did you even learn to use those… what did you call them? Shadow Tendrils?" Ember then saw what Umbrus was trying to tell her. "Oh… Umm… Never mind, just forget about what I said."
"I CERTANLY WILL NOT!" Tempet yelled, "UMBRUS! HOW DARE YOU NOT ONLY LEAVE THE TEMPLE, BUT WHILE A WAR IS BEING WAGED OUTSIDE? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"
"I… I…" She stammered, on the verge of tears, "You know what… No. I'll tell you why I left. I left because I am tired of being trapped in here. I left because I am tired of being treated like some monster because of something I can't control. I LEFT BECAUSE I AM TIRED OF NOT BEING ABLE TO DO WHAT I BECAME A GUARDIAN FOR! TO BE LIKE MY PARENTS!" Tears were now streaming down her face like waterfalls. She ran out of the chamber and ran to what I could only assume was her room.
"Damn that child…" Tempet muttered. Toxak and Dismer, as well as the rest of us, could only stare at him in shock.
Tempet sighed, "I guess I should explain to you three Umbrus's situation. For almost the past ten years, Umbrus has lived here in the temple with us."
"What about her parents?" Flame asked
"I was getting to that." Tempet continued, "I'm sure either Spyro, Cynder, or the Guardians have told you about The Great War, am I correct Equinox?"
I nodded, "Yeah, I think they did. That was when Malefor first took to power and ended up almost completely resetting the entire world using The Destroyer, right?"
"You are correct." Tempet confirmed, "Umbrus began to live here because her parents were killed defending Scalerun from an invasion ten years ago. I found her on the streets and decided to take her in, as I could sympathize with her. My father was killed one year before her parents died."
"Oh…" I realized, "I am so sorry for both of your losses."
"Don't be." He replied, "Both her parents and my father gave their lives to save countless others. They died with honor."
"So does that mean she hasn't left the Temple for the past ten years?" Ember asked
"No." Dismer replied, "She hasn't left the Temple for the past three years. You see, among the lives lost in The Great War, two of them were the previous Shadow and Fear guardians. I took the place of the Fear Guardian, as she was my mother, but the previous Shadow Guardian had no children to take his place. So once the war ended, we held auditions to find a new Shadow Guardian."
"When a Temple has auditions for a Guardian, there are two aspects a dragon is judged upon." Tempet continued, "Those two aspects are the raw elemental energy they have, and how much control they have over it. Umbrus wanted to become a Guardian so she could be like her parents, defending Scalerun and its inhabitants. However, during the audition, something awoke within Umbrus and she discovered she had the power to solidify shadows, but also control them as if they were her part of her body."
"So what? I don't see why you made it so she couldn't leave the temple for the past three years." Flame stated
"Again, please be patient. I was getting to that." He told us, "While this did show us she had far more elemental energy for any normal dragon, especially her age, she then lost all control over herself and began to go on a rampage. While we managed to calm her down, a large portion of the temple was destroyed and we told everyone that the building was just old and needed to be repaired as a cover up so people wouldn't panic. Finally, we decided that the best course of action was to make her the new Shadow Guardian so she would not only learn to control her power, but also so that she would continue to live at the temple, as she would be able to leave the temple when she turned 18."
"We had to do it for the city's and her own protection." Toxak explained, "As much as we hated to do it, it was the only way."
I thought about this for a moment. While I did agree with their motives, I was conflicted with what they were doing to Umbrus. She didn't deserve any of this. She was still a person, not an animal.
"But she can control her element!" Ember protested, "If she couldn't, we probably wouldn't be alive right now!"
"What are you talking about?" Tempet asked
"Ember's right." Flame said, "Eclypse, Cynder, and I may have been the ones to find and save Umbrus, but Umbrus managed to help us out multiple times today. Hell, she used those Shadow Tendril things to hold down the WIND ELEMENTAL so Eclypse could finish it off. If that doesn't show control, I don't know what does."
"THE WIND ELEMENTAL WAS A PART OF THE ATTACK?" Toxak yelled
"Yeah, and the Fire Elemental as well." I told them, "We actually came in here to ask you all for help bringing them to the temple. They're kinda unconscious at the moment and there's only three of us…"
The three elementals all looked at each other in shock. I couldn't believe they hadn't seen the Elementals in the city. Granted Scalerun was around five times the size of Warfang, so I suppose that could've been the reason.
"We can continue this discussion later." Tempet said reluctantly, "Right now, we should go get the elementals."
"Why were the elementals attacking Scalerun to begin with?" Dismer asked
"We'll explain on the way." I responded, "Now come on. We have to hurry."
One hour later
Switches to Eclypse
"Ughhh" I groaned as I pushed myself up. I felt incredibly weak and it took almost all of my energy just to rest myself against the head board.
"Morning." Cynder joked. She was resting in the bed next to me and had a large bandage wrapped around her torso.
"Cynder!" I yelled in surprise. A burst of adrenaline filled my body, "You're alright!"
"Yeah, you can thank Equinox for that." Cynder told me, "If she hadn't done that… what is it called?"
"It's cauterizing." I told her
"Right, if she hadn't cauterized my wounds, I probably would have died back there." She continued, "Speaking of the others, they went with the guardians to go and pick up the Elementals. They should be back within a few minutes."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything had turned out ok in the end. We managed to defeat two more Elementals, everyone made it out alive, and Cynder was ok.
"So, what happened with the elementals?" Cynder asked me, "The others aren't gonna be back for a while so we might as well pass the time."
I told her about the huge fight that took place a few hours ago. How, with the help of Equinox, we had managed to out run and corner the Fire Elemental, and how Umbrus had managed to use her shadow element to hold down the Wind Elemental while I destroyed the crystal.
"You five did all of that while I was unconscious?" Cynder asked, "Looks like the classes with Hunter are paying off."
"Yeah…" I agreed weakly. Hunter didn't just teach Equinox and I how to use our weapons, but he also helped us with using our new found dragonic agility and stamina to our advantage in combat. He was even the one who suggested using my sword as a form of hook to traverse open areas.
"Hey… Where's Spyro?" I asked her
"I don't know, Equinox asked as well so I can only assume he's with the others." Cynder responded.
We continued to talk for a while until, eventually, Equinox, Flame, Ember, and the Guardians came back with the Elementals. They all looked exhausted from carrying them around, but luckily the Elementals had shrank a good amount so they weighed a lot less and were able come inside the medical ward.
"Hey!" I greeted.
"Ah, so you are Eclypse and Cynder." Tempet smiled, "I am Tempet, this city's Wind Guardian. These are Toxak and Dismer, the Poison and Fear Guardians of Scalerun."
"Hello!" Dismer greeted.
"Hey." Toxak grunted.
The Guardians all struggled to carry the large dragons on their backs. While none of the beds would fit them, there were a few piles of straw that would. They laid both of the Elementals on the makeshift beds and walked back over to the group.
"We cannot thank you all enough for your help today." Dismer thanked, "You have no idea how much your actions mean to us and the city of Scalerun."
"No problem." Equinox responded, "It's what we're here to do."
"Hey, is Spyro with you guys?" Cynder asked.
Equinox face-palmed, "Shit! I knew I forgot to do something. I'll go find him, be back in a few."
"I'll go with you!" Dismer offered, "I want to check up on Umbrus."
"No… you want to smother her with questions." Tempet joked.
"Well, that too." Dismer responded as they both left the room.
Switches to Equinox
Dismer and I walked through the halls of the Temple. She kept on asking me questions about my world like "What kind of music is played?" and "Do you have anything that you use that's like magic?" I answered them all without really paying attention. I was worried about Spyro and Umbrus. Both of them had been through a lot today. Luckily, we came up on what I could only assume to be Umbrus's room.
"Well, I'm gonna go talk to her." She told me, "Be honest with me. Did she really manage to hold down the wind elemental using her element?"
"Yes." I responded sternly, "We were one hundred percent honest with all of you."
Dismer seemed to think for a moment, "Alright, just wanted to make sure. Thanks for putting up with my questions!"
"No problem." I told her, "To be honest, it's kind of nice for someone to focus on who I am rather than what I am."
Dismer entered Umbra's room, which I could hear soft sobs come from. I turned my focus to finding Spyro.
"Spyro! Where are you?" I yelled. No one responded, "Shit… how the hell am I gonna find him?" I walked around for around five minutes, calling his name every once in a while.
"Wait… is there a way to get the Draco-Gear to track his crystal again?" I thought. I began to fiddle with my bracelet and, eventually, I discovered I could get it to track him by tapping on the physical crystal. The crystal began to glow, pointing me towards where I could only assume Spyro was. I followed the light to a balcony where Spyro was watching over the city as the sun began to set.
"Oh, there you are!" I exclaimed happily, "Everyone's been looking for you!"
Spyro turned around in surprise. I guess he hadn't expected anyone to find him. "Oh thank the ancestors you are all right!" Spyro yelled as he ran up to me, "How are the others doing?"
"Cynder is still recovering, and Eclypse collapsed from exhaustion after we defeated the Wind and Fire elementals, but other than that we are all ok." I told him, "C'mon, everyone is in the medical ward waiting for the elementals to wake up!"
Spyro seemed very reluctant on coming to see everyone, "If it's alright with you," he began, looking very sad, "I think I'll pass. I need some time alone."
"Is this seriously about what happened when Cynder got shot?" I asked.
Spyro waited a few seconds before nodding, "I'm scared to face everyone after what happened." He said, "I mean… I physically HURT two people who are supposed to be my friends because of something they couldn't control.
"Dude, I get that you feel bad about it, but I get why you would attack Eclypse and Flame." I told him, "Honestly, Eclypse and I probably would've done the same thing if we were in your position. What you did back there, it didn't tell me that you didn't care about us. It told me that you care about your friends so much, you would do anything to protect them."
"Yeah? And how do you figure that?" He said with a scowl.
"Because I've done the same." I told him.
He turned around in shock, "Wait… what?" He asked
"You think the first time I had fought Nick back in my world was when you two showed up?" I asked him, "I've fought Nick countless times when Eclypse wasn't looking because of what he did to him. I hated every fiber of his body for what he did to people, especially my friends. So I fought him. Most of the time I would lose, but every time I did, I just got stronger. I eventually started to win some of the fights, but not just because I was getting stronger. It was because I had something to fight for."
"But he was actually responsible for hurting him." Spyro argued.
"Yeah, but you felt the same way about Eclypse for a second, right?" I asked, "Look, everyone forgives you. Now you wanna get some new powers or what?"
Spyro wiped the tears off of his face and looked back up to me with a smile, "Alright, let's go."
Thirty Minutes Later
We all waited patiently around the make-shift beds for the Elementals to wake up. Spyro had apologized to Eclypse and Flame for what he had done earlier that day, and was quickly forgiven by both of them. Umbrus and Dismer also came back as we waited. Umbrus's eyes were red from crying so much, but she had her cheerful mood back. Dismer talked with Tempet about what I could only assume was Umbrus's current situation. I knew that she could control the power she had, we had already seen it.
"Ugh…. My head…." A rough sounding voice said, "Where am I?" The Fire Elemental rose from the bedding and looked around at the people surrounding him.
"Please, rest easy Apollonir." Tempet reassured, "You are safe. You are in Scalerun's temple. You were possessed by Malefor and forced to attack the city."
"WHAT!?" Apollonir yelled as he shot awake, "WHERE ARE THE OTHER ELEMENTALS?"
"Well, Obereon is right next to you…" Dismer told him as she pointed to the sleeping wind elemental.
Apollonir began to shake the sleeping dragon. "Obereon! Wake up!" He yelled. Obereon woke with a large yawn.
"Five more minutes… Please…" She asked sleepily.
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME OBEREON." Apollonir told her sternly.
She pushed herself up off the bed and unfurled her wings. "Oh, hello everyone!" She said with a smile. As she moved around, her jewelry clinked around and created a beautiful sound, almost like music.
"Umm… Hello!" I greeted her with a smile, "I'm Equinox!"
Everyone else began to introduce themselves one by one to the elementals.
"Do either of you remember anything before coming here?" Eclypse asked.
Both of the elementals began to think for a moment, "Actually, I do!" Obereon told us, "There was some sort of… black mist covering our temple. Everything else is really hazy after that."
"A black fog?!" I thought, "That sounds like what Malefor became when we defeated him back in our world!"
"Oh, before we forget!" Obereon said. She nodded towards Apollonir and he let out a small sigh. They both held out their paws and two small crystals formed in their paws. "Here! I'm guessing you already know what they are for!" She said with a smile.
Eclypse took Obereons crystal and I took the one from Apollonir. We had already discussed which elements we should each take. After some compromise and planning, we decided that I would take Fire, Fear, and Poison while Eclypse would take Wind, Shadow, and Electricity. We each broke the crystals in our hands. As I broke mine, a huge wave of heat flowed over me and felt as if it was seeping into my body. When it passed, I looked at my Draco-Gear and noticed that a new icon had appeared on the circle above my hand.
New Element and Abilities: Equinox
Fire
Comet Dash
Ignite
Flame Thrower
New Element and Abilities: Eclypse
Wind
Slip Stream
Updraft
Kick-Back
Apollonir and Obereon both stretched out. "Well, we better get going." Obereon said, "Goodbye! Thank you for everything!"
"Wait Obereon." Apollonir asked, "Spyro, Cynder. May we please speak to you in private?"
I can't apologize enough about the lateness of this chapter. My school decided it would be fun to flood students with work the moment we started our second semester. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is the longest chapter I have written yet, clocking in at around 4500 words! Additionally, it has been almost one year since I have started this story! Sadly, I have decided against doing what I had said I would in the last chapter for two reasons. One, no one seemed incredibly interested and two, It's mostly sad and I would rather look ahead towards the future instead of wallowing in the past. Please Rate and Review and I will see you all next chapter!
-Eclypse