(A/N: Hey all! Tis Bladequeen2000 here! I hope you all are enjoying part 2 so far! As you can already tell, me and dragon482 are working together on part 2 using both of our character groups! Well, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter minus me being the pointer-outer of the obvious! TTYL!)
Chapter 3 pt.2
Tatum peered sharply into the woods until Sky slowly came out, at whom she gave a very disapproving look. Sky averted his eyes to the ground in a defeated appearance. Tatum switched her stance from aggressive to authoritative as she placed her staff in her right hand. The other elements watched the scenario between Sky and Tatum from a distance so as not to anger Tatum even further.
" To say the very least, I'm very disappointed in you Sky..." Tatum said in an all-too-serious tone, " We'll all be extremely grateful if Spyro can convince the dragon elders to allow us to stay after that display."
"Hey old hag," Zombie Snake snarled rudely, "I was just ready to get that squirt and you had to butt in. We don't need you to interfere." Luna had came from her hiding spot and stood firmly in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"I don't know about you Zombie Snake, but I am glad that she stopped the fight. You two could have killed each other!" She was practically screaming at him when she told him this. His wings pressed against his skull but he kept his face blank. Tatum simply glanced at Zombie Snake, noticing an abused personality in his demeanor, and turned back to Sky who, like the other elements, was glaring at Zombie Snake. He noticed this and growled at them. "What are you looking at!"
" I'm going to return to my prior task, but when I'm finished, I would really like to have a word with you Sky..." Tatum said, putting a stress on the word "really" and turning away from the others to head back towards the cliff side cave where Cainnan's process was almost complete. Sky sighed, gave Zombie Snake a cold glare and flew off to simmer down. The other elements came out of their hiding places completely with expressions that stated that they were beside themselves. Luna walked up to them.
"I am so sorry this happened. Zombie Snake has a bit of issues with his temper." she looked back and saw he disappeared somewhere. She looked back at them apologetically.
" It's quite alright. Sky has... etiquette issues as well. Though, I'm afraid a simple apology won't get him out of trouble with Tatum..." Emma said, in a tone that sounded much like worry.
" Serves him right! He needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut anyway..." Firenha remarked. Emma gave Firenha a contempt glance, but said nothing. Sydney, however, looked at the place where Spyro and Kayla had disappeared to.
" Why was that girl so mad at Spyro for? Did they know each other or something?" Sydney asked Luna. She gave a warm smile.
"Yeah, we're all friends. My friends are from the planet Reptilia and I'm from Corneria. We would fight battles against Terehawken. My name is Luna, the pink dragon was Kayla, and the hot-head was Zombie Snake, and the silver dragon behind me is Blue Eyes."
While Luna was explaining, Blue Eyes was staring at Firenha again with a dreamy look in his eyes as if fireworks were surrounding her so it made her glow. He was deeply bedazzled by her beauty and fiery attitude.
"Spyro disappeared on us for a few weeks and we were getting worried. I guess Kayla got really mad when she saw him fooling around and not helping us out."
" Oh... Well, technically, he wasn't fooling around. He was helping me and my friends out. We were constantly being hunted by these people who called themselves E-Hunters. They dedicate themselves to capturing us so that they can somehow harness our power for personal gain. I guess he must've accidentally forgotten about helping you guys..." Sydney explained. At this point, she sort of felt sorry for Spyro. She'd probably want to beat the crap out of him too for forgetting about helping her and not even mentioning what kept him. Firenha was getting a little more uncomfortable at Blue Eyes's staring and hovered a few inches away from him.
" I don't mean to sound rude, but... is he like 'special' or something?" Firenha asked, giving the quotes fingers on the word "special".
"Don't worry about Blue Eyes. He's a bit low in the I.Q. status." Zombie Snake finally appeared leaning against a tree. Blue Eyes snapped out of his trance and cheered when he saw his best friend return.
"ZB!You've come back!" He started running towards him with his arms open wide to give him a welcome hug...
...but ran right into his fist. Blue Eyes fell to the ground rubbing his face while crying.
"Normally I don't give favors, but he starts bothering you again, I don't mind giving a helping hand when it comes to beating the crap out of him." Zombie Snake slithered around Blue Eyes and came to Luna's side. "Sorry I ran away like that." Luna smiled and accepted his apology. Sydney smirked to herself as she saw Luna having a dreamy look on her face as she looked at him.
As if on cue, Spyro and Kayla came back. Judging by the look on their faces, they looked like they talked it over and had everything explained.
" Everything okay with you two?" Firenha asked with a raised eyebrow. Every so often, she glanced at Blue Eyes who was crying from the punch he received in the face and there was a touch of concern in her look.
"Yeah, I am so sorry for that little scene I did," Kayla apologized, "My temper gets the best of me sometimes." She looked over to Blue Eyes's crying body holding his face. "Zombie Snake, did you hurt him again?" she demanded. Zombie Snake scoffed.
"He had it coming. He'll be alright in a few minutes. He's immortal, remember?" Kayla nodded and sat down. But as she sat down her arm made a big knocking sound when she came in contact with something hard.
Sydney looked over and saw the her arm was totally made of bone.
" How did that happen? If it's not a taboo subject..." Sydney asked, eyeing the bone arm.
Meanwhile, Cainnan had finally stopped screaming as the pain calmed down. His voice was almost completely hoarse and Tatum had walked into the cave to release him from his earth binds. He fell on his hands and knees, breathing heavily and covered in sweat from his ordeal. Tatum knelt down to him.
" Can you stand, Cainnan?" She asked.
" Barely... but I'll try..." He hardly managed to rasp. She used herself as a human crutch and helped him walk out of the cave. She led him to a secured location in the woods, not too far from where the others were, and gently placed him down to rest. Once he was comfortable, he fell instantly into sleep and Tatum smiled a bit and walked off after Sky.
Kayla frowned at the arm. "This is my reminder of why I have to kill Terehawken for good. During my battles with him, he managed to burn my arm with his breath. I still have movement in it, but it's never the same. This is my eternal scar. He killed my family right before my eyes." Kayla explained with a deep tone. Mentioning his name is like spitting venom. "I will never forgive him for what he did...
...I must kill him...
...I will kill him."
Sydney looked down with a dark look. She too knew the pain of loosing those she loved to those who wish to destroy. In fact, almost all of the elements, with the exception of Cainnan and Firenha, knew what it was like to experience a horrible tragedy. She looked back at Kayla.
" We would've helped you guys if Spyro had told us about this Terehawken guy earlier. One of our responsibilities is to help out whenever needed." Sydney explained. Kayla glared at Spyro. "And if Spyro told us that you guys needed a helping hand, we would have helped you guys too. It's not like we know exactly where Terehawken is, anyway." Spyro lowered his head shamefully.
Blue Eyes came back to his senses after his own pain subsided. He had tears in his eyes as he choke out, "How could you be so cruel to me, your best friend?"
Zombie Snake shrugged. "Who said that you were even my friend?" Although it was true that Blue Eyes had been his best friend even though other Reptilians had rejected him and abused him as a child, he would still like to joke around with him. Blue Eyes broke down and burst into tears.
"How could you! You're always so mean, you big meanie! " he bawled.
"Whatever," Zombie Snake responded.
Blue Eyes sniffed. "I need a hug." He quickly stood in front of Firenha with pleading eyes. "Will you hold me?"
Firenha blinked at the awkward yet tear-jerking question. It wasn't exactly in the nature of a volcan to be affectionate on a whim, unless there were either rewards afterwards or if it was going to lead to something else like procreation, which they only did with humans since human DNA was very close to volcan DNA and volcans don't have any males of their own. Although, Firenha was exiled a long time ago by her volcan clan, she still held strong to their customs and giving hugs for emotional support was not one of her strong-suits.
" That depends, what's in it for me?" She asked out of volcan instinct. Sydney blushed out of embarrassment for Firenha.
" Don't mind her! It's a volcan instinct. Volcans don't really get affectionate unless...something else happens afterward..." Sydney tried to explain to both Blue Eyes and the others, while turning a shade of red in the process.
"You get the satisfaction of mending this poor soul's heart," Blue Eyes replied humbly and earnestly. Zombie Snake almost gagged. Kayla and Luna were wondering what would happen next. Firenha on the other hand raised an eyebrow at him. Instinct would tell her to dump him since she really has no use of his DNA and she was certain he didn't have anything valuable on him. However, she really wasn't looking to procreate at this time and figured he'd leave her alone if she just did it and got it over with.
" Sigh... Fine..." She said rolling her eyes. Sydney and even Emma stared at her in surprise. Kayla, Spyro, Zombie Snake, and Luna were wide-eyed. Blue Eyes, however, was almost jumping for joy. He flung his arms around her frame in a warm hug. You could see his enlightenment plastered over his face.
"You have such a giving heart. You have my eternal gratitude, you beautiful thing, you." He choked through new rounds of tears. Firenha looked at him in surprise while gently patting his head, but not necessarily returning the embrace. It had been the first time someone had called her beautiful. Most of the other volcans had always told her that she was much too plain to attract a male, to attract anything for that matter, and that her older sister was much more gorgeous than she was. It was half the reason why she was exiled and frankly, the sheer memory of it had convinced her that it was the truth.
" You think... i'm beautiful?" She asked in a soft tone, clearly forgetting that the two of them had an audience. Sydney's only thought, other than being completely stunned that Firenha wasn't torching him, was not to relate any of this to Sky. She knew he'd never let Firenha live this down, regardless if Firenha saw this as embarrassing.
Blue Eyes grinned at her with a hearty smile. "Of course you are! Who wouldn't want to fall for you? I mean, the way you just get all fired up is so exhilarating. And the way your hair gets all wavy and your eyes sparks. Come on!." Blue Eyes continued his compliments with honesty and clarity. He looked into her sparkling, orange eyes as his heart thumped a millions beats per second.
'So this is what it feels like to be-'
His thoughts abruptly stops when he felt his stomach churn. Blue Eyes quickly, but regretfully, let go of Firenha and covered his mouth. He let out tiny burps as his scales turned into an odd shade of green. "Excuse me-(burp)-I have to go..." he burped. He quickly ran into the woods as far as he can. Kayla shook her head and smiled. 'I thought he was acting a bit differently.' Firenha just stared where he had disappeared into the woods.
" I uh... I have to go... for a bit..." Firenha said without looking at anyone, turned and left.
" Do you think it's possible for a volcan to fall in love?" Sydney asked Emma.
" I'm not sure... and I don't think Firenha knows for sure either..." Emma said.
" We are definitely not telling Sky about what just happened..." Sydney said matter-of-factly.
" Oh, heavens, no...we'd never hear the end of it.." Emma said.
Zombie Snake let out a short chuckle. "We wouldn't tell either. I'd like to enjoy torturing that bird-brain for missing this moment. " He got up from his spot and left to find Blue Eyes. Cainnan slowly stepped out from the woods with a blanket drapped around him.
" Hey, I heard a lot of yelling, but it took me a while to get over here because...well.." He began.
" Don't worry, everything's fine now. For most of us at least..." Sydney replied. Cainnan nodded and walked over to sit next to her and Emma.
" You've known Tatum for a long time right?" He asked.
" Yeah, my whole life pretty much.." Sydney said.
" I kind of feel funny about asking this, but... Is she..single?" He asked, blushing. Sydney and Emma looked at him seriously.
" Forget about it. It's not gonna work." Sydney said brusquely. Cainnan looked down.
" She's taken?" He asked sounding a little bummed.
" No. She has too many responsibilities for a relationship." Emma replied just as brusquely.
" I understand... Please excuse me..." He said standing up and then limping off with a defeated look on his face. Sydney and Emma watched him leave, not wavering their serious expressions.
Meanwhile, Zombie Snake finally found a very green and bloated Blue Eyes sitting on the ground trying to control his uncontrollable burping.
"Got your allergies acted up again, buddy?" Blue Eyes burped out a yes.
"Oh Zombie Snake, (burp) I don't know whether I am blessed, (burp) or cursed to be allergic to love (burp)." he cried. Zombie Snake let out a deep sigh as he watched his friend start to bawl again.
"Come on Blue Eyes, I thought you were more strong-willed than to fall in love."
Blue Eyes rubbed away his tears. "I know, but there's something about her that makes my heart-BBBBUUUURRRRRPPPPP!!" He let out a big burp before he got the chance to say his last word. Zombie Snake was sure that it could be heard from where the group were. He tried to persuade him, "Look, maybe you should get over it. This isn't good for your well-being. You two are totally different for goodness sake. "
"But that never stopped you and Luna..."
"Wha-What?!" Zombie Snake was taken back when he heard this. " Me and Luna...we...we're just..."
He was speechless.
Once he was able to regain his composure, he started again. "That is completely out of this discussion. Luna and I are just plain friends. Companions. Nothing more." Zombie Snake explained slowly, but even so, his face turned red in embarrasment. Blue Eyes started laughing when he saw him turn red. Obviously, he didn't believe him. Zombie Snake growled and punched him in the gut. Blue Eyes fell down crying again as he deflated and his burps ceased. Pain filled his head entirely.
"Don't think I'm going to give you a hug this time. And don't ever talk about that again." He turned away, still a little red and went back to the group. Nearby, Firenha was alone with her dark past to keep her company. The memories of her sister's cruel exile ceremony rang through her head like a loud cacophonous bell. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed.
" I...I hate her...so much..." She sobbed, " How could she... how could she do that...to me..."
It was audible enough that Blue Eyes had heard her. He looked at his scales to make sure they were silver and white again and he was back to his normal weight. Everything was back to normal and he went up to check up on her. As soon as he found her crying and it tore his heart.
Blue Eyes quietly walk over to her and embraced her from behind. "Say...what's with all the tears?" he asked compassionately, "What's the story Lady Firenha?"
Firenha looked up, but not at Blue Eyes and sniffled.
" She chose them...over me...I was nothing to her...just in the way... in the way of her 'grand leadership'! I hate her so much..." Firenha said, her voice quivering with every word.
"You're not a nothing. You can't be a nothing if you're a something, and right now, you're a someone." he explained trying to cheer her up (although his head started to hurt when he explained it logically).
"Who is she? And why do you hate her so?" he asked. "If you feel comfortable saying this, you should say so. Talking out your feelings might help you feel better."
" Venna...leader of the clan I used to belong to...she became leader the same time I became an element...that's why she got rid of me...she knew I had more power than she did...I still do...she got rid of me so I wouldn't overthrow her...as if I'd want to...I could never overthrow my own sister...no matter how much I envied her..." She said with darkness in her voice.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...let's not get rational here," Blue Eyes tried to calm her down. He started thinking about his own past.
"If it makes you feel better, I also got exciled from the moon at Reptilia. Just after I had accidently drank a potion that made me immortal, the lunar dragons started to resent me because I could outlive them and to be able to die. So they kicked me out of the moon to Reptilia because of that...and that I really annoyed everyone with my stupidity and almost brought them to extinction with my antics...but that's beside the point."
Firenha sniffled and stopped crying. She placed her hand over his paw that rested on her stomach and leaned back into him. A strange feeling came over her. It was nothing like anything she had ever felt before and only flared up when she was around him. The temperature of her flames rose until they turned a blue color. Her hair, eyes, and skin color turned a blue tint.
The flames didn't harm him, however, and she turned to him with a new emotion in her eyes.
" You know... you make me feel...different...I can't describe it, but I know it's positive. Like a 'happy' kind of feeling. Like the happiest I've ever felt..." She said as she leaned in close to him. Blue Eyes gave her a smile and pulled her into another embrace with his face brushing against her hair.
"I feel the same way about you. I haven't been this happy since the time Zombie Snake became my first friend ever. It's always great to know that someone would be there for you, even though they're not perfect."
Firenha smiled and kissed his cheek.
" Thank you... You have no idea how much this means to me.." She said softly. "You're welcome," he said gleefully. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide when realization came to him. 'She just kissed me...' he thought happily. Suddenly the thought came again but in a different tone.
'Oh crap she kissed me...'
A flashback came to him from not too long ago.
It was back when they were fighting the elemantal demons. One of them was Fyora who had the power of ice. She had an odd infatuation toward Blue Eyes, who never returned her affections. She had accidentally froze him with her staff. She was ready to finish them off until Terehawken called her off.
Fyora sighed. "You are lucky this time." she said. She flew down to a still-frozen Blue Eyes. "Farewell, my love." She kissed the top of his frozen head. "AHHH! YOUR KISS! IT BURNS!" he screamed in agony. With that she flew away.
The same burning sensation returned but it now on his cheek. He quickly gave Firenha and pack on her cheek in return before he ran off howling in agony. Firenha looked worried and her natural color came back to her.
" Firenha..." Came Tatum's soothing voice from the bushes. Firenha turned around to face Tatum.
" I know what you want most in this world... if you trust me...I can help you achieve your dearest wish." She said.
" I've always trusted you Tatum...and I always will... I owe you that much and more since you saved my life..." Firenha said. Tatum nodded and smiled, looking in the direction where Blue Eyes had run off into the woods.