(Chapter beta-read by Riverstyxx)

Legend Loop 36.1: (Feat: GoldenGriffiness)

Spyro stared down at his unimpressed companion, who was making it quite clear that he wasn't Sparx. The muttering was getting a bit tiresome.

"Nooo, the mouse incident wasn't enough. 'Little ponies' wasn't enough. Arrietty wasn't enough. Now I wake up little, with everything so freaking huge that a frog-plant eats me. It wasn't enou—"

"Uh… Whoever's replacing Sparx?" Spyro asked cautiously, one eye-ridge raised. He looked like Sparx, except with a diminutive blond braid, a metal arm, and half his tail coated in metal.

"S'not enough to get stuck in a loop and never grow up…"

Spyro had to blink helplessly as he looked up at the dragon that should have been Ignitus, who was sporting a blue uniform and a pair of white battle-claws with red arrays.

"Well, Fullmetal, it feels like it's been a long time for you, but it's been a very short time for me since that last prank you pulled."

Spyro decided he'd rather not know.

A camera was pulled out of Mustang's subspace pocket.

Edward's brow twitched.

"Anyway, Fullmetal," Mustang continued later, "what do you know about this loop? As of my loop memories, the Dark Master here has a servant named Greed, who seems to carry more traits of Ling. What are the chances it's him, do you think?"

"The art of ice-spitting has been passed down the ice dragon line for generations!"

Edward face-palmed. Spyro stared. This weird fusion was obviously not awake, and just as annoying as both Cyril and Armstrong could get at their worst.

"Hawkeye?"

"Sir?"

"You're an anthropomorphic cheetah."

"I had noticed, sir."

The Destroyer reached towards the sky and looked about as confused as a great construct of lava, earth and stone could. Spyro, Ling and Edward stopped before it, confused when it stared at them with decidedly more humanity than said construct usually appeared to possess.

"Ling?" The childlike voice emanating from it was also greatly unexpected. "Are you a dragon? Is brother here?"

"Right here, Al," came the response.

The great golem searched for his brother, but it was quickly discovered that Ed was too small, and Al too large, for the younger brother to see him.

Edward was not impressed.

Many wondered why, instead of completing its ring of destruction, the Destroyer decided its time was better spent crushing Malefor like a mosquito.

Classic Loop 36.2:

Spyro huffed. So far, it had been a pretty standard loop. There wasn't much he had planned this time, so he'd decided to go along with the baseline as best he could, hoping that maybe there was a variant of some kind that could help him get out of his prank block. So far, though, he had been disappointed. It was almost near the end of the loop and everything had been pretty much standard.

Spyro sat in the dojo as the Elders argued amongst themselves. If it wasn't Ragnar calling everyone besides himself an old fart, it was Titan asking why they were there again for the twentieth time in a row. While it had been funny originally, it had lost its charm after the seventh loop or so. Rolling his eyes, Spyro got up, knowing it was time for him to receive the banish spell once again… But he paused.

"Hey," Spyro said, glancing around. "Where's Red?"

"Oh!" Tomas exclaimed, looking down at Spyro with a smile. "Understandably, he's still recovering from his time as the Sorcerer's pawn. He was really quite out of it, looking at us like he'd seen a ghost and what not."

"Bah, a likely story," Astor chimed in, a scowl on his face. "The old coot's likely faking for sympathy. I still say we shouldn't trust him."

Spyro frowned, a flat look in his eyes. Shaking it off, he glanced at Tomas, looking up with his eyes wide. "Where is he now?"

"I believe he is somewhere in town at the moment, likely looking for a house of his own," Tomas said, looking down with a raised eye-ridge. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason…" Spyro said, glancing away with a slight frown. "I was just thinking of checking up on him, is all."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Spyro!" Astor said, looking down with a scowl. "It's an act! An act, I say!"

"Come now, darling, you need to learn to be more trusting!" Magnus said, looking over to Astor with a slight wave of his paw. "If it truly was an act, I think we all would have spotted it by now, wouldn't we, dearie?"

Astor huffed, glancing away with his arms crossed. "Yes, because if there's anyone who knows anything about acts…"

"Astor!" Tomas said, looking over to him with a glare.

"I'm just saying," Astor said, looking back with a smirk. "Certain acts are more transparent than others!"

Spyro blinked as Tomas and Astor quickly got into an argument, while Magnus watched on with an utterly confused look in his eyes. Spyro shook his head before turning around and heading out of the dojo. By now, he knew all too well that, when the elders got into a fight, it was best to leave then and there, lest he be there the entire loop.

Spyro walked around the town square with a raised eye-ridge. Red had never attempted to get his own home there in any of the previous loops. Something was up, and he needed to find out what. The only question now was where to even begin.

"Hey, Spyro!"

Spyro glanced back, seeing a pink dragoness quickly heading his way. Ember screeched to a halt, looking at Spyro with a smile. A slight grin appeared on Spyro's face and he gave a small chuckle.

"Hey, Embs," he said, turning around. "I don't suppose you've seen Red, have you?"

"Yeah, he's gotten a house near the middle of the town," Ember said, tilting her head. "He was actually wanting to see you. That's why he sent me to look for you."

"He did?" Spyro paused, somewhat gobsmacked by the very idea. 'Red's never done that before, in any of the baseline loops...'

He glanced down, staring blankly as he tuned out the world around him. Ember frowned, lowering her head to look him in the eyes.

"Spyro?" she asked, raising an eye-ridge.

"Huh? Oh!" Spyro jumped, quickly shaking his head before looking at her with a forced smile.

Ember narrowed her eyes, placing a paw to her cheek. Stepping forward, she raised an eye-ridge once again. "Spyro? Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Spyro said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just wondering something, is all. I don't think you'd quite get it."

"Why?" Ember asked, blinking as she sat on the ground.

"It'd…it'd take too long to explain, or to get you to believe me about it," Spyro said, shaking his head. "You're just going to have to take my word on that, because, if what I'm thinking is true, I really need to speak to Red now."

"Well..." Ember frowned, looking at Spyro with a concerned glint in her eyes. "Alright… I'd still like to know eventually, though, not to sound nosey or anything."

"Sure. Just don't think I'm crazy when I do explain it," Spyro said, giving a grin.

"Okay!"

Spyro chuckled, quickly turning around and beginning to head towards the town square.

"Oh, by the way, Spyro…"

"Sorry, Ember, but not yet."

Ember chuckled, giving a cheeky grin as she leant forward. "Can't blame a dragoness for trying, can you?"

Spyro smirked, watching as Ember began to head back to her home. Unawake Ember was always an interesting bag. Spyro may have at least been able to convince her that he wasn't ready for a girlfriend yet, but while Ember was willing to tone down the affection as a result, that still didn't stop her from periodically checking in.

Spyro shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on that, though. Picking up the pace, he began to head towards the town square.

The room was dimly lit, with barely anything in it besides a bed and some bare shelves, illuminated only by the light of the sun. Spyro slowly pushed the door open, creeping in as he glanced around.

"Red? You in here?" he called, raising an eye-ridge.

"Spyro?"

Spyro glanced towards the far side of the room, seeing the elder sitting atop the bed, hunched over and seemingly staring off at something miles away. Spyro gave a smile, slowly making his way in.

"I know you just moved in and all, but maybe you should consider getting some electricity in this place?" he asked with a smirk. "This place is way too gloomy as it is."

Red remained silent, looking down at Spyro with a blank stare, before he grasped his head in his paws. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at Spyro with a stern expression.

"Spyro, are you aware that time is repeating itself?" he asked, shaking his head. "I figured it was best to come out and ask, considering how you always seem to be in the middle of anything strange that goes on in the realms."

Spyro blinked, looking up with a blank expression on his face. Before long, he grinned and closed his eyes as he began to chuckle. Red raised an eye-ridge before his eyes widened.

"Spyro…?" Red asked, lowering a paw towards him. "Are you…crying?"

Not a second afterwards, Spyro quickly rubbed his eyes to get rid of the tears that were beginning to form. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up with a smile.

"N-no. Just, uh…allergies, is all," Spyro said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Shaking it off, he grinned and closed his eyes once again. "In any case, welcome to the loops, Red!"

Red blinked before he began to scratch his head. Giving a sigh, he shrugged. "Again, somehow I'm not surprised that you're in the middle of this."

Spyro laughed, failing to fight back the tears once again.

Legend Loop 36.3: (Feat: AbZ)

Ignitus grimaced and sighed. There was just no getting around it. The fact of the matter was that Spyro had every right to apply. In fact, in any other situation, the fact that Spyro hadn't yet brought it up—or that he, as Spyro's master, had not even mentioned the idea—would be a sign that his pupil was, in fact, hopeless. No, it was a sign that he, as a teacher, had no faith. No, wait, at this point, it would most definitely mean that his student was hopeless.

"Yo, Iggy, what's up?" a familiar voice asked, breaking the Fire Guardian from his thoughts.

"I am contemplating my failings as a teacher," Ignitus replied, not bothering to look up at the dragonfly.

"You better not let my bro hear that one. He'll wind up spending the next thousand loops trying to prove you wrong. And, honestly, some of the stuff that he starts writing, it's so bone-dry and flat I'm surprised it isn't forming sand, especially when he wants to prove a point," Sparx said, tilting his head, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue.

Laughing despite himself, Ignitus could not argue with Sparx's assessment of some of Spyro's earlier works. Finishing with a snort, he continued. "That does not change my failings. The fact of the matter is that Spyro was long ago of the ability to be considered a Master. At the least in Fire. While I can speculate that his growth has been less—but still existent—in the other elements, because I myself am not proficient in their use, I cannot truly state his worthiness in those fields."

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

"Simply put, it is not my decision alone to make, and I would like the other Guardians to also be looping so that it isn't something that he will have to repeat. This is a very important event for those who dedicate themselves to our way of life, and I don't want that to be spoiled and become a simple check to cross off his list of things to do every loop."

"I'm still not seeing the problem here."

"I have not yet mentioned this to him... I do not wish him to try to force another of the Guardians to begin looping, as I remember reading how such endeavours would turn out. Nor do I wish him to be disappointed because I must constantly push back something that he, by all rights, should have gained long ago."

"Tell him," Sparx stated. "I know my bro. He's not going to hold it against you, Terrador, or the Two-Dragon Peanut Gallery. Besides, if you keep fretting about this, he's going to think something's wrong and end up making a fool of himself trying to fix it. And while I normally don't turn down the opportunity for free blackmail, considering how dogged he can get about these types of things, and the fact that he's probably going to drag me into every situation he gets into, I'd like to head that off before I learn what the inside of a stone giant's stomach looks like, thank you very much."

Chuckling again, Ignitus eyed Sparx with a smile. "I will keep your words under advisement, Sparx. And keep an eye on your brother for me, will you? I don't think you realize just how much he relies on you. There is a reason that you were the first one to loop beside him, Sparx. He needs you far more than he needs me."

Classic Loop 36.4:

"What about this G'nasty G'norc character?"

"I'll tell you about Gnasty Gnorc. Gnasty is—"

The interview crew looked over their equipment for a greater part of the day with looks of confusion on all their faces. They weren't entirely sure what had happened, but their equipment had become unplugged and each of the prongs had been bent and melted together to the base. The director groaned, placing a paw over his face. To think, they had gone through all of that trouble setting up for nothing…

"I told you we should have gone with battery-operated equipment, but noooooo. The good old ways are the only true ways of being a director!"

"Oh, shut up, Steve!"

Not far off, on the top of one of the rolling green hills, Ember held a smug look on her face as she twirled the plug of a 'borrowed' camera in her paws. Spyro scowled, a flat expression on his face.

"Don't act so smug. Anyone could have thought of just unplugging the equipment!"

"So why didn't you?"

"Shut it!"

Ember giggled as Spyro placed a paw over his face.

Legend Loop 36.5: (Feat: AbZ)

Spyro's talons clicked on the familiar stone floor, lightly treading the path to the training room. While it was something he expected every local looper knew he did now and again, he just didn't feel the need to bother them over something that really was nothing more than his latent curiosity. That and, really, he did not get enough chances to practice with his combination elements in a controlled setting. This time, the possible outcome of Electricity and Ice held his interest.

From what he had reasoned about his elements, the combination should be both like and unlike the Lava-Magma element. The child of Fire and Earth held Fire's raw adaptability and Earth's stalwart pacing, represented by its heat and viscous nature, in that any particular form of Lava would be somewhat consistent in how viscous it was, depending on how much Earth, as opposed to pockets of water vapor, it consisted of.

However, it was still more smothering than Fire and more maneuverable than Earth.

The combination of Electricity and Ice...should be something cold, and more than a bit harsh. Both elements could easily cause accidental harm. Even when Ice healed, it tended to be accompanied by a stinging sensation. And the combined element would have a sense of surety about it.

Was that the best way to put it?

Ice was very powerfully into logic, and Electricity could nearly instantly pull up facts both important and inconsequential. If their combination was anything like that, it would almost surely be able to make very quick and accurate intuitive leaps—but, almost because of that, might just miss the most glaringly obvious facts.

Pulling himself out of his musings, Spyro began to gather the two elements. Taking deep breaths to help center himself, he began calling on Convexity to tie them together. It began slowly, the room he was in becoming minutely brighter. As Spyro placed more of the components in, the brightness grew.

Light.

Almost as soon as he'd come to that revelation, he felt something shift. Something seemed to be going wrong. The brightness fluctuated, shifted, then completely inverted, leaving Spyro in a room that was darker than when his training had begun and only continued to deepen.

Shadow.

Slowly letting his connection fade and the room return to its normal illumination, Spyro pondered what had occurred. Why had the element inverted itself? He thought he had been careful in the elemental ratios. And the others had been more forgiving on that, as well.

But that was it, wasn't it? Light was harsh. It was exacting, as both of its parents were. And if Volteer and Cyril were any indication, those two didn't play well together naturally, anyway. Thus, they were almost fighting the combination every step of the way. It would be almost natural that they would invert the element.

Which would actually make Shadow the more forgiving and easygoing of the two.

But then...why hadn't Cynder discovered the other side of Shadow?

Almost as soon as he'd thought the question, he knew the answer. The proportions, of course. Here he was, going in with prior experience combining elements and training with the four base elements. Not only that, but he was in a situation where he could afford to focus on exactly how much of each he put in. In combat, or whenever it was done naturally, there would be much more fluctuation, which of course would lead to the inversion of Light into Shadow.

Did that mean that Volteer had actually been inadvertently altering Cynder's proportions of Electricity and Ice, causing her control to break? Or was it that the inverted element was naturally defeated by its 'normal' counterpart, and that Volteer's high level of pure Electricity had been enough to mimic it, if only for a moment?

...Or could it have been that, somehow, impossibly, Volteer's Electricity had mixed in precisely the right amounts with Cynder's Shadow so as to 'return' it to the Light element, creating a 'wild' element that no one was in control of, thus causing it to harmlessly dissipate?

While the questions were interesting, Spyro didn't think he would have any way to quickly discover their answers. So, for now, he could only try to acquaint himself with both sides of his mate's main element.

Classic Loop 36.6: (Looking Towards the Future pt.3)

"...And this is nursery!" Ember said, a big grin on her face as she stood before the dome-like building. "This is where I volunteer most of my time, even in the loops."

Cynder held an awkward smile. Not long after Ember had discovered Cynder had looped into her baseline, she'd begun showing her around her home village. Even though Cynder had heard tales about this place from Ember before, she had never expected it to be so bright and cheery. Maybe the war in her own baseline had jaded her to the idea of a truly peaceful village, but it was something she found hard to take in.

"Want me to show you around the building?" Ember asked, looking back at the nursery. "I'd like for you to meet some of the younglings here. They're all so cute and full of energy, and I'd bet they'd be interested in meeting you!"

"Oh, u-uh…" Cynder muttered, raising a paw. "N-no. No, thank you."

"Hm?" Ember tilted her head. "Why not?"

"I…I don't think I'd be good around younglings," Cynder said, glancing away with a small frown on her face.

"What makes you say that?" Ember asked, walking over to look Cynder in the eyes.

"I just… It's a feeling I have," Cynder said, glancing the other way with a frown. "Can we please drop it?"

Ember frowned, leaning back and looking at Cynder with a concerned glint in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

"Alright…" she said, shaking her head. "I was looking forward to showing you what I normally do during the baseline, though…"

"Sorry…" Cynder said, looking back at Ember. Raising a paw, she forced a small smile. "Surely there's some other stuff you haven't shown me yet, though, right?"

Ember looked up at Cynder from under her eyelashes and sat down. Placing a paw chin, she raised an eye-ridge. "Cynder? Is something bugging you?"

"What makes you say that?" Cynder asked, looking at Ember with a half-surprised expression on her face.

"I know you," Ember said, a slight grin on her face. "Maybe not as much as your Spyro does, but I know you well enough now to know when something's bugging you." She walked closer, her grin slowly turning into a frown. "You always have that disinterested, 'pay no attention to me' attitude about you when there's something bothering you."

Cynder blinked, looking a little dumbfounded, before she sighed and glanced down with a frown. "Am I really that transparent?"

"Not really," Ember said, walking over and placing a paw on her shoulder. "Just only when you're depressed. It's not good to keep things bottled up like this." She gave a slight smile. "Just remember, I'm always here to listen."

Cynder eyed her blankly before giving a sigh, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

"...It's your Spyro," she said, glancing back up with a frown. "Does he hate me?"

"What?" Ember asked, a dumbfounded look on her face. "What makes you ask that?"

"The look he gave me...at the start of the loop," Cynder said, returning her half-lidded gaze to the ground. "It's the look people usually give me during a baseline loop. It's not that this thing still bugs me, mind you." She paused, closing her eyes. "It's just… Seeing it on Spyro's face…"

Ember blinked, then gave a sympathetic smile, rubbing Cynder's back as she looked her in the eyes.

"Cynder. Spyro doesn't hate you," she said, taking a deep breath. "He's just…not happy with the way you handled the Sorcerer. He views killing others as something that shouldn't be done, even as a last resort." Ember held a soft smile, getting up and looking at Cynder as she held one of her paws. "Besides, remember, this isn't your Spyro…"

"I know. He just… He looked so similar, at least in that moment," Cynder said, glancing away. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this…"

"You just really haven't gotten to know him yet. Soon enough, you'll start seeing him as a different dragon," Ember said, tilting her head with a innocent smile on her face. "...Granted, I'm still getting used to your Spyro as well, but still."

This got a mild chuckle out of Cynder, who glanced back up with a slightly more upbeat expression. Ember chuckled, giving a grin.

"There we go," she said, tilting her head with the grin still on her face. "It's like I've said several times before. You look a lot better when you smile."

Cynder let out a short, contented huff, looking at her with a smile. Getting up, she took a deep breath. Ember nodded, getting up and walking in front of her. Cynder paused, looking on with a confused expression.

"Hey, Ember," Cynder said, tilting her head.

"Yeah?" Ember asked, glancing back with a neutral expression.

"How come you aren't as upset about what I did as your Spyro is?" Cynder asked, blinking as she walked over to her.

Ember frowned, pausing as she glanced forward. Taking a deep breath, she glanced down, a blank expression on her face. "I guess it's because I can see why you wouldn't consider it out of line."

"Hm?"

Ember shook her head, glancing over to Cynder with a frown. "From what you told me, your baseline is rough, even when you manage to escape…that fate."

Cynder flinched slightly, looking away with a frown. Ember glanced upward, her expression neutral.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't view killing another being as something that should be done, even as a last resort, or even if someone is really just that horrible." Ember closed her eyes. "But...that's because, in this world, such a thing is considered taboo."

She glanced over to Cynder, a sympathetic frown on her face. "Judging from what you and your Spyro have said, and how you two never hesitate on the subject, such a thing in your world mustn't be as big a taboo as it is here, especially with that war going on." Ember tilted her head, closing her eyes again. "I don't know how I'd be able to handle being in your place…"

"You're a strong dragoness, Cynder," she said finally, looking over with a smile. "I hope you realize that."

Cynder paused, eying Ember blankly with only the occasional blink. A small smile began to appear on her face and she glanced down. "Well, after the twentieth time around, or so…"

The two dragonesses shared a slight chuckle, before Ember took a deep breath. Glancing over, she held a neutral expression as she placed a paw on Cynder's shoulder.

"Can you promise us this, though?" Ember asked, a worried frown on her face. "Can you try to hold back when fighting bad guys in our world? Not just for my Spyro, but for your own sake, too?"

Cynder blinked. Ember sighed, lowering her head as she looked at Cynder with a worried gaze.

"It's not just me and my Spyro who hold this view," she said, closing her eyes. "Pretty much everyone in our world considers killing to be one of the worst acts anyone can commit. You were lucky that the Sorcerer hadn't made himself known yet when you awoke, and thus we were able to cover it up..." Ember reopened her eyes, that worried frown still on her face. "If you were to do something like that when the others knew about it, there's no telling how they'd react, even if it was done to someone like the Sorceress."

"Well…" Cynder paused, biting her lower lip. It was such a simple request, yet when she had spent most of her life just fighting to survive…

"I'll…I'll try," she said, glancing away with a frown. "My combat style isn't exactly designed to be non-lethal, though."

"Hey, you managed to disable that mugger in the loop where we met without seriously injuring him, right?" Ember asked, giving a small smile. "If you want, you can let me and Spyro handle most of the things that usually pop up in our loop. You deserve a break from your baseline, after all."

Before Cynder could say anything, a wide grin found its way onto Ember's face. Quickly moving closer to Cynder, she giggled to herself.

"Hey, I have an idea!" she said, giving a grin. "I know a perfect place you can unwind and have some fun at the same time!"

"Okay… Where?" Cynder asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, you'll see!" Ember said, almost skipping as she darted away. Pausing quickly, she glanced back with the grin still on her face. "Just let me handle things with Spyro real quick! I'll be back before you know it!"

Cynder blinked, raising an eye-ridge as she watched Ember head off, apparently barely able to contain her excitement. Cynder held a blank expression, the feeling that she somehow had gotten in over her head beginning to creep up the back of her neck.

Legend Loop 36.7: (Feat: AbZ)

Spyro didn't like this part of the loop. Since he often had already freed Cynder at this point, even if she wasn't awake, the loop would railroad Ignitus's disappearance through an attack on the temple while Spyro was at Munitions Forge. This left Volteer and Cyril injured both in body and spirit, and the mood would even get to Terrador on some level. All Spyro could do was bring Ignitus back as soon as he could and hope that, next time, someone else was awake to foil the attack.

Ducking under a dummy's wild swing, Spyro tried to refocus on his training.

"You are worried about Ignitus?" the Earth Guardian rumbled from the side of the room.

"Somewhat," Spyro hedged honestly. "It's more Volteer and Cyril that have me worried."

"Those two have endured worse, and doubtless will again," Terrador replied. His words weren't said in a way that was overtly comforting, but Spyro knew his teacher well, and the unspoken "with both Ignitus and myself, at the very least, by their sides" was something he heard clearly.

"Though, if I may pick your mind," Terrador said after a time as Spyro flung a different dummy around as a flail, "why is it that you are not worried about Ignitus?"

No accusation, just curiosity.

"Call it a feeling. I just think that Ignitus will make it though this ordeal without much issue," Spyro replied. 'It's the end of the loop that I'm not so sure about.'

"A vision from the Ancestors?"

"Perhaps," Spyro allowed. This was a bit unusual.

Then he heard Terrador mutter something that he hadn't expected. "They do seem to be handing them out like candy."

"Master Terrador?" Spyro asked, spinning around both to face Terrador in surprise and also to leverage the torque to rip a dummy's head from its shoulders.

"It is nothing you have to worry about, Spyro. It seems as though they have seen fit to give me a vision of what might be, as well. And while I do not like all of it, it comforts me to see that you and Cynder both will grow into a fine pair of dragons."

"May I ask what the vision was?" Spyro asked, trying to reign in his excitement. Just because Terrador didn't receive any visions in baseline didn't mean that he couldn't now.

"The whole of it seems too long to recount now, but know that, if it is true, war is coming and we must be ready."

Spyro sighed as he tripped another dummy and hit it hard enough that, had it been alive, he would have shattered its skull.

Giving in to the guilt, Terrador continued. "At the end, you came up with a plan to end the war and stop a great calamity. It required you, Cynder and Ignitus to pass through a place no one else could go. For a time, we were unsure of its success, then my vision-self felt the earth itself shriek and wail in pain as it seemed to tear itself apart. Then came a golden light and all was as before. And we waited for your return, simply knowing somehow that you had survived. And that is where it ended."

Looking back at the young dragon, Terrador saw that he had turned unnaturally pale.

"I never realized the earth was in such pain," Spyro murmured.

"Spyro, calm yourself. It hasn't happened yet. And if I have anything to say about it, it won't come to that, anyway."

Backing away, Spyro began shaking his head. "No, it already has happened and it will happen again, and again."

Catching up to him, Terrador corralled the shivering dragon with his body. "Spyro, I told you, it was just a vision. And I—"

"It wasn't a vision!" Spyro cut in. "Visions don't tell you everything that will come in four years," he added softly before trying to coil back in on himself.

"Then what was it? Do you believe that I really have come back in time?" the Earth Guardian asked, slightly disturbed that Spyro had known the timeframe of his vision.

"Yes."

Somehow, that one word, such a simple assertion, seemed to shake Terrador more than anything. Did Spyro truly believe such things were possible?

"You and I are experiencing a phenomenon known to the greater community for which it is happening as 'looping.' Those to whom it is happening are known as 'loopers.'"

"Others?" Terrador asked.

"My brother Sparx, Cynder and Ignitus are also looping, but loopers aren't always aware of time's repetitions. They aren't always 'awake' to the loops. Right now, it seems like only you and I are awake at the moment."

"You do realize that does not truly help your case, young one."

"Then perhaps these would be more appropriate?" Spyro asked, pulling out his weapons and armor.

Terrador stared at the metallic and wooden objects that had just appeared from nowhere. The weapons were unfamiliar to him, but even a cursory glance revealed some things about them. First, they were well-used. Impressions in the leather wrappings showed that something had surrounded and pressed hard against the leather over a very large period of time. Second, they were very well-maintained. Terrador could smell a hint of lacquer and oil emanating from the strange objects. Third, and partially hidden by the second, was that they were absolutely ancient. Terrador had never seen anything as old as these were, much less something so old yet in such good condition.

He didn't know the names of the objects Spyro was showing him, but he could see scratches and dings that spoke of use in battle. Looking over the longest piece of wood, reinforced with wooden bands, he saw that it had an enormous crack running along nearly one quarter of its full length. Studying the wound further, Terrador realized that it had once been much larger.

As he looked over at Spyro, the smaller dragon explained. "When Malefor and I clashed during that loop, we both channeled our fullest power into our weapons and shields. I think I surprised him when, despite cracking as badly as my lance did, not only did it stay together, but it also didn't leak any of my power and pierced his armor. I have been trying to fix it, but I was advised that too much power at once might shatter it. I can still use it perfectly fine, though."

"May I see?" Terrador asked. At Spyro's nod, he moved back to the edge of the room and Spyro back to the center.

Standing on his back legs, Spyro summoned his sword and shield and waited as the dummies began to charge him. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. Terrador felt as though the air froze for a moment. Then Spyro exhaled, opened his eyes, and adjusted his grip. Terrador noted that the unfamiliar weapon had a new sheen to it, but he was unable to study it further, as the metal object blurred into motion and Spyro himself turned into a veritable whirlwind of destruction.

The objects that Spyro carried flitted around one another, striking down their fair share of foes and blocking strikes that would have been painful or deadly had they landed in a real fight. And, through it all, Spyro was a purple snake at the center of a storm of metal.

Again, the world seemed to pause as Terrador made out a moment where Spyro's grip slackened. Focusing in, he watched as the weapon switched out with another, this one much more flexible. Then Spyro was back in the center of the fray, only this time Terrador could feel something happen just before each blow with the new weapon landed.

Watching, he saw Spyro calling upon the Earth at a critical point in his swing, increasing the force with which he impacted his opponent. That kind of reflexive use of Earth did not come automatically, even for the most gifted of protégées. In addition, there was no hesitation in Spyro's movements. Both things spoke of years of familiarity with both the elements and the strange weapons.

As the last dummy of the wave came at Spyro, Terrador watched him flip over the target, flick his weapon out, and grab the weighted end with the claw that had been bearing the large, strangely-shaped piece of metal— painted purple with a golden dragonfly at its center—this entire time. Twisting to land on his hind legs, Spyro then used the improvised noose to slam his latest target head-first into the ground.

As the third wave came, Spyro changed weapons yet again, this time to the one he had called a 'lance.' Terrador watched as he brought it parallel to the ground before erupting into a missile of fire. The flaming trail twisted and spun about the room, each pass striking down at least one enemy, and each turn only a wingtip from the walls.

Then, even faster than they had materialized, the flames vanished and Spyro reappeared, skidding along the training-room floor. Only, this time, he had seemingly forsaken the largest piece of metal for his latest weapon. Instead, he was now holding a bent piece of wood that had both ends tied together with a metal string. Along one of his back legs was tied a pouch which held shorter lengths of wood.

Terrador noted that the fiery missile from before had left one of the training dummies from the previous wave unharmed. However, he didn't believe for an instant that it wasn't intentional on Spyro's part.

Reaching down, Spyro pinched three of the shorter lengths between the knuckles of his talons and pulled them up, flicking one up against the longer piece of wood as he did so. Then the remaining dummy from the third wave was on him, swinging wildly, trying its best to hit what might as well have been purple smoke. Terrador felt a slight tingle permeate the air. Sparks began to crackle along the length of the largest piece of wood and its string. When Spyro sidestepped the attacking dummy's latest swing, his eyes locked onto one of the other advancing dummies, and he pulled the shorter length back and released.

A blast of electricity rang out as the target dropped like a stone, but Spyro had already drawn and fired on his next target. And so it went, with Spyro picking off the dummies one by one at his own leisure, while he simultaneously dodged the training dummy's advances with its club. Then, when that was the only adversary left on the field, Spyro twirled the wood in his grip around so that the string was facing the outside. As he dodged the dummy's latest attempt, he flicked the weapon so that the string was behind the back of its head while the length of wood was in front of it. Then, with the string still crackling, Spyro yanked back.

Terrador watched the dummy's head fall to the ground, both impressed and shocked.

It was obvious that Spyro had trained long and hard with both the strange weapons and with his elements if he was so proficient at such a strange style. And yet, that training was at odds with his age.

"That was quite impressive, Spyro," Terrador said, watching as Spyro's latest weapon vanished again. The purple dragon smiled before beginning to circle around the room, inspecting the fired projectiles where they lay on the floor after the dummies had burst into gems. "Who was it that taught you to wield the elements so proficiently?"

"You did, Master Terrador," Spyro replied, turning to look at him. "You, Ignitus, Cyril and Volteer have taught me nearly everything I know about the elements. Even if you cannot recall it, any 'talent' that I seem to have with the Earth is a product of your teachings and many, many years of practice." Pausing to collect himself, Spyro drew himself up and continued. "There is much that I do not know about the elements, Master Terrador. I would be honored if you would continue to teach me its secrets."

Terrador frowned. "If you have been 'looping' for as long as you say, why would there still be things that you do not know? I would think that, if your words are true, you should have had time enough to master all four elements."

"It's not that I couldn't have done so, but..." Spyro turned away briefly in embarrassment. "I don't want to learn something because you think it's the only way I can survive. That I'm not worthy of it, but I need it. I don't want to learn the more advanced techniques from you because I was born with purple scales. I want to learn those things because you believe that I'm ready to learn them."

"I believe that I understand, at least in part, where you are coming from," Terrador said. "But can you give me some time to collect myself before I give you my answer? You have given me much to think about, and I do not wish to make rash judgments."

"Of course," Spyro answered shakily. "I'll... I have to go, anyway..." Fishing one more item from his subspace, he showed it to Terrador. "This is a book that has information on the loops. It might explain things better than I have."

"I see," Terrador rumbled tentatively, drawing the ancient thing towards him. Noticing that Spyro was about to leave, he called after him. "The Night of Eternal Darkness."

Spyro jolted and turned to face the Earth Guardian.

"I will have made my decision by then. Now, go well, young dragon. And please, save my friend." Terrador watched as Spyro hastily nodded and all but bolted out the door in enthusiasm. He allowed himself a small smile before turning his attention to the latest item that his 'student' had brought to his attention.

Classic Loop 36.8: (Feat: GoldenGriffiness)

Spyro stared at his long feet, feeling one powerful back leg.

"...Why am I a kangaroo?"

"I dunno." Sparx shrugged. "Why would you not be a kangaroo? You know what Ihy's like. My question is, why am I your joey and why do I look like Roo?!" He crossed his arms with a perturbed frown that sent Spyro into a fit of laughter. "...What?"

"I can't believe I'm—hah!—saying this—hah!—but you're friggin' adorable!"

"I feel the need to point out that, if I am in here"—he pointed at the pouch that held him—"you are Spyra again."

"...Crap."

"And my mother."

Legend Loop 36.9: (Feat: GoldenGriffiness)

Spyro's eye twitched as he stared down at his reflection in a pool of clear water. His wings were horribly stiff and he was convinced that Ihy was drunk again.

The 'purple' dragon had become the 'crystal' dragon in this loop. The slight shine off his Flashwing-style wings was terribly nauseating. Sparx—who, thank the ancestors, was not awake—was currently checking his teeth in the reflection of Spyro's crystals.

"Oh, Spyro~!"

Spyro twitched, hearing that all-too-familiar voice. Quickly getting to his paws, he wondered if anyone would think less of him if he let Malefor succeed in blowing up the world this loop…

Classic Loop 36.10:

Spyro looked around the open fields of Stone Hill with a scowl on his face, his eye twitching as he darted back and forth across the plains. Sparx had long since decided to just lay down and catch some sleep. It didn't take long before Spyro slowed to a crawl and stopped, taking a deep breath.

"I've been through countless loops. I've done this countless times. I've been to places way more complicated than Stone Hill…"

He got up on his hind legs, throwing his forelegs to the sky as fire raged in his eyes.

"SO WHY THE HECK DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"

Spyro growled and plopped onto the ground with a dull look on his face. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he pulled his atlas out of his subspace and opened it to the right page. The gem counter continued to taunt him, still stubbornly displaying its three hundred and ninety-nine out of four hundred gems.

(A/N: So… Long time, no update.

For those wondering, this was mostly the result of a combination of real life stress and computer problems. Thankfully, Goldy is helping pitch in with some of the filler chapters, so these should hopefully be more frequent from now on, and I've mostly gotten the latter sorted out now. Still… Hard to write when you're more concerned about real life worries and such.

Don't worry about me, though. I'm mostly taking it in stride, even though my luck went to poop as of late. I'm hoping things will pick up soon, but…updates may remain sporadic for a bit until everything is sorted out.

Loop titles:

36.1: You know, Ed, I heard milk works wonders, even for dragonflies…

36.2: Well, when you don't know who your biological parents are…

36.3: They become masters of mystical and insanely dangerous combat abilities so fast these days…

36.4: It's their fault for still using outdated filing equipment in this day and age.

36.5: Just be glad you didn't cause a loop crash, Spyro. Forcing Cyril and Volteer to play nice with each other is like asking Malefornotto blow up the planet.

36.6: On the plus side, Ember's idea of fun likely won't mean humiliating someone in the process, unlike Legend Sparx. Hopefully.

36.7: Only Terrador could react to the loops with a 'huh, that's pretty weird...' kind of attitude and then go about the rest of it like nothing's wrong.

36.8: Meanwhile, a Gnorc is fighting a bad eye-twitch over trying to deal with a dragon who talks in an Australian accent that would make Steve Irwin roll over in his grave.

36.9: If Legend Spyro wasn't Crystal Dragon Jesus before…

36.10: Don't worry, Spyro. I'm sure anyone who's attempted to one hundred percent the Classic trilogy feels your pain…

Remember to leave a review because it really helps us out and improve, and if you're interested in submitting your own snip to the compilation, check out the official Spyro loops Forum on FF.N.)