Disclaimer: I own nothing except my characters. Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.

Exclaimer: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

Special Thanks to Alec the Dark Angel for being my beta for this story.

Special Thanks to Strigon175 for being my beta for this story.

Special thanks to Sicarius19 for providing and writing out the main story for the Terrador Social Arc.

Chapter 37

Best Forgotten

"Do me a favour, and never mention this to anyone. Ever. Some things are better left forgotten."

The earth dragon in the group raised his brow. "Okay. What exactly happened, Phase?"

Phase glanced at him, then to the two fire dragons as well. "I can answer that with a question. Have you guys ever wondered why Zaze is so…nice?"

Flame thought back on the days he's been with Zaze. He couldn't think of the dragon being anything else than friendly. Ember was on the same boat as well. Without Zaze, she and Flame would have never been together. And practically everybody else that Zaze helped. Crombe on the other paw thought as well. Zaze being nice was an understatement. The electric dragon was a loyal companion, willing to help anyone, anytime, anywhere. He was selfless to the point where he was willing to fight to keep his friends safe; this, he remembered all too well.

0 = 0 = 0

"All I am just saying, Crombe, is that don't do this to yourself. The only one getting hurt is you. Just because I talk to you, doesn't mean we're friends, Crombe. When push comes to shove, I will protect my friends. Even if it means I have to put you down."

Crombe's expression remained of neutral. "Is that a threat?"

"It doesn't have to be. We're all good guys here. We're not going to hurt you. You just have to trust us."

0 = 0 = 0

"Well, yeah," Flame answered. "Now that you mention, yes; isn't it just natural for him?"

Phase's answer however, was the opposite. "No, sadly; he wasn't always this…friendly, or talkative, or social. I think you guys will understand Zaze more if you know more about him in general."

Phase closed his eyes as he remembered the true past they had.

"You see, it all started when we were kids. We grew up only having a single parent. I don't know where our dad is, and I don't care. I think he left us when mom laid our eggs. With that being said, mom was always busy taking care of us and I was busy taking care of Zaze. I was the older brother after all. It was dangerous at the time, seeing as the Terror of the Skies was about."

Ember remembered the familiar title. "You mean, Cynder?"

"Yes. And I am well aware of who she is now, alongside Spyro. But before was different. It was my job to keep an eye on Zaze whilst mom left us for a while to do some errands. Then one day, it happened. Now I don't know whether it was from stupidity on my end on or just plain bad luck, but I lost sight of Zaze. Naturally, I went looking for him." He looked at three of his listeners, all of which were listening intently and silently. "And that was when…I saw…"

"Saw…what?" Crombe asked, noting the drop of tone in his voice.

"I saw Zaze; lying out cold on the floor."

Flame, Ember and Crombe's expression all turned surprised when the words sank into them.

"I thought he was dead at first," Phase continued. "I was shocked mind you. But what was even more shocking was that there was…some weird…aura, around him. A dark aura. I thought I had seen it before. And just as I thought of it, she appeared."

"She?" Ember voiced out.

"Dark aura?" Flame asked.

Crombe glanced at him. "Was it Cynder?"

Phase nodded darkly. "It was. I was scared, mind you. I nearly wet myself. But I was glad that she flew away, and most probably didn't see me. I felt like time stopped at that moment. I must have stood there like a statue for a whole minute. After it was clear, I rushed over to Zaze and checked over him. I learned that he was alive, but just unconscious; and that aura I saw on him earlier? It was gone. It was there and it was gone."

"Now that is scary," Flame replied. "Good thing she's on our side now."

"So what happened to Zaze afterwards? Did it affect him?" Ember asked, wanting to know more.

"At the time, I wasn't sure. After a few hours, he woke up. I asked him what he was doing out there and replied he doesn't remember. And that he didn't feel weird at all."

"Okay…" Crombe replied. "How exactly does this relate to you trying to keep this a secret from him? So far, everything seems…normal I guess. It's not exactly secret worthy."

"Well Crombe," Phase looked at him. "It ties in very well. But it happens much later. But for now, I have another question."

"And that is?" Flame asked.

"It's Courtship Week right?" Everyone nodded. "Did Zaze ever attend the Acquaintance Gala?"

"He did," Flame answered. "I think he went out with Latis."

"I see. But did he really want to go? I am willing to bet that he was reluctant, wasn't he?"

"Well…" Flame thought back. "Now that you mention it…"

0 = 0 = 0

"So are you going Zaze?" Flame asked.

Zaze shook his head. "No," he answered flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because, I don't like parties."

"You? Not liking parties? I hardly believe that."

"Haven't I had this conversation before?"

Flame looked at him. "Huh?"

Zaze shook his head. "Never mind; well believe it, because I really don't. I don't want to waste time doing something I'll be doing anyway."

"Now that's unfortunate. I was really hoping you'd go." Flame shrugged. "In any case, I'll be checking out behind in case we forgot anything."

Zaze nodded. "You go do that."

0 = 0 = 0

"Oh yeah, I think Latis mentioned something to me about Zaze not liking parties as well," Ember added.

"Well, that's natural for him. But he probably doesn't remember why," Phase continued.

"And that's a good thing?" Crombe asked.

"…yes, it actually is."

"Why?"

"That's because him hating parties, and the main reason why he has amnesia is the key to understanding who Zaze is," Phase answered.

"Those two are connected?" Flame asked.

"Yes. His hatred for parties is probably an after effect of his amnesia. It was too great to be forgotten. Emotions are strongly tied to memories."

"So something happened during the Acquaintance Gala?"

Phase nodded. "It was the event that changed both our lives."

Everyone quieted themselves and leaned in, eager to hear more of Phase's story. Phase looked out to the nearest window longingly as he began to narrate the dark event.

"I, Zaze and my mom, had managed to get ourselves sheltered with a group of other dragons, which is the main reason why we were celebrating said event. It happened to be coincidental that our hiding place was near a village of cheetahs. They too we're scared of Gaul and his wrath, which is why both our groups helped each other. Together, all of us managed to survive. Then Courtship Week arrived. Even in bleak times, it was a natural occurrence that couldn't be waived. So the elders of the group decided to go through with it, albeit with a few participants. The night prior, Zaze had confided into me that he was planning on confessing his feelings to his crush."

"Wow…really?" Flame asked, surprised at what he was hearing.

"Aw, that's so cute!" Ember remarked.

Phase smiled. "Being the encouraging twin brother that I was, I gave him my moral support. Soon night came, and eventually the party—well technically small gathering—was underway. Even the cheetahs were there since they too helped set up the small event. Everything was fine. Everyone was having fun, and I had a blast. I wasn't busy looking for someone yet at the time since I hadn't found her yet. There were some that had irked my interest but nothing too serious. But that was until…she came to me."

"She?" Crombe asked, scratching his chin.

"Zaze's special someone," he answered.

"Was she pretty?" Ember asked curiously.

Phase nodded. "She was. Especially when she mentioned how much she loved me."

Everyone blinked after hearing Phase statement.

Flame asked, "What?" summing up everyone's thoughts.

"Yeah, she came up to me and confessed that she had a crush on me."

"W-what did you do?" the fire dragon asked.

"Well…I…responded; reciprocated."

"You told her you loved her too, didn't you?" Crombe asked.

Phase looked down the floor. And bit his lip. "Well, she was pretty and all. I was surprised when she came on to me, but I wasn't going to let the opportunity drop."

"Why did you do that!? You just backstabbed Zaze!" Flame exclaimed. "How could you!?"

Phase calmed him down by raising his paws in surrender. "You have to understand, I didn't know at the time. Zaze told me he was going to confess to someone—"

"—but he never mentioned who it was, did he?" Crombe finished.

"He didn't. I only realized this when she mentioned Zaze's name."

"Wait…" A bad idea came into Flame's mind. "She thought that you were…"

Phase nodded. "Yes…"

"They are twins after all," Crombe remarked.

"She thought you were Zaze?" Ember clarified.

Phase nodded. "I only realized that I shouldn't have done what I did, when I saw Zaze at the corner of my eyes, crying. I quickly ran after him, leaving her confused. But I was too late. He ran off, probably somewhere to vent off his feeling; which I understand why. And you could say this is where Zaze's hatred for parties rooted itself. Later that afternoon though…things got a bit uglier. I found Zaze near our cave and tried explaining what had happened. But he was too high strung. Things got bad when all of a sudden he began to glow."

"Glow?" Crombe asked.

"I looked around and saw that he was holding this…purple gem in his paw. And well…it began to be absorbed by his body."

"Whoa…a purple gem? But wait…purple gems can't be absorbed by normal dragons like us, right? Even Master Pyrus said so," Flame remarked.

0 = 0 = 0

"Purple gems help us...what's the word I am looking for…tap our innate element, Convexity."

Pyrus nodded. "Spyro is correct. Purple dragons are the only ones who can use the purple gems due to their innate element Convexity. It is reserved for them and for them only. If a normal dragon, such as me, were to hold a purple gem." Pyrus then turned around, and started rummaging for something. He opened one of the cabinets that was behind him, and grabbed a small bag. It jingled as he placed a paw inside and delicately took something out.

"Here we are," he said, putting the bag back and closing the cabinet, before turning back to the class. "Like I said, if a normal dragon held a purple gem," he showed to the class his paws, which held the purple gem. "Nothing would happen. You could try it yourself."

0 = 0 = 0

"But I think…Zaze isn't normal anymore," Crombe replied. "Remember the dark aura?"

"Oh, that's right! Maybe that's the reason why he absorbed it at the time," Flame remarked.

"Yean…and that's not the only shocking thing there. He absorbed it and well…began having a seizure more or less. He was shaking violently in front of me. And before I knew it, he shot a beam; a purple beam of Convexity."

Everyone's brow rose.

"What!?" Crombe asked.

"Yes. He shot it and well…I lost consciousness from there. When I woke up…he was gone. Trees were bent over like something had crashed into them, while the rest of the area smelled burnt. I didn't get hit directly, but the spot where I was standing on was. There were small craters in the area. And the main reason why I didn't want to mention this to Zaze was that somebody else got fatally hit."

"Who?" Crombe asked.

Phase bit his lip. The memory was painful for him to remember.

"It was…it was our mom."

Author's Notes:

Well that happened, I hope that has answered some of your questions pertaining to Zaze.

EDIT:

I am terribly, terribly sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I FORGOT TO UPLOAD IT. So sorry about that.

Please take some time to R&R.

And favorite it, along with the author!

The OC "Pyrus" belongs to Alec the Dark Angel.

The OC "Decibele" belongs to Sicarius19

The OCs "Manuel" and "Alyssa" belong to SpyroonEarth.