Copyright: I do not own Spyro or anything Spyro related. It is all owned by Sierra Entertainment and Activision. I do own my original characters in the story.


The arena began filling up as the finals of the tournament were about to begin. The stadium's fighting field had been brought back to its former form. The fighting field had been repaired by numerous earth dragons and moles. Dark stormy clouds where, ominously, beginning to converge above the stadium. They blocked out the sun's radiant light. Almost all of the tournament's participants had already taken their seats. They were now waiting patiently for Ignitus to announce the start of the finals. The elder dragon stood up from his seat.

"The next few fights that we will have involve four dragons that have pulled away from the others. They have all demonstrated tremendous power, and mastery over their respective elements. The first of two matches will now begin. I know request that the participants of the first round make their way down to the fighting field," Ignitus said.

Spyro watched as Rai made his way down towards the field. He thought that it was strange that Sypher had not arrived yet. Usually the light blue dragon was always seen around the rest of Rai's teammates. Once Rai had made it onto the field, Spyro took notice that all four guardians had stepped onto the field as well. He figured that all of the guardians would be enforcers for the last three fights of the tournament.

"Where is your associate?" Terrador asked.

"I don't know?" Rai said, hiding that he had told Sypher to forfeit the match.

"If he does not show up for the fight then that means that he forfeits," Terrador replied.

"I am sure that he is well aware of that," Rai said, giving Terrador a smug look.

"You planned this didn't you?" Terrador said, approaching Rai. "Why you little…"

"Terrador that is enough!" Cyril said, raising his voice at his fellow guardian. "Control yourself please. As for the current situation, I am afraid that there is nothing that we can do. Since Sypher failed to show up for his fight we must announce Rai as the victor."

Terrador sighed; he knew that Cyril was right. He turned his head towards the crowd in order to make the announcement.

"It appears that the other participant for this match has failed to present himself. As a result of a forfeit your winner is…"

Sypher landed on the ground, hard, cracking the floor beneath his paws. The large booming sound of him landing had stopped Terrador from announcing Rai as the victor. Terrador saw that Sypher was glancing at Rai angrily. He signaled the other guardians to step away so that the fight between the two of them could start. Rai stared in confusion at Sypher, because the two of them had agreed that Sypher would forfeit the match. It was then that Rai observed how Sypher had been staring at him. Sypher stared at Rai with nothing, but malice and hatred in his eyes.

"The match between Sypher and Rai will now begin," Terrador yelled out.

Rai had a shocked look on his face as Sypher punched him across the face within seconds after the match had started. Sypher had appeared in front of Rai, catching him off guard. The force from Sypher's punch had sent Rai sliding across the ground. Rai quickly stood back up, and looked back towards were he believed his opponent was located. He was surprised to find out that Sypher was once again in front of him. His opponent delivered another speedy punch towards his face. This time Rai was prepared to dodge the incoming punch. He moved his head out of the way, receiving only a graze on the side of his face from the punch. Rai stared at Sypher, and saw that he was fully concentrated on his target, which was him.

"What is wrong with you?" Rai said, jumping away from Sypher. "I thought that we had a plan."

"I will not be used by you anymore," Sypher said with anger in his voice.

Sypher wasted no time in pursuing Rai once more. The eyes that Sypher was currently starring at him with brought up a feeling of guiltiness within the grey dragon. Rai did not know why they made him feel that way, he chose to push the feeling aside. Right now his full concentration needed to be placed upon the battle that he was having against someone that he believed to me his ally. He took notice of Sypher tensing up his talons. Rai's eyes quickly took on a dark purple hue around the iris.

Sypher began swiping at Rai, who was dodging the dragon's claws with moderate success. Some of Sypher's claws actually managed to penetrate Rai's scales. Rai knew that Sypher was fast, but now he was experiencing just how quick the dragon truly was. The grey dragon began tensing up his own talons, knowing that he could not keep on avoiding Sypher's claws. Both dragons' pair of claws began clashing against each other, sending out sparks with each collision. Through the skirmish Rai saw one of Sypher's paws going for his throat. This was the chance that Rai had been waiting for. He pulled his upper body back, avoiding his opponent's deadly claws in the process. He then pushed forward, and delivered a powerful blow along Sypher's face.

Rai watched as Sypher skidded along the ground from his punch. He was then surprised to see Sypher running back towards him already. His opponent had recovered so quickly from his attack. Sypher was already attacking Rai again within a matter of seconds. He began preparing to dodge whatever attack that Sypher would throw at him. Rai's eyes widened as he felt three sharped talons touching his throat. He had seen Sypher's movements, but his body could not react fast enough.

"This is the only warning I am going to give you," Sypher said, whispering towards Rai. "Do not let your guard down around me. Do not take this fight lightly like your past ones. Fight me with everything you have. If you do not adhere to these warnings then the next opportunity that you present to me, I will take it. Your lifeless body will then be lying at my paws."

Rai pushed Sypher away from him. He knew that there was truth to what his opponent had just told him. He needed to take the fight and his opponent seriously. He did not know why, but Sypher clearly wanted him dead. Rai inhaled a breath of air, and then he exhaled the air out. The dragon sighed as he took his fighting stance. This time Rai was the first one to attack. He began sending a storm of punches towards the light blue dragon. Sypher's body began swaying in place, dodging all of the dragon's punches in a fluid manner. Rai suddenly turned around, and whipped his tail towards Sypher. The dragon blocked the tail whip by covering himself up with one of his wings. Sypher pulled his wing back into place, and was instantly greeted by a head-butt from Rai. The grey dragon's rough horns made contact with Sypher's chest. He was sent tumbling backwards for a bit, but he was quickly able to recover.

Rai watched as the dragon was about to arrive at his location again. Once he was within a few feet of Rai, Sypher slid across the ground. He then kicked the dragon into the sky with his two hind legs. The crowd turned their heads up, following Rai's ascend up into the sky. Rai opened his wings up to regain control of his body. He turned his head towards the ground, and saw that Sypher was already within inches of him. The multi-eyed colored dragon began moving his arms rapidly towards Rai in a straight manner, attempting to pierce his sharp talons into Rai's body.

Rai kicked Sypher in the chest, sending the dragon flying downward. Sypher quickly recovered, and flew past Rai at blinding speed. A long slash formed across Rai's body. He turned around to face Sypher, and saw that he was about to slash him again. He quickly moved his body out of the way. Sypher barely missed Rai as he flew past the grey colored dragon. This time Rai flew down towards Sypher, attempting slash him in the same manner. Sypher saw what Rai was doing, and quickly increased his flight speed. They flew across the sky matching their slashes against each other at incredible speeds. The crowd could only see faint sparks, and the sound of talons colliding against one another. The more skilled dragons could make out images of the two dragons just as they met head on.

I…I need to take this further, Rai thought to himself as he continuously clashed with Sypher. I can feel him getting stronger, as the hate within him intensifies. I need to be the one to deal a fatal wound first.

After once again clashing his claws against Sypher's as they flew by each other. Rai surrounded his six talons in wind, forming them into razor edge blades that gave off a humming sound. He turned back mid-flight to once again clash with his opponent. He positioned his arms forward, as he approached Sypher. His razor sharp wind blade talons were at the ready. Sypher's eyes widened as he saw the new form that Rai's talons had taken. The dragon flew to the side before the two could make contact, but Rai had anticipated the dragon's movements. He quickly extended his arm outward, the wind encased talons penetrated Sypher's chest. The wind claws moved downward as Rai flew across Sypher. The three talons had torn Sypher's chest open, leaving three large gashes across the dragon's chest.

The crowd watched from below as the dragons suddenly came to a halt, allowing some to finally see what the two contestants were doing. They saw that the light blue dragon was currently bleeding profusely from three gashes across his chest. The crowd also noticed that Rai's claws were incased in silver wind.

"Is…is he trying to kill Sypher?" Glacia asked, as she was concerned for Sypher's health.

"No, I'd say that both of them are trying to kill each other," Ares said, looking at Sypher's furious face.

"I do not know what happened between them. I could have sworn that Sypher was completely loyal to Rai," Gen said, pondering what had caused the change in Sypher's attitude.

"This is great for us!" Seth said, smiling at the path the fight was currently taking. "I hoped that the two of them would go at each other hard, but this is more than I could have ever asked for."

"It hasn't been that long since this fight started, and Rai has already been forced to use one of his elements," Blaze said, watching as blood fell down from Sypher's wound. "Or maybe he…"

"Exactly!" Greg said, interrupting Blaze. "He is probably the only one who knows exactly what Sypher is capable of. He wants to end the fight as soon as possible, because unlike with his previous opponents. He doesn't think that he will come out the victor."

"What is your problem?!" Rai shouted out at Sypher. "You know that no good will come of this. Why are you so enraged?"

Sypher glared at Rai with empty eyes. "You deserve no answer from me, after what you've done," he said, placing a paw on the wounds that he had received moments ago.

"Let's just stop this before one of us does something that they will regret," Rai said, trying to reason with Sypher. It felt weird for him to be on the other side of this type of conversation.

"I…I don't regret anything that I do. I sure as hell won't regret whatever course this battle takes," Sypher angrily replied. "That being said, I can see that you are taking this battle seriously. We both know that you will need all of your elements if you wish to make it out of this battle alive. Now let me return that show of respect."

A cascade of water enveloped Rai as it pushed him back down towards the field. The crowd looked on in disbelief at the sudden appearance of water. The large volume of water collapsed against the stone field, spreading across the field. The rush of water quickly revealed Rai within a small crater that had been created from the water's force. Sypher forcefully landed on the soaked field, sending water up into the air. He surrounded his right paw in water and brought it up to his chest. The water flowed into the three large gashes on his chest, travelling into his body. The water that he was controlling began mixing in with his blood. He removed his paw from his chest. Blood no longer seeped out from the three slashes; it instead stayed within his body.

Rai slowly rose up from the ground, and began walking out of the small crater. Once he was out he shook himself dry of the water that was on him. He had bruising around his chest, and on other areas of his body. The water attack had caught him off guard. He had not expected Sypher to suddenly use his element, but it actually made sense. They had fought once before, during their days as Malefor's captives. Both of them knew exactly how dangerous the other one was. It was only reasonable that both dragons demonstrated their elemental powers against each other.

"That's his element…water?" Seth asked, staring unimpressed by the water that covered the field.

"Sypher told us that he was once an ice dragon, but Malefor tried changing his element into the fire element. As a result one of his eyes turned red, and his element changed into water. The same thing that happened to Gen happened to Sypher." Glacia said, informing the surrounding dragons.

"I wonder what he has learned to do with it," Spyro said, glancing at Sypher.

"Well for starters, it looks like he can stop blood from leaking out from his open injuries," Cynder said, pointing at the water dragon's three slash wounds.

"I see that you have used your element," Rai said, grinning slyly at Sypher.

"I know how deadly you are. In order to defeat you, I must use all of my power," he said, as the water surrounding him swirled around the light blue dragon.

Rai jumped into the air, and opened his maw. A ball of dark pulsating energy began pulsating at the base of his maw. It quickly tripled in size as Rai aimed the dark ball of energy at Sypher. He released the large shadow sphere attack at Sypher, who looked unimpressed. As the shadow sphere neared in on Sypher, a large torrent of water erupted from the field. The large volume of water absorbed the shadow element attack, stopping it from moving forward. Another torrent of water unexpectedly appeared behind Rai. The spiraling torrent of water pushed Rai forward towards the pillar of water that contained his own attack. He tried pushing himself off of the torrent of water, but its force was too great. He looked towards the other body of water, and saw that it was also moving towards him now. Rai braced his body for the painful impact.

The two spiraling torrents of water clashed against each other, sending Rai into his own attack. The shadow sphere connected with Rai at the tip of both large bodies of water. The attack enveloped Rai, and then the entire arena in a sphere of darkness. It lasted for a couple of seconds before it quickly resided back towards its origin. The large sphere exploded, sending out a large shockwave, and drenching the audience in water. Rai spun around in mid-air for a few seconds before his body fell back towards the ground. The audience saw that Rai's body was resonating with black smoke caused by his own shadow sphere. The attack had also left him with several scratches and burn marks.

Rai slowly began to open up his eyes as he felt himself falling down towards the field. Out of the corner of his right eye, he saw that something was quickly approaching him. Sypher was currently moving his four paws across the top of the water that enveloped the field. It gave the illusion that he was skiing towards the falling celestial dragon. He jumped into the air once he was close enough to the dragon. The water below him followed the path of one of his hind paws up into the air. He spun around once, and kicked Rai in the chest. The three claws on his hind paw penetrated the middle of Rai's chest. The water that had been following Sypher's hind paw was now spinning around and tightening up. Its sharp point pierced Rai where Sypher's paw had hit, sending the dragon spiraling backwards. The light blue water spiral continued spinning at incredible speeds as it continued digging into Rai, carrying him towards one of the field's walls. The water spiral smashed Rai's body into the wall, drilling him deep into the wall before the water structure finally dissolved and lost its form.

"Come on out!" Sypher said, yelling towards the hole that he had made in the wall. "I know that my last attack was not enough to finish you off. I know that you are stronger than…"

Rai appeared before Sypher, and punched the dragon in the maw. The force from his punch lifted Sypher into the air. Rai followed him into the air, and began landing constant hits on the dragon. Sypher was met with a flurry of punches, as he was driven across the air by them. The crowd watched in awe as Rai carried Sypher across the air with each punch he landed on the hate filled dragon. Eventually Rai had driven Sypher into the other side of the field. His punches were now driving Sypher into one of the field's walls located just below the crowd. The dragon was embedded within the walls as Rai slowly began stopping his assault.

"Now that I have you trapped here," he said, pushing his four limbs against Sypher's four limbs. "Why do you want to kill me? Why did your attitude towards me change?"

"Because you decided to leave me, and stay with them, even though you told me otherwise," Sypher silently said, but loud enough for Rai to hear him. "I…I was the one who was there for you when you thought that there was no point in living anymore. I was the one who brought you back after you failed to save Cynder from Malefor. I saved you from being alone during those dark days. Just as you saved me, but now I see that you would clearly choose them over me."

"No! You are wrong," Rai said, looking into Sypher's anger filled eyes. "After something that happened last night, I have made up my mind. You are right, I have decided to stay, but I want to unite both our group and Spyro's. We can stay here, and stop looking for a place to belong. This can be our new home. We can live here in peace."

"Lair!" Sypher yelled out, as he then spit blood onto Rai's face. "The Rai that I knew, the Rai that I spent four years with in the darkness would never even consider what you have just said. Maybe you should just stop looking for dragons that will accept you for who you are. Instead you should focus on those that already accept you for who you are."

"That is exactly why I want to stay in Warfang," Rai said, growling at Sypher's stubbornness.

"Stop living in denial! We both know that they won't accept you. Stop pretending to be someone that you are not!"

Someone that I am not? Rai thought, as he tightened his grasp on Sypher. I thought that I had decided on only accepting those that feel the same way as I do. I thought that I knew that it would be wrong of me to stay here. Is he right about me pretending, or am I right about wanting to stay here? Blaze, Spyro, and Cynder all managed to change my own perception of how I see myself. I…I don't know what to think about myself at the moment.

"I can see that they have swayed you over towards their side," Sypher said, as an eruption of water from within the walls broke him free of Rai's grasp. "After I kill you, I will kill those who you supposedly hold dear. I will kill both Spyro and Cynder," he said, pointing one of his talons towards the two dragons.