Chapter 54
A Cat's Curse
Cosmo was feeling a bit uncomfortable at the moment. The market square was one of the last places he wanted to be right now. But Kali insisted that the two of them spent some time to catch up on what happened the last few days while she shopped for some food.
The dream Cosmo had earlier kept banging his head. Especially when he saw any female dragon looking at him, excluding Kali.
"No reason to get so worked up. Dreams are just a figment of reality and we really don't have any control over them." Cosmo thought to himself. "I hope."
The square wasn't all that busy at the moment but it still made Cosmo worry.
"Cynder's been keeping me company ever since you left," Kali said, despite having Cosmo ignore her.
"Uh-huh," the yellow dragon simply went, keeping an eye on all the female's around him.
Kali sighed. "You know . . . if you were actually listening to my whole conversation you could actually have descent replies."
Cosmo snapped back to reality. "I'm listening, answering, and replying."
"No . . . you're not. I asked you earlier, 'how was the fairy world?' and you said 'yes'."
"I-I did?"
Kali nodded. "Is there something on your mind you wanna share with me?"
Cosmo shrugged, still keeping an eye out for imposters. "I just . . . had a weird dream last night."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Immediately, the yellow dragon shook his head. "No way. At least not here."
Kali showed a goofy grin. "I bet it's something embarrassing."
Cosmo forced an uneasy smile in an attempt to hide his face from turning red. "Can we get back to shopping?"
"Why?" Kali began with a laugh. "You wanna buy me something?"
"Maybe I'll buy you a muzzle," Cosmo playfully joked.
"Why? You wanna get kinky?"
Cosmo squealed. Or it sounded like a squeal. Whatever it was, it made Kali burst out laughing.
Kali continued, but in a much quieter tone. "I can't believe you still act like that. Especially after last night."
The blue dragoness began walking to the nearest stall for food, until Cosmo stopped her. "Wait a minute, what happened last night?"
Kali raised an eye. "You don't remember?" Then she smiled. "I can refresh your memory if you want."
Before Cosmo could object, Kali lunged at him and locked her lips with his. The yellow dragon couldn't believe she was doing this. Right here in the middle of the market on top of that. But he couldn't object either. Before he knew it, Kali withdrew with a wide smile.
"Why did you stop?" Cosmo asked in his trance.
The blue dragoness loved seeing Cosmo in this state. "Here's a hint. Mating season ended last night. The bed wasn't used for sleeping either."
Then she walked toward the stall, leaving Cosmo with his mouth wide open.
"Wait a minute!" Cosmo said, catching up to Kali. "You mean you . . . and me . . .?"
"Don't think too hard about it." It seemed that smile had been on Kali's face for a while now. "I'm surprised you didn't remember when you woke up this morning."
Cosmo put his two front paws on his head as if he had a headache. "I can't believe I did that."
"I do," Kali replied. "And truthfully, I'm glad you did."
Somehow, that statement made Cosmo feel a bit better.
Elder Hall
Star seemed to be chocked up full of surprises. Felenia already had a hard time keeping with him, now he was flying around the room. The white scaled caretaker just let him have it. She didn't feel like chasing him down at the moment. Besides, as long as he was in the room, he was fine.
"Look at me Felenia!" Star called out, flying by her.
"Yes I see you Star. Good job."
Felenia sighed. Star wasn't pure white anymore. He changed colors again last night. Now he was orange with a dark purple underbelly and wings. Pretty soon this kid was going to be able to blend in with a crowd, which only meant Felenia had to watch him more carefully.
Star frequently asked to go outside but Felenia was ordered to always tell him no. It made her feel bad for the toddler but she understood why it had to be done. If Star changed colors in the middle of a crowd, it wouldn't be good news. There would be questions and demands, something Shivertail did not want right now.
Then that black dragon entered the room.
"Shivertail," Felenia greeted.
Shivertail was about to say something until he saw Star flying around the room. It was quite a distraction from what he was trying to say. "Erm . . . how long has he been flying?"
"Long enough to drive you crazy," Felenia answered. "Please tell me good news."
The black dragon smiled. "Actually yes. I found Isis."
The cat was standing right beside the dragon the whole time. "What's with the hyperactive kid?" the cat asked in a tired tone.
"You should try babysitting him," Felenia retorted with a grin.
"No thanks," Isis replied. "I'm not really a kid type of cat."
Then Star finally stopped and began hovering in mid-air as he noticed the cat. "Oh a cat!" He didn't hesitate to fly down in front of Isis. He layed down on his belly to get on Isis's level. "I've never seen a cat before." Star turned his head, studying the cat all over.
"This is getting weird," Isis pointed out. "So what's going on?"
"Felenia," Shivertail began. "I want you to go to Cosmo's home and bring him here. I'm sure he would want to see this."
Felenia nodded in understanding. "What about the rest of them?"
"If you want to bring them you may." Ignitus said, entering the room. "Yin and Myrianda are in the Riverside Beauty Inn. Blaze is out of reach. He's up in the Tathric Range, but he's safe."
Felenia nodded once more. "Consider it done."
Tathric Range
Frederick looked out from the mountains into the distant land. He could clearly see Warfang even though his view was slightly foggy, due to the cold. It had been quiet the last couple of days. Everything was fully repaired from the attack of dark beings a while back and Jazz's new house was also finished up. The dragon was happy to use it for shelter, especially when Myrina stayed with him for a few minutes. The dragon liked the human's company.
Blaze also spent a little time with Jazz as well, seeing as how they were the only two dragons around. Technically Blaze was a human, but he couldn't just tell these humans that.
Aruto seemed like a nice fellow. He always checked up on Blaze to see how he was doing. The red dragon often wondered why he was being so considerate of him. It did get him to thinking about if he should tell him the truth about himself or not.
"Is everything alright Frederick?"
Frederick knew who it was by the voice. "Yes Myrina," he replied, still looking out toward Warfang.
Myrina took her place beside Frederick, looking at the same sight. "You've standing out here for an hour. I thought you would at least be cold."
"I'm used to this weather," Frederick simply replied. "I've just been thinking."
Myrina turned her head, looking at Frederick. "Care to share?"
Frederick shrugged. "There are going to be tough battles ahead. It won't be long until Ismeras Nexis will have enough dark beings to form an army and attack Warfang."
"Yes," Myrina began. She took in a deep breathe then looked back out toward Warfang. "That thought has crossed my mind from time to time but I try not to think about it."
"It's going to be inevitable. We're going to have one tough trial ahead of us."
The air was quiet for a good while. Myrina didn't like thinking about it, but it was bound to happen. Frightening to think about as well. It was going to be a hard fight.
Myrina couldn't help but ask, "How many dragons are missing from Warfang?"
Frederick closed his eyes, trying to remember what he saw in one of his scouts. "The resident's are beginning to notice disappearances in the city. I've seen posters saying that there will be a reward if any of the missing dragon's are found. Unfortunately, finding them is impossible. We're going to need patience if we ever hope to see them again."
Later
Elder Hall
Everything was in place. All the ingredients needed to cast the spell on Isis was here, as well as Zoe the fairy. Poison ivy, fur of a fawn, a few drops of dragon blood and a dragon scale. Everyone was just in wait for Cosmo and company if they decided to come along.
After a few minutes, Felenia finally returned with Cosmo, Myrianda, and Yin. Surprisingly, Spyro and Cynder also entered the small room. Kali had went home. She mentioned to Cosmo that she didn't want to interfere with his business and this sounded serious.
This wasn't Star's room. It was the Hall's cellar. Rarely used for storage so it provided enough space for the upcoming event to unfold. But Spyro didn't mind. Especially since Ignitus was with him.
Shivertail saw that everyone was present and began. "I see you are all here. Very well, we shall begin Isis's transformation. Zoe, would you be so kind?"
The fairy nodded and raised her wand, charging up a spell. It only took a moment for her to cast a shining ball of light into the cauldron, where the ingredients laid. The ingredients lit up like a flare, caught on fire, then in the blink of an eye, they transformed into a red liquid.
"Isis," Shivertail began turning toward the cat. "You need to climb into the cauldron for the spell to work."
Ignitus was kind enough to place a stool near the cauldron for Isis to climb in. The cat jumped onto the old stool and stared at the swirling red liquid. "Do I have to?"
Shivertail chuckled. "I'm afraid so."
The black cat stared at the liquid again, then jumped in with a small splash. Her fur became wet with a red tint and it went up to her neck. "This is very unpleasant."
"More reason to resume the spell," Spyro quietly muttered.
Ignitus turned to Zoe. "You may begin the transformation when you are ready."
Zoe nodded. She raised her wand and began to circle it above her head, charging up the spell with as much energy as she could muster. Everyone watched as the small light ball on the wand grow as she charged it up. Cosmo saw that Isis was shaking. Was she scared? Or was the liquid she was in just cold? The dragon had never seen the cat scared before.
Then the spell was launched. The ball of light traveled fast and hit Isis, enveloping the cat in the light. Spyro tried talking, but all sound was strangely muffled by the spell. If Isis was saying something, they wouldn't have any idea what it was.
The light itself then expanded, blinding everyone in the room. Spyro shut his eyes, unable to do anything else for the moment. He just hoped that this would work.
Then the light vanished. Everyone opened their eyes and nearly everyone in the room grew surprised.
Isis was still a cat.
All the liquid in the cauldron was gone and the spell seemed to have failed.
"What happened?" Yin asked.
Myrianda answered in an annoyed tone. "It looks like it didn't work. Now what?"
Cosmo deeply sighed. He had hoped this would have worked. He wanted Isis to be happy, but this wasn't cutting it.
"What do we do now Ignitus?" Cynder asked.
Ignitus was quiet for a good while. He shook his head and finally answered. "Nothing. Our last hope has failed us."
"I'm sorry," Zoe said. "I did the best I could."
"It is not your fault," Ignitus assured. "This magic that was placed on Isis . . . this curse, is too powerful to break. I'm sorry Isis, but I'm afraid that changing you back into a dragon is unachievable."
The cat was still damp from the liquid but she didn't care. Disappointment was clearly heard in her voice. "But . . . how am I supposed to help train Star?"
"Isis," Cosmo began. "You trained me when I needed it."
"That's different," Isis sadly replied.
"How so?"
Isis looked the other way. She didn't know how to answer that question.
Later
It was dark and late out. Cosmo returned home with Isis to make sure she wouldn't run off in her depressed state. He had hoped to comfort her, but every time he talked, he was ignored. It made the trip long and quiet, the opposite of what Cosmo wanted. But he didn't expect much.
When they walked through the front door, Kali greeted both of them cheerfully, not knowing what had just happened. The cat disappeared into the kitchen while Cosmo sat on the couch beside Kali to explain everything. After hearing everything he had to say, Kali became disappointed herself. She really wanted to see Isis happy. It seemed as if ages had past since the last time that cat showed any sort of spirit. Especially after that incident Isis had in the alley.
"There has to be something we haven't thought of," Kali thought aloud.
Cosmo shook his head. "I'm sorry but from what Ignitus said, I don't think there is."
Days Later
Spyro and Cynder spent their last few days hunting for that Jaggle fellow. It was a big city with lots of ground to cover so it wasn't easy for the two lone dragons to get any leads. Spyro had a few references to him by a few random citizens, but they just turned out to be false alarms. The purple dragon found out the hard way, just how many red dragons there were in the city. He was beginning to lose hope of ever finding Jaggle, or any pure essence for that matter.
Cynder wasn't having that much luck either. She checked everywhere she saw a crowd and asked around, just like Spyro. Coming up with the same results, she decided to go on back home to wait for Spyro.
Even more days flew on by. The purple dragon shivered as a cold breeze blew through the air. He looked up into the sky from the market and saw darkened clouds covering the blue sky.
"Wouldn't be a surprise if it snows," Spyro said to himself. "It's winter after all."
Spyro's assumption was correct. A few hours later, snow began to fall. It made the purple dragon a bit more happy. He was desperate for a change of scenery and the snow was just what he needed. There still wasn't any news about Jaggle so he was still stuck at square one.
Cynder, however, was beginning to go insane. If her horns wasn't so firmly attached to her head, she would have pulled them off by now. Every dragon she asked, she always ended up with the same results. Nothing. That is, until she began her lonely walk down an empty street.
"Pst!"
The black dragoness looked around herself. Was she just hearing things? She could have sworn she heard someone just then.
"Over here," the voice whispered. It was calm and collective, so why was this person hiding?
Cynder spotted the only place it could have come from. The alley beside her. So she shrugged to herself and began her slow pace down it. She was still on her guard however. Couldn't be too careful.
Then she spotted the owner of the voice, leaning up against a building and out of sight from the street. It was someone Cynder hadn't seen in a good while now.
"Frederick?" Cynder assumed, a little surprised to see the human here. He was in his black cloak, making him stand out from the snow that was falling around him. She could also see the claymore on his back. He seemed to never leave home without it. "What are you doing here?"
"You are looking for Jaggle correct?" Frederick rhetorically asked in a low tone.
Cynder nodded.
The human grinned. "Well you're in luck. I found him in the Tathric Range hunting so I asked him to wait for you in our abode."
"Wait, he's in your home?"
Frederick smiled, "Yes . . . why is something the matter?"
"No," Cynder immediately answered. "Just surprised to see that he doesn't mind humans." The cool breeze blew overhead above the alleyway. "Where exactly is this home of yours?"
"I'll show you if you need me to. But not at the moment. If a resident of Warfang see's you with me, then trouble will surely follow."
"I understand," Cynder replied, keeping her voice low. "May I bring Spyro along?"
Frederick nodded, "Of course. He is a part of this as well."
"So does Jaggle have pure essence with him?"
Frederick was silent for a moment as if he was trying to recall the last time he had seen him. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure."
"It's better than nothing," Cynder assured with a sigh. "So where should we meet you at?"
"You know where the thin trail up the Range is?"
Cynder nodded. "I do. We meet there?"
Frederick nodded. "I'll be waiting."
The human disappeared down the alleyway while Cynder walked back toward the street. Finally, something was going right for once.
Meanwhile
A white dragoness walked down the street, yawning in the process. For some reason, she couldn't get enough sleep last night. She stopped for a moment to scratch her tan belly then continued her walk as she stretched her darker tanned wings, as if she had just woken up.
The market square was her destination. She had some business to take care of for herself, plus she wanted to enjoy the new snowy scenery.
Dragon toddlers were outside, playing in the snow without a care in the world. The dragoness smiled as she passed by them. They didn't even take notice of her.
The dragoness couldn't help but notice that the streets were getting thinner by population. Something was going on. Dragon's were just disappearing from the city with little trace of where they went. Sometimes it would be trash strode out in an alley or some blood on the ground. But even if they were dead, there were no bodies to prove it. It was beginning to worry her. What if she was next?
Before the dragoness knew it, she was in the market. As she scanned the area to see a few dragons walking from stall to stall, going on about their routine, she spotted one dragon who was very familiar. Standing beside the middle fountain was a yellow dragon with a dark gray belly. It was unmistakeable of who this was. So she approached him with a friendly smile.
"Hey Cosmo," the dragoness greeted, getting the dragon's attention.
Cosmo turned, recognizing the dragoness immediately. "Yin! It's good to see you."
"You seem to be in a happy mood."
Cosmo nodded. "Its the snow. I haven't seen any in like . . . forever."
"I know what you mean," Yin replied. "It certainly did bright up my day." The chilly breeze blew for a moment, then she continued. "So what are you doing in the market . . . if I'm not imposing to ask."
"It's no imposition," Cosmo began in sureness. "You remember Isis? The cat?"
Yin nodded. "Can't forget someone like that. Especially someone who's like me and you."
Cosmo knew what she meant. "I've been looking for her."
"Is she missing?" Yin asked with worry in her soft voice.
Cosmo shrugged. "Truthfully, I'm not sure. She's just been going out for long periods of time then suddenly pops back in the house. I've just been trying to figure out what she has been up to." He then changed the subject. "So how has Myrianda been?"
Yin was silent for a moment, hesitant to answer. "She's been doing her usual routine. Going out, drinking, and wake up the next day with a hangover and no recollection of the night before. I worry for her sometimes. I even had to drag her home the other night."
A few nights ago
Local Bar
"Another!" Myrianda slurred. She began to pound her paws on the bar. "More beer! More beer!"
The bartender took his time but eventually the pink drunk got what she wanted. Another bottle. There wasn't many dragons in the bar with her, but Myrianda could have cared less.
The pink dragoness had also invited Yin to come along. Yin never drunk any kind of alcohol, but she went along with her anyways. Someone had to watch out for her. She was one of the six after all. The gods must have some sick sense of humor to make her one of the six though.
"Don't you think you've had enough?" Yin asked as she sat comfortable beside her in front the bar, hoping that Myrianda would get the picture.
"Why? I haven't . . . passed out yet."
Yin sighed. "C'mon. You have to be at least a little tired. How about we just go on home and you can finish your bottle there?"
Myrianda hiccuped. "Why go there . . . when I can just have just . . . as much fun 'ere?"
It seemed like there wasn't any way for Yin to convince her out of it. But nevertheless, she tried. "At home you have . . . privacy."
"So? And why am I doin' all the talkin'? I don't talk good when . . . I'm seeing doubles of everything."
"Just think," Yin began. "At home, you have your own toilet to vomit in."
Myrianda slowly turned toward her from the stool she sat in. "That does sound nice." Then she took a swallow from the contents of the bottle. Yin didn't know what it was but she could tell it was having an effect on Myrianda.
Yin smiled. She was finally getting somewhere. "So how about we head on home?"
Myrianda stood to her feet very slowly. She blinked a few times then said, "Okay . . . fourth time is the charm." A few seconds passed. "Can you do me a favor?"
Yin nodded. "Of course."
"Hold me."
Then just like a light switch, Myrianda was out. She fell to the floor with a loud thud, dropping her bottle on the floor, bursting it into pieces. Yin sighed. "Great."
Present Time
"It took two hours for me to drag her back to the inn," Yin explained in a calm manner.
"Sounded like fun," Cosmo replied sarcastically.
"Of course . . . most of the streets were empty so it was pretty lonely dragging her all the way back. Which reminds me. Is it just me, or is there getting to be a lot of dragons going missing?"
Cosmo had to nod. He couldn't lie to her. "Yeah. I know all about it." He lowered his voice and continued. "Those dark beings are kidnapping them. It won't be long until we're training Star in the elements. I really don't like thinking about it, but I hope we can train Star before they attack us. Have you noticed the new star up in the sky at night?"
Yin raised an eye. "Star?"
"Well, it's not really a star. But from what I've heard from Ignitus, it's the dark planet from ancient lore and books." He stopped long enough for a dragon to pass by them, then continued. "When the time comes, we have to destroy it."
Yin shuddered. "I don't like thinking about it. It's frightening."
"I know," Cosmo responded. "But it's hard not to."
Meanwhile
Isis dropped the body to the cement ground without a care in the world. Her head pounded after using her telekinesis like that, but whenever she saw a dark being, she couldn't help herself.
This was the fourth dark being this week she had killed. The cat was getting better at killing a dragon by crushing his insides with her telekinesis. Her headaches were less painful the more she did it so she must have been getting better. But what's so good by getting better at killing?
Isis left the alley as quick as she could. Again, she wasn't thanked for her help by the dragon that was almost kidnapped by the dark dragon. They were always too scared to. But someone had to be ruthless toward these abominations.
Whether Isis realized it or not, she was scared. The first time she killed a dark being, she felt a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. But now . . . she was enjoying it. There was nothing good about killing, so why did she enjoy watched life leave a dragon's eyes? Dark beings were still dragons, just possessed by convexity. They still had hope to be cured, but Isis was taking it away.
The cat was used to being stared at by now. It didn't bother her, nor did it entertain her as it used to. She had hoped to be her fur dragon self. Flying through the air, not being stared at, the ability to open doors without telekinesis. She hoped to do all of this. But now, it just wasn't going to happen.
Then Isis had a sudden headache. It was tolerable for a moment, then it became unbearable. She squinted in the light as the snow fell. It was hard enough to walk as it was, now she had her eyes shut tight in pain. Late reaction to the telekinesis from earlier? Isis didn't know. But the pain passed. It was indeed strange, but Isis just shrugged it off, blaming it on the telekinesis.
A few hours later
Tathric Range
Spyro and Cynder found Frederick's home incredible. It was much nicer than what the purple dragon was thinking. There was so much to see and too little time to do so. They had work to do at the moment. He just hoped Frederick was telling the truth.
"I welcome you to my humble home," Frederick began as they climbed the stone stairs up to the dojo. He was careful not to slip as the snow lightly fell from the clouds. "Please do not worry about the others. They already know of your presence within these walls."
When they reached the top of the stairs, Spyro took a good look around him. The view of the mountains from the top of the wall was astounding. He walked around the stairs with Cynder and along the edge of the wall to look at the distant city of Warfang. This was the first time he had set eyes on the city from such a distant spot.
"It's beautiful," Cynder quietly said.
Spyro nodded. "It's not everyday you get to see a view like this."
Frederick's colleagues paid little attention to the two new dragons in their territory. It wasn't hard to tell that these were the dragons Aruto spoke of.
Frederick patiently waited for them near Jazz's house. The black dragon stuck his head out of the large doorway just to catch Frederick attention.
"Have you been sleeping all day?" Frederick asked the dragon.
It took a moment but Jazz replied by shaking his head.
"Are you lieing?" Frederick smirked.
"No," said a voice from within Jazz's house.
Curious, Frederick stuck his head inside the empty structure and spotted a red dragon laying down in a nest of hay. "You know that's where Jazz sleeps Blaze."
Blaze yawned. "I can see why. It's more comfortable than it looks."
"Who's Blaze?" Cynder asked.
It nearly startled the human. He didn't even hear the dragon approach him. He didn't hear Spyro neither.
Blaze heard those voices. They didn't sound familiar at all. He bravely stood to his feet and slowly walked toward the exit and peeked outside. Beside Frederick, there were two dragons like him.
"W-Who are you?" Blaze lowly asked. He seemed a bit frightened.
Spyro glanced at Cynder a second before answering. "I'm Spyro. Her name is Cynder. So you must be Blaze."
The red dragon slowly nodded in approval.
"Relax," Cynder began. "We aren't here to hurt you."
That statement made Blaze feel a bit more at ease with himself. Spyro and Cynder knew exactly who this dragon was. Ignitus had told them about the six and this was one of them. Although Spyro was expecting him to be a bit more brave.
Then Spyro turned toward Jazz, who was staring at him intently. "So who are you?"
Jazz just stared at Spyro.
"You from around here?"
He continued to stare at Spyro.
Realizing this dragon wasn't talking, he turned to Frederick. "Is there something wrong with him?"
Frederick showed a slight grin. "He's fine. Jazz here is just a different dragon from dragon's like you. He's a lesser intelligent dragon." He looked up at Jazz. "Pretty rare to come across but they can usually grow pretty large. Jazz here isn't even that old."
Cynder studied Jazz for a moment. "I never seen a dragon like him before."
Frederick felt the cold breeze begin to blow. He looked back at the two visitors. "So how about we go find Jaggle?"
Spyro agreed. "Lead the way." He turned to Blaze and Jazz. "Nice meeting you two."
Jazz said nothing while Blaze seemed to be lost in thought. Spyro shrugged then followed Frederick and Cynder indoors. It was comfortably warm inside. There were two humans sparring with swords in the middle of the large room, obviously practicing. Two other humans sat on the sidelines, watching. Frederick led the two dragons around the sparring and toward a large fireplace on the other end of the room. In front of the fireplace sat a red dragon. Red scales, wings, belly, everything was red.
"Jaggle," Frederick began. "They've arrived."
Spyro and Cynder took their places behind the mysterious dragon. Frederick left the two alone with him, which made Spyro a bit less comfortable. He didn't know this dragon after all.
"I hear you've been looking for me," Jaggle began in a calm tone.
"Yes," Spyro replied. "We heard you might have some pure essence."
Jaggle seemed to chuckle for a moment. "Straight to the point. I like that." He turned to face the two dragons eye to eye. Even his eyes were red. "May I ask a question?"
"Of course," Cynder assured.
"What do you plan to do with the pure essence?"
Spyro and Cynder exchanged perplexed looks. The purple reptile answered. "We need it to cure a friend of ours. The pure essence is the only cure to save his life."
Jaggle shut his eyes in thought for a moment. He reopened them and said, "Pure essence can purify anything. Convexity is the opposite of pure and therefore, they cannot coexist together. It seems you know this as well. Frederick was right. You two do know what is going on in the city. I know about the six. The story has been explained to me numerous times as I grew up. I knew this day would eventually come, so I spent many days and nights, traveling to discover the pool which holds the pure essence."
Jaggle began to walk over towards a small chair near the fireplace. On top of it was a small bottle.
"I assume you found it?" Spyro asked.
Jaggle picked up the bottle and nodded. "Yes, not far from here, in the swamplands." He handed the bottle over to the purple dragon with care. "Use the essence with care. This is all I have left before I have to return to the swamp."
Spyro nodded.
"Thank you," Cynder conveyed. "For everything."
Jaggle nodded. "Of course." He turned to Spyro. "The essence is for Phantom correct?"
"Yes," Spyro simply answered. "Why?"
"Then listen closely," Jaggle began. "Phantom hasn't been cursed by convexity, but by the void. It is what makes him much stronger from the dark beings. The pure essence can cure him, but it will take more time than a dark being. You must pour the essence on Phantom and make sure his scales soak up the liquid. It may take a few minutes for this to work."
"So we're going to have to knock him out?" Cynder finished in question.
Jaggle nodded," I'm afraid so."
Spyro looked at the clear bottle for a moment. The liquid inside had a slight blue tint to it, other than that it looked like water. "Maybe if we set out a trap?"
"That could work," Cynder added.
"Yes," Jaggle replied. "It could. But be careful."
"So what will you do?" Spyro asked.
Jaggle looked at Spyro expectantly. "I will continue to save as many citizens as possible. But when the time comes . . . I'll be fighting along side of you. Along side of you all."
"It's great to have you on our side," Cynder happily replied. "I guess we better get back to Warfang."
Spyro nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Ignitus would want us to catch Phantom as soon as we can."
Jaggle remained quiet. He turned back toward the fireplace, watching it dance and enjoying it's warmth. Spyro and Cynder quietly left the dojo and found themselves back outside in the cold. The snow was still falling just as light as it was before.
"He seems nice," Cynder simply said.
Spyro nearly answered, until he was interrupted by Frederick. "Spyro, do you have a moment?"
"Of course," the purple dragon quickly replied. "What is it?"
Frederick looked down toward Blaze, then looked back toward the two dragons. "Blaze wished to go with you to the city."
"I've never been," Blaze added, acting a bit nervous. "I want to see what it's like."
Spyro and Cynder looked at one another. Cynder answered for the both of them. "Of course you can. We would be happy to take you there."
Days Later
The disappearances of the citizens went noticed. Horribly noticed. Shivertail was beginning to get visitors from random dragons, demanding for search parties. Shivertail knew it was no use, but sent out a search party regardless, just to make them leave him in peace. Now was not the time for constant interruptions. Especially since that Star was in the building.
Star had grown even more over the last few nights. He looked as if he was a healthy, energetic six year old dragon. When asked about his constant development, Star would only shrug and say that he was special. It also seemed he was getting the hang of changing his colors on his own. Although sometimes he would change into the wrong color. The first time he tried made Shivertail's day complete. Star change his color to pink by accident. But it was short-lived as Star immediately transformed into an orange color. Last time Shivertail checked, Star was still orange.
Spyro and Cynder had returned with Blaze. The last he heard of them, they were gathering Yin, Myrianda, Cosmo, and Isis together to tell them the plan. Everyone was accounted for, except for Isis.
Market Square
The market square was the best place to ask for directions. There was always someone there during the day, even when there was a thick blanket of snow on the ground. It had been a while since Cosmo had walked with a group as large as this. It was a seven dragon group, which included Kali. She figured since Isis was a friend that she would help in the search as well. She often studied Blaze, trying to figure him out. The blue dragoness couldn't figure out if he was timid, or just shy. It could have been both. She wondered how a timid dragon could actually help fight in a battle against the dark beings.
"Nothing," Yin said, as she returned from a nearby stall. "The vender only saw Isis once, but that was a few days ago."
Cynder finished, "Then there's no use in looking here."
"How about we search in groups?" Myrianda suggested.
Cosmo was actually a little surprised. "You mean the drunk came up with a rational idea?" Of course he was being sarcastic toward her. She knew that already.
"Sounds like a plan," Kali said. "So what are we going to do?"
Spyro noticed that nearly every dragon was looking at him. "Oh . . . uh . . . how about we have three groups? Me, Cynder, and Blaze could go one direction. Cosmo and Kali could go in another, and Yin and Myrianda could go another."
"Do I have to go with her?" Myrianda asked.
"Why?" Spyro began. "What's wrong with her?"
"She took my booze away. That wasn't very nice."
Spyro didn't feel like arguing with her at the moment. He rolled his eyes, "Fine. You can just go search somewhere by yourself if you want. You don't have to go in groups." He then turned to Blaze. "Blaze, could you help Yin out?"
Blaze was hesitant, but nodded.
Spyro smiled. "Thank you. We meet back here in three hours."
Later
Isis didn't know how much time had passed between the day the spell failed on her and now. But currently, she could have cared less. The cat chased a dark dragon down a random alleyway. When she caught him in a straight path, she reached out with her telekinesis and picked the dark being up in the air by his tail. The dark dragon pathetically lashed out toward the cat as she walked up under him, inches away from being swiped by his claws.
The black cat took no sympathy. She simply overused her telekinetic powers once again on him. The dark dragon's swiping suddenly stopped, but the growling continued. It only lasted a second before the dragon was brutally killed from the inside-out. The dark dragon vomited blood, which missed the cat just by a few inches. Afterwords, he fell limp and lifeless. Isis dropped the body to the ground and continued on her way. When she reached the end of the alleyway, he head began to ache.
The pain was even more intense this time. The cat layed down on the cold snow and held her head. Everything was beginning to black out on her, until the pain had finally subsided. She felt dizzy for a moment before she stood to her paws and continued her way.
She felt hungry. After all, the last time she ate was those scraps she found in a trash can last night. It was as if she was oblivious that all of her friends may be worried about her. Isis thought about going home, but every time she thought about it, another dark dragon would cross paths with her and she would forget about her friends. She was trapped in an endless cycle.
"This is all that magician's fault," Isis said to herself. "I hate him. I hate them all. All of them will pay for the pain they caused to me. And I'll make sure their death's are as painful as the rest."
