Wraith, Shadow and Whisper—my three killers nearly as lethal as any army. Imagine my surprise when they arrived in the war room a few weeks later, bloodied and bruised. Wraith's massive wings were bent at impossible angles.

"They are coming," Whisper said quietly.

It took roughly three seconds for the room to react. Tremor and Rumbler rushed to catch Wraith, who began to fall sideways. They caught him with a thud.

"Who is coming?" Stella asked Whisper as I went to work trying to fix Wraith's wings, using quite a lot of my very diminished energy stores.

"The Dark Army. They are coming; launching an assault on Concurrent Skies," Whisper said. It was probably the longest sentence anyone here had ever heard her say. "Thousands of apes... Hundreds of dragons.

"

I paled. So did everyone else. "How long do we have?"

I had to re-break Wraith's wing—to his credit, he didn't make a sound or move as it snapped with a sickening crack.

"Sorry," I said. He only nodded.

"Boats. Enormous metal boats pulled by...by slaves," Whisper said, lowering her head.

"Okay, Wraith, that's the best I can do..." I said. His wings would hold up until he could get to a real healer. Turning to Shadow, I asked, "How are you holding up?"

He held a wing to his neck, pointing to a jagged scar that interrupted the natural camouflage of his scales. Shadow was a mute. I looked at Whisper questioningly.

"He got clawed by one of the dragons on the boat we blew up," she said, and it was a few seconds before what she said clicked.

"What boat?" Spyro asked. I could see his mind working on overdrive. Hunter had already left to assemble the Cheetah tribes and arm as many cannons as they could.

"The Scouting... Or perhaps first strike? It had nearly four hundred dragons on board. We made sure none survived. Lit its powder storage on fire… Ripped it in half…" she managed to say before her eyes rolled up and she fell flat.

"Whisper!" Cynder yelped. A moment later, I saw why. A fair-sized metal chunk had imbedded itself into the base of her head. She was dead. It was amazing she had lived, let alone moved, for this long.

"WHISPER!" Wraith roared before collapsing in a heap on the floor, Shadow had tears running down his face. They had been together forever. I could only imagine how they felt.

"Rest in peace, silent killer," Stella said. She had never approved of my decision to use spies and assassins.

"I want her body preserved," I said. Gust ran off to relay the order, while Rumbler and Tremor carried her body out solemnly.

"This war has to end," I growled, angry at myself.

"It sounds like it soon will... One way or another," Flash said. I could tell he was antsy, ready to do something. He always hated standing around.

"Flash, I want the Crystal Golems activated. Make sure that the invasion force will have to earn every inch of this island they plan to take. See if the moles have mines we can put in the water, as well." Fast as light, he was gone, preparing for war.

"Thousands?" Cynder asked Spyro. He simply nodded in response.

"We have to be ready. Move all non-fighters to the lower levels of this castle. We have a few days max before the war arrives once more on our doorstep."