Calm before the storm—I hate that feeling. Did then, do now.

"Gust, remember you are to follow your commander in this fight. Your job is to make it impossible to fly against us," I told my friend and gave him a hug. "Be careful, buddy."

"I will, Cole," he said, returning the hug and walking off to join his group. His armor had been repaired and shone brightly, something I didn't want in the least, as it made him look like a target. It was something that couldn't be avoided, I guess, but I still wasn't happy about it.

"Cole, ready for another ground war?" Rumbler asked as he approached. He had on some heavy armor, and there was no way in hell he would be able to fly with it.

"Noisy, but damn if it isn't strong," he said, noticing my eyes on it.

"Guess you will be fighting alongside me?" I asked him, making sure my swords were sharp as they could be. I grinned. "Remember, don't charge headlong. That's my job, buddy."

"No, not anymore it's not—not for either of us, now that we have a bigger family to protect," he said, sobering me up quite fast. "Specter is staying behind. This time she will be safe."

I couldn't disagree. They were hundreds of feet below ground with a metal fortress above them.

"Good, that's good," I said, knowing we both would rather die then lose our family again. "Cannons are ready, Golems are activated and water dragons are making the seas hell on earth. I don't see how they can even land, let alone win."

Rumbler nodded silently.

"I'll see you on the front line, buddy," I said, and left Rumbler to join his squad.


"Spyro, how are we on organizing?" I asked him, arriving in the courtyard, which was in a state of organized chaos. Moles, cheetahs and dragons were running every which way, carrying ammo, powder, armor and weapons to all parts of the castle and island.

"Look for yourself. It's chaotic, but we're getting the job done. Forward scouts confirmed at least ten ships loaded with apes and dragons, and a few boats loaded with nothing but cannons. Those will be a priority for the moles' cannons," he said, and I couldn't disagree. The last thing we needed was iron raining down on our heads.

"Ten ships loaded with warriors… Where the hell did all of them come from?" I asked, shaking my head. The horizon had been growing blacker as their mechanical ships spewed black smoke into the air, and snow that had fallen recently was full of soot, as though a volcano had erupted nearby.

"I don't know. They could have been waiting all these years, raising an army… But undetected? I just don't know," Spyro said, watching the chaos. "Also, one scout reported a very large—nearly as big as Terrador—dragon who seemed to be in charge. Either a General or a higher up. He is a main target, alongside the cannon boats."

"Yeah, makes sense. Though, we may get lucky; maybe this is their last ditch effort," I said hopefully. Luck was never on our side, but it never hurt to be hopeful.

"INCOMING!" one of the sentries screamed, as half a dozen iron balls came screaming through the air and smashed into the courtyard with deafening explosions.