Legend of Spyro - Four Pillars of Aether Book I

by Blazcowitz43

Twelve years after the Temple raid, the four survivors of that dreadful night live a happy, carefree existence. They are Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember; the four who lived. Spyro is a rare purple dragon who has been taught his whole life that great things await him, but as darkness approaches can he and his friends truly stand up to the evil that threatens the world? Book II soon.

22. Chapter 21: A New Beginning

Chapter 21: A New Beginning

Spyro spent a few moments taking in the sight of the little village as several more faces appeared from inside many of the huts, peeking out at the commotion caused by his arrival. Surrounding the village was a high wall of earth and thick roots, the top of which the great orange mushrooms continued to grow. On the other side of the water was a dirt track that gradually rose around the edge of the central village, curving around along the top of the wall of roots. Along its path he saw more of the dragonfly huts hanging from the mushrooms and roots that sprouted along the edge, finishing high above the rest of the village. Flash and Nina beckoned him to move onward, the purple dragon taking the last few steps before hopping down the short drop into the murky water, which it turned out was only just deep enough to submerge his paws.

"What are we doing bringing him here? He could be dangerous!" a critical voice from the village cried.

"He is our guest and is poorly. We must help him!" argued another. "He is an outsider!" shot back another.

"He's only a child! We cannot turn him away!" said back yet another. Spyro tried his best to avoid eye contact with those of either persuasion as his feet became steeped in sloppy mud. The water flowed along beneath him off to his right, the sound of crashing water drawing his eyes to the left where he saw that the expanse of water was not quite a full circle after all. Off to his left a short distance was a narrow passage hidden from outside view by the towering wall of roots and earth where a waterfall slowly washed down from above and into the clearing. Following the flow, Spyro saw that the water washed through the village and on into another passage that was only visible now between the high roots and earth. As he neared the towers of the dragonfly village, he saw the water beginning to rush faster as it flowed on some way out from the village and, presumably he expected, down another fall that was just beyond his view.

"Guess that's why you call it Dragonfly Falls, huh?" he asked his escort as they passed under the first of the huts hanging down from the mushroom's stalks.

"We call 'em like we see 'em around here," Sparx said bluntly.

"Yeah, I noticed," Spyro replied with a short laugh as he looked up cautiously to his right at a small gathering of dragonflies around Firmin who had finally stopped arguing and where hovering back away from the purple dragon, eyed fixed judgingly on him. Looking up to his left, he saw another gathering of the dragonflies who had been speaking in his favor keeping their distance from the other group. It seemed his presence had nearly split the village down the middle as he slowly walked amongst the mushrooms towers and the huts that hung from them.

"So, what are we doing here?" Spyro asked as he gazed around almost sleepily at the various huts and towers that surrounded him.

"We just want you to wait here while we get someone who can help you," explained Flash as he and Nina hovered around in front of him, "Sparx, you wait here with Spyro until we get back."

"Sure thing, Pop," the yellow dragonfly nodded as his parents turned away and left, Spyro sighing as he sat his haunches down in the mud, too preoccupied by the soreness in his body to care.

"Just hang in there, bud. They'll be back," Sparx reassured him.

"You sure bringing me here was a good idea?" Spyro asked bitterly, casting his eyes back over to the dragonfly mob that were still burrowing their eyes menacingly into his very existence.

"Hey, not everyone is like that. Look, here comes the welcoming party," Sparx pointed to Spyro's left as the other gathering of dragonflies began to slowly approach them, speaking in hushed tones among themselves as they approached the purple dragon and his golden companion.

"I wouldn't get too close to him if I were you!" shouted a member of Red's mob, "You don't know what he might be capable of!"

"That's enough!" Red said irritably, "I don't like this anymore than you, but I have to at least give him a chance to prove that he is trustworthy."

"And what is that's one chance too many?" argued another.

"Enough I said!" Red barked. Spyro shook his head sadly as he heard the fluttering of the other group of dragonflies as they cautiously approached from his left side. Looking towards them, Spyro looked through his puffy eyes at an assortment of multicolored faces all staring at him in wide eyed wonder. He was somewhat aware of how unkept he looked, covered in dirt and sitting in mud while barely having the strength to keep his head up. But these factors didn't seem to dissuade the gathering of dragonflies as they edged closer and closer to him. Spyro judged that many of them were younger like Sparx, with their being fewer adults compared to Red's hate mob off to his right.

"Hi there," Spyro greeted weakly, the dragonflies all came to a hard stop as they hovered in place, seemingly in shock at the fact that he could speak.

Sparx suddenly drifted around before them and put his hand up, "Alright, people, that's close enough. Spyro's not feeling on top of the game right now."

"Is that his name?" asked a green male dragonfly seemingly around Sparx's age, "He's gigantic!"

"Mama, is he gonna'eat us?" innocently asked a small pink female dragonfly being held close by her orange dragonfly mother.

"He's not going to eat anybody," Sparx declared promptly, "Trust me, I thought the same thing the first time I saw him. I looked at that big belly of his and thought, 'Oh crap, he's going to eat me!' But trust me, he's…."

"Did you just call me fat?" Spyro asked with an annoyed scowl, prompting a collective, humorous gasp of 'Ohhhhh' from the gathering of dragonflies.

Sparx turned around and put his hand thoughtfully under his chin as he replied, "Well, if we're being honest…"

"Don't make him mad!" said another youthful voice originating from a brown male dragonfly, "He might change his mind about eating us!"

"I don't eat bugs," Spyro said as he shook his head, forcing enough of a smile to show he was sincere and not offended, "But to tell you the truth, I could really use something to eat."

"Sure thing, buddy, no problem," Sparx assured him before turning back to the gathering, "Hey guys, could you get some fruit for my buddy, here? Spyro hasn't eaten anything today."

Much to the purple dragon's surprise, most of the assembled dragonflies did just that and flew off to find fruit, presumably the same he had eaten the night before. While in truth he craved something with meat, Spyro was prepared to eat whatever they had to offer him, even if it was just fruit. A few of the adult dragonflies and their offspring stayed behind, fascinated but wary of him, until one of the adults started to drift over towards him. She was a dark ocean blue with a turquoise chest and abdomen, Spyro watching her curiously as she came over with an apologetic expression.

"Hello there, my name is Talia," she greeted him softly as she moved nearer to his face, Sparx making room for her though he remained close by, "I'm sorry for what Firmin said. Not everyone here believes you are dangerous."

Spyro sighed mildly, "It's okay, Talia, thank you. It doesn't bother me too much. I just hope I can assure everyone that I don't mean any harm."

Talia smiled, "If what we've heard about what you and Sparx went through is true, then I don't believe you do," she said as the other dragonflies began to return, nearly all of them either carrying one fruit each or sharing the load between one or more. The purple dragon's eyes bulged as he beheld more than a dozen of the fruits being presented to him.

"Here you are Mr dragon… I mean, Mr Spyro, sir," one of the younger dragonflies said meekly as he and his friend moved ahead of the crowd, "We hope this is enough for you. We don't know how much you eat."

Spyro could not help but smirk at the sincereness of their voices, their sullen faces selling the point that they feared they would disappoint their new visitor. They reminded him of the mole pups he had entertained in Warfang before the worst came to pass.

"I'm just Spyro, guys, no need to call me 'sir'," he said warmly, "And thank you so much."

The faces on the little dragonflies lit up as they looked to each other in glee, as did the others as they all began to shuffle forward, trying to present the fruit they had bought before any of the others could. They all squeezed together in the attempt, pushing Sparx out of the way as he tried to intervene.

"Settle down! Settle down!" Talia called as she and the other nearby adults tried to control the stampede, Spyro backing up a few steps as the youngsters tried to swarm him in their excitement.

"Easy, guys, one at a time!" he pleaded, managing to keep his cool despite how poorly he felt. He heard more rumblings of disapproval from the other group of dragonflies, but decided against looking at them as the ones in front of him began to settle down. Sitting down once more in the mud, Spyro smiled faintly at the two closest dragonflies and the fruit they carried, beckoning them to come forward as he lifted his right paw. The pair placed it carefully in his grasp before the young dragon took a bite from it, relishing the taste as his stomach grumbled in relief that was finally getting sustenance.

"Okay," Sparx announced formally, "You guys want to feed the dragon? Lets form a line and do it orderly, okay?" Spyro raised his eyebrows as Sparx spoke of him like he was a zoo exhibit, but as instructed the other dragonflies formed a line and waited patiently for their chance to present their food to the purple dragon. Sparx looked over his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, looking forward before Spyro had a chance to give a reply. Although he was hungry, he did not think he would be able to eat everything they had bought him, and there was nowhere nearby to put the fruit except down in the murky water and mud. Spyro suspected Red and his cohorts would not take kindly if he was seen to be wasting food, but neither would they want to see him gorging himself. It seemed it was yet another no win situation that the purple dragon found himself in. As he finished off the last of the fruit, eating it skin, leaves and all to not appear wasteful, a green adolescent dragonfly like Sparx hovered up with the next offering even though Spyro still had a full mouth.

"No!" a voice suddenly rasped behind him, nearly making Spyro jump as a similarly green adult dragonfly swung into view and grabbed the younger one by the arm, "You're not a servant! You're not going to feed this outsider!"

"But father…" the young dragonfly begged, but without remorse his father pulled him away, causing him to drop the fruit he was holding into the mud as he was spirited away harshly. Spyro, with his mouth full, could not offer any legible protest as he and the other dragonflies looked on in shock. The green dragonfly took his son with him over to Red's gathering as they remained stern faced and steely eyed at Spyro's presence. The purple dragon swallowed the fruit slowly, though his appetite had just been spoiled by the sudden interruption.

"Sorry about that," Sparx sighed regrettably, "Some of us are a little tense, today."

"I think I can see why you don't have company here often," Spyro replied with bitter sarcasm. The other fruit bearing dragonflies now seemed unsure of themselves as they looked between him and the mob of their fellow villagers who glared at them.

"We are happy for you to be here, Spyro," Talia said kindly, "Of course, it is a great novelty for us too. Here, we are completely cut off from the outside world. We're not used to visitors, especially dragons."

"That might be for the best," he replied tersely.

Talia frowned at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Spyro shook his head, "Never mind," he said blandly. Before she or anyone else could press him further, Flash and Nina reappeared around the side of the mushroom tower, accompanied by another new face. Alongside them was an adult dragonfly who was colored a dark tan yellow with hazel-colored eyes while his chest and abdomen were a flat green. Compared to the other adult dragonflies he had seen, Spyro couldn't help but notice his curiously shaped head. It rose to a tall cone like shape with a rounded tip not unlike an egg with a broad forehead above his eyes. The dragonfly reached up and rubbed the side of his tall head ponderingly as he considered the sickly purple dragon.

"Spyro, this is our village physician, Jurien," Flash introduced casually, "He's going to help make you better."

"I hope so," Spyro replied with mild cynicism which did not seem to bother the eggheaded dragonfly. His hazel eyes scanned over him oddly, Jurien evidently not used to dealing patients quite in the likes of Spyro.

"Ah, I must say," Jurien spoke in an unusually coarse but cheerful accent, "I have never treated a dragon before, but I am responsible for treating every in zis village. Which means, I am responsible for you, mein friend."

"Uh, sure," Spyro replied uneasily before he remembered his manners and decided to introduce himself, "I'm Spyro, Mr Jurien. I hope you can help me."

"Don't worry, Spyro," added Sparx, "The doc here has never lost a patient yet. You should have seen me when I had swamp water fever. My life was flashing right before my eyes…"

"Ja, ja," Jurien interrupted impatiently, hovering down towards Spyro, "Let me have a look at you."

Before Spyro had a chance to either agree or disagree, Jurien moved swiftly up to him, the fingers on his tiny hands quivering with intrigue as he slapped his palms on either side of Spyro's snout. Freezing on contact, the purple dragon's eyes shrank as they focused in on the eggheaded dragonfly physician. Jurien leaned in and eyed him closely, then quick as a flash he moved to beside Spyro's right cheek, grasping the young dragons eyelids and yanking them open rather suddenly, staring into his eyeball for a few painful seconds before snapping his eyelids closed like a window drape and zipping around to his left side to repeat the process. For his part, the purple dragon remained as still as he could while he trusted that the dragonfly was a knowledgeable physician and not a quack. How he wished Meadow could be here with his basket of herbs and seemingly infinite knowledge about natural medicine.

Jurien hummed and groaned thoughtfully the entire time as though he were humming along to a song playing in his mind as he zipped about looking over Spyro's whole body; the bruises and scratches of the last few days, the painful spot on his neck and the limp in his left foreleg. At one point he zipped around and pulled open the young dragon's gums, Spyro seeing Jurien's eyes bulge as he looked at the size of his teeth in comparison to his own. Sparx and his parents remained silent the whole time as they waited for their trusted physician's prognosis. After another extended song of humming and mumbling, Jurien zipped back around before Spyro's face, the purple dragon fearful of what part of him he was going prod or pull next.

"Young Sparx's mother and father told me of zey treatment zey gave you," Jurien said as he put his hands on his hips, "It was the best zey could do, but it has not succeeded in killing za poison zat has infected you. I believe all ze exertion of your escapades last night only served to make it verse."

"Verse?" Spyro repeated, not realizing that Jurien was pronouncing 'worse' in his odd accent.

"Do not try to mock me," the dragonfly scolded, himself not realizing the poor dragon's innocent mistake, "But lucky for you I took an oath to heal others, or else I might take your insolence to heart."

"Insolence?" Spyro asked cluelessly, too weary to challenge the dragonfly any further than had he been healthy. Flash saw the misunderstanding and rose his hand to speak on his behalf but was cut off by an oblivious Jurien.

"I know ze proper remedy that will neutralize ze poison und drive it from your body. However, it will take me half an hour or so before it is ready. We will also have to do something about your leg. In ze meantime, I suggest you wash yourself off with water; it will give some relief and perhaps put some spark in you, eh?"

"Okay," Spyro agreed uneasily. With that, Jurien turned and flew off around the tower to start work on his alleged remedy as Sparx moved over and patted his companion on the shoulder.

"You're in good hands, pal. You'll be right as rain soon!" he grinned brightly.

"Indeed, Spyro," Flash said as he and Nina drifted over nearer, "But you'd better do what he recommends. The waterfall is a good place to clean yourself up. Come, we'll take you there."

"No," Spyro said abruptly, clearly taking all the dragonflies by surprise at the gruffness of his tone. Seeing the faces of Sparx and his parents, he cleared his throat and said plainly, "I mean, I'll be fine to go myself, thanks."

Avoiding their eyes, as well of those of the crowd still clutching their fruits, Spyro started stepping across the muddy water towards the waterfall, sternly moving as fast as his limp and the mud allowed as he felt the dozen or more eyes piecing him from behind. Watching the young green dragonfly be whisked away but his distrusting father had cut him deeply, even though he knew a great many of the villagers distrusted him. He knew he should have been prepared for it, but perhaps he was simply feeling more vulnerable with all the harsh words said about him by Firmin, among everything else he had been through.

Approaching the waterfall, Spyro drew a breath in preparation to feel the cold water spilling over him, knowing he needed it even without the advice of Jurien. He looked up at the top of the fall as if flowed at a much more leisurely pace compared to those in Avalar, the water breaking up over a series of jutting rocks and roots that disturbed the flow as if dropped down into the wide, shallow pond of the village. He wondered if the dragonflies had built a dam or in some other way engineered the flow of water so as not to flood their village, or perhaps the river was this naturally slow. He stopped just before the sheet of water and looked back over his shoulder, seeing that most of the dragonflies had dispersed and were going about their usual activities, with only Sparx's family along with Red and few of his crowd still keeping an eye on him. Sighing, the purple dragon stepped into the falling water, halting as he let it drench his head and eyes first, cooling off his burning brain before he opened his maw wide and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Keeping his eyes closed, he inched forward and ducked his head low, letting the water fall right onto the poisoned spot on his neck, liking to think it would wash the poison away and relieve him, though he knew it wouldn't. He liked also to think that the waterfall would somehow wash away the grime that had built up in his soul the last few days, somehow reversing everything that had happened so that when he opened his eyes he would be back in Avalar, playing under the waterfall with his friends. But, alas, he knew that it wouldn't.

Spyro opened his eyes and sat down as he tried wiping off what grime he could with his right paw, shaking his head as water collected on top of it. He straightened his tail out behind him like a Meerkat for support as he sat up on his haunches, rubbing his underbelly and twisting his head around.

"Maybe being here isn't the best idea," he said to himself ruefully, "They seem pretty split about it. I don't need to make anymore enemies."

A distant rumble of thunder seemed to give a reply to his thoughts, Spyro looking up at the sky uncaringly as he usually did whenever he heard thunder. The sky was a bright blue, not a sign of clouds as far as he could see. As he heard another ruble, he assumed the clouds were merely off in the distance and would eventually drift over the village. He rather cynically wondered if perhaps his mood was affecting the weather, perhaps an unknown power he had along with the others he had to keep secret. When next he heard the thunder, it seemed to come sooner than before and he felt a light vibration in the ground, making him pause as he turned his ears away from the water to hear better. The rumble came again; and again and again, louder and closer each time and in a regular pattern that didn't sound like thunder. Spyro felt the ground shudder more violently as the calm water of the pond began to ripple with each loud thud.

"What's that sound?" he heard more than one voice ask behind him, looking over his shoulder and seeing the village had come to a standstill, all the dragonflies looking in the direction of the approaching sound which was soon added to by the sounds of trampled undergrowth and crushed vegetation. Most concerning to Spyro, though, was that the noise that was now shaking the ground was coming from his direction!

There was a sudden chorus of screams from the village as something came crashing through the forest high atop the waterfall, Spyro moving back out of the falling stream and looking up as he saw the tall mushrooms toppling over or sway like wheat as the source of the supposed thunder came into view. A hulking mass of sentient lumber stood atop the waterfall and pounded its chest like it had before, leaning forward and bellowing out across the village as its glowing purple eyes glared menacingly at anyone and anything that dared stare back at it.

"It's Arborick!" Firmin shouted as the monster bellowed and sent the village into panic, "Everyone get away! Get away!"

Spyro was planted where he was, staring up in horror at the giant golem he thought they had escaped from, which he now knew had a name. Arborick snarled before he leapt from the waterfall and slammed down into pond, water and mud splashing out from his feet as the terrified dragonflies scattered in every direction. The monster clenched his fists and gazed over the little down before him, apparently having not seen Spyro sitting at the base of the waterfall but this was little comfort as the purple dragon gasped in terror at the fact he had lost sight of Sparx and his parents. He very nearly called out their names on impulse but Spyro narrowly kept his mouth shut, realizing he had a chance to catch Arborick unawares from behind.

"Spyro! Help us!" he heard Sparx shout all of a sudden, sinking his heart as the monster took note of where he was shouting to, Arborick looking behind him and growling as he sighted the purple dragon.

"Sparx!" Spyro shouted back, somewhat relieved to hear him, but furious that he had drawn the monster straight to him. From somewhere behind the golem, he heard Sparx's apologetic shout of, "Whoops! Sorry!"

The giant log monster turned its whole body around to face Spyro, its face singed by the fire he had used to escape when he had been in the creature's splintery grasp. Arborick's jagged mouth opened menacingly as its glowing eyes formed a frightening scowl. If he had to guess, Spyro presumed that Arborick was not used to his desired prey eluding him, much less leaving such a mark on him. The wooden golem, it seemed, was here to claim what he felt he had been cheated out of; Spyro.

"This isn't good," the purple dragon remarked dryly just before Arborick snarled and charged towards him, his splintery hands soaring towards him. Spyro exclaimed as the monster filled his vision, jumping up and spreading his wings as Arborick closed in. Spyro flew barely above the waterline, bracing himself tight as he flew straight under and between the monster's legs as its fists crashed down into the mud where he had been moments before. He caught a desperate breath as he saw numerous dragonflies zooming in every direction, panicking and confused at the golem that had invaded their home, but saw no sign of Sparx and his parents.

"Sparx? Sparx?" he called as he swept around the tree he had last seen them and hovered in place, finding several other dragonflies hiding and shivering there but not those he was looking for. By this time, Arborick had turned around and let out another bellow of rage that he had been outdone by the purple dragon yet again. Spyro gasped and his pupils shrank as the hulking behemoth came stomping towards him, splashing mud and water as his feet walloped the ground.

"How did he find me?" Spyro asked himself despairingly, looking at the hiding dragonflies as though they might have an answer.

"He's after you?" someone said in reply. "Get away from us!" shrieked another female dragonfly. Arborick growled as he ragefully kicked his left foot across the ground, sending a shower of mud and water across through the air, Spyro ducking down behind the mushroom tower with the dragonflies even as they protested his presence. A gargled scream suddenly caught his ears as Spyro peeked around towards Arborick who now stomped towards them. Ahead of the monster's great feet, Spyro made out an orange glow from within the disturbed mud, the orange glow of a dragonfly that had been caught in the mud splash and was reaching out desperately for help.

"Help! Help!" called the terrified female voice as she struggled to keep herself afloat, the massive golem on course to crush her beneath its feet. Spyro gasped, and with barely another breath, he took off, fighting through the pain and poison that made him feel he weighed twice as much he did. Arborick roared as the dragon soared towards him, his great left foot either unknowingly or carelessly about to crash down on the helpless orange dragonfly below. She screamed as the foot's shadow blotted out all else, Spyro holding his breath as he swept in towards her, his vision narrowing to only her terror strewn face as he upturned his paw and swept her up from the mud, Arbrorick's tree stump foot slamming down and nearly taking Spyro's tail off in the process as he sped through. He pulled up into a climb, the she-dragonfly wailing as the monster swiped his hand at them only a moment too late.

"Hang on!" Spyro cried as he banked around sharply to the right and flew towards the rising pathway where there were more dragonfly huts. He saw several terrified faces peek up from their windows before ducking back down as Spyro flew by and Arborick's feet trampled heavily behind. Too focused to look back, Spyro surged to the end of the row of huts along the high ledge and carefully placed the frantic she-dragonfly on the ground as he landed.

"You okay?" he asked hastily. The dragonfly had mud over most of her body and wings, which she quickly fluttered in an effort to clean them while wiping off her face. Her eyes shined a bright yellow and were as wide as the giant mushrooms heads as she gazed up at the concerned purple dragon.

"That thing…you…he…" she blabbered frightfully, holding her hand over her chest as she breathed frantically.

Spyro just shook his head and said, "Never mind that now! Find somewhere to hide! Go!"

The she dragonfly hurriedly jumped up into a hover and flew into the nearby bushes, Spyro watching her go as the ground started shaking as a guttural snarl filled his ears. Spyro turned his head to the right just as a pair of massive hands clamped down onto the ledge in front of him, letting out a frightful yelp as Arborick's head rose into view, his hinge like mouth opening up to him as he growled. The monster was moments from pulling himself up the ledge to fight him, Spyro knowing in his heart he had no chance of defeating the golem with teeth and claws alone. He knew what he had to do, even if it ousted him as a liar to the dragonflies. That was still better than being dead, and what would happen to the dragonflies if he did not stop him?

As Spyro turned to face the golem, Arborick's right hand rose up and swiped at him, Spyro jumping into the air with his wings as the monster's arm swept by underneath him. With a sharp breath, he dove forwards with electrically charged speed straight at the monster's face, taking him by surprise as the purple dragon drove his horns at Arborick's forehead, knocking him back from the ledge. Spyro cartwheeled over the golems head but dug his claws into it to stop himself overshooting as the creature reeled back, dazed from the blow. Spyro caught a brief glimpse of the wide eyed dragonflies on the ledge watching what he had done, but he couldn't dwell on it as Arborick began shaking his head in an effort to throw him off, Spyro digging in every claw he could to keep his grip. He then jumped up as the golem tried swiping him off with his hands, the purple dragon soaring up before looking down at the snarling face, drawing a breath as his mouth began to glow orange, Spyro casting a ball of fire down upon the creature. Arborick reacted with surprising speed, his great hands shielding his face as the fireball erupted upon them, the golem howling in pain as fire consumed his hands. Spyro quickly dived down, spitting more fireballs as he did, each one striking the monster's back and shoulders as it stumbled back, flailing its arms around as it tried to extinguish itself, Spyro fearing it would fall back and crush much of the village under its body.

He pulled up and zoomed by behind the monster as it stumbled and howled, Spyro hovering and putting himself between it and the village in the hope he could stop it going further. Arborick suddenly crouched down, beating his hands down into the murky water in an effort to extinguish them, barely managing as he then did something unexpected. The monster's upper body began to rapidly spin anticlockwise, its log like midsection allowing it to spin as the fire that Spyro had lit on its back began to die out, or worse, began shooting off its body in fireballs of its own, falling amongst the forest and village!

"What?!" he exclaimed in disbelief as the monster, now fully extinguished, rose up again and turned to face him, Arborick pounding his chest yet again as if in jest to Spyro's attempts to stop him.

"Fire! Fire!" came a panicked scream from among the dragonflies as several fires quickly took hold in the surrounding forest, some landing close to the huts upon the ledge where Spyro had been while others had fallen and gone out in the water. His heart began to thump with the fierceness of a hailstorm as Arborick began marching towards him as Spyro's own fire now became a threat.

'I can't use fire again, not so close to the village,' he thought dismally, watching the flames beginning to rise amongst his surroundings as the golem closed in on him. He knew he had to act and stop the fires, but he would be risking using up the energy he would need to defeat Arborick. Yet another impossible situation Spyro found himself in. He'd just about had enough of them.

With the screams of the dragonflies kicking him into action, Spyro put on a fighting scowl as he surged forward towards the monster, Arborick coming to a stop and raising his left fist, Spyro knowing what was coming next as he ducked down before the monster's fist shot forward like a coiled spring. He swept low and aimed at his left foot, casting a blanket of freezing Ice onto it as Arborick tried swinging at him with his other arm. Spyro narrowly dodged it as he swept around under the creature's right arm, the muddy water around its leg in hardening into a brownish crystal that locked the monster in place, but Spyro knew it would only hold him for a moment. Arborick roared as he tried to pull his frozen foot free as Spyro flew up towards the fires along the upper ledge.

A handful of dragonflies flew past him in a panic as the flames crept towards their homes, Spyro hovering above the blaze and casting a quick, flower like curtain of Ice over it, smothering the flames and covering a section of the forest in icicles. He quickly looked up to see that Arborick was still frozen stuck, briefly feeling hope as he quickly flew to the next blaze, casting another quick breath of Ice, conscious of the energy he was using, in spite of poison that was aching in his body and blurring his mind.

A loud growl drew his attention back to Arborick, who had finally managed to pull his leg free and stumble back, the dragonflies hiding in the undergrowth and huts wailing in fear as the monster became free. Spyro gritted his teeth as fires continued to blossom, knowing he had to deal with them before confronting the golem. The monster turned his head around and saw the purple dragon, his eyes narrowing as he clenched his fists and roared in fury. Spyro sighed grimly just before a loud whoosh drew his attention, following the sound to another blaze that rose above the mushroom canopy further down the ledge, taking off in a flash towards it as Arborick began stomping towards him. Spyro swooped down towards the fire as the monster suddenly grabbed one of the towers and ripped it from the water, the huts falling off and breaking like lanterns as he hurled it at his prey.

Spyro ducked as it soared over his head, crashing into the undergrowth as he put the fire out with another blast of Ice as he reached the bottom of the climb. Arborick hunched down and broke into a charge towards him, the ground shaking as his feet slammed the ground. Without hesitation, Spyro broke into a charge of his own, hurling himself through the air and aiming his horns towards the golem, their mismatched sizes to the watching dragonflies seeming to favor Arborick. Spyro's horns suddenly crackled with sparkling electricity just before they met, the golem being hurled back in a blast of lightning that knocked it on its backside, lightning rippling through the pond and causing the monster to shudder with electric shock. Spyro had managed to remain airborne, even though the blast had taken much out of him as well.

The stunned dragonflies watched in amazement, but the lightning then fizzled out and Arborick shook his head and, with a flustered snarl, began to rise to his feet once again. Spyro shook his own head in disbelief, "What the heck are you made of?" he exclaimed, before muttering more quietly to himself, "Other than wood, I mean…"

Arborick bellowed as he raised his clenched fists up like a boxer, reeling his right arm back before shooting his fist forward, his vine arm stretching outward towards Spyro, who quickly dodged to the side as the monster advanced on him. He began throwing punches with both arms at him, his fists stretching out across the air at the purple dragon who frantically propelled himself in one direction and then another as the golem tried to pummel him. Arborick growled in vexation as he threw his fists faster and more furiously at Spyro, whose heartrate and body was struggling to keep dodging the increasing tempo of flying punches. Arborick had closed the distance, his punches becoming faster still until finally they became too fast. Spyro made to swoop past on his left, but the wooden golem finally caught him, a rage fueled fist hit him like a boulder and knocked the breath from Spyro, sending him crashing back into the wall of earth and roots below the high ledge. He fell and landed in the water hard, dazed and wincing in pain as the golem strode victoriously towards him.

Spyro had landed on his tail and fallen flat into the muddy water, coughing and spitting as some of it ended up in his mouth. His whole side was aching from the blunt impact of the golems fist, on top of the poison that made his blood feel like it was turning into wet clay, but he tried to force himself up as the monster stomped towards him. He pushed with his shaking legs, his heart nearly bursting with fright as he slipped and fell into the mud again as Arborick's shadow loomed over him. He tried again but knew it was already too late, looking up forlornly at the giant log monster as it's glowing eyes danced with vengeful glee as it lifted its right foot, ready to plunge down and crush him like it surely would the dragonflies with nobody to save them. Spyro raised his wing over his face and closed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable

"Hey! Loghead!" a voice shouted from above. Opening his eyes and lowering his wing, Spyro saw Arborick's foot had halted just above his horns as he heard a chorus of Splat! Splat! Splat! from somewhere above. As Arborick roared, Spyro summoned the strength and speed to pull himself out of range of the creature's foot just before the monster stumbled back and clutched at his face. Looking up, Spyro saw the golem's eyes were blinded by the same fruits he had been eating, dropped from above by group of several of the dragonflies, rallying around one familiar golden individual who was poised to hurl another into the creature's face.

"Sparx!" the purple dragon cried ecstatically as he watched the yellow chatterbox throw the last fruit with all his might, splattering it square onto the monster's eyes as it tried wiping it off with one hand while blindly swinging at the air with the other.

"Hey, no slacking off!" Sparx yelled back as he and the others ducked and weaved away from the monster's wings, "We can't do this all on my own!"

His sarcasm, unexpected bravery and surprising ability to rally the others rekindled something within the purple dragon, causing him block out the pain and dress his mouth with a fighting smile as he shook off the mud and straightened himself upon now resolute legs. He whipped the water from his wings as a determined scowl creased his forehead, "Alright, lets do it!"

Spyro crouched and then leapt into the air, propelling himself towards the golem as it still tried to wipe the fruit and its juices from its eyes. He swept up in front of the monster's face, Sparx zooming down to his side as the other dragonflies backed away as Arborick wiped his eyes off enough to the see purple dragon just before he struck. Spyro's mouth opened with a spray of diamond like Ice that imbedded and froze into the creatures face, blinding it once again before Spyro flipped over in an aerial somersault, smacking his tail against the monster's chin, causing it to stumble. He followed the blow with another and another, spinning and striking with his claws, wingtips and tail as Arborick stumbled and swung blindly at him, roaring in murderous fury.

"Get him, Spyro, get him!" Sparx cheered as he swung punches of his own into the air before him. Arborick snarled violently and began charging blindly at them, swinging his arms almost like he was swimming as he tried to pummel the dragon and dragonfly. Spyro and Sparx swiftly climbed above to avoid him as he charged ahead towards the edge of the pond, crashing through another mushroom tower before he crashed into the wall of earth, the golem falling back from the wall in a stunned daze and landing hard on his backside. While Sparx and the other dragonflies were elated, Spyro realized they could not keep fighting him within the village with the damage that had already been caused, and he knew he hadn't much mana left to fight with. Fire was the obvious counter to a sentient pile of timber, but he couldn't risk the damage his last use of it had caused. Something in the corner of his eye made the young dragon look ahead, using his higher elevation to see over the village. He saw the path that the waterflow took through the village towards the waterfall on the far side of it, presenting an obvious means of defeating the golem, if they could get him near it.

A roar drew his attention back to Arborick as the monster pushed himself back on his feet, scraping his stake like fingers across his face as he turned and looked up, his eyes now clear but his face still riddled with diamond like Ice shards. Sparx let out a yelp as Spyro gasped, turning his head and taking off towards the waterfall, hoping to lure the monster towards it. He felt a tug on his tail and was surprised to see Sparx had grabbed onto his tail spike, wide eyed with fear yet apparently willingly coming along.

"What are you doing?" Spyro called back incredulously.

"This is my town! You're just visiting!" Sparx replied, though his face was white with fear. The sheltering dragonflies gasped, some even called out in protest or disbelief as the actions of one of their own, neither he nor Spyro paid them any heed as they soared towards the waterfall, Arborick stomping after them. The monster did not run after them, perhaps exhausted or now overly cautious, but his enormous weight still shook the ground as he marched after them. Spyro and Sparx quickly reached the end of the village and hovered just above the edge of the waterfall, the purple dragon not expecting the fall to be quite so high, looking down to see a massive drop of nearly two hundred feet falling down into a seemingly endless expanse of the tall mushroom forest. A wide river continued on from the base of the waterfall and snaked its way off into the distance, reminding so much of the view from the temple balcony.

"So what's the plan, big guy?" Sparx asked hurriedly as the colossal golem strode vengefully towards them, making him turn his attention back as he quickly put the thoughts of the temple behind him.

"We're gonna' make him take a dive," Spyro replied firmly as he watched the approaching golem anxiously. As he looked over again at the drop he hoped their adversary would take, Spyro muttered to his companion, "Thanks by the way. Guess I owe you another one," he smiled wanly.

Sparx waved his hand casually, "I'll collect later," he said, "But you kinda' blew a hole in your whole 'I ain't go no powers', story," he remarked more seriously.

"I had no choice," Spyro replied gravely, "It's the only way to beat him."

"Well, we're going to have a lot to answer for when this is over… if we don't die," Sparx said grimly as the monster drew closer to them.

"Uh-huh," Spyro nodded equally as his eyes rose to meet the daunting colossus that was Arborick. The log monster stopped a distance from them, perhaps sensing what they were up to or at least considering the danger. He suddenly turned to his left and eyed the tall wall of earth and roots that rose above him and narrowed towards the fall, reeling his arm back and punching through the hard tangle of thick roots. Spyro and Sparx watched apprehensively as he grabbed a hold and yanked out a massive piece of a root, throwing a great cloud of dirt into the water as he grasped it both hands. It was longer than his shoulders were broad, the ends of the piece of root were shaped roughly like a Shepard's staff, though the whole piece had a natural curve similar to a bow. Nonetheless, the monster seemed pleased with his new acquisition, tapping it in his hands like a club he was anxious to swing.

"Oh, boy," Sparx said meekly as Spyro considered the new threat cautiously. Arborick clutched his makeshift weapon fiercely as he let out another loud roar, confident that he would now finally quash his comparatively tiny opponents. Spyro's face hardened as the monster raised the foot staff over his head and then broke into a charge, kicking up great splashes of water as he came. As he ran, Spyro observed him reel his arms back to swing the staff, the purple dragon diving low with Sparx in tow as the monster came to a halt and swung at them. He swung back the other way just as swiftly, Spyro climbing high to avoid the lower swing as Arborick sidestepped in front of them to stop them passing him.

"Watch out!" the dragon cried to Sparx as the monster raised the staff up and bought down like a hammer towards them, Spyro looping over backwards as the staff slammed down into the water but to his shock did not break. It was then he realized what was happening; the golem was keeping his distance, using the long reach of the staff to attack and not risk getting near the edge. While he doubted the tree stump the golem had for a head contained a physical brain, it clearly possessed far more intellect than he had imagined.

"That's all you've got?" Spyro shouted, hoping to enrage the creature into acting without thinking. Arborick held the root staff back across his chest, his eyes burning towards the purple dragon as he snarled, ready to end him. The monster swung his leg back and kicked a plum of water at Spyro, catching him off guard before the monster started moving towards them, Sparx grabbing onto his companion's neck spine, trusting in his actions before his own. Arborick twisted his body to the right, drawing he staff back before swinging its bottom end up towards Spyro, who dived low and zoomed around behind the golem, Sparx clinging on as the monster turned about quickly, swinging the staff back and striking the wall of earth as he did, now standing with his back towards the great fall, just as Spyro wanted him.

Arborick growled as he took the staff in one hand, holding up his right arm and shooting his fist out again, causing Spyro and Sparx to split apart to avoid it, the dragonfly quickly zipping around to put distance between him and the golem. Spyro took the chance he had been waiting for an unleashed a burst of flame at the creature, but Arborick held the root up as a shield, letting it take the brunt as he threw another punch, Spyro barely dodging to the left as the root lit up like a torch. As Sparx rejoined him, the golem made an overarm swing at the pair with the burning staff, both dodging to the right as it crashed down into the water, the splash putting out the torch. Spyro, not knowing if he had enough mana for it, dived at the creatures left arm raked his tail spike across its center, a short glistening scythe of Ice appearing at the last moment that slashed through the vine that connected the golems limbs.

The monster jumped up in terror, dropping the staff as its now handless arm flailed like a headless snake, stumbling back closer to the drop as Spyro looped back around to face the creature head on, landing in the shallow water and standing on his back feet. His breathing was tense and his puffy eyes were almost blinded with tears of pain as he felt as though he would pass out any minute, drawing on whatever was left in him to finish the golem once and for all. Arborick's shock turned to rage as he locked eyes on the purple dragon, steadying himself advancing away from the waterfall. Spyro's mouth glowed as a spiraling fireball shot fourth, striking the monsters chest and spreading flames about its body. Arborick launched his fist back in retaliation, still advancing slowly towards Spyro as he jumped to the side, using his tail to keep himself upright and his wings to strafe side to side. He shot another fireball that landed dead center, Arborick's chest engulfed in flames as the creature roared, the vines of his handless arm snapping forward like a whip towards him, Spyro feeling them pass by his face by a hair's width.

"Keep it up, Spyro! You almost got him!" Sparx cheered as his companion dodged another whip and launched another fireball that struck the golem, the flames now spreading across its limbs as it crouched down like it had before, preparing to try and spin the flames out again, the moment Spyro had been waiting for. Springing into the air, his heart struggled to keep pounding from so much wear, but it had to hold out just a minute more. He flew right towards the golem, which lifted its head in surprise and tried to stand again even as fire ravaged its wooden body, but it was too late. In a split moment, one which he could not account for upon recollection, Spyro himself became engulfed in a cloud of burning orange flame, like he had when he had melted the chains binding him and his friends in their escape from the mountain fortress. Sparx stayed well behind him as he stared in awe as the purple dragon became fire itself, surging fourth with the speed of a comet as he aimed for the golems center mass, a blazing trail of fire following behind as he slammed into the monster.

Arborick recoiled as the engulfed dragon seared through his chest like a meteorite, shooting out the other side and leaving a glowing tunnel straight through his body. The flames vanished in a blink of an eye just as they had started as Spyro returned to his normal form and flew back over the falls and over the creature's head as it rocked unsteadily with a gaping hole in its chest. He flew and landed beside Sparx, panting heavily as they watched the monster edging back towards the fall, sure to fall back over the fall and be gone forever.

"Hey, Spyro, what was that about?" Sparx asked in disbelief as he looked over him in bewilderment that there wasn't a single burn across his body, despite having been literally on fire moments before. Before he could answer, Spyro's pupils shrank as Arborick gave a final defiant roar, and his arm surged fourth with its fist stretching towards them.

"Lookout!" Spyro yelled as he stumbled to the left out of the way, the fist zooming up and clenching hard beside him, grasping the golden dragonfly as he screamed,

"Help!"

"Sparx!" Spyro screamed as the fist lurched back, Arborick's unsteady weight finally giving out as the monster began to lean back, the wooden colossus falling back with the screaming dragonfly trapped in his hand. The purple dragon, feeling like walking death, took off even though he was near blind with pain, watching in horror as Arborick toppled over the falls and Sparx's terror filled fell with him.

"Hold on!" Spyro called as be put all his remaining life into one desperate act; a wide cone of glittering, freezing Ice shot out from his mouth towards the edge of the fall, freezing all the water that he flew over as the blast of magic swept over the fall. Sparx's decent came to a sudden halt as did the fist the clenched him as the ice hardened with a crackling chorus. Spyro looked on in disbelief as he approached them; the last third of the river had turned into a brown, glass like state that had caught the monster's arm in a thick frozen shackle that trapped the golems clenched fist before it could fall over the edge, looking like a hand punching its way out of brown glacier. The ice blockade became a dam for the rest of the river as Spyro landed just before the trapped hand with a wide eyed, shivering Sparx reaching out to him between the hands two stake like fingers.

"Get me out of here, Spyro! I think my wings are frozen!" A roar followed his plea as Spyro dared to look over the edge, realizing to his shock that Arborick was still alive, his colossal weight already beginning to make the ice creak and prepare to crack. The monster swung his handless arm towards the top of the fall, the vine appendage crackling like a whip as Spyro jumped back from its reach.

"I got you, hold on!" Spyro cried as he clutched hold of the locked hand, trying to pry the massive fingers that the dragonfly was wedged between apart. Its grip remained steadfast as the golem kept roaring and snapping the vine at them, determined to take them with him with whatever life was left in his ravaged body. The frozen cuff began to crack, sending a spray of tiny ice specks into Spyro's face as the monster tried to swing its dead weight to hasten the collapse.

"Come on! Come on!" Spyro growled as he his efforts to dislodge his companion failed, the great wooden fingers remaining tight as the cracks began to ripple through the whole island of ice he was standing on. Arborick snarled weakly from below the fall, his glowing eyes still burning with vengeance even as the fire of his life began to die out. Spyro looked at the cracks forming beneath him fearfully, but his only response was to try and pry the fingers open again.

"Hey! Why don't you try shooting some more magic out of your face?" Sparx exclaimed desperately as he tried to push the fingers apart from between them. Spyro was near breathless and his limbs felt like wet mud, the purple dragon knowing he had only seconds to act. Another loud crack in the ice confirmed this, Spyro lowering himself as he aimed his snout at the base of the golems hand, trying to summon anything he could from within him, trying to use Fire, hoping it might cause the hand to let Sparx go. He inhaled and opened his maw; a flameless cloud of black smoke was all that came. He tried again, only more useless smoke blowing onto the creature's hand. He didn't notice the dozen or so other dragonflies from the village that hovered up cautiously behind him.

"I can't…" he said weakly, looking up at his terrified companion sorrowfully, knowing what it meant for him.

"Come on! You gotta keep trying!" Sparx begged, "You can't leave me here!"

"Son!" cried a voice, both of them looking up to finally notice the crowd, Flash and Nina at its head as they and the other dragonflies moved up to the ice cuffed hand. Spyro could see the obvious questions in their eyes as they looked at the ice dam he had created, but the more pressing matter took hold as they tried to help free their son.

"What do we do? What do we do?" stressed one panicked dragonfly.

"Hurry, it's not going to hold!" shouted another. Firmin suddenly appeared, having pushed his way through the crowd as his eyes went past Spyro and fixed on the great hand that was the center of attention.

"We need to free him!" the red dragonfly declared sternly, taking a place beside Flash and Nina, "I want the strongest villagers here now!"

Several of the larger adult dragonflies moved forward, but Spyro did not think it would be enough. He gazed around unsteadily as the dragonflies gathered around, hoping against all odds there was something that could help him. A small chunk of the ice cuff cracked and fell away down the waterfall, signaling that it would break away any second. Arborick seemed to be moving slower now, perhaps the monster had finally died and was now just lifeless dead weight ready to take the final plunge.

As Spyro looked about despondently, he still could not conjure anything more than smoke as the strongest of the village tried to free Sparx from the monster's grip. The purple dragon looked over his shoulder, seeing a wide assortment of colors and shapes from the other dragonflies gathering behind him, when something colored pink behind the crowd caught his eyes. Looking beneath the dragonflies as they hovered in place, Spyro saw a single pink Spirit Gem carried by the stream clinking against the edge of the ice he had made, presumably having been dislodged during the golems rampage. With barely a pause, he turned himself around on his belly like a penguin, facing towards the lone gem and pushing himself along the ice towards it, again much like a penguin. The dragonflies briskly moved out of his way as he slid to the edge and grasped the gem in his mouth, the touch of the magic stone at once shot a jolt of energy through his body that dried his eyes and made his limbs feel stiff again. Spinning on his belly again, he pulled himself back through the crowd as another loud crack in the ice signaled the imminent collapse, most of the dragonflies jumping back on impulse.

"It's about to go!" someone yelled as Spyro slid back over to the hand, Flash and Nina refusing to leave their son as the purple dragon dropped the gem and clutched it hard in his right paw, closing his eyes and drawing on all the magic it had. But would it be enough to reignite his flame? As he absorbed all the energy of the crystal, he mentally aligned it to feed his mana, taking away the pain relief it had provided as he focused it all on the act of summoning flame. Hoping it was enough, Spyro opened his eyes and intended to lock them onto the monster's hand, but instead he was distracted by the absolute terror he saw in the eyes of Sparx as he looked at the purple dragon beggingly. Flash and Nina were still trying to pull him free while looking to him, hoping he would save their son. Spyro opened his mouth and lurched forward almost like he was vomiting, but only black smoke came.

"Keep trying!" he heard, but there was something uncanny about it that made him freeze. He knew who had said it, he had seen and read Sparx's mouth saying the words right in front of him, but it was not his voice he had heard, not entirely. Something in his brain was unraveling, perhaps finally Spyro was going insane from all the pain and trauma he had been subjected to. He knew that had to be it, for he could have sworn that overlapping the voice of Sparx was the voice of someone he knew wasn't their; Cynder. He tried to forget it and breathed again, but yet another puff of black smoke escaped his mouth as the ice beneath him began breaking apart. He looked up at the dragonfly and watched his mouth as he yelled at him again, and once more he heard the voice of the black dragoness speaking over that of Sparx as his mouth aligned with her words, "Come on, Spyro!"

Then like a hiccup he couldn't prevent, Spyro's maw came alive in a blaze of orange flame that he aimed at the base of Arborick's hand, the sudden attack by the log monster's mortal enemy caused the hand to spasm fearfully, the fingers writhing apart as Sparx was pulled free just as the ice cuff finally shattered and the hand dropped below the waterfall. Spyro cut off the flame and jumped into a hover as the ice island broke into fragments and followed off the edge, peeking over as he saw the golem falling and roaring as he swiftly approached the drop hundreds of feet below. Spyro was panting as he watched as the monster tumbled, his gaping chest spinning and its arms flailing helplessly, the glowing purple eyes growing dimmer the further he fell. Behind him, Flash and Nina had pulled Sparx well back from the waterfall as Spyro remained, watching to see if the golem would still be a danger when he reached the bottom.

He felt himself gasp as he saw a great splash as the wooden colossus slammed hard at the bottom of the fall, a great cloud of water obscuring his view for a moment before the creature form returned to view. He watched cautiously for a sign of life, half expecting that Arborick would get up and try to start climbing, knowing he couldn't risk the golem hanging around when it was so dangerous to the dragonflies. As the splash and mist died down, he finally saw the beast, laying on its back in the river and drifting slowly along as its limbs hung lifelessly out like the points of a star. From so high up he could not make out the creature's eyes, but he knew for certain that the golem had been slain.

With the heavenly glow of relief sweeping over him, Spyro looked over his shoulder and saw Flash and Nina were both hugging Sparx a fair distance from the edge of the fall with the rest of the dragonflies slowly returning now that the monster was gone. He turned and flew over towards them, landing in the shallow stream just before them while the two parents held their son between them and cried into each other.

"Is Sparx okay?" he blurted out breathlessly, the purple dragon's chest heaving as Flash and Nina slowly turned around to him with Sparx in between them. The two adult dragonflies looked at him with eyes the size of the world, but Sparx's eyes were the size of the galaxy as he panted vigorously and the look on his face was borderline deranged from shock, his mouth was wide open and his teeth were reaching out of his gums like he was about to bite into something. Other than his breathing, he seemed to be paralyzed as not even his wings were flapping.

"You're okay, son. You're okay," Flash proclaimed gratefully, putting a hand around Sparx's head and pulling him into his chest, Nina putting her arms out around the both of them as Spyro let out a exhausted but relived sigh. The rest of the dragonflies were gathering behind the backs of the three family members, half of them fixated on the reunited trio and the rest looking past at the purple dragon that had allowed it to happen. Nina looked up at him and with a great effort, left the embrace of her husband and drifted towards him, tears streaking down her face. Spyro swallowed hard, expecting to hear the worst, expecting to be blamed for the creature that had violated their home to seek him out and that had nearly killed her son.

"Mrs Sparx, I…" he began, before he was swiftly cut off. When he saw her raise her hands, he had expected to receive a barrage of slaps about his face, but instead her tiny hands had clutched the top of his head, making him freeze as she dropped her head down and pressed her lips to his forehead, holding them there for several moments as she kissed him with all the strength her little body could muster. His eyes darted around helplessly as this played out, Flash watching the act of gratitude silently while Sparx remained near catatonic as some of the other dragonflies gasped or awed at Nina's display of thanks. When finally, she pulled her head back, Spyro felt his cheeks burning with something other than exhaustion as she floated down before his eyes, her face still damp with tears as she smiled ever so warmly at him.

"Thank you, Spyro," she whimpered as she now took a hold of both sides of his snout, "You saved our son and our village!" she proclaimed as she joyously kissed him between his nostrils. One of the villagers began clapping his hands, followed by another and then a third, Spyro looking back and forth across the rainbow of faces as the whole village it seemed erupted in applause for him. A smile made its way across his face as the purple dragon looked at each of the celebrating dragonflies in turn, eventually coming back around to Flash and Sparx. Flash's expression was more pensive than cheerful, though, his eyes giving away a sense of mistrust, something Spyro understood as his smile died down. He knew it was the lie he had told about having no powers, something he regretted the moment he had said it but had decided to go along with. Now he knew he would have to answer for that. Nina drifted back over to her family as Flash began waving his hand in front of Sparx's eyes in an effort to provoke a reaction. When it produced no results, Nina cradled her son's head and kissed his cheek, Sparx's eyes and wings began fluttering immediately as he shook his head as though he had just awoken. His head darted all around as he exclaimed,

"I'm alive! I'm alive!"

"Yes, you are," Spyro chuckled, letting out a sudden groan as he remembered how sore he was, but he still shuffled up closer to the three of them as the other dragonflies continued clapping and cheering. Sparx was delirious with joy as he excitedly swiveled his head back and forth between his parents, "Mum, Dad, I'm alive! Can you believe it? I'm alive!"

"It's a miracle any of us are!" a voice suddenly boomed that bought all the clapping and cheering to a halt in an instant. Spyro looked up and Sparx and his family turned around as the crowd parted into two groups, making way for Firmin or Red as he was known. The red dragonfly slowly drifted down towards the purple dragon, not even glancing at Sparx or his parents, his face a scowl of twisted fury as Spyro slowly and hesitantly sat down in the water, preparing for what was to come next.

"That monster came here looking for you!" Red stormed as he jabbed his finger at Spyro, "For you! He hasn't stepped foot outside of the Grove for years, but then he comes stomping into our mist the day that you show up!"

"And he never will again!" Nina called out defensively, clutching her son tightly to her side.

"Silence!" Red barked at her before he turned his anger back to the purple dragon, "I knew your presence here would only bring danger to this village! I should have trusted my own instincts instead of letting others question my decisions!"

Spyro gulped and meekly tried to offer a reply, "Sir, I…"

"Shut your trap!" the red dragonfly snapped, drifting forward so that he was practically touching his snout, Spyro's eyes honing to him as the talking, the glowing ball of red anger became the only thing he could see, "I want you out of this village and out of my swamp. NOW!"

"Firmin!" Flash bellowed before he gingerly left his wife and son's side, the red dragonfly turning hastily to him as he drifted over towards him and Spyro. The purple dragon looked on in surprise as Flash hovered up and squared up to Red.

"It is only because of this dragon that we are still here!" he argued plainly, "That creature would have killed us all if it wasn't for him."

"If it wasn't for him, none of us would have been in danger in the first place!" Red argued back crossly, "What's to stop every other monster coming from over there now and devouring us? He bought the danger to us!"

"Perhaps he did, unintentionally," Flash admitted sourly, giving a quick glare to Spyro before he continued, "But what I know for certain is that my son owes his life to him, twice. And right now, we all owe our lives to him, including your own daughter."

"My daughter?" Red exclaimed, his eyes bulging as he turned his attention towards the crowd of dragonflies, searching as Spyro watched him curiously.

"I'm here!" a voice rang out from behind the crowd, the dragonflies hovering back out of the way as the owner of the voice came forward. The first thing Spyro saw was the bright yellow eyes that had looked out in terror from the mud when Arborick had been about to crush her, the orange she dragonfly fluttering over towards Flash and her father. Having a better and less stressful chance to look at her, Spyro assumed she was around the same age as Sparx, and also assumed she was what would be considered one of the fairer members of her kind.

"Amber!" Red cried as he took off towards his daughter, grabbing a desperate hold of her as Nina and Sparx moved over to Spyro's left shoulder, the purple dragon sharing a pensive glance with them. As Firmin or Red finally pulled himself away from her, his jaw was sagging as he tried to articulate to her, "Amber, when that monster arrived, I lost sight of you! I didn't know if you were alright!"

"I'm okay, father," she said calmly as he looked over his shoulder towards the purple dragon who stared back at her with a hopeful gaze that she might get him out of his latest trouble.

Sparx suddenly leaned down to him and whispered, "Man, you only saved Red's daughter, who just happens to be the hottest chick in the whole village!"

"Yeah," Spyro replied softly, bluntly, his previous assumptions now confirmed. Red finally took note of where his daughter was looking and briefly looked back to Spyro before turning back to Amber.

"I was stuck in the mud that monster kicked up when he came. If it wasn't for him, the dragon, I would have been crushed. He saved my life."

"Is that true?" Red asked in a high voice, looking back to Spyro again as Flash gave him a look that seemed to say 'I told you so.' The red dragonfly turned back and looked all around the gathered dragonflies as they all began murmuring amongst each other.

"It is true!" declared a familiar voice, it was Talia the blue she dragonfly coming forward followed by much of the same dragonflies who had first come to meet the young dragon, "I saw it myself. Spyro is a hero!"

Spyro tilted his head away meekly as he muttered, "Well, I don't think…"

"Talia's right!" Sparx yelled enthusiastically, "But don't forget, we threw fruit in the eyes of the walking lumber yard too! So, you know, give him a hand and all, but don't forget about what I did!" he boasted.

"What you all did," Nina reminded him sternly, Sparx just shrugging his shoulders as he grinned profusely. Red looked flustered at the increasing support that Spyro was getting, turning back towards Amber and gently taking hold of her hands as he tried to reason his thinking with her.

"But sweetheart, that monster only came here because of that dragon. If he had not come here, that creature would never have followed him and you would have been in no danger."

"Father, he saved my life. Saved all of our lives!" protested Amber, "What would we have done without him? We could not stop Arborick ourselves. Even if we survived, we would have been driven from our homes and been forced to settle somewhere else!"

"Yes, but…" Firmin argued, his voice becoming drowned out as seemingly the whole rest of the village began talking aloud, Spyro hearing many words in support of himself, while others shared the beliefs of their leader. Among the many things he hadn't wanted was to cause division amidst the dragonflies, even if many of them seemed to support him. Flash turned his back on the crowd and looked back towards the purple dragon and his own family, giving the same look that he had before, telling him he was about to be pressed on why he had lied about his powers. But just then, as if fate was granting him an extra moment before that came, one dark yellow dragonfly with a cone shaped head moved passed the bickering crowd and flew right towards Spyro, who recognized the village physician with the curious accent, Jurien. He moved quickly passed Flash as he immediately squinted as he chose Sparx as his first patient.

"What an awful goliath zat thing vas!" Jurien exclaimed as he roughly grabbed and pulled on Sparx's arms, ignoring his protests before Jurien then grabbed a hold of Sparx's head and snapped it both ways, almost seemingly trying to break his neck as he continued his examination. As he began pulling open Sparx's eyelids, Flash moved up beside the physician and frowned at Spyro, who gulped on impulse.

"While I couldn't be happier that you both are alive, I cannot ignore the rather glaring fact that you lied to us, Spyro," Flash said heavily as Sparx continued to yelp and complain to Jurien all the time right beside him. Though he found it odd that he didn't seem concerned for his son's apparent distress, Spyro kept his eyes firmly on the blue dragonfly. That is until Nina appeared to his left, her hand gently touching the side of his face as drawing his eyes to her, the look in her eyes was also one of disappointment yet also one that showed at least a hope in understanding why he had lied to them. As Nina's hand slipped away and she took her husband's arm, Spyro bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to decide what to tell them.

"You're right, I did lie to you," he confessed softly, "I'm sorry that I did, but you have to believe me that I thought it was for the best for everyone that I did."

"But why?" asked Nina seriously but kindly, "Why would you tell us you couldn't breathe fire? I saw what you did, Spyro, we all did. Not just fire, but ice and even summoning lightning? I never thought dragons could do that!"

"They can't… Hey!" Spyro exclaimed as Jurien appeared right in front of him, now that he had finished with Sparx and prepared to give a full once over on the purple dragon. "I saw you took a good hit from zat terrible golem, ja? Any new injuries or sources of pain?" the dragonfly physician interrupted as he pulled open Spyro's gums and left him unable to speak for a moment, "No? Very good!" he said as he zipped to the side and began to examine and poke at the young dragon's ribs.

"What I was saying," Spyro continued, warily observing the other villagers beginning to close in to hear him, much to the annoyance of Red who continued to protest his presence with them, "Is that other dragons are born only able to breathe one element. But I'm not like other dragons, I'm…" The first word that came to mind for him to say was 'special,' but he felt anything but that about himself in that moment, choosing instead to dully say, "I'm different."

"Yeah, you kick four times as much butt as any other dragon!" Sparx declared excitedly, "Come on people! You're in the presence of celebrities! Me and him!"

"Sparx, cut it out, please!" Spyro growled, grimacing as Jurien began roughly pressing his hands around his back, apparently searching for any breaks or fractures.

"Different, eh?" asked Red scathingly as he folded his arms, "So is that why you came out here? Too much trouble for even your own kind?"

"Father!" Amber snapped coldly, Red turning around and facing her with cold shock, "How can you be so inconsiderate? After what he did? Killing that monster?"

"By bringing it here, where regardless of his actions, we barely escaped with our lives!" Red retorted while pointing a harsh finger at her. Spyro was about to ask her not to stand up for him for her own sake, but then she slapped her hand across her father's finger, the crowd gasping in disbelief as Red's own eyes refused to take in what had just happened.

"He saved my life! Isn't that enough for you?" she rasped furiously.

"Please! Please! No more!" Spyro cried, hopping to his feet in spite of Jurien's prodding and how exhausted and sore he was, "I don't want there to be any more trouble here, for anyone. I can see your leader doesn't want me here, so I'll just go," he declared, impulsively taking a few steps before Sparx and his family hovered over in front of him.

"Hey, where are you going, man?" Sparx demanded with an offended tone, "You can't just walk out on me."

Spyro sighed, "Sparx, I have to…"

"Where are you going to go, my friend?" Jurien suddenly asked as he flew around from behind him, "In your state, you would not last very long outside zis swamp."

"That's my problem to worry about," Spyro answered tersely, "You've got your own village to take care of. I'm going," he said firmly, taking another few steps forward, thinking that Flash, Nina and Sparx would make way for him. They did not. A pang of guilt trickled through his body that stopped him from just trying to go around them, their eyes making him feel like they were staring into his soul.

"Spyro," Nina began in her firm but kindly voice, "We bought you here so that we could get help for you, but instead you have done yet more for us! Saving our son, saving our village from that horrible monster. How could we just let you go after all that?"

"Mrs Sparx…" Spyro began apologetically.

"It's Nina, sweetheart," she told him correctively, "Whatever Firmin says, it does not reflect how we think about you."

"Indeed not," Flash agreed readily, moving closer to the young dragon with his wife and son following, "But all gifts come with a price; it's clear that you have not told us the whole truth, Spyro. We understand there is trouble where you live, but I don't think that's all there is to it. So please, tell me the truth this time; what is it that had led you here, to us?" he asked earnestly. Spyro felt a jolt in his heart like he had been stabbed as everything he had wanted to conceal, down to his very existence, flooded into his mind, but whether it was to remind him of what not to say or what to confess he wasn't sure. So much had already been given away just by his chance meeting with Sparx, now he was amidst a whole village of dragonflies who could no doubt tell fantastic stories about him, be it willingly or under duress if ever that came. Now Flash was pressing him for the whole truth, but what could Spyro tell him? That he was supposed to be a hero foretold by an ancient prophecy to bring peace to the world? Would he even believe him if he said that? Was there any point in hiding anything from them now that they knew so much about him already?

Spyro watched uneasily as the rest of the dragonflies quietly floated in close to hear his answer, Red still rambling on about how he was a menace and should be gone from their swamp. He may have been right, and the purple dragon still thought he would be leaving as soon as he had given an answer, but he was yet to give one. In the next few moments, Spyro made his decision as he looked into the concerned eyes of Nina, Flash and Sparx, among the many eyes that were fixed on him. It seemed to him that no matter where he was or who he was with, there were always a hundred expecting eyes something of him. Another curse he had been born with.

"What I told you before wasn't a lie," he said softly, speaking more to Flash as he hovered his gaze over the blue dragonfly, "But it wasn't everything," he admitted. Spyro's closed mouth hid his grating teeth as he looked across the waiting faces of the other dragonflies, preparing himself with a gulp as he slowly swiveled his eyes over all of them. "Everyone," he announced in a raised voice so that they all could hear him, "Where I come from, there is a war, a terrible war raging. The dragons, that's my people, and those who stand with them, are at war with the Apes, an old enemy. You might have heard stories from long ago about it, but the apes were once led by a dragon named Malefor. They once thought he was a hero, but he betrayed us and led our enemies against us. He died a very long time ago, but the apes still fight in his name. Yesterday, they attacked our city, Warfang, while they pretended they wanted peace. It was chaos! They came from underground, burrowed right under us! My friends and I, we tried to escape the city. There was four of us, including me. I tried to go it alone, thinking it would be safer, but it didn't work out…"

Spyro paused as he tried to keep his breathing under control, the dragonflies all staring in complete silence, apparently too engrossed in what he had to say to speak themselves. Even Red seemed at least somewhat taken in by his words. Catching a breath, he went on.

"I only escaped because I had help…" he said solemnly, averting his eyes from the gaze of the dragonflies for a moment as his mind went back to the spider infested trench that he had left Ignitus in. A word rolled onto his tongue that Spyro had long associated with the Fire Guardian, but had never found appropriate to use to describe him. Why not use it now? The dragonflies didn't know any better and it wouldn't do them any harm for him to indulge in a little word play, especially when it was true for all practical if not factual reasons.

"My… father," he paused as the word rolled off his tongue and out of his mouth, "He helped me escape, but he didn't make it. None of them made it," he said as his voice became brittle, dipping his head as his eyes sealed shut, Spyro clenching his toes as he resisted the tears his eyes tried to conjure. He heard a gentle flutter grow nearer the few moments his eyes were closed, Spyro looking up to see Nina had drifted over close to him, extending her tiny hand out to the left side of his snout as Flash with Sparx behind put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes glistened to him as Spyro held his mouth open as if to speak but found himself without a voice. Her touch seemed to lift a great weight off him, the pain in his heart numbing as he let her hold him as if he was her own son. For a moment, some part of his brain believed he might be too.

"You lost your father?" Jurien asked mournfully as he had been hovering off to the side on his own. Spyro slowly turned his head to him, giving only a short nod before he looked back towards Nina and her family whilst the rest of the dragonflies watched him emphatically.

Sparx moved from behind his father and hovered up next to Nina as he asked, "But what about the rest of your family?" The yellow dragonfly had simply assumed that he had one, Spyro knowing he could not hold his naivety against him.

"There are none," he replied somberly, turning his eyes back to the crowd before he said, "There is nothing for me back home other than death. The things you all saw me do, the powers I used to kill that creature, like I said before, I'm the only one among the dragons who can do that. That makes me different, to the apes that makes me dangerous. That's why they want me dead, that's why Igni…. my father wanted me to escape from that. That's why I ended up here."

Of course, Spyro knew that wasn't the whole truth, but he felt it was close enough to the truth that the dragonflies would understand the gravity of his arrival in their midst. Not that it mattered, he was about to leave anyway, assuming they didn't drive him out themselves at Red's behest.

There were mutterings from the amidst the dragonflies as they considered all that they heard, but Red never took his eyes off the purple dragon as he hovered with folded arms. Spyro decided he was not going to wait for them to deliberate, having already made up his mind. He stood up and twirled his head around, the pain in his body reemerging from his sudden movement, casting doubts about how far he could go in his current state.

"Honestly, my plan was to help Sparx here to get home and then I was going to be on my way. I don't mean to be rude, but I thought it would be better if I did that right now, as your leader seems to want the same thing. So, goodbye," he said promptly, attempting to stride off again, avoiding the gaze of Sparx and his family as he did so.

"Spyro, wait!" Sparx cried out, but Spyro did not reply, simply keeping his eyes averted as he trudged through the muddy water with his limp, the other dragonflies all watching him as he began walking back towards the village. He heard some of their comments about him, some saying that they thought he should stay, others remarking about the story he had told them, but he didn't pay much attention. He knew leaving was his only choice, no matter how hard it would be on him.

"Just wait a minute there, dragon," he heard Red's harsh voice ring out behind him. Spyro came to a halt with an annoyed groan, wondering why he even bothered stopping. He was only doing what the angry insect wanted from him. Did he want to get in the final word before the young dragon was gone from his domain?

'Well, I've been diplomatic up 'till now, might as well keep it up,' Spyro thought glumly before he turned to the right to face the crimson dragonfly who was fluttering over towards him. Firmin was alone with the others, including Sparx and his family, kept their distance as the purple dragon finished turning around to face Red. His expression was, as ever, hard, but there was a deep amount of thought going on in his eyes rather than just the anger he expected from him. Nonetheless, Spyro felt sure he knew what was coming. Red hovered just a few inches from his face, slowly unfolding his arms as he considered the purple dragon carefully.

"These apes you speak of," Red began in a mild tone, "Have they truly bought menace to your home?"

"Yes, sir," Spyro replied simply. Red tilted his head as he put a hand on his hip.

"Do they know you are here?" was his next question.

Spyro shook his head, "I don't even know where I am, and there is a chance they think I am dead already. But if they don't, I'm sure they will come looking for me. Who knows if they would ever find this place, though."

"Mmmhmm," Red mumbled moodily, taking a glance back at the crowd that was watching them as though they expected a fight to break out. Sparx was watching from behind his parent's shoulders as if for protection as Red turned his head back to the purple dragon.

"And when you leave here, where will you go?"

Spyro shook his head gloomily, "I don't know. Somewhere where I'll be alone, I guess. Somewhere I won't bring danger to anyone."

Again, it was not a total lie, but not the total truth. Spyro couldn't tell him or any of them about what the Chronicler said; that he was supposed to hide and 'ride out the storm' as he put it. He asked himself again why he was trusting the word of someone who was known only to him as a voice, for all he knew that was all the Chronicler was. But he had apparently saved him from an imminent death had Spyro gone his own way. He could only trust that the storm he wished him to ride out would not last for too long.

Red nodded thoughtfully at Spyro's answer, clicking his teeth together as he stared off into the mushroom forest while he thought of what to say next. Spyro looked quickly over to Sparx and his family, the yellow dragonfly giving him a quick, reassuring wave to which Spyro gave a quick smile in return, though he was not especially hopeful for a positive resolution between him and Red. He just hoped Sparx and his family would not be punished because of him, having no idea what kind of laws they practiced so far from the dragon civilization.

"Arborick has caused much terror for us in the past, but before today it has been years since we last same him leave the Grove. Then you bought him right back to us and left our village in tatters!" Red growled as he pointed towards the village and the topples mushroom towers and huts that had been destroyed. Spyro didn't feel like arguing, even though he could, seeing as Flash and Red's own daughter had made the points he could have.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea he might come looking for me," he replied earnestly, "But it was an accident finding him in the first place."

"And it was an accident when you found Sparx?" Red queried sharply.

"Completely by chance," Spyro answered, though he had begun to wonder if it was not a chance encounter but an act of fate. He wondered if the Chronicler had somehow engineered it somehow, interfering in events to change things for what he claimed was for the best. He didn't know. It was just another thing he couldn't tell them.

"And antagonizing that behemoth who just took a long drop off our waterfall?" Red asked scrupulously.

"We didn't even know he was there, sir," Spyro explained carefully, "We thought it was just a pile of wood. We hopped over it and then a minute later it turned into that thing! We weren't trying to make trouble for anyone, especially not ourselves!"

"But trouble you certainly made!" proclaimed the red dragonfly, dramatically holding his extended finger into the air as though he was part of a stage drama. Spyro gravely but tiredly awaited what torrent of abuse he had for him next. Something changed in Red's eyes that made Spyro tilt his head curiously.

"However," he said unexpectedly, lowering his dramatic finger, "However, if what you are telling us is true, then it seems we have come off lightly compared to what has happened in your homeland. Arborick was by no means the only danger we face, but he was certainly the gravest one."

"Well, I'm glad to hear there aren't more like him around here," Spyro replied sarcastically, daring to put on a smidgen of a smile, Red's hard glare quickly making it die out. Just then Amber came into view, slipping in quietly on the right beside her father. She smiled at Spyro before she took her father's hand, apparently startling him as he turned his head and saw her. She only smiled at him before she released his hand and then quickly fluttered over to Spyro. The purple dragon watched her with an odd blush, even he finding her comely appearance rather charming. Before he could think of what to say, Amber suddenly hovered low in front of his snout, his heart jumping as she placed her hands across his snout and puckered up her lips. Red, Sparx, Flash, Nina and the whole village watched in shock and surprise as she kissed Spyro on the lips!

Spyro, for his part, simply put on his best statue impression as he found himself unable to look at Amber but firmly kept his eyes on Red whose face had turned white in shock at what had just occurred. First his daughter had defied him by slapping his finger, now she was kissing the very source of all his vexation. In that moment, Spyro thought he had more to fear from Red than he had with Arborick. After several terrifying moments, Amber finished kissing him and fluttered to the left side of his head, Spyro's attempt at speaking cut off as she held her arms out and hugged him, the purple dragon gasping in fear as his eyes darted between Amber and her white faced father.

"Oh, thank you for saving my life, Spyro!" she cried giddily, "You were so brave! That monster would have crushed me like a… well, a bug!"

'Not even Ember went this far!' Spyro thought despondently as he caught sight of Sparx and realized just how jealous the entire fiasco was making him; he the strange dragon winning the attention of the prettiest she dragonfly in the village. He knew all of this was just adding more and more nails to his coffin.

"My father can be so temperamental at times," Amber continued sweetly, "But he'd never send you away; especially not after all you've done and when you are hurting so much," she assured as she cast a piercing gaze at her father, her eyes like gold tipped daggers. Red suddenly became flustered, letting out an exaggerated cough as he became aware that the eyes of the whole village were staring at him. Spyro turned his head just enough to see Sparx and his family, seeing that all three of them were smiling widely at him. Sparx grinned to him and gave a thumbs up, it finally dawning on Spyro what was happening. Amber was putting on a show, trying to coheres her father into letting him stay!

Red was stammering, "I, er, I…I…" he said as he looked behind him as the sea of eyes that were all staring and waiting for him to make a decision. Spyro was himself afflicted by a mixed bag of emotions; for the sake of his pitiable state he would be glad to stay for the respite, but he still held onto the belief that his presence could put the dragonflies in more danger. An abrupt shout of "Jurien!" from Red drew his attention as the cone headed physician swiftly flew up to meet him.

"Yes?" he asked bluntly.

Taking another cautious look at the crowd, Red cleared his throat, "You are the expert on matters of health and well-being here," he said formally, trying to look composed, "What, er, what would you say about the condition of, er, Spyro here?"

Jurien rubbed his forehead before he replied, "Well, in my professional opinion, to send him out into the swamp without care would not only be reckless, it would be downright immoral to do such a zing. Even with his unusual abilities, I could not recommend it."

"I see, I see," Red nodded with poorly hidden annoyance, ever aware of the crowd inching closer and closer to him every moment. Spyro remained stuck where he was while Amber continued to hold and pat his head affectionately while she pouted at her father, drawing more sympathy from the crowd. Eager to save face, Red drew a deep breath and sighed reluctantly. "Well, based on your expert advice, Jurien, and this dragon's, er, tragic circumstances," he said trying to separate his culpability in the matter, "Then I suppose that we can at least let him stay for…"

"Oh, thank you, father!" Amber squealed in delight, relieving her grip on Spyro and shooting across to Red, clutching him in her arms as a chorus of cheers broke out amongst most of the villagers. Spyro could hardly believe his eyes or ears as they began swarming past their leader and surrounding him in their multicolored haze of glittering sparkles. The shouting and hooting from Sparx was almost louder than the rest of the them as he came flying over to Spyro with his hands raised triumphantly in the air, pushing through the crowd to be at the front.

"See? I told you that you couldn't just leave, Spyro!" he cheered as the purple dragon remained staring around in a state of uncertainty at the numerous faces all smiling and cheering for him. Flash and Nina soon appeared behind Sparx, their presence putting him somewhat at ease, even as he spied Red's disgruntled gaze from behind the rest of the gathering.

"Uh, thank you," he said nervously, "I'm touched that you would like me to stay, but I don't want to be a burden."

"No burden at all, Spyro," Flash said brightly, "We are glad to have you." Spyro smiled faintly, letting himself absorb the friendly atmosphere for a moment, grateful for anything like it after the deadly turmoil he had endured the last two days. Sparx zoomed over to him, laughing cheerfully as he gave Spyro another comradely 'punch' across the side of his snout, to which the young dragon replied with a short chuckle.

"Just hang on a second!" Red's voice cut off the celebrations as the crowd gave way to him, Amber still at his side as he hovered slowly into the circle. Spyro's face straitened out as the crimson dragonfly came over, his face still that of a grump. "Let's set some parameters first," he announced coldly, "For as long as you are here, which I hope is only as long as it takes for you to recover, you will follow our laws and customs to the letter. I don't want to hear any complaints from you, understood?"

Spyro gulped, "Yes, sir."

Red turned his attention to Flash and Nina, simply pointing his finger at them before waving for them to approach him. Flash and Nina took each other's hands and silently fluttered over. "While this dragon is here, he will be in your charge. Make sure he and your son don't cause anymore trouble!" he said harshly before he turned and flew away, dragging Amber along with him as she looked back and eyed Spyro thankfully before she disappeared from view behind the crowd. "Come along everyone!" Red shouted urgently, "We have a lot of damage to attend to! I want this village back in one piece before nightfall!"

"Yes, Firmin," Flash replied squarely, though he was now long gone, looking at his wife and then at Sparx and Spyro with a chuckle. The pair of them shared in the laugh as the crowd of dragonflies began to disperse and head back towards the village, leaving Spyro alone with the three dragonflies. As the laughter died down, Spyro let out a thoughtful sigh as he seemed to stare away at nothing in particular, Sparx eyeing him queerly as he leaned in closer to him.

"What's up, big guy?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Spyro replied gently, "It's just, your leader reminds me of someone I knew in Avalar a lot like him. He was a Cheetah, named Prowlus."

"Oh," Sparx replied cautiously, "Was he a friend?" Spyro let out a chuckle as he shook his head, "No, not at all. He couldn't stand me and my friends. Thought we were nothing but trouble."

Flash and Nina hovered over closer to him beside Sparx, the she dragonfly touching her son's shoulder warmly before she remarked, "Well, it seems wherever you go, you'll always find someone like those you love and those you hate," she said whimsically.

"I didn't hate him," Spyro said reflectively, leaning his head back just enough to look at the sky, "I hope he's still alive. I hope they all are."

He didn't let himself dwell on those thoughts though, Spyro lowering his gaze beginning to limp slowly towards the village as Sparx, Flash and Nina took a place on each side of him, Sparx hovered atop his head, Flash hovered on his left shoulder and Nina took his right. He switched his eyes between them as they moved along together, a grateful smile spreading across his face as they remained at his pace while most of the other dragonflies left them behind. The one exception was the eccentric physician, Jurien, who continued to make his diagnosis from a distance as they moved onward. "I think zat leg will need some bracing," he observed aloud as he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I've never braced such a large limb before, but what the hey! What's the vorst thing zat could happen?"

Later that night, Spyro was laying with his eyes wide open beneath the Sparx family home once more, but with some noticeable differences in his appearance and accommodation. No longer laying on the ground, he found himself laying on the soft underside of a large upturned mushroom head that had rocks lined beneath its perimeter to stop it from rocking. It had in fact come from one of the tall mushroom towers that had been wrecked during Arborick's rampage, now repurposed for him as a bed. Spyro himself was covered almost entirely in a coat of the green sludge like healing remedy that Flash and Nina had given him before, but more potently made thanks to the expertise of Jurien. He felt like he was covered in cake icing, though it smelled and tasted far from as sweet as that. Despite that, its effect on him was near miraculous, his body felt a strange tingling that numbed his senses and eradicated the pain that had so agonized him, so much so that he was tempted to never take the remedy off. It was perhaps even more effective than the red healing gem he had worn around his neck before it had been destroyed. Beside his improvised but comfortable bed was a narrow, cage like leg brace made for him by Jurien, constructed from sturdy sticks and bound together in tight vines that he was to wear on his injured leg when he walked. He had only taken it off, as well as put it on, with the assistance of Sparx and his family to help him sleep, its bulky frame being uncomfortable to lay down with.

True to Red's word, the villagers had worked through the day and most of the night, repairing nearly all the damage done to their homes by the golem (and Spyro, as Red insisted he was still partially responsible). During the cleanup, Spyro had done his best to assist regardless of his less than ideal state. It was during this that Jurien had made the leg brace for him and whipped up a large amount of the healing remedy, the relief these provided allowing him to help the clean up more efficiently and win much more favor with the dragonflies, even those who remained skeptical after Red's reluctant permission for him to stay. Amber, Talia, and many of the other younger dragonflies had constantly come up to the purple dragon to give him their thanks and ask what other things he could do. Mainly to not give Red anymore reasons to want to get rid of him, Spyro had indulged their curiosity with harmless displays of his abilities, but relented eventually so as not to wear himself out. Their wide-eyed amazement was, admittedly, endearing to him, reminding him of how the mole cubs had reacted when he had done so for them back in Warfang.

But any thoughts of the past or of home invariably reignited the moments he wanted to forget; the things he did not want to discuss further with the dragonflies or even himself for that painful matter. His mind went ahead and thought back to the peculiar occurrence when he had heard Cynder's voice in his mind as clearly as though she was standing right next to him when it happened. Her voice had overlapped that of Sparx when he had been encouraging him, begging him to keep trying. He asked himself when he had heard her say those same words to him in the past, and then it hit him like the great fist of the now deceased Arborick. He remembered back to that day he and the black dragoness had snuck into the temple dojo so that she could give him some extra lessons for the upcoming trial which had once been the greatest worry of his life. He remembered how he had choked, breathing only black smoke when he tried to light the dummy on fire. He remembered the words she had used, the same ones Sparx by coincidence only hours ago.

"Keep trying! Come on, Spyro!"

Her voice echoed through his mind like it was a cave, reminding him again that it was a voice he would never hear for himself ever again. Spyro rolled on his right side with an exhausted, depressed sigh, turning his eyes up towards the little hut dangling above him where Sparx and his family were sleeping. He could hear the gentle snoring of the two adults just beneath the telltale loud snores of their son which didn't seem to bother them. As Sparx himself had said, a built-up tolerance, he supposed. Spyro smiled faintly, drawing his eyes low and tucking his head down as he curled his tail into himself. Although he was exhausted, his brain was still a hive of activity as he thought of what this all meant for him; for the dragonflies, and what it meant for what he was supposed to do.

'So is this it then? I stay here until the Chronicler tells me to go? Who knows how long that will be…' Although he had received a frosty reception from their leader, Spyro seemed to have won over the other dragonflies in just one day, even allowing them to convince him to stay with them, at least until he was fully recovered. Or so he had told himself. 'Sparx, and his parents… they opened their home to me almost straight away. Treated me like I was family… not an idol to be worshipped or a hero everyone expects to always save the day…'

Of course, he had been a hero to them that day, defeating the monstrous log golem and saving their village and people from near certain devastation. During that whole ordeal, he had been so afraid for the sake of Sparx, Flash and Nina, three persons who could hardly have been called acquaintances at that point, but had left such a strong impression on him. By the time the monster had been vanquished and the spat with Red was over, and Sparx and his family had so considerately stood by him even as the others left, Spyro knew he had begun to feel something. It was not the same, just something like it, how he felt in the presence of his three dearest companions, Flame, Ember and Cynder. He knew nothing could replicate that, even if he spent the next twelve years in the swamp with them, but it was not a feeling he expected to even be reminded of when he had fled home.

He had let down those that mattered to him the most, but he had been the savior these dragonflies needed. He had saved their home when he couldn't save his own. But if that golem was the worst danger they faced here, he couldn't imagine the local flora and fauna would be anywhere near as dangerous as Arborick. But even then, he didn't need to be idle for as long as he was here. Spyro could give himself a purpose; keep this little village safe from the toadweeds and whatever other creatures might threaten them, as long as it didn't bring him into conflict with Firmin who might take it as an attempt to take over the village. Maybe he should just rest and worry about what life meant for him here after spending more than one day in it. For all he knew, the Chronicler could summon him as soon as he went to sleep and he would be thrown into another drama not of his choosing.

'But what if I choose this?' he wondered forbiddingly, near traitorously. It was of course, just a thought, a passing wonder that didn't change where his duty lay. When that day came, Spyro knew he would return, it was what was expected, what Ignitus had wanted. It was his destiny. Perhaps though, that destiny, the one supposedly written for him thousands of years ago, was not just one path but a course of many. Perhaps this was the start of a new one on the journey to that. Or perhaps it was something entirely different. Perhaps this was, in the end, a new beginning for him.

End of Chapter 21.

Next Chapter: Days of Despair.

Note from the author:

I almost didn't post this one but I decided that I should, since it will basically end the first act of the story, allowing me to start off with the second like I had wanted to do in December. However, is with this upload I have decided that future chapters will be postponed for at least a few months while I try to get a decent way ahead. Work has started up again which will complicate things, along with the fact I have another non-Spyro related short story I want to try and get done as well. I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone, but I think it is for the best.

I'm honestly even considering changing the story to be separate "books" which would make this the end of Book One and future chapters would be Book 2, so the next chapter would not be Chapter 22 but Chapter 1 of Part II. With at least that means starting up another separate story, but I haven't decided yet. In any case though, here is a teaser of what awaits in future chapters. Thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed what I have written and your feedback is always appreciated! I hope you join me when part 2 begins.

The Legend of Spyro: Four Pillars of Aether Part II Sneak Peak:

"Three Years have passed since the Fall of Warfang and the apparent death of the Legendary Purple Dragon Spyro and Ignitus, the Fire Guardian. The Apes now rule the land with an iron fist and the few who still oppose them lose hope with every passing day as Gaul draws ever nearer his goal of resurrecting Malefor; the Dark Master.

An organization of Freedom Fighters called the "Legion of Liberation" continues to resist the occupation, among them are the three surviving members of the group of friends once known as "The Four Survivors", the dragons who survived the temple siege; Cynder, Flame and Ember. Every day they fight to stay alive, holding out hope for someone or something to turn the tide in their favor. This might have come in the form of a map that supposedly details the whereabouts of the other long thought dead Dragon Guardians who might hold the key to Gaul's plans.

Along with the new hope and questions this brings, for Cynder it brings up old questions and fears that still haven't been answered. Why is she still a target for capture by Gaul after so long? What makes her so important to him? What is it that has been kept from her and her friends, and who knows about it?

Meanwhile, unknown to the rest of the world, an alive Spyro now lives a carefree life in a remote swamp alongside the Dragonflies who have adopted him as one of their own. After three years of a tranquil life with a family to call his own, and with no word from the Chronicler in that time, his faith in his presumed destiny has dwindled. He may no longer have the heart to be the hero the world needs, especially with the belief that all those he once cared for are long gone.

But even if he is proven wrong, will it be enough to make Spyro give up the new peaceful and weightless life he has become accustomed to? And what has the Chronicler been doing all this time? He may have the answers to all of this, but it waits to be seen if those answers will offer deliverance or despair...''