(Meanwhile, back in Warfang…)
Spyro, Cynder, Flame, Jhonny, Edel, Thorr and Ray had returned to the city along with a considerable number of soldier dragons ready for everything. Once landed, they began to prepare all the inhabitants.
"... those who want to join the group of protectors, gather in the central square to be ready to leave for the most sheltered place..." Spyro dictated, "General Edel and Ember will escort you together with a group"
Meanwhile, Ray was checking out the armaments, like the snapdragon cannons.
"How are things, Ermos?" he asked a mole.
"We're almost done, General Ray" he replied, "Only it can be a risk if the enemy sneaks under the keep them"
"Don't worry, we've thought about that. A group of earth dragons will be ready to detect any movement underground. While you will be backed up by a group of electricity in case the enemy comes for you. Don't worry, we'll watch your back"
"Thank you, master"
"No, thanks to you. The city was created and reformed thanks to your collaboration. And we would never have had so much strength if it weren't for your help. We count in you and you can count in us"
When Spyro finished, he rejoined Cynder, Flame, and Johnny who were standing at the entrance to Warfang's underground city.
"We must prevent the enemy from taking us by surprise" stated Jhonny, "There is a reconnaissance group at the Great Dam led by Thorr on standby. Spyro, Cynder, you guys know the place best, can you make sure everything is in order?"
"We still don't know where they will attack us from, right?" Cynder asked.
"Sadly not, Cynder," Spyro replied, "The Dark Ones who have attacked us so far have come out of nowhere and launched surprise attacks everywhere. No one knows what their next target will be, and we don't know if they're hiding somewhere in this realm or the dark realm. For the time being, we must go on the defensive."
"In agreement. Then, we will go to the Great Dam"
"Okay," Johnny answered. He then turned to Flame, "Flame, you and I are going to check out the underground city. The enemy may try to surprise us, Thorr can't because of the extreme heat, so a couple of fire dragons will be enough"
"Okay, let's go," Flame said.
Spyro and Cynder headed out of the city towards the High Dam. For their part, Jhonny and Flame said goodbye to Edel and Ember, who were forming the group towards Lunavillage. And then they headed for the gate that led to the underground city of Warfang.
Fortunately, the door was still open and they entered without any problem. The place was like the last time Spyro and Cynder had seen it: a series of caves in which there were a series of small islands that were attached to the land; below, the abyss was filled with darkness. They were the ruins of the ancient city. From some walls, lava gushed out and rushed to the bottom.
Both dragons went to work gathering the gems to seal the gateway.
"This time, we will keep a gem" Jhonny warned as they picked up a fifth key gem, "This will serve as an emergency entrance in case we need to enter the ruins again"
"You're definitely better than me at this," Flame commented once they finished and closed the door.
"Hum?" Jhonny asked puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"As to being a guardian. You lead others quite well, think of various ways to defend the city, and are not afraid of what you may face in this war."
"Well, as I said before... you would have been excellent with the position too"
"And you are also very humble. You may be right, but the way you play it, there is no doubt that there is a big difference. I wish Ash would realize that… He gets it into his head that being a fire guardian is being the strongest fire dragon of them all…"
"Don't tell me he's jealous of me"
Once outside, they continued to walk along the city walls, making sure that all defenses were perfect.
"No, it's more like he sees you as someone he wants to outdo," Flame said, "I think that's why he challenges Drago so much in practice. It is not that of the 'honor of fire dragons', it is more that he believes that Drago would become your successor. And that is why he is not focused when it comes to fighting and loses in all those training sessions they have had "
The guardian gave a small laugh as he realized the mistake made by one of his students.
"I realized a long time ago that it doesn't really mean that, the position gets whoever really deserves it..." Jhonny answered, "Drago still needs to grow a little more... and your son should value friendship a little more than rivalry as my kids"
"Yeah, I just hope sending him to the reflection cave was a good idea…"
"If he wants to pass the test, he must put aside that feeling of rivalry and realize what his friends offer him. But I assure you that…"
But they fell silent, for black clouds began to appear in the sky. They were not ordinary clouds, but rather, a sign that darkness was coming.
"The beginning of the war is coming" thought Jhonny, "At the most, I calculate a couple of hours before those black clouds spread completely. And something tells me that the dark armies will begin to rise and the war will begin. Spyro, Cynder, be careful…"
(Meanwhile…)
(Ash's Pov)
Ash, meanwhile, had eaten his words because despite having entered the cave and labyrinth, he was as lost as a needle in a haystack. Every path he took made him lose himself more and more: left, left, center and right, it seemed like an endless road.
"Damn," he said to himself, "I have to find my way out before the others beat me. I must overcome the streak I have against Drago. If he beat me…"
"You don't want that to happen, do you?" asked an echoing voice.
Ash went on high alert and looked around. For a moment, he felt some fear until he realized that it was just a reflection of him… or rather, several of them. Thinking that he had imagined it, he continued walking.
"You don't want to lose to Drago, do you?" the voice asked again.
"Who are you?" Ash yelled.
A laugh echoed. The young dragon, angry, began to launch fireballs towards the mirrors that confused him. However, that didn't stop the laughter, it only made it sound louder in his head. Desperate to escape, he ran in any direction, but the laughter followed him wherever he went.
Tired of running and not escaping, he stopped and shouted again:
"Who are you? Show up if you're brave!"
The laughter lowered the volume, but did not stop. Then the same voice said to him:
"It's ironic that you say that to yourself. Still don't get it? Well, look… here I am"
Ash turned to see another crystal reflecting him. For a moment, his reflection also looked at him in fear, until he stopped imitating him and came out of the glass with a smile.
"This can't be..." Ash mused.
"Hahaha, do you doubt it?" laughed the reflection, "That's why you're not worthy of being a guardian. On the contrary, surely Drago can be, isn't that why you challenged him again and again?"
"Yes, that's right... and I'll tell you what: that's none of your business!" Ash replied in anger.
Ash shot a flare at him. But, as in a mirror, his reflection struck back at him with the same movement.
"Ha, pathetic," the reflection mocked him.
(Rayla's Pov)
On her part, Rayla was also spinning with the echo of her reflection that confused her:
"Stop!" he yelled at her.
The laughter stopped and, just like with Ash, his reflection came out of the crystal and spoke to him.
"Come on, I'm your next opponent" she told her, "If you are not able to defeat me, surely you will face your greatest fear..."
Rayla was furious at this and expelled a strong discharge from her mouth. At that, her reflection did the same. The impact of both was brutal, but in the end her opponent's attack was over and Rayla received a terrible shock that left her in shock.
"If that's all, only death awaits you once you go to war," her reflection mocked, "You always wanted to be important to your family. But you fear that if you fail, you may die trying…"
"No..." she replied as she stood up, "I'm not afraid..."
"That is what you say. But, when you faced Malefor the first time, your blood ran cold at one point in the battle…"
"That is not true!" she said, launching another volley.
But, again, she attacked her back.
(Flint Pov)
Flint was battling fiercely against his reflection, but every attack he made his evil self reflected perfectly or even better. Panting, he got back up. Compared to him, his reflection didn't look tired.
"I'm not going to give up" he told him, "I will defeat you... and I will get out of the labyrinth..."
Before he continued, her reflection knocked him down again.
"How do you think you, an inexperienced, can get out faster than the guardians did?" the other dragon mocked, "Admit it, you are afraid that others will consider you a failure, that is why you stay behind the others and you are only the one who serves to defend..."
(Nina's Pov)
Nina was quite lost: as soon as she entered, the straight path divided into three forks. Going to the left, this one forked into three more and (after taking the right), then into two more (right again). There was no sign of Ash, Flint or Rayla (surely they hadn't taken the same route as her). The only company she had at the moment were the reflections of herself that her walls showed. There was no question why this place was known as the 'crystal labyrinth'. She stopped to rest for a moment.
"Uff" she thought, "I seem to walk in circles"
She tried to sharpen her hearing: it was true, not the slightest breeze could be heard from her. It was almost as if she didn't have it, but she could breathe it. She, too, couldn't feel the ground or the mana of the others. Apparently she was alone. The only thing she could do was keep moving forward, but. For some strange reason, the road was getting darker and darker.
"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" said a voice.
Nina became alert and looked everywhere: there was no one but her and… her reflections on the walls.
"After all, you are a creature of the dark…" her voice told her again.
"Who are you?" she asked her, "Where are you?"
She spun around once or twice more to make sure she was alone. She still didn't see anyone.
"Can't you guess?" she spoke her voice again, "I'm here"
Nina turned to a wall. There was only the reflection of her. Slowly she approached him.
Suddenly, her reflection moved without her doing it first and her eyes also glowed crimson red. Slowly, she got out of the crystal she was trapped by. Nina got defensive, but she was a little scared.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You know it yourself: I am you," she replied, "I am the part of you that accepts and loves the dark. The same part that hurt Drago that time…"
"No, you can't be me..."
Her reflection laughed. Then, all the other reflections stopped following the original owner of her and started following the one that had come out of the glass:
"Of course I'm you" they said.
"No, you can't be me!" Nina yelled as she blew a puff of shadow at her evil reflection.
Her reflection did not move… nor was it hurt.
"I'm the part of the darkness that gives you power... you can't kill me..."
"No! leave me alone…!" she yelled and started throwing mad fits.
(Aurora Pov)
Aurora, for her part, was not having a better time than Nina: she, too, was just as lost. Over and over, she counted the steps she had taken to see which way to go.
"It's useless" she thought, "It won't do any good"
She turned left again and then through the center when she got the chance. Feeling simple curiosity, she turned back, expecting to see her brother.
"Drago must also be lost" she said to herself.
"At least he's braver than you" someone laughed.
And as with Nina, it was the reflection of Aurora.
"You are the part of me that is darkness and I must face, aren't you?" she asked.
"You're not as smart as you seem," she laughed at her reflection, "That's why you lack the guts to fight."
"Do not make fun of me!"
Aurora released a cold blast from her mouth, but her reflection was unfazed by the attack. Given this, the young dragon transformed her tail into an ice blade and pounced on her enemy, but her reflection imitated her and her imitated blade ended up tearing the original to pieces.
As Aurora moved to try something else, her own reflection slammed into her body and they crashed into a crystal wall. She then put him on top of her preventing her from moving.
"You're weak" she told her, "You're just the brainiac of the group, nothing really useful, for this war, real soldiers are needed and you're the least of the group... Too bad you're not like your brother..."
"Let me go!" Aurora yelled trying to break free.
Once free she tried to face the reflection of her.
"Drago and I have our differences, but I have learned to accept them" answered Aurora.
"If it's true, how come I exist?" she sneered at her reflection, "I'm the part of you that still has some misgivings against Drago… he has all of your father's greatest attention because they're both fire dragons and he can teach him things you can't."
Despite the fact that she long ago let Aurora feel that feeling of being a little less important. Although she was aware that she was part of the test and she knew that she would face something like this, she felt in her heart that what her reflection was telling her was true.
(Drago Pov)
Drago was also completely lost: after a few turns, he was dizzy from seeing his reflection so many times and not finding any way out of the maze. Tired, he leaned back near the wall. He was like that until, from the wall, a claw came out and touched him.
Pulling away as fast as he could, he turned around just in time to see his reflection coming out of the glass wall. Defensively, the young dragon asked:
"Who are you?"
"That's what I should ask you" he answered coldly the reflection of him.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you a dragon or do you feel you may have another nature... a more 'human' one, perhaps?"
Drago's blood ran a little cold upon hearing that.
"I am a dragon" he replied, "I was born as such"
"You cannot escape your hidden nature" the reflection of him replied, "You have a human part on your father's side. Just like him, sooner or later you will succumb to darkness…"
"Shut up!" Drago yelled throwing a ball of fire at him. His reflection mirrored him and both attacks hit the air.
