The Realms of Chaos

Chapter 11: Robin

Rating: PG by definition.

Author's Notes: Once again, I meant for the fancharacters as only a little gift. Come the later chapters, they'll be used sparingly. They won't take up a lot of space, not like this chapter. (Which is filled to the brim with fancharacters. =p)

Hmmm...I think it says somewhere in the rules that authors can't use other characters without acknowledging their creators, soooo...

Disclaimer (by order of appearances):
Spyro, Ripto, Professor, Elora, etc. are copyrighted to Universal now, sadly.
Nazza is copyrighted by Nazza.
Eledor is copyrighted by Power to the Wol/Scom: Evol Sidekick.
Crystal and Dark are copyrighted by Kataiya-Rena.

Spyrius, Spyretta, and Syi are copyrighted by Redwalgrl.

Scott is copyrighted by Silvermoon.

Robin's looks are copyrighted by Robin. I, however, own her personality. She only gave me the looks to base the character off of.

looks back at the list Dang! That's a lot of fancharacters! Okay, no more fancharacter submissions from this point on! Understand? (The sequel to this won't have this many fancharacters.) Oh, and I own Snowflake, Changeling, Wart, Jira, Fenre, Bane, Moss, the Guardians, the Gigas Crystals, Laigon, Cobra, and the rest. =)


"Snowflake...Snowflake..."

Someone was calling her name through the blackish-bluish fog in her mind. Snowflake cursed herself for letting herself fall into this state yet again. She had promised herself not to fall victim for such an attack after the Tyrusian Lizardmen nearly tore off her wing and leg. Why was she the damsel in distress in her party? She simply despised the stories of those lace-covered, prissy princesses that did nothing but swoon in the face of danger and fall victim to the oldest tricks in the book.

'That's it! If I can hear their voices, I can wake up!' she thought to herself. It took every ounce of will in her body, but soon her eyelids lifted open and the world became known to her.

"She's alright!" the owner of the voice called. Snowflake screamed; Wart's bumpy face was hovering right above her. She tried to back away, but she found she didn't have the strength to. Snowflake gave an indignant snort as she lay on her back helplessly underneath the supervision of Changeling's Lab Pet. She heard Eledor's voice to her right.

"I knew our magic and your herbs would work wonders. She didn't even sleep for the whole day like I expected her to!" Eledor said gleefully. That's when Snowflake noticed that it was indeed the middle of the afternoon. Once again, she cursed herself for falling victim to Jira. Eledor seemed to read her mind. "Don't feel bad; I haven't seen a person survive that kind of death spell until now."

"The spell that Jira cast on you is none other then the Touch of Death spell." Elora started to explain as Snowflake sat up and drank the very strong herbal tea that Wart handed her. "What it does is to slowly spread magical ice throughout your body; enough to badly pain you but not enough to severely kill you. It spreads through your body, bringing agony and torture, until the ice finally reaches your heart and punctures it." Snowflake stopped drinking by this point, her hands trembling. She didn't realize how close she was from dying. "That's why it took so long to revive you; we basically had to keep heating your body until you returned to normal."

For once in several days, Snowflake truly smiled. She looked around her at the faces of her comrades. These people really were her friends and not just travel partners forcing her to collect some magic-infused gems to save a world that she wasn't even born in. She saw Spyro, Ripto, Wart, Eledor, Elora watch her intently, each of them wondering if she was really all right. Just then, Snowflake noticed the absence of the three dragons that she and her two original partners saved, along with the disappearance of a certain blue wolf that happened to betray them in a rainforest. Where were they?

"Hey, where's Spyrius, Spyretta, Nazza and Scott?" Snowflake asked to Wart. Wart was applying some kind of salve to her badly cut feet for the sores to heal faster. He looked into her eyes, his claws still dripping with minty-smelling goo.

"I sent them away. A group of ten is easier to track then a group of six, and with the Outlaws of the Balance out for our blood, it's safe not to take chances...." Wart stated plainly. He bent down to once again rub the salve on her wounds. What he didn't expect is for Snowflake to swing her feet swiftly, kicking Changeling's lackey in the chin. Wart sat up, momentarily stunned by the sudden assault. Snowflake pointed a claw at his throat.

"I know what you're planning! You want the Outlaws of the Balance to kill the people not working for Changeling so that your furry mistress can grab the Purple Gigas Crystal for herself! It's the old 'Divide and Conquer' routine, and I'm surprised my friends didn't see it before!" Snowflake hissed at Wart, who sat there and rubbed his chin in pain. He stood up and wiped the remaining traces of his salve on his bumpy scales.

"No, I didn't! I sent them away just this morning on a route that ends at the foot of Robin's mountain. When we hike over there, they'll be waiting for us safe and sound!" Wart said calmly. Snowflake shot Wart a death glare. If her feet weren't covered in salve, or the fact that she was very drowsy, she would've stood up.

"Why should we trust you, you little winged toad?" She asked. Spyro, exasperated by Snowflake's shouting, cried out, "Snowflake, drop it!" but the snow-white dragon ignored it. Wart, upon hearing this very annoying insult, began to shout back at her.

"I didn't say you had to trust me. I want you to believe that I'm not going to stab you in the back for once! Quit calling me Toad!" Wart screamed at her with an unusual vigor. The white dragon seemed shocked at Wart's sudden outburst. She sat there, staring at the now fuming wart-covered creature. Eledor, Elora, Spyro, and Ripto each looked to each other, but they couldn't find the strength to help the situation in front of them. All of them silently decided to simply wait and see what happened between these two.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Lab Pet sighed and then said calmly, "I know for a fact that I'm not good-looking, I'm the lackey of Changeling, and that I sometimes follow her every command. In fact, I used to be what you imagine me to be; a cruel follower of Changeling that delighted in seeing a creature suffer. That is, until I started to feel their pain also. Changeling promised me power, and yet she beats me to a blood pulp when she feels like it. She promised me beauty, and yet she mutated me with unknown chemicals and made me an ugly monster. She promised me fortune, and yet all I get to call my own is a sleeping bag and a bunch of scars on my back. I don't follow Changeling. I don't even like her! I'm tired of people assuming that I'm her little Lap Dog just because I look the part!"

There was an awkward silence following his speech. Snowflake looked very ashamed of herself, looking down at her cut feet in defeat. Tears formed into her eyes, and sometimes a stray drop would fall to the stone ground. "I'm very sorry, Wart. I had no idea you suffered through so much. It's just that these last few weeks have been a living nightmare for me. Giant monsters, lizardmen, evil fauns, and sea serpents with curved swords chased us at every corner, and I was the first to label you as a bad guy. Forgive me?"

"Yes, I forgive. I'm not one to hold a grudge, unless you happen to be a dark furred cat with a purple robe, a black cape, and a really nasty attitude!" The two of them shook hands, despite the fact that Wart's hands were still covered in strong-smelling salve. Snowflake took a moment to wipe her hands clean on her skirt. 'Man, just like back home I'm making a fool of myself here. I bet Spyro and Ripto think of me as the biggest clown in Avalar.' she thought to herself, pretending to be concentrating on scrubbing her hands clean with the rather tattered cloth of her skirt.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Elora stepped towards her, examining her just like she would when Snowflake was working for her those many weeks ago. "At least we know you're well. Your reflexes are quite polished." Elora said dryly, referring to the kick she had delivered to Wart's chin. At that comment, Snowflake's cheeks turned rosy with embarrassment. Elora always knew how to embarrass her, be it at work or in the middle of a large mountain range filled with bloodthirsty fauns.

"Well, she's able to walk, insult, and kick without any signs of fatigue. Can we go now and get that annoying Purple Gigas Crystal before Changeling does?" Ripto asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as Shortstuff was for once!" Spyro exclaimed. Elora gave them both a look that clearly said "Wait until I'm finished checking our patient!"

After about a few minutes of reflex, sight, hearing, and muscle tests, Snowflake was allowed to rise to her feet. She gave her friends an uneasy smile as she stood up and tested her feet. "Well, it looks like we don't have a choice anymore in this. It's either do or die now, and the obstacle is the Purple Gigas Crystal."

"Do or die. I've always liked living by those odds." Spyro said with a mischievous tinkle in his eye. 'Well I sure don't!' Snowflake responded in her mind, but she chose to say nothing.

Without another word, the mismatched group of dragons, Riptoc, faun, and rhynoc raced towards their one goal; the Purple Gigas Crystal.

"Fenre find slayers of Jira! Fenre make fellow Outlaws proud!"

The little skittish faun that had participated in the capture of Wart's group ran on the mountain trail, following the so-called "tracks" of the combined group of ten. He had four rhynocs following him, all of them finding the faun hard to keep up with. The truth was, the scratch marks that he saw on the ground were not the team's tracks at all, but instead was just the footprints of some drunken Outlaws of the Balance bringing back a couple sacks of booze for their companions to share from. Fenre didn't know about this; his determination to please the dead Jira muddled his sense of tracking. He kept both eyes on the ground, leaving his faun senses to guide him away from any pitfalls.

"Looking for someone?" A voice called just in front of them. Fenre skidded to a halt, his eyes still down on the ground. He grinned a boyish grin as he looked up from the path to the stranger standing before him. It was a tall, lean female that reminded him of Jira. He did a little dance as he explained his predicament to the stranger, ignoring his friends' pleas to run away.

"Yes, oh yes! Mistress Jira killed by white dragon and friends. They escape before Jira could use them to receive Balance Stone. Fenre trampled by them. It hurt much!" Fenre explained. When Snowflake and her friends had trampled Fenre back during their big escape, they had caused Fenre to lose quite a bit of his I.Q. His brain was now muddled and confused, constantly shifting through broken pieces of memory and intelligence. His only solid memory was that of a dead Jira lying in a pool of her own blood, and for some odd reason he knew more about Jira then his own self.

At this point, the rhynocs had fled in terror. Fenre didn't notice, but instead waited for an answer from the purple-furred stranger in front of him. She stepped closer, revealing a purple robe, a black cape, and a cat-like demeanor. Had he not suffered from the fall, Fenre would've recognized his new guest as Changeling. However, in his current state, Fenre saw nothing wrong with the current situation he was in. Changeling smiled at the faun, fanged canines glistening.

"Is all of this true?" Changeling asked with absolute interest in her voice. By now, she was a mere arm's length away from the faun. Fenre didn't sense any danger, even when he saw the claws Changeling's fingers possessed. "Yep! All Fenre said true!"

"Good." With a swipe of her claws, she seized the faun by his shoulders. Fenre yelped as he found himself in a position that Wart often found himself in; staring bleakly into the slitted purple eyes of his captor as she held him tight by the shoulders. Her smile became one of malice and deceit. "A bright faun like you is bound to know everything I would need to know. Where's the Outlaws of the Balance's hideout? Where are Snowflake and the other's heading? Where's my lackey Wart?"

Fenre's eyes darted from side to side in search of a possible exit. Changeling squeezed harder, drawing blood. "Answer me!" She shouted.

Fenre started to whimper. "Fenre's hideout just front of here. The others head in direction of Robin Mountain. Wart be with them. Everything Fenre say true! Honest, honest!"

Changeling took a few seconds to let the information sink in. 'So, Wart was able to gain the dragon's trust. For once, he did something useful...' She started to walk in a direction that Fenre was unfamiliar of, carrying the faun with her. Soon, they stood face-to-face with a large horde parked on one of the large pathways winding through the mountain range. Without another word, she tossed Fenre to Laigon, who was chewing thoughtfully on the meat of a slave that had died that morning. The yellow sea serpent grabbed the squirming faun and smiled devilishly at his new victim.

"Use this creature to find yourself a whole bunch of new slaves for you to torture; slaves that call themselves the Outlaws of the Balance. They can fight back, so it would be best to bring some of my brutish dragon followers with you." Changeling explained. At the sound of new slaves, Laigon gave a whoop of joy. Some tortured creatures seated next to him groaned, for more slaves meant that the rations would only turn smaller. With the grace known to his people, Laigon shackled Fenre, ending the poor faun's revenge against the slayers of Jira before it even started.

"But Mistress!" Laigon questioned when he remembered something she told him that morning. "We're going to Robin's Mountain! If I'm heading to the Outlaws of the Balance..."

"You will meet us there. If we're not at the base of the mountain by the time you get there, you know the roads to my castle. Understand?" Laigon quickly nodded to his mistress. He knew that if you didn't understand, Changeling had her ways to make sure you never misunderstood her again. "Good. Just make sure that the Outlaws of the Balance are wiped off the map. Enslave them, kill them, rip their meat from their bones. I don't care how you do it, just do it quickly!"

Laigon quickly dashed off to the tents as fast as his lizard legs could take him, ready to summon anyone strong enough to help him on this quest. Changeling took one look at where he once stood and then started to walk away from the troop. No one questioned her; Changeling always liked thinking in the comfort of being alone. Only Fenre watched her, his dire confusion of her cruelty forming into large tears.

She kept walking until the din of the horde members became a low rumble. A stray wind blew, making her fur ruffle. Smiling to herself, she took out the Silver Gigas Crystal from her pouch and held it up to the afternoon sun. 'It all started with this one crystal, and soon I will have them all...'

Suddenly, the image of a large monster appeared before her. It was a large, muscular dog that looked like someone bred the largest wolf on the face of Avalar with a Yeti, for it was almost as large as Grunge. It had a barrel-chested body, clawed feet, red eyes, and a mouth filled with jagged, yellow teeth. And yet, the monster had a look of pleading in its eyes. The creature also known as Squall, the Silver Gigas Guardian, gave a mournful howl before disappearing into thin air.

Changeling was undaunted by this. "You can cry all you want Squall, but I know that the crystals belong to me!" She tumbled the crystal once in her hand before putting it away. She began to walk back to her troops, but not before turning her head to the spot where Squall once stood for a final comeback.

"And that's coming from the Silver Gigas Holder herself!"

Robin's Mountain reared its ugly head in front of the group of travelers just when the sun set into the west. It was just as Wart had described it, a hawk-shaped mountain that seemed to be shouting angrily to the heavens themselves. As soon as the rays of the sun disappeared, a cold wind blew past. Snowflake, born and raised in a frosty mountain, was unshaken by this wind. Her comrades, however, shivered and huddled their bodies together in an attempt to keep warm.

"Hey guys!" Sure enough, Nazza and the three dragons that joined them in the Mystic Mountains came bounding up to them. They too looked like they were freezing, especially the dragon Spyrius, who kept blowing fire on his feet in order to keep them from freezing to the ground.

Wart looked upward to Hawk Mountain. "It looks like the only way up for some of us is by climbing that rope ladder right there." He swept his claw in the direction of the remains of the rickety bridge that hung out of the Hawk's beak in disrepair. It had once been a bridge that led to another proud mountain, but time had worn the crossway down to only its bare bones. Elora, Ripto, Eledor, and Nazza, not gifted with the ability to fly, gave one look at the ladder and each said, "Are you nuts?" to Wart.

Snowflake crossed her arms. "Don't be such a baby, Ripto. I may be able to pull you out of a crevice in Winter Tundra, but flying several thousand feet into the air carrying you? I'd die of exhaustion!" Wart, Spyro, and the other three dragons made sounds of agreement. That didn't help matters. Soon the whole group was arguing about rockslides, the chances of falling, phobias of heights, and other such matters. Finally, Wart decided that while the flightless ones climbed, the dragons would follow them and catch them in case any such thing happens.

"Once again, you create a great idea. Where do you come up with such plans, Wart?" Elora cried. Wart looked down at the ground, suddenly taking interest in the dead twig near his right foot. "I have no idea." was his only reply before the troop began to scale the mountain.

One by one, Elora, Nazza, Ripto, and Eledor grasped the wooden planks of the bridge and began to climb. Just when all of them were attached to the bridge and heading towards the top, Wart gave the signal for the dragons to launch into the air. Like graceful birds, the winged lizards gave mighty flaps of their leathery wings and began to follow the climbers at a reasonable pace, each of them keeping an eye on them. No one said a word as they kept to the grim task ahead of them; heading to the dizzy heights of Hawk Mountain.

Everything went fine until about halfway up. Ripto reached a claw onto a plank, only for the wood to give way underneath his hands. Forgetting Snowflake's warning of "don't look down", he watched the plank shatter off the mountain's wall and fall into a dark void. Ripto froze, the color draining from his skin. He clutched the ropes of the bridge in a death grip and refused to budge an inch. Eledor, Elora, and Nazza held on uneasily behind him.

"Get moving, Shorty! If you don't, that Gigas Crystal is only going to fall into the wrong hands!" Nazza barked. Eledor and Elora agreed openly. Ripto swallowed the rising bile in his throat long enough to whimper,

"I...can't." Spyro, despite the situation, gave him a rather cruel smile as he hovered nearby like a large purple insect. For moments the four creatures rocked precautiously on the rope bridge, unable to move due to Ripto's panic attack. Finally, after what had seemed to be forever, Snowflake wrapped her arms around Ripto's waist and pried him off the wooden bridge.

"Where would you be without me, Ripto?" Snowflake asked with a comforting grin on her face. Ripto peered downwards into the void.

He replied rather dryly, "Duh. I'd be discovered at the bottom of an abyss in Winter Tundra clutching my scepter in my dead, frozen arms. Of course, I'm wondering if this is any better!"

After that incident, nothing out of the ordinary happened during their climb. Elora, Eledor, and Nazza climbed and the dragons flew. Snowflake's wings got quite a workout carrying both herself and Ripto, but luckily the hardships of the last few weeks had made both their forms lighter then usual. Soon, they were at the top of the peak. Everyone either climbed or swooped into the mouth of the mountain eagle, ready to meet whatever monster lurked within.

"It's about time you showed up. I was starting to think if that bridge was really stable enough." The group gaped with amazement. Here they expected some dank, smelly cave where a creature as horrifying as Grunge or Kraken resided, and instead they were greeted with a candle-lit place of beauty and wonder where a human sorceress resided. Robin was sitting pretty on a silken purple cushion amid some sacred purple gems carved in the shapes of ten creatures. Elora was the only one to notice that the carvings were none other then perfect figures of themselves, right down to the exact rips in her clothing. Robin took no heed at this. She rose and stepped over the carvings, approaching the group with hardened purple eyes.

"You creatures should be lucky. From what my magic tells me, one of you is the holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal." She swept her hand to the podium in the middle of the large, cave-sized room. Imbedded in the middle of the simple rock podium was the object of their desires. Without thinking, Spyro took a step forward...

"Don't even think about it, you greedy little dragon. You already carry a Gigas Crystal, and you can only be the Holder of one. If someone was the holder of all six, then the Realms would fall into chaos, won't they?" Robin said plainly.

She narrowed her eyes at something above Spyro. Spyro felt a shiver travel down his spine when he heard a familiar sinister hiss in the back of his mind. "And I can't stand anything that Kraken follows."

"So, that just leaves Wart, Spyrius, Spyretta, and Scott to grab the crystal. We wasted our time climbing that godforsaken bridge!" Ripto shouted.

Robin laughed modestly at him, and then replied, "You can watch your friends take the test of champions. From what I've heard from the friends of those who failed, watching the tests alone is very entertaining..."

Scott stood up on his hind legs and unsheathed his sword. "What is this task?" Wart, Spyrius, and Spyretta murmured their agreement. Robin moved with an amazing grace from standing in front of them to a cushion on the ground. She snapped her fingers, and all the candles extinguished themselves. Only the glows of the Red, Blue, Green, and Purple Gigas Crystals lit the room. Snowflake was in awe, watching the colors from her friends and herself cast beautiful shadows around the room.

"All you have to do is to get to the Gigas Crystal." Robin's voice echoed, sounding louder then usual. The four dragons quickly braced themselves to run. "No, no, no!" Robin said in a mocking tone. "That would be much too easy for four bright dragons such as yourselves. We just have to make it...tougher!"

When Robin uttered the word "tougher", the room suddenly burst with a rich, fiery red light that emitted from the Purple Gigas Crystal. For a moment, the entire group was blinded. Claws were raised against squinted eyeballs, every one of them wondering what sort of trick she was performing. Soon, the answer was revealed to them when they all noticed the sudden change in temperature.

The room was now filled with lava rivers. Robin had shapeshifted the entire cavern from a nice sanctuary for the Purple Gigas Crystal into the exact replica of the inside of a volcano. Candles became stalactites, ornaments became littered bones, and the walls were now made of volcanic rock. Sweat poured down the four dragon's faces, from both deep thought and the intense heat, as they looked for a possible route to the Gigas Crystal.

Just then, Robin burst out of a nearby lava river, now in the shape of a black-scaled Lava dragon. She was now a species designed for navigating heats no other creature can handle, complete with a snake-like body for easier swimming through lava and tough scales that resemble obsidian. Purple eyes flared with both mockery and mischievousness.

"What's the matter? Can't take the heat?" Robin hissed in a guttural voice. Spyrius stepped forward.

"I'm not afraid of fire and lava whatsoever! The heat doesn't even faze me!" He cried triumphantly. He charged forward, his horns pointing straight at her vulrnable throat. Robin hissed in annoyance at the dragon's optimistic views, and then with a quick flick of her dragon neck, sent Spyrius flying into a nearby stalactite.

"BROTHER!" Spyretta screamed as she ran to help him.

Wart examined the situation in front of him. Spyrius and Spyretta were now fighting the large snake-like dragon that was once the Guardian of the Purple Gigas Crystal. Scott has his sword drawn and his shield in front of him as he approached the creature's back, hoping to strike a weak spot. Suddenly, Wart's eyes lit up. He tapped Scott's shoulders to get his attention, and then blurted out the craziest observation the dragon had ever said.

"Wait, this is all an illusion!"

Scott stared at him for a few seconds, letting the dragon's words sink in. "Are you mad, Wart? This is too real to be an illusion!" Wart flashed Scott a crazy smile that gave Scott the impression that the young mutated dragon had finally snapped.

"Robin's element is not fire, lava, and shape shifting; she's of the element of the mind itself! She's using her powers to beam the images of a volcano right here, down to the very heat of it. She's so skilled at magic, that she's tricking all five of our senses! Hot, cold, pressure, and pain is also fake here!"

Scott watched as the Lava Dragon snapped at Spyrius and Spyretta. "Prove that this is an illusion then." Wart's mood lowered when he saw Scott's ideas flash across his face. He didn't believe him for a second. Scott thought that he had lost his mind. Wart looked down at the lava river formed by his feet, and then back at Scott. Closing his eyes, Wart did something that no dragon should do unless they were raised from the lava themselves.

He dipped his left foot into the lava river.

Pain. It hit his brain instantly like a brick crashing down on his senses. Wart screamed as he felt heat eat away at his left leg, stripping the flesh down to the bone and then crumbling the bone into dust in the sheer heat of the magma. Tears of pain sprang to his eyes; compared to this, Changeling's abuse was nothing more then a little bee sting. Scott watched him with great interest as Wart summoned up all of his strength to pull his leg out of the lava.

Nothing was wrong with it. Wart stared at his foot in half-disbelief, almost expecting to see a blackened stump where it once stood. With joy he flexed his toes, staring at the neon yellow claws and the individual warts on each toe as if it was a miracle it was in one piece. He looked down at the lava once more.

"Well, experiments always need a second test run." he said to himself. He dipped his foot into the lava again, experienced the same mind-numbing pain, and pulled it back out. Nothing was wrong with it. He turned to Scott and saw that the dragon believed him now. Quickly, Wart formed a plan in his head.

"Scott, distract Robin. I'm going after the Gigas Crystal." Wart ordered. Scott pointed his sword at Wart's chest. The lackey of Changeling swallowed, half-expecting Scott to run him through right then and there. For a while, no one spoke.

"Oh, no. I'm going with you. Just because you proved that Robin's lava is an illusion doesn't make you the true Gigas Holder." Wart looked back to the Spy siblings, and saw that they were still busy with the Robin dragon.

"Fine, but we'll have to work in a team, Scott."

The two dragons ran forward, jumping over any rivers of lava that got in their way. Just when all that was between them was solid ground, the worst thing that could possibly happen happened.

"Looking for this?" Changeling's voice ran through his ears. Changeling in all her evil glory leaned against the podium of the Purple Gigas Crystal, her tail flicking behind her in a sly matter. "I must say, you two are smarter then that Spyretta and Spyrius pair. They were no match for my power." Changeling cried, her voice becoming more like Robin with each word she spoke. Wart looked into Changeling's eyes, and saw that while they were purple, they were not slitted like cat's eyes. Instead, he was staring into the round, human pupils of Robin. He smiled inwardly, but hid his expression from both Scott and the Changeling impersonator.

"But, you're not strong enough to get past this!" She said. She quickly pulled out the ever-famous leather pouch that held the stolen Gigas Crystals. Yellow and Silver tumbled into Changeling/Robin's outstretched claws. Scott charged towards her with his sword outstretched in one hand and his shield held in front of him with his other hand.

Buzzzzzap!

Wart cringed when he heard the unmistakenable sound of the magic that Changeling called "The Gigas Lightning". Every inch of Scott's body was covered with light yellow electricity, the result of the combined power of the two Gigas Crystals. The dragon screamed with the pain that was ripping through every inch of his body. His form slumped, and soon only the magic of the Gigas Crystals was holding him up. His sword fell to the ground with a clatter. Robin posing as Changeling stopped the magic flow, and the dragon fell onto the rock ground like a puppet that just got its strings cut.

"Scott, get up!" Wart shouted, daring not to say more of what he knew. Scott coughed twice. Wart could smell the sickening odor of burnt flesh. The bronze dragon shuddered once.

"I...can't..." Scott said no more. He closed his eyes, and then he fell into unconsciousness. Wart looked back at his still friend, and then back at Robin. Wart shivered. "Well, I guess it's up to me!" Wart said. He dug his claws into the rock ground and braced for impact.

When he had dipped his feet into the lava, only the affected areas burnt with the fire of the purest pain. Now, he was feeling his whole body being torn apart by the very magic that Changeling was famous for. Like Scott, the mutated dragon screamed as the pain arched through every part of his body. Wart could feel his mind slip, his body becoming colder...

'No!' Wart took a painful step forward. The electricity continued to flow through his veins, making him feel like someone was boiling him in hot oil. He closed his eyes, not giving Robin the satisfaction of his tears of pain. 'I'm not letting my friends down!'

Wart started to step forward, his eyes closed and every inch of his body burning with pain. Each step felt like he was stepping through lava, but he took it quite well. He began to chant to himself.

"It's only an illusion." Wart licked the top of his mouth, feeling electricity arch through his mouth. His bones felt like they were ready to snap underneath her power.

"It's only an illusion." He could feel his skin peel back, revealing charred flesh. His eyeballs sizzled and felt like they were going to burst like popcorn kernels.

"It's only an illusion." Robin watched him with great interest; she had never seen a person succeed in this test before.

His stomach felt the sudden pressure of something solid. The podium. Wart blindly searched across the stone podium until his pained fingers wrapped around a diamond shape. With the last remaining ounce of his energy, Wart yanked with all of his might.

"It's only an illusion!"

The fire burning through his veins stopped immediately. The dragon sucked in sweet tasting air, happy to be alive. Wart's ears picked up no sound of churning magma, but instead picked up the sounds of gasps from all of his friends. He opened his eyes. He was back in Robin's cavern, and there was no sign that there was ever Changeling or any lava flows. Scott, Spyrius, and Spyretta were back on their feet and they looked like nothing was wrong with them. 'It was only an illusion. I was right for once!' Wart thought. But then, he saw a sight that sickened him to his stomach.

"My will is yours, Gigas Holder." Robin said as she bowed to him. "Ever since that fated crystal was nestled there, I never beheld a dragon that could take punishment like that and still keep going. You truly have the mind to be my holder." Wart's knees felt like they've been turned into wet noodles.

"No...It can't be..."

He looked down to his palm and saw the Purple Gigas Crystal glittering in his hand. The magic warmed his palm, as if mocking him with its lethal power. Wart fell to his knees, the weight of his responsibility crushing his soul. No matter how much he tried to deny it, the proof was right there in his palm, glowing with its dark purple light.

Wart was now the Holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal.

After the battle against Robin's powerful magic and the retrieval of the Purple Gigas Crystal, the large group fell asleep inside the large cave, exhausted by their day's work. Everyone was curled up around the same area, which was the empty podium that once held the Purple Gigas Crystal, except for Wart. He fell asleep far away from the group, the Purple Gigas Crystal still clutched in his claw. He had cried himself to sleep, all the pain and worry suffered in that day hitting him full force. In all his worry and regret, he didn't even notice the fact that someone had draped his shivering body with a spare blanket shortly before falling asleep...

Morning broke, lighting up the dismal landscape. Robin conjured them a breakfast before fading away like Kraken did in his cave. Everyone talked as usual during their meal, each of them eating their breakfast of choice. Snowflake talked excitedly as she ate eggs benedict with syrup-coated waffles, now happy to be alive. Her original companions were also happy. After all, the Gigas Crystals were either in their possession or Changeling's. That meant no more roaming around Avalar in search of crystals.

Wart sat at the very entrance of Hawk Mountain, breathing in the heavy scent of morning as he ate a very delicious breakfast made of bacon, toast, and eggs. He sighed heavily to himself as he examined the accursed object in his hand. He considered tossing the crystal out the entrance of Hawk Mountain and watching the crystal tumble down the mountainside, but then that would undo all of their hard work in one instant.

"Are you okay, Wart?" Wart was startled by the sudden question, and almost let his breakfast fall to the ground. He turned his head, and saw Eledor watching him with a look of absolute concern. He tried to smile, but he couldn't find the ability to.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now Changeling has a reason to kill me." Wart said dryly. "I have no need for this lethal gem. I'd give it to you, but then again, I have no idea how the radiation in this thing works. Snowflake is the only one able to touch her crystal, and the same with Spyro. I guess I'm stuck with this thing until we put these jewels back in their place."

"Hey, it's not that bad." Snowflake said, now joining the conversation. "After a while you don't even notice the thing! So stop moping around so that we can start figuring out a way to retrieve the final two crystals from Changeling." Wart followed her orders automatically. He downed his breakfast in a few gulps and joined the rest of the crew, Eledor following behind.

Without the GCT, Snowflake had no idea where Changeling's location was. Despite this disadvantage, Ripto and Spyro were sketching out a rough drawing of the entire planet of Avalar on a large piece of parchment that they happened to find in Robin's stuff. The crew argued about Changeling's location. Each thought of their own route that Changeling possibly took, from circling the Mystic Marsh to even going back to the coast near Azura City to grab the sea dragon machines she abandoned. Finally, Elora stepped in.

"We're not going anywhere if we prolong our stay in Robin's peak. I say we climb down the mountain and work from there." she said. The holder of the Purple Gigas Crystal was impressed; she had grown a lot healthier since he had pulled her from the horde. Spyro was the first to agree.

"She's right. We've prolonged our stay here anyways." Everybody naturally followed Spyro. After all, he was the experienced adventurer. They walked towards the opening of the cave, none of them anticipating the climb down. Just then, Spyro got an idea.

"Hey, Wart. Since you're a holder of a Gigas Crystal, do you think you can find a spell that will make the trip down easier?" Spyro asked to the dragon. Wart stared down into the fog-filled expanse below. 'Strange. There wasn't that much fog last morning...' With a sigh, he stood at the very edge, his claws wrapping around the corner. He pointed his crystal skyward, and closed his eyes. The Gigas Crystal started to glow brightly in his fingers, until it was hard to look straight into the potent gem. Wart gave a gasp as the magic surged across his body, but refused to move.

Suddenly, the mountain began to shake. Great slabs of rock broke through the mountain's skin, spiraling down and around the mountain until they disappeared into the fog. The mysterious slabs of rock slowly shape shifted into finely crafted stairs, complete with a rock handrail to prevent falls. The magic gem stopped glowing brightly, its magic done with its work. Wart stumbled slightly, and then opened his eyes. "Whoa." He stepped onto the first step and started jumping up and down on it. "It's solid as a rock! Geez, this magic is powerful."

One by one, the crew stepped onto the stairs. "Crafting stairs is not that hard, compared to what I've seen these Gigas Crystals do. Moving trees, torching lizardmen, sending bolts of electricity through the body is just the tip of the iceberg." Ripto claimed as he climbed down the stairs. "I'm almost ashamed that I'm giving away such a beautifully crafted weapon of mass destruction." He said gleefully to himself.

"Ripto, in case you forgot over these last days of pure hell, these Gigas Crystals are being sought after by a scary cat with issues. Keep that gem, and you'll bring all the realms into ruins just running away from her!" Spyro shouted. After that, conversation was kept to a minimum as they made the tedious trip of traveling on the magic crafted stairway leading to solid ground.

They finally reached the bottom. The descent turned out to be a lot easier then the ascent, mostly because there was no bridge to scale. Just when they were just a few feet away from solid ground, something emerged from the fog that turned all their blood to ice.

The entire base of Hawk Mountain was surrounded with tough-looking creatures, ranging from lizardmen to fauns stolen from the Outlaws of the Balance. Wart started to shake; he recognized all their faces, and he knew that they had just climbed out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire. This was Changeling's horde, and now there was no escape.

The horde parted, and Changeling stood before them in all her power. Ripto took a step backwards, remembering how she had defeated him in Winter Tundra. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the reptile squad and their little furry friends. I never expected to meet you here! Yes that fog does work wonders, doesn't it?" She saw Wart standing there with the Purple Gigas Crystal in his hand. "Thank you, Wart. I never would've rounded up these three without the help from you." Wart was silent, but to please his mistress he gave her a slow nod of his head.

"And look, you three were kind enough to gather the other four crystals for me. I'll be happy to take them off of your hands..." Changeling said. Spyro gave her a mighty growl. He stepped forward, ignoring all the horde members as he barked a threat to Changeling.

"You'll have to pry it off of my body! I'm not giving it up without a fight!" Spyro shouted. Sadly, his shout didn't have the desired effect on his enemy. Changeling only smiled and said, "With pleasure."

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the entire horde sprang forward. Wart, Elora, Nazza, and Eledor, the group that Changeling herself sent, watched in horror as their friends were beaten and bound with tough chains and ropes. The three dragons that had joined the group in the Mystic Mountains had been dragged away by Laigon during the fight. Only the original three remained. Spyro, Ripto, and Snowflake were all bound together. They were unable to move, each of them bound to the point that they couldn't even sit up straight. Changeling ordered two minions to pick them up so that they were eye level with herself.

"You three were very unwise to mess with me. If you lizards just kept your snouts out of my business, you would still be nice and warm inside your homes, unknown to the dangers of my horde." Changeling said casually. She removed the necklaces off the dragon's necks and placed the two gems into her carrying pouch. Spyro was the only one to notice that Changeling didn't even bother to touch Ripto's Gigas Crystal. Did Ripto's Crystal have a radiation that prevented Changeling from removing it from his scepter? Spyro made a mental note to explore it later.

"I hope you three have a nice stay in your new home, the dungeons of my castle!" Changeling brought forth the five Gigas Crystals and held them out in front of them...

The last thing the three heroes heard was the sound of Changeling's ever mocking laugh before the world faded into black.

End of Chapter 11

I bet you weren't expecting this, huh? Yes, I know I'm evil for leaving you all at a cliffhanger, but its a lead-in to the final four chapters of this story! Like Zoids, the final four is the climax of the story.No, Squall was not deprived from some Final Fantasy game! A squall is a large storm. Such a shame that such a nice word is now associated with an RPG.

Any references to Dune are purely coincidental. Really. =p