Repost of chapter

Notes

The Present
The Past

And, now, onwards…!

Spyro: Parents of a Hero
Chapter 5: Ghost or Spirit?

Rapping his hand on the solid desk and holding his head with his other hand Lindar searched for the right words. "The Elemental Dragons are… spirits" he began in a small voice.

Spyro snorted indignantly. "Spirits? You mean ghosts."

"No, no," Lindar shook his head "spirits. There is a vast difference between a ghost and a spirit." The blue dragon halted as Spyro scrunched up his face. "Ghosts are merely the souls of any being of which refuses to return to the earth after death; they wander the world in solemn silence mourning their own death. They are truly selfish!" Lindar hissed suddenly. "They refuse to feed the very being that fed them during their living days! They refuse to be one with the Elemental Dragons!"

Spyro pulled his head back at the Elder's sudden outburst. "Er" he stumbled for the right thing to say, eyes searching the room for nothing in particular. "Er, okay. Ghosts equals bad… got'cha." The Artisan Elder reared back his own head and pinched his snout with two fingers as he drew long calming breaths. Spyro pinned his eyes on the bigger dragon again. "So, why haven't I seen any?"

"Any ghosts? Well, as far as I'm concerned you won't see any here in Artisans. I am responsible for their sending to the Elements."

"You see the Elements?"

Lindar shook his head. "Not directly. I gather the ghosts that may turn their selfish pleas to the Artisans and seal them away in the Mother Orb." He looked down at the hero dragon again to see the same confused scrunched snout. "The Mother Orb is a strange little device. It can store away up to five ghosts at once were they cannot escape from until any one of the Elements absorbs them which they are then processed into life-energy. That energy is then sent across the winds, through the land and seas to reach us were it gives us life."

Spyro stared blankly for a long moment before snorting again. "Dramatic much."

"Bzzt, buzz, bz?"

Lindar calmly watched the golden dragonfly as he buzzed around Spyro before leaning against his desk and waiting for the translation from the purple dragon.

"Sparx wants to know why you ignore their "pleas" and send them away."

Scowling Lindar gritted his teeth. "Because they are selfish things!" Spyro rolled his eyes. "If they are not willing to sacrifice themselves to the Elements then why should we ponder to their whims?"

"Bzt? Bzzzzut!"

"What do they plead?"

Lindar bit his tongue at the question from the dragonfly. "What… do they plea? Well, no one knows in all actuality. Not a being alive can understand their tongue. It seems that once a creature becomes a ghost they loose their native language and develop this bizarre style of wailing as speech."

The purple dragon frowned heavily. "So, you don't even try to understand? You just convict them of sins and seal them away?"

"Bz? Buzzzuz buzz bzt?" Sparx chimed in.

"What if they are simply begging for help? Asking to be lead to where they belong?"

"Buzz buuuzzt?"

"What if they don't understand what is happening?"

"Buzztt, buzz, zzzt."

"They could be alone, and confused."

"Zzzt, zzzzt."

Lost even."

"Buzz zum zzzt, bzzzt."

"Their death could have been tragic… unfair."

"Zzt… bz… buzz, buzt."

"What if the are lost in a world they no longer understand?" Spyro translated for his best friend all the time watching his Elder with the sincere eyes he still possessed even after all that they'd seen. Lindar watched him back with an emotion carefully hidden behind a professional mask "What… what if they are just asking to be saved?"

Kers shrugged out of the grip of the two guards that held him scowling all the while. "Do. Not . Touch. Me" he hissed eyes blaring with his hidden rage. Stealing one last dark look at his mother he stormed out of the chamber sending the doors crashing as he went.

The two guards hopped back from the violent exit of the Prince of Peace Keepers. The Queen huffed out a puff of steam before swiftly pointing her staff at the smaller of the two dragons. "You there! Send Valace here immediately!"

The sandy dragon stumbled over his own tail in the effort to follow the order. "If, if her majesty doesn't mind me asking" the second guard asked expecting the bile filled retort from the Queen, "why do you not just send Master Valace to kill the Dream Weaver and her son?"

The Queen shook her head slowly, lips pursed. "As skilled as Valace is at his job I doubt even he would be permitted to enter the Dream Weaver's Homeland during the pinnacle of this scandal." She looked into the orb sat snugly at the end of her staff, "not with their psychic abilities at any rate."

The soft patter of padded feet echoed around the chamber in the silence that followed the Queen's statement. The Queen herself grinned lightly as the pattering fell overhead. "Good evening, Your Highness."

The large guard flinched at the slimy voice but refused to react as a long spindly salamander crawled down the vertical walls now silent. The long orange body blending perfectly with the speckled stone walls as he slithered further along. Long slender fingers clung to the rock, large oval black eyes never blinked and a vicious sharp tail flowed after every movement the salamander made.

Quickly, yet silently, Valace crawled the length of the chamber to cling to the back of the Queen's throne. "Wretched evening, Valace. Truly wretched."

"Yes" Valace hissed. "Your son has become somewhat of a nuisance of late."

The Queen nodded. "Kers has become infatuated with a member of another race, and even conceived! My son must see that he has wronged the Peace Keepers and sinned all dragons by creating the Lizard."

"I believe the traditional term is 'Advanced Dragon' my Queen" Valace corrected while carefully ignoring the blatant insult to his species. "I could not bare to hear my Queen use such gutter language."

"Tell me! What is so 'Advanced' about it?" The Queen ordered sharply.

Valace licked his eyes with his long slender tongue making the remaining guard flinch again. Smirking at the reaction he received the salamander leaned down to speak into the Queen's ear. "I believe the only thing that makes them special are their genes; for they will not only possess the skills of one race but two."

"It's filthy" the Queen spat.

"Truly" Valace breathed just barely above a whisper into the Queen's ear. "A filthily, fifthly act."

Once again the guard cringed as the salamander spoke and licked his eyes again.

"A mishap with magic?" Denki screeched above the roar of flames.

From the many small torches scattered around the Lighthouse that had answered Bianca's magic the fire had spread from not just the living area but to the whole structure. Thick smoke clung to the air like a blanket and severely hindered sight and breathing space. Still trapped in the living area of the lighthouse Denki, Elora and Bianca flattened themselves against the floor in an attempt to avoid the thick of the smoke. However, sticking to the floor then brought about the problem of the actual fire.

"B-Bianca!" Elora hacked. "Can't you do anything?"

The sorceress covered her mouth with a hand and shook her head. "I'll… try, Elora, Denki!"

Slowly the rabbit rose to her feet and held out one hand and mumbled something unheard. Gradually, a dim purple light radiated from her clenched hand and winds suddenly attacked the flames from the inside. The gale, as it blew through the small circular room, gathered the flames and to the horror of the three a twister formed. With the flames and smoke caught up amongst each other Elora sprang to her feet.

"Bianca! Fire thrives on oxygen and you just brought more in here? W-what's the matter with you?" Elora growled above the wind.

Backing herself against the wall and away from the violent twister Bianca clenched her teeth. "I-I don't know" she wailed.

"Never mind!" Denki shouted to the two girls with a confident voice. "We have to get out of here, now!"

Momentarily shocked at the frank decision from the blue dragon Elora and Bianca nodded swiftly and ran after him as the tackled the burnt door clean off it's hinges and bounded down the spiral stairs as they lead down around the lighthouse.

Every so often and explosion rocked the structure and sent the trio tumbling down a section of the hundred stairs. As they reached the lower half of the lighthouse, though, the fires became less frequent and less violent. Another vicious explosion above them knocked them off their feet and the trio collapsed in a heap at the foot of the staircase.

Slowly, Elora, after pushing Bianca off herself, rose to draw a heavy breath at the wall of fire in the doorway. The flames devoured the whole circular wall and crawled up to touch the ceiling of the next floor, spitting sparks and hissing passionately. Denki lifted his head, unhurried, and watched the flame with painful eyes.

"This… this can't be happening…" Bianca mumbled as she too regained her feet. "I-I I've been training… this shouldn't happen. I know… what I'm… doing now. I know…"

"Oh get a grip!" Elora scorned. "We aren't finished yet."

Bianca glanced down at her friend then back to the fire. "Oh really? Then what are we gonna do? You have an idea?"

"Well, no but there has gotta be something we can do at least." Turning to look back up the flight of stairs Elora cupped her chin on one hand. "The flames are too thick for us to dash through, we can't go back, the walls are far too strong for us to break through… yeah. It's no use," she looked up to her friend. "You'll have to use magic again."

"What? No!" Denki shouted, alarmed.

"Don't worry, I can do this" Bianca reassured the small dragon.

Denki shook his head. "No, no. This lighthouse if finished, but I can get us out."

Spinning his head back to look at the wall of fire crawling over their exit Denki lifted his head back and took a deep breath before closing his eyes. Suddenly the dull orange markings scattered over his body began glowing as a violent hue overtook his body. With a snap of his neck the flames exploded away from the door.

"Quick, out now!" The dragon shouted to the two stunned girls as they stared dumbfounded at the deceased fire.

Shaking off the shock they trailed the dragon a safe distance from the lighthouse and stopped at the cliff's edge to watch the remaining flames devour the building from the inside.

Denki watched the scene with a neutral look and bowed his head. He looked up as a hand came to rest on his head.

"I'm so sorry" Bianca whispered. "I-I don't know what happened."

"I know what happened!" Elora said, "you've been skiving off your sessions haven't you?"

"What! No!"

Elora scowled at her friend. "Don't give me that. I've seen you. You've been spending more and more time with Moneybags! Honestly, what business have you with that lout?"

The Sorceress blinked "w-what? I can talk with whom I want, you know!"

"But with Moneybags?" Elora cringed.

"As a matter of fact, yes. He has some interesting knowledge from across the realms."

Elora smiled knowingly. "Hm, yes. He also has the thing in a jar too, doesn't he?"

Bianca knitted her brow. "Yes he does."

"And you want it."

"Yes I do."

The two girls stared each other down for a long moment before Denki sighed and broke the air.

"Oh my!" the fawn jumped from her confrontation and covered her mouth. "Denki, your home!"

"Is gone" he finished. "How typical."

"We're so sorry, Denki" Elora bowed. "Is there anything we can do to make it up?"

Swaying his head the dragon thought. "Please… please, take me with you…" he eventually mumbled.

"What?" Elora ran the words through her mind again. "We're only going to the Artisans Homeworld. It's nothing exciting."

"I'd like to go" Denki said in a small voice. "I have never been away from my Lighthouse. I'd like to see the Realms…"

Looking back at the burning lighthouse Elora frowned. "Okay then" she suddenly grinned. "It'll be nice to have some competent company for once."

"Hey!" Bianca looked affronted. Shaking her head the sorceress jumped back blushing when she realised she still had her hand on the dragon's head. "Ah, um" she cleared her throat noisily. "So, tell me, Denki; what was that you just did back there" she waved her hand towards the inferno.

"What did I do?" Denki asked looking back at his home.

"You made the fire explode" Elora explained.

"Hm, that, yes. I do not know what that power is… all I do know is I can use it to control fire."

"Sooo, why didn't you do that and save your home" Bianca asked carefully.

The dragon shook his head. "I am not skilled in what ever that power may be. If I had tried that with the core of the blaze I am sure I would tire and none of us would have gotten out unscathed."

"You seem to know your stuff, Denki. Maybe you could teach Bianca a thing or two" Elora laughed.

Denki vaguely smiled. "I am sure Miss Bianca does not need tuition. From the look of her magic she seems powerful."

"Just lacks control" Elora added with a grin.

"Perhaps."

Clapping her hands together Elora stood in front of her companions. "Well, let's hit the road then!" She slapped her thigh and stalked away towards the slope of the cliff. Slowly Bianca and Denki followed her leave.

"One thing you should know" the rabbit whispered to Denki, "Elora is always the leader, unless Spyro is around" her voice held a smile as she spoke.

With one last look over his shoulder Denki blocked the lighthouse from his view and nodded smiling up at the Sorceress.

A/N: Yeah, okay, I lied about this chapter's content -- My mind doesn't always work the way I want it to, heh.

I think Sparx needs a translator, or something other than Spyro at least XD