The Warfang Forums was a large, dome-like structure that sat within the central district of the city. This was the seat of power that the elders of old and city councilmen inhabited during the golden age of dragonkind. Its purpose had changed several times over the course of its long lived history, but what remained the same was the structure itself. Once more, its intended purpose had been put to use, with a king to take the seat alongside his people, to lead a brighter and better future for the realms.

The main council chamber itself was a massive room. Enough to hold 30 dragons. Each seat was a representative of Warfang's authority, and each had their own office quarters. The beautiful masonry and brass sculpting of pillars, statues and walls told a great and many long stories. Stories of the many decisions, laws, and debates that went on within the chamber.

As Spyro roamed the ancient halls of this ancient architectural relic, he could hear the voices of two noticeable dragons. In particular, coming from the office of the councilman Red where he and Nestor were having an exchange of words.

"Red, I have been patient with you. We all have. But what you did today was inexcusable," the earth dragon's voice was calm despite the sternness in his tone. He kept his focus on Red, just so he wouldn't have to break the gaze. "Dragging a dead honored dragon's name up and running it through the dirt like that, I would never have imagined you were capable of such despicable measures."

"For all your talk of honor and remembrance Nestor, you knew nothing of who Ignitus really was. Not like I do. He was a fool who made rash and emotionally driven decisions that have cost us something more precious than any gems in the realm," the voice of the red dragon was stern and soft enough for Spyro to hear. "So tell me what you have to say that was in any way rooted in your personal association with the old fire dragon."

"I know well enough that Terrador trusted a dragon such as he. They were very close friends. And I am inclined to trust Terrador," Nestor replied.

"You trust him because he is your master, not your friend."

"Red, you are my friend in this matter. I am trying to appeal to your better nature. But you should know as well as I that Terrador's judgment is not one to be questioned. Not just because he is my master, but because he is a well respected and honorable guardian."

Red scoffed. "If history has taught us anything Nestor, we are not immune to our own pride and arrogance. Even the most disciplined and kind hearted of dragons who mean well for the world fall prey to our very own nature."

Nestor shook his head as he sighed. "Despite your point, the guardians are not like that. Especially not Terrador. They have spent years honing their skills and moderating their emotions."

"Don't be a fool, the guardians only existed to combat the Dark Master's armies and train the next generation to continue that fight! The true wisdom came from the Elders, and the last time I checked, the guardians weren't elders. Guardians don't moderate their instincts for anything other than to preserve the dragon species. And I have told you all there is about Ignitus, Nestor. Do not think for a moment they are incapable of failing their duty. No matter how well trained you are, you will always fall."

"Then I would say you were too hard on Ignitus. For all the mistakes he made, he has not fallen. He did the best he could. We all did the best we could in that war."

A low deep hiss escaped from Red's lips as he spoke; "We are no different than young dragons making mistakes. No matter how wise we may think we are."

Red stopped himself as he noticed Spyro entering the office. With a scoff, he shook his head and said plainly to him; "We'll talk about this later, I believe the king wishes to speak to me."

Nestor turned aside and noticed the purple dragon himself entering the office. He bowed in reverence to the purple dragon. "Spyro, I apologize. We did not mean to continue this debate. I will see myself out."

The purple dragon shook his head. "No need to apologize. I'm here because I wanted to talk to Red. Carry on your day Nestor."

Nestor bowed his head and made his way out of the office, leaving the king and Red in private. There was a short moment of silence that passed between the two, trying to evaluate each other. For Spyro, it was about understanding who he had to work with. But for fourteen years, he could never understand Red at all, and not for a lack of trying.

He always closed himself off whenever Spyro made any attempt to interact with him. Every time they tried, every time Red looked his way, there was always something off. The way his eyes looked, how he was uncertain. The purple dragon couldn't be sure if Red was seeing Spyro the king or Ignitus the guardian of fire.

What made Spyro think that?

"My king, I assume you are here because of what happened this morning?" Red finally broke the silence. "I will have you know, as much as you may not like my stances, these are just my own thoughts and feelings on the matter."

"Your feelings about Ignitus you mean? Or my decision?" Spyro asked.

"A bit of both for that matter. I feel as though those are the kind of decisions Ignitus would make."

"Well I can tell you this; I don't care about what you think about me and my decisions. But you insulted my master, my mentor. You dragged the past into that debate and used it to defame him and made the rest of the guardians look like fools." Spyro's expression hardened. "I may not know politics, but I know about such underhanded tactics like that. That is something I will not abide by."

Red's expression didn't change at all. Just the usual stern straight look. "You know, you're just like Ignitus in that regard. Honorable to a fault. I just pray that will be the only quality you have. And oh, don't grow any more of his kind of features beyond those horns."

Was that supposed to be a joke? Spyro thought.

"I will say, you've handled this more aptly than the other guardians did," Red continued. "I know Ignitus meant a lot to you. I half-expected you to throw me out of the council chamber. Still, you have learned to gain control of your emotions."

"Because I was trained to have patience, that was another quality I admired in Ignitus and wanted to apply to myself."

"Well that's a good quality to have in any case," Red said as he circled around the room. "But don't think that will absolve him of his failures."

Spyro couldn't understand this dragon. Why was there so much hatred towards Ignitus? From what had been going on since this morning, the only thing he learned from the dragon was that he knew Ignitus personally. That, and it had something to do with that night during the year of the dragon.

"Why do you hate him so much? Is it because of what happened at the temple all those years ago with the dragon eggs?" the purple king asked.

For a moment, Red was silent. He stopped pacing around the king and stopped just short of his desk and sat on his haunches.

"An entire generation of dragons… lost in a single night. The last four guardians of the elements who had made their home there were to protect them… all of them." Red slowly turned to face Spyro, his expression hardened even more, to the point where he was baring his teeth. "You may not think he is deserving of such harsh words but I do. Especially when he was supposed to stay there with the rest of his kin and guard the egg chamber."

"Red…" Spyro hesitated for a moment as he saw the rage subtly burn within him. "He blamed himself constantly for what happened that night. Not a day went by where he didn't blame himself for every single thing. This anger you carry for him is not healthy and it is not fair to him. You have to let it go. Ignitus is gone now."

Red scoffed and shook his head. "And we have one guardian less amid our ranks with no true successor. And I will not take up that mantle anymore. I have made my fair share of mistakes but Ignitus made one he can never fix, and I will never forgive him."

Spyro was about to say something rash but stopped himself. He can't afford to lose his composure. As much as Red was making him angry, the fire dragon felt justified in those raw emotions.

"Red, there was more to that night that you're upset about. Did you have a clutch?"

There was no response from the dragon. Instead, he turned his head aside and stared at his desk, contemplating. "We will reconvene in the afternoon for our next course of action. I expect you'd want this to go through smoothly as everyone else does."

It would've gone smoother if Red had just cooperated with everyone instead of antagonizing them. Spyro knew one thing was for certain; Red only respects those who fight and stand their ground. If he has to take charge again in the council chamber, then Spyro is going to have to do so.

The tension in the room finally broke as Cynder entered the office. "Spyro, I have to talk to you. Nestor said you were here," She stopped as soon as she saw the dragon Red and dipped her head. "Councilor Red.

"Lady Cynder," Red dipped his head respectfully in turn. "I think it is time for you to go now. Don't want to keep the queen waiting."

Spyro turned aside and made his way out into the hall of the Forums. Cynder stared at Red, cautiously observing him for a moment before she turned back to follow her husband out.

"I don't like him very much," she said plainly. "He gives off a bad vibe."

"I don't like him too much either, Cynder, but I can't afford to hate him. I know he has his reasons. Granted they're not good reasons for him to feel the way he feels, and I just have to convince him of that. Otherwise, we will never get anywhere in these debates."

Cynder shook her head and let out a sigh. "Spyro there are some folks in the world that just do not change. Either through grief or hatred, whatever, people like him will not change how they think or feel about the way things in the world should be."

Spyro smiled softly and shook his head. "I highly doubt that. Not everyone in this world is like Malefor."

"He's… an extreme example," she said with a soft chuckle. "But I mean… There are some folks out there who still do not trust dragons like me."

"Rupture you mean?" Spyro raised his brow. "Why even concern yourself with him. He doesn't speak for every dragon."

"But he speaks for a lot of dragons who follow him and they feel justified in their fear and hatred of me."

Spyro stopped and turned to face Cynder. "You do not deserve to be hated. Remember, you've proved to yourself, to me, and to the guardians that you are not the 'Terror of the Skies.' You are Cynder the dragon, the hero, and the best mate a dragon like me could ask for," He cupped the sides of her face with his forepaws and smiled. "Don't ever forget that."

Cynder blushes as she shifts her eyes side to side. "Oh geez… you're getting all mushy on me again…"

"I ain't getting Mushy."

"You are."

Spyro paused for a quick second and snickered. "You're right, I am."

They both started to laugh together while slowly Cynder reached up to pull his paws down. "But don't worry. This is not me being self-deprecating and thinking that they are right. I have accepted what happened, but I am not going to let the past define me who I am now. I am just saying from how they feel and their point of view, they are right."

"But they're not," Spyro added.

"You dork, will you listen?" she shook her head and smiled. "To them, they may think they are right and justified and in a sense, they are. To everyone else, they are not. Not even to me. But this is how they are. There are some aspects to a dragon you can't change."

Spyro's smile still didn't leave his face. "Bet you I can. Everyone is deserving of mercy, forgiveness, and a second chance at bettering themselves."

The two stood there in the hall for a moment or two. Then a sigh escaped from Cynder as she leaned in close to kiss him on the lips. "You're a good dragon Spyro. There'll never be another one like you."

Spyro sighed in content and embraced Cynder with his forearms and wings. "And you're a good person too, Cynder. I wouldn't have been able to make it on my own without you. And Sparx… and Ignitus… and Hunter… and…"

"Okay, okay. Slow down before you start listing everyone off," she said as they pulled back. "Come. Let's head home and rest a bit before our next boring council meeting."

"Yeah. Should check up on Sparx and see how Iggy and Mal are doing. You know, just to see if they're still working."

Cynder paused for a moment as a thought crossed her head. In all fourteen years she's been with this dragon, not once did she ever ask the question how those two were so close.

"Spyro?"

"Yeah Cyn?"

"Why are you and Sparx so close? Like… I heard you called each other brothers a lot. Is that like some kind of bond thing?"

Spyro blinked a couple times and tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean Cynder?"

"Like, you two go everywhere and do pretty much everything together. What's the story?"

Spyro let out an ohhhh and nodded. "Oh okay I get it now. Alright. No, we're actual brothers. No resemblance, right? Before I met Ignitus, I always thought for the longest time I was a dragonfly."

Cynder looked at Spyro incredulously. She couldn't believe she heard that and needed to hear him say that again. "You… thought you were a dragonfly?"

"Yeah."

"You… a purple dragon…thought you were a dragonfly."

Spyro continued to nod his head. "Yuh-huh."

"Spyro… you… twice the size of Sparx. "

Spyro didn't let that thought sink in. He really thought he was just one big dragonfly. "Well yeah I thought I was just a very big dragonfly. I mean… Yeah isn't that normal? DIdn't you feel like you were an ape at one point?"

Cynder had the blankest stare on her face for the longest time. She then turned and walked off. "...I don't want to be seen in public with you right now."

Spyro blinked several more times and followed behind Cynder, now more confused. "Wait… what? What's that supposed to mean? Cynder? Was it something I said? Hey Cynder! Wait!"

—

Beyond the borders of warfang, on a beaten path nested between the territories of the Soulfire Clan and their rival Windcleaver Clan, there was a lone figure. He looked no bigger than a cheetah or atlawan, but he hardly appeared to be a formidable fighter.

He wore a long brown tattered cloak, a ragged looking tunic, sandals, a wide brimmed straw hat, and was carrying a walking stick. The creature's breathing was deep, heavy, intense, as though he was struggling for air. A pitiful sight to behold.

And he was the perfect target, Krisp thought. Far travelers were always known to carry great riches and even an abundance of food. No matter how ragged this one appeared. For all he knew, it was a guise. He was close enough to the Soulfire Clan for him to find out.

Krisp was a highwayman, using intimidation to get what he wanted. Fighting wasn't exactly his forte but he knew that smaller and weaker creatures would tremble at the sight of him. All he had to do was breathe fire and they'll scream and run. Then he'd corner them, force them to give up their possessions, and threaten them away. He had a feeling that this creature was going to be no different.

The Soulfire Clan respected strength and detested weakness. It gave no quarter for anyone, no dragon, or cheetah, or mole, not a single living soul. If killers like Cynder were allowed to share a seat of power alongside those she waged war against, then truly Rupture was right to reject this king. Any creature who puts their faith in authority that weak deserved to be exploited, like so many other travelers who came this way.

The spiky, coarse looking fire dragon landed in the middle of the road to block the wanderer's path. In comparison to the dragon, the six foot wanderer would be easy prey.

"Welcome to the dragon realms, traveler," the dragon spoke. "We've undergone a great deal of renovations these past 20 years. and honestly, not for the better. Which is why folks like us need everything we can get to restore this prosperous realm. Courtesy of the good dragons of Warfang in ensuring peace and stability for ages to come!"

The red drake reached out with one claw and gestured for him. "I'll take whatever food or treasure you have. Preferably all of it. We have to work together to create a stronger kingdom after all, and that means having to make some sacrifices."

The lone wanderer stood before the dragon. Slowly raising his head to show his mask covered face, and wide brimmed round goggles that shined like prismarine.

Then, the creature started to speak. "If there's anything I've learned in 10,000 years of hiding, scavenging and building, it is that there is no such thing as good dragons."

The figure took hold of his cloak and with one swift motion, stripped it off to throw it aside. Before the dragon was a golden-brown armored suit. Clockworks adorn the joints and rims of the figure's armor, and his face was completely obscured by a simple, closed helmet. The goggles on his face weren't goggles, but a visor built into the helmet.

The armor itself, or parts of it anyways, looked more like they were grafted into his body. There were seams where flesh had melded to the alloy and metal. But the flesh had the same color and texture so it was hard to tell whether or not it was actually flesh.

Krisp was taken aback by the sight of the creature. Whatever he was, he looked more machine than he did man. "What in the name of the ancestors are you?"

The creature reached behind its back and pulled out what looked to be a blade. The design and structure was complicated like the armor, bearing clockwork designs, with a pulsating purple core between where the hilt and the blade met.

"I am Cronyx. But it won't matter to you, dragon so I won't waste my breath monologuing to you." The creature known as Cronyx raised his blade to aim at Krisp.

The dragon never had the chance to react, as the last thing he saw was a surge of purple energy spewing from the blade. The surge of raw magical power shot through his veins. The pain was excruciating as though he was being torn apart piece by piece from the inside out. Thousands of sharp serrated needles digging into his flesh and drawing out his lifeforce.

His scales dulled, his skin shriveled, and all the light faded from his eyes. Nothing remained but a husk of what the dragon once was. The aura slowly drew back into the purple orb in the blade.

"Hardly anything at all…" the traveler mused. "Malefor made this so much harder than it used to be. With his death, he's left such weak dragons like this in my wake." The traveler then kicked the shriveled corpse of the dragon.

From behind the traveler, a red pointed hat came poking out from behind one of the rocks. Taking notice of the traveler and the dead dragon, it slowly slipped away, revealing itself to be a creature of incredibly small stature. It had a long pointed beard that curled inward as it reached the bottom, along with two pointy ears, and a bulbous nose.

"Gnome! Get over here!" Cronyx shouted out.

A squeak erupted from the creature as it waddled swiftly toward the armored man. "Y-y-y-yes master Cronyx?" it spoke in a high-pitch male voice.

"I thought the clockwork scout was sent to patrol this end of the road. It was supposed to report this area as clear. But there was a dragon here. Why is that?"

It was a rhetorical question. Cronyx did not think the creature he called a gnome would give him an actual answer since he was not looking for one. He already knew what the answer was. It would have been either punishment for the gnome as it was his task to manage the machine, or the automaton's decommissioning, as it was the automaton's faulty systems that failed him. He just wanted to hear the excuses from the gnome firsthand.

"I… I don't know my lord Cronyx. I-I-I made sure that it was c-capable of spotting dragons s-s-several miles away! I-I just-"

"So it is the machine's fault then? Or is your magical aptitude lacking?" Cronyx turned to stare at the gnome, those prismarine goggles staring hard at the poor terrified gnome.

"Nn–n-not at all! I mean… m-my magic is n-not lacking at all! I-I just-"

"Then when we get back to camp, I will see to it that the machine is scrapped. Now, back to the task at hand: let us continue scouting for the Mountain of Malefor. Did the Aether scanner pick up any traces?"

The gnome reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic device with a green glass panel covering the center. "I have picked up multiple traces actually, my lord. Tt-t-the highest concentration coming f-from the uhh… city of Warfang itself."

Cronyx pondered for a bit. If there was a high concentration of Aether in Warfang, it could lead him to a wellspring of raw magical power. And there was only one dragon in existence that he could summarize it being: a purple dragon. For 10,000 years, he had seen many purple dragons rise and bring the coming of a new age. But they were all at the peak of their power.

The last time he tried to fight a purple dragon, it was 7,000 years ago, and it nearly left him broken, destroyed, and the progress he had made in accumulating his power nearly lost. He had to play the waiting game. There was no telling if this purple dragon was at his peak or not. Considering that this was the one that had defeated the Dark Master, he was no doubt a very powerful and dangerous opponent.

In order to fight toe to toe with a purple dragon, he had to accumulate as much of the power of Aether as he could. The tesseract told him as such. If he was to truly master time, he would have to draw upon the lingering power of the Aether that exists throughout the realm. So many had been gathered through the spirit gems that are dotted across the world.

But the power of a thousand suns was not enough for his goal. This purple dragon, this Spyro, would be enough to fuel his greatest creation. The tesseract hungered for more, as did Cronyx. However, if he could catch the purple dragon alone… then maybe… he'll have what it takes.

Cronyx had 10,000 years after all. He knew how his opponents fought. When that time comes, he will be ready.

"We will have to deal with the dragon later," the sorcerer said. "For now, we make our way to the Mountain of Malefor first. It will take some time to get there so we'll collect whatever spirit gems we can find, and crush any dragon that gets in our way," Cronyx took one step and crushed the shriveled dead dragon's skull, which caused it to crumble into dust and disperse into the wind.

—

Mal and Ignitus sat at the dining hall with the rest of their family. Including Hunter, who was there usually once a week to check up on things with his friend the king. The two brothers' bodies were sore and tired from the work they had been doing at the plaza. Although they said nothing to one another, they just exchanged a battle of stares. Even as they ate smoked mutton chops that their mother made for them from her last hunt. Not once did they break their gaze.

The other siblings were talking about how much fun they had showing off their techniques in front of the guardians. Though what made their night better was how the guardians decided to teach them a few tricks of their own. It only soured Mal and Ignitus' mood since they wanted to see the guardians.

Spyro and Cynder were engaged in a discussion about how the afternoon meetings went. Which was about as well as one could expect with a dragon like Red being in the council. Only this time, Spyro had managed to get the council to push for more reforms. Rather than just forcing the matter after the discussion took another heated turn, he took the cooler head approach as always.

That was also around the time Flame returned and reported everything that happened in the conflict he had with Rupture. A part of him felt guilty that he had put his newfound friend in such a dangerous predicament after giving him that promotion.

"You worry too much. Knowing Flame, he's already fully recovered and is out there being a hard headed hero like you," Cynder spoke.

"Yeah well, he didn't take any red gems from the infirmary's stock. Stubborn dragon wanted his men treated first and foremost before he could," Spyro replied.

A playful smirk stretched across Cynder's lips. "Hmmm. A dragon who selflessly offers his share of healing gems to others. Where have I heard that one before?" she smacked Spyro's backside with the blunt end of her tail. "Don't act like you're all reasonable and stuff hun. You're no different from how you usually act!"

"Who do you think that fire dragon took after?" Hunter commented after picking off a few portions of his meal. "I told that dragon he wasn't going to do himself any favors pushing himself over the edge like that."

Spyro looked at the two and pointed to himself. "H-hey why you coming onto me like this is my fault?"

Sparx, with a mouthful of butterflies, picked himself from the bowl to point at him. "Bchecuaseh itshis?"

Hunter reached down to clamp the dragonfly's mouth shut. "Swallow first. Then speak."

The dragonfly was forced to do so with one loud gulp. "Mfrha… okay! Jeez just… don't do that again. You're going to get your fur in my mouth! As I was saying… because it is kind of your fault dude," he turned to Spyro with a nod. "Anybody can tell a dragon like Flame is going to model their entire character off of you."

"Well… I…" Spyro tried to find the words but found himself unable to retort against their banther. So instead, he went back to the topic of Flame's condition. "Did he at least make a full recovery?"

"There weren't enough red gems left," Hunter said. "Flame has been put on temporary relief until then and we won't see another shipment of red gems coming in until the end of this week. Mole-Yair and his people will be bringing in a shipment of them via airship by the end of this week. The recent gem veins found in Munitions Forge will take some time to excavate and transport."

"Sounds like Flame's going to have it pretty rough now," Cynder said with a nod. "I'm sure his mate Ember didn't take the news too lightly."

Hunter smiled as he tapped his chin. "Oh I seem to recall the colorful language she used to describe her… worry. Just so I do not let the kids hear, I will put it in the most cleanest manner I can. 'You ever scare me like that again Flame and I will pluck every scale from your body and throw your stupid head into Dante's Freezer where you will freeze your butt off. And then I will throw you into the volcano of Boyitzbig. There was more."

Sparx snorted and nearly choked down on his food after hearing all that. "Haha! Sounds like this Ember's sure got him henpecked! Poor guy, wew. Betcha she'll never live it down."

"Hmm…" Cynder reached up to scratch her chin in contemplation. "I should learn a thing or two from her. Might help me get my husband's head back on track in some of the more important aspects of his life." she smirked deviously as she looked over at Spyro. "Like sleeping. And eating. And taking a wash. And everything else he's neglected to do after saving the day every day."

Spyo's danger senses were ticking off as he shoved a good chunk of mutton down his maw. "Mffhrhr shhorry I dhohnt knhowh whahht ur thaklin ahbrout."

"Swallow, my king," Hunter told him. "You do not want a bone to get lodged in your throat."

Sparx popped another butterfly into his mouth with a satisfying hum. "Mfmrhr. Don't remind him. I want Mr. Chubbykins to remember and think about all those times I had to perform the heimlich on him."

Hunter blinked a couple times and squinted at Sparx. "How can you perform the heimlich if you are just a small insect?"

"Hey don't you call me an insect! I am a sophisticated dragonfly." Sparx pouted and crossed his arms. "And besides, I have my ways. Oh! Speaking of dragonflies! Bro, you want me to tell the kids what we're going to do this weekend?"

Spyro shrugged and smiled, food still in his mouth. "Shrure why nhot?"

The dragonfly clasped his hands together. "Sweet! Alright! So uhh…" he coughed into his fist and flew above the dining table so he could get his nieces and nephews' attention. "Lemme just get started and say… we're going on vacation for the weekend!"

The dragons immediately turned their head aside to look at Sparx at the mention of vacation. Time away from the big city? Away from the massive crowd of dragons and moles that walked the streets and sailed the skies of Warfang? Say it wasn't so.

"Wait… you mean we're finally going to get out of this gods awful place?" Mal commented, seemingly the most interested in this vacation. Anything just to get out of Warfang.

"Wait… where are we going exactly uncle Sparx?" Ignitus asked. "Are we going to Tall Plains? Or the Valley of Avalar?"

"Nope! Even better! We're going to the swamps!" the dragonfly exclaimed.

The table was relatively silent. None of the kids thought for once that the swamps sounded cool. Save for Mal as he chimed; "The swamps sound pretty cool!"

"Oh but there's more to the swamps than just it being cool," Sparx flew over and tapped his snout. "We're going to meet your grandparents!"

"You mean the dragonflies that adopted papa?" Brisk asked as he looked over at her father, then back to Sparx.

She heard how he was raised by dragonflies but she didn't very well believe it herself. How could small little bugs take care of a baby dragon?

"You better believe it! You should've seen him too. This guy could eat bugs like you wouldn't believe. Course that was when I thought he was a big purple dragonfly."

Spyro blushed and slowly raised his wings up to cover his face. A few looks from his family and friends had him really wishing he wasn't there right now.

"Did you have to mention the bugs part?"

"Ab-so-lutely! Go ahead, tell Cynder about the butterfly souffle."

Cynder smirked deviously as he saw her mate's reaction and began to elbow him. This was her vengeance for earlier. "Oh yes, tell me about your home life again Mr. Raised-By-Dragonfllies! Not once have you told me anything about what your family life is like! In fact, please! Do go ahead and tell me about this worm souffle!"

"Idontwannatalkaboutit!" he squeaked.

The entire table erupted into laughter. But the thought of eating bugs made Brisk gag. She had expected that sort of habit from her sister Terra since she always had her head in the dirt. Sometimes literally.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Brisk muttered.

Mal slapped his sister on the back with his tail. "Hey it can't be as bad as the slop they serve at the academy. I mean I'm willing to try bugs."

"Mal, merciful ancestors, no!" Brisk darted from the table and ran toward the main hall.

Ignitus couldn't help but laugh even in his attempt to scold Mal. "T-that wasn't very nice Mal!"

"Oh come on, it got you laughing, you kill joy." The young purple dragon picked up a cleaned off bone and threw it at his head and laughed.

"Ow! Hey Mal!"

For once, it was a peaceful and fun evening. Aside from Mal and Ignitus almost engaging in a food fight with one another. Hunter bid Spyro and the family farewell as he left back for home. The kids burned off whatever energy they had before retreating to bed. All except for Mal, who stood in the main living chamber and watched the waterfalls from above flow.

His body was still sore from the work in the plaza. He hated it. He knew what he did was wrong though, but it only made him more angry. Mostly because it meant his father was right and he hated when he was right. There was no reason for either of them to fight out in the open like that.

Ashes approached the stewing purple dragon and placed one claw on his shoulder. "Mal?" he said. "Are you okay?"

He wasn't really. He wanted the weekend to get here sooner. Mal just wanted a single day outside the city. On the plus side, he wasn't going to the academy anymore until he and Ignitus fixed the plaza. No more hearing the old farts complain about him not shaping up.

"Yeah I'm fine. I don't have to go to that stupid academy so that's a plus," Mal replied.

Ashes could tell he wasn't really fine with the tone of his voice. He was still rather upset despite having no real reason to still be so. It was a shame as they were having a good time at the dinner table not too long ago.

"Can't you just… tell mom and dad you don't want to go back there anymore? It worked for me."

Mal took a deep breath in and sighed. "I wish. You're a different case. You got mom to teach you those weird powers of yours. But the stupid council convinced dad it was the best option for me. I don't make friends there, I don't learn anything that'd actually matter there. I just get criticisms and lectures."

Ashes took a seat next to his brother. "But dad's the king though. He doesn't even have to listen to what they tell him to do."

"Pshh. Yeah right. Dad bends over backwards for them. Even he said I wasn't ready for this stupid role that shouldn't even matter to me in the first place," he punched the stone fountain gently with his forepaw. "But I'm stuck in that academy because he listened to them."

It wasn't what Spyro meant at all. He just didn't want Mal to be put through the hardships and struggles he had to face during his youth, even though it was a period that was long gone by now. The academy was really supposed to be Mal learning what it means to be a dragon because Spyro still didn't know exactly what it meant to be a dragon. Yet Mal had to put up with so much nonsense from the professors and the other dragons his age that he didn't care what his father truly meant with his words. To him, it was about owning up to the legacy his father had laid out.

And Ignitus… he always couldn't stand his brother. How inspired he was whenever Spyro told him those stories of his mentor. Why should it even matter in the first place? Why should he even care? Not like the fire prodigy had anything to do with his unrelated forebear that shared the same name. Why even get involved with what Mal does?

"I wonder though… What do your grandparents look like?" Mal asked.

"Uhhh… I'd imagine they'd be like uncle Sparx. They'd be dragonflies and all that," Ashes replied.

"I mean no duh. But… Hmm…" Mal contemplated the questions surrounding his head.

How did the dragonflies even raise dad? What did he eat? How did he even survive? Why the heck did he even care? Mal tapped his tail against the floor and pouted.

"I mean I don't care. Not like I wondered what dad's life was like growing up."

"Mal…" Ashes sighed. "That's really not nice. Dad went through a lot growing up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know all about that whole saving the world nonsense."

"Mal!" Ashes almost snapped as he exclaimed. "S-sorry but that's really not fair! Dad went through a lot. Remember how he used to have so many nightmares and he woke up screaming every night?"

Mal remembered, and he wished he didn't. He remembered how there was a time dad never let any of the kids do anything on their own. He was always close by, always on guard. It wasn't until they came back from living out in the wilds did Mal and the others even did anything on their own. He was always so overprotective. Still is but he wasn't hovering over him as much as he used to.

"Sorry Ash. Just… frustrated still… you know?"

The black dragon shook his head and smiled. "There's more than just frustration there, Mal. Just give dad a chance. I mean for the first time in a while we get to be outside of Warfang again. Now come on, let's go to bed."

They picked themselves up and began to make their way out into the hall and toward the bedrooms. Though on their way, they spotted Ignitus, peeking around the corner.

"What the heck…? Iggy?" Ashes spoke up.

Both he and Mal knew that this was quite off. Mal looked over at Ashes and back toward where the fire dragon was. "Ig what are you doing?" he spoke.

Ignitus turned his head around to shush them and gestured for them to come close. This was not like Ignitus at all. The two dragons looked at each other and slowly crept up behind their brother.

"What the heck got you sneaking around the halls Mr. Right?" Mal spoke.

"Well if you were to keep quiet and look around the corner, you'll find out what it is," Ignitus replied.

Ashes crept closer and peeked around the corner. "What is it?"

"Mom and dad talking. But they're really trying to be hush about it."

"Don't they always hush whenever they're talking in secret?"

"But this one's weird."

Mal poked his head out in between Ashes and Ignitus' shoulders. "Like weird how?"

The three watched their parents who stood out in the hallways, deep into their conversation. Something about Cynder having caught someone snooping around the top portion of the palace.

"And you sure you saw no one at all when you were in there?" Spyro asked.

"Spyro, I was one hundred percent sure. It went from watching us from the top of the palace and when I went to investigate, it was empty. The kids didn't see anyone either," Cynder replied.

"But that doesn't make sense. They should have seen it at the very least. Nothing can just disappear like that."

"And that wasn't all… that room I mentioned? It had a pool of visions."

The purple dragon paused for a moment to contemplate. "It would make sense for the palace to have one. But… what was the creature doing in there?"

"I don't know. But Spyro… I could use the pool," Cynder gestured her paws to make wavy swirling motions. "It formed an image of… something… and someone in it."

"Was it visions or images of the future?"

She shook her head. "No… Spyro, whatever was in there, It was old. It looked old and it felt old. If I didn't know any better, I would say it was a vision of the past."

The three siblings looked at one another. Only Mal and Ignitus had zero idea what they were talking about. But Ashes did.

"Oh you guys weren't there to see it. We were all playing tag… and we saw that pool of water that mom was talking about. You guys remember when they taught us about ancient dragon magic?" Ashes spoke.

"Yeah, I studied that a lot. Only certain dragons can use it, yeah? Like the guardians?" Ignitus looked back up to their parents. "Didn't realize ma could use it too."

Their voices were quieter now, the three brothers could barely begin to make out what was being said between their parents. All they heard out of their father was; "I'm going to make sure I'm home more often and make sure the kids are safe."

Cynder gave the purple dragon a kiss on the lips as she whispered in turn; "We are safe here Spyro. And I promise you, it'll be alright. We're strong enough to do this together. We'll figure out who that creature was."

The three dragons snuck away from the corner as they all made their way down the hall to their bedrooms. "What did they mean by that? Who or what that creature was?" Mal asked.

"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine." Ignitus shook his head as he muttered, "Only ma saw it, but I have no reason to doubt her. If only we weren't stuck fixing the plaza for an entire week, I'd say we should investigate it."

Ashes shook his head and sighed. "Did you forget that you sneak out all the time and cause trouble Mal?" Ashes reminded him. "What's stopping you from doing it this time?"

"Uhhh probably the fact that I don't want to get grounded for my entire life." Mal looked over to Ignitus. "But we wouldn't be leaving the palace this time."

"Mal I don't think this is a good idea," Ignitus protested. Though even he was curious as to what it was his mother saw. "But then again, I don't like the idea of someone hiding within our own palace, watching us."

Mal smirked. "Oh hey Mr. Moral Superior's decided to break the rules for once! Good. Then tomorrow night, let's look. For now, we should get some sleep."

—