In light of the pandemic, I've been working on my story to fill my free time among other things. None the less, I have also been dealing with a bit of writer's block, but I have found it helps to gain inspiration from everywhere to move forward with your own projects. When last left off, Terrador was introduced to Damas, so the next step now, is to see how the full introduction into Spargus will go, as well aiding in an invasion that was inevitable to happen...


Ch24: Marauders Attack!

"In the ages before the Realms which we hail from were known as the Dragon Realms," Terrador began speaking to the Spargus crowd in front of them. The people were naturally surprised when they were first seen, and it was only from witnessing their king escort them to the courtyard that they remained calm. "Our race was led by one single dragon, the Dragon Father, who according to myth was the prime ancestor of all dragons today. In a history lost to us, he sought after his children on the dragon's original homeworld for untold ages."

Spyro cut in, "Until the day came when the planet was invaded by an evil alien force called the Horaquon, the creatures your planet calls the metalheads. Their vile leader Kor set his armies out over the planet, consuming every natural resource they could find, eventually driving our race to near extinction, and draining the planet dry beyond renewal. The Dragon Father took the remaining dragons and transported them across space to find refuge elsewhere, and ensure our races survival. They eventually found refuge here, on Elorin, where they made first contact with the Precursors. Unfortunately, it was after the metalheads had invaded your planet like they did ours, seeking to hoard it just the same. Realizing they had a common enemy, the Precursors and dragons of old allied and fought off the metalheads in a combined attack, and drove the metalhead leader into exile."

Cynder finished the tale, "With the metalhead threat at least neutralized, the Precursors and Dragon Father made a pact. The dragons agreed to safeguard a portion of Precursor artifacts for them, to ensure no evil would ever be able to hoard it all. In return, the Precursors sought out a new home for the dragons, and built a link to it in conjunction with the power of the Dragon Father. In honor of their word, the dragons of old took the artifacts the Precursors had entrusted to them through the portal to a new planet, where they could start anew. The planet has no real name, but it is commonly referred to since the dawn of the dragon age as the Dragon Realms, and that is where the history of the dragon race began on our current homeworld."

Various wastelanders from the crowd voiced their opinions out loud, "Quite a story…That's amazing!...Precursors working together with aliens, wow."

"Exactly how accurate is this story?" Damas asked, "You said from the beginning it is based on a myth, so how can you be sure it is true?"

Their kings question started a new series of opinions from his people, "Yeah that's right…Lord Damas is correct!...How do we know you're not lying?...If the monks don't know how could you?...Your people have never really been here!"

"HEY!" yelled Jak, "Show some respect! The dragons may be outworlders true, but unlike the monsters that the monks have been warning us about, Spyro and his kind have come in a good act of faith. If they really wanted to harm us they would have done it already!"

"Everyone!" said Damas getting their attention, "Jak is correct in that regard, I am not saying they seek to bring harm to us, for if I had even the notion of that when I was first meeting them, I would never have allowed them into the city. I am merely questioning the accuracy of this story, for it seems like a tale in ancient history, and there has always been questioning regarding subjects like that."

"You are correct Lord Damas," said Terrador, "Truthfully we have never explored its authenticity that much either, mainly in regards to the story of the Dragon Father which is considered a hatchling folk tale on our world. Similar to a bedtime story a parent would give their child, and I trust you are familiar with those?"

The Spargus crowd pondered in silence in a moment before nodding their heads. Most of which came from the Spargus families with their children. Out of all the ones intrigued by the dragon's tale, the children were most interested, as seen from the looks on their faces.

Spyro continued, "None the less, we have recently been given insight into this lost history by the most relevant resources possible. It started with this soothsayer we met over a year ago, who had first informed us that our race arrived here before. Then there was confirmation from facing the metalhead leader Kor, who verified the tale before we destroyed him. Now just recently, we received further insight into the alliance the Dragon Father made with the precursors, by an actual precursor."

The entire crowd gasped at the revelation, only to be confirmed by Seem, "The purple dragon speaks the truth. I have heard their testimony, as well as read the histories on the few details the precursors have made about dragons in our archives, and I can verify their authenticity."

"Very well, but as interesting as learning this ancient story is right now, the real issue revolves around the mutual threat we face. These Dark Makers, as described by Seem, and this Malefor of whom you speak of," said Damas.

Terrador replied, "We know about as much of these Dark Makers as Seem and the precursors have informed us. As for Malefor, his wickedness has stretched across many an age on our world. From when he was hatched, he already exhibited abilities beyond any dragon in our planet's recorded history, perhaps as much as the Dragon Father. Unfortunately, he allowed his power to become his curse, allowing his ambitions to cloud his better judgment, and corrupt his heart and soul. He pushed his abilities across lines that shouldn't be crossed, forcing the ancient guardians to cast him into exile, away from pursuing any further knowledge. However, he didn't stop there, for he continued training on his own, driving and twisting his lessons to strengthen his growing armies, as well as himself. From there, the Dark Master was born, and with his horrid army of apes, orcs and dark creatures conceived he waged war on all of dragon kind, bringing an age of despair that would plague our planet for generations to come."

With a disgruntled look on his face, one that wasn't unnoticed by Jak, and shared by many others, Damas spoke, "that is a most tragic story, our planet is no stranger to traitors either."

He paused before continuing, "though we've never had any powerful enough to threaten our whole planet. And your saying he's been freed from imprisonment by these Dark Makers? If that is true, how could these dark precursors know about him in the first place, if our worlds have never made any real contact until now?"

"Unfortunately your highness," said Spyro, "We are not sure about that ourselves, I don't know how the Dark Makers learned about the existence of the Dark Master, let alone discovered his prison to free him. Right now that doesn't matter, what matters is confronting him and the Dark Makers face to face and taking them all down before anymore damage can be done."

"Really?" questioned Kleiver, "Well here's a relevant question, despite being completely despotic, this Malefor is a dragon like the lot of you right? And you scaly lizards seem pretty mighty strong from what I've seen. What makes him so different from all of you to be even mightier?"

The dragons all turned to him with a stink eye. His disrespecting tone made his question all the more unpleasant. Fortunately, the Spargus king shared in their distaste and interrupted the wastelander.

"Guardian Terrador, despite Kleivers apparent tone," Damas began, addressing the guardian leader, after giving Kleiver a quick glare, "he does ask a valid question, what is it about this Dark Master that makes him more powerful than any other dragon?"

They sighed, and all their faces changed from distasteful to distraught. Spyro took initiative and said, "I'll tell you your majesty...its because...he's a purple dragon, like the Dragon Father before him, and like me."

The entire crowd gasped, including Sig, Seem, and Damas. Kleiver on the other hand hardened his glare toward the young dragon, but kept silent. However the Spargus crowd began an apparent rave as they started shouting remarks of rejection toward Spyro.

"HEY!!" yelled Jak, silencing the crowd and getting out in front to block them. "Don't even think about it! Purple dragon or not, Spyro is a hero to his people unlike that traitor! And he's also my friend, so if anyone of you wish to harm him, you have to go through me!"

The crowd started turning their glares toward Jak. The newcomer also didn't sit well with them either, after witnessing his dark powers in the arena. Sig and Seem knew things were going downhill, but then another surprise came when Calidan stepped up alongside Jak facing the angry crowd, saying "Me too."

Seeing these two wastelanders stand up for the outworlders, Damas wasn't sure to feel less or more distressed based on what he had heard. But he knew jumping to conclusions would be foolish, patience was a virtue for diplomacy as well as warriors, so he asked a question to quell the crowd, "Well, aside from an unfortunate legacy, what is it about a purple dragon that sets them apart from the rest?"

Despite the potential uprising, Terrador replied with a calm tone, "On our planet, there was a prophecy, one which spoke of a purple dragon born once every ten generations, one whom which would mark the beginning of a new age on our planet. Dragons of the realms are normally born with the inherit magic of one of the four elements, fire, electricity, ice, and earth. However, these elements can be wielded together only by a purple dragon, setting them apart from all the others, as well as generally being more powerful."

"Well, that would certainly explain Spyro's abilities in his previous arena test," Damas replied, "based on what I saw compared to what I've just found out, I'm guessing that you weren't using them to your fullest extent."

"No I wasn't your highness," said Spyro shaking his head, "I've fought against adversaries a lot bigger, stronger, and more cunning than those metalheads, such as the Dark Master himself. However, as mentioned before, I'm nothing like him. I only use enough power as needed to ensure my survival, and of those I care about. The fact that Malefor chose to use his abilities to further his own twisted agenda appalls me. But I've stopped him before, and I'll stop him again, this time not just for the sake of my planet and loved ones, but for yours as well."

Damas took in the purple dragons words, and he only hoped the crowd of his people were as well. "Your words are wiser than your age young Spyro. I also sense they carry as much truth, your guardians have taught you well." The purple dragon bowed in respect, with Terrador and Cynder following his lead. Jaks group were now feeling relieved, until...

"Hold on!" yammered Kleiver, disrupting the peace once again. "I got one last question, you say you fight for our side, and maybe you do. At least right now, but what's to stop you from succumbing to your great apparent power like the despot down the road?"

"Because Mr. Kleiver," growled Spyro, his animosity for the pungent wastelander growing with every talk. But he refused to let his words get to him. "Unlike Malefor, I have something worth living for, love, trust, and family."

His statement silenced the crowd, with wide eyed expressions. Jak's group hoped now they would all get the message. Cynder could only lovingly grin at the purple dragon, knowing his words were as strong as they were true. She had already felt like part of his family since they started being together, and hoped to make it official in later years.

"Also," Terrador added in, "Like a certain young wastelander of yours once told me, power is nothing without a will to do what's right."

His head turned toward Jak who nodded. The king saw the dragon's response to his statement, and he was now realizing any skepticism about keeping Jak in the city was completely wrong. The tension that had appeared in the crowd about Malefor and Spyro both being purple dragons seemed to have calmed down, one could only hope it would stay that way.

BLLAAARRR!

Suddenly an alert horn bellowed throughout the city, getting everyone's attention. The dragons whipped their heads side to side with a slight panic. The Spargus Elorians however were growing frantic, for they knew what it was immediately, the invasion alarm.

"What's going on?! What is that?!" shouted Sparx in a panic.

"The invasion alarm!" yelled Kleiver.

Damas pulled out his communicator, "Alert guard! What is going on?!"

"Lord Damas we are about to be under attack! The Scope has detected the presence of a large invasion force coming from the southwest side."

"Southwest?...Marauders!"

"Indeed sir! If I dare say, it looks like their entire army approaching, they'll be at the gate in a few minutes!"

Jak and Cals' gaze went steel, both were familiar with how Marauders acted, and a full invasion of their forces was no laughing matter. The dragons had only heard about these Marauders off and on, now it seemed like the answers to their questions came in the worst possible way. Damas turned toward his people.

"People of Spargus! The time has come to initiate invasion protocols! All gunners proceed to the turret mounts! Sig will be your lead! All remaining warriors take your stands once your families are safely barricaded!"

Sig turned to the crowd to gather the gunners, once all were accounted they immediately headed for the walls. Damas then turned toward Jak, Calidan, and Kleiver. "Jak, Kleiver, you and the newcomer take a vehicle and engage as our first line. Take out all warrior patrols to ensure they do not have a window for breaching our gates."

"Yes lordship," Kleiver quickly replied before turning to the young guns, "you heard him ankle bites, let's go Marauder hunting!" He immediately made way for the vehicle lot, while Jak, Calidan and Daxter just scowled at him, but knew they had to put their bias aside to defend the city. Terrador stepped forward before anything else was said or done.

"Your highness, we can help in defending against this attack, we offer our aid to you."

"I appreciate the offer," Damas began, "but these are adversaries you are unfamiliar with, you could be at a disadvantage."

"I may be new to your planet Lord Damas," explained Terrador, "but I am no greenhorn. I've fought in war before and have plenty of battlefield experience, and while I have never fought these Marauders, they have also never fought a dragon, and even so we would have the aerial advantage."

"Guardian Terrador speaks true," Seem assured the king.

"Trust me Lord Damas," said Jak, "The dragons could win this fight with no damage done except to the marauders, take it."

"Actually," Spyro cut in, "We'll take his place."

His statement stunned everyone present, and then Terrador stammered, "Spyro, I've already…"

"I mean no disrespect Terrador, but you and the guardians once told me every generation passes to the next, this counts as much as the others! Besides your pupils need you more than the battlefield does!" Spyro argued.

"Terrador," Cynder interrupted, with pleading eyes, "he's right, leave this to us. Also, Spargus needs a dragon in the city right now as much as outside."

"Please master," Spyro pleaded as well. Terrador only gazed at both of them briefly while Damas, Seem, Sparx, Jak, Cal and Daxter awaited his response. Terrador let out a sigh, one that held both grief of how his battle days were at an end and pride of how well he had taught the young dragons.

"Very well," he said, "the front line is yours, stay vigil and remember your training, both of you."

"Yes master," Spyro nodded who gave a brief glance at Cynder who grinned and nodded back. The purple dragon then turned toward his human friend, "lead the way Jak!"

"Come on!" He beckoned as he and Daxter ran for the vehicle pen after Kleiver, with Cal, Spyro, Cynder and Sparx right behind him. Seem, Damas, and Terrador only watched them for a moment before addressing themselves.

"I will stand with my people," Damas said to both of them, "and I prefer you both remain by my side."

"Very well your majesty," said Seem.

"Do you believe your young ones can handle an invasion force unscathed?" Damas asked Terrador.

"You said you have already seen Spyro in action, and Cynder I assure you is every bit his equal, different color and female aside, what do you think?" Terrador asked back.

Damas only pondered for a moment before smirking, "I'd say to the Marauders, good luck surviving."

Terrador smirked back saying, "To a dragon, luck doesn't exist."

"To a wastelander," Damas continued, "it wouldn't help them anyway." All three of them couldn't resist letting out a chuckle.


Outside the Spargus gate, a low heavy rumble could be overheard from over the sandhill cliffs off the gate west side. About a dozen Marauder vehicle patrols motored over the cliff making their way to the gate, with a dozen catapult launchers behind them, and hundreds more patrols around them. Upon receiving the report from his patrol, the Marauder master had ordered a full frontal assault on Spargus to flush out the strange inhabitants. If these newcomers had anything to do with the recent anomalies, they at least knew in their brutish minds they were powerful. So the last thing they wanted was Spargus to make use of them. Before any more patrols could approach closer however, the Spargus gate opened, and out of it sped out two Spargus desert vehicles…

VRRROOOMMM...ZOOOMMM

The Sand Shark and Dust Demon rocketed out of the gate heading for the invasion. Jak vigorously drove the Shark with Cal in the passenger seat and Daxter on his shoulder, while Kleiver drove the Demon ferociously. The patrols opened fire with their lasers. However their makeshift DIY laser cannons were no match for Spargus's superior ingenuity. Kleiver merely smirked as he fired his mounted grenade launcher, blowing away two with his first shot. Jak opened fire with the Shark automatic guns, chipping away the armor of the one just ahead, quickly giving way to blowing up.

The battle waged on as the patrols attempted to swarm the Spargus defenders with their sheer numbers. Unfortunately for them, that was all they had in their favor, for the defenders had superior weapons, vehicles, and driving skills. Jak skidded around and attacked another from behind, blowing it away as well. He continued the attack zooming forward to pelt through the patrols one by one. He blew another one away and drove through the wreckage out of the flames unscathed.

"BOOM! Oh yeah! Now they're hurting!" cheered Daxter.

"This is the first time I'm facing marauders as a passenger!" commented Calidan.

"Then what are you waiting for?" asked Jak, "unload and blow some more away!"

"I'd prefer to save my bombs where it counts!" Calidan yelled over the commotion as Jak blew another away.

"What are you talking about?"

"They want to breach the walls right? These patrols are just cannon fodder! They'll need the catapults to break the walls, we take those out, we've crippled it down to the small fish!"

"Wait a minute!" Jak realized, "your saying…"

"Drive up to the catapults, I'll shoot my bombs on them and detonate them when the time is right!"

Normally, Jak was always the one to finish the job fast and hard. He reminded himself though Cal's bombs were limited and should only be used as necessary. Damas did say a smart warrior patiently waits until an enemies weakness is revealed, but that didn't eliminate the probability of risk.

Jak finally agreed, "Sounds like a plan, though easier said than done."

"Can you call droopy then and have him blow away a path for us?" Calidan asked, Daxter chuckled hearing his nickname for Kleiver.

"If he's willing to listen," Jak said as he still sped around the patrol horde now in proximity of the Spargus. He drove forward again to engage and said to Daxter, "Dax! Get the communicator now!"

On the other side of the horde, Kleiver drove away from the patrol group of four following and shooting him. He merely smirked, feeling he got as much attention as he wanted right now. He skidded to do a 180, and fired two grenades, blowing the patrols away.

"Kleiver! Are you there? Come in!" The wastelander merely scowled at the sound of the newbies voice, then decided to take the communicator from his belt while driving.

"This ain't time to chat in case you haven't noticed newbie!" he yelled into it.

"These patrols are just the distraction, you know that! We have to take out the catapults, Calidan has something that can take them out in one shot, but we need a clear path, can you give us one?!" Jak asked driving through another section of the first wave while gunning away two more, and eyeing the patrols that were approaching slowly as guards for the upcoming catapults.

"I'm busy with my own problems here!" shouted Kleiver "why should I help deal with yours?!"

Kleiver!" Jak began to rave into the communicator, until he centered himself, "because...you are the one with the superior weapons, superior vehicle, and superior experience. You've been blasting these marauders longer than I've been around, so use that!"

Kleiver pondered for a moment before declaring, "If I do, I get all the spoils, and will you also all shut up?!"

"YES!" all three of them yelled.

"Get ready to move then, and don't waste a second pompers!" He declared turning the Dust Demon toward the catapult guards by the northwest opening, and began driving forward. Lasers were fired his way, but then Kleiver blew away over a half of the guards with two grenade shots. The remainder drove after him in vengeance, which was just what he wanted. Jak saw the opening and took it heading for the catapults behind the debris.

The Spargus gunners atop the cliff walls watched as the marauder invasion approached. They had already reported the full size of it to Damas, as it stretched all the way along the Northwest area, with a dozen catapults armed and ready. The sight of the invasion wasn't the only thing they saw, from over their heads flew two distinct shapes catching their attention, Spyro and Cynder. The young dragons surveyed the oncoming force, and relayed their plan.

"The best way to effectively take this down is from both ends," Spyro said to Cynder, "I'll handle the patrols out here, you defend and clear the gate, and make your way back to me!"

"On it!"

"Cynder! Be safe," he said softly.

"You be safe" she answered consolely before flying off, allowing Spyro to head toward the outer end. Upon approach, they didn't seem to notice him yet, well that was about to change. As he neared the tail end of the invasion he let loose a fire stream that engulfed six patrols from overhead. The patrols were on fire, and apparently the drivers screaming inside was apparently muffled. The patrols ahead of them saw what happened and looked off to the side to see a purple flying reptile in the sky. Realizing they had seen what they came for, one patrol shouted loudly...

"SHOOT IT!"

Laser fire pulsed through the air toward Spyro who evaded them nearly effortlessly. He passed over the next patrols and let out an electric sphere, which detonated in a group of patrols rendering them inert. He continued the pattern going up the line.

Jak drove the Sand Shark through the line of patrols surrounding the catapults in the northwest region, gunning down as many as he could, and knocking others aside. Calidan brought out his Omega Fire and prepared to take aim as Jak drove toward the first catapult in line. Upon pass, he fired twice, latching two bombs to the base of the hull. With the first one tagged, Jak kept driving along, heading for the next one in line and blowing the patrols in front away with his automatic guns, while their lasers hardly damaged him at all.

Kleiver continued circling the remaining patrols in front of the gate, there were still over 20 so there was still some work to do. To him, it was more target practice as he kept firing grenades at ones within his range while staying ahead of the pursuing patrols behind him. The patrols relentless assault also blinded them, as Kleiver received unexpected help from above, a large green bomb of poison fell into the middle of the pursuing patrols, engulfing them and eating away at the vehicle hulls while the marauder drivers inside were debilitated. Kleiver turned to see the effect of the surprise attack, and its source, as Cynder flew into the midst of the patrol horde and fired a sonic scream as she flew overhead of them evading laser fire. Her attack panicked and disoriented them, causing them to stall. She flew out along the patrol perimeter, avoiding more laser fire as she turned around for another attack, with another sonic scream. She exited away from the horde again as Kleiver drove around and they ended up moving side by side.

"What are you doing miss?! I've got this under control!" Kleiver roared.

"That's a nice way to say thank you," said Cynder aloud, "and your welcome."

"I didn't ask for your help dragon!" argued Kleiver while the patrols continued their laser fire against him.

"Didn't realize you people need permission to help someone," retorted Cynder, "and for the record blowhard, I'm not helping you, I'm helping your city! You have your orders and I have mine, now let's stop arguing and keep firing!" With that she flew away with Kleiver to scowl, though he merely turned the Demon around and headed back toward the horde, firing two more grenades which blew away a portion of the patrols Cynder had neutralized. He figured given the situation, it would be best to accept the dragon's help, at least for now.

Calidan had tagged two more catapults with two bombs each, meanwhile Jak drove around the rock monoliths erupting from the landscape while evading marauder patrols, trying to get them to topple if not get a better angle on them. Calidan said he needed to stay around 100 yards proximity for all the bombs to receive the detonation signal. Jak turned a full way around one monolith and headed back to the tagged catapults. Upon reaching a median point, the ping came through on his left gauntlet comm device.

"Got ya!" Calidan pushed the button.

BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! The bombs blew away sections of the catapults, as well as both wheels on their tangent sides. They all knew three were out of commission now, as the stationary fire load in their launchers were upset, and spilled out over and engulfed them.

"A quarter down!" cheered Calidan.

"3 quarters to go!" commented Jak.

Spyro continued to thin that herd from the far end as he flew over the catapults there and fired an Earth shot at the first, knocking off its catapult arm, and then turning about to swing an Earth flail at the next. It hit with such force, the catapult was toppled onto its side wheels, immobile. Patrols continued to fire lasers at the purple dragon, fortunately he kept evading. He knew even though he could avoid their aim, their numbers could swarm him if he allowed them too, so he didn't let up in attacks against them either. He performed an aerial loop to redirect back to the marauders and fired a few more electric spheres. 10 more patrols became inert from the electricity as Spyro flew overhead them, firing a fireball at the catapult of which he blasted off the arm. It exploded upon impact, ending its use permanently. As smoke billowed from his last attack, he heard the explosions from further in the valley. Up high he saw three catapults engulfed in flames, and also saw a vehicle of similar size yet different design driving away from the flames, and followed by numerous marauders. Spyro knew right away who it was and flew toward them.

Jak continued driving away from the patrols as they continued firing. He pulled a 180 and drove straight at them, guns blazing, destroying 2 while evading or knocking away 6 others. Despite doing well, the Shark was taking damage from the endless barrage. The damage meter installed on the dashboard was enough of an indicator.

"Despite us having the advantage in nearly every regard over them," Daxter began, noticing the damage meter read a quarter damage, "Their swarming numbers are chipping away at us like termites!"

"What are you suggesting we do Dax?!" Jak yelled as he skidded around again to fire at another patrol and ram another, knocking it on its side.

Daxter righted himself from the impact before yelling, "Stop ramming them for starters!"

"Will you two shut up!" yelled Calidan, "These patrols are just nuisances compared to the real threat! Head for the rest of the catapults and this battle is ours!"

In response to Cal's tone, Daxter whispered to Jak, "guys got stones, I'll give him that."

"I'm sitting right here!" Calidan yelled in Daxters face.

Jak only smirked and drove back toward the remaining seven catapults, all still on approach for the Spargus gate. The patrols following behind with laser fire received an unfortunate surprise as a large green boulder slammed down in midst of them, knocking them away or crushing them. Two escaped harm, but the noise attracted Jak and Cal's attention who briefly turned around. Spyro emerged from the green cloud in flight again to catch up with them. The two patrols still in pursuit of the Shark redirected their lasers back toward the dragon. However, Spyro was a better flyer than the marauders were gunners, evading every shot, and firing a fireball at both of them, blowing them away. With them neutralized, Spyro flew up to be side by side with his friends.

"Thanks for the assist!" said Calidan.

"Anytime," replied Spyro.

"And we were just about to outrun them," joked Jak.

"Yeah, that was obvious enough," Spyro chorted right back.

"You're learning," said Jak before chuckling. The lighthearted banter came to an end though when more lasers appeared from behind. Another group of patrols drove right toward them in hot pursuit.

"Here we go again!" groaned Daxter.

"This may be my first time facing these marauders," Spyro commented with a scowl, "but they remind me too much of metalheads!"

"Welcome to the wasteland," groaned Calidan.

"We all agree the catapults are the primary target," said Jak getting them back on track, "there are still seven left, we take those out, and the rest of these patrols will be easy pickings."

"Go and take them out!" said Spyro, "I'll keep the patrols busy." He then flew off to intercept the pursuers while Jak drove the Shark toward the remaining catapults. Spyro flew right at the engaging marauders while evading their laser fire, and then let loose an electric stream which engulfed them one by one, shorting them out. His breath didn't reach all of them so a few were left, so he flew around for another pass to re-engage.

Jak drove toward the next line of catapults heading for the cliffside exit toward Spargus, blowing away the few patrols that got in his way. He drove around in front of the first catapult, and moved forward along its side as he did previously. Calidan also repeated his previous action and fired two more bombs at the catapult in its critical spots by the wheels. With the next one tagged, the Shark drove to mark the next one in line.

Up in front of the Spargus gate, the first wave assault was dwindling down. Thanks to the combined, yet unmutual efforts by the wastelander in the Dust Demon and the black dragoness flying overhead. Marauder patrols attempted to scatter to confuse them, but to Cynder, they were like flies waiting to be caught. Her combined poison and fear attacks disabled them one by one, and even the occasional wind twister used to shake them up helped her to taking them out without worrying about any excess laser fire. Kleiver's attack was less strategic, and more relentless assault. He continued blowing away patrols left and right, and kept up his one continued simple strategy of luring patrols away and skidding around to blow them away with one grenade assault. Those he didn't blow away, he just rammed aside to take them out later. Both of them were unaware, but the gunners atop the wall turrets including Sig were all watching the attack, while waiting at the same time if they would be needed, which right now seemed quite unlikely. The marauders may have had an army compared to them, but it was clear how greatly they had underestimated the strength of the dragons combined with Spargus's best.

While Team 1 in front of the gate was nearing victory, Team 2 could also been seen by the gunners who were overlooking the northwest sector, where catapults had been previously blown away, but were still advancing their remaining line none the less. Spyro continued flying around the northwest rock monoliths as marauder patrols continued to chase him with laser fire. But as he evaded around them, he turned about to fire Earth shots at each patrol that came his way, blowing them away or onto their side inert. Jak and his passengers in the Shark continued their drive alongside the catapults, with Calidan marking up two more catapults with two bombs each as he did earlier. As he finished tagging the third one of the second group, a surprise came up from the driver side.

VRRROOOMMM BAAMM! A kamikaze marauder patrol rammed the Shark, spinning them around nearly 180 and halting them. The ramming patrol didn't stop though, and turned around to re-engage.

"OH great!" cried Daxter, "now they are the ones ramming us!"

"They wanna play dirty?" Jak questioned out loud, while hitting the gas again to keep ahead of the ramming pursuer, "Then we'll play rough! Cal?"

"Remember I need a median point to detonate? Drive up closer!" answered the wastelander with the gauntlet bomb trigger. Jak remembered how it worked before, but still let out a groan before turning about to head back toward the tagged catapults. Patrols drove up to him to block him off, but he kept his trigger finger clenched, knocking them if not blowing them away to keep them clear. The catapults were driving around the disabled ones to approach the northwest exit still in advance. The Shark eventually reached the advancing weapons and Calidan kept watch on his gauntlet. As they neared the second catapult, a ping came through!

"Bye Bye!" he gloated pushing the button.

BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! The sides of the catapults were blown to splinters along with their wheels, disabling them indefinitely. With the next wave of catapults disabled, only a quarter of their original dozen were left, though there were still just over a half of marauder patrols still active.

"Ha! I'd say we've got them on the ropes now!" cheered Calidan.

"Took the words out of my mouth rogue!" added Daxter, causing Calidan to sneer at him, he already couldn't stand Jak calling him that, much less Daxter.

"It ain't over until they are all gone!" Jak interrupted before they could start, "we need to set the example that no invasion from them is going to intimidate us, so let's finish this!" With that he drove into another mob of patrols to attack.

Spyro was handling his own wave of patrols on the other side of the northwest sector before he heard the explosions for himself. Knowing that Jak and Calidan had succeeded in taking out another wave of catapults, he flew up high to scout the remains of the invasion. He immediately took notice of how the four remaining catapults were redirecting their paths around the ruins of the destroyed ones, but their detours inadvertently brought them in close proximity with each other. Spyro realized they could be taken out with one final attack from him, but it was dangerous for his friends if they got caught in it and they should be informed immediately. He flew down to where the Shark was driving, blowing away each patrol they came across in front while outrunning another group behind. The Shark passengers saw the purple dragon upon approach as he flew over them and let out a fireball to delay if not destroy the pursuers behind. Spyro did an aerial loop to turn back to his allies and ended up right by their side again.

"Thanks again for the aid!" said Jak.

"You got it!" he replied before explaining his plan, "the remaining weapons are now in close proximity, I have one last move that can take them out all at once, but I need you guys out of its proximity to avoid the blast, alright?!"

Jak, Calidan and Daxter were bewildered, hearing that Spyro had one last trick up his sleeve that could end this battle was a little farfetched. However, given what they had heard about the power of a purple dragon earlier compared with what they had seen him do already, they decided debating was a waste of time. Calidan then decided to ask, "Exactly how far out of proximity?"

"Head back to the Spargus gate, finish defending there and wait for me," answered Spyro, "once the attack is cleared, it will be safe again."

"Let me guess," asked Jak, "we'll know it when we see it?"

"Exactly," Spyro answered with a smirk, "you're learning too."

Jak nodded and drove around away from Spyro as the purple dragon turned around himself to head to the remaining catapults. At the Spargus gate, all that was left of the original wave were six, and were still trying to outmaneuver the defenders with no success. Kleiver now turned the whole situation around, pursuing the remaining marauders instead of them pursuing him. He chased down one in front of him and blew him away, and immediately drove toward another to do the same. Cynder took out two more that she put in line for herself with a poison wheel attack, destroying one, and then the other. Only three were left now, the rest were littered all over the front area of the Spargus gate in vehicle remnants. As the two of them finished up, the Shark emerged from the northwest opening and drove toward them, beaten and battered from the battle, but still moving strong. Cynder finished one with a poison bomb, as she watched Kleiver blow away the final two. She let out a sigh of relief seeing that the original wave was now gone. Kleiver came to a stop to oversee the aftermath, and scoffed in satisfaction at all the spoils yet to be collected. The roar of the Shark caught their attention, and they turned to see it approaching. Cynder immediately flew over to meet them while Kleiver remained where he was. Cynder flew up alongside Jak as he drove toward the Dust Demon.

"I take it our assistance is no longer required?" Jak jabbed.

"Sorry blue boy," Cynder chuckled, "first come first serve"

"Well it certainly looks like you served all of them!" cheered Daxter. The Shark eventually came to a halt right in front of the Demon, where Kleiver still remained scowling at his compatriots.

"Sorry ankle bites, hunts over right here," said Kleiver to Jak.

"I noticed, but the battle isn't over yet," replied Jak.

"I thought you said you could take em all out in one shot!" Kleiver yelped, before sneering toward Cal, "and I remember hearing the newbie say he wasn't a liar."

Calidan could only scowl at his remark, while everyone else just shook their heads. To them, Kleiver's social attitude was worse than Daxter and Sparx's bickering combined. Though the real battle had yet to begin, hopefully they wouldn't have to team up with him again later on.

"It's called a change in plans," Calidan explained to Kleiver with distaste, "Spyro said he can finish what's left of them, we're here to stay out of his way."

"Really? How's the purple one planning to do that?" Kleiver asked curious.

"If I know Spyro," said Cynder, realizing there was one attack a dragon could use as a last resort, "it will win this in a flash."


The final four catapults were navigating through the northwest monoliths with their remaining patrol guards. However, the final attack was coming from above as Spyro landed on a monolith located at a median point around them. Seeing that it was now or never, he began channeling his energy to his chosen element's peak, preparing to unleash its full power. Some patrols had noticed the dragon make his landing and fired their lasers. However, this time he didn't dodge, but it didn't matter, they made impact but had no effect on the growing elemental shield that was building around him. Electricity was arching off of Spyro's body and a glowing yellow sphere was forming and expanding around him, lighting up the area. The remaining marauders could only watch in fearful suspense from their vehicles. Jak's group from afar were watching in awe as the light emitting from the purple dragon was growing. Even Damas, Seem, and the wastelanders from behind Spargus walls in the courtyard could see the sky lighting up from the impending attack. Only Terrador was stoic, but he kept quiet, for he knew what Spyro was doing, and thought it would be best to explain after it was over.

Spyro had raised his electrical energy to its highest peak, and knowing it was now or never, he unleashed the powerful Electric Fury SHHHOOOOOMMMMM!

The energy of the fury washed out over the remaining marauder catapults and marauders, disabling if not destroying them. The shockwaves emitting from the fury thereafter knocked away the patrol remnants, even throwing them into the cliffs. A few even were blown out over the northwest exit. Jak and his group watched the electric spectacle from their vehicles wide-eyed in awe. Everyone save for Cynder was astonished by what they were seeing. It was like they were seeing the full raw power of a dragon unveiled to them from a distance. They saw vehicle remnants fly from over the sandcliff, bits of armor and wheels ended up falling down onto the dunes in front of them.

"What just happened?" Calidan asked first, flabbergasted.

"You've just witnessed a dragon's most powerful elemental attack," Cynder explained as she set herself down onto the dune, "An elemental fury."

"Elemental fury?" Jak then asked, while Daxter was still speechless.

"Yes, it's an attack all dragons save only for a last resort," Cynder continued, "it's the highest concentration of elemental energy, in this case, electricity, but it only lasts for a short time." All the Elorians took in her words as they continued to watch toward the sandcliff, and during Cynder's explanation the light was dying down indicating the energy of the fury was dissipating.

On top of the Spargus walls, the gunners including Sig were no less shocked by what they had seen. Sig had never witnessed Spyro unleash such an immense amount of power the last time they met, the young dragon really did have a multitude of tricks up his sleeve. Suddenly, a buzzing by his head caught his attention.

"Yup, quite a show huh?" Sparx asked Sig gesturing to the battlefield. The shock had yet to leave Sig's face, and for once the wastelander couldn't respond to the dragonfly, which Sparx noticed before speaking again, "yeah I know, a lot of weird stuff happens when they get upset, and believe me, I've been around enough to see it all."

Damas and Seem watched as the sky grew calm again, though the after-effects of the fury attack were still felt. The shockwaves felt earlier by everyone still had them on edge. Damas turned to the dragon guardian for an immediate explanation.

"What in the world was that?!" he asked sternly but not harshly.

"That was Spyro winning the battle for us," explained Terrador.

"Guardian Terrador," Seem cut in getting both of their attention, "that was the effects of an elemental fury, was it not?"

Her question caught the attention of all the Spargus natives around them, and not just Damas. Terrador gave a smile and said, "Cynder really has informed you well. Yes it was, the elemental fury is a dragon's most powerful ability, and the most dangerous and draining. As such, it has been taught throughout the generations to be used only as a last resort or final attack, any other time is expressly prohibited."

His explanation was heard by all, and Seem could only nod before turning to the king, "If that's the case my lord, I believe we can say, we have won this fight."

"It appears we have, for now," commented Damas.


The dragons have become acclimated in Spargus and stopped a Marauder invasion! Don't worry, the story is not over, Terrador may still have a chance to show his old battle prowess! More revelations will be made the next chapter, so hang on!