The Journey Home

by NewLegend1

Settings may change, but conflict doesn't. Young Spyro finds himself in a world once inhabited by Humans, now left abandoned to dragons. Destroyed long ago in a war, only Humanity's ruins remain. His once peaceful city is shattered when a new creature arrives-a human. Alternate universe, M for violence. Now with new chapters!

11. Dragons

Chapter 11: Dragons

November 8, 2:21 PM

"No, I swear we weren't trespassing on purpose!"

"Then what were you doing? You still haven't answered our question!"

Jericho sighed, letting his head tilt back in frustration as he stood upright. Spyro looked up at the human, standing beside and slightly below Jericho on a pedestal. Spyro looked forward, looking to the creatures who were putting them here on trial. The creatures in question were dragons, and they were… unhappy to say the least.

"You were trespassing in forbidden grounds, our sacred grounds. So far you've just said you're traveling but have yet to tell us where you are traveling to!" Another dragon said, a larger, older dragon who was sitting on a five person council before them. Each of the five elder dragons sat directly across from them in a horse shoe-shaped pattern. Large columns of stone separated them, rising up into the sky before tapering off in an elegant slanted pattern. The outdoor venue was a public square, where Spyro guessed trials like these might have been common. The pedestal they stood on was just large enough to accommodate all of them, and there wasn't very much room to rest. Poor Sparx had been confined to a small cage, held upright by one of the nearby guards. Cynder and Flame stood beside Spyro, looking around at either the elders or crowd. Spyro grunted, feeling a little tired after standing out there for hours. It had been a while since their last good meal… or good rest.

"Why is it important where we're going?" Jericho asked, still being combative towards the council members.

"Hold your tongue boy, do not forget who you are addressing." A dragon from the right blurted, trying to keep Jericho in line. Jericho gave a low defiant huff, crossing his arms while they were still in cuffs. Jericho almost seemed offended by being called a boy. He wasn't a teenager or boy, but compared to the age of the council members sitting before them, he might as well be considered young.

"It's important because there are two VERY interesting individuals in your party… human. You, yourself and a Sentinel. It strikes us as very curious as to why that is. Where you are going and your purpose for having the two of you together makes us very suspicious. Now, where is it you are heading?"

Jericho looked down at the ground, reluctant to give the truth of where he was headed. Cynder remained silent as well, not even looking at the dragons who were judging them. Spyro was reluctant himself to say anything, not wanting to interject or sell someone out for the sake of them getting released. There was a long awkward pause after the question was asked, nobody willing to say anything. All around them sat dragons of various kinds, called forward to watch this trial in what could be a public square here. It seemed like half the city here was sitting, watching. There were so many they spilled over the seats and onto nearby rooftops, eager to see what was being discussed. They all watched, waiting for someone's answer.

"No answer? We have the right given to us by our ancestors to imprison the lot of you for life for trespassing in those sacred grounds without justification." The head dragon said, leaning back slightly.

"Not only that, you stirred the Lost Ones! Our scouts spotted them trailing you and your ilk from the forbidden forest! Are we to believe that you are stirring them up, inviting them to break out of their containment? Are we to believe you are a threat to our fair city?" Another dragon asked, referencing the strange creatures they had encountered days before in the dark forest.

"No, nothing like that. We didn't even know they were there." Jericho finally responded.

"Then what is it young boy? Perhaps you, the Sentinel, can answer us some things." The head dragon asked, turning towards Cynder. She didn't say anything, just looking at the ground defensively.

"Well?"

"I have nothing to say to you." She simply said.

"Typical Sentinel response. So will nobody answer us?" The elder said, turning to look at the others on trial, perhaps rousing an answer from them. Again, silence was the only response he received.

"Baltimore. We're heading to Baltimore." Cynder finally said, shaking her head as if to cringe at her own statement. Jericho, Spyro and Flame both looked at her, questioning why she would relinquish that information.

"Baltimore? The fortress city?" The head dragon asked.

"Well of course. Typical for a Sentinel to run back to their only base here in the east. She's probably returning home, after another one of their despicable 'missions'." Another elder chimed in.

"If that's the case, why bring a human…?"

Jericho just gave a smug look, turning to the head dragon.

"If you are heading to Baltimore, why then bring a human? Is he your prisoner?"

"He's no prisoner, he was clearly in charge when I sprung the trap on them." A new voice chimed into the conversation, that of a dragoness. She was the same blue dragoness who had captured them in fact, and she had been sitting near them this entire time, with the same guard detatchment that had also ambushed them. For being so young, she seemed to command a lot of… well, command, and authority. The simple attire she wore was light, but bore a special seal. The seal was present on the pillars standing beside the council members, and was proudly displayed on ornaments and clothing the elders were wearing. She seemed to be of great importance, or tied directly to the council herself. What connection was that, Spyro wondered.

"If he's no prisoner, then why accompany a Sentinel? I'm surprised she has yet to slit your throat…" The main elder dragon said, turning back to Jericho.

"We have an… agreement." Jericho simply said.

"I don't believe you. Humans and Sentinels do not simply enter into a… 'agreement.' They only exist to eradicate you and all other free peoples."
"If you're no prisoner, why go to Baltimore? It only has the largest presence of Sentinels this side of the grand river!" Another elder said, slashing one of his paws for emphasis.

"I have my own business in Baltimore. I'm also traveling north for my own purposes."

"And what might those be?"

"I can't say."

"How dare you say that! Your secrecy holds no value in this council! Our authority is above all secrets you might have!"

"Calm yourself Dias. If you are not this Sentinel's prisoner, then why accompany her at all? What kind of agreement could you even come to with someone like herself?" The head dragon asked, trying to calm the situation brewing with his fellow council members.

"We have a mutual travel agreement. We both need to go north, and we both have abilities that can help one another to get north. It doesn't matter to me what her business is in Baltimore, and she cares not what my business is up north either."

The elder dragon looked at Jericho for a while before shaking his head.

"Young one, you must think I'm a young, naïve dragon to believe that agreement is possible. I've watched as Sentinel armies have marched east with the sole purpose of enslaving dragons like us and whipping out any traces of the Forgers. I've watched them hunt down and slit the throat of any Forgers they come across. I've watched as they burned camps far west of here, without mercy and without a second thought."

"Perhaps… her beliefs to the Sentinels aren't strong…?" One elder suggested, turning to the head council member.

"So, then one of them is a traitor to their own cause." The head elder thought for a moment before bringing a paw to stroke his chin softly, before looking at Jericho.

"Forgers have many factions, even amongst the settlements that dot the landscape. It'd be hard to tell what faction he might be part of, and who his true allegiance is to. Even so, a betrayal to a Sentinel would be a betrayal to his entire species, but her… Sentinels only have one ideology but share no species. Perhaps it is her… that has betrayed the Sentinels?" He looked up at Cynder, who returned the look, almost looking shocked at the accusation.

"Wait, that isn't what I said!" Cynder said, quickly interjecting herself. The elder dragon just gave her a smirk.

"Then what is it Sentinel? Have you, or have you not betrayed the Sentinel cause by inviting a Forger to join your ranks, or even your company? It would almost be unforgivable for that to happen…"

Cynder just looked down at the ground, unable to bare the words. Spyro frowned, watching her get berated by the council. Murmurs spread through the crowd at the accusations, a few cheers sounding off throughout their numbers. It was obvious that none of the dragons here were fans of the Sentinels.

"How about this, since you are all so keen on 'agreements'… If you help us against the Sentinels, we would be more than willing to allow you and your friend's safe passage to Baltimore." The elder dragon suggested, arousing the attention of the group. Jericho unfolded his arms, standing more upright. Cynder looked at him for a moment before letting her gaze fall to her feet. Spyro turned to her again, awaiting her response.

"Well Sentinel? We haven't got all day. Either you agree, or tell us exactly why you are here, why the human is here and what is it you were doing back there in the sacred desert."

"What… what do you want me to do…?" She asked, looking up somewhat. Jericho stepped forward a bit, ready to give out his own secrets if need be. Spyro gave a step forward himself, unsure who was going to relent first, who was going to take the sword for the group first.

"To the north of our city there is a field of crystals. This field pulses with energy and gives us the energy we need to be able to survive out here. Your Sentinel ilk have placed a curse on it, poisoning the crystals and all who go near. Help us clear the curse, and you and your friends are free to go." The elder dragon stated. Cynder looked at him for a moment before looking down at the ground again.

"Cynder…?" Spyro asked. She didn't respond, she just looked at the ground in deep thought. Jericho watched her, clutching the USB he had been carrying, as if ready to present it at a moment's notice. He moved, preparing to pull it out of his jacket to show the dragons. Just as he did this, Cynder acted, as if to pre-empt his move.

"No… no… I'll do it. I'll show you how to remove the curse from the crystals." She said, shaking her head.

"Excellent. Guards, relinquish their collars." The elder ordered, stepping away from his stone podium.

Several large dragons walked to either side of Spyro, Flame and Cynder, using strong enchantments to release the elemental inhibitors that had been strapped to their necks. Spyro sighed, happy to have it off again. He rubbed his throat, thankful to have it back once more. Flame flexed his neck a bit, rubbing it.

"Man… those things make you sore…" He said.

"Yeah, how do you think I felt?" Spyro asked, rubbing his own neck. Sparx gave a chirp of glee from where he was, clinging around his small cage. Jericho just smirked as another guard came over to remove his cuffs. He rubbed his now free hands, looking at Cynder as he couldn't believe she had taken the sword for the group. They were… kind of close to being imprisoned, or having his journey threatened.

"Orders sir." One dragon asked, the head of the guards surrounding them.

"Take them into the city to my residence. I shall talk to them there about our agreement." The elder dragon said as he turned away from the podium to head away from town. There was a mixed reaction from the crowd of dragons that surrounded them, with many cheering at Cynder relenting, while some were calling for more… harsh sentencing. She ignored them, instead following the others as they were lead away to the heart of the city.

As for the dragon city, it was unlike anything he had seen. While dragons were prevalent in the south, and there were smaller dragon colonies down here, Spyro had never seen an entire city of dragons, let out alone a small nation of them.

Here, a massive group of dragons had come together to form their own nation, with cities like this apparently spread throughout the land here. As for this city… it was something to behold. From signs and different postings both written in traditional English and dragon script, Spyro surmised the name of the city to be Bright Rock. Bright Rock, perhaps it was a reference to the sand colored rock that dotted the landscape here? The city was buried in sand, after all.

Looking back, Spyro took note of his surroundings. The courtyard they had been, the council area, was surrounded on all sides by old forger buildings. Sand covered most of the ground here, just as it had in the desert they had left the previous day. Old buildings were covered in the sand, and the old streets and grounds were buried in it. Dragons made up for this by roosting on the roofs, watching them from above or resting in makeshift seats placed into the sands. The city the dragons had built was built on the ruins of what looked to be a Forger town at one point, but was completely buried by rock and sand. Further ahead, in the "heart" of the city, the streets had been completely buried by what appeared to be volcanic rock. Entire buildings and streets were encased, which was ideal for the dragons. They had borrowed through the rock, tunneling into the hollow but intact human structures hidden inside. They made homes, shops and places of recreation inside each of the old Forger buildings, connecting them all with a network of tunnels and caves that cut through the porous volcanic rock.

Where they were right now was the "old city." Here, the streets were largely exposed to the air, and many old buildings were still visible to the outside world. Up ahead, directly across from the courtyard they were in, Spyro could see a larger, domed structure. The council members walked into it, and it looked like it had been completely repurposed from its original Forger intentions. Dragon add-ons were plainly visible to the building, making use of the open air that was available to them here in the old city.

Behind the structure Spyro could see the entrance into the inner city, a massive tunnel entrance denoting where the two cities ended and began. Desert sands covered the ground, making the inner city not appear to be anything special. From here, it just looked like a plain mountainside. Spyro had seen the interior though, he had seen what the cave network was like.

Another big give away that there was a city hiding underneath the desert sands were these large black towers that punched through the volcanic rock, right into the sky. These towers were of dragon origin, add-ons to the city to give it their own personal touch. Since there was little in the way of… streets or smaller buildings on the ground above the inner city, Spyro guessed the towers borrowed deep below the surface, connecting with the buried human buildings below to connect to the network. Many dragon structures appeared this way, having no discernable "bottom" where the building connected with the ground. It was as he had described it initially, as if they "punched" through the roof of the caves to the sky above.

The guards lead them towards the inner city, passing by many of the older Forger buildings still exposed to air. Spyro could see as the older buildings had been battered by the elements, how old paint had been long chipped away, how stone and masonry had been ripped apart by war or elements. Dragons sat on the roofs of the structures, watching them as they passed by. Spyro guessed that the dragons used the roofs to enter the buildings, since most to all the buildings were somewhat buried by the sand. Well, their ground floor or main entrance had long been buried.

Spyro could see how the dragons had decorated the roofs of the buildings somewhat, displaying metal work or stonework on the top of their buildings to show off to the world. It must have been a sort of way for dragons here in the older city to show some pride, since they didn't have the massive towers that punched up into the sky in the inner city. It was obvious to Spyro that these might have been… poorer areas of town? Well, what might be considered poor to these dragons.

They reached the entrance to the inner city, a massive gateway made from solid black rock separating them from the caves. The guards at the gateway stood at attention as they approached, watching the guard leader pass first, followed by the others. Jericho walked in-between, looking… a little nervous. This was probably the largest amount of dragons he had seen in… a long time. While they were openly hostile to Sentinels, it was unclear how hostile they were to humans. Spyro could see that Jericho wasn't giving them any benefits of the doubt, instead keeping his guard up. It didn't help that all his gear had been confiscated; only leaving him what he had been wearing. He was definitely getting some stares from the locals, as did Cynder. Dragon adults were even going so far as to hide their children when they walked by.

Spyro watched as they passed through the caverns, watching as the dragons in the caverns parted to let them pass, all watching with amazement, as if they hadn't seen a Forger or Sentinel before.

The guard grunted in frustration, trying to keep the crowd around them moving as to not congest the tunnels. Many of the guards passed ahead to clear the way for them, moving people to other tunnels or into their homes.

Purple crystals illuminated the caves, as well as the sun itself as cracks in the cave roof or large openings let the sunlight pour into the tunnels below. Spyro could see the many doorways and entrances to side caves and structures the dragons used as shops and homes. He could see as the caves went right up to the old human structures, puncturing the wall and opening it up to the caves. Drapes covered a lot of doors, but Spyro could see as dragons leaned from their homes, pushing aside the drapes to watch them pass by. Spyro caught glimpses into the old Forger buildings, rebuilt and remodeled for dragon dwelling. Many old items remained though, with Spyro seeing the occasional forger piece of furniture or in some cases more extravagant items such as an item Jericho had described as a "TV". Spyro tilted his head as he even saw one of the TVs illuminated with what he thought was an image. He had seen countless TVs before in his old hometown, but he'd never seen anything but black on them. He had wondered why there were so many of them if they just had black screens. What made theirs do something different? Spyro couldn't stick around to ask though, they were ushered along by the guards.

Spyro could see shops, built into older human structures and even having items for sale in the cavern itself. Wooden carts or stands were outside some cavern entrances, with fruits and even promises of freshly hunted meat within. Shop keepers walked from their stores or homes, watching them just as all the other dragons had as they walked through the cavern.

The cavern itself was large and spacious, able to accommodate a fully grown adult dragon with some ease, though it would be cramped if any of them tried to unravel their wings. Looking at the ground, Spyro saw a few broken pieces of Forger crafted concrete. He could see some chipped yellow stripes on the concrete, making Spyro wonder if there was once a Forger road that passed through here. It would make sense, that the dragons would have carved these caverns following the old framework of the human roads before them. After all, Spyro had noticed that humans had the tendency to build their cities around their roads, so using that base would help the dragons after all.

They walked deep into caverns, coming to a point where it appeared to Spyro that there were multiple levels in the caverns themselves. Looking up, he could see through holes in the roof of the cavern, going up into what looked like another cavern above. He could see dragons up there too, walking and mingling with one another. Were the caverns that deep that they allowed for this much space to be cleared out?

"Here, we're coming to the elder's residence. Stay here." The dragon guard said as he walked ahead. There was a large crowd gathered near the entrance ahead, and it wasn't clear what they were there for. From where he sat, Spyro thought he could hear almost a small protest. What were they protesting? Was it Cynder or Jericho? Were they unhappy with them being let off so easily? Spyro could only guess from this distance as the guards dispersed the crowd, forcing them to make a path for them to enter his residence. Finally the guards returned, leading the group towards the entrance.

The entrance to his home was gated, unlike most of the entrances to other dwellings. Most other dwellings were just holes in the cavern wall, leading to a puncture into the human structure's wall to grant access. To the dragon elder's home, there was a large stone gateway along with an ornate passageway leading to his doorway. They passed through the gate, heading towards the front door, which actually was a door and not just a set of drapes. It was clear that the elder was almost of high nobility and… had a bit of riches at his disposal.

The guards opened the door, letting them into his home. They quickly turned around and went back to the gate, keeping the crowds back as they were gathering again. The guard leader was the only one to accompany them inside.

"Remain here while we wait for Elder Tallion to arrive." He simply said, standing back. Cynder gave a low huff, and Jericho was too busy admiring their surroundings to hear the guard.

"Man… look at that!" Flame said with excitement, seeing the elder's home. The elder's home was built into what looked like an old Forger home, and a quite nice one at that. What parts of the building were intact were really beautiful, with ornate wooden fixtures and fancy marble pillars holding the structure up. They appeared to be of Forger design, and it suggested this might have been the home to a very fortunate Forger. Well, mostly fortunate since he had probably lost his nice home in a possibly not so nice process.

It appeared that when the building was buried, a lot of it was left intact, and Spyro imaged a lot of the structures in the town shared the same fate. Walls and ceilings were for the most part intact, even down to the original wooden panels that still looked very beautiful, especially in the low light of several purple crystals which were latched to the wall to give light.

"Well, guess it pays to be an elder." Jericho commented, putting his hands into his pocket.

"You are to show honor and respect to our elder, Forger." The head guard said, a slight bit of malice in his voice. Jericho just gave him a smirk while continuing to look around. Sparx buzzed around Spyro, wanting to shoot off to explore the home but the guard was watching him especially close.

"Stay here for now Sparx. Don't wander off…" Spyro said simply. His dragonfly friend agreed, giving a low whimper. The door behind them opened, revealing the dragon elder, followed by a few other dragons who looked to also be part of the council as well as some guards.

"Well here we are. Welcome to my home. I'm sorry if this all appears… unfortunate but you must understand both your kind are not welcomed here…" The elder said, speaking to both Cynder and Jericho.

"Yeah, we get that a lot." Jericho said, crossing his arms.

"Now then, what you are doing for us is a great favor Sentinel. As is our decision to spare your lives and let you all walk free once your business is done."

Cynder didn't respond, turning away instead.

"We're happy to help. I'd just like my stuff back once this is all over." Jericho said.

"Of course Forger. You will all receive your items back once you leave. Having an armed Forger inside our city would have been a very… unfortunate sight. Now, shall we discuss the details of this over some dinner? I'm sure you're all very famished." The elder offered. Flame immediately perked up at the sound of food, but Spyro felt something… unnerving about what was happening. He could see a bit of it in Flame's face, as well as Jericho's. Even if Flame was salivating for food… Spyro felt that perhaps Flame was keying into the same thing he was. The elder was being very… generous… with them. It was very off putting, but the sound of food was something that Spyro could not pass up.

"Food would be great…" Spyro finally said, setting aside his concerns and rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah… that'd be good." Jericho said. The elder gave a smile, showing them the way to the dining hall. Cynder begrudgingly followed them, Spyro turning towards her with a frown. While looking back, Spyro noticed another figure enter behind the guards into the home. He wasn't able to catch who it was, only that it was another dragon. They were already ascending a flight of stairs to an upper level out of the Forger home, so Spyro wasn't going to be able to see who it really was.

Spyro's original thought was confirmed as they ascended out of the Forger home and into a more dragon-like setting. Indeed, the towers Spyro had seen above the rock and sand outside were connected to Forger structures below, resting almost right on top of them. Massive pillars sank into the ground on all sides of the original forger structure, dispersing the weight of the add-on so it wouldn't crush the building below. Spyro had caught a glimpse of the massive pillars while entering the home below, and wondered how such structures were able to exist. It sort of made sense, since Spyro imagined the soft porous volcanic rock wouldn't be able to hold or support these towers. They would have to sink the foundations all the way to the solid stone the original town sat upon to support those towers.

Above in the dragon add-on, Spyro saw the stonework was really impressive, and carried dragon trademarks to it. The stone had the strong characteristics of being blast molded, being placed under the intense heat of a dragon's breath until it was able to be shaped into whatever they desired. The stonework and pillars inside the tower were very similar to the train station back in OverRail, and Spyro wondered if this was the same group of dragons who had built it.

It appeared as though they were on a "ground floor" of sorts. Well, as close to ground level as you could get. Large, tall and narrow windows sat in the solid stone walls, showing sunlight to them. The walls were tall, able to fit a dragon much more easily than the human structure below might have. While it was spacious down there, it was even more so up here. They turned from the stairwell into a large main room situated in the center of the tower itself. It was a large dining hall, which was a pretty accurate description of the room. The massive hall was probably most of their tower, and went from end to end. On the other end from them, Spyro saw a large doorway to the outside world. Spyro wondered if it was a way to get onto the rock roof of the caverns, but as Spyro got closer he saw there was a rotunda outside. More specially, it looked like a balcony for dragons to land who might be flying outside and wished to enter via this way rather than use the caves. In the middle of the hall was a large ornate stone table. There were no chairs of any sorts, only soft pads for the dragons to lay down around the table.

"Come, sit, sit." The elder invited, resting himself at the end of the table. He seemed very corgal and courteous to them, even after… all that had happened outside. Their seats had already been prepared, as prepared as this quick meal could be expected to be.

The other elders, two to be exact, walked over to their spots and sat down, up at the front of the table flanking the head elder. Spyro, Flame and Cynder sat down on the other end, finding the table was a natural fit for their dragon bodies. Jericho wasn't as fortunate and fumbled a bit, trying to find a way to sit so the table was at the right height. The table was… much lower than he was used to, and there were no chairs of any kind. It was obvious this place was designed for one with a feral body.

"Now then, we should discuss the terms of our agreement Sentinel." The elder said, getting comfortable at the end of the table. Cynder looked up for a moment from the table, only giving a soft nod before looking back down.

"What will we have to do for you?" Jericho asked, speaking on Cynder's behalf since she didn't appear to want to talk to the elder.

"To the north rests a quarry of crystals that this city and many others have thrived on for years. It's what has kept us here and if we lose the field, we might have to abandon our entire city. A few months ago Sentinels arrived from Baltimore, and placed some contraption in our quarry, sapping energy away from the crystals, powering their infernal devices. We have been unable to approach the field ever since. Some… field there preventing us from getting too close, just as it is in the sacred lands. We've had to rely on trade with other groups for crystals now for survival. I am asking you, Sentinel, to help us deactivate the device and return to us our field."

"You don't know why you can't approach it?" Spyro asked, curious about the field he had mentioned.

"It's some sort of field of energy. We cannot penetrate it." Another one of the elders said, shaking his head.

"Cynder?" Flame asked, curious if she had anything to say.

"It's one of our long range harvesters. We've used them to harness fields of crystals we cannot secure ourselves. We can use them to power our bases or machines out here." Cynder clarified.

"That much we've known. Do you know how to turn it off?" Tallion asked.

"I do… Only Sentinels can approach the device, its field keeps all others away. Even non-dragons. It's based on the energies the crystals give off."

"Yes, it probably corrupts it, poising all who rely on its magic to survive." One of the elders said dismissively. Cynder just sighed.

"Well I hope you're able to deactivate it young one. If not, we'll make sure you all serve out your sentences for trespassing." Tallion said lowly. Just as he said this another dragon walked into the dining hall, a young dragoness. It was the same dragoness from the courtyard, and the one who had apprehended them in the first place.

"My daughter Cicilian, along with another elite member of my guard will travel with you to ensure the mission is completed."

Wait a minute, daughter? Spyro turned, snapping his attention to the dragoness as she was getting settled in. Of course, it all made sense! Of course she was of high authority, she was the high elder's daughter!

Cicilian nodded, glaring at Cynder.

"I'll make sure they complete the mission elder Tallion." She said, walking over to join them for dinner. Just as she did, a servant came from a side room, platters mounted on his back. He used his muzzle to grab the platters, placing freshly cooked meats from various feral animals ranging from deer, ducks and other animals before them.

"Oh man… sweet, sweet food…" Flame said, immediately grabbing the meat and tearing into it. Spyro, himself had to fight the urge to just stuff his face. He looked at Cynder for a moment, sighing as she stared at her own food before reaching over to take a bite. Even she could not resist the temptation of a good meal. Spyro relented finally, letting his desires get the better of him.

The meat was absolutely fantastic. It had some spices and herbs placed on it that made it taste like nothing he had ever tasted before. This was quite possibly the best meal he had ever had in his life. Flame looked like he was in heaven, and some of the elders across the table were looking a little… concerned as he tore into the meat quickly.

"I can tell it's been a while since your last meal…" Tallion finally commented, watching Flame devour another slab of meat. Flame stopped, sitting back a bit in embarrassment.

"Oh… sorry… it kinda has…" His face went a little red as he realized how much he was stuffing himself. Spyro chuckled a bit, taking another bite of his… second helping.

"We've been traveling a lot. We haven't had a meal this nice in a long time." Jericho said, awkwardly using his hands to eat since there were no needs for utensils here.

"I still find it quite interesting to see a human and sentinel, or even just a dragon, traveling together." One of the other elders said.

"Well… yeah. I wouldn't say they've been natural circumstances." Jericho responded back. He picked up a bowl of juice the dragons had set down for them to drink, since they didn't use any cups. He had to awkwardly hold the bowl, since it was built to be held by a dragon's talons.

"What might those circumstances be, if you don't mind me asking?" Tallion asked, trying to prod Jericho once again, in the privacy of their home instead of out in the public space. He seemed very calm, almost… calculating in this setting. It was completely different from the elder that Spyro had envisioned outside. He seemed like a strong, intelligent and cunning leader outside. Here… he seemed a little more… calculating. Spyro wasn't sure that was the right word. He turned to Jericho, wondering what he'd say in response. Jericho looked at the dragon for a second, and Spyro could swear Jericho was thinking the same thing. Jericho finally smirked before frowning and setting his bowl down, having made up his mind. Cynder looked up to him too, curious to his response.

"Let's just say, we kind of all owe one another favors for things we've done… and we all just so happen to be going north, so why not?"

"Still, humans are hard to come by in these parts. It's surprising to see a human this far south or even east. Most of the dragons here have never seen humans before; they even believe you all to be long gone. I guess this would be since you all keep to yourselves so well. The villages we have come across are always out of the way, and up to the north and western areas."

"I'm surprised you know anything about us." Jericho responded.

"In my younger years I was part of a group that tracked your kind down specifically."

"For what reasons…?"

"Reasons that should not be repeated… Let's just say, none of them were diplomatic." The dragon said, tilting his head as if to cut the conversation right there. Jericho decided to change the pace of the conversation, looking down at the table for a moment.

"I went south looking for something to help me get north. I sort of… bumped into these guys along the way. We traded favor for favor… and now here we are."

"Are you perhaps fleeing the Sentinels?" Tallion asked, picking up one of the juice bowls to partake in himself.

"Fleeing, sir?"

"Sentinels have been more aggressive in recent years, as I'm sure your friend here is well aware of. They've been clearing out what Forger villages are left to the west of the great Appalachians. Even when the Sentinels settled in Baltimore they haven't been so aggressive. Something has definitely stirred them to go on a human-hunting spree."

"Yeah… I guess you could say they have." Jericho said, looking down at the table. Spyro looked up at him, sensing something in his voice. He saw him reach to his chest as if to grasp something. What would he have been grasping?

"Hmm, it's unfortunate that you wouldn't know why. While humans aren't exactly our friends, Sentinels are even more hated around here. The Dark Master thinks he can unite all creatures under a single banner, for peace and prosperity. It's all a load of lies… he just wants power. He wants to corrupt all lands with his black magic, that's all he's after."

Cynder remained quiet, chewing on her food.

"How big is this group of dragons?" Spyro asked, curious now.

"We are a strong nation, one of many who live here east of the great Appalachians. Our nation goes from here to the split city of Richmond where we hope to one day make our great capitol. We just have to kick those infernal squirrels from the city to claim it as rightfully ours. We are one of many proud dragon clans, though we may be rivals we all share the sentiment that we should resist the Dark Master to keep a free eastern realms. That is why we need your help to return to us our crystal fields. Without those fields, we would die off without their energies. Like starving a creature of food and water, we would not last. We survive off our ancestor's energy. The crystals must be cleansed."

"You had better keep your word Sentinel… if you try to make a break for it we will not hesitate to kill you. One less Sentinel in the world is a better result for all." One of the other elders said, looking at Cynder. She just scoffed at him while finishing her food.

"We'll clear your crystals. You don't have to worry about that." Jericho said reassuringly.

"Good, I look forward to it. You'll set out once the sun begins its downward journey. Your gear will be returned to you when you leave to go there."

Jericho nodded, returning to his food. Flame turned to Spyro, giving a nervous shrug. Spyro just did what he could to reassure his friend, though honestly it was him who needed a bit of that at the current moment.

/Transitioning…/

[Done]

"Man, it had to be far, didn't it?" Flame asked, groaning as he trotted with the others.

"It's not much farther, we could have flown there if it wasn't for your infernal friend." Their dragon guide said to them. Flame just sighed, shaking his head. The guide ignored him, continuing forward. They had left the city some time ago and had been traveling for at least an hour. They had gone north out of the city, passing through a dense overgrown forest that grew here in this… desert? Spyro wasn't exactly sure how to describe the environment here. The ground was bone dry, tinted a bright brown and even orange in spots, showcasing a desert-like environment. Yet, dense green vegetation sprung forth from this dry arid ground, as if given life by something. What it was, Spyro couldn't tell.

The elder had sent them along with one of his elite guards, whom he called Azmur. He was a much larger dragon, obviously a full grown adult. He had large stocky shoulders, and wore what he could only guess as battle armor designed for dragons.

Spyro looked the dragon over, observing the armor. It was plated metal, bolted onto special pads that looked to be a cross from synthetic forger materials and other materials the dragons had created themselves in the heat of their furnaces. It covered the dragon's chest, arms and parts of his sides and neck. A special helmet was resting on his head, likely specially made to fit his horn pattern. The places on his chest and arms were different form all the rest. Instead of standard plate metal, there were other materials on the plates, small disks that were fastened to the plates themselves, made from a dense material that didn't look metallic. On the dragon's arms, the pads fastened were large, almost like shields meant to cover the dragon in combat. They were not too large, so they didn't restrict movement but they looked large enough to shield the dragon from an attack. Two purple gemstones were embedded in the arm guards, and a series of small black bricks of some kind were fastened to the pads. They were lined with golden metal, holding them to the pad. Spyro couldn't recognize the material used in the small brocks, much like the discs on the dragon's chest. It looked to be some super dense material meant to absorb something, and the gemstone looked to be part of that process as it hummed lowly.

The entire armor glowed brilliantly in the sunlight, adorned with a grey silver color with gold trimmings, likely the colors of the dragon clan he was fighting for. All together, the armor looked threatening, menacing, and… just kinda awesome to Spyro. He wondered if he'd be able to wear something like that.

"Wait here, Cicilian should return shortly to inform us on the condition of the fields." Azmur said, holding up one of his claws to stop the group. Cicilian was coming with them, but had left the group some time earlier to scout out the fields herself.

"I'm still surprised she came with us… or that she's in the guard." Flame commented, sitting down for the moment to rest.

"She does seem a bit young." Cynder added.

"She is fully capable. All the children of the high elders must serve to earn combat experience. She is one of the best in her element class, and has been chosen to lead her own elite guard for the city." Azmur boasted.

"Yeah, but I mean, isn't that a little biased to put her in charge just because she is the elder's daughter?" Flame threw in again.

"She is more than capable. The head elders chose her based upon her raw skill, and gave her a squad to lead because she is so talented in her elements. Do not confuse her youth or heritage for her raw ability. She could probably outclass any of you in a fight."

"Heh, we'll see about that." Cynder said, shaking her head. Jericho just smirked, holding his rifle close as he sat on a rock to wait for her to return.

"We expecting anything at the field?" Spyro inquired.

"The group we're fighting, the eastern kingdom, has been sending troops into these forests for the past few weeks. We think they're trying to destroy our fields, or hunt dragons going to them for energy. Infernal creatures… one day we shall defeat them and push them from Richmond."

"What's the rush anyway? Why's Richmond so important that you are fighting over it?" Jericho asked.

"I assume you ask that because you're not from here… human. Richmond rests on the great 95th highway that runs all across the eastern shores of this land. All trade going north to south that hopes to avoid the forgotten lands must go through Richmond. It is also the place where our ancestors forged the pack to create our clans. It is our birthplace, and we have been booted from there by the Eastern Kingdom. They want to control the city to control trade. We are the rightful owners of Richmond and we shall control it again one day."

The sounds of wings commanded their attention, making them all look up to see Cicilian slowly coming in to land. She had gone dressed for battle as well. Her armor, however was a little different from that of Azmur's. While his was large and almost bulky hers was sleek and elegant. It hugged her figure tightly, with more soft curved edges as opposed to the jagged harsh lines on Azmur's Her armor was more colorful, and the plating on her chest was different, looking to have the thick blocks padding her chest rather than the discs but they looked more integrated into the armor rather than just fastened on. They were also molded so they fit an elegant pattern in her chest. With the amount of gold and ornate design to the armor, it wouldn't be hard to mistake her for a higher rank or even royalty. It was… also hard not to stare too much, the armor added to her feminine traits.

Spyro felt he was able to keep that fact from his mind, more so then… perhaps Flame did. He had to kick Flame a few times, and… Flame had to kick him a few times. Sparx just sighed.

"It looks clear for the moment, I didn't see any creatures or eastern soldiers there." Cicilian reported.

"Very well, then let's proceed." Azmur said. She nodded, but didn't move forward, instead using her head to track Cynder and Jericho as they began to walk further on the path.

"I don't know why my father is so quick to judge either of you. I have my serious doubts about you two. Especially a Sentinel."

"Well I don't need your trust, or anything from you for that matter. I could care less." Jericho said, slinging his rifle so it rested snug along his side. His casual demeanor in that remark seemed to have irked her, as Spyro could see a visible flinch in her eyes. He guessed that's not exactly how he was 'supposed' to respond to that remark.

"I just hope you're more capable then your ancestors." She replied back. Jericho just simply flicked his fingers as he walked away, a sort of 'gotcha' message back to her. Cicilian turned to Cynder now, putting all focus on her.

"And you? I surely hope the Sentinel has something to say.

"I assure you, pretty girl, I am capable." Cynder merely replied, shaking her head dismissively while beginning to trot along the path.

"You look far too young to be one of the Sentinels. You also don't look like the big lumbering soldiers, you still look like the rest of us." She commented.

"Aren't you a little too young to be in the elite guard? I am a Sentinel, and my brace here will protect me." Cynder motioned to the collar she had worn this entire time, the purple brace having a gemstone embedded in it that hummed softly, much like the inhibitor collar they had worn only earlier. It was much smaller than the inhibitor one though, which is why she was able to wear both at the same time when they were captured. Spyro looked at it, guessing that's what would protect her once she entered the energy field.

"You don't have to worry about me, Sentinel. I am possibly a better fighter then all of you. Why you two decided to tag along with her, I'll never understand." She said, motioning to Flame and Spyro. "We're all capable of our own abilities." Spyro said, interjecting himself.

"I would hope so. You two are both from the south, right?" She asked, turning to them again.

"Yeah. Why?" Spyro responded.

"Just curious. There aren't nearly as many dragons down south. There's that dragon colony on the southern shores but nothing like there is here up north."

"Yeah… there aren't many of us down there. It's a lot quieter there though, and… not as many cities."

"So why follow a Human and a Sentinel? You two looked like you were fully capable then this, I wouldn't consider a Sentinel quality company, and I don't think I could ever get used to a Forger."

"Jericho's not that bad, and we've helped each other through a lot of situations. I trust him." Spyro said, looking up to Jericho who was towards the front of the group.

"Is that right Forger?" Cicilian said, addressing him directly.

"I just do what I do." He simply replied, not even looking back to her. Cicilian didn't seem satisfied with that response, cocking her head, as if genuinely curious about their circumstances.

"Oh come on, it can't be that simple, can it? What business do you even have around here? I don't think I've ever heard of traveling Forgers, you guys usually stick to your villages. Why leave?"

"I have my reasons. I'm trying to get somewhere."

"Trying to get somewhere, like… where?" Jericho turned for a moment to look at her but smirked, keeping his pace.

"A place to the north, beyond Baltimore. We're all headed the same way, so why not partner up?"

"Why partner up, a normal question if it didn't involve a Sentinel."

"It's not like any of us asked for all of this." Cynder remarked, some disdain in her statement, but it almost sounded like it wasn't even aimed at Jericho like Cynder's statements usually were. This one almost sounded like she was defending him, and her at the same time. Cicilian simply smirked at her statement.

"We partnered up out of necessity, and now we all just share some common goals. Isn't that good enough for you?" Jericho responded, looking back at Cicilian with somewhat of a smirk. She just frowned at him before shaking her head.

"And you two?" She asked, turning to Spyro and Flame now. Spyro just shook his head, feeling like he'd answered this a hundred times already.

"Like Jericho's said, we all owe each other favors. I helped her and she helped me. Now we're just trying to get north."

"Why'd you help her in the first place? She's a Sentinel." Cicilian responded, eliciting a glare from Cynder.

"Well… she was in trouble and I saved her."

"Why?"

"Because… I just did. She was in trouble." Spyro simply said, unable to say more then what he already had. Cicilian gave him a puzzled look as she trotted along, almost as if she couldn't believe him. Cynder turned to Spyro as well, curious of his answer.

"Our city isn't so nice… it's ruled by thug bosses. We all got mixed into a bad situation." Flame said, trying to deflect attention from his friend.

"Southern dragons… I'll never understand you guys. You guys should come here, up north. You guys shouldn't live in a city ruled by thugs or even another species. You should live with your own kind, dragons. We need to look out for our own, because nobody has our backs. If you live with us, you'll have a much bigger family to live with, and won't be 'mixed into a bad situation.'" She said, turning away as she continued walking forward.

"You guys just let anybody live here in your city?" Flame asked, curious.

"All dragons are welcomed into our clan's nation. As long as you're true to us and dragon-kind, then you are welcome. We invite all into our arms, especially when there are people like the Dark Master out there, spreading lies. We'd rather have you on our side, then his." She said, turning all the way around so she walked backwards, facing them as she walked. Cynder just looked away, not really willing to respond. Cicilian saw this, giving a little victorious huff.

"It would be nice to live amongst other dragons… instead of with other species…" Spyro said lowly. He had to be honest, it would be nice. All his life, living in his hometown dragons were honestly a minority. They were a rarer sight there, and from all the stories he had heard, dragons were much more plentiful in other places. Growing up an orphan there, it was hard to believe there was more of his kind spread all over the world, and in great significant numbers. The world had been left to the dragons to rule, he had always been told. In his years growing up in that city, it was hard to believe that. Now that he had been outside of it, he was starting to believe that more.

"Yeah it would… beats being just an orphan on the streets…" Flame admitted too.

"You two are orphans?" Cicilian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we never had a family growing up. We just had each other, so… we made due." Spyro admitted, frowning. Cicilian looked at him for a moment before turning around again.

"Strange. I didn't think there could be dragon orphans. Here there are no orphans, everybody's got a proud family to live in. Blood is important here, and all are brought into a family clan if there are none." She said. Spyro looked at her and thought about it for a moment. It would be nice, to live with others that he could consider family. The thought hadn't occurred to him in a long time. He was just… used to living on his own.

"Well there's not much of that where we're from. You're on your own there." Flame added, shaking his head.

"Like I said, you guys shouldn't waste your time down south, you should stop your quest here and live here. We could always use more dragons who are willing to stand for their independence."

Spyro didn't respond anymore, just walking forward silently. Cynder looked at him for a moment before continuing on, not saying anything herself.

They continued walking for a while, following the winding paths that cut through the forest. The trees were resembling evergreens, growing thicker and thicker. The ground was also becoming a more natural brown, but still retained some reddish tints. Sand was still plentiful but was now mixing with dirt, almost like the two were oil and water, sitting unnaturally against one another but still blending in. The whole time, Spyro kept thinking back to their conversations in the elder's home, remembering what had been said. It almost… seemed strange to Spyro, that the elder changed when he was in his private home. He would have hoped he would have been… different. Spyro didn't know exactly how to say it, but he almost felt disappointed. Why though, would he even feel that? It made a little bit of sense that he would act differently in private then in the public space, before all the crowds, but Spyro would have hoped for… something more from the elder. It was hard to describe, and Spyro was just thankful they were getting this chance at freedom to continue onwards to Baltimore.

"Hey, I got a question." Flame said, breaking the silence. Spyro turned over to Flame, as did Cynder and Cicilian.

"Well go ahead, what's your question red one?"

"Back in the trial, you guys talked about Lost Ones. In… the Forgotten Lands, er, sacred lands. What are those guys?"

"Did you actually encounter them, the Lost Ones?" Cicilian asked, turning to face them while walking.

"I thought you knew, since you were spying on us." Cynder remarked. Cicilian just huffed at her.

"I was monitoring your progress once we were aware of you. I didn't watch your every move though…"

"We encountered them alright. They looked like mutated anthros, or something like that. They had that entire city to the south infested." Jericho remarked as he pushed a tree branch out of his path.

"Those are the Lost Ones. They're the unfortunate souls who've ventured into the Forgotten Lands, seeking treasure and salvage that's laid untouched. It's remained untouched for a reason. There's a curse there, a curse that drives all who go there mad if they stay too long. They say it's the souls of the ones who used to live there, who were changed. Cursed souls, who want nothing more than for someone else to join them. That's who the Lost Ones are, creatures who've joined the others there are want nothing more than for someone else to join with them. They exist in a permanent state of torment and sadness. It's ironic really, they're incapable of feeling anything other than sadness, yet they desire nothing but happiness. Those foolish enough to venture there join them." Azmur described, a deep and solemn tone in his voice. Spyro looked at him for a moment as he spoke. The entire time he held his head down while walking forward, as if there was genuine fear in what he was saying.

"Are they just natives of that area?" Spyro asked, remembering the ghastly silhouettes that lined the ruins, wondering if they were the souls of the lost that he had spoken about.

"They're native to that forest, but I wouldn't doubt they can live in other places. For years we've kept them inside those forests, away from the sacred area. We fear if they travel there they might try to feed on the energy of the area, or even threaten our city. We know nothing of how they're born, but we know they're so capable of spreading the corruption, like so many things in this world." Cicilian clarified.

"What's so important about that sacred area anyway? It looks like something awful happened there…" Flame asked, perplexed why they would worship such a site, especially after what happened to them there.

"We consider it one of the sites of birth for our kind, and the world. Whatever happened there, a massive amount of energy kissed the land, and changed it. The energy there is still in its young form, and can be toxic to some. It's why you're never supposed to approach the center alone. Our kind, as were many others, were born from the energy that was born there. The fields we're going to are relics of that time, born as the energy matured and grew into something we could thrive off of. That is why it is sacred to us. It's also very dangerous there."

"Yeah, we noticed." Flame said, rubbing his arm.

"Creatures who go there and thrive off that energy are very dangerous, and we fear what might happen if the Lost Ones ever tried to attack it. We fear what they might become."

"Aren't they already changed because of what that energy did?" Jericho asked, frowning.

"What the energies of the forgotten lands did, yes. However there's something different that lurks in the heart of the sacred area. It's something far more powerful, and we hope it stays there, untapped by the Lost Ones, or the Sentinels." Cicilian said, shooting a glare at Cynder who just ignored her.

"We're here." Cicilian finally said, walking up to an area where the ground began to rise, looking like it was along the edge of a crater.

Spyro took in a deep breath, already feeling some strange affects as they approached the area. He could feel a warmth washing over him… giving him great strength. It was similar to what he had felt back in the forgotten lands, especially in the derelict city. However, it felt… pleasant. It felt right, rather than corrupt.

Cicilian climbed over a collection of rocks ahead, leaping down into the quarry itself. The others followed, all leaping down several layers of rock until they were able to behold the quarry itself.

Before them sat a massive circular crater in the ground, at least a hundred feet deep in some areas. The ground rose all around it, towering high above it as rock cliffs surrounded the entire quarry, hiding it from the world. Massive trees and other forms of growth bordered the edges of it, obscuring it even more.

Crystals, large crystals jutting from the ground everywhere around them, getting larger and more diverse as you got closer to the center. The ground was uneven, going deeper as you went farther, like a bowl. In the center, they could see a massive gemstone towering above the others, shining a brilliant purple that cast its light over the entire area. Even though it was afternoon, you could see its purple light dancing across the rocks and other gemstones.

"Oh wow… that's so beautiful…" Spyro said, not able to help himself.

"Welcome to North Heart Fields. These crystals are what give our city its life, give the land here its energy and allows us dragons to live and thrive here. Without these fields, we would have to find another place to survive."

"So, where is this device?" Jericho asked, looking around but unable to see the Sentinel's inhibitor.

"There." Cynder said, pointing her talon as she had already spotted it. Everyone turned, following her talon.

Going towards the large gemstone in the center there was a pathway that naturally snaked its way through the different gems and crystals, going towards the heart of it all. There, at the base of the crystal there was a platform that had been constructed from black metal. It hugged the base of the massive gem, and it appeared that something was being supported by the platform.

Upon further inspection, they could see there was another crystal being held by the platform, however this crystal was held up by a black metal cage which forced the crystal into the towering gemstone. The crystal pulsed an almost pinkish purple color every so often, which pulsed into the larger gemstone itself. More crystals lined the base of the platform, as if in containers. They didn't look natural to these fields, and were likely placed here by the Sentinels. They all were hooked up to the platform, as if drawing energy from the gemstone itself. Spyro could see how the Sentinel's crystal was poisoning the massive gemstone, piercing it and feeding it corrupted energy. He could feel it too now… burning at him even from this great distance. He was standing easily a couple hundred feet from the massive gemstone and he could feel the corruption. It felt just like in the dark city in the forgotten lands, or even the burned city where HADES itself had struck.

The corruption and evil was all the same to him.

"You sure you're up to the task of disabling that thing?" Cicilian asked Cynder, turning to her.

"Yes, yes. Just… leave it to me. All you have to do is remove the crystal that's embedding itself into that massive gemstone. You pull it out, it stops the feed of corruption. Then you can smash all the crystals and shut it down for good." Cynder explained.

"Good, then hurry up. I can… feel the evil from here even. I don't like it, I don't like it at all…" Cicilian said as she shook her head.

"Right… here it goes…" Cynder said, slowly starting to walk towards the gemstone.

"Wait, wait Cynder!" Flame said, interrupting them.

"What? What is it Flame?" Cynder asked as she turned.

"You guys hear that?" Flame asked, turning his head around. The others looked at him before all looking around to scan the horizon.

"What… I don't…" Spyro began, but was hushed by Cicilian.

"No, no he's right! Quickly, over there!" Cicilian ordered, ushering them to a pile of fallen rocks that rested along the edge of the crater. All at once they moved there, quickly taking cover from whatever it was that they had heard.

"Down! Down! Go!" They heard a voice shout. Now, now they could hear it. They could hear many more voices, all coming from nearby.

Spyro picked his head up, trying to get a good view of what was happening.

He saw several ropes drop down from the top of the crater to their right. Figures slid down the ropes, all dropping down into the crater. It was hard to see, but after a few minutes he could see they were all squirrel anthros, all adorned in soldier's gear. They were ready for war.

Each of them wore a ballistic vest of some sorts, likely copied or stolen from the Forgers. Pads, pouches and many other pieces of equipment hung from them, all looking professional, rather than just scavenged. They all carried powerful and intimidating weaponry. They bore a close resemblance to the rifle Jericho carried, but it appeared as though they were still all knock offs. These weren't just common scavengers, they were something more.

"Eastern Kingdom soldiers…" Cicilian hissed.

"How many of them are there?" Cynder asked, unable to see.

"I count at least twenty or so. It's a raiding party." Azmur said as he attempted to compress his large body to conceal himself.

"They're here to destroy the field. I can't believe I didn't spot them on my recon run…" Cicilian said, gritting her teeth.

"What's the plan guys?" Flame asked, trying to crane his head to get a better view himself.

There was only a moment of silence as they watched what they could from their position.

"We… have a plan, right?" Flame asked again, worried now.

"There's only a few of us, and there's twenty of them." Cicilian said, peering at them as Spyro could tell she was pondering something.

"I hope you're not afraid of them…" Cynder said with a smirk.

"Oh please… I've taken on FAR more of these guys and won… You've just got to be tactical. We will need your help though…" Cicilian admitted.

"Good, I would hate to see you chip a talon." Cynder said, eliciting a glare from Cicilian.

"Easy there Sentinel, I'd hate to see you shot. Well, then again maybe not." She said, smirking at Cynder who glared back.

"Guys, come on!" Spyro said, trying to get them to focus.

"How experienced would you say these guys are?" Jericho asked, loading a fresh magazine into his rifle.

"They're skilled warriors, but not invincible. These are likely raid troops, I wouldn't call them top of the line." Azmur said, looking them over again.

"Well I'd say our odds are good if we can split them up. That armor of theirs looks good, but I doubt it's the best." Jericho said as he grabbed onto a rock above him. He pulled himself up, starting the climb the cliff to a roost of rocks above him.

"Where are you going?" Cicilian asked, alarmed by this.

"Getting a vantage point!" Jericho said back down to her, trying to keep his voice low.

"Damned human… he's going to get himself killed." She said in response, shaking her head.

"Perhaps, but we're all capable ourselves, just you watch." Cynder said to her.

"We'll see about that." Cicilian said before turning back to the soldiers in the field.

They had begun to split up into smaller groups, moving deeper towards the field.

"Make sure to place these charges in clusters, we can sweep this place in one swoop men!" One yelled, possibly their commander.

"You two, go scout out the center, we gotta place most of the charges there!" Another yelled, pointing to two of the soldiers. They nodded, moving down the pathway towards the heart of the field. They began to sprint, trying to reach the center quickly, though it didn't appear that they were aware of what was truly down there…

Cicilian lifted her paw, as if to halt the group's movement, curious to see if the soldiers would trip the Sentinel's device.

As the soldiers sprinted down, they began to slow, coming to a walk. One of them grabbed his head while the other grabbed his gut. Spyro watched closely, seeing how the waves of energy were beginning to affect them. The commander of the soldiers saw this, walking over to get a better line of sight of them.

"You two, what's the hold up? Hurry up and plant those charges!" He yelled.

Soon, both soldiers fell over, their bodies shuddering and giving soft spasms as they lay on the ground. The other soldiers rushed to help them, but their commander raised his arm.

"Stop! Do not approach, it appears as though we haven't been the first to attack these fields…" The commander pointed towards the Sentinel device, grimacing a bit.

"Orders… sir?" Another soldier asked, lowering his weapon as he backed from field.

"There are still a number of crystals the dragons can use. Let's help the Sentinels finish off this field. Nobody approach that field, no creature can approach it except for a Sentinel. We've got to drive the dragons from these lands, they curse it with their poison. It's our mission to ensure that the dragons do not inherit this world, that is our birthright. They have led to disasters like the Dark Master and his armies. We will not throw this world away as the humans did, and as the dragons are doing. Let's finish this mission men!" Their commander shouted, eliciting cheers of approval from his men.

"Man, so much ideology…" Flame muttered as he shook his head. Spyro could only silently agree as he looked on.

"Why don't we show those rodents who deserves this world…" Cicilian said, gritting her teeth at the commander's remarks.

"Whenever you're ready princess." Cynder remarked, making Cicilian smirk a bit.

"Right then, Sentinel, let's see if you can fight as much as you can mouth off." With that, Cicilian leapt from their cover, sprinting forward. Azmur followed right behind, flapping his massive wings to get above the area. Spyro, Cynder and Flame shot from their positions as well, getting airborne immediately.

The squirrels were taken by complete surprise as the group of dragons immediately began assaulting them. Bursts of elemental energy slammed into the first group of soldiers, knocking them out of action before they could even react. The soldiers behind them weren't so easily dispatched, however. They began retreating behind the gemstones and crystals, raising their rifles and firing at the dragons.

"Dragons! Take them down, don't let a single one live!" Their commander shouted, firing his rifle at them. Azmur leapt in front of the group, raising his armored front legs, the massive plates of armor deflecting the bullets fired from the squirrels. From where he was, Spyro could see the gemstones on Azmurs armor glowing, and a field of energy was created, adding to the effects of the armor. He casually blocked their shots, condensing his body so he would sit behind the shields.

Cicilian used this distraction to her advantage, flying just behind Azmur and firing shards of ice at the squirrels. She was a dead-eye with those shards, nailing soldiers who were well in cover. The soldiers saw what they were up to and began to direct their fire at her. She took this cue, flapping her wings to climb quickly, letting Azmur burst forward. He charged like a bull, slamming his massive talons into the ground, using his element of earth to knock back several of the soldiers behind the crystals, trying not to damage them.

Spyro, Cynder and Flame streaked above, bombarding them with several elemental attacks as Cicilian and Azmur kept the soldiers preoccupied. Spyro switched his elements from time to time, using his burst of earth attacks to fire, flying over the soldier's heads, forcing them further and further back.

From time to time, Spyro saw a soldier or two jolt as a bullet pierced through them. He craned his head back, seeing Jericho sitting upon the rocks behind them, firing shot after shot into the squirrels while they were distracted. Some soldiers fired back at him, but none were able to get good shots as he kept them pinned down.

"Back, back, fall back!" Their commander yelled, rallying his troops to a cluster of gemstones that served as good overhead cover.

"Die, vermin!" Cicilian yelled as she fired a bolt of ice energy onto a soldier, freezing his legs. The soldier screamed as he was trapped in place, a perfect target for Azmur as he flew down onto the soldier, using his weight and powerful frontal paws to crush the poor soldier to death. Spyro grimaced, looking away as he flew overhead, trying to help keep the soldiers off his friends.

One looked up directly at him, grunting as he could see the soldier's fear. Spyro grunted, wanting to retaliate but something about the soldier made him stop. He could see… genuine fear in the soldier's eyes. He almost looked like a boy, rather than a grown adult soldier. It made him stop for a moment, until he realized the soldier carried a weapon that was pointed right at him.

"Spyro, what're you doing?!" Flame called out to his friend. Spyro snapped out of it, and the soldier did possibly as well. The soldier looking at him grunted before firing several rounds at Spyro, forcing him to flap his wings to get higher. The soldier wasn't able to track him, but his other friends were. Bullets flew right by Spyro, threatening to pierce his wing skins and force him to the ground.

"Spyro, look out!" Cynder yelled, seeing this. She conjured up a sphere of black energy, casting it down at the group of soldiers targeting Spyro. The energy burst, sending them flying in all directions as black energy fizzled off their bodies and clothing.

Spyro flew to the ground, trying to regain himself as bullets pinged all around. The squirrels had begun to fall back farther into the crystal structures, with their commander rallying them around one of the larger clusters there.

"Mages up front! Mages up front!" He yelled, firing a burst to keep Cicilian at bay. She grunted, having to duck behind a crystal to avoid the shots. Now that the squirrels were concentrating themselves, it was becoming harder and harder to bull rush them. Every time one of them put a shot of elemental energy out at them, they'd have to take cover immediately or risk taking shots.

Spyro saw movement now, some soldiers responding to their commander's orders. He had called on mages, but what were those exactly, Spyro wondered. He saw a group of soldiers wearing large jackets over their uniforms, strange spheres hanging from them as well in addition to their normal equipment. He could see them setting their weapons down before grabbing the metallic and crystal spheres from their uniforms, holding them up while chanting something.

"Get down!" Cicilian yelled as she saw what was happening.

"What're they doing?" Flame wondered, moving up to take cover behind a rock nearby.

"Fire! Get them!" The commander yelled. The mages responded, waving their arms to hurl large blue spheres of light and energy at them.

"Don't stop moving or you're dead!" Cicilian yelled again, running in-between the crystals. The spheres landed, their energies dancing in front of Spyro's view. It sparked between many of the nearby crystals before causing them to shatter explosively, threatening anyone standing nearby.

They had to move quickly to avoid ones coming down onto them, blowing away the nearby crystal clusters. Spyro dashed in-between several, watching as the spheres began to tear apart the field. What crystals were left were now being absolutely destroyed and soon there would be no field left.

"Take out those mages!" Azmur yelled, flapping his wings to avoid a large one that landed nearby. He wasn't able to completely avoid it, however. He groaned in pain as blue electricity sparked off his chest, causing pieces of his armor to blow off. The enchanted stones that seemed to protect him from the bullets cracked and shattered, denying him that protection.

Spyro grunted, trying to see any way they could possibly attack the mages, only to look in surprise as one of the orbs that the mages had picked up exploded in his hands, causing his body to be hurled back several feet. Two other mages were hit in the chest and tumbled over, orbs falling to the ground and detonating brilliantly.

"Sniper! Kill him!" The commander yelled, pointing to where Jericho had set up shop.

"Get out of there Jericho!" Spyro yelled up at him.

"Move you damned human, or you'll leave the living!" Cicilian yelled as well, seeing this. Jericho saw the incoming shots and leapt from his rock, landing down below hard. He rolled once he hit, before running to take cover.

"Let's see you do something about them, huh?" Jericho yelled back at her before moving to take shots at the soldiers, hitting one of them before ducking back into cover.

"Come on guys, we can take them out!" Cynder said, running behind a crystal for a moment before leaping out into the open to conjure a sphere of energy in her muzzle. She hurled her own energy attack downrange, colliding with the mages. The hooded soldiers yelled in pain as her attack was far more accurate then they could ever hope to be. Spyro flapped his wings, hoping to help. He sailed overhead, flapping his wings to try and avoid the bullets from the other soldiers. He finally got into a good position, opening his muzzle to unleash a jet of fire that cascaded down onto the mages. Their combined attacks caused them to disperse, breaking their concentrated attacks.

Cicilian took this opportunity, leaping up and shooting shards of ice to hit some of the vulnerable soldiers. Only a few remained now, attempting to flee or retreat as their line had been broken and their commander had fallen from several ice shards into his chest. Those who survived quickly began to climb up the face of the cliffs, attempting to quickly get away from the murderous group of dragons that killed their entire platoon.

"Yeah! Run you damned pests!" Cicilian yelled victoriously.

"Yeah! We did it!" Flame yelled, picking himself off of the ground. Sparx zipped around happily as he had taken cover as well.

Azmur managed to pick himself up, dusting himself off slowly. The impact of the energy hadn't killed him, but it had damaged his chest armor. He looked at it for a moment, lamenting the damage to his armor. At least he was alive, Spyro thought to himself privately.

Jericho moved from where he had taken cover, looking untouched by any of the bullets. The rifle of his barrel was still red hot and Spyro could still see the smoke rising from it. It didn't look like Jericho had even given the squirrels a moment of respite, even after they fished him from his position.

"Good job you guys, we kicked their asses." Cynder managed to say, panting somewhat. She looked in much higher spirits, Spyro thought.

"Indeed... Looks like you guys are quite something in a fight..." Cicilian commented, looking them over as soon as Jericho joined them.

"Shouldn't underestimate us... We've survived this long." Cynder said.

"Indeed you have..."

"Now then, we can finally have the Sentinel do her task." Azmur said while waking up.

"Right... I hope you haven't forgotten our deal, Sentinel." Cicilian smirked towards Cynder, while having a bit of a serious look at the same time.

"I know, I know." Cynder said, shaking her head. She sighed, turning towards the crystals, looking them over. Even with the battle going on, the Sentinel's machine was still pulsing the corrupted energy.

"Can you do it Cynder?" Spyro asked, turning to her.

"Yeah... yeah I can. Like I said, this collar will protect me. I'm a Sentinel after all." She said, smiling to him. He smiled back, but it faded. She was a Sentinel, yeah... But, she wasn't a true Sentinel, not yet. How much of a difference would that make, Spyro wondered.

"Well Sentinel?" Azmur asked.

"Yeah I'm going, I'm going!" She said, starting back to the main pathway. She stopped just short of it, looking at the massive crystal that made up the heart of the network. Corrupted purple energy pulsed from it, poisoning the other crystals in the field. She looked at it for a few moments longer before beginning down the path. She slowly moved, the crystals becoming larger and larger around her, beginning to tower. They shadowed her now, their energies bouncing off one another, and she could feel each of their waves. Spyro could see her beginning to breathe harder, become more anxious. The closer and closer she got, he could see her slowing down, getting more hesitant. Even from here, Spyro could feel the energies washing over him, making him share in the corrupted feel.

Suddenly, she stopped, halfway down towards the crystal. Spyro could see her, writhing somewhat, gritting her teeth. Her eyes widened before shutting completely, her forepaws coming up to grip her head as if a massive pain had just washed over her. He wanted to rush forward to help but he knew he'd succumb to the same fate as she. Why was she unable to do this? Wasn't she a Sentinel? Didn't that protect her from corrupted energy…?

Finally, she turned to them, tears going down her face as she backed up a few feet.

"I… I can't…"

"I knew it… I knew it! She can't do it! She's not a real Sentinel!" Azmur yelled out in anger, flapping his wings.

"What trickery is this?" Cicilian asked, turning to Spyro and the others.

"We, we thought she could do it!" Spyro exclaimed, confused as to what was happening.

"She's no Sentinel, she's just a trainee! She's no true Sentinel, she would have never been able to pass this field…"

"Cynder? I thought you could do it…" Spyro said, looking back to her. She stumbled towards them, tears still falling down her face.

"I… I thought I could… the collar, I don't understand…" She said, shaking like a sick animal. The corrupted energy was taking its toll on her, much like it did the soldiers who tried to enter prior.

"You don't understand because you're a fool. You're no true Sentinel, you don't bare the kiss. That collar does nothing for you, true Sentinels are corrupted beyond belief, evil creatures born of black fire. They alone can survive in that corrupted energy. You are not one of them, and are useless to us." Cicilian proclaimed, flexing her claws as she approached Cynder for a blow. Spyro dashed in front of her.

"No! You can't harm her, she thought she could do it!" Spyro said.

"Out of my way! She's just a liar, all of them are! Even if she doesn't bare the kiss she's still as evil as the rest of them! Don't believe her for a second!"

"Well I do believe her. If you're going to hurt her, you're going to have to go through me." Spyro said, boldly standing his ground.

"Spyro…" Flame said, walking up, wanting to help his friend but so unsure of just what was going on. He didn't know whose side to pick, but he trusted Spyro. They were close, like brothers after all. He took a deep gulp before walking over to his side.

"Me too." Flame said. Spyro turned to the red dragon with a look of surprise, but it quickly turned into determination as he turned back to the shocked Cicilian.

"What? What is this? Why defend a Sentinel? You two are pure dragons, capable of so much more! Don't throw your lives away for a vile creature!" Cicilian yelled out, hesitant to bring harm to them for the moment. Azmur just stayed silent, watching the scene before him with a look of malice to all involved aside from Cicilian.

They were so caught up in their scene, they had hardly even noticed Jericho turn and start walking towards the heart of the crystal fields. It was Sparx who caught their attention, buzzing wildly in front of Spyro's face.

"What, what is it buddy?" Spyro asked. He turned, seeing Jericho slowly making his way down the central path. He was already deep into the field, double the distance Cynder was able to cover, and he bore no signs of stopping.

"What in the name of…" Cicilian muttered.

"Jericho, what're you doing?!" Spyro yelled, running to the edge of the field to help Cynder escape it, but not venturing a foot more.

Jericho just turned to Spyro for a moment before turning back to the massive crystal, walking back towards it. He didn't stop, he didn't even flinch. He just kept walking, getting closer and closer to the tainted machine.

He walked up to it, feeling the corrupted energy wash over him but felt nothing like the others did. He set his rifle beside the machine, walking up to the crystal that had embedded itself into the much larger crystal that made up the heart of this field.

He looked at it for a moment before bringing his arms up to it, grabbing hard onto the crystal. It was easily the size of his thigh, and didn't budge easily. He grunted, gripping it more tightly in an attempt to dislodge it from the massive gemstone. He pulled harder and harder until finally one last pulse escaped the tainted crystal, and it came lose with a rocky clang.

Jericho fell backwards, the crystal flying from his hands and sliding across the ground before coming to a rest nearby. It dimmed before falling silent completely. There was a few moments of silence as the energy began to dissipate, slowly releasing the fields of the corruption that had snared them for at least a year or so.

Jericho sat on the ground, looking around for a few moments before standing up, trying to dust himself off after hitting the ground so hard.

"Jericho, how'd you do that?!" Flame asked, rushing towards him. The others came in right behind, looking around as they could safely approach the heart of the fields now.

"I'm not sure, just a hunch really." Jericho said, picking his rifle back up.

"How on Earth were you able to survive that corruption…? No creature should have been able to survive that, all creatures who rely on these gems for life cannot survive their taint…"

"Well I don't thrive off these crystals. None of my people do." Jericho said plainly, slinging his rifle onto his back before looking back at the massive gemstone in the center of the field. It's brilliant purple hue had begun to grow dimmer. At first Spyro thought it was just the corruption releasing it from its grasp, but it kept fading…

"Something's wrong, the crystals aren't recovering… There's no life being emitted by them." Cicilian said sadly as she walked over to one of the smaller clusters of crystals coming from the ground. They were as dim as the massive one sitting before them. All the energy, all the life just seemed to be flowing from it… leaving completely. Had the poison destroyed the fields completely?

"It seems you've saved our fields from the corruption… but the field is already dying. Our city will die with it…" Azmur said, his head lowering in disappointment.

"What? But we took out the Sentinel's machine! Beat back those squirrel soldiers! Even after all that the field's going to die…?" Flame asked, shaking his head.

"It appears so." Azmur replied back.

Spyro walked up to the machine, looking at it. The panels were dead now, no life left in them. The black metal housing the machinery looked as tainted and corrupted as the energy that flowed from it did. The massive crystal only feet away from him grew dimmer and dimmer by the moment. It was as if the poison was the only thing keeping the massive crystal alive. Why was it dying? Was it unable to survive without the tainted energy? Had all the pure energy completely left it now?

With a heavy heart, Spyro pressed his claw against the crystal's shell, feeling it. He could feel it… feel its weak pulse. It was like feeling the heart-beat of someone who was dying. Slowly but surely it grew softer and softer until nothing could be left… It brought great sorrow to Spyro's heart.

"Spyro, what are you doing…?" Cynder asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"What?" Spyro asked, turning to her. Everyone in the group was looking at Spyro now, all with a different look of inherent fascination. Spyro turned, looking back at the crystal. His heart jumped when he noticed a bit of life coming from his paws, flowing deep into the heart of the crystal. He could feel the pulse inside growing stronger, getting louder with each thump. He could feel more… more life coming from it.

Getting an idea, he pressed both his paws against the crystal, feeling more energy washing over him, flowing from himself into the crystal and back again. He felt a feeling of great joy and jubilation, as if a pure essence itself was just washing through his body, an antidote to any ailment you could think of.

Crystals around them began to glow again, their energy coming back all at once. The massive crystal at the heart of the field glowed brighter and brighter until its brilliant purple color was restored. It was a warmer hue this time, and Spyro swore that if you sat under it, it would be impossible to be sad or depressed. The feeling of joy from the warmth alone could defeat anything of that nature.

"By the ancestors, you've restored the crystal! The fields! They're all bring brought back to life!" Cicilian exclaimed.

"Spyro, you did it!" Cynder said happily. Jericho crossed his arms, smirking as his previous exploit had just been trumped.

"No, we did it." Spyro said, smiling a bit at Jericho's own smirk. He just laughed, shaking his head.

"How in the world did you do that? First the Forger survives the tainted field then you single handedly restore the fields to their original life and energy…" Cicilian said while looking at the group. She looked at them for a moment longer, seeing no answer coming from them.

"Just who are you guys?"

End of Chapter 11

A/N: Hey guys, so it appears I've posted something, big surprise right? So, a lot has happened since I last posted, and a lot of it had to do with killing my will to write. I also had finished this chapter some time ago, but both me and my editor felt… off about something in this chapter. We couldn't quite place our finger on it, and it just sat around for months on both our computers gathering dust. It wasn't until this past week that I pulled my editor aside and said "Look, it's been fucking forever since we did this and I need to know, what is wrong with this chapter? What needs to be changed?" We had a discussion and FINALLY hammered out what was wrong. I know, I know you guys would rather read it then let it sit there, but I'd rather… make it good before I release it.

Anyway, I'm ranting now. I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter, it was a joy to write this. I still want to continue this (along with Malefor Chronicles! I haven't forgotten that either!) Like I've said before on my previous chapters, I do draw a lot of artwork for this story and others and post them to my deviantART page, so if you guys are ever curious about seeing certain scenes get illustrated, go check out my dA page .com

I'll catch you guys later.