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!

24. Once More

Chapter 24: Once More

November 16, 5:32 PM

"Left! Leeeeeeeeeft!" Asimov yelled, sailing downwards through an archway. Spyro grunted and heeded Asimov's warning, leaning left while flying. A blast of energy slammed into the wall next to him, nearly striking him. Spyro shoved his body aloft, trying to stay ahead of the attacks. A wall rested between the two dragons, and they saw an opening, an archway meant to support a now open window. They slipped through , just as another attack slammed into the wall and broke it in two. A half collapsed wall sat next, and they quickly maneuvered to slip through the holes in the fallen debris to pass.

Rocky cavern walls enveloped their surroundings, and the strange and disjointed assortment of former human buildings jutted from the rocks in a random and almost dream-like manner. Half a warehouse sat in front of them, with what looked like a restaurant jutting hallway out of the cavern walls in the middle of the supposed warehouse. They moved in, moving left to right as they had to account for support beams from a building they could no longer see that protruded into the cavern space. They passed so close between them that Spyro almost hit his head on a half shattered fountain, hanging from the ceiling. Walls that no longer had the support of ceilings or floors rested against the ruins of buildings that had no relation, and it only served to provide more obstacles in this cavern.

How any of this ended up deep within the bowels of these rocks was a mystery to the two dragons, one that was hard to contemplate on as blasts of energy came cascading from behind, targeting them both.

"There, through that debris!" Asimov shouted, calling for Spyro to slip through an office building. They barely had enough room to clear the smaller windows, but they managed to clear it just as another blast impacted nearby. The interior was completely empty, devoid of any furniture or even any floors! However, this played to their advantage… Asimov quickly picked a direction, and bolted for one of the many open windows along the building.

They slipped free from the empty husk of a building, and found a neighboring cavern going off from the main tunnel. They took it, hoping to evade the perusing black dragon, Vivex.

The narrow tunnel winded and changed directions more times than Spyro could count! It became so narrow at times they had to land and maneuver their way through the passages, barely able to squeeze through.

Stopping for a moment, they turned back to look at the main tunnel they had left before. They could still hear Vivex back there, and an occasional blast of purple light told them he was still destroying the structures back there. For the moment, he was gone. They both took a collective sigh of relief, and proceeded again into the adjacent tunnel. It opened up into a rather roomy chamber, with stalactites forming on the ceiling, and of course, a half ruined building crumbling from the upper left portion of the chamber. It almost looked as if the building was falling into the chamber itself, with many of its former… occupants being deposited onto the rocky floor such as old tables, chairs and pieces of wall and wooden floor. The room was illuminated by the soft glow of a few crystals growing from the cavern walls, giving them enough light to see throughout the chamber. The light also illuminated several thick vines that were also protruding from the cavern walls, almost right where the base of the crystals were. They spread out in all directions, with some hugging the floor and walls to some even hanging free in the chamber, passing to another section of wall and burying itself deep inside.

"Man… this place isn't any less creepy on the inside…" Spyro said as he stepped over one of the large vines. It gave a little rumble as he did so, almost alarming him. Asimov flapped his wings and soared above the vines, stopping at the other end of the small chamber.

"Creepy is one way to put it…" Asimov replied, waiting for his partner to catch up. These caves, these caverns ran deep into the King Goliath. Every so often they'd feel a deep rumble as the creature would move one of its mighty arms and legs, moving the creature across the vast landscape. They were here for one purpose, to find and destroy the life crystal that was powering the goliath. Without it, the beast would fall silent, and Vivex would lose his precious connection to the Dark Master. They could finally kill him. Asimov had informed Spyro that they had placed the crystal underneath the church that they had been in earlier. There was a passage under the alter that they had used to access these caves, and then buried the crystal deep inside. They caved in the entrance afterwards to keep Spyro and Cynder from finding it. Though, Asimov was able to get a glimpse of the other caves before it was sealed in, meaning that there might be an alternative way to reach the crystal. Spyro hoped Asimov's hunches were right, because continuing to fight Asimov was a losing battle, one he could not keep up forever.

In the next chamber, things were only getting stranger. Dead tree trunks jutted from the ground, and even the wall! Half of a rotting house was embedded halfway into the ceiling, and two old car husks lay half turned over on the cavern floor. More vines sprouted from the walls, and worked their ways around the chamber. More crystals gave them light, and they pulsated with a deep purple energy. Even as they stood far away from them, they could feel the energy of the Dark Master. It was ripe in the air around them. The crystals and vines almost pulsated to the same tone, it almost made Spyro feel as if it were a beating heart pumping blood through the massive infestations.

Passing through, they stepped over human bones, from what they could only think of as unfortunate souls who were either killed or trapped here. Going even further into the chamber they began to uncover military bodies. Old army fatigues hugged these bodies, as well as discarded weapons.

"Hey… you think that… when this goliath was made, that it just… swallowed up the surrounding environment and coalesced into this… mass of a creature?" Asimov's eyes wandered around the room as he pitched the question, one that was hanging over the purple dragon's mind.

"I always thought it was more of the goliaths just lifting themselves from the ground, and whatever was there became a part of them too."

"You'd think that, but these caves are just too… odd…"

"It was born from Aurora, from… the power of the Dark Master's energy being pumped into the Earth. I don't think it's… too crazy to think that the ground just stated… swallowing up everything until it made this huge beast."

"It all just looks so freaky, like a dream." Asimov continued walking, staring as they walked passed an old military jeep hanging from the ceiling, with one of its dead occupants laying on the floor beneath the jeep. The poor vehicle looked crushed, like a massive force had impacted it and embedded it into the rock itself. Spyro wondered, if when this beast was born, if there were… people around when it began to take life. A creepy thought entered Spyro's mind as he tried to imagine being sucked up by the Earth and crushed under all the buildings and cars that were once around you.

They passed from one chamber to the next, encountering much of the same thing. Strange sights met them each time, from a tree jutting from a wall and growing into the side of a building to a an old human Abrams tank that seemingly was being suspended in midair by two large rock archways. The tank was almost a part of the archways, and it looked as if the rock had just formed around the tank, as if it were a mere inconvenience to the sediment. It was truly odd.

More bodies were scattered around, all military. Some of their bodies though, looked horrifically mangled. Some were torn in half, and lay scattered in unnatural positions. The presence of bullet casings along the cavern floor only told Spyro something else, that they had actually died within the cavern itself, not during its formation…

As he passed by the bodies, Spyro got a strange, but familiar sensation. It was one he knew all too well. He could sense them, the spirits and the memories that were embedded within them. It was just like at the mall, and at the city hidden in the forest. Their essence was still here, and he could feel it with far more potency now that he was in tune with his abilities and his Inner Light. He closed his eyes, and his vision flashed with an image of these soldiers walking in the caverns just like they were. They were moving, dashing across the dark chambers. Flashes, gunfire, shouting, explosions, they all followed. Figures could be seen, silhouetted against the muzzle flashes of the humans, but all Spyro could make out were black shadows.

It didn't take too long for Spyro to fill in the rest as the vision faded. These humans died in these caverns, and Spyro wondered for a moment if they had been attempting to do the exact same thing that Spyro and Asimov were attempting. After all, they had to fight this beast too back in the old war, so it only made sense they might have tried to rip out its heart when all else failed…

"I think… it's in this direction. It's so hard to tell, I can barely make out The Master's energy from everything in here."

"That's because it's ALL the Dark Master's energy. This whole place wreaks of it! I don't know how well we'll be able to sniff out the crystal in all of this…" Spyro looked around the chamber, seeing how there were multiple exits and entrances, all placed at different elevations. It would be impossible to explore this place fully. With all the crystals and vines coming from the walls, all pulsating with the Dark Master's corrupted light, trying to isolate anything in here would be a nightmare.

Stopping for a moment, and letting the visions and memories of the fallen soldiers fill his mind again, Spyro caught glimpses of them moving to one of the exits nearby. Yes… there, he could see it.

Coming out of the vision, Spyro looked up to his right, and saw an exit leaving this chamber. Two dead soldiers lay next to it, and Spyro could recall the soldiers moving to this point. It was a stretch, but… could the crystal be in the same place now as it was then? Either way, it was a direction, and one Spyro could commit to. He decided to follow it.

"Here, let's see if these old soldiers knew where they were going." Spyro raced up to the exit, and passed through it. Asimov followed behind, though he was somewhat puzzled.

"You think they knew where they were going? You think were even... alive in here at one point?"

"They were. They were hunting for the heart the same as we are… Maybe they found it."

Following more spent casings and bodies they snaked their way to another chamber, this one was long, and lined with the massive vines again. These almost looked like pipelines they were so massive! Smaller tendrils fed off from the main ones, and drilled into the walls. If Spyro was continuing to use the vain and artery analogy, then he'd say they were closing in on this so called 'heart'. The massive vines continued snaking their way through the chamber, and filtered into one just beyond. All the vines, and all the crystals growing from the walls seemed to point in this direction. They must be close.

Rocky platforms arched over the long chamber, connecting to large spires that came up from the floor and up to the ceiling, holding it up. More dead soldiers lined these platforms, and each one fed Spyro more and more visions. He could see them running, moving desperately towards the center. All the while more of those shadowy figures lined their way, and he could sense the dread and fear that gripped those men before their deaths.

"Come on, I think I can see something!" Asimov yelled, calling down to Spyro. Asimov had taken to the air, and was soaring through the chamber to its opposite end. Spyro flew up after him, and as the two soared through the open room, he felt something… odd.

Through the thick essence of the Dark Master, and the aura coming from the fallen humans, he could sense something else hidden amongst the walls… and the shadows.

They landed at the end of the chamber, and peered into the next one, where all these vines coalesced and came to a head. There, the large tendrils came from all directions, and wrapped themselves around a singular spire in the center of the room. The black vines engulfed this central point, and at its center they saw… a blackened and shattered stone…?

"What…?" Asimov said, looking at it.

At the center of it all, there was a crystal, but it was nothing like the life crystal that they had seen at the Citadel. It was similarly sized, yes, but it was black, and lifeless. It had been cracked open and shattered. It was devoid of any essence of the Dark Master.

AT the base of the spire, they saw their culprit. One single human soldier lay sprawled out on the floor, his hand clutching a detonator. They could see fragments of crystal lining the floor, and even some embedded deep into the vines. Upon closer inspection, the crystal was only revealed to them because the surrounding vines had been blown clean away by a great force.

As it turned out, the humans had been successful in their mission.

"This crystal, it's from the war. It's not the one we're looking for…" Spyro said, declaring the unfortunate truth. Asimov grimaced as he flew up to it, and gave it a scowl.

"I should have guessed, these tendrils aren't even alive. Not like the other ones…" Asimov said with disgust.

"No, but these… are…" Spyro looked at the walls, seeing many of the vines still beating with a deep pulse. There was life in here, but it was not from this central spire. Following the ones that did move, Spyro looked passed the central spire to the back wall, and saw that there was something else here in the room with them.

Another spire had formed amongst the tendrils, along the back of the chamber rather than at the center. Unlike the central spire that was devoid of life, this one churned and moved. A soft heartbeat emanated from it, and the two dragons could feel it drilling into their heads like a hammer. This was where the life crystal was. This was where the black heart lay.

"We found it, now what?" Asimov asked, turning to Spyro.

"We rip it out." Spyro learned forward, and expelled a jet of hot fire from his muzzle. It arced towards the thick and pulsating vines and connected, setting fire to them. They almost made a screeching noise when set ablaze, and the entire room danced with the orange colors of fire. The tendrils began to retreat somewhat, revealing the brilliant violet of the life crystal underneath. The massive gemstone pulsated with the Dark Master's energy, enough so that it repelled Spyro's fire element as the flames drew near. Spyro now had a clear shot at it…

"Let it rip Spyro, shatter this damned thing! I can already feel the Dark Master in my head again from just being near it!"

"I'll give it everything I've got!" Spyro reared his head and closed his eyes. He focused his strength, and tried to channel as much of his Inner Light as possible into his throat for a single and powerful attack.

The purple dragon opened his eyes, and with renewed vigor unleashed a powerful blast from within. The beam was pure, and white, and it streaked across the chamber with great force until it struck the crystal. The crystal had formed a protective barrier, one that met Spyro's attack and halted it. The beam burned its way into the barrier, and Asimov watched as the two energies danced amongst each other, one overpowering the other. Soon, the barrier failed, and Spyro's brilliant white beam sliced through and struck the gem itself.

A loud ringing sound resonated through the chamber as the energy collided, causing the crystal to vibrate. Small cracks began to form at the point of contact, but the crystal was resilient, and the energies stored within held up. Intense heat and pressure began to wash off of the crystal, and began to slam around the inside of the cavern. It was enough to push both Spyro and Asimov back several feet as Spyro continued his assault. The beam continued to drill itself into the surface of the crystal, but as each moment passed by, it didn't look like Spyro was going to be able to break this crystal.

Frustrated, Asimov stepped forward and threw in his own attacks. Arcs of black lightning left his muzzle and connected with the crystal, flowing over its surface and cascading through it. The deep glow of the crystal seemed to respond and retaliate to his lightning, as if meeting and repelling it at each point of contact. Again and again Asimov unleashed his abilities, trying so hard to help.

Spyro kept the beam going for as long as he could, but eventually he could feel the toll on his body. He clenched his eyes as tears began to fall. He tried to hold it for as long as possible, but eventually he had to concede.

With a sharp gasp Spyro relented, and collapsed to the floor.

"Spyro!" Asimov yelled, seeing him fall. He sprinted over and caught Spyro before he completely fell onto the floor. The purple dragon took in deep breaths, trying to regain himself after expending so much energy. Looking up, he saw just how little he had achieved.

His attack, while mustering almost all the energy he could gather, had only managed to bore a seven inch hole into a crystal whose diameter was roughly forty feet. He had barely damaged it.

As Spyro's attack had ceased, the crystal hummed to full power again, and the barrier that had once sat around it began to form once more.

"What the hell's it take to break one of these…?" Asimov asked, alarmed.

"I don't… I don't know… That was all I could give…"

The walls began to shift and move, and they could sense something around them. Spyro was still regaining his strength, and Asimov held him close as his head darted madly around the room. Black shadows began to crawl from the walls, and animate themselves in the chamber. They danced around the two dragons, flexing their claws.

"What in the…?"

"It's the Dark Master… he's trying to defend the crystal…" Spyro managed to say, clenching his eyes in frustration as he tried to get back up.

"I'll burn these damned things!" Asimov cried, opening his muzzle and firing a mix of normal lightning and dark lightning attacks. They struck the nearest shadow creature, causing the shadow to disperse like a milky cloud. The lightning arced itself off the first being, and connected with several nearby shadows, dispersing them as well. More came forward, but they didn't rush the two. They merely surrounded them.

"Shit, let me try!" Spyro said, quickly fired a bolt of blue light at the life crystal again. The shield absorbed the attack, but it was enough to make all the nearby shadows cringe in pain. As if scared off by the light, they raced back. Seeing this, Spyro fired off another bolt of his Inner Light, this time at the shadows. The room filled with a brilliant white light, one that made the shadows scurry and flee. They raced to rejoin the darkness of the room, melting back into the shadows from which they came.

Spyro didn't let up, throwing two more shots at the remaining shadow figures until the room was clear once more. The crystal continued to beat, and they could feel the goliath rumble as the battle outside continued to rage.

"Spyro, we have to figure something out! Attacking it directly won't work…"

"We'll have to find another way. There's got to be a way to shatter the Dark Master's connection to it… We have to find a way!"

"My Master told me you two were playing in places you shouldn't." The voice of Vivex made their heads snap backwards into the long entry chamber. The large black dragon stood watching the two from just outside. A smile lay plastered on his lips as he observed the two, as if humored by all of this.

"Vivex…" Asimov said with a low growl.

"I see that even after giving it… your all… you've failed Spyro. You cannot hope to match the power that My Master has! Give in now! Let the shadows embrace you…" Vivex's eyes widened, as if elated by the mere idea of it all. A crazed look overcame him, as his jaw opened slightly, revealing his almost animalistic razor teeth.

"I'm not giving in to you… or the Dark Master… I won't let you win here!" Spyro cried.

"Then keep fighting, by all… means… You've certainly done a great job stopping me… Go on ahead, try it. Try to kill me, I'll let you have a shot."

In an act of anger, Spyro answered Vivex's call, firing off a blast of white hot light. It struck Vivex dead on, cracking and scorching his chest plate. It burned through and even scorched the skin underneath, passing into Vivex himself. The mighty dragon didn't even flinch as the energy burned through his body. Instead, his creepy nightmarish smile only intensified. His eyes widened with excitement.

Purple energy arced from the nearby cavern walls, connecting with his body and enveloping him. The energy washed over his wounds, and they began to heal again. Vivex closed his eyes and took in a deep and satisfied breath. When opening them, his eyes were filled with a blood lust, and an expression that looked devoid of any rational thought. He began to chuckle uncontrollably, while licking his lips like a beast ready to strike its prey.

Vivex was more animal than anything else at this point.

"Oh yes! Yes Master I can feeeel it! The power, it's so DELICIOUS! I can taste it, I can feeeeel it in my blood and my bones! It's so marvelous!"

Asimov shot Spyro a worried look, one that Spyro could only share back. The more power that Vivex was getting, the closer to insanity he grew. It was unsettling, and frightening.

"Yeeeees oh yes I can't wait to devour your bones Spyro! I bet they're so FILLED with that delicious light! Mmm I can taste it now! I will feast… on that energy of yours… just like The Master's…" Vivex began to walk towards Spyro, forcing him to back off. As he did, he felt something cold behind him, and turned to see the shadows returning. They began to form up behind them, filling the chamber quickly.

"Spyro this is too close! We have to get out of here! We'll have to find another way, just not here!"

"Damn it!" Spyro raced forward, charging his body with a fire as he plowed his way through the rushing shadows. Asimov followed, dodging one of Vivex's claws as it came down to strike. They took flight as soon as they were clear of the chamber, and raced back towards the exit. They had to get out of here, get away from Vivex. To challenge him in here would be suicide…

/Transitioning…/

[Done]

"Christ, look at them go!" Jericho held onto the throttle as he watched two navy jets streak in from above and go in for an attack run on the King Goliath. They came within a few hundred meters of the goliath before firing their missiles, almost at point blank range. The goliath responded by sending out another pulse that cut their engines, but just as Jericho had with his dropship, they tripped their power cycles and their engines flickered back to life just in time for them to pass through the goliath's legs.

The missiles were struck by the wave too, and their rocket motors cut out as well, but they were already on their course. One missed the goliath's legs and continued on before slamming harmlessly into the ground, but the other three fired slammed into the goliath's forward right leg, causing the massive beast to shudder as fire and smoke enveloped him. It wasn't nearly enough to shatter the large appendage, but they were still solid hits, and it was enough to stun the creature for a few precious seconds.

The battle had been raging like this for at least three hours now. Jericho and Hunter had just finished dropping Cynder off safely at an old abandoned school. He left her along with Sparx and the satchel with the intel there at the school, hoping it would be safer there instead of inside the dropship with Hunter and himself. This way… in case they were shot down… well, at least the intel would make it out. The school itself was three miles from here where Army paratroopers were rallying with their tanks and other light armor that were just now beginning to be deployed from US North. More Navy and Air Force jets had been coming in from the coast, and made their attack runs until all their ammo had been expended. A few dog-fighting aircraft came in too, to help mop up the aerial threat of the Sentinels. The slower, more maneuverable craft were able to make mincemeat of the flying Sentinels, and Jericho hated to think of what their chain guns could do to flesh targets…

The incoming aircraft weren't just targeting the King Goliath. Many of the aircraft inbound from the third fleet were actually dropping carpet bombs and incendiary bombs onto the marching Sentinel ground army, pounding them into submission. They were also slowly working over the dozen or so other goliaths marching with the King Goliath. They had managed to eliminate two of them so far with concentrated fire at the legs, but because of the nature of the goliaths, trying to hit them with guided munitions was a challenge.

Purple beams of energy coming up from the goliaths and the ground indicated how hard the Sentinels were pushing back against the Navy. The anti-aircraft fire was beginning to find its mark, and Jericho counted the forth jet shot down by their fire. He had been watching where the fire had been coming from, primarily from the topside of the king goliath, and at least three goliaths flanking him. They were trying to create a protective bubble around the King Goliath, but enough of the jets were getting through to drop their bombs. Still, Jericho thought he might be able to do something about all that…

"Feeling like doing an attack run?" Jericho asked, turning to Hunter.

"Point me at them, and I'll take them out." Hunter gave a nod back, and reached over to take command of the chin mounted grenade launcher. Jericho flew in close, targeting one of the smaller goliaths close to the King. He slammed the throttle forward and they entered into a dive, coming down on top of it.

The anti-aircraft guns were busy opening up on a passing by F-22 when Jericho and Hunter came in . As they passed to about one thousand feet of the goliath, Hunter opened up. They could feel the shudder resonating through the craft as the forty millimeter grenades flew through the air and impacted their target. A row of flak guns, missile turrets and a few dark energy projectors had been lined up on the side of the goliath. The grenades began impacting, and Jericho watched as the guns were blown to pieces as round after round slammed hard into them. Sentinels dashed for cover, but Hunter wasn't going to let them hide anywhere. Coming in less than five hundred feet, Jericho began to pull back on the stick, pulling themselves out of the dive.

Giving a quick look with his head, Jericho saw a plume of smoke rising from the goliath, with no gunfire coming from it. Success!

"Let's hit the next one!" Jericho yelled, then pitched the dropship towards their next target. He pulled the dropship under the King Goliath itself, and passed almost level with the enemy emplacements. From here, Hunter began opening up, and Jericho got a front row seat to the fireworks show! Sparks and fire erupted out as Hunter struck an ammo dump, and the entire backside of the goliath erupted in fire, causing even the stone beast to shudder and let out a pained roar!

Pulling up and away, Jericho spotted the third goliath sitting behind the King. As he began pitching the craft for a third run, a huge plume of dirt and smoke shot forth from the ground next to the goliath. Alarmed, Jericho had to pull up and away as another landed right on top of the goliath, obscuring the beast in smoke and fire. As the dust cleared away, Jericho clearly saw the front half of the goliath collapsing down into a heap on the forest below.

"What was that?" Hunter asked, turning to his friend.

"Must be the Navy! I think they're close enough to begin using their naval artillery! Look at them go!" More plumes began landing nearby, slamming into pockets of Sentinel soldiers in the forest below. A few managed to nail some of the goliaths, cutting them clean in half. Two rounds impacted on the King Goliath, but of course they did little as the beast's overwhelming mass absorbed the impact from the Navy's rail guns.

As Jericho pitched the craft up and away to avoid the incoming artillery fire, he saw more anti-aircraft fire coming up from the nearby goliaths. Two more jets succumbed to the fire and turned into brilliant balls of fire, with shards of metal streaking through the air. With the incoming naval artillery it was getting harder to discern where the fire was originating from. More Sentinels were obscuring the sky too, as whichever Sentinels happened to have wings had taken to the air to contest the human pilots. Hunter found his mark on a pair of nearby gryphons as they passed by his dropship.

Jericho decided to bring the craft up and over the King Goliath. He had seen Spyro and Asimov enter the caverns earlier just as he returned from dropping off Cynder, and knew they were somewhere inside. He wondered how their efforts to find and destroy the crystal were going. Judging by how the beast was still moving… Jericho thought that perhaps things didn't go according to plan.

"Jericho, look!" Hunter called out, pointing to an area near the beast's back. Jericho sat up and over his console, just in time to catch two small forms shoot out from one of the cavern entrances. It was Spyro and Asimov!

Behind them came Vivex, the black dragon. He looked almost twice his size now, and Jericho could only believe that he must have once again powered up while inside the Goliath. Several nearby Sentinels caught the sight of Spyro and Asimov coming out of the Goliath, and joined their master in pursuit. Jericho grit his teeth and put the dropship into a dive. Hunter saw what Jericho was proposing, and grasped the controls for the canon tightly.

They swung in right behind the group of Sentinels, and the ship shuddered as the forty-millimeter began unloading grenade after grenade. Jericho watched the smoke trails from the grenades as a few passed between the flying Sentinels, but soon they found their mark. Explosions rocked the air, and they could see a few of the flying dragons and avians tossed around like toys from the multiple direct hits. Some tried to move out of the way and avoid the fire, but Hunter found them. He always did.

Jericho kept on them, not willing to let a single one of them get to their friends. He slammed on the throttle to keep up, and caught sight of two that broke off from their pursuit. Jericho snapped his head and watched them descend onto their craft, forcing Jericho to roll and avoid them.

It wasn't enough as he heard the sounds of something impacting the hull outside. He could feel the impacts along the ship as the two Sentinels, one a dragon and one a gargoyle, began tearing into the hull with their claws. Jericho began to put the craft into a roll, hoping to throw the two of them off. As both he and Hunter were pressed into their seats from the G forces, he heard the sounds of their attacks diminish. Leveling out the craft, Jericho craned his head back as he tracked a series of movements going along the back of the craft.

A sudden impact made his eyes go wide as sparks came off of the back ramp. A single window mounted on the troop bay door revealed the face of the gargoyle as he snarled at them. He had somehow made his way to the back of the craft, and he was now attacking the back troop bay ramp. He struck again and again, bending and morphing the metal until the clamps holding it in place failed.

Two loud pings shot out in the craft as the door was blasted off its hinges and was sent flying back. The cabin depressurized, and the two of them felt the wind rush out all at once. His control column sudden jerked wildly to the left, forcing Jericho to grab a hold of it tightly.

"Shit!" Jericho called out, trying to wrestle control of the craft back. The door must have hit the tail on its way out, and damaged some of his control surfaces!

The gargoyle gave them a sinister grin as he leapt into the troop bay, and began to charge the cockpit.

Hunter turned around in his seat, and immediately unfastened his bow to fire at the creature. The craft kept jerking to the left every once in a while, making it hard for the cheetah to line up an effective shot. One arrow, two arrows, three arrows, they all missed or impacted harmlessly on the Sentinel's thick armor. The Sentinel swiped his arm, easily snapping the arrows on target as he lunged at the door, inches away.

Jericho made a quick decision and grit his teeth as he pulled tightly on the control column. He pitched the nose up and the craft entered a steep and abrupt climb. The sudden shift in pitch caused the gargoyle to slip and fall back in the troop bay. He almost slid right out the open door, but he slammed his powerful claws into the metal floor, digging up the thin metal and creating an anchor. He pressed his other claw into the floor, and was now crawling his way up the vertical troop bay floor.

"He's still coming!" Hunter said, trying a few more times to shoot arrows down at him. The angle made it awkward for Hunter to use the bow, and his arrows proved as hopeless as before. Jericho tried to swing the craft around, but the stiffness of his column told him that he wouldn't be able to get away with maneuvers like that, not with his injured bird. Jericho increased the power, almost going straight up at a nighty degree angle. A yellow light began to blare in the cockpit, as well as an audio alarm yelling "STALL, STALL."

The gargoyle didn't give up. He raised his powerful claws up from the floor and sank them in several feet up, crawling closer. A quick glance back gave Jericho a face full of the beast as he sank his talons into the doorway.

"Back to hell with you!" Hunter called out, unsheathing a knife as the gargoyle took a swipe at him. The Sentinel easily knocked the knife free, disarming Hunter. The blade slipped free and slid out the open troop bay door.

"Hunter, stay back!" Jericho called, reaching for his side arm. From his seat, Jericho awkwardly pointed the handgun back and fired shot after shot, unable to truly aim the weapon. The rounds hit the gargoyle's armor, and most bounced off. Two found their mark, right in a gap in the Sentinel's armor on his left arm. The beast grit its teeth as blood began to seep from the open wounds. It let out a howl as the arm went limp, and he was forced to rely on his other arm to hold him in place as it sat embedded in the wall next to Hunter.

Hunter saw this and grabbed one of his arrows, but instead of placing it on his bow, decided to use it like a knife. He reached over and embedded it right in the creature's wrist where there was no armor. It sank in, and the Sentinel's eyes went wide as he let out a shriek of pain. Hunter pushed the arrow in deeper and deeper, until the creature's grip failed him, and he let go of the wall.

At once the beast was sucked out from the back of the craft, striking the left wall on his way out. "Hey! You took my advice and used it like a knife, huh?" Jericho said, managing a chuckle.

"It's not over yet!" Hunter replied, pointing down as the gargoyle opened his wings to act as an airbrake. They could see him already flapping his wings to catch back up to them. The stall warning kept blaring, and shudders could be felt running along the length of the craft as they were dangerously close to losing their lift.

Jericho immediately reached for the controls, and put the engines to idle. The craft slowed and Jericho slowly pitched the nose down, so they'd fall out of the climb. As soon as they began to pitch down Jericho opened up the throttle and put the bird into a hard turn. He pitched the nose over and soon, they had the gargoyle in their sights. Hunter took in a deep breath as he took over the canon, and didn't dare let these rounds miss.

A quick trio of grenades was all it took, sending their attacker down in a broken heap. The second Sentinel, the dragon, was nowhere to be seen. He must've been knocked free and incapacitated during Jericho's roll.

After that maneuver, Jericho felt some resistance from the control stick, and could feel vibrations running down the hull.

"Jericho?" Hunter asked, turning to him as he could feel it too.

"Damn Sentinel… I think they damaged the tail, I'm feeling a lot of resistance here…"

"Do you think we can stay airborne?"

"I don't know… I can fly now, yeah, but who's to say our damn elevator or rudder won't just snap off. Spyro and Asimov might be on their own now." Jericho gave a low grimace, detesting the thought of abandoning their friends.

"We gave it our best shot Jericho. We should try and put her down while she's still able to fly."

"Alright… but I don't like it." Jericho turned the craft back towards the King Goliath, watching as the massive beast continued its march forward. He was watching the goliath for a moment before he noticed it stop. Stop…? This was the first time it just… stopped. What was it doing?

All the goliaths had stopped. They all stood in a line, and all rose their heads up, pointing them out to the horizon. Energy began to gather around their midsections before traveling up to their heads. Their eyes pulsed a softly rose purple before their mouths began to part, and orbs of light grew larger and larger until they unleashed them in a massive volley. The shots arced across the landscape and over to the horizon, the shots disappearing just as another volley was cast out from the goliath line.

"Are they firing at US North?!" Hunter exclaimed, watching the powerful beams of energy cast themselves out into the distance.

"That isn't to the northeast… that's… east." Jericho turned to Hunter. "They're firing onto the fleet." Jericho finished, having a petrified look about him.

"Isn't your fleet three hundred kilometers off the coast? How do they know where they are?" Hunter asked, perplexed. Jericho rubbed his chin for a moment as the third volley was cast off, and suddenly his radio set exploded with chatter from the fleet. Mayday calls and distress signals were being broadcast from naval escorts who had taken hits or were under fire. Clearly, these goliaths knew exactly where the third fleet was. It boggled his mind how they could have pinpointed their positions cleanly enough to fire retaliatory shots back… but with how they were able to track the fleet in the first place, Jericho gathered that perhaps by engaging the goliaths, the fleet had unwittingly given their position away. From the radio chatter, only some of the escort Frigates were experiencing the volley, but soon the main fleets, including the aircraft carriers would be at risk.

"Jericho, we won't have a safe place to land soon if your fleet is destroyed."

"If we lose the fleet, we lose any hope of taking these damn things down!" Jericho exclaimed, watching as they fired off another salvo.

"What can we do, our craft is damaged and I am beginning to run low on my ammunition."

"I don't know… we have to do something… damn it!" Jericho said, rolling the craft to stay close to the action. Even as the fleet came under fire, more jets flew in from the third fleet, and naval artillery continued to impact all around. Two more goliaths had been claimed as massive plumes of dirt and Earth shot into the sky. The remaining goliaths fired off another powerful salvo, and Jericho's headset was ablaze as two more ships took direct hits. They wouldn't be able to survive this forever…

"All stations this net, this is an urgent transmission." Radio chatter began to squawk over Jericho's headset, overriding any and all over voices and calls he was receiving. The voice was deliberate, and urgent.

"To all call signs, this is Admiral Kimmel of the Third Fleet. I am declaring a Black November State. I repeat, I am declaring a Black November State."

Jericho turned to Hunter, who could also hear the radio traffic. They both looked at each other for a moment while the radio net went dead.

"Black November State? Did your Colonel provide information for that…?" Hunter asked, watching as Jericho furiously flipped through what notes were surviving in the cockpit. Try as he might, there were no mentions of this supposed combat condition.

"Look, your allies are fleeing!" Hunter turned his head, watching as the many jets and other aircraft in the area began to bank and then fly a course away from the battlefield. Helicopters and VTOLs that had been operating nearby also looked to be landing, or were plotting a course away from the goliaths. They were running, fleeing. Something was up, something serious. All the radio chatter remained dead before a few voices started to come back onto the channel, all of it being used to direct airborne craft in for landing.

The dropship shuddered somewhat, and Jericho could feel it tugging on his control stick. They needed to land, and soon. Jericho did NOT want to find out what this "Black November State" was. As much as it pained him to admit it, he would not be able to help Spyro in this condition. They'd have to fend for themselves.

/Transitioning…/

[Done]

"Spyro? Spyro!" Asimov turned his head, seeing the purple dragon descending downwards. They had been moving fast to avoid Vivex, but Spyro kept falling short and descending.

"Sorry…" Spyro said, clenching his eyes as he tried to keep up. Asimov descended and gave him a hand, bracing him with his wing. They flew lower and lower towards one of the smaller goliaths walking alongside the mighty king Goliath. Even as it walked in the shadow of the giant, this smaller Goliath was still something to behold. Asimov flew down towards the moving rock creature and set down on its back. He to adjust himself as the ground shifted slightly as the beast was moving rather quickly for being several hundred feet tall.

Spyro came in for a landing next, but missed his beat and slammed hard into a nearby rock. Asimov sprinted over to him and helped the drake up.

"Man you don't look so good…" Asimov said, grunting under Spyro's weight.

"That… that attack I used against the crystal took more out of me then… I thought…"

"I guess this fight also isn't helping you…" Asimov lead the dragon over to a nearby pile of rocks and let him sit against it. Spyro took in a few deep breaths as he braced himself against the rock. To say that the attack had taken all his strength was an understatement. He could not keep this up… He had used as much energy as he could muster, but it was useless since the Dark Master could just heal whatever damage Spyro had done to Vivex, and he could even seemingly block Spyro's best attack. How was he supposed to defeat Vivex? How was he supposed to stop the life crystal? They had already been chased off by Vivex once and perused by him and his Sentinels. If it wasn't for Jericho and his dropship swooping in to cut down those things, they'd have been swamped a long time ago. They couldn't count on that human to keep bailing them out though, as they had watched as two Sentinels attempted to down his dropship. He had been victorious, but it looked like his aircraft had taken damage in the fight.

Asimov heard the flapping of wings and his head immediately snapped upwards to the sky. They had hoped that coming here would shake Vivex from their tail. So far, it didn't appear as though he knew where they were. Asimov caught a fleeting glimpse of the black dragon in the far distance, flying with several other Sentinels as they battled the humans. Asimov could see as their low flying aircraft came in through the clouds, and engaged the many flying creatures. Sharp flashes of white and yellow followed as the two forces clashed high above them. Occasionally, a few bodies would fall from above, or even a ball of fire as another human aircraft succumb to them. Bright purple blasts of light broadcast themselves through the sky as Vivex threw his own weight into the ring. His powerful and accurate beams of corrupted energy were more than enough to dispatch the human crafts. Two more jets fell to Vivex as he sheared off their wings, or cut them clean in half.

The activity coming from human controlled territories had ramped up within the past hour as more and more jet aircraft were not only flying in from the coast, but from up north too. Asimov could only assume they were from the fabled "US North" itself. They flew high in the air, dropping massive carpet bombing runs on the advancing Sentinel army. There was something… deeply troubling about this all to Asimov. He had fought alongside these Sentinels, called them friends, comrades… Yet now, he was watching as they were getting pounded into submission by the very beasts he had been raised to despise. Now, after having been shown the very edges of corruption, and shown what that kind of power does to your mind... Asimov wondered just who or what was right anymore. Still, it was quite the sight to behold as the aircraft rained their bombs of death and destruction from above. Other, larger aircraft were also now appearing high above them. They were massive, much larger than the single seater jets Asimov knew of. They were like dots, far off in the sky. Some flew directly overhead, dropping their payloads while Asimov watched as a group of them began to circle the goliaths from high above. Streaks of light came raining down from them every so often, impacting hard on the advancing goliaths. Two more of the mighty goliaths were beginning to buckle under the combined fire from the human jets and these new high altitude aircraft. One collapsed as its legs were unable to take the strain anymore, and the second just simply split in half from the intense fire. The number of goliaths accompanying the King were dwindling, but no matter what they tried the humans were unable to even make the King so much as flinch anymore.

It just dawned on Asimov too, that the humans were targeting and systematically destroying the individual goliaths, one of which they were on. It would only be a matter of time before this one too was targeted. They wouldn't be able to use it as cover for much longer. It didn't matter, they only needed a moment to catch their breath and come up with a plan to attack that crystal…

Right, a plan.

Spyro grunted, and attempted to stand up. There was a searing pain in his right arm, and he was forced back down.

"Wow there hero, you need to sit and rest."

"I can't! Not… not while Vivex is out there… These things can't reach US North, and the Dark Master… he can't get Aurora."

"Yeah well YOU aren't going to stop them like this. There has to be another way." Asimov sighed and stepped back, taking another look around. What other course of action was there? The only obvious thing to do was to sneak back to the King Goliath and go back inside to try and take that crystal out again. Just how they were going to do that last step eluded the dragon since even Spyro couldn't get that thing to buckle.

The two dragons felt a deep vibration under their feet. They both looked down and watched as purple energy began to flow through the might goliath before culminating at its head. The beast stopped for only a fleeting moment as it lifted its head up and unleashed a volley of energy into the air. The sphere projected itself towards the horizon, and was joined by many others fired from the remaining giants. This was a pattern that kept repeating itself over the past ten minutes or so. They had been occasionally firing off these vollies out towards the coast. Just what were they firing at? Asimov hated to imagine the poor bastards on the receiving end of those shots… They were terrifying to watch.

Above, things were beginning to quiet as the firefight had died down. Two more aircraft came in low to attempt a bombing run on the King. Vivex came in after them, and sliced the leading craft in half with his beam. The second broke off after firing a volley of five missiles at one of the goliath's legs. The goliath sent out its pulse, and cut the engines from the jet. The engines flickered back to life, but it was too late for the human inside. The jet was already heading into one of the King's legs, and slammed hard against the rock, erupting into a ball of fire. His missiles hit near his own impact site, or missed altogether. Once more, the beast lay undamaged as he walked off the impacts. Vivex swooped under the King and came back around, his head surveying the landscape. He was hunting for them. As he failed to spot them, the black dragon let out a blast of black fire into the air, following it up with a feral roar.

Both Asimov and Spyro watched, and Asimov could sense the slightest bit of fear from the purple dragon next to him. Vivex was acting more like an animal then a dragon. He was clearly losing his grip on sanity as he began to attack random areas on the King Goliath before switching to another nearby goliath and bombarding its surface with energy attacks. He was getting more relentless.

"We'll have to keep moving to evade that guy, sneak back into the King or something…" Asimov said, beginning to move.

"Yeah… yeah we'll have to try…" Spyro grunted and stood back up before flinching a bit. Asimov turned back to him.

"You sure you're ok?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm ok or not. I have to keep going."

Asimov looked at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"Man, you're stubborn, I'll give you that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well if you're as ok as you say you are, let's keep moving, keep that blockhead at arm's length!" Asimov sprinted off towards the back of their goliath, wanting to approach the King from behind. Spyro followed behind, trying to ignore the pain in his arm.

They reached the tail end of the goliath, watching as the King walked to their left, towering greatly over them. Asimov watched as Vivex took up high, his attention caught on two more approaching human aircraft who had just tore through a crowd of Sentinels. They were dogfighting aircraft, and one of them managed to easily evade one of Vivex's attacks. They swooped in behind and unloaded their canons into Vivex's back. He brought up a shield, easily blocking them as they broke to his right and left, breaking his attention.

"Alright, let's go!" Asimov said, flapping his wings to get airborne. The two dragons flew out towards the goliath, trying to keep to the shadows as much as possible.

"If we sneak in again… maybe we can-"

"There they are!" A nearby Sentinel came screaming in from around the Sentinel's tail, spotting them.

"Crap!" Asimov yelled, seeing him. Vivex's head immediately spun in their direction, all but ignoring the two attacking human craft. He immediately flapped his wings out and slashed his tail, striking one of the two craft as they sailed by and slicing off its wing. The aircraft spun for a few moments before descending into a deadly spiral. The second one broke off, flying up and away, leaving Vivex so he could completely focus on them.

He sprung towards them with great force, coming in fast. Several bolts of energy came towards them, narrowly missing the two dragons. Spyro tried his hardest to bring up a shield to protect them, but it failed within moments. Asimov flew in front of Spyro, trying his own hand at trying to form a barrier with his energy. He clumsily projected his lightning into a field a few feet in front of them and managed to intercept one of Vivex's attacks but it was far too powerful for his own power. The two attacks collided and exploded, sending them flying several feet back.

Spyro was flying slowly, trying his hardest to keep up. Asimov found he had to sit near him and attempt to block as many of the attacks for him as he could. Occasionally he'd get a chance to fire a return shot, but it was hopeless against Vivex.

The Sentinel who spotted them swooped in to attack, swiping his claws at Spyro. Asimov grunted and swooped in, slamming his horns into the Sentinel's side. The eagle Sentinel let out a shriek, and struck Asimov on his neck, making the dragon yelp. Spyro clenched his teeth and blasted the Sentinel in the side with a blast of Inner Light, sending him toppling down.

Even that was cutting it close for the purple dragon. He felt light headed, and his wings gave out as he slammed into the side of the King Goliath and skidded on its surface for a few moments. Two blasts from Vivex came in, hitting near him and exploding. The force of the blast sent the dragon airborne, forcing Asimov to fly over and catch him on his back. With what force he could muster, he swooped up high, attempting to get away from Vivex.

He swung left, right, attempting whatever maneuver he could with another dragon on his back. An incoming blast struck him, and he yelled out in pain as they went flying through the air. Asimov managed to catch himself, as did Spyro as he flapped his wings hard to gain lift. The two came to a hover around a few hundred feet above the King Goliath. Vivex gave them an eerie smile as he flew up to them and stopped. Black energy gathered at his claws and muzzle, but he just sat there, staring at them.

"You don't know how delightful it is… the thrill it is to chase your prey…" He gave a low, almost ecstatic giggle. Did Asimov say he was acting like an animal? Maybe he was just acting like an insane murderer. Neither Asimov nor Spyro responded as they only gave a glare back at him. Asimov just smiled and laughed more.

There was a strange calm around them as they sat looking at one another. Then it struck Asimov and Spyro… there were no more explosions, gunfire or the sounds of jet engines. It was calm, and only the sound of wind greeted them at their standoff. A quick glance around, confirmed this, as it looked like the humans had pulled back for the moment. Even the high flying aircraft circling the goliaths above seemed to have pulled back for the moment. Where had they gone?

Spyro's eyes went wide, and he clenched his head.

"What's the matter Spyro…? Fearful of death…? Oh it's quite easy… I'll just take your throat… and…" Vivex stopped, and even his eyes went wide. Asimov looked at both of them, seeing both their faces filled with… anguish, surprise and shock. He… didn't feel anything. What was going on?

Spyro could feel it. It was just like before, just as he remembered it. The purple dragon could feel the energy coursing through him, just as it was in his memory. He looked into the sky, just as Vivex did. A low droning sound flooded their senses, and a bright blue light began to gather high above them in the heavens. They all hovered in place, frozen as none of them knew what to do or say as the light continued to gather in strength.

Suddenly, the skies were parted with a force Asimov could never truly comprehend.

A beam of bright blue light descended through the thick layers of clouds, blowing them apart like a child would break apart a cloud of bubbles. The massive beam went right down towards the King Goliath, hitting right on its back at its center. Powerful winds escaped from the point of impact, and the goliath was obscured by a cloud of debris as the beam brought the beast to its knees. It stopped, and threw its head into the air as it was unable to move. The beam continued to strike at it before Asimov saw the bottom of the goliath give out, and the beam cut right through to the ground. The trees and ground under the goliath were consumed in fire and light as the beam's energy dispersed itself into the Earth.

Vivex let out a cry of anguish and pain, making both Spyro and Asimov look up towards him. Blue light was gathering in his chest, and they could see his veins pulsing with it. His eyes were a bright white, replacing the corrupted and tainted yellow they once were. He brought his claws to his face and covered his eyes, letting out another pained roar into the sky.

"What?! What is this?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! NOOOO! MASTER!" Vivex cried out again, his entire body shuddering from the powerful energy.

The beam was relentless, and continued to cut through the goliath, sending powerful shockwaves through the environment. All the other remaining goliaths all froze in place too, their eyes and mouths glowing with the same bright light that was enveloping Vivex. One by one the lights went out and the goliaths began to collapse and fall to the ground. Some exploded from within, their bodies seemingly incapable of housing the powerful shockwaves.

As soon as it had come, the beam slowly started to dissipate and disappear entirely. The clouds circled where it had cut through them, leaving the sky with a scar that could only be rivaled with what lay embedded down below.

Below them, the King Goliath sat crippled. The laser had bore a hole right through the heart of the creature, all the way to the ground. A massive impact crater had been forged by the beam, and they could still see the ground glowing from the intense heat and power. The goliath didn't move now, it only swayed slightly to the left and right. Its head moved, and smoke rose from its eyes and mouth. The creature was not dead, but it was far from being alive, either.

"What… what have you… what have you done?!" Vivex gripped his head, as smoke rose from it too. His entire body moved as if he was filled with a pain beyond comprehension. His arms and legs twitched and buckled, and he let out roars from even the slightest movement. Where the bright blue light had burned within his chest, they could see that it had left behind a scar.

"What… what was that Spyro…?" Asimov asked, still beyond words for what he had just seen.

"That was Aurora, and HADES. It's what the Dark Master did to this world many years ago, and now he's getting bitten back by the humans he stole it from." Spyro responded, glaring at Vivex.

"You fool… you fool! You gave it to them?! You GAVE humanity this glorious gift?! You have defiled it! You have given them a new toy for their play box! Now they'll just do as they did to themselves! You've doomed this world! You've doomed everyone to their fate!" As Vivex spoke, he inhaled deeply and clenched both his head and chest. His left eye was closed now, seemingly scarred from the attack. Only his right eye lay open, staring at them with great anger.

"They're only doing to you what you did to them. It doesn't feel so good now, does it?"

"Silence you deluded filthy excuse for a dragon! My Master… he's going to… to… Master? M-master? Where are you? I can't hear you anymore Master where have you gone?!" Vivex began to look around in a panic, his face filled with fear. Both Asimov and Spyro turned to each other, both realizing how far gone his dragon was. Below, they could see something glowing within the heart of the goliath. Had they done it? Had that beam destroyed the crystal?

Upon closer inspection, they could see the crystal down there, revealed by the wound carved into the goliath. No, they had not destroyed the crystal, but they had grazed it. Now, it looked wounded. Vivex, looked wounded.

"You… you took him away! You took the Master away from me! I can't hear him anymore! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!" Vivex flung himself madly at them, swinging his claws with no regard for finesse or accuracy. They dodged his attack, but had to keep moving as the beast would not relent. Even as the smoke still rose from his wounds, he came at them with a sense of desperation. He kept screaming as he came at them, calling for his master over and over. They had to flee as he filled the air with his attacks, holding nothing back.

"Holy crap! Crap!" Asimov yelled, unable to do anything to stop him as he was being chased with at least five different types of attacks. Spyro was treated to the same, and he grunted as he flew down towards the goliath and used the rocky terrain to absorb and block Vivex's attacks.

"Come back here! Come back and face me! Give me back My Master! Give him back! I want him back!" He kept crying and screaming in a mad fervor, attacking anything that moved. Even nearby Sentinels who had survived the beam attack were cut down as Vivex indiscriminately wiped everything out.

"He's gone insane Spyro! What do we do?!"

"Now's our chance! The crystal, it must be weakened! We might be able to finish it off!" They flew over towards the gaping wound in the goliath and descended down into it. They came down towards the cavern that had taken them a long time to find, now fully open and exposed thanks to the humans.

Along the side of the scar, the crystal lay embedded in the wall. Many of the vines that had been attached to it which had snaked their ways to the different parts of the goliath, controlling it had been severed. Part of the crystal had been sheared off in the intense blast, but it still pulsed with energy and life. Arcs of energy shot off from it and went into the nearby rocky walls. It was unstable.

"Quickly, before he comes down here!" Asimov said, immediately firing lightning at it. Spyro joined in too, pelting it with whatever he had left in him. They hit the crystal, and bounced off. Attack after attack bounced off, and Spyro could still feel the Dark Master's presence. He was still here, fighting them! Damn it! Damn it all Spyro thought to himself as he continued to fire in desperation.

"Spyro! Watch it! Incoming!" Asimov flew over and knocked the dragon out of the way as Vivex came sailing in. The black dragon knocked them away and immediately flung himself to the crystal. He grabbed it with both his claws and pressed his body onto it.

"Master I need you! I need your strength! I need it to defeat them! Please, please I beg of you!" The crystal hummed softly and flickered. Vivex clenched it tightly as a small amount of light transferred to him, but not a lot.

"I need more! More Master I need more! Master where are you, I still can't hear your voice?!" Vivex turned to them and snarled, a bit of spit scraping his muzzle.

"Why couldn't you just submit Spyro?! Why'd you have to fight?! Now I can't feel him anymore! I can't feel the Master's strength! This is YOUR FAULT!" The dragon once again came towards them, forcing the two of them up and out of the gaping hole. They ascended as far as they could as the insane creature behind them laughed openly, his right eye wide open.

"What now?! What now?!" Asimov yelled towards the purple dragon in front of him.

"I don't know! Even in its weakened state I can't hurt it! Damn those humans for not hitting it head on!"

A shot of purple energy from Vivex overshot them and exploded above them, knocking them both back. They yelled in pain as they tumbled down towards the hungry Vivex. He sailed at them, his claws ready to strike. Asimov grunted and flapped his wings, sending himself flying towards Spyro and grabbing him so they would be knocked out of the way. Vivex overshot them and spun around quickly, coming at them like a rabid beast.

"Even after all that?! He's still got that strength?! Why does he even need that power?!" Asimov cried out, flapping his wings madly.

"It's the crystal! It pumped him so full of energy! It's like the only thing powerful enough now to break the crystal is…" Spyro stopped, his eyes going wide with acute realization.

"What?! What's powerful enough?!"

"I got it, I have a plan Asimov, just follow my lead!" Spyro yelled, before looking at the incoming beast.

"What?! You're not even going to tell me-" Asimov was cut off as Spyro knocked him away as they once again allowed for Vivex to overshoot them.

"Just come on!" Spyro yelled back at him.

"Following… whatever the hell it is you're doing!"

Spyro sailed up, firing a weak bolt at Vivex meant to get his attention.

"Hey! Bastard! Can't hear the Master anymore? Good! I'm GLAD we took him away from you!" Spyro yelled.

"Shut your mouth! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Vivex roared back. He flew up and slashed his powerful claws, clipping one of Spyro's wings. Spyro yelled out in pain but didn't relent as he began to fly around him in a circle.

"You can't hear him anymore! It's because he doesn't love you! He's abandoned you! Admit it!"

Vivex let out another roar and fired a blast of fire at Spyro. He dodged low, and entered a steep dive. Vivex gave chase, firing off attack after attack, sending them all towards the dragon. Spyro swooped up, down, left, right, any direction he could! He kept his dive, and didn't relent for a moment. Behind, the black dragon came, piercing through the air like a knife, an angry and desperate knife.

Below them, the gaping wound sat. Spyro sailed down towards it like a bullet, even pulling his wings to this body so he'd fall faster.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Asimov called out, immediately entering the same dive behind them.

"Come on… come on you stupid bastard…" Spyro muttered, refusing to alter his course. He flew down into the sinkhole, plunging faster and faster with each passing moment. He angled his body, going towards the crystal right at the heart of the impact site. There, before him it sparked with life, and he could see the Dark Master's face in it. He could feel the corruption, his deep seated hatred emanating from the face of the gemstone. Blasts of energy came in from all directions, barely missing the purple dragon. It wouldn't matter for much longer.

He came within feet of the crystal before spinning himself around rapidly. There, only about fifty feet away was Vivex himself, his face contorting with anger. He was yelling something, but in that moment, in that single moment, Spyro could not hear it. In that moment, Spyro did not care anymore. Vivex fired a single bolt of powerful energy, sending it right for Spyro. Having let his wings go limp long ago, Spyro was simply falling. Falling like this, backwards, he had no control of where he was going, or what he was doing. Instead, Spyro watched the bolt come to him. He watched as he slowly slipped down beyond the crystal, and watched as the bolt came closer and closer to him.

As it came within a few feet, Spyro smiled.

"That's right… you stupid bastard…" Spyro clenched his eyes and called upon every ounce of energy he could. Whatever he had left, whatever he could muster he grabbed and summoned for one… last… effort.

A meager shield was all he could create, barely enough to cover himself. It would be enough. Like he said, soon it would no longer matter.

Spyro hoped this would work. He hoped to the ancestors this would work. After all this, after all their efforts it had finally dawned on the dragon that the only thing that could have been powerful enough to break that crystal was really… itself.

Vivex's attack struck Spyro's shield, and shattered it easily. The attack dispersed outwards and exploded, quickly enveloping the dragon. Searing white hot pain ran itself across all his senses, and the dragon yelled out with a roar that matched the burn he felt across his form. The explosion cascaded itself in all directions, slamming into the nearby wall, and the crystal itself. The crystal reverberated from the massive shockwaves, and since the blast was this close it was held as much a victim as Spyro was. Cracks began to form along the crystal from the intense strain as the shockwaves from the explosion began rippling off the cavern walls, bouncing back with even higher frequencies. The cracks continued to grow until they met and fractured. As the smoke cleared from the initial blast, and gave Spyro the first glimpse at the crystal, he watched with his own eyes as the first chunk of the crystal split.

At that moment, time stopped. As that first piece split, a runaway cascade began, and Spyro could watch as each individual piece of crystal became its own catalyst, its own individual conduit for energy as it escaped from its prison. Whatever spark of energy the Dark Master had injected into that crystal, it was about to come out. It was about to all come out. Fear gripped the young dragon as the crystal unleashed itself.

Like a bomb exploding the crystal forcibly ejected itself from the wall, blasting out in all directions. A bright light obscured Spyro's vision as it washed over both him and Vivex as the dragon had been only feet away too when his attack exploded. The two of them yelled out in pain as all the energy encased within flooded outwards, escaping into the world.

Vivex shuddered and cried out, his body only a silhouette to the young dragon below. His form became tense, then still before shattering and fading away. Below him the purple dragon was screaming out as he was left unshielded from the release. His mind was under attack as the corrupted Inner Light bore itself into his body. He could feel him inside him now. He was here, the Dark Master… he was here…

Flashes and images bombarded the dragon, so many so quickly he could not keep up. What were these?! Why was he seeing them?! Spyro cried out as they just kept coming! More and more! He saw a man, a building, a cave, an egg… none of it made sense to him! A man in a white coat, smiling down at him, then suddenly he saw the old Aurora chamber. Men were standing around it before turning to him, then suddenly it changed to feelings of hatred, fear. Explosions, chaos… panic… they were all here too. He could see flashes of light, and people running. They were men in coats, white coats… running as people behind them fired weapons.

What was happening?! Were they under attack? Who was attacking them? Flashes of them running by invaded the dragon's vision, as well as the sight of their bodies contorting and falling to the ground. Figures stood behind them, blackened and snuffed out so only a black apparition took their place. Rage, hate and anger was all that represented them. It was all… he… could remember…

"Run! Run! Don't trust them! Don't trust… anyone! You have to live, you have to!"

Somebody was talking, Spyro was sure of it. They voice… it was resonating in his head, but he couldn't… quite pinpoint who was talking. There was a mix of emotions, ranging from concern to panic. Someone important was hurt. Someone… very important. Someone beloved.

"You have to go, hide now! It's too late. Too late for any of us. You can't trust them, any of them…"

The voice, it resonated deep in the dragon's mind. Finally, Spyro could see someone, slumped over against a wall. He wore a white lab coat, like many of the other scientists he had seen before. He also wore a pair of thick glasses that sat crooked on his head. One of the lenses was cracked, broken by some force. A soft smile rested under the glasses, and Spyro could hear the man taking in sharp, labored breaths. There was blood covering his stomach, where several bullet wounds looked to originate from. A deep, deep sadness enveloped Spyro as the viewer stared longingly at the figure slumped against the wall. Who was this…? Was… the Dark Master the one standing here? Was it he who was feeling this… deep remorse?

Shouting and screaming came from down a hall, and more of those black apparitions came sprinting towards the dragon. They yelled in a language Spyro could not understand, and they were after him… they were here for him! No… not… Spyro, the other one. They were here for the Dark Master.

The dragon ran, and kept running. He slipped into the shadows as his pursuers came in. The sight of the fallen human scientist faded away as the Dark Master was forced to flee.

There were so many emotions, more then Spyro could even hope to keep track of. So much information was being blasted onto the young dragon, he was having trouble keeping focus. It was too much, too fast!

It all began to slow down, and soon silence filled the dragon's senses. Silence… and emptiness.

The dragon looked up, and he found himself once again in that lonely airlock within the dark and decrypt Infinity Labs. The same large iron door that sat slightly ajar, but only just so that Spyro could not open it and see what lay on the other side. The same bodies that lay scattered around, still in the same place that Spyro remembered.

Somebody else was here with him, another dragon.

The dragon looked to be double Spyro's age and size. He was a purple dragon, just like him…

It was the Dark Master.

He was standing, staring out at the lonely door. He stood in complete silence, unmoving, unflinching.

Spyro watched with an inherent fascination as he didn't move for some time.

Finally, the dragon relaxed his posture, and looked around, surveying the bodies. He gave a low and pitiful huff before turning back, facing Spyro's direction.

"So much… has been taken. Taken, from me, from everyone. Now it's time for me to take it all back..." He wasn't talking, there were no words spoken. These… were his thoughts. Spyro was hearing the Dark Master think.

The Dark Master approached the door, and reached out with a claw, grasping it. He pulled solemnly, and the door began to open. Darkness began to pour out of it, unleashing so much emotion, energy, memories…

Though them all, a single image began to be burned into Spyro's conscious. It was a single but everlasting image.

There, silhouetted against an ever reaching dawn was a lonely snowcapped mountain. The soft tinges of yellow from the morning were barely making their presence known against the night sky. High, above the peak there was a beautiful assortment of sapphire and violet lights. A gorgeous aurora, an aurora borealis. The soft tendrils of the light show reached out to all corners of the sky, illuminating the mountain and all that lay around.

It was a beautiful sight. It came with more than just this visual memory. It had… an emotional imprint to it. It seemed familiar to Spyro, yet distant at the very same time. It was something that Spyro knew, but had never seen before in his life. It was familiar to him, too.

The Dark Master had seen this place, and felt an overpowering sense of longing for it.

Was it home?

Was it where he belonged?

This place, it was out there, somewhere. Spyro could feel it, as did the Dark Master. He wanted it. He wanted it… so badly…

He would do anything to make it a reality. He would kill for it.

He would change the world for it.

But first, he'd have to burn down the old world.

/Transitioning…/

[Done]

A sharp cold brought the young dragon back to his senses.

He was… alive. He was alive!

A powerful wind slapped against him, and the dragon looked up around him.

Thick clouds swirled above and around him, almost obscuring his sight. He could make out the silhouette of the King Goliath above him, standing silently as the gaping hole in its stomach was still there. Deep in the wound he could see where the crystal was. The shattered gemstone still remained there, glowing a deep purple. Lightning arced from it, and thunder boomed across the landscape.

A powerful storm had consumed everything around them, including the goliath. Everything rotated around the shattered crystal, controlled by the powerful electrical discharges that occasionally leapt out from it. Powerful winds continued to wash over him, and it sent chills down Spyro's spine.

He couldn't move through, he was pinned in. It took Spyro a moment to realize that a body was laying on top of him. It was a dead Sentinel, as well as a piece of metal debris that had landed on top of him. Shifting somewhat, he was able to move the Sentinel away, just enough to see more Sentinels around him.

They were running, firing their weapons.

Screams and yells filled the air in between the thundering booms coming from the broken crystal. Gunfire was erupting all around the young dragon in the midst of this maelstrom. Scanning his surroundings, Spyro found their foes. Humans stood atop a nearby hill, firing their weapons down onto the charging Sentinels. Two human tanks rested at the top of the hill, firing their canons down onto the marching Sentinels. They were cut down, but so were the humans. Gunfire erupted from both sides, and Spyro watched as both human and Sentinel succumb to the chaos.

Above, a human helicopter swirled its rotors, flashing a searchlight down through the thick and swirling haze that enveloped everything. A chin mounted chain gun erupted down into the Sentinels as it passed overhead. Two dragon Sentinels swooped up to attack it. One was cut down from the unrelenting fire from the ground but the second grabbed onto its tail and used all his might to pull it right off. The crippled bird swirled through the air before slamming into a nearby hill and exploding.

The two sides converged, and the flashes from their gunfire flushed all else out. Spyro didn't remain conscious for much longer. Once again, he passed out.

End of Chapter 24