Skylanders Academy: New Horizon

by andresponceb2002

Just as Peace was within reach for the Skylands, a new threat arrises! New adventures, new chalenges and a new ultimate evil will keep the Skylanders pretty ocupied on their newest adventure yet! Join Spyro and the Skylanders as they throw down with thier newest foes, The dreadful Knights of Solitude! (rated T for violence)

13. Chapter 13

Skylanders Academy: New Horizon

by andresponceb2002

Chapter 13) The Last Straw. Part 2

Spyro watched from the jagged boulder he, Stealth Elf and Cyrus were hiding behind, as Malefor and the rest of his friends began to face off against the many cyclops that were emerging from Maraino Castle. He saw Malefor use his massive claws to swipe away small groups of enemies, sending them sprawling back while Eruptor, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz fired their attacks at any cyclop that got through the dragon king. Spyro could also see a couple of cyclops lined up on the castle outer wall. The were dressed in white and purple wizard robes and were wielding giant magnifying glasses.

The wizard-looking cyclops placed their magnifying glasses in front of their large, bloodshot eyeballs and then fired orange beams of energy at the Skylanders. Spyro was about to give into the urge to warn his friends, revealing his location to his enemies. But, he was cut off when Malefor used one of his wings to block the many beams aimed at the Skylanders. This act of protection shocked Spyro, almost as much as when he saw Malefor fire a huge ball of fire at a cluster of wizard-looking cyclops, incinerating part of the wall they stood on along with them.

"Alright." Spyro heard Cyrus beguin behind him, making him turn around to face him and Stealth Elf. "That should be enough to avoid any attention to us." Cyrus picked up. "We should go around the edge of the outer courtyard and get through the bastion gate as quickly as possible." He said before looking over to Stealth Elf. "Whenever you're ready." He said, stretching out one of his paws toward Stealth Elf.

Spyro then remembered Stealth Elf had to teleport them into the castle herself, so he stretched out one of his paws toward his friend and looked at her warmly. "Whenever you're ready." He repeated, a little softer than Cyrus.

This made Stealth Elf give him a small smile and nod, before pulling up her brown bandana and taking his paw. "I'm ready." She said in a warm tone.

"You know I'm coming too, right?" Cyrus asked sarcastically as he held his paw in the air, still waiting for Stealth Elf.

This made Stealth Elf give out an irritated scoff and suddenly grasp Cyrus' forearm. Spyro assumed she had done so very tightly because he could notice Cyrus' left eye twitched very subtly when she did, indication that he was hurt.

Then, Stealth Elf closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, betting ready to teleport herself and her companions behind enemy lines.

Then, Spyro felt like he was dropped from a really tall place and was unable to fly. He couldn't see or really feel anything for a couple of seconds except jarring nausea before he felt himself touch down on solid ground once again.

"Man, that did not feel good." Spyro said sluggishly, slowly getting his bearings.

Spyro and his companions were now in a completely different spot from where they previously were. The ground beneath Spyro was solid and made of dark grey stone. As the purple dragon looked around, he could notice that they were in what looked like a massive courtyard. Across this courtyard, Spyro could see many large tents made of animal furs. From these tents, huge amounts of cyclops were emerging, all running as fast as they could in a single direction, toward Spyro's other friends.

The cyclops didn't seem to notice Spyro and his companions as they kept running toward the massive battle outside, something Spyro was grateful for. Spyro then turned around and faced the gargantuan bastion before him. The two conjoined towers loomed imposingly over him and the purple gate in front of him, which was surrounded by jagged white spikes, stood firmly, giving out an air of impenetrability..

"Alright, once we're inside the bastion-" Cyrus began, gesturing at the enormous construct behind them and drawing Spyro and Stealth Elf's attention. "We won't be able to go back until we reach the top of the towers. We should find Cynder and the ritual chamber up there. Even with your friends distraction, I'm almost sure there will be a few guards left."

"So we just fight through them." Spyro stated. "We aren't going to let up now."

"He's right." Stealth Elf interjected. "That's our friend up there. And even if it wasn't, the fate of the Skylands might be at stake as well."

"In that case." Cyrus picked up giving a short sigh. "Just teleport us in." He said, stretching out his paw out to Stealth Elf once again. "We're running out of time." He added, which made Spyro look up toward the sky.

Shining faintly through the dark clouds, Spyro could see the light of the sun, slowly edging closer and closer to the horizon, indeed showing their limited time.

"Okay." Spyro picked up, before stretching out his own paw. "Let's go, Elf." He said, eager to put an end to this mess as quickly as he could.

---

As Cyrus felt himself touch down on solid ground once again, he took a look around.

Beside him, Cyrus saw Spyro and Stealth Elf. He noticed Spyro was looking a little queasy from the teleporting and that Stealth Elf was taking a look around. She was a little harder to read with her bandana on, but Cyrus could tell she was slightly awed by the inside of the castle. She was looking around with wide eyes and focusing on certain details. After Spyro composed himself, he joined Stealth Elf in her admiration of the castle.

Cyrus couldn't really blame them, the place was rather magnificent, for a monstrous villain's lair.

The ceiling was held up by smooth, black marble pillars, decorated with elegant orange patterns. They also held torches, light with now familiar blue flames. The floor was made of well-maintained, dark grey stone bricks. There were several purple, orange and green colored banners hanging from the walls, all covered in red symbols that from far away, looked like insane scribbles. There were also two red doors, made of elegant carved wood, each with a simple silver handle on the left and right-hand sides of the room

"Guys." Cyrus called, pulling the Skylanders out of their admiration of the castle room. "We need to get moving." He said, making his way toward the door on the right-hand side.

"You're right." Spyro said, walking toward Cyrus. "How far up do we need to go?

"There are more than a couple of flights." Cyrus stated as he got nearer to the red door. "We'll need to move quickly, daylight is running out." He warned, remembering their rather small time window.

At that, Cyrus took a short breath and the six black markings on his chest flashed green as he released a small bolt of green and black fire, which burned right through the silver handle on the red door. After doing this, Cyrus headbuttted the door open, allowing passage through.

"Let's go." Cyrus said with a strained voice as he tried to control the pain in his throat as he gestured Spyro and Stealth Elf toward the door.

At this, the three of them crossed through to the next room. It was similarly decorated to the one the had come through, but this one had a stairway, which swirled around a thick black marble pillar and ascended through the roof.

"Do either of you do cardio? Cuz, that looks like a lot of stairs. " Spyro joked nervously as he flew over to the stairway and peeked upward.

"Spyro, we can't waste time!" Stealth Elf stated, irritated at her friend's jokes and making him focus. She then turned her head toward Cyrus. "Lead the way, Cyrus."

At that Cyrus took flight toward the ascending stairway. "Don't drag behind." He said simply, as he began to fly upward around the black pillar, while Spyro followed hurriedly behind. Cyrus could hear the district popping sound of Stealth Elf's teleportation behind him as well.

Cyrus led Spyro and Stealth Elf up through many floors. They all similar designs. All of them were round chambers, decorated with green, orange and purple banners, similar to the ones on the first floor. There were a couple of elegant armchairs on each floor, accompanied by a statue of a single, mildly intimidating gargoyle, made out of different materials. Cyrus noticed that the materials from which these statues were made, slowly became more and more valuable as he and his companions ascended. They started out with simple porcelain material, but after going up ten rooms, the statues seemed to now be made of well polished bronze.

After a while, when the three companions began to cross through the bronze leves, Cyrus rose through the second floor which held a bronze statue and he was suddenly struck on his right side by a beam of energy, which knocked him to the floor and interrupted his flight. As Cyrus landed on the ground, clenching his teeth from the pain on his side, he scanned the room.

Getting off from the elegant chairs around the room, six cyclops were now slowly walking toward Cyrus. Five of them wielded pickaxes and spears, but one had a giant magnifying glass, which glowed slightly.

"Hey, Cyrus. Where'd you go?" Spyro's voice asked. After a few seconds, Spyro emerged from the stairway in the middle of the room, and was followed by Stealth Elf popping in beside him.

Now, all three of them were surrounded by cyclops, who growled and pointed their weapons at them as they slowly walked toward them.

"We do not have time for this." Cyrus stated as he slowly walked backward, toward the stairway. "We can't let them waste our time. We don't have that much."

"He's right." Stealth Elf began, drawing her daggers and pointing them at the one-eyed enemies in front of her. "We need to move."

"Then say no more!" Spyro suddenly exclaimed. The purple dragon then flew off the ground above Cyrus and Stealth Elf before he released a large stream of flames as he spun in his place. As he did, the orange fire flew over Cyrus and Stealth Elf, but showered the cyclops, who began running around and bumping into each other, causing a massive, flaming racket.

"If there's more of them." Cyrus began as he contemplated his brother's work. "They're going to have heard that." He said as he turned around and peeked his head under the spiraling stairway, noticing a couple of green and blue one-eyed heads were imitating him. "Yup, they definitely heard that." He stated, drawing his head back and turning to the Skylanders.

"Well, I guess that means we'll have to forge through." Spyro said with a small exhale. "But, you're right. We can't let them stop us from reaching the top. How much further by the way?" Spyro asked.

"There are ten floors per material." Cyrus began explaining, pointing at the gargoyle statues in the room beside the elegant chairs. "We already crossed porcelain, and just got into bronze. That means there are still silver and gold as well as the rest of the bronze floors, which means there are still about twenty eight floors left." Cyrus calculated.

"Twenty eight floors!?" Spyro exclaimed.

"Yes, and you can be sure there's going to be more enemies on the way." Cyrus stated.

"Then we don't have to waste." Stealth Elf said, as she walked toward the ascending stairway. She then turned her head at Cyrus, and gave him a narrow and cold stare. "Don't drag behind." She said, repeating the indigo dragon's words, something that confused him, for he hadn't meant those words for her specifically,.

But then, Stealth Elf closed her eyes, ready to teleport away.

Then, Cyrus quickly stretched out his paw and held Stealth Elf's shoulder. He was about to speak, but before he could, he felt as his paw was slapped away by Stealth Elf before she held one of her daggers at his neck.

"Wait." Cyrus said flatly, as he raised his eyebrows over his half opened eyes in a bored, almost annoyed expression.

"Elf, what are you doing!?" Spyro demanded in concern as he watched Cyrus and Stealth Elf's exchange.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Stealth Elf hissed at Cyrus, still holding her dagger at his neck while giving him a loathing glare.

However, Cyrus spoke calmly, not glaring back or moving. "There is a reason I wanted you to come on this little trip." Cyrus started. "You can teleport considerable distances and bring people along with you. That's quite useful in a situation where a great distance needs to be crossed in a short amount of time, don't you think?" He asked her, tiling his head slightly to the right and giving her a smile, even if he didn't mean it.

"Stop doing that." Stealth Elf hissed. "I hate it when you do that."

At that, Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "You can tell? Huh…" Cyrus said as he let up his forced smile. "I guess I need more practice." He said as he slowly used the claws on his left paw to move Stealth Elf's dagger away from his neck.

"Guys, are we all calm?" Spyro asked, trying to prevent any more agresion. "Now, Cyrus has a point, Elf. You can make this a lot easier if you teleport us around." Spyro spoke to his friend in a soft voice. "Can the whole hating each other, business wait until we finish the mission?"

"I don't hate her." Cyrus said simply. "I have no reason too."

"And why is that?" Stealth Elf asked dangerously.

"Alright, so that's a no." Spyro groaned under his breath.

"I could tell you." Cyrus began responding to Stealth Elf's question. "But you're a smart girl." He said, trying his best to hold back smiling once again. "Figure it out."

Stealth Elf looked like she was about to move once again, but before she could, Spyro's voice made her stop. "That enough!" He roared. "We need to rescue Cynder and stop Omen, not fight over grudges!"

Stealth Elf still looked like she wanted to choke Cyrus, but she held herself back, and as she lowered her head after a long sigh, she spoke, stretching out her arms for the two dragons to grab a hold of. "Let's go."

At that, Cyrus and Spyro stretched out their paws and grasped Stealth Elf's forearms before she teleported away, bringing the two dragons with her.

---

Spyro felt as he touched down once again. He looked around him to see where he and his companions were at. The floor they were all standing on held a set of elegant chairs and gargoyle statues. The statues on this floor were made of gorgeous silver. And according to Cyrus that meant they were getting closer.

"Alright, Elf!" Spyro cheered. "Just a little more!" He said as he looked over to his friend.

However, when he did, Spyro noticed that Stealth Elf's face was contorted with strain. Her brow was furrowed and she was breathing a little heavily.

"Elf? Are you alright?" Spyro asked caringly.

"I'm not used to teleporting so far away, so often and with other people." Stealth Elf stated. "It's a lot harder than I thought it'd be, but I think I can get us all the way up to the golden floors." She stated.

"Great, then let's go." Cyrus said simply.

"Cyrus, please get off her back." Spyro growled. He was happy to have Cyrus with him, but he wasn't about to let him walk over his friends either.

At that, Cyrus just rolled his eyes and shook his head sideways but, he remained silent.

"It's alright." Stealth Elf picked up. "I'm ready." She said with a firm nod.

Spyro was a little reluctant to allow his friend to strain herself so much, but he assumed they didn't have a choice. The Skylands were at stake. Then, after a deep breath, Stealth Elf teleported, bringing Spyro and Cyrus along with her.

As Spyro felt himself touch down once again, He again took a look at the room they were at, focusing on the gargoyle statues. To his relief, the mildly frightening statues were made of a splendid, shimmering gold. They were getting really close and Spyro could feel himself smile from the thought of being able to put an end to this whole mess.

However, Spyro felt as something tugged at his paw. He turned his head around and focused on Stealth Elf. When he did, Spyro felt dread claw at his heart. Stealth Elf had slumped to her knees and had weakly let go of Spyro and Cyrus' paws.

"Elf!" Spyro called, frightened by his friend's sudden ailment.

But then, Spyro felt as something round and made of metal crashed violently against the side of his head, making his ears ring. The next thing Spyro felt was the cold stone floor press against his body.

"Well, that sucked." Spyro groaned as he slowly tried to get on his feet and get a look of what had happened.

As he lifted his head, Spyro saw a large, burly cyclop, clad in black spiky armor and helmet, holding in one hand a round mace. Spyro was ready to fight the large enemy in front of him, but just as he was about to release a fireball at the one-eyed threat, Spyro felt something hit the back of his head. The impact made him fall to the ground, disoriented and in pain. Spyro slowly looked behind him to see that there was another burly cyclop, similarly equipped to the first, grinning widely at the fallen dragon.

Apparently Spyro had been to caught up caring for his friend to notice the cyclops and now, they had caught him by surprise. Spyro then turned his head toward the first cyclop, who now held his mace over his head, about to swing it down on Spyro's head. But, just as Spyro was about to brace himself for the incoming blow, he managed to see Cyrus, suddenly pounce the large cyclop in front of Spyro from behind, startling the one-eyed creature. Then, Spyro saw as Cyrus opened his jaws wide, revealing the black insides of his mouth, as well as his sharp teeth before he took a ravenous bite, aimed at the cyclop's neck, one of the few parts of the creature that was not covered in spiky armor.

With a loud howl of pain, the cyclop Cyrus had bitten dropped his mace behind him. It looked like it wanted to try and get Cyrus off of his back, but as the indigo dragon keep biting down, the color drained from the cyclop's green face and his bulging eye slowly rolled back into his head. Then, the large creature slumped forward, cueing Cyrus to release his bite.

Spyro noticed that Cyrus' green eyes were lit up with a deranged fervor, the kind that made it outright painful to look at him in the eyes. Then, Cyrus raised his head and stared right at what Spyro guessed was the cyclop behind him. "Boo." Cyrus hissed, the toxic rage in his eyes fixated on the cyclop, who had remained paralyzed throughout the whole event.

After a few seconds, Spyro saw as the large cyclop slumped to the ground beside him. The one-eyed creature had his tongue sticking out and his eye closed. "You win." He said, doing a blerg sound afterward with it's eye still closed. Once it finished speaking, it stuck it's tongue out once again, playing dead.

At that, Spyro slowly began to get up, the riging in his ears still not quite gone.

"Are you alright?" Cyrus asked suddenly, stretching out his paw to help Spyro up. The deranged look in his eyes dissipated.

Spyro was a little surprised by this. Cyrus had never struck him as the caring type. "Yeah, I'm good, Impenetrable scales." He said, smiling. "Thanks." Spyro added as he took his brother's paw and got on his feet, which made Cyrus give him a small smile and nod. "But… how is Elf? He picked up, looking for his friend.

"I'm fine too." Stealth Elf answered. Spyro noticed that she had just gotten up from the spot she had had her burnout. "But I really don't think I can take us up another flight."

"You don't have to." Cyrus began. "We're two floors away from the top." He stated

"Alright!" Spyro exclaimed with excitement. "We're almost there! Elf, can you run up the steps?" He asked, energy building up in him.

"Yeah, I'm not out of the game yet." Stealth Elf responded.

"Alright, then." Spyro picked up. "We're just going to rush through. Like Cyrus said, we're running out of time." This made Spyro's companions begin getting ready for a long sprint upward. "Everyone ready?" Spyro asked.

"Yes." Stealth Elf responded.

"As I'll ever be." Cyrus replied.

"Okay." Spyro began, taking a deep breath himself. "Let's do this." He said as he took flight off the ground and up through the spiraling stairway, closely followed by his companions.

As Spyro flew up through the last few floors, he managed to see a few different cyclops loitering in the circular rooms they were in. Some looked like wizards, others were like the burly enemies Cyrus had just defeated and there were many smaller cyclops. When the three companions rushed through the cyclops, the one-eyed creatures reacted rather quickly, immediately focusing on the two dragons and the she-elf sprinting past their defences. They fired orange beams of energy and spears, but they were dodged by Cyrus and Stealth Elf while Spyro simply brushed them off thanks to his scales.

Then, when Spyro and his companions crossed through the last stretch of the spiraling stairway, they were faced with a rather different layout than the previous rooms. As they all rose through the stairway, they were faced with an oblong room that had a set of straight stairs that led to what Spyro guessed was the top of the towers and either Cynder's cell or Omen's ritual chamber.

Spyro then used his wingas and rushed up the stairs and rose to what he hoped was the last floor. When he did, Spyro was faced with a featureless brick wall. So, Spyro quickly turned to his sides in search of a way to progress. To his left there was yet another featureless wall, but to his right, was a passageway that led around the circular edge of the tower. Not wasting any time, Spyro moved to rush through, but he felt something grab his shoulder.

"Spyro, hold on." Cyrus' voice called. "We should stick together." He said as Stealth Elf joined them as she walked up the stairs behind them.

"Yeah…" Spyro began slowly. "Yeah, you're right." Spyro agreed. He felt a little riled up, but he slowly regained his cool. "But, what about the cyclops?" He asked, confused at the absence of enemies.

"They just stopped chasing us after we got here." Stealth Elf explained. "Wouldn't know why."

"Well, I guess we should be happy they aren't chasing us anymore." Spyro said as he touched down on the ground. "But we still need to get going, so come on." He said, gesturing his companions to follow him as he began running through the passageway in front of him which curved widely, as if surrounding a large circular chamber.

As Spyro reached the end of the passageway, which opened up to a small space with a wide archway before a wide, arching stone bridge, which connected to another tower several meters away. Spyro noticed that the other tower was pretty much identical to the one he was standing on. It was huge and had a wide archway that allowed Spyro to have a look inside of the tower. There was a single red door with a simple silver handle on the the curve of the circular chamber within tower.

Spyro then noticed that the sky was getting really dark. Although compared to the dark grey skies of the Outlands it was difficult to notice, Spyro could see that the sun was getting dangerously low, signaling that their time was running out. "Cyrus, is that where Cynder is being held?" Spyro asked as he turned around to face Cyrus and pointing at the distant tower.

"Yes. That's where Omen would have put her." Cyrus answered. "Since this-" He gestured at the door on the chamber within the tower he and Spyro were on. "Is his ritual chamber." He stated.

Spyro reacted at that declaration. He then looked at the door in the circular chamber behind him. The door was quite strange, for it had two, mismatching handles. One was a red doorknob and the other was a blue doorhanle, both placed at opposite ends of the door. The door itself looked like it was made of what looked like several chipped door parts. There were bits of smooth painted wood, bits of rusty metal and even a few bits of tinted plastic making the door's surface.

"Well in that case." Spyro began. "We need to hurry." He said as he hurried over to the tower across the arching bridge.

The bridge was rather large, so it took Spyro a few moments to reach the other tower, moments in which he could feel his heard pound against his chest, for he knew who was just a few meters away. He yearned to see his friend, to see Cynder once again and the thought of her being so close was difficult to properly handle. After how they had left things between them, how hurt they both had been, Spyro really wanted to show her how he really felt about her. So, as he reached the red door, he called her name.

"Cynder!? Are you in there!?" Spyro asked as he tried to open the red door, however,he noticed that the silver handle was unmoving under his paws, which made him struggle harder to try and open it.

"Spyro?" A faint voice asked, muffle by the red door. "Is that you?" The voice asked again, closer this time.

"Yes! Cynder it's me!" Spyro answered. "We're going to get you out of there, just wait and back away from the door!" He explained.

"But how? The door doesn't budge!" Cynder said. "I already tired knocking it down and it was no use!"

Spyro's mind started racing, trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Then an answer came. "Wait here, I'll get someone who can help!" Spyro said reassuringly.

Afterwards, Spyro turned around and headed backward to find Cyrus. The indigo dragon had already used his flames to burn through a similar door, so Spyro thought he would be a reasonable call for help. "Cyrus! Help me get this door open!"

"On my way." Cyrus responded as he flew over to where Spyro was. The indigo dragon was followed by Stealth Elf as both of them crossed the huge bridge.

Once Cyrus had made his way across the bridge, he made his way past Spyro and got in front of the red door Cynder was behind while Stealth Elf stopped beside Spyro. Cyrus then tried speaking to Cynder. "I'm going to fire a small bolt of fire at this door." He explained slowly. "There is a good chance it'll go right through, so back away until I open it."

"Wait, who is that?" Cynder asked through the door.

"Cynder, don't freak out." Spyro began. "But… we have Cyrus here with us."

"Cyrus!?" Cynder asked suddenly.

"Yes, Cyrus. My brother?" Spyro began speaking soothingly. "Look, it's a long story and we are a little short on time, so… just trust me." He pleaded softly, placing one of his paws on the red door, trying to reach out to Cynder.

There was a brief pause, but, Cynder answered. "Alright, I trust you."

Spyro could feel himself smile from relief. Then, backing away from the red door and giving Cyrus a clear shot, Spyro spoke. "Cyrus, you may fire when ready." He said in an overly dramatic way.

"Aye, aye captain." Cyrus answered, playing along lazily. After a short breath, the markings on Cyrus' chest flashed green and then the indigo dragon released a small bolt of flames at the red door, which, just as he had predicted, burned right through, scorching a hole through the smooth red door.

Afterward, Cyrus coughed briefly, but harshly, small puffs of smoke emanating from his mouth as he scratched his throat. "She should be able to get out now." Cyrus stated simply in a slightly raspy voice before turning his head toward Spyro. "We should try to leave as quickly as possible though. It's almost a miracle we didn't find the Knights of Solitude or Enumat on this-"

Cyrus was suddenly interrupted. Spyro saw as a large, purple fist slammed against the side of Cyrus' head, sending him sprawling through the air and making him crash against the brick wall and land on the ground to the left of where Spyro was standing. The whole thing had happened so quickly, so unexpectedly, Spyro couldn't react properly. He could only stare in awe at his brother's fallen body, slowly turning his head toward the huge, armored figure now in front of him.

"I've daydreamed of doing that since I met him." The figure admitted, it's head facing Cyrus, before it slowly turned toward Spyro. "I gotta say, it felt just as good as though it would." Enumat added, a cruel grin spreading across his face.

"Ouch." Cyrus' voice sounded suddenly. The indigo dragon had remained on the floor. "I thought you and I were friends, pal." He asked in a mock hurt voice as he slowly tried getting on his feet.

"Enumat." Spyro started up, backing away from the hulking cyclop and getting into battle pose, imitated by Stealth Elf. "You should have taken the day off buddy."

"I would give you a slick comeback." Enumat began. "But… The boss want's a word." He said simply.

Then, Spyro felt as something that felt like a vice with six teeth slammed against and surrounded the back of his neck. Spyro then felt as he was pulled through the air at inmense speeds, the sight of Enumat, Cyrus and the red door Cynder was behind rapidly growing away. Then, Spyro felt the vice let go of him, making him crash roughly with a loud thud on a smooth, cold surface.

Spyro groaned and slowly tried to gain his bearings. As he looked down on his new standing, he noticed the floor he was under was made of shimmering gold so flawless, he could see his reflection on it. However, upon closer inspection, Spyro noticed that he was standing over a strange pattern, carved onto the golden surface. It was a circle surrounding a symbol, one he was familiar with. Two, four point stars, one larger than the other, overlapping each other. The symbol of the element of Magic, his element.

Spyro then turned around and took a look at the room he was in. There was a lot of information to take in. However, something immediately called his mind's focus, overwhelming Spyro's immediate interest for anything else. Stealth Elf was laying on the floor near the middle of the room, groaning as she too tried to get up on her feet. So, almost instinctively, Spyro went to try and get her up.

"Thanks, Spyro." Stealth Elf said as her friend helped her to her feet. "Where do yo- Whoa!" Stealth Elf suddenly backed away from Spyro and got into battle pose, looking intently at something behind Spyro.

"Elfy?" Spyro called confused. He then began turning around, to see what had startled Stealth Elf. "What's the mat- Whoa!"

As Spyro turned around, he understood Stealth Elf's reaction perfectly. Standing completely still all across the room, but with their many pairs of round, empty, glowing eyes were fixated on Spyro and Stealth Elf, the Knights of Solitude surrounded the Skylanders. Each one of the pitch-black dragons was standing idle over a patterned circle, Similarly to the one Spyro had landed on. However, Spyro noticed that, beneath each of the dark dragon's feet was a very different symbol, each, Spyro guessed, related to their corresponding element.

Orange Eyes, was standing over what to Spyro looked like a thick gear, the symbol of Tech. Brown Eyes, who was standing right beside him, was much larger than the rest of the dragons, so it covered the symbol it was standing over completely, but Spyro guessed it would be a mountain, the symbol of Earth. Green Eyes, who was standing across the room from the first two dragons, was standing over the carving of a tree, the symbol of Life. Blue Eyes, was standing to it's left, and over what looked like a water droplet, the symbol of Water. To Green Eyes' right, stood Red Eyes, over a symbol that appeared to depict a flame, the symbol of Fire. Finally to Blue Eyes' left, stood Cyan Eyes, who stood over a the image of a swirling breeze, the symbol of Wind.

However, there were two circles that remained unoccupied, the one Spyro had landed on, which separated Brown Eyes and Red Eyes and one behind where Spyro was now standing, which separated Cyan Eyes and Orange Eyes. That circle depicted the image of a skull, the symbol of Undead. Putting two and two together, Spyro realised who those spots were being held for.

But suddenly,a hideous voice, like metal gears grinding against each other, sounded across the entire room, not coming from anywhere, but sounding as if it was right beside Spyro. "Four… Hours…" The voice entonated, sounding distorted and unrecognizable. "I waited for you… for four hours." The voice stated, becoming dreadfully familiar. "Do you know what Breathless Hollow is like boy? I picked that spot because I thought it sounded cool, because I thought it was an appropriate place to finish our little hero-villian routine, like in the comic books!" Omen's voice solidified. "But guess what!? It was cold, it was dark, it was overrun with mosquitoes and two hours in, it started raining." Omen listed, his sourceless voice making it impossible for Spyro to track him down. "And guess what boy!?" Omen asked, in an inviting and joke-like, yet still dangerous voice.

Spyro then felt a rough wooden hand grab the back of his neck tightly and lift him off the air. Spyro exclaimed from surprise as he was pulled through the air by Omen's wooden hand, which came to a sudden stop, holding Spyro in mid air, a few inches away from the bizarre villain's smoking, cage-like head.

"I had to wait there…" Omen began slowly, quietly as his glowing purple eyes fixated on Spyro's altered red eyes. "For. Four. Hours!" Omen roared, his horrible disembodied voice making Spyro wince and hiss in pain.

"Didn't catch a cold, did you?" Spyro asked meekly at the deranged villian, smiling innocently.

Then, Spyro felt as Omen's wooden hand dragged him across the air, putting him momentarily over Omen's head, before moving through the air so quickly Spyro was unable to tell what was happening until he felt the golden surface of the floor suddenly rise up to meet him in a painful embrace.

"Spyro!" Stealth Elf's voice cried as Spyro tried to get on his feet. "Are you okay?" Stealth Elf asked as she helped Spyro stand up.

"I'm fine, thanks Elf." Spyro said, silently thanking his impenetrable scales. "But I'm not sure we're going to be." He said as he looked up, at the floating humanoid shape that was Omen, slowly descending to level with the Skylanders.

"Oh believe me." Omen began, his stranger arm, made of three different colored strings and connected to a metal vice, began twitching and squirming in the air. "You two-" Omen continued, gesturing at Spyro and Stealth Elf with his wooden hand as his stranger arm divided into three smaller strings, each connected to a small metal pincer. "Are not going to be fine when this is over."

However, a strange sound, like a distant explosion shook the air around Omen the Skylanders. This made Omen's eyes curl slightly upward and narrow dangerously.

"And neither will you friends." Omen picked up maliciously, before using his three small arms to draw a large purple ring of light on the air to his left, which quickly darkened, creating a circular portal, and making dread find its way to Spyro's heart. "What do you say, people?" Omen asked out loud, not apparently to Spyro or Stealth Elf. "Let's go and properly greet our guests!" He said, snapping the fingers on his wooden hand.

At that, the Knights of Solitude all in perfect coordination, stopped looking at the Skylanders and instead focused on the portal their master had just created. Then, one by one, the dark dragons began to sprint toward the dark portal, disappearing as the crossed through. Once the last of the six dragons crossed through, the portal itself disappeared, making the dread in Spyro's heard grow. His breathing grew faster and his arms started shaking as he realized what Omen had done. He had sent the Knights of Solitude to kill his friends.

"Now then, Spyglassss." Omen began, hissing the nickname he had given Spyro. He then, stretching out his arms out and puffing his wooden chest out, spoke in a maniacal voice. "Let's see what you're made of!"

"Apart from Magic of course." He added quickly.

---

Cyrus ducked out of the way of Enumat's swinging fist, which buried into the grey brick wall where Cyrus' head previously was. Using the hulking cyclop's missed strike, Cyrus slid through Enumat's legs, stopping once he was behind the cyclop.

Once there, Cyrus channeled his magic, ready to fight against the oversized cyclop. Enumat then broke his hand out of the wall it was buried on and turned around to face Cyrus, a cruel grin on his face as he stared down on the indigo dragon.

"I never thought I'd see you again, ex-boss." Enumat began. "I'm glad I get one last chance to bash your head in." He said, slamming his fists together.

Cyrus did not respond, instead he kept his eyes on the cyclop, weary of any sudden movement.

"Alright, so we're doing this profesional style, then?" Enumat asked. "I trust you know all the rules?" Enumat asked as he pulled out a grey book from one of his back pockets and waved it in front of Cyrus.

The book was labeled in elegant gold letters, "The Rules of Fair Combat.". It made Cyrus' memory spark suddenly. Omen was rather fond of that book. He had made Cyrus read it several times. So, Cyrus noded, recognising what Enumat was trying to do.

"Alright then." Enumat began. "No chopping off body parts, no name calling and no hitting under the belt. Fair?" He checked, eager for a good fight.

"Fair." Cyrus agreed simply, tensing up from the anticipation of the incoming battle.

At that, Enumat gave him a small nod a few seconds before charging at Cyrus with great speed, leaving only a few seconds for him to react. But Cyrus was fast, he ducked again, which caused Enumat to trip and fall to the ground, opening him wide for a chance at a counter attack, which Cyrus took.

He channeled his magic and caused his paws to glow bloody red. Afterwards, he leaped into the air and slashed at Enumat's back with his razor-sharp claws. They sliced through part of the metallic shell that protected Enumat's flesh, but Cyrus didn't feel his claws cut meat, so he used his wings to back away from Enumat, as he tried to flip over and backhand Cyrus off of him.

Cyrus managed to escape the incoming attack, using his wings to remain out of Enumat's reach. This frustrated the cyclop, who tried jumping to the air, hand stretched out above him, trying to grasp Cyrus' tail. However, Cyrus had waited for Enumat to make a move like this. Using his tail as a whip, Cyrus lashed Enumat across his face, getting him off his balance and making him fall to the ground once again, now holding his flogged face in pain.

Cyrus wasn't one to let up a good opportunity. So he dove down, his paws glowing bloody red, ready to attack the cyclop once again.

However, when Cyrus began to quickly descend, he felt as a large hand slammed suddenly against his neck, cutting the air from his lungs. Enumat had taken a steady hold of Cyrus, catching him off guard. Then with a angry grunt, Enumat launched Cyrus to the side, sending him crashing through the red door he had just recently opened. Afterwards, Cyrus could feel himself land roughly on his side against the a smooth and cold surface. As quickly as he could, Cyrus tried getting on his feet and get a hang of where he now was.

He was in a large room, filled with elegant brown wooden chairs with red cushions. The door he had been flung through was now burst open and Enumat's armored figure was now crossing through, which made Cyrus tense up.

Enumat swayed his head to the sides, his neck cracking loudly as he did. He then raised his fists and got ready to charge against Cyrus once again. But before he could, Enumat was struck by something, something Cyrus was unable to see. But it must have been one powerful impact, for the hulking cyclop was brought to his knees after he was hit.

Once Enumat was bent down however, Cyrus could see where the impact had come from. Already in battle pose and standing behind Enumat, stood Cynder, the undead dragoness. She had a fierce look on her face as she kept her eyes on Enumat while he began to get up on his feet.

"That." Enumat began slowly. "Was cheating." He stated.

"There's no rules to fighting." Cynder said unapologetically.

At that Enumat gave out a scoff and looked at Cyrus, pointing at Cynder with his thumb. "No rules, she says."

"And they say us bad guys have no honor." Cyrus sighed with his enemy.

"Hey! Whose side are you on!?" Cynder asked, apparently not very trusting of Cyrus yet.

Suddenly breaking the calm moment, Enumat dove his right hand into the large purple crystal on the middle of his black chestplate. It went through, not cracking the crystal, but rather allowing him to reach inside of an international pocket, from which Enumat pulled out a thick, crystalline handle, that stretched out as Enumat continued to draw out a long weapon from his chest. After a few moments, the hulking cyclop was now wielding a huge crystalline hammer, that glowed in unison to the purple gemstones on his chestplate and helmet.

"Well, if you're gonna cheat." Enumat began, bouncing the head of his hammer on his hand. "I'm gonna cheat too." He said maliciously.

Afterwards, Enumat raised his hammer over his head and slammed it on the floor beneath him, sending a powerful shockwave throughout the room and getting Cynder and Cyrus off their balance.

Cyrus then saw as Enumat lifted his hammer and began moving to do a circular spin with his hammer, apparently aiming to slam it against Cynder. For a second, Cyrus was afraid for the violet dragoness' life, however, Cyrus then saw as Cynder turned into a dark, misty silhouette of herself, and phased right through the incoming attack, unharmed. But then, once she was out of immediate danger, Cynder resolidified and released a burst of lightning, which crashed against Enumat's chest, causing him grunt in pain and stumble backwards.

Seeing an opportunity, Cyrus rushed at the stumbling cyclop, and with a swift slide, Cyrus used his tail to knock one of Enumat's legs off the ground, ruining his foot stance and causing him to land roughly on his back. Cyrus, didn't plan on letting up. He jumped onto Enumat's chest and called his magic, making his paws glow red before he began slashing at Enumat's head with his claws, making him try blocking the dragon's attacks with one of his hands, while keeping the other on his hammer.

Then, with a loud roar and a sudden burst of might, Enumat suddenly got to his feet, knocking Cyrus off him, making his stumble on the ground. After this and once he regained his battle stance, Enumat raised his hammer over his head, battlelust shimmering behind his white pupil as he swung his hammer down, aimed to crush Cyrus skull. However, Cyrus was fast enough, just fast enough. He rolled out of the way of the incoming swing, which crackerd the dark floor beneath it, but, like a frenzied whack-a-mole player, Enumat immediately lifted his hammer and repositioned himself for another attack. With seconds to react, Cyrus backed away, using a burst of his wings to evade Enumat's non-stop string of attacks as the cyclop chased Cyrus through the room.

"A little help!?" Cyrus invited Cynder desperately as he dodged out of the way of another one of Enumat's hammer.

"Oh, sorry." Cynder apologies nervously, before she flew up into the air. Once there, the tips on her wings and the mark on her forehead began to glow an intense white, before she released a stream of blue lightning. which connected to Enumat's back, releasing a powerful electric shock on the cyclop, causing him to stop his onslaught on Cyrus as he convulsed briefly, shocked, in more ways than one.

Cyrus took a moment to have a breather, slightly exhausted from Enumat's dangerous chase. While he did, Cyrus saw as Enumat began to turn around, facing Cynder. Enumat then held his hammer to his side, and lowered his body slightly, his head facing Cynder as his body tensed up. Cyrus realised what he was about to do, so he cried out a warning.

"Watch out!" He shouted at Cynder, right on time for her to react.

Enumat then sprung off the ground, leaping at Cynder with great speeds, his hammer swinging horizontally, aimed at the dragoness' chest. However, thanks to Cyrus' warning, Cynder turned into a misty figure and dashed through Enumat's attack, as well as the cyclop's body. She then resolidified and landed on the ground, turning around quickly just as Enumat began to descend from his leaping attack. Without a moment wasted, Cynder released yet another burst of lightning at Enumat's back, which once again caused the hulking cyclop to fail at sticking his landing.

"Stop doing that!" Enumat roared as he quickly got to his feet, frowning menacingly and baring his two sharp fangs. "It's not fair if I can't hit you!" He complained at Cynder's nifty power.

"It's not her fault you're a mess, man." Cyrus spat with a small grin as he walked up to Cynder, who took a small step away, still not fully comfortable with Cyrus' presence.

"Shut up!" Enumat roared. "I am Enumat! The leader of the One-Eyed Legion! I won't be defeated by two overgrown lizards!" He declared, rage and battlelust flaring in his bulging eye. The large crystals on his armor and his weapon pulsated with sinister light, as if to mirror his newly bolstered murderous intent.

After the display, Enumat grasped the hilt of his hammer from near the edge and began to spin, dragging the weapon's hed through the floor behind him. As he continued spinning, faster with each rotation, the hammer began to rise off the ground, gaining dangerous momentum. Then, after a few seconds, Enumat released the hilt of his hammer, and the crystalline weapon shot out through the air at incredible speeds, aimed directly at Cyrus and Cynder.

Cyrus flopped to the ground, pressing his chest against the stone floor to avoid the devastation attack Enumat had launched. On the other hand, Cynder simply turned to black mist as the hammer shot right through her, crashing violently and loudly against the wall of the room behind her and Cyrus. The weapon was now buried almost halfway into the wall, a massive web of cracks expanding from where it's head was buried.

"Woah, that looked dangerous." Cynder said in an impressed tone as she solidified and turned around to see where the weapon had landed.

But, as Cyrus lifted his head to see what had happened, he was greeted with a very unpleasant surprise. The indigo dragon saw as Enumat charged at Cynder, who was distracted by the effects of Enumat's first attack to notice the hulking cyclop ball his right hand into a fist and pull it back behind his head. Just as Cynder began to return her attention to Enumat, it was too late. Cyrus saw as Enumat slammed his fist against Cynder's chest, making the dragoness bend over around it before being sent sprawling to the wall beside Enumat's buried hammer.

As Cynder collided against the wall and then, fell to the ground, Cyrus could tell she had been knocked out. As he saw her laying unmoving on the floor, Cyrus felt a sense of dread crawl onto his spine. However, Cyrus was suddenly feeling something quite different, something reminiscent of a large hand clasping shut around his neck and squeezing tightly. Before he could properly gasp for air, Cyrus felt himself be picked off the ground and be slammed against a cold stone surface.

After a few seconds of trying to get his bearings, Cyrus understood what his position was. He was being held against the wall of the room, held tightly by the throat by Enumat, who looked at him with a deranged glare.

The cyclop's breathing was labored, which made him exhale through his mouth, blowing a foul smell right at Cyrus' nostrils. But after a few seconds, Enumat spoke between tired breaths. "I… win… I… win." He repeated, slightly lowering Cyrus, almost to chest level, perhaps out of exhaustion.

Cyrus gave Enumat a simple stare, not of rage or hatred, nor of fright or despair, something Cyrus assumed greatly confused the Cyclop, because he stared back at Cyrus with an awkward expression, tilting his head to the side and furrowing his brow.

"What's… wrong?" Enumat breathed. "Can't you tell I beat you?" He asked, his voice growing steadier as breath returned to his lungs.

"Why…" Cyrus tried to speak, but Enumat's hand choked the rest of the words before they could come out of his throat.

This made Enumat growl and release the hold on Cyrus' neck slightly. "What? What are you saying?"

"Why… can't people tell…" Cyrus began slowly, hanging his head down. "When someone is trying to play nice?" He asked.

"Huh?" Enumat entonated, the confusion on his face suddenly doubling.

Then, without warning, Cyrus lifted his head and took a short breath. The six gashes on his chest flashed green and Cyrus released a ball of green and black flames, aimed at Enumat's chest.

The pain of releasing his flames made Cyrus hiss in pain and close his eyes. But after a few seconds, Cyrus forced himself to open his eyes and look at what his attack had done. Once Cyrus opened his eyes and faced Enumat, his eyes went round.

Enumat was looking straight at Cyrus with a glassy, unfocused look on his large eye. His grip around Cyrus' neck had grown weak and limp. As Cyrus lowered his head to where he had aimed his fireball, the answer to why this was the case, was revealed. Smoking still from the fresh burns, a wide, smoldering hole was carved on Enumat's chest, going all the way though, creating an exit wound on his armored back.

Enumat lowered his head to see the brutal wound on his chest. After looking at it for a few seconds, he lifted his head and looked at Cyrus once again, the same glassy look on his eye. "Well." He started up, a weak smile trying to find it's way across his face. "That was… the best one I've had."

At that, Cyrus saw as Enumat slumped to his knees, releasing the pressure on Cyrus' neck and letting him breath normally. Then, Cyrus saw as Enumat slowly slumped backwards, his bulging eye closed as he fell to the ground, stiff and wound Cyrus had given him was still smoldering, still eating away a little bit of him away.

"I don't think being a good guy is very healthy." Cyrus exhaled sharply, rubbing his sore throat as he stared at the now dead cyclop.

After a short moment however, Cyrus gaze wandered over to Cynder's fallen body. He felt concern weighed over him. He did not like the state Cynder looked to be in, so he slowly tried walking toward her fallen figure, trying to see what he could do to help.

However, something made Cyrus stop abruptly, halfway on is path to reach Cynder. Cyrus had heard a scream. A pained scream, from someone he knew. Then, after a few seconds, Cyrus heard the same voice scream again, making Cyrus react and involuntarily look over through the door on the room, which allowed him to see out of the room he was in and get a view of the second tower, from where the screams were coming from.

"Spyro…" Cyrus said, cold spreading through his body and his heart beating faster as he realized what was going on.

Spyro was facing off against Omen. Cyrus knew that was a fight he couldn't win, not in a thousand years. He had to help. Cyrus then moved to exit the room, but something nagged at his mind, stopping him halfway through. "Cynder." He realized, looking behind him at the fallen dragoness. But then, Cyrus heard as Spyro gave out another pained howl from far away. Cyrus then started shaking, and suddenly placed his left paw over the red mark over his eye and started scratching it slowly increasing the speed of his scratching.

Cyrus realized with dread, quickly turning his head between Cynder's unconscious body and the tower Spyro's screams were coming from, that he had a choice to make.

---

Jet-Vac stood in his place, turning around and shifting from side to side to avoid incoming attacks from the cyclops he was gunning down. The senior Skylander's heart was pounding and his blood was roaring in his ears. He and his companions were firing their different projectiles at the many one-eyes enemies surrounding them.

Jet-Vac's gaze then wandered upward, at the massive outer wall of Maraino Castle, where he saw a small group of wizard-looking cyclops lift huge magnifying glasses in front of them. From these glasses, several orange beams of energy shot through the air, aimed at Jet-Vac. This caused him to yelp in distress as he rolled on the ashen ground, out of way of the incoming attacks.

"Malefor!" Jet-Vac called as he got up and shaked his head, getting the ash off of it. "A little help, please!?" He asked as he got to his feet and took aim at a small cyclop that charged at him. The Skylander fired a blast from his vac-gun and the one-eyed creature was knocked off his feet.

"How you Skylanders saved the Core of Light is beyond me." Malefor grumbled, not really bothered by the small clusters of cyclops swinging their weapons at the dragon king's legs.

Most of the one-eyed creatures' weapons actually broke when the struck Malefor's armored legs, leaving the small cyclops welding them, quite disheartened.

"Very well, let the fire clean after your incompetence." Malefore said, turning his head toward the cyclops dressed in wizard robes on the wall of the castle. After a short breath, Malefor released a massive fireball that incinerated not only the wizard-looking cyclops, but part of the wall they were standing on.

Actually, now that Jet-Vac looked at it, Malefor had done a really impressive number on the once imposing wall. The grey structure was now torn to pieces, many flaming blasts spread across it, leaving no room for any more lazer-firing cyclops to get a vantage point.

"Well, this is a lot more fun than fighting those big guys!" Jet-Vac heard Eruptor's voice shout. The senior Skylander turned his head to his left to see his fiery friend fire multiple firebolts at different cyclops as he made his way toward his friend. "I always liked dealing with lots of small guys instead of a few big guys." Eruptor admitted as he came to stop at Jet-Vac's side.

"Well, I think we're starting to run out of little guys!" A shrill voice, Jet-Vac identified as Pop Fizz' stated. As Jet-Vac turned around to see his friend, he could see as the blue Skylander hopped over to Jet-Vac and Eruptor.

Then, after taking a short glance around him, Jet-Vac noticed that, just as Pop Fizz had said, there was indeed a dwindling number of cyclops. The one-eyed creatures were no longer pouring out of their many tents inside Maraino Castle courtyard and although there were still quite a great many of them running around across the large, ash-covered field the large battle was taking place upon, they were being swatted away like toy soldiers by Malefor, who looked like he was having the time of his life, laughing malevolently and smiling broadly as he used his claws and tail to decimate the One-Eyed Legion's remaining troops.

"I must admit." Jet-Vac began. "This is going a lot better than I expected."

"I know, right!?" Eruptor shouted as he fired a volley of flaming projectiles at a small formation of cyclops that charged at him and his friends. "I thought this plan was going to be a huge bust, but hey! We're all in one piece!" He cheered.

But then, cutting Eruptor's cheer off, Jet-Vac saw as, out of thin air, a dark circle popped into existence. It's perfect, featureless darkness was ringed with purple light and strange, albeit familiar runes. Slowly, Jet-Vac recalled the last time he had seen such an abstract projection. He realized with dread, that what was in front of him, was one of Omen's portals.

But then, Jet-Vac noticed that something shimmered beneath the absolute darkness in the portal. Then, with great speed, a group of figures emerged from the portal. Their bodies as black as the mouth of the portal from which they had come from, the Knights of Solitude stood, all lined up neatly side by side, only a few meters away from Jet-Vac and his friends.

"Uh, oh." Pop Fizz whispered, tensing up and lowering his ears as he laid eyes on the Knights of Solitude.

"Oh, me and my big mouth!" Eruptor complained, as he got into battle stance and faced the lined up enemies in front of him.

"Everyone, stay steady!" Jet-Vac shouted as he raised his vac-gun at the dark dragons, who, as they usually do, stayed inexpressive and perfectly still, stareing blankly at the Skylanders.

But then, the Knights of Solitude shifted, putting Jet-Vac on edge. He saw as Red Eyes, Cyan Eyes and Orange Eyes lifted their heads in unison, aiming their emotionless stares at Malefor. Meanwhile, Green Eyes, Brown Eyes and Blue Eyes, all slightly lowered their bodies and took one step forward toward the Skylanders. Jet-Vac was able to understand what was going to happen. The anticipation making him plopped an egg.

Then, the six dark dragons moved in perfect coordination, all moving to their respective targets. Cyan Eyes, Red Eyes and Orange Eyes shoot up into the air, flying over the Skylanders and heading toward Malefor while the remaining Knights charged at the Skylanders.

Jet-Vac saw as Brown Eyes charged at Eruptor and Green Eyes charged at Pop Fizz, leaving Blue Eyes to face of against him. This prompted Jet-Vac to raise his vac-gun and aim it at Blue Eyes. Just as the fish-looking dragon leaped at Jet-Vac, intent on tackling him, the senior Skylander used his vac-gun to release a powerful air current at Blue Eyes, so powerful, that the dark dragon was cast backwards while still in the air, which made it crash roughly on it's side. Blue Eyes then started standing up, which made Jet-Vac react and fire multiple blasts of wind at the dark dragon.

However, Blue Eyes suddenly slid out of the way of Jet-Vac's projectiles, using a slippery mucus under its feet to slip out of harm's way. The dark dragon used its wings to boot itself as it slid through the ground, creating a gooey slip-n-slide for itself, which it used to quickly slide around Jet-Vac, making the senior Skylander get dizzy as he tried to follow the speeding dragon.

Then, Blue Eyes slid much closer to Jet-Vac. As it approached him, Blue Eyes released a short burst of electricity, which gave out after almost a second of leaving it's dark mouth, before using its wings to boost itself off the ground above Jet-Vac. However, the yellow current of electricity connected with Jet-Vac, which made him feel a surge of fittingly electrifying pain. It was brief, yet intense, however, Jet-Vac powered through, clenching his teeth and groaning loudly before he took aim at the dragon above him. He fired another barrage of wind blasts at Blue Eyes.

But then, Jet-Vac felt something large and rough slamm against the back of his head. The impact filled his mouth with a metallic taste and made his vision go cloudy. The blow was numbingly painful, even as Jet-vac slumped to the ground, landing chest-first on the ashen ground. Jet-Vac groaned as he tried getting up, using his arms to slowly lift himself off the ground. But then, he felt something put pressure against his back, which, in his disoriented state, made his arms give out and make him fall to the ground once again, the pressure on his back, preventing him from getting up.

Jet-Vac tried turning his head to see what had knocked him to the ground. As he did, he saw Brown Eyes' large head looming over him staring at him blankly, the large dark dragon using one of it's paws to press him against the ground. But then, Jet-Vac saw as Brown Eyes opened it mouth, and started to slowly lower it's head closer to Jet-Vac. The senior Skylander's heart started racing in panic as he realized what Brown Eyes was about to do. He tired squirming and kicking, gunting loudly as he tried to escape the slowly descending jaws, but the large dragon on top of him made getting away difficult. He was unable to move, unable to escape. He tired giving out a call for help, screaming at the top of his lungs as Brow Eyes' jaws were about to snap shut around his head.

But then, Jet-Vac heard someone shout. "Hey! Get off our friend!"

Afterwards, Jet-Vac felt as Brown Eyes started to shift above him, eventually stepping off of him entirely. This made Jet-Vac raise his head to see what had happened. He saw as Brown Eyes was being battered by flaming projectiles and exploding potions, courtesy of Eruptor and Pop Fizz.

Jet-Vac used this assault to get on his feet, turn around and join in, firing his own attacks at the dark dragon. This causes Brown Eyes to back away and try to evade any more attacks, but, as the focused assault from the Skylanders dispersed, the dark dragon fell to the ground, overwhelmed and knocked out by the fierce attack.

"Wow, thanks lads." Jet-Vac said, looking at the fallen dragon in front of him.

"Jet-Vac, focus please!" Eruptor's voice shouted angrily from behind Jet-Vac.

This made Jet-Vac turn around quickly. As he did, Jet-Vac had seconds to react to a spiked, yellow orb shooting right at his face. With a frightened yelp, the senior Skylander ducked quickly, avoiding the attack. He lifted his head to see the Green Eyes was now focused on him and fired another orb, exactly like the one Jet-Vac had just dodged. However, this one was shot out of the air by one of Eruptor's own firebolts, creating a smoky explosion mid air before the small dragon's attack could reach Jet-Vac.

Getting back into the swing of things, Jet-Vac took aim and fired three projectiles at Green Eyes. But then, Jet-Vac saw in awe as the small dark dragon vanished into thin air. Jet-Vac's projectiles instead collided with the ash covered ground, creating small grey clouds where they struck.

"That one can turn invisible?" Pop Fizz asked in disbelief.

This made Jet-Vac look over to his friend, who was flinging potions at Blue Eyes. The dragon in turn was firing bursts of water at Pop Fizz' potions, blowing them out of the air as the speedy dragon began secreting the slippery slime it had used to slide around and overwhelm Jet-Vac. This made the senior Skylander worry greatly. But it was when Blue Eyes started to use it's slippery slime to charge at Pop Fizz with greatly increased speed that Jet-Vac really started to feel dread. But then, Jet-Vac saw as Eruptor barfed a large puddle of bright lava in front of Pop Fizz, which in turn made Blue Eyes, suddenly stop it's sliding charge.

"Hah! We got you!" Pop Fizz said to the dark dragon, before flinging a strange potion at it.

The potion's beaker was slim and filled with a bright pink fluid. When the beaker crashed against Blue Eyes' face, it exploded into a mist of similar color to the potion it contained. Then, as the pink mist dispersed, Jet-Vac felt relief to see Blue Eyes laying still on the floor, eyes closed, knocked out.

"How do you like my knockout potion buddy!?" Pop Fizz taunted.

"That was brilliant Pop!" Jet-Vac exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Pop Fizz exclaimed as he turned around to smile broadly at Jet-Vac. "I took me a while to make that one!"

"Good work guys!" Eruptor cheered his friends. "That just leaves four to go!" He stated.

But then, something crashed roughly amidst the Skylanders, blowing up a small cloud of ash as it did. What had crashed in front of the Skylanders, was dark figure, that looked to have the shape of a dragon, but had several avian features, like feathers on its wings and tail, as well as what looked sharp enough to be a beak.

"Three to go!" Malefor's gravelly voice corrected loudly. This made the Skylanders look over to the dragon king.

Jet-Vac saw as the massive dragon was releasing a huge stream of flames at the Knights of Solitude around him. As the dark dragons zipped through the air and avoided the flames, they instead hit very last remnants of the One-Eyed Legion, dispersing the remaining cyclops. The dark dragons meanwhile, were so small and fast, that they looked like pitch-black flies in comparison to Malefor. The two dragons were firing their attacks at the dragon king, striking him with black and white beams as well as dual orange lazers. And these attacks were causing the dragon king to growl and hiss in pain, as small scorch marks appeared over his dark scales whenever he was struck by the Knights of Solitude. Despite Malefor's ferocity, he was being overwhelmed.

"We need to help him." Jet-Vac stated, looking at Malefor and readying up his vac-gun.

"You said it." Eruptor agreed, taking aim at the Knights of Solitude flying around Malefor.

But then, with a strange hissing sound, Jet-Vac saw as Green Eyes materialized from thin air, tackling Eruptor and pinning him to the ground. The small dark dragon then fired a spiky orb point-blank at Eruptor's face, creating a small blast of smoke and light over the magma Skylander's face.

"Eruptor!" Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz shouted in shocked unison.

At that, Green Eyes took flight, rising up over the Skylanders. Then, Jet-Vas saw as two thin, black vines burst out of the dark dragon's back. From these vines a swarm of crackling sparks flew out, showing over the Skylanders. When these sparks fell over Jet-Vac, he felt like he was being burned by miniature chunks of coal. He exclaimed in pain as he tried to get out of the way of anymore of them falling on him. After a few sparks landed on Pop Fizz, he followed Jet-Vac's course of action almost exactly.

Afterwards, angry at Green Eyes for hurting his friend and covering him on painful sparks, Jet-Vac raised his vac-gun at took aim at the dark dragon above him. He was about to pull the trigger and fire, but something stopped him. A familiar voice.

"Regeneration powers, loser!" Eruptor's voice shouted suddenly with a loud laugh as Eruptor himself leaped into the air, fists flaming. The magma elemental then slammed his blazing fist into Green Eyes' chest, before slamming the small dark dragon on the ashen ground.

"I think we should stop worrying about you." Jet-Vac joked as he saw his flaming friend get off the fallen Knight of Solitude.

"Hehehe, maybe." Eruptor began with a small smile. "But we should start worrying about him." He said, pointing over Jet-Vac's shoulder.

Jet-Vac looked over to where Eruptor was pointing at. He saw Malefor, still struggling with the remaining Knights of Solitude and he instantly agreed with Eruptor. They had to do their very best and do their part of they wanted to put an end to this. So, arming himself with his last bits of strength, Jet-Vac charged at Malefor, ready to help in any way he could.

---

Spyro soared through the air, avoiding Omen's grasping hand behind him. The large golden chamber he and Stealth Elf were fighting the malevolent villian allowed him quite some room to maneuver.

Spyro dove and spun, rose and turned, doing everything he could to avoid the wooden hand chasing after him through the air. After a while, Spyro put an extra bit of effort and used his wings to boost himself even further away from the grasping limb. He then turned around and breathed in, calling forth his flames. Afterwards, Spyro released a large fireball at the dark wooden hand chasing him. The impact created a smoky explosion and caused Omen to give out a short grunt of pain.

"Hey, watch it!" Omen shouted. "That hand is one of my favorites!" He declared as he retracted the red string that connected the disembodied limb to his body.

Spyro was too focused to give any mind to Omen's antics. He quickly drew another deep breath and fired three flaming projectiles at Omen, one after the other. They flew through the air at great speeds as they got closer to Omen. However, Spyro then saw as Omen's wooden hand started glowing with a sinister purple aura before the villian moved the disembodied limb at great speeds. The wooden hand literally grabbed Spyro's projectiles out of the air, holding all three of the flaming attacks within its grasp.

Spyro gulped hard while a drop of cold sweat traveled down his temple as he saw the three fireballs merge into one in Omen's hand. The flames then slowly changed color from Spyro's trademark orange and red to an unnatural blue and white, a color scheme that seemed to follow Omen constantly..

Spyro then saw Omen whip his arm to fling the newly altered fireball right back at Spyro. The purple dragon quickly dived out of the way of the projectile, which instead crashed against the wall Spyro was previously in front of. The impact created a loud explosion which blasted a hole through the chamber's wall, allowing the grey sky of the Outlands to bee see from within the chamber.

"Man, I really don't wanna get hit by that do I?" Spyro joked nervously to himself as he kept his eyes on Omen.

"Spyro!" Stealth Elf's voice called him. "Keep focused!"

Spyro reacted and looked blow him, looking for his friend. He saw her teleporting out of the way of Omen's three small, pincer-like arms attempts to take a hold of her. She disappeared and reappeared rapidly, causing the three disembodied pincers to glide through the air without even grazing her. However, Spyro saw that she wasn't doing it on random. She was calculating the trajectory Omen's arms were going to take and reappeared accordingly. After a couple of moments, Stealth Elf had done something that truly impressed Spyro and made Omen roar in rage. She had caused the three small strings tange between each other, creating a bulging mess of knots and making it impossible for them to move any more.

"Hahaha! Way to go Elf!" Spyro cheered, genuinely impressed by his friend's work.

"Yeah, yeah, big whoop!" Omen shouted. "I have arms to spare! and I won't even be needing them anymore after I come here and personally choke the life out of you!" He bellowed as the armored shoulder pad that connected his arm to his body popped off his wooden chest.

Then, using his remaining hand, Omen created a small portal in front of him, from which he pulled out a brand new arm. It was much larger and quite different than the one he previously had. It was made up by a thick grey chain, that connected a crude-looking winch, which Omen placed on where his shoulder used to be, and a large, silver fist, which was almost the size of a bowling ball.

"You won't be coming over at all, you monster!" Spyro snapped back, not willing to be intimidated by Omen's new limb. "We're going to stop you, and make sure you never do anything like this ever again!" Spyro declared.

Omen on the other hand looked at him with curled up eyes, a smug smile would have been on his face if he had a mouth. "Bold words for someone in smacking distance, boy." He said slowly.

Afterwards, Omen throwed his new hand directly at Spyro, who dodged out of the wiy by sliding to the left. However, when he did, Omen threw hie old hand at him as well. Spyro tired to duck out of way and managed to avoid the incoming attack. However, he failed to notice that Omen had began retracting his new arm and as the large silver hand retracted toward Omen, it took a hold of Spyro, gripping him tightly around his chest.

"Spyro!" Stealth Elf shouted as she saw her friend be dragged toward Omen.

"Haha, ha!" Omen laughed loudly as he drew Spyro close to his body. "I caught you, you purple weasel!" He taunted.

"Urg, let go!" Spyro shouted, calling his flames forth, releasing an orange fireball point-blank at Omen's head.

However, when the impact collided and dispersed, Spyro noticed that not even a scratch had appeared on Omen's head. Despite Spyro clearly hitting it, the cage-like head did not have even a miniscule scratch, making concern claw at Spyro's heart.

After Spyro's attack, Omen gave him a strange look, his eyes expressing disappointment as he shook his head sideways slowly. Then, Spyro felt as Omen's large silver had began squeezing him tightly, crushing him. The pain made Spyro cry out in pain as he felt his bones being bent under the immense pressure the metal first was applying.

"Let him go!" Stealth Elf shouted at Omen. "Let him go you living trash mound!"

"Okay sweetie." Omen started up, releasing the pressure on Spyro's body, which made him give out a short sigh of relief. "First off. Trash mound? That's just mean. And second, what are you going to do? Go cry to Ninjini?" Omen taunted cruelly. "Oh wait…" He added quickly, wryly.

Stealth Elf looked like she wanted to do some really un-Skylanderish things to Omen. She was shaking, gripping her daggers so tight her hands were draining in color and she was giving Omen a glare so overridden with rage it would have made Cyrus proud. But she held herself in place, slowly steadying herself.

"No." Stealth Elf said slowly. "I'm going to make her proud." She said, making Omen's eyes furrow with confusion.

Stealth Elf then took a deep breath and placed her hands together, closing her eyes as her expression became zen, calm.

"Ummm." Omen hummed in confusion. "Alrighty then." He said, moving his wooden hand to attack Stealth Elf.

"Elf, what are you doing!" Spyro shouted, not understanding what his friend was doing. He tried squirming futilely in Omen's metal grasp, not getting it to bud an inch.

Omen's wooden hand shot through the air at great speeds, balled up into a fist and aimed directly at Stealth Elf's face, who simply stood still, eyes closed and perfectly calm while Omen's hand got closer and closer. But then, just as Omen's hand was about to reach her, Stealth Elf opened her eyes and something Spyro didn't immediately understand happened.

Stealth Elf became a transparent green outline of herself, turning into something similar to what Master Eon looked like now. Then, Stealth Elf did a quick and graceful backflip, putting distance between herself and Omen's hand. But, as she did, Spyro noticed that a strange object materialized with a small burst of green mist, like the one that appears when Stealth Elf teleports. The object looked like a strangely made scarecrow which struck Spyro as quite odd. However, what really confused Spyro, was the fact that, through its chunky and ragged appearance, the scarecrow seemed to be designed after Stealth Elf herself. The straw hat it was using was dyed blue, like the elven Skylander's hair, the wooden sticks it used for arms ended in rusty blades, cheaply inspired by the ones the she-elf used and it was all colored in brown and green paint where Stealth Elf's clothes and exposed skin would be.

This scarecrow doppelganger of Stealth Elf had suddenly materialized between the, now transparent Stealth Elf and Omen's hand. As Omen's hand collided with the strange scarecrow, the whole thing exploded in a surprisingly violent blast of yellow flames which left behind a thick green mist, that completely engulfed Omen's wooden hand.

"Ahhh! What the what!?" Omen screamed, completely bewildered by the bizarre event.

Afterwards, Omen began retracting his arm out of the green cloud of mist. But, as he did, Spyro saw something that made him react.

"Woah! You blowed it up!?" Spyro exclaimed, truly amazed. "Elfy, since when do you have that much firepower!?" He asked, overjoyed at the fact his friend had such a cool ace up her sleeve.

"Yeah, this seems like something to warn people about!" Omen shouted as he drew back his wooden hand, which was nowerd charred and black as well as missing all of it's fingers, except the thumb, which was missing it's tip anyway. "I told you this one was one of may favorites!" Omen shouted as he looked at his mangled hand, a look of grief on his abstract face, as if he had just lost something valuable. "No matter!" Omen suddenly yelled, rage nearly instantly overriding his grief. "I'm still going to win this!"

At that, Omen did something Spyro did not expect. He let him go. The large silver hand taking a hold of Spyro suddenly loosened its grip, allowing Spyro to fall to the floor and quickly back away from.

"I don't think so pal!" Spyro shouted. "I think we've seen all of your little tricks already."

"I think we have." Stealth Elf agreed as she walked up beside Spyro, no longer looking transparent. "You on the other hand, haven't seen all we can do." She added, pointing at Omen with her daggers.

At that, Omen gave out a low, metallic growl. "Out of tricks, you say?" Omen hissed. "We'll just see about that." He said dangerously.

Then, Omen used his large silver hand to create another portal near him, from which he pulled out a new arm.

The new limb was made up by a deep blue string, just as thick as the red string from Omen's old arm. It had a rather similar shoulder to the old arm, except it was colored red instead of yellow. The hand looked to be made of a coppery material. Small electric sparks crackled across it's finger tips.

Then, Omen's old arm popped off his wooden chest, falling to the golden floor with a loud clatter. The villian then used his silver hand to place his new limb's shoulder on where his shoulder should have been. The limp sting and stiff hand suddenly came to life, floating on the air, emulating a functional arm. The sparks on the copper hand's fingers suddenly became more intense, creating small bursts of electricity as Omen flexed his brand new fingers.

Omen then raised his new arm over his head and extended his fingertips. Electricity crackled across the coppery hand and a low, electric hum began to grow slowly louder.

"Elf." Spyro called, a bad feeling crawling up his back. "Be on your feet."

"Yes!" Omen shouted, a deranged edge of joy on his metallic voice. "Do, do that please!"

At that, Omen slammed his coppery hand on the golden ground. Then, the electricity that had been building on Omen's hand was released across the floor. Gold, being an exceptional conductor, allow the massive electric discharge to travel at great speeds, reaching the Skylander's feet in split seconds.

Thanks to his scales, all Spyro felt was an uncomfortable tingle spread across his body, nothing he couldn't bear. However, Stealth Elf had no such protection, she got the full blast of Omen's potent electric discharge. She let out a horrible scream of agony as electricity coursed through her body. Afterward, Stealth Elf slumped to her knees, knocked out by the powerful attack.

"Elf!" Spyro cried as he saw his friend fall over the golden floor. His eyes went round and his mouth hung open from the dreadful surprise.

But then, Spyro felt something that jarred him out of his concern for his fallen friend. He felt as something like a miniature wrecking ball slammed against the right side of his body. The impact was so powerful, it didn't even hurt at first, it practically knocked Spyro out of his body. But the feeling of numbness didn't last long. The first thing Spyro was able to sense, was a sharp ringing in his ears, as well as the taste of iron on his mouth. Then, his vision returned slowly, covered by dark spots, preventing him from focusing properly.

He felt drowsy, almost knocked out so he couldn't really get a hang of what was happening, but through his battered senses, Spyro felt as something grabbed him by his throat and pulled him upward, holding him against a solid surface, pressing his back against it.

Spyro's senses were slowly coming back to him, so he was able to pick up a faint voice speaking to him. "It's over." The voice said simply. Spyro groaned as he tried focusing, the spots on his field of view dispersing slowly, his hearing slowly returning to him.

After a few moments of effort, Spyro was able to get a hand of what was happening. He was being held by his neck and pressed against the wall of the large chamber he was in by none other than Omen. The bizarre looking villian was stareing at Spyro intently, his coppery hand holding his neck tightly.

"You heard me?" Omen asked, making Spyro lift his head to look at the villain's purple eyes. "It's over. I have all my dragons! I have all I need to do my ritual!" Omen cheered, giggling maniacally to himself . "Do you know what I'm gonna do when I come over?" He asked Spyro, leaning close to his face. "I'm gonna pay another visit to your Academy. Oh yes. I don't think twelve year olds are allowed to hear the specifics of what I'm gonna do." Omen said, still giggling to himself. "But let's just say, there's going to be a lot of… remodeling." He finished, his eyes curling up and narrowing, expressing a deranged and malicious joy.

"And now, my little purple battery." Omen began, lifting his second arm, which made Spyro focus on it instead of the villain's face. "Because of your powerlessness and tough little scales, you are going to die." He said, making Spyro get chills as Omen's large silver hand balled up into a fist. "With a heavy heart and a bludgeoned head!" He said pulling his silver hand back behind his head, ready to punch Spyro to kingdom come.

But then, Spyro saw something that made his eyes go round from surprise.

Omen's silver fist, blew up. With a small but focused blast, the silver limb had gone up in smoke and cinders. Omen seemed to be just as surprised as Spyro, if not even more so, for the emotion being expressed by his purple eyes, was that of pure shock, if not outright fright.

"You're supposed… to be dead." Omen said slowly, paralyzed in front of Spyro, his voice smeared with something Spyro never thought he'd hear. Fear.

"You killed me so many times." A new voice spoke, coming from behind Omen, making it impossible for Spyro to see who it belonged to. "I guess I just learned how to walk it off."

At that, Omen, suddenly let Spyro go, dropping him to the ground, where he slumped back, still a little battered to move properly. However, from his lowered position, Spyro was able to see who had spoken, who had instiled such fear in Omen.

It was Cyrus. The indigo dragon stood, green eyes lit up and mouth smoking, on the entrance of the golden chamber, glaring at Omen, tensed up and in battle pose.

"No, no, no." Omen began mumbling, slowly raising his remaining hand over his head.

Spyro saw as Omen clasped his had shut, balling it up into a fist. However, nothing happened, which made the villian give out a confused yelp. Afterwards, Omen began to frantically open and closed his fist, whining fearfully as he did, as if something was meant to happen.

"Why doesn't it work anymore!?" Omen demanded, his voice shrill from panic.

Spyro then recalled a distant memory. The first time he had seen Omen do the same motion, raising his first over his head and expect something to happen was when he had tortured Cyrus right in front of Spyro, the day he had first met the surreal-looking villain. But, to both Omen's and Spyro's surprise, nothing happened. The red "A" over Cyrus' eye didn't start glowing beside Omen's fist and the indigo dragon didn't slump over or scream in pain.

Before Omen could get his answer, Cyrus swayed his head back as the six marks on his chest began to glow a venomous green. Then, swaying his head forward, Cyrus released a bolt of green and black fire right at Omen. The flames collided against Omen's wooden chest, burning right through, creating a smoldering hole on the abstract villain's body, crossing right through and dispersing only after crashing against the wall of the room.

"Ahhhh! Boy, wait!" Omen cried, waving his coppery hand through the air in front of him.

But Cyrus didn't heed his old master's command. He instead began slowly walking toward Omen, like a horror movie villian. Then with another flash of green from the black marks on his chest, Cyrus fired another bolt of flames, which destroyed the winch-looking shoulder that was connected to Omen's chain-like arm. This in turn made Omen give out another frightened yelp.

"Boy, I know you're mad at me!" Omen said nervously. "But let's not lose our heads here!" He said, trying to convince Cyrus to stop his attack.

But once again, Cyrus did not listen, still walking slowly toward Omen. He fired jet another bolt of flames at Omen, who then raised his remaining hand in front of himself, as if to stop the incoming projectile.

Spyro became concerned. He remembered Omen, being able to hold even energy based projectiles in his hands to return then with greater force. However, as Cyrus' green flames reached Omen's hand, they caused the metallic limb to detonate in a small blast of smoke and green sparks, similarly to how Omen's other hand had done.

"Ahhh!" Omen screamed once again. "Boy, Cyrus, my friend!" Omen stamedred. "Please, let's talk ab-"

Omenn was cut off by Cyrus suddenly pouncing on him. The indigo dragon landed on top of Omen's battered body and pinned it to the ground, looking over it like a beast that had caught fresh prey. He was looking right at Omen's eyes, unblinking.

Cyrus then, raised his head slightly, still keeping his eyes on Omen. Then, as the black marks on his chest glowed green and with a roar of rage and pain, Cyrus released a stream of green and black flames that flowed against Omen's cage-like head.

The air was then filled with a hideous scream, like microphone feedback. As Spyro winced, trying to cover his ears from the horrible noise, he deduced it had come from Omen.

Spyro then noticed that the screaming stopped and he looked over to Cyrus and Omen. He saw the indigo dragon still looming over Omen's fallen body. However, he noticed a couple of things that made his eyes widen from dreadful surprise.

Cyrus' was shaking, badly. The indigo dragon looked like he was having trouble keeping himself on his feet. But what really made Spyro worry about him was his face. His eyes were glassy and his brow was furrowed with strain and dark smoke, accompanied by faint green sparks was emanating from his mouth. Spyro could hear small, pained whimpers come from Cyrus's throat.

But worst of all, Spyro saw that Omen's head was still in one piece. The black smoke emerging from it was still going strong and the villain's glowing eyes still shone through the rusty bars. However, the bars on the cage did look quite damaged. They were all now covered in glowing green spots, like those that appear when a metal is superheated.

"Ha…" A simple laugh emerged from Omen's head. "Ha-ha!" Omen laughed, shakily, as if something he didn't expect had just happened. "Ha, hahaha! I wasn't sure this would work, but it did!" Omen shouted, his voice heightened by joyful disbelief. "This cage is made of Traptanium alloy! It's the same stuff Arkeyan Conquertrons are made of!" He boasted triumphantly. "Apparently, not even your fancy flames can burn through this so easily, huh boy!?" Omen asked mockingly, laughing loudly afterward.

Spyro felt dread claw at his heart. He knew that using his flames so much could really hurt Cyrus. By the state Cyrus seemed to be in, Spyro assumed he was at the end of his rope. He saw Cyrus, his brother, in pain, in a kind of pain Spyro himself couldn't imagine, pain Cyrus felt almost everyday. But what made Spyro feel truly wounded by his brother's suffering, was that he had to go through it by himself, entirely alone.

Spyro wouldn't allow himself leave his brother alone, not anymore, not after not being there for him for so long. So, mustering all his strength, all his willpower, Spyro stood up. He stood on his feet before slowly walking over to Cyrus. He walked over slowly, his wings dragging behind him as he did. Once Spyro was close enough, he positioned himself so that he was facing down on Omen and was side by side with Cyrus, who lifted his head to look at Spyro. A look of surprise could be seen beneath his agonized expression.

"Oh, what is this supposed to be?" Omen asked mockingly. "You know that if he breathes so much as another bolt of fire, he's going to burn himself out and die, right?" Omen asked. "So what are you going to do, hmmm? Are you going to hold hands now?"

At that, an idea came into shape at the back of his mind. "Yes." Spyro answered simply, making both Omen and Cyrus give him confused looks. "That's exactly what we're going to do." Spyro stated, stretching his paw out to Cyrus.

Cyrus looked at Spyro's paw, he then lifted his head to meet Spyro's eyes. The two dragon's stared at each other for a few moments. As they did, Spyro felt a strange feeling of trust grow in his heart, a feeling he could see grow in Cyrus' eyes as well.

"You know what to do." Spyro said to Cyrus, not out loud, but instead giving him a small nod, accompanied by a soft, warm smile.

Cyrus looked taken back, his eyes widening even as his mouth hung limply, still releasing dark smoke. The indigo dragon looked as if he didn't know how to react properly to someone trusting him so fully. But he returned a small nod to Spyro, signaling he understood what Spyro wanted him to do..

Then, Cyrus stretching out his own paw, lifting it off Omen's body and moving it closer to Spyro's. Afterward, Cyrus grasped Spyro's paw tightly, as his own began to glow a bloody red.

Spyro felt the warmth be drained out of his blood, the air be sucked out of his lungs. He felt the life be slowly drained out of him, but he willed through. His face contorted in strain, closing his eyes and clenching his teeth, but he kept himself going.

After a couple of moments that to Spyro felt eternal, Cyrus let go of Spyro's paw. At that, Spyro felt the horrible sensation disperse and he started to take deep, rithmic breaths. He felt wobbly, weak at the knees, but he kept himself on his feet. Spyro then lifted his head and looked at Cyrus.

Cyrus was looking much better. His eyes were no longer glassy, his brow was relaxed and most importantly, something that made a little extra heat return to Spyro. Cyrus was smiling, an honest little smile that slightly curved his cheeks.

"Thank you." Cyrus said, almost in a whisper as he looked at Spyro.

Cyrus' green eyes were not filled with agony, not filled with rage. For the first time since Spyro had looked into those eyes, they were warm, they were pleasant to look into. As he did, Spyro noticed that something suddenly aligned in his mind. "He kind of looks like her now." Spyro thought to himself, with a small smile of his own as he compared his brother's eyes to those he had seen on his mother's picture in that purple dragon tomb. The thought made him chuckle lightly.

But then, Spyro remembered they had something to do. He turned his head to Omen, who had remained rather silent during Spyro and Cyrus' exchange. His purple eyes were darting between the two dragons with great speed. They were round with panic and shaking slightly, almost as if he was anticipating something.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Spyro saw Cyrus turn his head toward Omen. The indigo dragon looked at his former master, at the one who had put him through so much pain. His eyes were focused on Omen's, unblinking, their familiar poisonous sting coming back steadily.

"A-Alright boys." Omen began in a shaky, frightened voice. "C-Can we s-s-settle it over a C-Crypt Robber match?" He asked innocently, trying his best to make his eyes express anything other than fear.

But then, Spyro saw as Cyrus swayed his head back, the six black gashes on his chest glowing green as he held his breath, charging his flames. Then, with a mighty roar, Cyrus released a focused stream of green and black flames that crashed against Omen's cage-like head, causing the villian to give out a metallic wail of agony that made Spyro's ears ring.

Cyrus kept his flames going, not letting up his attack and after a few moments, his perseverance was rewarded. The cage Cyrus aimed to destroy exploded violently, cutting off Omen's screaming and sending both dragons tumbling back, falling on their backs on the smooth golden floor.

Spyro and Cyrus quickly lifted their heads to see what had happened. They saw as a small cloud of dark mist rose from Omen's battered body. The cloud shook and shifted, like a miniature storm being contained, but Spyro noticed that it was slowly growing smaller. After only a few seconds, the cloud disappeared peacefully, sinking into nothingness with a small popping sound.

Spyro looked at where the small cloud used to be for a few seconds. He kept his eyes on the spot, but nothing happened, the cloud didn't come back. So, he shifted his gaze to the battered pile of trash that used to be Omen's body. It didn't move, not an inch. In fact, Cyrus' flames were still smoldering across it, slowly burning it all to embers.

"Did we beat him?" Spyro asked slowly.

"I think so." Cyrus responded, keeping his eyes on Omen's fallen remains.

Spyro couldn't help but let out a short chuckle, the which echoed across the large chamber. Could it really be over? Could this whole mess truly have come to an end? Spyro didn't know how to react, he didn't know what to do, so, he did what he did best.

"Man, you really let Omen have it." Spyro said to his brother, chuckling again as he shifted his head toward the indigo dragon. "Why did you ever let him push you around if you could beat him this easily?" Spyro asked, meaning it as a praise-joke to relive his own disbelief.

"I could never have defeated him like this any other day." Cyrus stated, looking over to Spyro. "Firstly because of this-" He gestured at the red "A" over his felt eye. The torture brand Omen had given him.

"Oh, right." Spyro said, deflating slightly. "But then, why didn't it work just now? It looks just like it did back when it worked." He asked confused, wondering if Cyrus had an idea for an answer

The indigo dragon paused briefly, looking for an answer in his mind. "What could have removed the magical properties of the brand?" Cyrus wandered, scratching his chin. After a few moments his eyes light up, signaling he had found an answer. "The potion." He said simply.

"What?" Spyro asked, not understanding what Cyrus meant.

"Remember the weird white potion that took away our magic?" Cyrus asked, jogging Spyro's memory. "It must have nullified the magic on the brand. While our powers returned, because they came from within ourselves, the brand's magic was simply washed away."

"Woah." Spyro began, surprised by how little significance he had given the foamy white potion the first time he interacted with it.

"But that wasn't all." Cyrus picked up. "You and your friend, helped too. When you destroyed his wooden hands." Cyrus stated. "Omen has many hands, each with a different power. He made those hands with the ability to counter magic, specifically to fight against me and my flames." Cyrus explained. "If you and your Skylander friends hadn't destroyed both of them, Omen could have just caught my flames and throw them back at me and there would have been nothing I could have done." Cyrus continued. "As hard as it is to admit." Cyrus started up, taking a long sight. "This was, a team effort, I could never had defeated him without your help." Cyrus finished, giving Spyro a small, yet honest and warm smile.

This made Spyro smile back widely, joy overriding his soul. He felt like his body was starting to react, uring him to move over to Cyrus and hug him as tightly as he could.

But he was cut off by Cyrus' voice as he raised a paw to stop Spyro. "You should go see your friend." He said, making Spyro freeze. "The undead girl, she's waiting for you." He said, gesturing at the tower across the large bridge outside of the chamber Spyro and Cyrus were in.

Spyro's eyes suddenly went round. He had almost forgotten about Cynder in the heat of his battle against Omen. In fact he had forgotten about Stealth Elf as well. The purple dragon suddenly looked around the chamber, searching for his elven friend. He found her, laying knocked out on the center of the golden room, staying still except for a small but steady breathing.

"I'll watch over her." Cyrus stated simply, making Spyro give him a wide eyed look. "I'll be nice, I promise." He said with a small eye roll. "Go see her." He said, gesturing once again at the distant tower.

Spyro gave Stealth Elf one last caring look, before giving Cyrus a similar look. "Thank you." Spyro said, nothing else really came to mind, which made Cyrus give out a small chuckle.

Afterward, Spyro stood up on all fours and began sprinting toward the massive bridge to the other tower, his heart pounding against his chest as he did. As he began crossing the bridge, an endless stream of thoughts crossed his mind. "What am I going to say? What am I going to do? How will she react? Does she even want to see me?" Were only a few of the many wild thoughts that raced through Spyro's mind as he ran through the massive bridge.

But then, they all disappeared, suddenly and without warning. His mind became focused on a single thing, shutting out everything else as he came to a sudden stop before reaching the middle of the bridge.

Spyro saw Cynder, standing a few meters away from him, near the middle of the bridge. She was standing still, just as he was, gazing back at him. Spyro looked at her, as she looked back at him, both of them staying in complete silence.

Then, something deep inside of his being, made Spyro react. The strange sensation made him move forward, slowly at first, taking individual steps before it drove him to a full sprint. To Spyro's surprise, Cynder was mirroring his own movement, rushing to meet him.

Spyro's heart was beating like a frenzied drum, growing faster and faster the closer the two dragons came to meeting near the middle of the bridge. Then, Spyro saw as Cynder came to a slow stop, standing on the middle of the bridge which she had reached first. Once there she waved at him and smiled widely. "Spyro!" She called, joy filling her voice.

At that, the sensation within Spyro ade him use his wings, boosting him forward. He was about to outright tackle Cynder, but instead, Spyro took a hold of her, crossing his arms around her back. But he didn't stop there, he used his wings to boost both of them off the ground.

Spyro couldn't hold back from letting out a joyful laugh as he rested his head on Cynder's shoulder while they both soared through the dark sky. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was holding Cynder in his arms once again and he felt how she was starting to hug him back, pressing her head on his shoulder, embracing him back tightly. He then was overwhelmed by how good he felt. He felt like he had been missing this. Although he was familiar with the tingling sensation Cynder's touch made him feel, and was quite familiar with the dragoness herself, Spyro felt as if he was experiencing all of it for the first time.

Using his wings to keep both of them in the air, Spyro could only feel her, nothing else. He felt himself smile as the familiar warmth began to spread slowly from Cynder's body, flowing onto his, spreading from wherever their bodies met. This made both dragons tighten their holds on eachother, almost desperate for the warmth their embrace gave them. The sensation overwhelmed Spyro. He felt like he was being given a silent gift through Cynder's embrace, one he just felt like he had to show her how much he cherished.

So, slowly, he lifted his head off Cynder's shoulder, not letting go of her. This made Cynder do the same thing, lifting her head off Spyro's shoulder. Once she did, Spyro felt like his heart skipped a beat. Cynder smiled up at him as Spyro stared into her eyes, her warm, cerulean blue eyes, which stared back at his own.

Spyro was then overwhelmed. He couldn't hold himself back another second. He had to tell her, to show her all she was to him.

So, closing his eyes and moving before he could think twice, Spyro gently thrusted his head forward, and he felt as his lips connected with Cynder's in a gentle kiss. It started off slow, with just their lips pressing against each others, as if both of them were surprised by what was happening, not really sure of what to do. But, soon enough, they just let go.

Spyro kept his eyes closed as he kissed Cynder, his senses overloaded with what he was experiencing. He could feel himself slowly caress her lips with his, slowly enjoying the sweet taste of her mouth. He could feel her heartbeat from how close she was, he could feel the texture of her scales beneath his paws as he moved them soflty through her back.

After a few moments, Spyro lowered himself and Cynder back to the ground, gently touching down on the grey bridge beneath them, their kiss slowly coming to a stop.

Spyro kept his eyes closed, his forehead pressed against Cynder's as both of them let out short breaths, still holding each other tightly.

"Hehehe, I knew it." A slightly raspy voice chuckled lightly, making both Spyro and Cynder suddenly fling their eyes open.

Spyro quickly turned his head and saw Cyrus, standing across the large bridge he and Cynder were on. The indigo dragon was carrying Stealth Elf's still unconscious body on his back, all while he was grinning widely and rapidly raising and dropping his eyebrows, which made Spyro give him an irritated frown. However, the cherry red blush on his cheeks that accompanied it, only made Cyrus smile even wider and snicker through his teeth.

Then, shoving his big jerk of a brother out of his thoughts and shaking his head to get the red heat off his cheeks, he turned back to Cynder. They had let go of each other, and were now just looking into eachothers eyes.

Cynder smiled at Spyro and Spyro smiled back. "We did it." He said quietly. "It's over."

"Yeah…" Cynder began slowly. "It is."

---

Master Eon paced through the Academy common room. His ethereal body was pulsating with light from how many worried thoughts were running through his mind.

He worried about the Skylander's success on the mission, he worried about how Malefor and Cyrus would interact with the Skylanders and he worried about Spyro. How he would act around his newly found brother during a mission.

Eon also thought about how the entire Skylands might be at stake thanks to the threat of Omen. All these thoughtlines overlapped and tangled around each other, making it impossible for Eon to focus.

The ethereal portal master let out a stressed groan as he frantically stroked his beard, trying to cool himself.

"Eon, you should know by now that worrying won't do anyone any good." Kaossandra's voice called Eon.

Kaossandra was sitting behind Eon's old desk, rubbing her temples while she had her eyes closed, evidently irritated at Eon's antics.

"But then what should I do?" Eon asked. "In this blasted form I can't help Spyro or the Skylanders. And with the stakes as high as they are I feel outright useless just staying here!" Eon grumbled

"I don't know Eon!" Kaossandra shouted slamming her fists on the desk before her. "I can't do anything either, you know!?"

Eon was taken back by Kaossandra's frustrated outburst. He was about to try and apologize but, a loud sound, which came from outside the Academy common room. Both portal masters looked at the blue main gates, then glancing at each other quickly before both of them rushed to the blue doors, eager to see what the noise had been.

Once Kaossandra opened the Academy gates, she and Eon walked out to the Academy courtyard. It was still rather beaten up from Omen's attack, but at least it wasn't on fire and littered with fallen Skylanders any more.

Eon scanned the scene in front of him, trying to locate what had caused the loud sound he had heard inside the Academy. It did not take him long to find it's source, and he was overjoyed when he found it.

"Spyro, everyone!" Eon shouted, waving widely and smiling from ear to ear as he saw the Skylanders arrive at the Academy all standing on the Portal Gates.

However, upon closer inspection Eon noticed quite a few alarming details. For one, Eon saw that Cynder was among the Skylanders. The violet dragoness looked to be quite alright, which made Eon let out a long, relieved sigh. However, Eon also noticed that there were quite a few more people among the Skylanders.

The new figures were completely unfamiliar to Eon and he could see that they all seemed to be carried on the backs of the Skylanders, as if they were all knocked out. The figures seemed to all have wings and tails and all looked quite different from each other. Once Eon began to focus on the unconscious figures, he felt like he knew them from somewhere.

"Master Eon!" Spyro's voice called, making Eon snap back into reality. "We need help! We have six wounded dragons here!" He shouted.

"Six dragons?" Eon asked confused. "Ohhhh." He entonated, coming to a sudden realization of who those figures were.

"They did it." Eon heard Kaossandra say, a tone of awe in her voice. "They defeated him."

As Eon looked at the Skylanders and came to an understanding of what had come to pass for them to have returned with Cynder and the Knights of Solitude as well, he smiled, pride overwhelming him.

"Yes, they did it." Eon said simply. "They succeeded, they saved the realm once more."

---

Almost a day had passed since Spyro and his friends had defeated Omen in the battle of Maraino Castle. He and his companions had quite a lot to sort out.

Firstly, was the Skylander's, mainly Cynder's, standing with Malefor.

After the undead dragon king assisted in getting Cynder back from Omen, he had planned to take his daughter back to the Underworld once again. However, Cynder had requested to have a talk with him alone, something that mildly worried Spyro when he heard his friend suggest it.

However, after an almost hour long daughter-father bargaining session, Cynder and Malefor had come to an arrangement. In exchange of letting Cynder become a Skylander, the violet dragoness promised to go back to the Underworld every friday to visit her father for Taco Night. Malefor took a little convincing, but was ultimately swayed. He had a soft spot for Taco Night. And so, as he used his undead magic to return to the Underworld, he and his daughter had laid down the groundwork to mend things between them.

The next point of interest for the Skylander's were the six strange dragons they had recovered from Maraino Castle.

From his friend's descriptions, Spyro understood that the Knights of Solitude they had been fighting had suddenly gone limp mid battle. Thanks to the Skylanders efforts, they had prevented Malefor from devouring the unconscious enemies that had radically changed in their appearance. The previously featureless darkness that covered the creatures was now dispersed and their features revealed for the Skylanders to see.

All of them were indeed dragons, each looking completely different from each other or even from Spyro himself.

Orange Eyes had coppery green scales that turned to a dark brown as they reached his paws. He also had strange blue metallic attachments around his head and wings, the which the Skylanders could not remove.

Brown Eyes was rather erathy in his appearance, not just in color, but also in texture. His dark brown scales were dotted with what looked like small ore nuggets and his horns seemed to be made of rock. A very striking feature was that he had no wings and that he was built differently than the rest of the dragons. His body seemed to intend for him to exclusively walk on all fours, making it difficult to stand on just two legs.

Green Eyes' scales wer of a vibrant green color. His paws however, were all a bright red that contrasted heavily with the rest of his green body. His tail, scales and wing membranes all hand leafy, bushy textures and looked like vegetation. His many thorn-like horns and claws were a bright yellow.

Blue Eyes had an athletic build and smooth, fish-like texture. His underbelly and lower parts of his paws were a clear cyan, that contrasted against the deep, sea blue of the rest of his scales. His webbed paws, horns and tail all had green webbing and the dragon wore a strange golden harness around his chest.

Red Eyes, actually looked a little bird with the shape of a dragon. He was covered in fiery red feathers and had bird-like talons instead of paws that were accompanied by a sharp yellow beak. His eyes were surrounded by a dark blue tinge and some of the feathers on his tail were of a similar color.

Cyan Eyes was the only female among the Knights of Solitude. She had long, thin ears and a striking, white, perfectly smooth horn on the middle of her forehead. Something that called attention was that, instead of scales, Cyan Eyes had soft, sky-blue fur, something quite irregular for a dragon.

All the dragons had remained knocked out since the Skylanders rescued them from Maraino Castle, so it had been impossible for the Skylanders to get any information from them. They had no idea who the dragons were. They didn't even know their names. On Jet-Vac and Spyro's suggestion, the six dragons had been temporarily hospitalized in the Academy nursery while they all regained consciousness. They were also accompanied briefly by Stealth Elf since she had been knocked out by Omen in Maraino Castle, however, she quickly recovered and was ready to return to her Skylander duties as usual, eager to improve and hone her new scarecrow-summoning power.

All this kept the Skylanders quite occupied, but they managed. Pop Fizz had volunteered to keep an eye on the knocked out dragons as everyone else got back to their old routines.

So, that took care of almost everything on Spyro's mind. Almost everything. He still had to talk to someone about something quite important.

Cyrus had stayed on the Academy while the Skylanders sorted out their business. The indigo dragon mostly kept to himself, not disturbing the Skylanders during his stay. He mostly stuck to the thinking spot. The popular one everyone went to when they wanted to ponder deep thoughts. So, Spyro flew over, and luckily enough, as he did, Spyro saw a familiar indigo dragon, looking out toward the horizon.

Spyro touched down gently beside Cyrus, both dragons looked straight ahead, at the endless sky before them.

"What are you going to do?" Spyro asked simply, keeping his eyes on the passing clouds.

Cyrus took a while to answer, but he eventually spoke. "I'm not sure." He responded. "What do you think I should do?" He asked Spyro.

Spyro ran his brother's question through his mind. He thought of all that had happened during this little adventure, of all he and Cyrus, being brothers, had to catch up on. He came up with a simple answer.

"Stay." Spyro said softly, making Cyrus turn his head toward Spyro, a wide-eyed look in his face. "Stay here, you and I make a good team you know? You could even become a Skylander!" Spyro suggested, the words feeling perfectly sound as he spoke them. "Just, stay with me." He added, slowing down his words slightly as he turned his head to look at his brother.

Cyrus stared at Spyro, a dumbfounded look on his face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging slightly as he looked at Spyro, unmoving. He stared at Spyro with this befuddled expression for a couple of moments, remaining completely silent, all while Spyro waited patiently for his answer. After a few moments however, Cyrus returned to his conscience, slowly turning his head back at the horizon.

"I can't." Cyrus said simply, an edge of grief in his voice-

That made Spyro feel something like pain. He winced as his mouth drooped into a sadend frown. "What? What do you mean you can't?" Spyro asked, not understanding why Cyrus would refuse an opportunity like this.

Cyrus let out a long sigh, lowering his gaze to the ground as he did. "I'm not like you, Spyro." Cyrus started. "I'm no hero, I'm no Skylander. What I did back at Maraino Castle doesn't absolve me of all the things I did before. I helped Omen capture those other dragons, I hurt your friends, I hurt you." Cyrus said, his brow furrowing and his eyes drooping slightly. "I can't expect to just be forgiven for all of that. So, I can't stay."

"But, you…" Spyro began, trying to say something convincing. "But you didn't mean to do any of that. It was Omen, he tortured you!" Spyro tried arguing.

"I suppose." Cyrus said weakly. "But… It still does not mean I didn't do those things." He said in a down tone. "Spyro… you know I want to stay don't you?" Cyrus asked in a quiet tone, lifting his gaze back at the horizon and making Spyro flinch with surprise. "I've been alone, so long, I would just love to stay here and waste time with my brother." He said, a low chuckle emanating from his throat. "But… I just can't. This place, this life, I'm not ready for it just yet."

"Then…" Spyro began slowly. "Where will you go?"

Cyrus took a while to answer. The indigo dragon simply kept his gaze on the horizon as he thought of an answer in his mind. While he did, Spyro waited patiently, the only sound that came during the pause Cyrus had created, was the sound of the early morning breeze.

And then, the silence was broken. "I want to go find our parents." Cyrus answered.

Spyro felt his jaw drop. He had not expected that, he had expected everything except that. "What do you mean?" Spyro asked, dumbfounded by Cyrus' answer.

"I figured." Cyrus began slowly. "If anyone can truly forgive me for what I've done… it's them." Cyrus explained. "And who knows…" Cyrus added quickly. "The trip might be fun."

Spyro then said something, something he felt like he truly meant. "I forgive you." Spyro said slowly, his heart starting to ache at the thought of his brother leaving him.

After Spyro's words, Cyrus' eyes went round and his mouth opened slightly taken back completely. Only after a few seconds and swallowing hard was Cyrus able to answer. "Then, come with me." He suggested in a small voice.

"What!?" Spyro suddenly asked.

"Come with me." Cyrus repeated, a little louder this time. "You told me you were already looking for them anyway." He recalled.

Then, everything Spyro had done ever since the idea of finding his ancestors crossed his mind, flashed before his eyes. He was being offered a chance to put his family back together, a chance to get his brother and his parents back, all in one go. It was something he could have never thought was possible to even ask for.

But then, something nagged at Spyro's mind. It made his turn his head around and look behind him. Once he did, he saw the Academy. He saw his friends, he saw his life, every adventure he had ever been on all playing like a videotape in his mind.

And then, something even more powerful called to him. HIs duty. He was a Skylander, a sworn protector of the realm. He couldn't bring himself to abandon that responsibility, it would only be a matter of time before the next Omen, before the next big bad guy, showed up and ruined the day.

"I can't." Spyro said, a small stab of cold piercing his heart. "I'm a Skylander, I can't just walk away from that responsibility. I can't leave my friends behind." He said. not able to bring himself to meet Cyrus' eyes.

"Hah, I was right." Cyrus' voice chuckled behind Spyro, confusing him.

Afterward, Spyro turned around and looked at Cyrus, the indigo dragon was smiling at Spyro, it was a small, kind of sad smile, but still warm. "I told you. You can't look for what you already have." He said, jogging Spyro's memory to the day he and Cyrus were in the purple dragon tomb, where Cyrus had first said those words.

Spyro now realized what Cyrus had meant by that. It might not have been blood what brought them together, but, his family was here, in Skylander Academy.

"Don't worry." Cyrus added, still smiling. "I'll send you a postcard once I find them." Cyrus joked, letting out a short, sad laugh.

At that, something in Spyro made him take a couple of steps forward and stretch out his arms out slowly. Then, Spyro slowly warped his arms behind Cyrus' back and rested his head on his shoulder, hugging him softly. It was a different hug to the one he shared with Cynder. This one was a gentle embrace, careful and slow, carrying little pressure, but still filled with emotion.

Cyrus had remained paralized by the sudden embrace, but after a few seconds, he returned the hug, slowly pulling Spyro into a much tighter embrace, as if he was desperate for the affection, but didn't know how to ask for it.

The two brothers remained in silence for a couple of warm moments which they spent in silence, not breaking the moment they shared.

"Okay, it's getting a little weird." Cyrus said suddenly.

"Yeah, you're right." Spyro agreed.

However, the hug kept on going just for a few more seconds, before both dragons let go of each other.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go." Cyrus said, giving Spyro one last smile.

Spyro gave him a small nod in return, not quite able to create a proper sentence to say goodby to his brother.

"Alright then." Cyrus said, returning Spyro's nod before turning his body toward the open sky, toward the massive drop off the isle he and Spyro were standing on. Cyrus then Spread his wings, raising them over his head, ready to leave.

"Cyrus." Spyro called, making Cyrus wait. "I just want you to know that… you're my family too. If you ever want to come back… I'll be waiting for you." He said, meaning every word entirely.

Cyrus remained still for a couple of moments not answering back immediately. But then, he spoke, in a soft, honest voice. "Thank you… for everything." He said slowly, not facing Spyro.

Afterwards, Cyrus flapped his wings, boosting himself off the ground and shooting up into the air. Spyro could only watch as his brother began to quickly fly away, becoming nothing more than a small indigo dot before his view was blocked by a large passing cloud.

And just like that, Spyro was left alone. His heart was heavy, for he had just had to see his brother leave him. He had no idea of when, of even if he would see Cyrus again and that made him feel like the world simply became a colder place. But then, he remembered why he had allowed for this to happen. He remembered his friends, he remembered the Academy and he remembered Cynder. He couldn't help but smile at the thought to all his dear friends, the thought of all they had yet to do.

And he couldn't' help but think about Cynder. His cheeks reddened slightly as he remembered their kiss on Maraino Castle. He remembered how soft her lips were, how truly gorgeous she was up close.

And then, Spyro realized the old sayings were true. "Speak of the devil…" He tough to himself as he heard a familiar wingbeat. Spyro could feel his heart beat a little faster as he saw Cynder land beside him.

The violet dragoness edged closer to Spyro and rested her head against his shoulder. He allowed this, feeling the dragoness' warmth spread swoly over him.

"He's gone isn't' he?" Cynder asked, caringly.

"Yes." Spyro answered. "But, he's alright." Spyro added, confident in his brother's capabilities and sure he would complete his goal. "And well." Spyro picked up, moving his tail behind him. He felt Cynder gasp sightly as he slowly wrapped his tail around hers. "It's not like I'm going anywhere." He said, closing his eyes as he rested his head gently on Cynder's.

At that, both dragons relaxed, sinking into their tender moment. Spyro felt the pain in his heart from Cyrus' departure slowly be washed away. He didn't forget about his brother, not at all. He was simply overwhelmed by how these small, quiet moments he shared with Cynder seemed to clear his mind, by how much he truly enjoyed being so close to her.

But then, something suddenly interrupted Spyro and Cynder's moment.

"Skylanders!" Master Eon's voice suddenly boomed across the air.

"Ahhhhh!" Spyro and Cynder screamed suddenly, jarred out of their tender embrace by Master Eon's glowing head suddenly popping into existence above them.

"Yes, Master Eon?" Spyro asked behind his teeth, trying to mask his irritation at Eon's unannounced entrance.

"We have an emergency!" Master Eon announced. "Kaossandra has been informed of a large greeble gang raiding a mabu villiange!" He stated.

"Really!?" Cynder asked concerned. "How large a gang are we talking about?" He inquired.

"Assuming these manu aren't exaggerating." Eon began. "It's the biggest raiding party we have seen in a while."

"Then we have no time to waste." Spyro joined in, getting into his heroic mood. "Let' get going Cynder!"

"Right!" Cynder agreed quickly in a merry tone.

"That's the spirit Skylanders!" Eon's floating head followed up. "Non, head to the Portal Gates at once, those dastardly greebles won't defeat themselves." Eon said. However the portal master's head glance do to the side, as if thinking about what he had just said. "They probably won't defeat themselves." He corrected before disappearing with a small popping sound.

At that, Spyro and Cynder began sprinting through the isle, back on their way to the Academy to join their friends. They both then used their wings to boost themselves off the ground, soaring through the ar, side by side.

Spyro smile widely. So much had happened recently, so many things had changed he was relieved that things were finally going back to normal. But at the same time, they weren't completely back to normal.

This whole adventure had caused very significant changes in Spyro's world. He now had a brother, he was now discovering new feelings for Cynder and had six dragons he really wanted to talk to right on Academy grounds.

Yes,the threat of Omen and the Knights of Solitude was finally over, but in his struggle to stop them, Spyro had been changed and he was grateful. He now had a whole new world before him.

"Skylanders forever!" Spyro shouted, laughing as he flew through the skies, overjoyed at the thought of all the new adventures that had just opened up to him.

---

Author's notes

Well, before we go anywhere, I would just like to apologize fro how long this last chapter took. I had a lot of "other stuff" to do. And I mean, on my defnece, this on is almost twise as long as the rest of them.

But now, I just wanted to take a moment to say, I really enjoyed writing this and I an overjoyed you liked it. But now, it's over. Could I make a sequel? Maybe. I do have an idea for a sequel, but that would certainly take a while.

Meanwhile, why not leave a review? Not only do I greatly apreciate them, but they help me gage how much you people liked my story and help me improve acordingly. Maybe tell me which caracter did you like most? Was it Cyrus? Omen? Enumat? Did you like how I interpreted one of show's original caracters?

All in all, I really enyoed making this and I trully hope you enjoyed reading it.

Untill next time ;)