Chapter Three: Sparx's Story

Sparx awoke. He couldn't move. It was as though a heavy weight had been dropped on top of him. "Gerroff me!" he shouted. Nothing happened. He tried to climb out from under whatever was pinning him. After about five minutes of wriggling, his head finally popped out from under Spyro. The dragon was laying on his side, chained to the floor. Sparx took a breather, then decided to take a look around from under the shelter of Spyro's wing.

They were in a shallow cave, through the mouth of which he could see treetops. There were no bars to prevent their escape, however there were four guards, three by the cave's entrance, one standing next to Spyro with an executioner's ax in hand. All of the guards were Heartless.

Sparx worked his way out from under Spyro under the cover of Spyro's wing. He made his way around to Spyro's head, trying his best not to be seen by the guards. "Spyro!" he hissed into the dragon's ear. "Spyro, wake up!" He poked Spyro's face as hard as he could. Spyro remained unconscious. "Spyro! You... need... to... wake... up!!" Sparx hurled his little fists at the dragon's face with every syllable. No good.

Sparx saw movement out the corner of his eye. He dodged to the side just in time as an executioner's ax missed him by a fraction of an inch. He was spotted. Only one choice left.

He sped straight for the mouth of the cave. Half a dozen hands reached for him. He closed his eyes and braced for impact. It didn't come. They had all missed their mark.

Sparx came to a stop and turned to face the mouth of the cave. He could see the Heartless's yellow eyes glittering from within, but they didn't seem to be pursuing him. He hovered there for a moment, deep in thought, before shooting skyward.

After ascending about a hundred feet, he steadied himself and looked around. Once he had gotten his bearings, he set off for the temple, maintaining a respectable height. He tried to memorize landmarks as they flashed past below. A large tree stump. A boulder overgrown with mold. A particularly colorful giant mushroom.

He could see the guardians standing in front of the temple and steered himself toward them, feeling rather proud.

Cynder sat alone in the corner of the temple while the others discussed their ridiculous plan with Sparx. She gazed once more into the Dark Master's orb. Convexity was right there. She was sure that she could have reached it if she had wished to. All she needed was that key. But how to get it?

Cynder approached the group from behind. "So, what's the plan?" she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Ignitus turned to her. "What do you mean? You already know the plan."

"I do? Oh, that's right, I do."

"Besides, you're not going."

"I'm not?"

"No," replied Terrador, "We've determined that only Sparx and the newcomers will go."

"We would be of no use!" added Volteer. "Sora's weapon is the only thing capable of defeating the Heartless. More people would only slow the group down!"

"Wait, I'm going?" asked the dragonfly, obviously scared.

"Of course!" Sora chimed in. "We'll need a guide, won't we?"

Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.

Cynder sighed. "This is definitely not going to work." And with that, she left.

"Good luck Sora."

"Thanks Ignitus. See you soon!... Hopefully..."

"Hurry up, hurry up! No time to lose!"

"Gee, he overcame his fear pretty quickly now didn't he?" Sora added in an undertone. The trio turned and followed Sparx's voice into the forest.

"Do you think they'll succeed, Ignitus?" Volteer asked.

"All we can do is hope." And with that, the four dragons turned toward the temple.

They were halfway there when Cyril noticed something. "Wait... where's Cynder gone to?"