-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
I am impressed with the following for Chapter 3. Thanks for all comments and whatnot so far.
There were so many things about that chapter that seemed to develop in the months that it was formed. Initially, Bandit, Ember and Flame weren't going to be the group that would prevent Spyro from getting through the gateway; that role used to be set for three other dragons that worked for the Sorcerer, but eventually that idea was scrapped because there was little room for character development, and their role would have coincidentally led up to a more complicated plot twist that even I got myself confused with. But still, it was fun to write when placing some more familiar characters in the setting.
I know that there were some people that weren't impressed with Ember falling for Bandit in the middle of Shadow Legacy, though personally I can't see what's wrong about it. It's no different than pairing up a dragon and a faun (Spyro and Elora), or the most developed pairing of a cheetah and a rabbit (Hunter and Bianca). I just see that the Spyro universe doesn't take itself too seriously at times. And concerning his link with Ember, I'm under the assumption that they're like Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose – the girl is crazed over the hero, who wants to escape from her as soon as possible. That's why I can't see much evidence on them being a worthwhile pairing.
But concerns abound, it's time we went onto chapter 4. What does this strange white building have in store for our heroes? There's only one obvious way to find out. Enjoy!
Peace out,
-Rexy-
The interior of the large building in the middle of the Convexity-like abyss actually looked more welcoming than most foreign places than Spyro and Sparx managed to visit in the past, if the stern facial expression on the former was of any given indication.
Bright white marble walls graced the sides of the corridors that they walked through, easily matching among the floor and ceiling around them. A small staircase that led through to another tall door resided right in front of them, leaving them all to go beyond there together.
Even through the door, they were welcomed by the same pleasant yet uneasy sign of white stone gracing their entire field of view. Though Spyro and Ango felt slightly at unease, Sparx ended up not taking the situation seriously, exclaiming cheesy joke after cheesy joke towards the pair to lift their spirits.
"…and then the Frogweed said 'That's no walking mushroom; that's my wife!'"
The dragonfly responded with a loud cackle of laughter from his mouth before he ended up focusing his attention towards his accomplices once more. But however, he saw absolutely no clear and calm response from either of the pair; not a single chuckle was exchanged from their mouths.
All that Sparx could do was lower his arms bitterly, trying to find another way to raise their spirits as they went further and further into the building. And just like that, his eyes lit up, ready to make another set of bold attempts to raise the spirits of his accomplices.
"Let's try an easier one", he smiled faintly. "Why did the dragon cross the road?"
"Sparx!" Spyro quickly scowled at him.
"What?"
Spyro came to a sudden stop, pointing straight on at a structure ahead. There, they saw a door that looked very similar to the gateway they passed on the way inside the building – also colored an eerie white color, though it had differences thanks to the use of five round objects embedded inside it.
"Look at this door", Spyro commanded to his companions. "There's something about it that seems odd."
"I can feel the same. Look at those stones!"
Ango pointed straight on at them – five ancient relics embedded inside the door itself, glistening with a dull shade of teal. He went towards them and felt them for himself, his eyes widening upon the touch. The fresh warmth upon them felt that whoever was beyond the door was basically waiting for them.
Maintaining a shy expression, he looked back towards his peers, his legs starting to shake upon the spot. A similar motion was shown upon Sparx, whose attitude to the location in general still didn't feel as close to confident as shown on the rest of his peers.
"They look as if they could be removed from the door", Ango confirmed their placement, still carefully touching the stones one by one. "But what's the point in doing so?"
He almost went as far as to trying to pull one of the stones out from its sockets, but instincts left him to do otherwise. Regardless, his attention was soon shifted towards the door left being slightly open, leaving him to show a keen and optimistic look towards it.
"The Sorcerer seems to be a sitting duck", he remarked with a skip. "I think we can get to him easily!"
Spyro's heart rapidly did a somersault. "So you're saying that we took a direction to HIS lair instead of the Dragon Temple?"
Hesitantly, he turned back towards Sparx, whom was seen looking at the marble walls around him. With his antennas lowered down, he gave out a frown and a nod of the head, each of his actions being a set of triggers to cause Spyro to suddenly crouch down with fear.
"What if I'm under prepared to fight him? I still don't think I've recovered since fighting Cynder."
"Relax, Spyro. You'll be fine", smiled Sparx with poise, hovering down to his level. "You gained your fire back really easily, so I'm sure you can take down this weird magic geezer as well."
Looking more reassured about the situation, Sparx hovered his way towards Spyro's level and patted him gently upon the head, before helping him raise his head once more. All that the dragon could do was look closer towards the dragonfly's eyes, knowing that all that he could do was take his words in.
"And besides, there's no turning back", the dragonfly reminded him. "The path back to the village collapsed, remember?"
Spyro opened his mouth to speak, yet nothing came out. He did realise however that Sparx brought up a valid issue – the fall from the crumbling platform and the vanishing bridges of light were enough proof that they won't be going back anytime soon.
That thought remained etched inside his head as he came to imagine the situation inside his head. If he needed to get closer towards the Dragon Temple, the building had to be seen as an obstacle, yet it can't have been as crucial as actually traversing it to meet eye to eye with the Sorcerer, especially at this early stage.
"This might not be how I imagined I could get through this strange area, but at least this is better than nothing", Spyro troublingly accepted the situation.
Clutching his muscles together and inhaling deeply, he took a cautious approach towards the door and walked inside. Nearby, both Sparx and Ango were seen observing their surroundings carefully – the eerie white structures and tall windows were enough to make their hairs stand on end, if they had any in particular.
"Come on!"
The shout caused them both to turn straight towards the door, where they saw Spyro vanishing his way into the darkness. Quickly, they soon managed to follow him deep inside, being careful not to disturb any sensitive porcelain pots on their way out of the room and into the corridor at the other side of the door.
What awaited them at the other side was another long corridor of light, this time outstretching what was apparently a pit that flashed from orange to purple to pink and to white and back, eerily yet steadily, as if the colors were blending in together to form uneasy and disturbing shades around them.
Yet that was far from the concern that remained on their minds – all that did concern them was another door at the end of the corridor. Just like the door before it, it was slightly open, positioned as if whatever was inside was almost waiting for any visitors in any shape or form.
Soon, they all went through the door and continued their way through to the next room. And there, their eyes were met with a large and spacious yet shaded area, with only a series of stone textures and a large window around the other side attracting their attention.
Not even its white color scheme beyond the darkness was enough to add ease towards them, as the view of the Convexity-like void from the window was enough to make them show expressions of fear, especially on Sparx and Ango. Yet Spyro, however, looked towards the floor and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the strange irregular tiles there.
"Now what?" Sparx questioned him, putting his hands on the upper part of his tail section.
"I'm still thinking about that door."
With a faint blink, he looked back to the door that he initially came from. His mind was focused straight towards the door before then – the one with the five stones that were somehow embedded inside it. It was a thought that left him with an expression that was far from reassuring.
"I'm guessing that someone placed those stones in there to get inside in the first place", he predicted, thinking about the removable stones.
"What are you referring to, cheesecake?" asked Sparx with a jesting voice.
"I have a bad feeling that one of the guardians sensed me in this place, thinking that I was captured by the Sorcerer, and went here to find us. Or worse…"
Sparx edged closer, curious to hear Spyro finish off his sentence, but… before he could do that, a shadow quickly passed above them like that of a flying squirrel. The sight was enough for the dragonfly to somersault backwards before somehow soaring on his back prior to regaining his usual upright position.
The shadow then made its way among the walls, the floor, and even among the ceiling. And with every passing moment, it showed a more sinister appearance – even if the clearest detail that could be made out was that it was a bipedal creature, it wasn't enough to show a slight trace of fear in Spyro's eyes.
"What was that?" the dragon loudly questioned the others.
"Look! I see something at the other side of the room!"
Ango pointed straight ahead, and right there, they saw a shadow. A long navy cloak concealed its identity, making it very difficult to decipher any facial details. What did make it intimidating beyond there was a staff in his right hand - a wooden staff with golden circular prongs - as well as the sight of a deep purple aura surrounding the creature with a bone-curling feeling.
The stranger took several steps towards the middle of the room, and just like that, it stopped right in the middle of it – standing on top of a stone slab with the image of a solar eclipse placed on it. It then cackled on the spot, its cries somehow causing Sparx to cower behind Ango, shaking his tail with fright.
"Well, well, well", the stranger spoke with a gritty and deep voice tone. "Is this creature another visitor from the Dragon Village, wishing to put an end to seeing their precious life force draining from the realms?"
"I'm not from the village", replied Spyro. "All I want at the end of the day is to return to the Dragon Temple – where I belong."
"What? Who would ask for a 'temple' at a time like this?" the creature angrily responded, banging its staff. "There isn't one around here! Step into the light, you liar!"
The cloaked creature raised its left arm and sent it to the side, allowing for a long sleeve to drift in the stale air that surrounded them. The very motion left Spyro to turn back to his accomplices, cautiously twitching his tail as he did so. And just like that, Sparx poked his head from behind Ango, still slightly shaking from the creature's appearance.
"Go on. Do as he says", the dragonfly urged him. "If he thinks you're a liar, at least give your heart away."
"Thanks for the encouragement, Sparx", Spyro reacted sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Almost in a flash, he placed a paw into the light, illuminating the claws and purple skin texture right in front of the creature's eyes. In spite of only seeing a small and significant part of his body, he knew that he was about to come across no ordinary opponent.
Just as quickly, the dragon placed the rest of his body into the light, stepping through as if he was a bold majesty in an otherwise dreary location. The full exposure left him to react with surprise, stepping back with a sudden sense of shock showering down his spine.
"What? Spyro? I thought… I thought I was through with you!"
The dragon reacted with a twitch of the mouth in return. "You got my name right, but I don't know who you are and why you launched your plague upon the village!"
Spyro's brash remark was enough to make the creature freeze in place. In response, he slowly and steadily came closer and closer towards the dragon, leering straight towards him with a perplexed yet conclusive pair of eyes showing from the inside of his hood.
"So, it IS true", he wheezed with wonder. "You ARE coming down with amnesia, yet you still won't back down from a fight. That sounds like the Spyro that I know."
Snickering in place, he clutched tightly onto his staff and twirled around in place, allowing for the fabric of his cloak to float gently in the still breeze that circulated the room. Not long after that, he came to a stop, using his glowing eyes to leer back at the trio ahead.
Though Spyro had a bigger sign of determination in his eyes, Sparx and Ango weren't far behind as they looked on at him, curious over what kind of moves he could be able to pull off towards them. And then, the creature stepped forward and took a hold on the hood that surrounded his head.
"Alas, your time to perish will be now, no matter what the cost. I, the Sorcerer, will make sure of that."
Maintaining a cackle in his voice, he then removed the hood from his voice. His head looked almost lizard-like in texture, with him donning gray and red colors around him. The texture showed him to be clearly lizard-like, complete with an additional attribute of a thick beak-like nose that hung down to the middle of his neck.
He then gave out a low cackle from his mouth, raising his head in the air to reveal a grin with sharp teeth that could match those of a tyrannosaurus. Opening his jaw allowed there to show a sinister flat tongue colored maroon in color, only just sitting right inside his mouth.
"Whoa! You're saying THAT thing is a 'sorcerer'?" Sparx almost froze stiff. "He looks more like some kind of cross-dressing witch!"
"What kind of crazy ideas do you keep ending up with?" moaned Spyro, shaking his head. "Besides, this is now or never. We escape from his grasp by fighting him, or we fall right in front of him. We have no choice."
"If this is what you're going to do, I'm going to help you out however I can", said Ango as he approached the pair, outstretching a helping hand.
"I'll try as well, but I still don't like the looks of his face", Sparx replied pessimistically. "He looks as if he wants to eat me like I'm a floating piece of pasta."
Not long after Sparx made his commentary, the Sorcerer made his booming cackle again, this time raising his tongue up slightly as he did so. His grasp on his staff was enough to show that he meant business with whatever kind of assault he could make on the dragonfly.
"Now that I think of it…" Sparx shivered even more, as well as gulping a part of the dense air.
And just like that, a series of lightning bolts were unleashed from the tip of the sorcerer's staff, being sent straight across the room in lightning fashion. Some of them stopped at the wall, while some were unlucky to try and chase Sparx and Ango back towards the wall behind them.
"There's no backing down now", Spyro shouted towards Sparx and Ango, ensuring them to not flee the scene. "We don't have a choice! It's now or never!"
"I'm on it, chief!" reacted Sparx as he hovered his way back to the dragon.
In response, Sparx held onto Spyro's horns as the dragon started to make his dash towards the Sorcerer. It was then that they knew that there was no other way back – the only way to bypass the scene was to defeat the Sorcerer and escape by whatever means possible.
Yet, in spite of that it didn't look easy. The expression that was shown upon his gruesome structured face showed that he could easily be a worthy opponent if required. And the size of his staff and his starting spell was more than enough to make sure of that.
"Watch out below, you little runt!"
The Sorcerer raised his staff into the air once again; that in turn reacted with the ceiling to create an earth crunching rumble. The sound caused Spyro to suddenly stop, leaving Sparx to end up almost sliding down his nose, recovering in the last minute thanks to the hovering of his wings.
And there, they saw the effect of the spell. The ceiling soon vanished into nothing as if it was nothing more than a magic canvas. Some of the shooting rocks from the exterior of the building were launched straight towards the pair, coming down in a blaze of fire.
"More falling rocks?" the dragon questioned with dread.
"Quick!" Ango exclaimed from the side, raising his voice to almost a squeak. "Jump in my direction!"
Trusting Ango's response, Spyro made his dash towards Ango, trying his best to dodge the falling rocks as he did so. All that Sparx could do was try and hold onto his partner's horns for dear life, screaming as he felt the burning intensity of the rocks start to touch his tail.
And then, it wasn't long until they finally reached Ango. Instead of being an active contributor to the fight, he was actually seen charging with an eerie white aura, holding onto a small rock as he ended up doing so. As soon as he saw Spyro, he made eye contact with him, showing his eyes to look completely deprived of their irises and pupils.
"Ango, what are you doing?" the dragon asked at the sight of his actions.
"I'm trying to focus as much energy as I can to deflect his magic. I'm sure I can weaken him down."
The rock suddenly lifted itself into the air, as if he was trying to pull off a levitation trick. The sight of it somehow left Spyro and Sparx concerned over what he was trying to do, but before they could witness any more of it… one of the falling rocks only just scrapped Spyro's tail, causing him to react by quickly making a 180 degrees turn.
"You just keep going!" the kid ordered him.
Quickly, Spyro made his dash away from the kid and straight towards the open space of the room once more. The Sorcerer was left to remain in place, tightly clutching onto his staff as he summoned more energy from the many geysers that completely littered the room, now spitting small plasma rocks from the tip.
As elegantly as a racehorse, Spyro made his roll around the geysers, maintaining his focus straight towards his opponent. As soon as he managed to reach the final line of defense, he made a leap into the air and tried to breathe fire upon him, but the Sorcerer quickly summoned a shield of ice, deflecting his attack.
"What a foolish move that was. You've just faced a run for your life, dragon!"
Cackling, he brought his arms straight into the air, allowing for several smaller shadows to show from above the roof panel. Spyro looked up, and witnessed the 'shadows' for themselves – a series of small yet painfully powerful icicles ready to shower down directly onto the floor.
And then they started to fall down towards the ground like snowballs in a thunderstorm. All that the dragon could do was dodging by whatever means possible, whether it means rolling away from his opponent or using his wings to try and block off the smallest of the set.
"Take this!" the Sorcerer quickly summoned another spell behind the dragon's back.
Before Spyro could recover from blocking several smaller icicles all at once, he suddenly felt a burning sensation ripple his spine. There, he turned around and saw an enflamed rock roll its way along his spine like a bowling pin, causing him to roll to the ground and eliminate any traces of the heat.
"Spyro!!" Sparx called out to him upon the sight of the boulder's damage.
"I'm okay! A little boulder hasn't hurt me before!"
Sparx briefly looked on at Spyro, nervous as if this could be the worst amount of damage he faced since the Cynder battle. Regardless of the move, the dragon still showed enough confidence to just keep fighting his opponent no matter what the risks would involve.
As elegantly as his previous attempt through, he once again tackled the geysers that separated him from the Sorcerer, this time being careful to roll more often than the usual thanks to the larger rocks launching their way directly towards him. He knew that as time would go on those gas-spewing cracks would only just get dramatically worse.
As soon as he faced a clean area, he made a giant leap towards the Sorcerer, his claws outstretched and his tail twitching tenser as he got further up. As he witnessed the dragon coming in his direction, he quickly prepared himself by raising his staff in the air, ready to cast a spell.
"You're mine!" Spyro beamed determinedly, smirking slightly as he closed in on his target.
Before the Sorcerer could conclude the spell, Spyro made his move by spewing flames from his mouth, and just like that, his opponent's cloak was completely covered in fire, leaving him to quickly jump up into the air, wincing as he felt the blaze making contact with his body.
Seeing him in his vulnerable state, the dragon proceeded to assault him from behind, quickly pushing him in the direction of the nearest geyser. And there, he ended up falling his way into them, leaving him unsuspecting to the rocks spewed out from them.
"What are you trying to do to my staff, you little runt?" the Sorcerer weakly asked as he got taken the many different ways of damage.
He looked on at his hand, and saw some of the boulders landing on that, making him struggling to keep his grip on his staff. That coupled with the fire made things more difficult to be able to maintain it tightly – it was almost as if he was prepared to fail a losing battle right there and now.
And then, he released his grip. Quickly, Spyro made his run towards the staff, and before the Sorcerer could even come close to picking it up again, the dragon claimed it first, running through the geysers safely with them. As soon as he got out, he met his eyes straight with Sparx, whom was seen waving his hands enthusiastically.
"Quick, pass it over here, chief!"
Spyro looked on at Sparx with a confused expression. The staff in his mouth could barely be carried by him, so what kind of chance did it have with Sparx? He maintained a perplexed expression as he tried to figure out the best way to tackle the situation.
But then, he felt a shadow creep from behind him. The Sorcerer was seen approaching him, using his hands to try and swipe his weapon away from the dragon. Yet he was too graceful in his dodges to let it go, and right in the last minute he raised his jaw into the air and tossed the staff straight towards Sparx… whom was lucky enough to get a hold of it in his hands.
"I… I got it!" he beamed with a surprising yet successful smile.
"Great!" Spyro responded with encouragement. "Now pass it over to Ango!"
Sparx turned behind and saw Ango waiting in place, his eyes still glowing without pupils and irises, and his hands conducting the bright white light, the levitating rock since being left to hover in a corner on its own accord. He then looked back at the way that he was holding the staff – the way he held onto the head of the instrument and left the rest to be able to get dragged on the floor at free will was enough for him to see the potential struggle he could have in taking it from place to place.
Knowing that there was no chance in which he would throw it, Sparx dragged the staff among the floor towards Ango's direction. As soon as he got to the kid, he instantly lured it inside his hands, leaving him to hold onto it; as soon as he did so, his eyes soon started to transform, making them tinted with a deep shade of gray.
"What kind of… energy… is in this thing…" he weakly questioned as the energy circulated around his body painfully. "Yeeeargh!!!"
"Hold on tight!" persuaded Spyro. "Don't let it go!"
Ango looked on at the Sorcerer's staff with a weak glance; unknowing of exactly what he could do with it, the least he could do was close his eyes tightly and attempt to conduct the energy he flowed through his body originally… right through the weapon itself.
But in spite of that instrument finding a new wielder for the time being, the Sorcerer still looked unconvinced to trying to step down. He brought his hands back, and as he did that, a surge of black and maroon energy sparked through his finger tips as if they were a collection of electrodes.
"I might have lost my staff, but it doesn't mean that I will give in without its power. Perish, now!"
The energy continued to cackle, and as it did that, the lighting in the room faced another significant change. Gone were the white textures that surrounded everything before, and there came a series of indigo tints showing right upon the stone surfaces, regardless of wherever they were.
In spite of the surrounding energy, Spyro's expression continued to show determination as he made another melee ambush upon his opponent. A pair of tail swipes was launched upon his face, but before he could perform a third, he soon felt a sharp jolt cast from the tips of his opponent's fingers.
"My tail!" Spyro panicked as he saw the tip of his tail omitting traces of smoke.
"Mind out of the way before you're turned into a Sunday roast!"
From nearby, Sparx made his rush towards the scene, looking more than determined to put a stop to this. As he did that, Spyro looked on at him with a confused expression. From what he witnessed when fighting Cynder, he barely was that brave to save his own friend from any means of peril at all.
Yet, there were numerous times that he managed to save him, so it's only fair that Sparx could make his mark now if he could. But before he could appreciate it… his body was suddenly given a conductive treatment of the energy that soared across the Sorcerer's hands, lifting him further up into the air with the light now forming a tractor beam between the two.
"Yeeeargh!" the dragonfly struggled to maintain himself as the beam consumed him.
The sight was enough for Spyro to watch on with dismay. "Sparx!!"
With a maniacal laugh, the Sorcerer launched the dragonfly straight towards the stone wall ahead of him, and there, Sparx was left to land intensely hard on his back, before sliding down on his wall and stopping his wings from hovering; presumably knocked out cold by the cold and hard landing.
"Sparx, just hang on!" Spyro exclaimed with panic. "I'll see if I can get you to safety!"
Shivering with concern for his companion, Spyro rushed straight towards Sparx, yet before he could even get close enough to touch him… the Sorcerer suddenly teleported directly in front of the dragon, standing over him with his hands continuing to cackle with the energy shown inside them.
"That's easier said than done, you purple gnat!"
There, the Sorcerer was left to try and launch a tractor beam towards Spyro, but before the dragon could get caught, he performed a side-roll to the side before strafing around his opponent, ready to repeat the move again in the event that he would do exactly the same trick.
Alas, he didn't; instead, he sent forth several shockwaves from his tips, straight towards the dragon; though he was cautious to dodge a fair amount of which… a few struck his chest, leaving him to face a strange pulse-like pain circulate around his body.
"I'm almost charged, Spyro!" shouted Ango with a victorious tone omitting from his mouth. "Quick, lure him far away from Sparx!"
Ango's command was enough to let Spyro shift his attention towards him. And there, he witnessed the kid, now being surrounded by black and white energy bolts, his eyes now glowing completely white without any single trace of his irises or pupils whatsoever.
Concerned for what happened to him, the dragon quickly rushed his way straight towards the kid, his face showing added surprise with every single energy bolt that was omitted from his body. And then he made a stop right in front of him, the bolts flashing in his eyes as if they were a laser lightshow.
"I still don't understand what your intentions are with that thing", questioned Spyro as he looked closer at Ango and his grasp on the Sorcerer's staff.
"It's called 'conduction of counter-magic'. Now get him out of there, quickly!"
The command left Spyro with no choice but to follow it; with his mind focusing on Sparx, he ran his way straight across to the other side of the room, with the Sorcerer leaving the dragonfly's side and making a brave run towards him, his hands raised in the air with a strange black mist surrounding them both.
The mist then made a change once again, this time transforming into light energy particles – those of a purple glowing energy. Quickly he launched them straight towards Spyro, whom ended up dodge rolling his way away from the light at the last minute.
"More lightning!" the dragon scowled as he saw the Sorcerer's attack fade into nothing. "What are you trying to do?"
"What do you expect? You tried to toast me before, and it's the least I can do to deflect your energy. And I see that you've lost your Shadowstone as well."
The remark on the Shadowstone suddenly caused his face to freeze. He heard it mentioned before, in the briefing that he had with the Professor just before he began his venture beyond the Dragon Village. And then, his face showed determination, but not of aggression – one to seek answers.
"What…" he struggled to gain his wording. "What happened to that Shadowstone?"
The Sorcerer remained silent, smirking as he held his hands into the air once more, both surrounding them with the black mist again. The light left Spyro to look on at them widely - to the point that his opponent's reactions would show that he would never receive an answer.
And then, the mist turned to lightning bolts once again. They then tried to strike down towards the dragon, who quickly managed to dodge roll and run out of the way… with the exception of one of the bolts, once again allowing for a trace of smoke to omit from his tail.
"Quick! Get out of the way!"
The shout caused the dragon to stop at his feet. And there, he saw Ango looking increasingly charged with energy – the black and white energy bolts surrounded his body like before, but this time his entire flesh was seen flashing as if he was a living light-bulb powering up in place.
The tip of the staff was seen taking in a heavy amount of light energy, and as soon as it was finished, it sent a bright energy beam straight towards Spyro! In a quick reaction, he ducked underneath it, allowing the beam to strike whatever targets were directly behind him.
"What are you doing to me?" a shout occurred from behind. "What the…!"
The shout caused him to look straight behind him, and there he saw the Sorcerer struggling against the light, getting completely engulfed save for his shadow, clearly being seen on the floor as an indicator of the amount of pain that engulfed his entire body.
His screams continued as loudly as possible, but soon, the sound of the cackles from the beam then started to become louder. As far as Spyro knew, it was as if he was living inside the dust bag of a vacuum cleaner – a droning noise that could almost penetrate his hearing.
And finally, a flash of light went around the area, and the sounds stopped. It then faded out slowly and gently, and as soon as the light was restored to normality… he looked around and saw the first thing he could see – Ango, standing there with the staff in his hand, almost frozen in time. The light energy no longer surrounded him, and his eyes were restored back to their original status.
The dragon then looked directly behind him, and there he saw the Sorcerer, though not in a form that he would usually expect; instead, he saw him as a pile of ashes inside his own cloak. Though he would typically rejoice for defeating his opponent, one thought remained firmly on his mind as he turned around.
"Sparx!" his eyes widened as he focused towards the dragonfly. "Are you okay?"
He made a run straight towards Sparx, concerned if the damage struck him significantly. And as soon as he got in front of him, he finally stirred, opening his eyes; there he saw through his hazy expression that he might have been affected by the Sorcerer's tractor beam somehow.
"My… my eyes…" he winced with a faint whisper. "I see pink and white…"
Without expression, Spyro raised one of his front paws in the air, extending two claws from it. "How many claws am I holding up?"
"Uh… 23?"
The remark left Spyro to shake his head, with a slightly annoyed glare showing in his eyes. But soon, another thought got taken into consideration; he looked on at the dragonfly's weakening eyes, and soon, his look of irritation from the asked question soon changed into one of concern.
Maybe Sparx's sight might have been badly hit by the Sorcerer either way, he thought to himself. Maybe he really WAS seeing some strange hallucination of pink and white from the tractor beam energy. Though the thought felt disturbing, he somehow knew that whatever the Sorcerer could pull off in his magic could feel disturbing regardless of what he does.
"At least our work is done", said Ango with a calm and thoughtful tone. "We might have taken a wrong turn to the Temple, but the Sorcerer has been brought down to size. Let's leave."
Smiling brashly, Ango made his way straight towards the exit, glad to know that he manage to survive the brave ordeal that was inside. A brief skip in his step was shown upon him, knowing that he was able to assist in the means of trying to combat the Sorcerer.
He then reached the door that opened its way straight back through the corridor of light; his eyes reflected there valiantly, knowing that he was ready to make his way back into the wide open world once again. After that, he turned back towards the dragon, whom – among with Sparx – didn't move with him.
"Spyro, come on!" the kid impatiently called out to him.
Ango cautiously made a step towards Spyro, himself making his way to the tile with the solar eclipse on it - right where the Sorcerer first stood. Curious over his delay in his departure, the kid took several lengthy strides towards him, his face almost sharing that feeling of concern that the dragon had.
"There's something about this Sorcerer guy that seems to know more about the situation than me."
"What?" Ango looked back at the dragon curiously.
Sighing with an almost melancholic glance, Spyro made his turn back towards Ango, his facial expression looking slightly insecure. He thought carefully, back towards the final moments of the fight with the Sorcerer, where he mentioned something about… a sacred relic that he could have previously worn.
"What was so special about this 'Shadowstone' that he mentioned I wore?" Spyro proceeded to ask the kid. "I know the Professor knew something about it, but do you recall it at all?"
"Shadow… stone?"
Puzzled, Ango placed one of his hands on his chin. And just like that, the answer soon managed to click to him, his eyes widening at the sight of it. In that time, he ran up towards Spyro and looked straight towards the scene around him. Nearby, a tall slab of marble, holding a circle with two dragons – one breathing fire and another breathing ice – was seen.
"I think I know what you mean" he nodded trustingly. "It's been said that when you last went to fight the Sorcerer, you wore it to go between the Dragon Realms and the Shadow Realms, freeing everyone trapped inside the Shadow Realms and eventually going there again to fight him and prevent him from changing the world into a kingdom of darkness."
He then made his walk around the rest of the wall, and saw the rest of the story being told through the carvings alongside it. There, he also managed to see what looked like a small cave drawing, holding stick figures of Spyro and the Sorcerer making combat, with a torn purple flag being stuck right next to it – possibly the only splash of color among an otherwise white surrounding.
"With the Shadowstone, you were able to perform all sorts of magic and combat techniques that you weren't even capable of before", he concluded his explanation.
Spyro's jaw almost dropped at the sound of Ango's accuracy. "You were there?"
"Not physically. I heard the story from the village residents."
Ango was left to sigh on the spot as he turned back towards the dragon, his hair starting to actually drift through the otherwise current-less air. Cautiously he took a step back towards him, with his face still looking as if he just emerged from a break-up.
Not long after that, he re-focused his attention back towards the Sorcerer, whose position upon the ground was enough to make him show a sign of insecurity around him. There, he quickly turned back towards the others, his hands shaking with a mixture of nervousness and happiness.
"Regardless, our job here is done. Though we couldn't find the temple, we did a brave job just coming here and confronting him. Let's leave."
Briefly smiling, he took a hold upon Spyro's back and braced him as if he was a kid taming a goat in a petting zoo. The dragon responded with a confident smile back, knowing that in spite of taking a wrong turn on the way to the Dragon Temple, he fulfilled a big role for the Dragon Village.
Yet their respite was only short lived, as the sound of a rumbling sensation was heard from around the arena. Quickly they looked down to their feet, and they saw various shards of rock and glass jumping gently nearby, as if they were jacks jumping on their own accord.
"Wait a second", Spyro commanded as he looked up at the kid. "What was that?"
Not wanting to waste time, Ango quickly jumped and ran towards the door. "Quick, you claim Sparx and we'll make a run for it before this quake gets any worse."
And so, Ango started to make his departure back through the entrance they initially came from. And just as quickly as he started running, he completely left the sight of the dragon, whose attention could only focus on one particular being at that moment in time – that for Sparx.
Blinking awkwardly, he made his re-approach towards the dragon as he saw him approach the dragonfly. There he saw that he needed just as much assistance to get out as they need to help each other try and find a way back outside and to a safe place once again.
Sparx's expression still looked helpless; his concerns on seeing flashing pink and white colors were remained inside his helpless and nauseated facial expression. He looked equally confused as Spyro managed to show his head directly over the dragonfly's body.
"Is that you mom?" the dragonfly asked him, his eyes showing signs of confusion.
"Sparx, just hang on until we get out of here!"
Determined not to leave anyone behind, Spyro crouched down and brought Sparx upon his back, safely placed between two of the ridges at the bottom of his neck. All that the dragonfly could do was hold on, looking confused about the scenery shown around him.
And with that done, the dragon made his approach towards Ango, and thus they both made their way outside. They went past the long corridors that stretched from the opened door through to the giant arena, and soon re-approached the front door once more, ready to face the great outdoors once more.
Outside, a heavy mass of boulders was seen making their fall from outside, causing the entire scene to fall under a mass of earthquakes and intense heat. The very sight of them would leave for a tough-to-impossible chance of escape back towards the mainland.
It wasn't long until Spyro, Sparx and Ango managed to emerge out into the open to witness everything. But they didn't have long to see it, as several of which were soon starting to fly straight towards the gateway that lead inside the Sorcerer's foreboding lair.
In reaction, they quickly dashed away from the scene and found a more powerful vintage point, going up a stairway of light towards what looked like a look out venue. A ray of hope was seen when a distant bridge of light was formed arching its way towards the cliff, ready to be used as a lifting point. But a sign of unease crept upon them as they saw more burning boulders; most of them were seen rising stationary, yet some others were still seen being sent towards the trio on their own accord.
"The boulders!" Ango exclaimed at the sight of the mass of floating rocks.
"Why do I have a bad feeling that our way back will be harsher than the way here?" Spyro somehow questioned himself at the sight of them.
Before anything else could happen, one of which was close enough to instantly knock them off their feet. Quickly, they jumped down towards the bridge of light beneath, and they started to make their run down the path, towards the cliff side that they initially fell from.
Along the path, they also managed to come across the remains of the bridge of light that they were previously on – a long leap towards the rotating platform that stood as a halfway point between the two locations. The sight of the leap was enough to put shivers in the kid's step.
"How are we supposed to get back now that the bridge is out?" Spyro questioned his accomplices, thinking of the bridge's situation while on the way to the lair.
"I say we make a leap for it!" Ango grinned in response. "Come on!"
Starting to pace ahead, the kid started to make as much of a sprint towards the edge of the broken bridge. As soon as he got there, he leapt forward, taking a colossal stride in his step, flying almost perfectly horizontally through the air like a gliding squirrel on a food hunt.
Spyro soon followed, taking a similar leap, though this time he managed to outstretch his wings and used them for air resistance as he got further and further away from the ruins of the bridge. And then, his shadow came across the rotating platform, ensuring that he did everything possible to get there in time.
He then landed firmly on both feet, leaving him to stand in place and reclaim his breath from the jump. But before he could have a moment of total respite, several familiar shadows came above him – all of which being burning boulders launched directly from the gaseous space underneath.
"They're coming thick and fast!" the kid began to panic with his head pointing towards the dragon. "Quick! Let's move for it!"
"I'm on it!"
Ready to defy death once again, Spyro made his leap towards the next bridge of light, charging as fast as he could without any set of cares as he continued to approach the burning boulders. Each of them was reflected in his eyes like burning lights from out of nowhere.
Two of which made his way directly towards his head, and he allowed for them to keep coming towards him until right at the last minute. As he did so, he rolled out of the way, being careful not to let Sparx fall as well as falling down from the bridge himself.
"Hold on, Sparx!" commanded Spyro as he brought himself on both feet.
Another larger rock was seen ahead, and yet, its broader structures looked as if they were enough to crush the entire bridge of light. He looked behind him, and saw Ango slowly catching up towards him, his feet allowing him to run at a blistering speed among it.
In response, he brought his horns straight forward as he came closer towards it. And just as when it would look as if he would get hit, he slid under it in the last minute, leaving Ango to respond to it by doing a high jump before landing and making a quick recovery into his natural running speed again.
"The path is almost clear!" the dragon beamed as he saw himself coming closer towards the ramp. "I think I should be ready to make the jump!"
"What if you can't?" panicked Ango. "You could just fall to your doom!"
"I'm not going to have that happen to me! I've faced worse jumps before!"
Maintaining his determined glare, he focused his attention straight towards the beam of light ahead. And then it wasn't long until the path became steeper and steeper, as they made their way straight towards the beginning of a long jump back to the mainland.
"If worst comes to worst, my wings will help", he calmly remarked back at the kid. "I AM a dragon after all!"
"I thought you can barely fly!" he remarked with confusion.
"My methods will work! Believe in me!"
Spyro's look of confidence was enough for Ango to look on at him, half assuring, yet half concerned. He looked as if he was confident enough to make a long jump as colossal as what was shown ahead, no matter what kind of sacrifice would be bestowed from it.
And so, he ran faster and faster among the bridge of light, allowing his footprints to show densely upon the ground as he ran further and further. Then he started to make his way up the steeper parts of the ramp, ready to pull himself up as he made his way towards the long jump itself.
"Spyro, look out!"
Ango's shout was enough for Spyro to make him pay attention towards his left. There, several rocks were sent flying towards his direction, attempting to disturb his take-off. Quickly, he ducked his way under many of which, making sure to slow down at some of the faster ones before recovering lost speed.
A few more managed to slip past him, and it was by that that he knew that he was confident enough to survive the jump and make his way straight back onto safe land once again. His tail twitched happily as he got closer and closer towards the edge - towards the cliff that the mountains resided at.
His wings flapped anxiously as he was ready to make the jump, knowing that he would be ready to make his way to settle back onto solid ground once more. But before he could even reach the top… a burning sensation went upon his head, along with a giant clash that caused his head to be sent straight forward – like a steel nail being rammed into a wall with a hammer.
"Spyro!" Sparx panicked as he saw the dragon's reaction. "What…"
Before Sparx could finish off his wording, the dragon instantly fell onto his side with a light thump, instantly trapping Sparx from the stomach down as he fell and leaving his body to clash hard with the floor. A feeling of unease soon settled upon the dragonfly's facial expression as it happened.
"Ow! My chest! What was that for?"
Sparx was left to wince with pain, holding onto the right hand side of his chest with his left arm as he was left trapped between the light bridge and Spyro's back. But before he could react any further than what he could already… he soon felt a strange slipping sensation.
Like water in a log flume, they both ended up slipping their way down the ramp together; Ango soon noticed their actions, leapt over the pair as they came and slid his way down with them. As soon as they got down there, they looked towards the ramp, and then at Spyro, and came to a conclusion that shared their minds – an out-cold dragonwould not suffice.
"This is bad news, Sparx", Ango sighed, lowering his head and ears at the same time. "That just lost our chance at the jump…"
"Tell me about it", Sparx frowned. "I wish I can help, but I'm still seeing… pink."
The color remark left Ango to cautiously blink towards Sparx, who ended up responding with a brief twitch of the mouth. Exactly how can a tractor beam from the Sorcerer give him strange impaired color detection? The thought remained in his mind as they both ended up looking up to the ramp, trying to conduct any more ideas to return to safety.
But before they could even come up with a single idea, the sound of a rumble was heard in the distance. Quickly they all turned towards its direction, and saw the bridge of light crumbling, once again falling piece by piece as if it was made out of Tetris blocks.
"The bridge is breaking apart!" Sparx exclaimed at the sight of the evaporating light. "Spyro, listen to me! We need you to get up and do something about it!"
Hesitantly, Sparx pulled himself out from under Spyro's head and went towards the side of his face. He took a tight hold upon his cheek and tried to shake him on the spot, yet with every shake he tried to pull off, he started to look more and more nervous just by doing that.
"Come on!" the dragonfly somehow started to wince. "Don't die on us…!"
"He doesn't look dead", Ango confirmed just by taking a hold of one of his front paws. "Think about it; the situation could be worse."
Ango's comment wasn't enough to change Sparx's nervous facial expression by any means at all. In spite of the kid's meaningful response, they knew that they will have problems just trying to leave the area alive, regardless of Spyro's situation or the possibility of leaving him behind.
However, the dragonfly refused to give up. In spite of being significantly smaller than the dragon, he continued to push from every side of him that he could possibly deal with, trying to nudge him back into consciousness. The pressure of the sight of the bridge falling from behind was enough to make him pull off the task with more haste than the usual.
"We have to keep trying!" Sparx clarified his reasoning towards the kid while in mid-nudge. "The bridge is falling, and we won't stand a chance to cross otherwise!"
Ango looked directly up towards the ramp end of the light bridge. And there he saw the cliff that he, Spyro and Sparx fell from in order to get there. Without a means of flight, it can be assumed that there would be no escape from the crumbling light bridge.
"Spyro, get up! Now!!"
Before anything else can happen, the sound of a high-pitched roar was heard. The sound of it caused the group to look straight towards its direction, and right there, they fixed their eyes upon a flying shadow up ahead. It looked almost similar to Spyro's shadow, yet it had significantly smaller horns and a rounder nose area.
"Whoa!" Sparx gasped right at the sight of the figure. "Another dragon?"
Ango gave out a hesitant nod. "It looks different from those at the village…!"
Ango's certain look was confirmed as it showed itself coming closer. Its posture had significantly sharper ridges on the wings and head, making it look slightly more intimidating than the standard dragon seen back at the village if the meeting with Ember and Flame was anything to go by.
And then it came closer and closer towards it, barrel rolling towards the ground as gracefully as possible. A clear color scheme was also made out upon the creature – a dominant black color complete with a crimson belly and wing membranes. Though it looked intimidating, the sight of it left Sparx to look on more hopefully than he usually would in such circumstances.
"What is this thing?" Ango asked the dragonfly with a higher pitch than the usual.
"It looks very familiar…"
Before Sparx could try and analyse the creature further… it came straight towards the trio, instantly taking a clutch around Spyro's chest as it soared its way along. With quick instincts, Sparx and Ango held onto opposite sides of his body as they too were carried up.
Quickly, the kid made his climb towards the creature's back, trying his best not to disturb its flight as it did that. Yet Sparx ended up making a climb to a different part of the creature's body – right at the top of its head, using its horns to try and support himself in his ascent.
The view that he faced from atop of his head looked painful yet beautiful – soaring among the purple abyss before going through the mountain slopes once more, yet considering that the dragon flew higher than the claustrophobic passageways that himself, Spyro and Ango took to get there, he felt slightly more comfortable with the ride itself.
Finally he brought his head over hers to try and identify her eyes. And there he met them straight with the creature in question – a pair of deep emerald eyes that shone like a rare and valuable treasure. Even though he only saw pink, his pupils instantly shrank at the structure of them.
Several memories then flashed through his mind with an encounter with a black dragon he faced before – an adult one that served under the Dark Master, before being restored to its initial youth size after a dynamic showdown. And just like that, his mind finally clicked into place.
"Cynder!!"
-end of chapter-