-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Another chapter gone, another set of good response. Thanks to everyone who managed to look into it.
Yes, I wanted to create something shocking with that. D: The plot twist in the recent chapter will be used to some extent in the development of this coming chapter, hoping to clarify more of the link between Spyro and the Dragon Village in the process.
Zerodius, your commentary absolutely surprised me O.O I find it amazing that I managed to get a comment going into that much detail about the previous chapter and speculation on the next, so thank you very much for that. I might as well answer some of your queries while I'm here:-
Firstly, I mentioned in the blurb to the first chapter that I needed to clear up some plot elements left behind from Shadow Legacy, so to that extent the events of that title have gone untouched. That also meant trying to explore a bit more into the Sorcerer himself – people have always said that he was a powerful adversary in spite of being really underdeveloped, hence why I hoped to tackle that matter with the development of the fic itself.
Secondly, the scene only showed three elements that aren't dense rock – a single set of bones (as stated they belonged to Spyro), a decaying statue and a set of footprints. I didn't intend for Spyro to kill a creature and fall with it, even though between you and me that sounds like a pretty damn cool idea. O.O
And finally with the concern of Spyro being turned to a carbon copy of his pre-reboot form; I don't think that's something you need to think much about. Between you and me, the fic started off as a potential idea of how the original cast could be towed into Krome's new storyline, but then developed into the form we have here. And on top of that, unless there's barely been a new game announcement in God knows how long, I consider canon events when planning everything out, and so being able to weave this in so that it could be considered as an intermission in the current storyline.
Though don't look at me; all my Crash Bandicoot fics had Crash with speaking roles, but that's something I could fix with any fiction that I might write after experiencing Crash of the Titans. But that's for another day and another part of the site…
Either way I hope this answers some of your questions. Anything else would spoil the rest of the story to some degree, so I hope what I provided worked out.
And now we move onto chapter 6. You saw what happened last time; now we need to see how Cynder would react to the situation. Enjoy!
Peace out,
-Rexy-
The skies surrounding the mountain slopes were slowly getting darker and more poisonous in color. At the time, the red weeds that covered various parts of the ground were already starting to crawl up the rocky structures in mass amounts, to the point that they could potentially block the way up there.
Yet, that wasn't much of a concern for Cynder, who managed to run from the closed clearing to the checkpoint with ease. As soon as she returned to the junction, she made her way straight towards the edge of the mountain and looked towards the view from nearby.
A view of the unsuspecting dragon village ahead left her to somehow start trembling in her bones. Yet, her feelings were soon hidden as soon as she managed to sense Sparx and Ango, both of which struggling to be able to keep up with her speed in spite of her patience.
"This is so bad!" Cynder looked back to her peers with a frown. "I have to warn Red! I can't believe that Spyro would leave and fight someone so rashly!"
"Relax, Cynder", Sparx remarked as he raised his hands in the air. "I'm sure that he won't do that."
Quickly as he spoke, Sparx's thoughts were at the scene of the skeleton. Seeing the bones cleanly picked away was enough to make him look more puzzled than the usual, to the point that one antenna was flopping down and the other stood up as he thought.
"There's always a chance that the damage back there wasn't fresh", he tried to assure her. "If that was the case, then the clearing would smell… you know, a bit more pleasant."
The remark left Cynder to leer at Sparx, her eyebrows clutching down with anger. "Thank you for sharing your low level of sympathy… moron."
Growling bitterly, Cynder made her pounce straight towards the dragonfly, where they both ended up facing a chase situation across the relatively small area. All that Sparx could do was maintaining as high a distance as he could to avoid any scratches or bites getting inflicted on his body.
Shaking his head with disbelief at the reaction, Ango thought as hard as he could over what would usually happen at the current situation. The argument with him and Sparx prior to meeting Bandit was enough to know what would Spyro do in that situation – get between the pair and break up the fight.
"We can't argue now", he shouted as he outstretched his arms. "We're almost at the Dragon Dojo. Remember, we have a lot of questions for Red!"
Ango's words were enough to stop the fight between the pair. After a brief pause, they both rushed their way towards the edge, and witnessed the scenery from below. The dojo's glowing presence amongst the twisted landscapes were enough to settle her, ready to make a quick advancement no matter what the risks were.
"Going down!!" she beamed as she went closer to the cliff.
As elegantly as she got to the edge, she brought herself onto her stomach with her limbs all stretched out in the shape of a star, leaving her to slide straight down the rocky slopes like a penguin making its venture towards the freezing waters of the Antarctic.
Ango ended up following her, albeit sliding on his back, while Sparx hovered his way towards their direction like a speeding bullet. All three of them soon managed to unite closer as they managed to get their way towards the end of the slope and towards the weed-covered ground beneath it.
As soon as they landed, they looked around in their immediate surroundings. The village was shown to their immediate left while the Dragon Dojo stood proudly towards their right. Unknowing whether to nauseate or exclaim informatively, Cynder brought herself up on both feet and started approaching the building.
"Red! Can you hear me? We have news for you!"
Cynder's shouts echoed directly across the area, rebounding from the standing rocks that were around her. The red weeds contracted the sound through the breeze, yet all they did was merely absorbed it and waved along the braving winds as if nothing ever happened to them.
The dragon's focus remained towards the door of the dojo, where she saw it illuminating thanks to the lanterns that were inside. But in spite of that, there wasn't a trace of any potential shadow at the door, leaving her to look towards her accomplices with an almost empty glaze.
She maintained that look as she faced her peers. "He might not have heard me. I think we'll need to go inside."
"I'm on it, ma'am", winked Sparx.
And so, all together, they approached the dojo together. Their steady approach among the dry ground and red weeds were almost as bitter as the pathway that they faced in the mountains, if not even denser than the usual; yet the lower-altitude air felt much more refreshing on their lungs.
It wasn't long until they all approached the steps that lead straight inside. Once there their attention was brought straight towards the main room, where they saw that it was completely empty; only the meditation mats that grace the room, still in perfect alignment with one another, were left behind.
Trembling nervously, she made a dash for Red's study right at the back. As soon as she got to the folding screen she was about to raise a paw to open it herself when all of a sudden… it moved on its own accord. She jumped with surprise at the sight, screaming slightly. And as soon as it was opened, her eyes were met with another figure – another dragon, but… one that she instantly recognised in appearance.
"Spyro! You're…" her heart thumped at a brisker pace as she paused. "You're alive!"
"What? Cynder?"
The sight of Cynder's face was almost shown to be an equally shocking gesture for Spyro as the sight of him was to her. And, almost excitedly, she made her leap straight towards him, leaving them to roll straight towards the interiors of Red's study.
As quickly as they got in, they both made their exit and into the main room, both of which now realising the comfort of finding each other again, in Spyro's face being the first time since the storm, and in Cynder's case being the first time since recovering him from the purple void in the mountains.
They both started chasing each other in circles, before they soon ended up stopping and grazing each other on the cheeks gently, happy to see each other once more. Exchanging excitable laughter between one another, they both were glad to finally unite their eyes with one another again; similar feelings were equally sent upon Sparx and Ango in the background, both of which equally showing surprise at Spyro's recovery and relief to see them as happy as they were at that moment in time.
"You're… you're okay", she joyfully yet shakily remarked towards him.
"I can't believe how much I longed to see your face again, Cynder", he jaw-dropped in return. "But… your face…!"
The joyful expressions shown upon the dragons' faces suddenly started to drop as they looked closer towards one another. And there, Spyro was able to look closer towards Cynder's more truthful expression – one of fear that almost drained the color from her cheeks.
"You look as if you saw a ghost. What happened?"
Cynder tried to open her mouth to speak, yet in spite of that… no words were able to come out. That somehow left her to show a frown as she end up making her walk towards one of the meditation rugs, sitting firmly upon them and looking down at her front paws' claws.
Looking concerned over her feelings, Spyro soon made a walk straight towards her, sitting down firmly next to her and looking towards her face. It wasn't long until she finally plucked up the courage to be able to form eye contact with the purple dragon once more, this time being more confident to speak.
"It was something I saw beyond the cliffs" she started to explain. "I saw your skeleton, but you're also here. Ango definitely said that it was your bones, but what happened?"
"That sounds like a strange set of news", said a familiar voice intriguingly. "A Spyro skeleton there, and the living thing here…"
The remark from behind the dragons caused the group to look in that direction. And there, Red was seen making his way towards the group, having obviously overheard the conversation from his study, his facial expression starting to show one filled with wonder.
"I don't want to betray the Dragon Elders again", he blinked while looking to the opposing walls, "but this is something that I need to witness. If this is going to be of any aid to understanding his amnesia problem, this has to be worth seeing."
"So you're saying you want to take us there?" Cynder asked him nervously.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Spyro asked in return. "I too am just as curious as Red."
"Believe me, pal", shivered Sparx. "You will feel just as unsettled as we did up there."
Sparx soon hovered his way back towards the purple dragon, taking a tight grasp around his cheeks once more, trying to make his shaken expression more obvious to the eyes of his peer. Yet in spite of it, Spyro looked far from convinced to see how he could have been frightened like that.
The thought remained firm inside his head though – the possibility of a skeleton of himself could be enough to make him shiver on the spot, yet if he never knew the village, that couldn't really be him, or couldn't it? With that in mind, he lightly bit his tongue and turned straight back towards Red.
"I need to look at this and see for myself", ordered Spyro in a brave vocal tone.
Red nodded gently, accepting the request. "Very well, let's head outside."
All together, they turned towards the front door, and saw it showing the familiar cold colors in comparison to the warmth of the dojo itself. Taking a proud clutch onto his sceptre, Red made his departure first, his footsteps becoming more delicate as he headed further out.
The others followed him one by one, stepping towards the ground beneath. Though there were still traces of dirt, rocks and red weeds down below, the scene around the dojo still was felt to be calm and tranquil – a refreshing sight after a series of disturbing encounters.
"Hop on, everyone", Red beamed confidently as he brought himself into a crouching stance. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."
Spyro's eyes widened at Red's sudden actions. "You're saying you can fly?"
"Of course I can fly! It's dragon etiquette to fly! I've still got what it takes after all these years, believe in me."
Red's shout was enough to almost send Sparx hovering back slightly, almost startled at the power of his booming tenor voice tones. Still in shock, he hovered towards the Elder nonetheless, and as soon as he got there he hovered up to his horns, holding onto both of them like the handlebars of a bicycle.
Spyro and Cynder followed suit, both climbing upon Red's shoulders gracefully yet nervously. Ango initially showed concern in any space for him or lack thereof, though he soon found a place – being carried through Red's grasp via his left arm, which in turn secured him like a seatbelt.
"Let's head over the mountainside! We're in for a thrilling ride!"
And so, Red started to make a jog along the scenery, taking several thunderous steps in his stride. Then the speed slowly started to pick up, causing Spyro, Sparx and Cynder to hold onto the red dragon tighter than the usual while observing the blurring scene ahead.
And almost like magic, Red made a leap up, and used his wings to hover straight up into the sky. A few flaps omitted from them soon sent him to a position three times the size of the dojo, all without any signs of stopping as he got closer and closer to the skies above.
And then, they were soon at a height that was twice as high as the tallest mountain peak, giving them a view of the ground from below. In spite of being able to make clear note of the Convexity-like void that surrounded the Sorcerer's lair as well as the darkened clouds nearby, it was a beautiful sight that filled their hearts with warmth.
"I can see my house from here!"
Sparx pointed down towards the Dragon Village with a confident face, but before he could even do much else, he suddenly had all heads turned towards his direction – or in Red's case, eyes rolled up towards him – all of which looking concerned over what he meant by that.
"What? I'm only trying to kid around", he frowned with a shrug of his shoulders and a flash of his teeth. "Does anyone here have a sense of humor?"
The group then reacted by lowering their focuses and sighing in unison, thinking that they faced another meaningless comment given out from the dragonfly. He thus ended up reacting with a brief eye twitch before he faced straight forward again, holding tighter onto Red's horns.
And thus, they all went further and further into the air, towards the mountain peaks. Though it could be seen as a rare spectacle to be sent flying the way they were, it was assumed to be a safe and pleasurable feeling that would soon end up countering what they would face at their target destination.
Finally they made their way directly above the summit. The thick clouds made landing conditions slightly difficult to bear thanks to them covering most of the mountain peaks, almost trying to obscure the vision of Red and everyone that rode upon him.
Yet when he made his gradual descent, the clouds soon started to become less and less of a visual blockade. After several seconds passed, the statue that stood right in the middle of the clearing was obviously made out, standing there with a brave amount of majesty.
And then, Red slowly started to make a tighter drop towards the ground, using his wings for gentle air resistance support. While that happened, Sparx casually smiled as he saw the clearing coming closer and closer into view, holding onto his horns and looking into the sky as he did so.
"This is your captain Sparx speaking", he addressed his peers in a low and almost monotone voice. "We will be landing at the summit in five minutes. Make sure that your seatbelts are fastened and your luggage is up in the shelving above you. Thank you for flying Red airlines."
He then brought his attention directly towards his peers… only for his eyes to be met with those of confusion from everyone around him. The glances exchanged were enough for him to blush slightly, before he soon pulled himself together, raising a fist in the air with one hand while continuing to hold onto one of Red's horns with the other.
"What? I always wanted to say that!" he gritted his teeth semi-bitterly.
His remark caused many of the personnel to end up reacting with irritation, with Cynder and Red showing reactions among the most obvious. Rolling his eyes at the thought, he then resumed to using both of his hands to hold onto the Elder's horns, scowling under his own breath.
A couple of minutes later, Red managed to get himself into a position close enough to make a clean landing upon the ground. And then, he brought out both of his feet and crouched down as he disembarked again, instantly bringing himself in a position to release Ango and allow everyone else to dismount him.
The clearing was seen right in front of their viewpoint once more. Repeated feelings of anxiety were shown upon the expressions for Cynder, Sparx and Ango, yet for Spyro, he felt as though he had just walked straight inside the wreckage of a bushfire gone past.
"There it is!" Ango jumped up with his eyes focused towards a white mass ahead of him. "Come on!"
The kid's shout was enough for the dragon to focus his attention towards him. There he ran right into the middle of the clearing, his eyes focusing ahead on an object that he felt more than anxious to share. Not long after that, the others cautiously followed him.
And just like that, he managed to come to a direct stop after several seconds. As soon as he did, the others soon managed to catch up straight towards him. The white mass was seen at his feet, left to remain in the same peaceful state that it was initially presented with.
Spyro's heart sank at the sight. "So this is the skeleton you found…"
And right there, the skeleton was seen in its full glory – the bones were left in exactly the same state they were left in minus the debris that Cynder managed to wipe away earlier. The state that they left behind was enough to add fear towards her, Sparx and Ango once more.
Spyro himself, however, started to show a worried expression that was starting to face similarities to what his peers managed to face when venturing there for the first time. Yet, Red managed to stand there, eyeing the skeleton with an expression that was only half-sympathetic and half-perplexed.
"I don't like the looks of this place!" Spyro worryingly remarked towards the others, Red in particular. "Is this… is this place my future?"
"I don't know what this is", Cynder replied with a similar glance. "But none of the residents knew anything about me."
The purple dragon lowered his head, accepting Cynder's comment. "And most of them never knew about a Dragon Temple either."
The confirmed suspicions continued to seep through his mind like water on a sponge; it was at that point that some of the strangeness of this uncharted realm was almost enough for him to locate the truth behind its link between him and his 'relationship' with the other residents.
Looking back amongst Cynder, Sparx, Ango, Red and the skeleton were enough to give him enough time to think about his next point. And with the thoughts finally processed, he looked straight up to the sky, his eyes starting to glisten amongst the blue-green backdrops.
"That means…" he paused before making a conclusion, "that this could be a different purple dragon."
"What?" Cynder blinked at the sound of his remark. "What are the chances of there being another purple dragon named Spyro, just like you?"
"Remember what Ignitus said? A purple dragon is born once every ten generations. And if I am destined to defeat the Dark Master, then…"
Before Spyro could even finish off his own sentence, he looked towards the walls that surrounded the summit, thinking of its conclusion. There was a possibility that he and the skeleton were one and the same, but if that was true then that would mean that he would have been unable to gain the maximum amount of power to defeat the Dark Master if that was the case.
And then he thought about the other possibility – the chance of going on to fulfil his destiny on actually defeating said nemesis and living the rest of his days in solitude. But if that was the case, Cynder's words would still render to be useful – what are the probability of two dragons of the same flesh color bearing the same name?
"This is too confusing", Spyro frowned, thinking of all the awkward possibilities. "I need time to think of this a bit more."
"Yeah", Cynder nodded with agreement. "I'd rather not think about your destiny until the time comes."
With just the same morbid expression as the purple dragon, Cynder made her approach towards him and gently brushed her cheek against his for assurance. He looked back at her with a slightly warming expression, knowing that any time to think of the current situation would be much later.
He almost turned around to leave the area, but before he could even make the first twist towards the claustrophobic path, a white flash soon started to show in the distance. Quickly he refocused himself and tried to take a look directly at it with his own two eyes.
"I see that you managed to locate the flesh and blood of Spyro the Dragon. But I also see another purple dragon in front of me. What gives?"
The remark was enough for them to focus closer and closer towards the glowing figure. And there, a silhouette was soon seen – one that resembled a stick, but had two round spheres on the other end as well as a pair of clear wings that allowed it to hover above the ground.
"A battle scarred dragonfly?" Spyro tried to identify the creature with confusion.
"I'm afraid I'm nothing more than an illusion now", the figure spoke with a squeaky yet morbid tone. "Spyro and I were great companions back then. We both fought on until the very end, when the Sorcerer made his final attack against us."
The remark left the group to look on, confused as they were. Somehow it felt like a coincidence – Spyro spent his time with Sparx and his family before he found his place in the Dragon Temple, and so it seemed like a concurrence that this dragonfly ended up facing similar experiences.
Although they were unable to see much of its feelings, it still felt confident to be able to discuss as much as possible, regardless of how confusing it could get. Calmly, it hovered its way closer, though not quite as close to make out any set of potent details whatsoever.
"Let me mention everything to you", he addressed the group with a buzz. "Not long ago, the Sorcerer threatened to transform the entire Dragon Realms into a Shadow Realm, trapping everyone inside it. He almost succeeded, but Spyro saved everyone and defeated the Sorcerer, thanks to the aid of the Shadowstone and the ancient art form of Dragon Kata."
The mention of the Shadowstone was enough for Spyro to show some deep interest thanks to hearing it mentioned before at the Sorcerer's lair and in front of the Professor. Yet the mention of Dragon Kata was enough for Cynder to look back at Ango, thinking about his words while heading there.
"Was that the art you were referring to when we faced those scorpions on the way here, Ango?" she asked him curiously.
The kid's eyes widened with hope. "That's it! I know what it was like, but I didn't know its name."
"I can understand that", replied Red with a stern look. "Assuming your ability to sense feelings, you should already know that I was one of the Dragon Elders that taught Spyro such tricks, namely the finishing move that aided in the Sorcerer's initial defeat."
The group looked straight on towards Red. Spyro managed to take word about such a finisher that he supposedly ended up defeating the Sorcerer with before according to his words, yet he never would have guessed that he learnt the technique from what was essentially a bipedal dragon.
"You've got that right, Red", the shadow nodded in his direction. "But this is where the story starts to get more awkward."
The group then focused their attention straight back towards the dragonfly, interested to hear more from its point of view. Calmly they tried to approach him, but before they could get up close towards it, it slowly hovered its way back the way it initially came from.
Knowing that there was no way that they could be able to look towards it, they ended up staying still in place, fixing their focus straight towards it and ready to take in its words. Lowering what looked like a head towards the ground, it then drifted higher, ready to speak again.
"Six months ago, the Sorcerer made another raid upon the Dragon Realms, threatening to leech the life energy from the world and turn it into a shadowy counterpart. Spyro and I went back to his lair to stop him from doing that."
Upon the remark, the group quickly looked behind them. The sign of the black cloud that hung over the Dragon Village was seen clearly over the wall of the clearing, looking just as sinister and emotionless as ever. Perhaps that might have been the situation that the dragonfly was describing, they thought.
"A long and powerful struggle occurred between us two. We were both well equipped at that, but… in the end…"
Before the dragonfly could finish off its own sentence… it started to feel as if it had a frog in its throat. Shaking gently, it hovered further down towards the ground, its wings obviously hovering lower and shaking more. The sight was enough for them to refocus their attention to it, curious over it and wondering what had happened.
"The Sorcerer's magic… it was just too powerful… and then… then…"
The dragonfly ended up flinching once again, struggling to form a sentence with its own mouth. What made it feel even worse still was that a series of sobs were shown to come out from its mouth. A set of deep concern were shown upon their faces as they looked closer at it, with most of it shown on Red in particular.
Eventually, the weeps calmed down, and the dragonfly ended up raising itself into the air. It raised its head slightly, but before it could even finish its sentence off, it soon lowered its head straight down towards the ground once again, slowly and rather upsettingly.
"He completely overpowered us. Spyro and I died on the spot."
At the sound of the remark, everyone reacted with expressions of varying degrees of shock. It was then that they knew the gravity of the situation and the entire story as to why the citizens of the Dragon Village have failed to make contact with Spyro for an incredibly long period of time.
Even Red's expression changed from its stern perplexing glance to one of unease, as he too struggled to take in the reality of what had occurred. And there, he looked straight towards the battle-scarred dragonfly, his mouth itching to ask so many questions at once.
"But… how is this possible? Spyro's right here and… somehow…" Red soon started to blink as soon as his eyes were fixed on the purple dragon. "Wait a second. Where did you come from anyway?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Spyro shouted back at Red as loud as he possibly could. "Sparx, Cynder and I reside in a Dragon Temple far away from here. I never would have thought that the thunderstorm there would take me to…"
Before Spyro could even finish off his sentence, he somehow looked straight down and thought about the current situation. If he was standing there as he was, adding that to the puzzles that were around him left him to make a conclusion made as soon as he lifted his head up once more.
"What seems like a completely different dimension to this one", he concluded in a softer tone.
That remark left Red to look puzzled. What kind of idea is dimension travel anyway, he thought to himself. In spite of this discussion being a key component to how Spyro was shown there, he still looked as if he was refusing to take the entire story inside his head.
Yet, the purple dragon looked a lot more convinced. In spite of the painful back-story, he walked towards the battle-scarred dragonfly and sat down in front of it, focusing his eyes straight towards it with a glance showcasing a gratitude-filled facial expression.
"Whoever you are, thanks for your answers", he showed his appreciation for the dragonfly while lowering his head. "But is there any way that we can return home?"
"I know of a sacred place to the East of the village, but that's something you have to unlock yourself", sighed the creature. "I would have loved to help you, but I don't know any means possible to help you traverse it."
The dragonfly's reluctance was enough for Spyro to show a slight trace of desperation amongst his face. As hastily as possible, he then stood up and looked towards the creature, his back limbs starting to tremble in their place as well as his eyes showing his desire for any further assistance.
"Tell me!" he called out towards the creature heartily. "Surely you must do something!"
"I'm sorry, but I still have doubts", the dragonfly frowned. "But promise me this - if you or any of the villagers find the Shadowstone again, then you will know that we will be right here."
The dragonfly soon drifted his way closer towards Spyro, and as soon as it was a mere centimetre away from his chest, it pointed straight at the spot where his heart would reside, radiating a warm glow that soon started to trickle from there, up his head, to the tips of his feet and tail.
Spyro looked back at the creature, hoping to respond back with any form of gratitude. But before he could even open his mouth to speak, the dragonfly itself started to fade into nothing more but faint glimmers of particles among the stale air that surrounded them both.
"Trust yourself on this one. I, Sparx, have a strong belief in you."
And so, upon the last remark, the dragonfly was nothing more than several fading particles of light, drifting around like fireflies in a darkened forest. They circled Spyro, Sparx, Cynder, Ango and Red one by one, before finally fading into nothing – becoming one with the air.
Most of the group were still left in shock over having heard the truth, thanks to the incident. Sparx was no different, scratching his head with one hand, knowing that in the same place that there was another purple dragon that shared Spyro's name, there was also a dragonfly that shared his as well.
"Wait a second", Sparx almost dropped his jaw, thinking more and more about the dragonfly's final response. "This isn't coincidence, is it?"
"It could be, but if it relates to our final destiny, I'd rather find out later", Spyro replied sternly. "For now, we need to head to that place east of the village."
The request left Red to hang his head down low. "I'm sorry, but I can't carry you that far. Firstly, most places beyond the village are really foreboding these days thanks to the scars of the Sorcerer's recent actions, as shown by just heading here in the first place. And secondly, I'm going to get scolded for leaving the dojo unattended for too long!"
Before Red could even finish off his last sentence, Sparx responded with a shake of the head, clicking his tongue in rhythm. "You look like the kind of guy that doesn't mind a beating every now and again. Your walking proves just that!"
"Very funny, you talking lantern."
Bitterly, Red brought up one of his claws and almost swiped the dragonfly straight towards the ground, yet before Sparx could take damage he quickly somersaulted out of the way. Sighing, the Dragon Elder looked back towards the sky, a thick silver lining of clouds soon starting to appear overhead.
"Now let's get out of here before anything bad happens!"
Once again he brought himself into a standing pose, with his hands hanging low, his right arm still maintaining a tight grasp on his sceptre. And once again that also meant Spyro and Cynder reclaiming their positions on top of Red's shoulders, Sparx on his horns and Ango being hooked around by the Elder's left arm.
Just as quickly as he did when leaving the Dragon Dojo, Red made his run along the clearing, and as soon as he reached the maximum speed in his run, he leapt up into the sky and soared straight above the clearing again. He looked back at it as he left it, hoping that he would never have to approach that location again.
It wasn't long until Red managed to hover far away from the summit and back towards the Dragon Village. The view of all the houses and structures there once again showed themselves as a beautiful and valiant sight for the group flying upon him.
Several clouds went straight through them, and the cool breeze managed to blow straight through them. But in spite of these pleasurable experiences when hovering up into the air, not everyone felt optimistic upon the excursion, especially since when seeing the battle scarred dragonfly earlier – an incarnation of Sparx.
Spyro was left in a deep state of thought especially. He never would have guessed that there was another purple dragon that bore his name; yet what kind of connection could he have had with him? Were they one and the same? Or would it relate to his final destiny?
"We're coming in for landing", Red screeched as loud as a firework. "Take cover!"
The thoughts were soon disturbed, as the dragon looked over Red's left shoulder and saw that they were coming closer and closer towards the ground of the village. And then, they were close enough to the point that Red managed to change his orientation, lowering his feet towards the dusty ground below.
And then, he landed safely, crouching over as he did so, allowing for everyone to dismount him and look onto the nearest landmark available to them – the eastern exit from out of the village. A flatter plain was shown ahead, making it look slightly less intimidating than what the mountain range previously had.
"Okay, you're on your own", said Red as he regained his posture. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help, but I'm glad that I now know the truth behind you, Spyro."
"No problem. But I'm not going to let a vision like that stop me from doing what I can to find a way home."
Though his expression showed a slight amount of sentiment while reflecting back to the skeleton on the summit, the dragon still felt keen enough to make his way through the clearing, towards the 'sacred place' that was mentioned. He took a few steps towards the gate, yet before he even went through, he turned straight back towards the Elder with his eyes shimmering with gratitude.
"Good luck in your endeavours, Red", he spoke with a hint of encouragement.
Spyro's remark was enough for Red to smile back warmly; though his eyes showed that he might be a little bit on the tough side in the purple dragon's point of view, there was something about his previous few actions that made him feel that the Elder was a worthy associate.
The Elder was there to support him in his recovery, as well as guiding him straight up towards the summit, where he heard that he also acted as a brief guide for the incarnation of Spyro that graced the village as well. Knowing that he meant well, he gave off a confident smile and walked through the gate, taking Sparx, Ango and Cynder with him.
Silence then surrounded the entire area. All that Red could do was turn away from the gate, still smiling with a warm glare. Clutching onto his staff, anxious to spread the word of what he managed to see to the rest of the village, he made a walk towards a nearby empty market stall and raised his hands straight into the air.
"Citizens of the Dragon Village!" he boomed slowly. "Can you hear me?"
Red's shouts echoed right across the village, yet to no avail. The distant willow tree was left to blow gently in the wind, and the gravel on the floor simmered gently among his feet, almost as if they were attempting to bury them as he stood firmly into position.
"I bring news, and it's about Spyro the Dragon!"
The shout soon ended up being enough to cause a small amount of noise from one end of the village. He looked in that direction, and saw a local dragon villager look outside, focusing its attention onto Red with a sheepish expression shown right upon its face.
And then, one by one, various other civilians went outside, all of them looking equally as curious at the Elder. And as soon as they were all outside, they cautiously made their approach towards him, ready to witness exactly what he had to say to them all.
The Elder looked back at them all, perspiring slightly. Exactly how would he explain everything he just saw in terms that they would understand? Without much time to think the question over, he then raised his hand in the air and started addressing the villagers in an informative but sympathetic voice.
The pathway that started east out of the village was just as dangerous as the path up the cliff side to begin with. Red weeds still covered the ground, yet the amount of rocks that blocked their path was considerably lesser now that they were facing lower ground.
That however didn't stop the occasional cliff to end up showing in each direction, though. One in particular ended up forming a dead end among the pathway itself, leaving the group to show perplexed expressions as they looked straight towards the tougher structures. It could be too tough to climb, and too high to simply fly over safely.
"Look at the size of this cliff!" Spyro blinked towards the towering natural structure. "I don't think we can get up there alone."
"Not when I'm here!"
Confidently, Ango rushed his way towards the cliff with his arms outstretched. But in spite of his decision, Spyro quickly rushed his way towards the kid and tried to halt him in the event that he could get hurt from just charging his way towards the wall out of senselessness.
"What are you doing?" he asked the kid as he tried to claim his tail with his teeth.
Ango soon raised a hand and pushed the dragon aside, before he soon managed to reach the surface of the wall. And right there, he placed his arms straight inside two of the cracks. All that the group could do was waiting and seeing what kind of bright ideas the kid could come up with.
And just like that, a glow of white energy started to surround him, flashing from the interior of the cracks and making their way straight up towards the tips. A rumble was heard from up above, causing a few slabs of rock to fall their way straight towards them all.
The rocks continued to fall, increasing their mass with every slab that came through. Finally, it became too much for him to handle, leaving him to release his grasp; all that remained was a steep slope that made its way towards a higher level of the field area.
"We have a way through to the end of the valley", he joyfully jumped up. "We are sure to find your way home through here if we keep your mind to it."
"I'm ready to go through", Spyro boldly beamed. "Are you guys with me?"
Ango gave off a confident smile, as did Sparx. And before they could tackle the situation together, Cynder and the kid quickly ran ahead together – both as elegantly as cheetah cubs. Their footsteps were heard from the distance, clashing gently with the rocky structures beneath them.
Spyro almost followed suit, but it was then that he felt something tug his horns before he could even start making his ascent. And just like most of the other tugs that he faced before, it all ended with seeing a familiar tail drift right through the middle of his forehead.
"Sparx, what are you doing?" he questioned the dragonfly with an irritated look.
"It's the least that I can do. Riding on horns is fun now, isn't it?"
Sparx's optimistic cry was enough for Spyro to almost cringe – of all times when he had to act as a guiding light, he had to pick the worst possible time. Of all times he had to pick a time when the daylight above can illuminate the area as clearly as an oriental lantern regardless of how faint it was.
Either way, he knew he had to press on. Just as quickly as Ango made his dash through the crevice, Spyro proceeded in doing the same, allowing his feet to dig into the soft ground that formed it. It wasn't long until he managed to find himself back out into the open, back towards the rocky yet free structures that formed the plains.
A path was seen, looking almost similar as those that they faced the mountain slopes with, yet they didn't seem to be quite as steep. Several paces forward, he ended up getting a clearer and clearer view of the plains, yet… it soon got clear enough to make a sudden stop.
"Now what?" Ango asked Spyro with a twitch of his nose.
"I can see something pink in the distance!"
Calmly, Ango made his run back towards Spyro, curious over his words. And true to his word, there was what looked like a pink object, shining like a low star in the distance. The sight was enough for it to be taken in as a potent object, potentially a glowing object like a lantern or another dragonfly.
Yet the colors looked almost too familiar towards Sparx. His facial expression left him to show one with a confounding glare, trying to rub his eyes and seeing if he wasn't facing any illusions in the process. Having seen that the object didn't change in front of his eyes, he focused his head back towards the dragon with a twitch in his mouth.
"Are you sure you haven't caught my eyesight from the Sorcerer battle earlier?" the dragonfly asked, recounting the temporary pink and white canvas that covered his eyes moments before.
Spyro responded with a brisk shake of the head. "No, I'm sure it's something good. Let's just keep going!"
Determined to look closer towards the object for himself, Spyro took a lengthy stride forward before picking his running speed up once again. The sight of his optimism left Sparx to remain stationary in the air, scratching his head as he saw the dragon run off into the distance.
He focused his attention towards where Ango and Cynder both stood; only to find that both managed to run off without him. The sight of the bright pink light in the distance was all that seemed to draw their attention; bearing that in mind, Sparx had no choice but to give in and hover there himself.
No one knew exactly how important it could be in granting a direction back towards the Dragon Temple. Yet they knew that as they got closer towards it, this importance will be seen in a clear light, and so will the next step for Spyro's goal – a way to return home.
-end of chapter-