Chapter 5

Leon once again found himself at the top of the tower in Warfang. "You're a sorry excuse for a human…do you know that?" Sin said as he sat in his throne of dragon bones. Leon turned around, but said nothing to the entity. Sin's dark dragons kept their white glowing eyes on Leon. "Do you really think that this is going to absolve you?" Sin asked. Leon kept silent, "Hmm…not talkative today, eh…that's fine…we both know what lies between you and the tall plains…the only question is…what will happen when you get there…will you have the strength to push on…will you just give up and wait for death…or, best case scenario…will you finally get your damn head straight about the dragons?" Again, Leon said nothing. "Well, whatever the case…I'll be there to see." Sin stated. "Now, be gone…I have work to do." The tower began fading away until Leon was surrounded by darkness.

Leon awoke and found that he was still in the air. "It's about time you woke up." Cynder stated. Leon looked out at the slowly setting sun.

"Where are those camping spots?" Spyro asked.

Leon squinted at his surrounding to get a clue of where they were. The forest was steadily becoming rockier as they neared the mountains. "There." He pointed towards a small rock formation that featured a plateau that would shield them from any wandering eyes on the forest floor.

Spyro and Cynder placed Leon on the rocky cliff, "Um, a little help here." Charlotte said. Her and Fang were hovering over the cliff with Athena, who was still fast asleep. "She sleeps like a rock."

"Here, hand her over." Leon held out his arms and the dragons gently laid the cheetah into them.

"Alright, we'll take care of setting up the camp tonight since we can move up and down this rock easier than you and Athena." Spyro stated.

"Yeah, good idea." Leon said.

"I can take care of them." Sparx stated.

"I'm sure you can." Cynder said, sarcastically.

"Okay, Flare, you and…" Spyro gave orders to the vanguards and the dragons dispersed, leaving Leon, Sparx and Athena on the plateau.

"Wow, it's cold up here." Sparx stated.

"Well, I've got a treat for you guys." Leon stated.

"Like what?"

"You'll see." Leon said, "When the others get back take them straight through there." Leon indicated with his head towards a small crevice in the rock face. "We'll be waiting."

"Why can't I go, and you stay here and wait for the others?"

"Okay, here, take Athena."

"…I'll just wait here."

"Good man." Leon stated before carrying the cheetah through the small opening in the rocks. He made sure that he did not bump the cheetah's head against the rocks. After maneuvering through the thin passage he felt the temperature rise and he saw what he was looking for. Tall rocks surrounded a hot spring that he had discovered during one of his explorations. The steam from the water created a faint mist that obscured the surrounding rocks. Leon gently set Athena on the ground near the spring. "I'm probably going to get in trouble for this." Leon thought to himself before removing his tunic. He looked at the cheetah before turning his attention to the spring. He took two steps before leaping into the steaming water. The resulting splash soaked Athena, and the cheetah awoke with a start.

"Hey, what the hell!" Athena yelled.

"Oh, your awake." Leon said, innocently, as he rested his head in his arms on the edge of the water

"Go ahead, dig your grave deeper." Athena said, spitefully, "Where are the others?"

"Hunting…we're camping just outside this place."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"All day." Leon stated, "Come join me...the water's nice and warm."

"Well…I can't say 'no' to that." Athena stated.

Spyro and Cynder took the job of collecting wood for a fire. While Cynder collected sticks and placed them into her life-mate's makeshift satchel, Spyro told her of Ignitus' broken warning, "I just wonder what could be keeping him from reaching us." Spyro said.

"I don't know." Cynder said, "The dark master maybe?"

"In any case, Ignitus was trying to tell me something important…and I hope that we find out what it was before it comes to pass."

"Great, as if we didn't have enough to worry about." Cynder said before picking up another stick.

"But just think…we're so close now…to a time of peace." Spyro stated. Cynder muffled something through the twig in her mouth. "Heh…what was that?"

Cynder placed the stick into Spyro's satchel, "I said 'I know, it'll be great'."

"Oh…yeah, it will be."

"And the best part…is that I get to spend it with you." Cynder said before licking Spyro lovingly on the snout.

"I love you." Spyro said.

"I love you, too." Cynder stated, "Now come on, that should be enough wood." Spyro nodded and the two of them took off, back towards the plateau.

Charlotte, Crystal, Flare, and Fang eyed the herd of sheep just a few feet away from the bushes they were crouched in. Flare looked worriedly at Crystal; she had insisted on coming along despite her mate insisting that she needed more time to recover. Fang tapped Charlotte on the leg and whispered, "Ladies first."

"Oh, what a gentleman." Charlotte whispered, sarcastically. She then studied the closest of the sheep before leaping out with a snarl and clamping her jaws around the sheep's neck. The rest of the vanguard leapt out as well and targeted their own prey. Fang jumped onto the back of another sheep and drove his tailblade deep into its side. Flare leapt towards another sheep, but coughed violently mid-leap. He was too distracted to notice that the sheep had turned its hind legs towards the dragon. The fire breather yelped as the sheep kicked him hard in the snout, sending him skidding across the ground. The sheep was preparing to escape, but Crystal jumped onto it's back and clamped her jaws around its neck. The sheep thrashed around wildly until Crystal jerked her head, breaking the animal's spine and driving it to the ground.

"Flare, you okay?" Fang asked, running towards the fallen fire breather.

Flare slowly rose to his feet, and Charlotte gasped when he spat out a glob of blood. Flare then felt around the inside of his mouth, "Dammit, I lost a fang."

"Oh thank the ancestors." Charlotte breathed in relief, "I though you had ruptured something."

"Here let me see." Crystal said. Flare obliged and opened his mouth as wide as he could, "Wow, that's some bad breath." Crystal joked.

"Oh, ha ha." Flare said, sarcastically.

Crystal's eyes fell upon a single bleeding space near the back of her mate's jawline. "Looks like that sheep got you good." Crystal observed, "This may be a little cold." Crystal then used her ice breath to cap off the bleeding gum. Flare shivered a little as he closed his mouth.

"Thanks." Flare said.

"No problem."

"Okay, let's get back to the other's." Fang said.

The other vanguards waited on the plateau for Flare's group. "Hey guys." Twitch said as the group landed near the fire with their catch.

"Any trouble?" Spyro asked.

"Not much." Flare stated.

"Besides the fact that Flare got his ass kicked by a sheep." Fang chided.

"I was distracted."

Charlotte giggled, "That cold is going to kill you someday."

"Uh…yeah." Flare said in a somewhat dismal tone.

"Flare, you okay?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine." Flare stated.

"Alright Sparx," Cynder began, "everyone's here, now where is Athena and my father?"

"Follow me." Sparx stated. The dragonfly led the dragons through the small crevice that Leon had shown him. The dragons maneuvered through the tight space until they came to the hot spring. Athena sat with her head resting on Leon's shoulder.

"Oh wow…" Cynder gasped.

"Hey there, guys." Athena said.

"I see you two have been enjoying your time off." Spyro stated.

"I wanted to show you all this place." Leon said.

"Where are we?" Charlotte asked.

"I had discovered this place some time ago…the thermals that run under this mountain lead to a long-dead volcano."

"Come join us." Athena said. Cynder tested the water with her paw before lowering herself into the spring, followed by the rest of the vanguards.

Ah…that's much better." Twitch said as he sat between Zephyr and Athena. While he relaxed, he accidentally brushed Athena's bare thigh with his tail, and the cheetah jumped in surprise. "Oops, sorry."

"You're lucky I believe it was an accident." Athena stated.

"Well, maybe you should keep your clothes on while we're not in private." Leon stated.

"And walk around in wet armor, I don't think so."

"I kinda agree with Athena on that one." Charlotte said.

"You guys don't even wear clothing unless it's a special occasion." Leon stated with a chuckle.

"Good point." Charlotte said, giggling.

"So…how much farther is this shortcut of yours?" Spyro asked.

Leon's smile faded in an instant. He looked up at the sky and sighed, "Too close…we should reach it by sundown tomorrow."

"Good…is there a safe place to rest?"

Leon had not considered the thought of resting; he had hoped to make it through his shortcut as fast as possible, but he also knew that the dragons needed their sleep, "Yes…but we won't be able to hunt for food, so gorge yourselves tonight."

"Sounds good." Spyro said, "In that case, we should probably go eat before the sheep spoil."

The vanguards nodded in agreement. "Go ahead, we'll be right behind you." Athena said. The dragons removed themselves from the spring and returned to the campsite. They butchered and cooked the sheep meat and the scent made their mouths water. Leon and Athena emerged from the crevasse about five minutes after the meat had finished cooking. The vanguards didn't have any trouble tearing through the meat, and the food was devoured within fifteen minutes.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." Spyro said.

"Yeah, definitely." Twitch said, yawning. The vanguards lay down with their usual bedmates.

Cynder lay next to Spyro and kissed him on the snout. "I love you." Spyro said.

"I love too." Cynder said as she laid her head down and quickly fell asleep. It wasn't long until the other vanguards succumbed to their exhaustion as well.

"This way." Gorrak said to the apes that trailed behind him. The apes were rapidly scaling the mountain to get a better view of the range.

"Sir, how much farther is it?" One ape asked.

"Is that complaining I hear?" Gorrak asked.

"N-no sir." The ape quickly stuttered.

"Good." Gorrak said. When the apes had finally reached the peak, several of them collapsed from exhaustion. Gorrak couldn't blame them; they had traveled for two days straight with little to no rest, and the lack of sleep was getting to him as well. "We sleep here." He heard several sighs of relief. "Don't get too relaxed, we leave first thing in the morning."

The next day, the vanguards had finally reached the mountain range. They landed near the foot of the tall mountain chain the served as the final barrier between Avalar and the shadowlands. The constant downdraft prevented any possible chance of flight. Spyro remembered his first trip to the floating islands. He had, by some miracle, avoided the winds completely, but now, the only well known way to reach the plains was by climbing, and Spyro hoped that Leon's shortcut had as little climbing as possible. "Which way?" Spyro asked.

"This way." Leon said, pointing towards a small opening in the rocks. Leon led the dragons through the opening where they came to a wooded area of the mountains. They stayed close to the rock wall as the trudged through the snow. It was then that they came to a cave and the Athena and the dragons felt a cold chill run down their spines. They knew they were close to something, but they weren't sure what.

"Um…in there?" Twitch asked as he began convulsing wildly.

"Yes." Leon stated, plainly.

"Alright, we don't have any time to waste." Spyro stated. With that the vanguards pushed forward into the darkness.

"I can't see anything." Cynder stated.

"Hold on." Leon grabbed his javelin and charged it with convexity. The crystal grew brighter and cast a purple light that illuminated the cave.

A shrill scream caught the vanguards attention, "Zephyr, what's wrong!" Twitch asked.

"L-look." Zephyr pointed with her tail towards a hole in the rocks. Inside the hole, six glowing red eyes stared at the vanguards. Leon leaned down and let his javelin illuminate the hole, revealing a black spider that was only a few inches smaller than the adolescent dragons.

"It's only a cave spider." Leon stated, "We're far too big for it to eat."

"It's still creepy." Zephyr stated.

"Don't bother it, and it won't bother you." Leon stated, rising to his feet, "Come…let's move forward."

The vanguards continued to move through the cave, passing more of the spider holes along the way. After about twenty minutes of trudging through the darkness, a faint purple light in the distance caught their attention. Leon put away his javelin as they began passing large dark crystals that cast a bright purple light. It was then that, much to the vanguards surprise, Leon stopped dead in his tracks. "What's wrong?" Spyro asked.

"I…I can't do this." Leon stuttered.

"Why not?"

"I just…can't."

"Hey," Athena said in a soothing tone as she grabbed his hand, "it's okay…we'll do it together."

Leon took a few deep breaths before nodding his head. The vanguards continued pushing forward and their eyes widened as the cave opened up into a large chamber where the found the petrified remains of a large city. Dark crystals protruded out of the ceilings and walls, casting an eerie purple light over the vast underground city. "No way." Twitch gaped as they came to a stop just outside the first row of buildings.

"Where are we?" Crystal asked.

Cynder noticed an old rusted shield and, as she moved closer, she could make out the symbol on the front of it. It was a symbol that she had only seen on a two objects, both of which belongs to Leon; a lone wolf with the rising sun at its back. Cynder turned and looked at the human, "Dad…is this…"

Leon nodded before uttering a single word, "Home."