I was lying on something hard and gritty, and it felt more irritating than it should have. My scales must have been pretty damn raw, because it felt like whatever-it-was was rubbing against my wing membranes, though it was rubbing against my rear legs, belly and forelegs. Why wasn't it rubbing my tail? I never sleep with my tail off the ground. That would just be terribly awkward.

Blinking dazedly, but closing my eyes quickly as they were assaulted by far too much light, I tried to move my tail from side to side. Nothing! I couldn't find it; what the hell could have happened? I knew enough that about losing limbs that I knew if they were gone you still felt like they were there, but there was nothing, not a hint that it had ever been there in the first place!

When I moved one foreleg, something smooth slid between it and the gritty substance, like an armguard in an armor set, but much thinner. I moved myself around slightly and discovered the material stretched up my forelegs and around the front half of my body, excluding my neck. Another piece covered my abdomen and back legs, reaching down to my ankles.

Something else bounced around my head and neck, like a bundle of spider's silk or some-such. Completely bizarre. Speaking of spider's silk, I was relieved to feel my bag still resting as it should, though the corner was trapped under me.

I tried to blink my eyes open again, squinting until they could readjust, which took much longer than it should have. I tried to lift my head, only to find I couldn't. I could barely even turn my head! It was already sideways on the gritty stuff, which, from looking, I now knew was sand. My neck refused to move the way it should; it almost felt as though it was stiffer and shorter than it should have been, but that was ridiculous.

Something long and stringy was obstructing some of my vision as well, and I couldn't flick my head to get rid of it. It bounced and jerked, but as the ends seemed to be tied to me, it wouldn't come off.

…The hell?

Gathering my paws beneath me, I pushed down to lift myself from the ground, but my hindquarters came up much higher than they should, and my back legs weren't bending like they should either. I quickly dropped back down, not wanting to wave my butt in the air when my tail had mysteriously vanished. Even with this new thin armor or whatever it was, it was distinctly embarrassing.

I looked down at my forelegs. At least they felt almost normal, but they were pink! And not even close to my pink – they were a pale mix of tan and pink, much lighter than the shade that covered my belly and membranes. I had two extra toes on each forepaw, and every one of them was longer and thinner than it should have been. They almost looked like ape's hands, only furless. I couldn't find a single scale anywhere on my forelegs.

So my tail and scales were gone, I was covered in the thinnest, most useless armor of all time, and I had five, nearly clawless, talons, certainly useless in combat.

I thought my life had been confusing and chaotic enough already!

If my hands were like an ape, did that make the rest of my body like one as well? I shuddered at the thought, but tried sitting down more like one of them would, back legs stretched forward. It was strange not to have to use my forelegs – or were they called arms, like Sparx's?

Sparx, Ignitus, Kaboa, Myst, what happened to them? Did the guardians fall into the dark like I did? Was everyone turned into whatever I am now?

My thoughts were dazed and confused, flitting from one thing to another like a mentally challenged butterfly. What was I? Was I really some kind of ape? Where was everyone? Where am I?What am I?

I didn't have much more time to ponder, because a voice called out to me.

~Kairi~

Kairi hadn't seen this girl before on the island. Usually the only regular visitors to this place were herself, her closest friends Sora and Riku, and three others. The girl looked so utterly lost, staring at her own hands like they were something foreign. Her medium-length, ebony hair was ruffled and unkempt, like she hadn't brushed it after waking, and the front of her black, long-sleeve shirt was covered in damp sand.

Who wears a long sleeve shirt and long pants on a tropical island? Particularly black!

The hem and sleeves of her long-sleeved hoodie bore a jagged zigzag of pink, and higher up was pink as well – a vest on top of a long-sleeved shirt on a hot tropical island? The ends of the pant-legs broke into similar pink and, on the sides of the shoulders and pants as well as the back of the hoodie, silver marks were emblazoned in the deep black material.

Stepping forward slightly nervously, she called, "Hello? Did you fall down?"

She couldn't think of any other way the girl could have become so utterly covered in sand.

The girl jerked, whipping her head around so fast she lost balance and fell over. Kairi covered her mouth to hide her smile, walking up to the strange girl, "Sorry I startled you."

The girl looked up at her, blinking, "You look like I do… What are we?"

Kairi blinked, kneeling down to be closer to eye-level with the girl, "What do you mean 'what are we'? Don't you know?"

The girl scrambled back to an awkward sitting position, gazing at her with the brightest green eyes she'd ever seen, sparkling like emeralds, "I don't know, are we some kind of…ape?"

The girl gritted her teeth when she said that, shivering slightly.

Kairi just looked at her, grin wavering when she realized it was far from a joke, "You mean, like monkeys? Not exactly… Why don't you know?"

She didn't know what else to say. Could this girl be from another world like her? That still didn't explain why she was looking at Kairi like she'd never seen another human before.

The strange girl looked at her hands, not like she was embarrassed, but like she was studying them to try and figure out what they were, "I don't know, I'm not supposed to be like this."

~Cynder~

The girl was looking at me like I'd grown an extra tail or something. Actually, I wouldn't have minded that, as I actually needed one. I understand thinking it's weird I don't know my own species, but why was she nervous? I was trying to be polite.

I didn't know what I was and I needed this person's help. For all I knew she was dangerous somehow, the seeming helplessness deceptive. As I had no idea how, or even if, it was possible to fight in this body, I didn't want to tick anything off just yet. I needed things figured out as soon as possible so that I could figure out what happened to the others.

The apelike thing looked utterly lost, so I tried to change the subject. Looking around, the first thing that caught my eye was the strange armor that covered me. Poking it tentatively with one talon – er, finger, if my paws were like Sparx's, or an ape's – I asked, "What is this stuff? Some kind of armor?"

This seemed to baffle the girl even more. It was a simple enough question! What could possibly be confusing about that? Was this race dumb by nature, or was this one just thicker than most? I found myself biting the lower part of my mouth as I tried to think of something else to say. Were my teeth sharp as they should have been, I'd have left the top of my lower jaw bloody, but they were blunt and useless.

At least I hadn't been turned into something that couldn't talk.

"Um," I tried again, "Do you know how to get to the dragon temple from here?"

Another confused stare. Great. Why?What the hell did I do to deserve all this crap?

Spyro was likely dead; Sparx as well. I'd told him to fly high as he could to get away from all the shadow-things. I hadn't even seen Ignitus or the other guardians since before everything went haywire. Myst, my baby, was she gone? She couldn't be! I told myself over and over I'd look after her!

Something was trickling from my eyes, and I reached one 'hand' up to pat my cheek, so soft now. It was wet. I guess I could cry, whatever I was. I felt like an idiot. I never cried! Not in front of some, some, thing I barely knew!

But I was crying and, try as I would, it wouldn't stop. The creature that was like me didn't seem to know what to do.

~Kairi~

The strange girl was crying, not dramatically or anything, but her tears still fell and her eyes were lost, looking to something or somewhere else. Kairi just stared for a moment, before tentatively reaching out a hand and placing it on her shoulder. She seemed about her age, possibly a little younger.

"I don't know how, but I think you might come from a different world. I did too, but I can't remember… Most of what you're saying doesn't make sense here."

She wasn't really sure what else to say. Most of what the girl said still didn't make sense with that explanation, but it was the best she could come up with.

The girl shook her head. Her cheeks were slightly red with embarrassment from crying in front of a stranger, "This isn't Convexity or the Dark Realms… We've gotta be somewhere in the Dragon Realms, but I've never been here before."

Kairi blinked again. Dragon Realms? "Is that the name of your world?"

"It's the name of this world!" the other girl said stubbornly, "The only worlds are the Dragon Realms and Convexity, which links to the Dark Realms. And both of those aren't exactly suitable for life! The temple has to be somewhere!"

~Cynder~

It wasn't like me to deny the obvious, but every fiber of my being was screaming that this was impossible. My life was already a large hell-hole. But still, I'd give anything to be back in it. I had friends, I had a beautiful temple where I lived and, for that moment at least, it had been peaceful. Now everything I knew was suddenly gone, torn from me.

What did I have left anymore? It was all gone. I only had to hope I could find my friends; the last fragments of a life that was probably gone for good. Of course I couldn't help but cry.

However much I preached that to myself, I still felt weak and helpless. This body was weak, and so was I in it.

It took me far too long to stop crying, but I knew from experience I had to get it off my chest. I wouldn't be able to function until I did, and at least Sparx or Myst weren't here to see my weakness.

Heh. Small comfort. I'd give anything for the two of them to be here; and Spyro, too, I suppose.

Finally I looked at the girl and brought my much-too-long back feet under me, trying to stand like she was, erect. How could anything stand like this? My knees wobbled as I stood. They were weaker than they should be, and I was way too high in the air! I estimated I'd have been almost level to Ignitus's shoulder, at least twice the height I was supposed to be.

Crap. I was falling forward, and instinctually forced my forepaws – or hands – down and managed to catch myself, bending my elbows slightly to take the force. At least they bent right! That made, what, two of my limbs? Joy.

The girl helped me back up, still blinking. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot… Hi! I'm Kairi, what's your name?"

I blinked. This girl was so bizarre… "Cynder…"

She looked bemused at my name. Maybe it was uncommon here?

"Well, Cynder," she said, still looking awkward, "My friends and I are making a raft to try and see other worlds! Maybe if you come with us, we could find what you're looking for as well!"

I blinked. That was unexpected, and I had no idea what a "raft" could be, but I didn't have any other way of getting over water, my wings conspicuously gone. I had to find a way to change back, for the sake of flying if nothing else.

"I guess I'll come…" What the hell could go any more wrong than it already had?

As I was to find out all too soon: everything.

I followed the new creature, Kairi, slowly. I kept losing balance. And I only had the reflexes to catch myself when falling forward; any other time she had to grab my arm to keep me upright. I should have been grateful, but I was too busy being humiliated.

Damn these legs!

"So," I grumbled after my fifth, or was it sixth, almost fall, "If this place isn't the Dragon Realms, where are we?"

"This world's called Destiny Islands. It's really beautiful! I think you'll like it here."

I had to resist shooting the naïve girl a glare, "I care about who I need to look for, not where I am."

That said, the place really was incredible: A small island, waves lapping playfully on the white-sand shore, palm trees, and a gentle wind whistling through them. It reminded me of the islands I'd flown over to get to Dante's Freezer, Tall Plains and Munitions Forge. But anyone that had any contact whatsoever with dragons didn't build wooden houses, for obvious reasons.

For a second I thought I'd need to be careful myself, then promptly realized I almost definitely didn't have my fire anymore. Only dragons could harness the elements, at least, not unnaturally. I had nothing anymore. Claws, teeth, blades, horns, wings, and my friends… All gone…

I have nothing left…

Until I find them.

And be it on my last breath, I swear that I will.