A/N: Darn it! i'm REALLY late with this. oh well can't change what's already happened. the important thing it's now here. Enoy!

Disclaimer: I Don't own the Legend of Spyro. I only own my OC's

Chapter 14: Trials of the Celestial Caves

Gneiss' POV

The Leviathan Turtle swam up aside the shore, and Tempest and I carefully moved Spyro and Jolt onto the shore. I noticed that it was quite cold here. Not quite as frigid as Dante's Freezer, but pretty close.

It was then that Spyro and Jolt began to awaken, and the Leviathan Turtle started to swim away to return wherever came from.

"Goodbye, freaky little turtle monster!" Said Sparx, "Goodbye, goodbye, thanks for everything!"

Spyro and Jolt slowly got to their feet.

"What happened?" said Spyro groggily.

"Well let's see," replied Sparx sarcastically as Spyro began to look around, "you've been hearing voices in your head that have lead us all over the place… which is good because we're having so much fun… and now we're stranded on an enchanted island and I just can't wait to see what happens next!"

It was around this time that Spyro and Jolt saw the rather familiar doorway…

"Wait," said Jolt, "I think we're here…"

"Oh, goodie," said Sparx.

"Cheer up Sparx," I said, "this means we're almost our destination. With any luck, the Chronicler will be able to give us some answers".

"…And when recently have things gone well for us?" Asked Sparx.

"Ah. I see your point, but no reason to be overly negative about it," I replied.

We continued inside, entering a series of colorfully lit chambers that seem to have been put together in a rather random configuration, seeing as there were doors positioned all over the place, including mounted sideways on the ceiling. To pass through these chambers, we had to climb up and around though oddly placed openings in the walls. Beyond this, we came out into another chamber of the grotto, where we came across a large group of statues arranged in a semicircle.

I then realized that they were the same statues from our dreams, and just like then, the statues lurched to life. We proceeded to attack and soon defeated all of them. Once the last one fell, a series of platforms descended and formed a path to another tunnel. As we crossed this courtyard, I noticed there were more of these living statues frozen within the ice below us.

We climbed up onto the balance beam and then hopped across the floating ledges to enter the next passage. Here, we noticed a pair of sensor beams being projected by two dragon statues. We carefully avoided them. After smashing another pair of living statues, we came upon some sort of Fire Elemental, which was surprisingly weak to fire. Next, we glided across a wide gap, then climbed up some ledges to battle a few more living statues.

As we continued, we came to a pair of busts that were way out of alignment. We quickly rectified that, and as a result, had to fight off more of the islands stony protectors and another Fire Elemental. We then entered the newly opened passageway, and after traveling through a short cave, we came to a door, which opened to reveal a large, crumbling courtyard. We stepped out into the courtyard, and began looking for a way to open the door on the far side. Not long after we started looking, we heard a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"Sacred Threshold… Hallowed Ground," said the voice, "Pathways Unfold… Lost is Found… Prove your Worth with Quick Desire… Ice and Earth… Electric… Fire…"

"What the?" said Sparx, "Now I'm hearing voices!" "What does that mean?" asked Spyro. "It sounds to me like some sort of riddle," said Tempest, "probably to give us a clue. What to you think Sparx?"

"How should I know?" Sparx replied, "Wait, I'm having a thought… Nope, nope, yeah… nope… never mind. I lost it. I got nothing".

"We must have missed something," said Spyro, "Come on, let's look around".

It wasn't long before we found four empty slots along the same wall as the door. They looked like they the base portion of the orb switches we'd seen in our dreams, but the orbs were missing. Each one was marked with color-coded runes, indicating which element went with which slot.

It was around this time that a new enemy made its appearance. In resembled a crystalline orb with four metallic, spidery legs. Four of these Orb Spiders appeared, each one adjacent to one of the orb slots. We took them down and then rolled the orbs they left behind into the slots. They fit perfectly.

"I guess we should power them now," said Jolt.

"I'll do it," said Spyro.

He them dashed over to the far left switch and blasted it with ice. As a result it lit up blue. Spyro then started towards the second orb, but before he could light it, the first one went out. He started over, attempting to use Dragon Time to quicken his pace, but the orbs still went out too fast. I could tell he was getting a bit frustrated with this puzzle, so I took a moment to think about the clue again.

'Prove your Worth with Quick Desire' Huh? I thought, the orb switches go out so quickly that toactivate them all in time would require Spyro to be in four… places… at once… wait a minute, that's it!

At that thought I hit upon a solution.

"Spyro!" I said, "I think we need to hit all the switches at the same time!"

Catching on, we lined up in front of the switches. Tempest moved close to the Ice switch, Spyro positioned himself in front of the Earth switch; Jolt went to the Electricity switch, and I moved to the Fire switch.

"Everyone ready? On the count of three" Asked Spyro, "one… two… three!"

With that, we each blasted our respective switches with the appropriate element. As a result, energy shot out of stone positioned behind each switch, converging at a diamond-shaped crystal above the door. Now properly charged, the locks on the door released, and it slid open slowly, revealing the hallway beyond.

Just inside this new hallway, we saw an unusual sight: A flying book. It was flapping its covers like wings, and was just hovering there until we entered the hallway for ourselves, at which point it started flying deeper inside.

"I suppose we should follow that book," said Jolt.

We did just that, and soon enough we found ourselves in a chamber that closely resembled one from the Swamp Temple, right down to what appeared to be a Pool of Visions. There were a total of six doorways in this chamber: the one we'd just entered through, one directly across from that, which was currently sealed. The other exits would be better described as swirling portals. They were colored in association with their respective elements, and there were stones carved with glowing runes in front of each one. We quickly decided that we'd take turns accompanying into the elemental passages. Up first: Fire.

Fire Seal

Spyro, Sparx, and I emerged from the portal on a small trail. Ahead of us, there were a couple more crystal switch bases. As we approached the far door, a pair of Orb spiders dropped in to see us.

We took out and slotted the resulting crystal orbs into the pedestals, then lit them up. As a result, the rune stones in front of the door shattered, and the door opened. Next we hopped across a couple ledges to avoid falling into the pool of bubbling turquoise liquid.

On the far side, we fought our way past a trio of fire golems, which upon defeat caused a barrier to lower, and then a fire elemental. In the next chamber, we had to light a series of candles to move a bunch of platforms into position, some of which were giant books.

It was a tricky series of jumps, but luckily there was a rest point every few platforms. After this, we fought off another wave of fire golems, followed by another fire elemental. Beyond here, we came upon another of the island's odd constructs: the living button. Every time we attempted to approach it, it would scuttle away. Spyro soon managed to catch it and strike it through use of his time-bending powers. Hitting this button activated a teleporter at the end of the hall. We ran over and stepped through the teleport.

What greeted us on the other side was a battle arena occupied by a fiery gladiator, who immediately raised its weapon. Spyro and I dashed in to do battle with this fire warrior, while, as usual, Sparx stayed back to 'Supervise'.

Spyro and I took turns baiting our foe, while the other used the opening provided to attack, Spyro with normal melee attacks and fire element, while I used the same, along with slashing away with the Blade of Storm's Fury (It's elements couldn't be used in this area, but it's edge was still sharp).

Before long, our foe fell, and an elevator descended from the ceiling. We hopped on to it, and it took us back up to the central chamber, where, the others were waiting. Next I sat down to take a rest while Tempest accompanied through the Ice Seal.

Ice Seal

Tempest's POV

As we stepped through the portal, Spyro, Sparx, and I came out in small cave. We were immediately faced with a pool of unhealthy-looking liquid. Spyro and I used our Polar Bomb technique to cross. In the next room, we fought off a trio of Ice Golems, followed by an Orb Spider. We defeated these, and used their remains to complete the Crystal switch.

We charged up the switch, and then carefully climbed down to the ledge below. We then used our Polar Bomb to create a path across the pool to reach the giant floating book that acted as an elevator. While riding it up, I spotted another crystal switch and blasted it.

Up top, we fought our way past several more Ice Golems, and another Orb Spider, activating the third switch, which lowered a series of giant book that acted as platforms. In the next chamber, Spyro used Dragon Time to pursue the living button. Once he smacked it, the nearby teleporter came online.

We stepped through, and found ourselves in a battle arena, facing and Icy Warrior. We took turns attacking and distracting it, and it soon fell. At this point, and elevator dropped down from the ceiling. We hopped aboard, and it ferried us back to the main chamber. Here, we swapped out again, and Gneiss accompanied Spyro on the journey through Earth Seal.

Earth Seal

Gneiss' POV

Coming out of the portal, the first thing we were faced with as a set of crystal switches arranged in a ring. Spyro stood in the middle of them and spun his Earth Flail around, opening the way forwards.

Next, we faced off against a room full of Earth Golems. They didn't last long. Once we took them out, a barrier dropped revealing a pair of those living switches. With some help from Spyro' Dragon Time, we managed to hit them both simultaneously.

We then moved down a short hall, and arrived in an open area with four more Earth Golems. We took them out along with the Orb Spiders that followed. We then activated the crystal switches. We then moved into the newly opened area, hopping down the spiked, rotating platforms. At the bottom, we found another teleporter.

We stepped through the teleporter, and found ourselves in a familiar arena, only this time the undead gladiator was glowing an earthy green. We used the same strategies as before, and our foe fell quickly. As before, when the Earth Warrior fell, an elevator arrived, and returned us to the main chamber. Once we were back in the central chamber, we swapped out again, and Spyro and Jolt entered the Electricity Seal.

Electricity Seal

Jolt's POV

As Spyro, Sparx, and I passed through the portal, we came to a room with a pool of bluish fluid in the middle, and a pair of crystal switches on the walls. We energized these switches, causing pillars to rise out of the pool, allowing us to cross. On the other side, we were met by a pair of Electric Golems. They reacted… negatively to being hit by Electric Orbs. More specifically, it caused them to be shot high into the air, then pancake against the ground.

Next we zapped another couple platforms into place then quickly hopped across. On the far side we fought another Electric Golem, then bashed down a weak door at the end of the hall. In the next room we faced a trio of Electric Golems, followed by an equal number of Orb Spiders. Once we powered up the resulting Orbs, a pair of gigantic books dropped down from somewhere above, forming a staircase.

We climbed up to the ledge above where we found three living buttons. With Spyro's time bending power, we were able to catch all three buttons, activating the teleporter in the center of the area. Together we stepped through.

The teleporter deposited us within an arena, where we faced off against an undead warrior cracking with electricity. We quickly got into a cycle of attacking it and evading its blows, and before long it fell. As soon as it did, an elevator dropped from the ceiling, and carried us back to the central chamber.

When we arrived in the central chamber, we took a moment to regroup.

"Okay," said Gneiss, "I think that was the last of those chambers. What next?"

In response, the circular pad in the center of the room lit up white, and the candles surrounding the central depression all ignited.

Spyro hurried over to the glowing pad hopefully.

"Hold on. I think we've found it," said Spyro, who then turned to speak into the light, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Hey, if there is," whispered Sparx, "could we… you know, not wake it up? Because everything we've met so far has tried to kill us".

"C'mon Sparx, where's your sense of adventure?" asked Gneiss jokingly.

Just then the mysterious voice of the Temple responded.

"Expose your heart to summon ghost… and face alone what you fear most," said the voice.

"I knew it!" Shouted Sparx, "This place wants us dead! We should've turned back when we had the chance!"

"We need to do this, Sparx," said Spyro as he stepped closer to the light.

"Yeah? Go ahead," said Sparx, "Expose your heart and see what happens".

Gneiss, Tempest and I move closer to join Spyro next to the pillar of light. Suddenly, Sparx flew up to block our path.

"Wait! Don't do it!" said Sparx desperately, "you can't leave me behind in the wacky moon temple… with all the whispering walls and the crawling thingies! They want to make part of their freak show!"

Rather than listening to Sparx, we stepped into the light, and were each warped to different areas.

Spyro's POV

The teleporter dropped me out on what appeared to be the apex of the temple: a circular glass platform high in the storm clouds surrounding the island. I was alone on the platform, but then four orbs of energy, one for each of the primary elements, appeared, spiraling up from below.

They then curved inwards and converged on the opposite side of the platform from me. In brilliant flash of light, the orbs merged and expanded into a rather recognizable form: it looked like a transparent, ethereal version of Cynder's corrupted from. It was switching colors at regular intervals to represent its component elements.

I began to attack it, switching up my own element to match its current color, and swiftly leaping back to avoid its attacks. Oddly enough, this enemy seemed incapable of using elemental attacks.

After I knocked off a good portion of its health, it tried a different tactic: Dual elements. When it turned red with yellow highlights, I blasted it with Plasma. When it turned a combination red and green, I hit it with Magma.

Before too long my foe seemed to be losing coherence, and it tried turning red and blue it the same time. It seemed to have a horrified expression on its face as it realized its mistake. That was about a second before it spontaneously exploded, leaving me alone on the platform. Shortly thereafter, I was warped back to the central chamber. There, I saw one quarter of the light on the door was lit. So, I sat down to wait.

Gneiss' POV

The teleporter dropped me off in what appeared to be a magmatic carven deep below the island. Suddenly, and earthquake shook the area. From the magma pool on the far side of the arena burst an enormous partially molten imitation of a dragon.

It immediately went on the attack, and I quickly dodged and retaliated, chipping away at it… literally. As I attacked it, parts of my foe started sloughing off. Every time this happened, it paused, shielded itself from my attacks, as it reformed the missing part.

However, every time it did this, it shrank, because it had less material left to work with. Before long, my foe had been reduced to my size. I blasted it a few more time, and my foe collapsed back into the magma pool it had come from. A couple of seconds later, I was warped back to the central chamber of the temple, where Spyro was already waiting. As I sat down next to him to wait I noticed that half of the light in the center of the door was lit.

Tempest's POV

The teleporter spat me out in midair over a body of water. Unlike most of the pools I'd seen on this island, the water was quite clean and clear. I dived into the water. It felt good across my scales, as it had been a while since I'd last gotten a good swim in.

I seemed to be alone in the area, but then out of nowhere some sort of creature formed out of the water. It immediately started attacking me. I evaded it, and countered. After several rounds of combat, it lost its stability, and vanished. I was then warped back to the central chamber of the temple, where Spyro and Gneiss were already waiting. I saw that three-quarters of the symbol on the door were lit. I then went over to the others to wait for Jolt.

Jolt's POV

I ended being sent to a stone platform with darkness all around. In front of me was a huge circular mirror, with a black and red frame. Despite sensing that this was obvious trap, I saw no other way to progress then to set it off.

I stepped up to the mirror, and examined the crystal clear image of myself. Then, within the image, shadowy clouds began to enrobe my reflection. It stared writhing as if in pain, then the darkness settled over it, leaving my reflection as a negative image. It then crouched down, and leap forwards, shattering its way through the surface of the mirror.

The battle then began. It was not an easy fight by any means, since my foe knew all my moves. When my dark reflection attempted to use elemental attacks, I used my special ability to adsorb its attacks.

I noticed that my foe was incapable of doing the same. After clashing back and forth for a short while, I managed to take down my foe. Once I did, it dissolved back into the surrounding darkness. I was then transported back to the main chamber of the temple, where I rejoined the others.

As I looked around the room again, I saw that the door to the next chamber had finally opened. Together, we headed towards this carefully sealed chamber.

"Y-you go first," said Sparx.

We stepped into this new room, and took a look around. An enormous hourglass filled with blue sand dominated the center of this chamber. The wall of the chamber we cover floor to ceiling with bookshelves, filled with books countless of varying colors and levels of dust.

This… Thisisamazing,I thought.

Sparx, being his usual self immediately started looking for something to mess with. He quickly took notice of the hourglass.

"Ooooh," said Sparx, "what's this?"

"I believe it's an hourglass, Sparx," said Gneiss.

Either Sparx didn't hear or chose to ignore him, since he continued down his own tangent.

"I think it's a magic wishing lamp," said Sparx, who then continued on in a whisper, "Hello? Genie? You in there?"

I saw Gneiss and Tempest face palming at Sparx's actions, while Spyro's attention was focused on examining the bookshelves.

"This is incredible!" said Spyro excitedly, "The entire history of the dragon race… it looks like it's all here!"

"It is. Well most of it," said a familiar voice… the same voice that had guided us to this place… the voice of the Chronicler.

Sparx, who had not hear this voice before assumed it was coming from the hourglass.

"Did you hear that? It spoke to me!" Said Sparx.

From behind a doorway behind the hourglass, a wizened gray dragon, with horns curving into a spiraling shape stepped out. He was wearing a sort of coat with pockets full of scrolls over his body, along with a blue crystal hanging around his neck.

"The records in this hall date back to beginning of time… nearly," the Chronicler said.

"The Chronicler!" said Spyro.

"Yes, young dragons. It is I… and I've been waiting for you," said the Chronicler.

Sparx took notice of the Chronicler, and decided to try to annoy him.

"Oh, well," said Sparx, "I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long. We got a little held up back there… with the, uh… well, you know… RIDDLES OF DOOM!"

With that last statement, Sparx hastily covered his mouth.

The Chronicler gave Sparx a sidelong glance, seeming to be trying to work out what to say, and then continued.

"It was a necessary evil. I had to be sure, young dragons," said the Chronicler, "I haven't had any visitors… in my solitude… for over a thousand years".

"Shocker!" said Sparx, "Try getting rid of the psychedelic dragon outside!"

"You… You've been here for that long?" I said, almost speechless.

"Oh, yes," said the Chronicler cheerfully, "But I have my books… and I watch and wait… and listen for things to come… and then add them to the books of time. You are also written of in the books, though… many pages are still left incomplete".

"We are?" said Spyro, "Can we see?"

"Of course you can. These books are yours. Look," said the Chronicler. He then turned and gestured to a nearby shelf. In response, four books flew down in front of us, and opened up.

There was much written within the book before me. My entire life story up to this point was right here before me. It matched up with what I already knew: I wasn't anyone particularly important amongst the other Arc Dragons… that was until the day that the Charge Crystal chose me. It was at the coming of age ceremony. During the ceremony, we were allowed the honor of touching the Charge Crystal. When it came my turn to do this, the Crystal reacted to my touch, glowing brightly. This was a sign that it was destined for me. This was shortly before the Dark Armies attacked Concurrent Skies.

After taking this time to remember, I joined the others who had all gathered around Spyro's book, which was Purple with Gold trim.

The first image I saw when I looked at Spyro's book was an image of none other then the Ape King, Gaul.

"You've seen this creature before," said the Chronicler.

"Why is he in my book?" asked Spyro.

"It was Gaul who lead the raid the night of you birth," said the Chronicler, "when Ignitus rescued your egg…"

"…And when they took Cynder's," added Spyro sadly.

"Yes," said the Chronicler, "that was… most unfortunate".

He then tuned the page showing us Sparx's baby picture.

"Oh! And look, here is little Sparx," said the Chronicler mischievously.

"He-Hey!" Stuttered Sparx, "N-nobody needs to see that… ever".

"Hey it's your own fault of yelling at him earlier," said Tempest.

Spyro seemed to have something else on his mind.

"Wait," said Spyro, "can these books tell the future?"

"In part," said the Chronicler hesitantly, "Though, just glimpses of the future really…"

"Then I want to know what will happen to Cynder," said Spyro.

"Spyro," said the Chronicler, "you don't und…"

"Please!" interrupted Spyro, "I must know!"

"Very well," said the Chronicler, "but hers is a darker tale".

With a quick gesture, he returned our books to the shelves, and pulled out a black one.

"Young dragons, you must understand," said the Chronicler, "when she was taken by Gaul, she was poisoned and corrupted, made to do the Dark Master's bidding. Her entire life has been spent in shadow. She knows no other way. And when the Dark Master returns… she will concede. No one can resist the temptation… not even the strongest among us".

"I don't believe that!" said Spyro.

"Spyro, let me tell you another story," said the Chronicler.

"Oooh, oooh, oooh! Can I pick the story this time?" said Sparx.

The Chronicler then pulled out yet another book. This one opened to show an image of a small dragon surrounded by a circle of elders.

"There was once a dragon, long ago, whose raw power was far greater then anyone had ever seen or… could imagine," said the Chronicler, "At first he mastered Fire… which was odd because he was not a fire dragon. Then came Ice and Wind… and other abilities none thought possible. Is this story sounding familiar?"

Spyro's eyes went wide as he realized it sounded almost exactly like his own story.

"It was a purple dragon," said Spyro, "like me".

The Chronicler nodded in conformation.

"The first purple dragon," said the Chronicler, "in the beginning, he was encouraged… and the secrets of elemental mastery were passed onto him willingly by the elders. He did many great things within his time and was regarded as a hero by many… but that all changed one fateful day. A dark entity from beyond the farthest skies came to the realms… and corrupted this young dragon. His power, which knew no bounds, turned to malevolent purposes. He consumed… everything. When the elders were unable to stop him, he was cast into exile. And from his new fortress within the mountain, he built an army… not of dragons, but of apes… and taught them to artificially harness the power of the gems… our life force".

"You're talking about the Dark Master," said Jolt.

"Yes," said the Chronicler, "And in his dark seclusion, the sheer weight of his malice cracked the very foundations of the mountain, splitting the earth, creating a pit of despair… where the lost souls of the world could reside".

"The Well of Souls!" said Tempest.

"Created by the very beast who now seeks to escape it," Said the Chronicler.

All of us were taken aback by this new information, and Spyro came up with a new concern.

"B-but you said the eclipse would only allow the spirits to escape for a short while!" said Spyro.

"Yes," said the Chronicler, "But if there was ever a spirit powerful enough…"

"Then how do we stop it?" I asked.

"There is no stopping it," said the Chronicler, "It has been written".

"Then why have you called us here?" asked Tempest, "I don't understand".

"To ride out this storm," said the Chronicler, "where you'll be safe… and live to fight another day".

I could see that this shocked everyone, and we were all getting ourselves whipped up by his words, except for Sparx that is.

"Well," said Sparx, "that sounds pretty good".

"What about the others?" asked Gneiss, "what about their safety?"

"I… fear the worst for the others," said the Chronicler.

"And Cynder?" asked Spyro, "Am we supposed to sit here and do nothing? While she joins THEM?"

"Let me field that that one… YES!" Said Sparx.

"NO! You keep talking about choosing a path," said Spyro, "But what about Cynder? She was never given a choice. We have to try… we're going and you can't stop me".

"Then… I won't" said the Chronicler calmly as sitting down, "Young dragons, I've waited here far too long to watch you leave here stricken with grief and doubt. You'll need a clear mind a pure heart to withstand the evil that consumes that place. However, I can only allow one of your companions to accompany you to that dark place".

"What?" said Spyro, "why?"

"It's… difficult to explain," said the Chronicler hesitantly.

I thought about what logic the Chronicler was using for this decision, and soon came to a realization.

"You want to cover all your bases," I said.

"What do you mean Jolt?" asked Gneiss.

"He wants to have another plan ready in case whoever ends up going to the Well of Souls is unable to make it back for whatever reason. By having two of us stay behind, he's making sure there's someone with the power to fight the Dark Master available. Spyro I think I should go with you to the Well of Souls. I'm the one with the fewest attachments out in the world. Gneiss, you and Tempest both have your respective peoples to lead. Me? Outside of you and the Guardians I don't have anyone waiting for me… all the remaining Arc Dragons are hidden away in the Shattered Vale, and I don't even really know any of them".

Tempest and Gneiss were shocked and my sudden decision. But seemed to agree, albeit not happily.

"I… you… I guess you're right, Jolt," said Gneiss, "I want you to take the Blade of Storm's Fury with you. I have a feeling you'll need it".

With that, Gneiss reached back, and grabbed the sword and gave it to me. I placed into my back, where it settled into place.

"Jolt, be careful out there," said Tempest, "and come back safely".

I moved to stand next to Spyro, while he turned to address the Chronicler again.

"I know this is not the path you would choose for us," said Spyro, "But we have to walk our own path… and do what we know is right".

"So be it, young dragons," said the Chronicler, "I will show you the way. But you must hurry. The dark hour of the eclipse is near… and haste will be your only ally".

"Alright then," said Sparx, "well… uh, just so I know why we died, the plan is to wander into the land of darkness and face an army of evil creatures that want to kill us so that we can try and rescue another evil creature that has already tried to KILL US? I'm pumped! Let's… let's do this!"

At this point the Chronicler asked us to stand back. We did so, and watched in amazement as the floor slid open, and the hourglass lifted upwards towards to ceiling, revealing a hidden tunnel underneath. Spyro, Sparx and I flew down the tunnel… towards the darkness that awaited somewhere ahead.

A/N: and there we are! Spro Jolt, and Sparx are headed to the Mountain of Malefor (AKA the Well of Souls). Next time: the race to save Cynder from the darkeness. See you then!