OFF: Well, this is it. The epilogue. I had a blast writing this fic. I hope you liked the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Have a nice day everyone!

Feel free to review, comment, or even make suggestions for new fics, by the way. I really don't mind at all!


Epilogue: Fate...
History is built out of the Blood and Bravery of the Living and Departed alike. May it be burden or ally, Fate is ever vigilant... and quick to fight back when opposed.


The Guardians all stood on the Dragon Temple's balcony, looking up into the skies. Silently, the sword-shaped metal construction continued to float high in the clouds, pointed toward the world, its tip glowing in an ominous green light...

"What is that... thing?" asked Cyril, breaking the silence.

"Judging from the appearance, it is a large mechanical structure of sorts. However, I have absolutely no idea how it can be floating there or what its significance might be. I am truly confused by this twist of fate," said Volteer, every bit as confused as all the others.

This gigantic sword... an artificial structure most obviously. Ignitus had a bad feeling deep in his heart. This was what he had seen in the Pool of Visions, the Final Prophecy...

When the world is covered in darkness, when the last dragons breathe their last, a single sword, high above the earth, high above the clouds, high above the corrupted, darkened Realm.

Then, a single dragon... the Dragon of Prophecy.

And then, in the name of the Ancestors, a purifying beam of light and then... nothing.

The Last Dragon will purify the Realm one last time, bringing an end to the ages as the darkness triumphs. The end of the world. The final moment. The apocalypse...

He had never thought he would live to see it. No one could fathom such a thing. One cannot plan for death... even less for the end of all things.

A nameless fear rose within him and worry gripped his heart. What had happened to Spyro, to Cynder, to Sparx? Are they well? Did they succeed?... Are they still alive?

"I do not know for sure... but what I know is that this vision is a bad omen. The Final Prophecy..." he trailed off.

Volteer slowly lowered his head. "Most terrible, indeed! If that thing truly is the portent of the end of the world, then it might spell doom for all things!"

Mixed reactions...

Terrador remained calm while Cyril, him, glared at Volteer, his eyes showing annoyance. "Oh please! Don't tell me you hadn't seen THAT coming! The Dark Master's imminent return, the Dark Armies' triumph, the annihilation of our civilization, the slaughter of nearly the entire next generation..."

Noticing the glares that the red and yellow dragons were giving to Cyril, Terrador stepped forward.

"Ignitus, Volteer. We have done our best but ultimately, we have failed. The age of dragons is over. All we can do is accept our fate. The Ancestors... await our souls..."

"But what about young Spyro? And Cynder? And Astrial?" replied the yellow dragon quickly, as if panicking.

The green dragon closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. "May the Ancestors have mercy upon their souls..."

The blue dragon smirked seeing the situation and turned to Ignitus. "You shouldn't have sent them, Ignitus. They are nothing but common hatchlings! Did you truly expect them to make a difference? PAH!"

"Do not say such things, Cyril! Do not say such things!" said Volteer surprisingly slowly as he shook his head, anger beginning to creep slowly but surely in his voice.

BOOOOM!!!

All four dragons were startled and then, all of their eyes widened as they saw it in the sky, a large fireball where the Heaven's Sword used to be...

"What... how... why..." mumbled Volteer.

And then, as he stared at the sphere, a realization came to the red Guardian.

The Final Prophecy was meant to be completed by the Last Dragon and involved a beam of light, not the structure exploding. This could only mean that...

"I must... check something," said the red dragon as he spreaded his wings, leaving the other three behind.

He had seen a purple trail, like an otherworldly comet in the forest of mushrooms in the distance...


"Spyro... wake up, Spyro."

Startled, the purple dragon hatchling opened his eyes quickly, rolling back on his paws only to be greeted by Cynder and Sparx, the both of them smiling.

"We're... we're alive?" asked Spyro, still a bit shaken from that last battle.

"Yep! We finally did it, Spyro! We've beaten all of the bad guys and saved the world... for real, this time! We're heroes!" announced Sparx, overjoyed.

The purple dragon looked into the skies. Rain? No... those trails in the horizon looked more like falling meteors.

...the debris of the Heaven's Sword.

It was also then that he finally noticed that the collar and bracelets on Cynder were gone. Likewise, he had reverted to his regular purple and yellow color scheme, the dark flames gone. Back to normal...

"Well, I guess you must have used up all of your dark power thingy since you're back to normal," continued Sparx.

And then, Cynder shook her head, smiling sadly. "No. The power is drained... but it's still there. I can still feel it within myself and inside of Spyro too. It's a part of us now... we truly are dark dragons..."

"Aw nuts! I thought we were rid of that," whined Sparx, throwing his arms up in frustration, which brought a smile to the hatchling.

"Well, Sparx! I don't know about you but I don't feel like causing the world trouble! You're already enough trouble all on your own!" mocked the male hatchling, smirking.

"HEY! Take that back, mister 'I spew out dark stuff outta my mouth'!" snapped back the dragonfly, visibly upset.

The dragoness brought her paw to her mouth, suppressing a giggle.

"Hmph hmph! Heehee! Well!" she said, turning to Spyro. "I'm sure glad that power didn't change you, Spyro."

Spyro raised an eyebrow, beating his wings once, as if slightly upset. "What are you talking about? Of course it changed me!"

Sparx and Cynder stood there, silent for a moment, confusion and worry rising...

"I'm much cooler now!" finished Spyro proudly.

"Why you little..." began the dragonfly while Cynder smiled anew.

"I guess you truly did change, after all!" she said, smiling too.

And then, everyone laughed.

They were alive, the world was saved, life was good...

At long last, the nightmare is over, the journey is finished, the task is completed.

"Heh! Can't wait to see the Guardians' faces when we'll come back to them! We'll have such a story to tell, oh yeah!" said the dragonfly.

"To say the least! Let's go," replied the purple dragon as he begun to walk back toward the temple.

"Right behind you, chief!" said Sparx, following closely.

"I'm with you, Spyro," added Cynder, walking at his side.

And with that said, the three begun to make their way back toward the temple...

A moment of peace. It felt so strange, walking through the place without the fear of the Dark Ones. With their masters gone, the Dark Ones had no more reason to attack the area, Spyro guessed...

"So, how much time have I spent unconscious?" asked the purple dragon as they walked, breaking the silence.

"A good hour or so. You were pretty exhausted but then, so were we. That final battle was truly something..." replied the dragoness.

Silence.

As he walked, the purple dragon gazed upon the place that was his home. It was strange that he had never noticed how beautiful the forest of mushrooms truly was. A peaceful, mystical place, magic floating through the air, the air warmth. Even in the darkness of this dawn before the sun, the place retained its serenity and beauty.

No one will threaten this place anymore...

Then, after what seemed to be hours, they reached a clearing.

Spyro recognized the area. The silver river, its clean waters streaming silently through the forest.

"Gotta do something, buddy! I'll be right back!" said the dragonfly before flying away...

And thus, he found himself alone with Cynder, sitting by the edge of the river...

Faint footsteps and soon enough, he felt the female sit just next to him, her scales brushing slightly against his side.

"So... it's finally over..." she said, thoughtful.

Spyro nodded, still watching the sky. "Yes. Finally..."

There was a pause and slowly, the two young dragons turned to each others. Despite the black color of her scales, Cynder almost seemed to glow in the fading night. It was strange how much they had changed over the course of their journey. Hope, dreams, friends... and love. The adventures of a life time... and within the space of only a few months. They hadn't even reached puberty and already, so much had been experienced. It was all so amazing and incredible... and yet, completely true.

Slowly, a smile came to them and despite their best efforts, they both begun to blush. Instinctively, without even noticing it, their tails intertwined as they stared into each others' eyes...

"Spyro... will you truly stay by my side? Were you... sincere?" she asked, a bit of nervousism rising.

Slowly, his smile widened and he placed his right wing over her back, covering her as he got closer.

"I wasn't lying, Cynder. I truly do care for you... I truly do love you. I am now sure of it."

And then, her smile widened as well. "That coming from the mouth of a child. But so am I and well, I believe in you, Spyro... I believe in us."

Noticing her look becoming distant, he placed his paw on her shoulder.

"Is something wrong, Cynder?" he asked, wishing to help her.

The female sighed before looking into the skies. "It might seem strange but... now that it's over, I realize that we won't get to travel together again..."

The purple dragon rolled his eyes, amused. "What? Really, Cynder... The world is vast! I'm sure there's a lot more trouble out there we can get into!"

The female stared at him for a moment and then, chuckled a bit. "Hehehe! Yeah! You're completely right!"

And then, another moment of silence, just remaining close... and then, slowly, peace and serenity came to the two. As she stared at the sky, she noticed how the shades of orange were slowly rising. Dawn is coming... the dawn of a new day... and of a new age. So beautiful, so poetic and... as he stared at him, she also had the strangest thought. In a way, maybe it was so romantic too. She wasn't much for romance, neither was he. Why should they? Not like they're mature enough for this yet but still...

"Say, Spyro..." she said, breaking the silence and bringing his attention back to her. "Something's missing..."

The male raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"Isn't the hero supposed to kiss the female at the end? I thought that, as the famous hero who saved the world, that you'd get the female!"

A slight smile...

"Yeah, I suppose you're right... although I don't know if I can truly be called a hero. Yeah, we saved the world and all... but Astrial was the true Dragon of Prophecy..." Cynder brought her paw to his snout, stopping him.

"To me... you'll always be the true Dragon of Prophecy..." she whispered.

"Thank you Cynder... thank you..." he whispered back, the emotion beginning to form some kind of ball in his throat.

Cynder slowly shook her head. "No. I should be the one thanking you. I owe you everything..."

"... and I as well," said the purple dragon as soon as she trailed off.

More silence... and then, slowly, the male's smile widened as he relaxed.

"Well... I guess I'll give it a try then..."

Slowly, the male wrapped his right wing around the female as he brought himself closer, his snout brushing against her own, leaning against her. The female simply moved herself, still keeping her balance although she did lean backward, following the male's movement, placing her right front leg in-between his own, the left one on his side. The two stood like this, Spyro kind of holding her diagonally, staring into each others' eyes, their snouts touching...

Spyro hesitated one last time and Cynder was a bit nervous as well, the both of them blushing wildly. But well... they kissed once. Surely it can't be THAT hard to do it again, right? Besides, he felt... warm, nice, safe, happy with her. She invokes so many feelings within him and likewise, she feels it too. There is no reason to worry...

Chasing away their worries, they closed their eyes as slowly, they opened their mouths, proceeding to kiss. Pushing into the female, the two slowly dove to the ground, the couple kissing deeply, the two' tongues waltzing with each others within their mouths.

Although the two didn't feel the rush of hormones yet due to their age, the kiss still pleased the two greatly, the two bathing into each others' love. In fact, in a way, it was a testament to the purity of their love, showing that it was genuine not needing any hormonal mumbo jumbo to exist, their feelings untouched by lust.

Although he wished to keep doing that for a long while, Spyro eventually felt his lungs screaming for air and thus, reluctantly broke it. The two dragons slowly opened their eyes and stared at each others, a radiant smile on their faces...

Both dragons suddenly turned to their left, raising an eyebrow...

"... for a moment, I expected Sparx to interrupt us," commented the male.

The female couldn't help but smile. "Well, I guess it's habit."

Slowly, Spyro turned back to Cynder, amusement rising within. "We're a bunch of weirdos. We're hatchlings and yet, already kissing and promising each others the moons."

"I wouldn't take it any other way. The youngest heroes... and now, the youngest couple. What's next? Well, I have an idea..." her tone changed as she trailed off, her smile turning naughty... although not the usual childish naughtiness Spyro was used to. This sudden change confused the purple dragon.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The female's smile widened even further, amused by the male's expression.

"Bah. Stuff I learnt due to my temporary venture into the realm of adults. I'll show you in time, don't worry!" she told him.

"Stuff?" repeated the purple dragon, still confused.

"Don't sweat it! It will come... in time." She then winked at him, slowly spreading her wings over the ground and relaxing, adjusting herself. "Say... that sure was fun. What do you say if we resume?"

Well, that's something he can understand! His smile and confidence quickly returned. "Well... not like we have much else to do so, why not?"

And then, the two resumed kissing each others in a rather surprisingly passionate way considering.


"So... where did you go?" asked the purple dragon, as the three continued their journey toward the dragon temple.

The three finally reached a clearing. The dragon temple was close by, now...

And just when Sparx was about to reply, he noticed a familiar figure and grinned, pointing at it. "Hey! Isn't that Ignitus over here?"

Spyro turned to the center of the clearing and saw it. The large frame of the fire Guardian. His mentor... and his father. Joy begun to rise within his young heart.

"Ignitus!" he called, running up to the elder dragon, Cynder and Sparx just behind him.

And then, the elder dragon smiled as well. Although it wasn't a large, radiant one, the fact that he had smiled at all was more than enough proof of just how happy he was.

He thanked the Ancestors... and her... for watching over him. Spyro had succeeded. He had returned safely. In a way, this made him so... so happy as well. Finally...

"So you have returned... you have succeeded." said the red dragon, watching the three.

"You bet! The Dark Master's history, now! And thanks to who? The mauve guy, she-dragon, and the awesomest of all classy dudes, Sparx! Yeah! We rock!" said proudly the dragonfly.

The Dark Master defeated... At long last, his reign of terror comes to an end. No longer shall anyone fear his power. However, as he looked at the three, he noticed that something was wrong.

"Spyro... where is Astrial?" asked the elder.

And then, at this moment, everyone became uneasy. Spyro frowned, looking down while Cynder looked away, as if hesitating. Even Sparx became suddenly very focused on his right hand's fingers, whistling innocently for some reason...

His smile faded. His fears had been confirmed...

"So, he did not return..."

"No. I'm sorry," replied the purple dragon.

Ignitus closed his eyes, feeling the sorrow rise. He knew that Astrial was not his true son, much unlike Spyro. Astrial had been born out of divine intervention, an egg created from the power of the Ancestors touching the female he had loved. Still, even though Astrial had been taken away by the older, true Guardians, even if Astrial had turned so blind, even if he had never even paid the slightest attention to him, he loved him as a father would have. Astrial had been his son nevertheless and even though he knew that such a thing would happen, that one of them would ultimately perish, it did little to lessen the pain...

"Ignitus?" called the male hatchling, noticing the larger dragon's expression.

The elder opened his eyes anew and stared at Spyro for a moment before replying. "Do not worry young dragon. It's nothing..."

Spyro looked down anew, closing his eyes. No, that was not okay. Astrial was his brother and thus, by extension, was also Ignitus's son. He opened his eyes anew...

"I know, Ignitus. I'm sad about him, too..." said the purple dragon.

The elder was startled. He was brought out of his almost zen-like state, staring intently at the younger male.

"Spyro?"

The purple dragon sat down before continuing. "I know, Ignitus. He was your son, isn't it? I miss him too. He was..." he slowly looked down. "...my brother. I'm sorry I couldn't save him."

And then, finally, he realized it.

"Yo-you know?"

The purple dragon nodded. "Yes... father."

Emotion gripped the elderly dragon when he finally heard the word. "Father"... he had thought he would never hear it. He had never dreamt that anyone would have ever called him that.

He couldn't keep it in anymore and slowly, tears begun to form.

"She... would have been proud of you..."

"Father? How was she? How was... mother?" asked the small hatchling.

The happiness and sorrow mixed into his heart. Such pain... yet such happiness. A sense of calm washed over him, the sweet memories flooding back into his aging mind. The tears stopped flowing as he remembered.

"She was... the sweetest dragoness one could have imagined. I had never dreamt I would have met such a female in all of my life time. She was gentle, caring, beautiful, and brave. She gave her life to protect the temple. She gave her life to protect us, all of us. I'm sure that she must be watching over all of us as we speak... and I am sure that wherever she might be, she is proud of you, Spyro..."

Slowly, the black dragoness approached the purple one. He turned to her for a moment as she nodded. Sparx smiled sadly as well. For once, he had no comments to say about it all...

There was silence once again. A moment of peace and emotion...

And then, the three other Guardians slowly arrived on the scene.

"Ha! Our hero's welcome!" stated high and loud Sparx, brought out of his serious, thoughtful state.

But then, Spyro begun to notice that something was... off. Volteer seemed depressed and sad wherever Cyril and Terrador had expressions of rage. Although Terrador's wasn't as evident as Cyril's, it was obvious that the both of them were seriously angered by something. But by what and why?

"So... that explains it," said the ice Guardian aloud, staring at Spyro intently.

"Yes, indeed. I can feel the power too. All of us do," added Terrador, staring everybit as intently.

The ice Guardian walked up to Spyro, stopping at Ignitus's side. His face... was terrible. He truly seemed terrifying, even.

"I should have known. A rotten egg, just like its father," he said, his tone becoming more and more hateful as he spoke.

"Still, I am surprised. I had not expected him to have that power, for him to gain the same aura... although weaker," added the earth dragon, disappointment mixed to his rage.

"Weaker or not, this is the same power as the Dark Master!" snapped Cyril before snorting. "Heck! His aura is identical! He could be the Dark Master possessing Spyro last we know!"

Sparx rose an eyebrow, visibly upset. THAT wasn't the welcome he had expected nor wanted! "Hey hey hey! What's the problem here? Spyro ain't the Dark Master!... and how do you know about the power, anyway?"

"We know. Spyro truly is the Imposter. We know that he has killed Astrial and broken the Prophecy... I saw it shortly after the metal structure in the sky exploded," explained Ignitus, looking down, almost trembling.

"So what? Astrial went nuts! He was going to destroy the world!" replied the dragonfly, distress rising in his voice. He hated where this was going! Hated it!

"Astrial was guided by the very Ancestors! It is not up to us to question his will nor the Ancestors'! You fools have gone against the will of the Ancestors! Because of you, the Final Prophecy was prevented!" snapped back Cyril.

"The Final Prophecy was meant to prevent the rise of darkness. There is no future for a world of darkness, only suffering. It would have been better if everything had been destroyed than face the wrath of darkness," added Terrador.

"Man! I can't believe this!" yelled the dragonfly, throwing his arms up before turning to Ignitus. "Come on! Say something!"

The red dragon shook his head, his frown widening. "I... I can't..."

"What? You CAN'T? Geez!" Sparx couldn't believe this! After all they did...

Spyro slowly looked up to the Guardians, sadness all over his face...

"And now... what's going to happen?" he asked hesitantly, not wishing to hear the answer deep down. He suspected what it was and he didn't want it to come true. He truly didn't...

"We must defend the ways of the Ancestors!" claimed high and loud Cyril.

Terrador slowly nodded. "Yes... there is nothing left for us to do now, no hope left. All we can do is go down fighting the enemies of the Ancestors."

Slowly, the Guardians begun to move, surrounding the three...

"You truly aren't going to..." began Cynder, not finishing her sentence, not believing it either.

"Spyro... I'm so sorry..." said sadly Ignitus.

Spyro stared at the four. He couldn't believe this...

As the Guardians approached them, tightening the circle, Cynder and Spyro eventually collided into each others. They couldn't step back anymore and they were surrounded. There was no other choice...

"Spyro... what do we do?!?" asked the dragonfly, panicked.

Spyro stared at Ignitus. Such sadness in his eyes. His father... and now this...

But then, slowly, it came. In the distance, the shades of orange slowly turning to yellow. The first rays of sunshine. Dawn has come...

The dawn of a new day and the dawn of a new age...

As hard as it was... he had to carry on.

"You are wrong. It's false that there is nothing left," he said to the Guardians.

"Bah! What do you know? There's no future left, no hope!" snapped back Cyril.

Spyro paused a moment...

"You are wrong. I have a reason to live. We have a reason to live. We have hope now. We have a future now. We shall fight... to defend this future. The dawn of a new age has come."

He then turned to his friends. As hard as it was, there was no choice and thus, they had no choice but to agree and nod. Spyro turned to Ignitus. The red dragon... despite his deep sadness, there was a frown on his face...

"Ignitus..." whispered the hatchling.

"There is no regret to be had young dragon. My only regret is that I won't live to see the new age of dragons... now... DEFEND YOURSELF!"

The Guardians charged forward at this moment, Spyro and Cynder preparing to counter their first attack.


THE END