Hello again.
I mentioned last time that I would not be continuing this story. While this is still true, I felt I abandoned it with such short notice, and some of you may have been hoping for the next chapter only to be disappointed.
So, this is what I have done so far of that chapter. It is incomplete and hasn't been beta read fully, but I feel that something is better than nothing. I will go into more detail after the now, enjoy!
Chapter 4: Fleeing the Flames
His head broke the surface of the cool water and he gasped, breathing in the fresh morning air of the forest. Once had had caught his breath, Spyro glanced over to the spot by the river where the others had taken refuge for the night, and saw that the three of them were still sound asleep. Glad that his morning excursions had not woken his companions, the purple dragon smiled before diving into the river once more.
When he was younger – before he had discovered his true heritage – he had often gone down to the river whenever he had something troubling on his mind. The cooling waters had helped to calm his thoughts, and somehow made his problems feel a lot smaller.
Oh, how he needed that now.
The severity of the task ahead of him had only just hit him last night; now that his thoughts weren't as full of grief over his absence as they had been before, Spyro had started to think of how best to go about the task of making up for his disappearance. He had the thought that defeating the Dark Master would be the best way to end the war that ravaged the world, and it was then that he realised just how daunting – not to mention impossible – that task looked. And so, he had lain awake for most of the night, the same question floating in a mind that did not know the answer:
How am I supposed to defeat another purple dragon that has decades – if not centuries – more knowledge and experience than me?
He sighed, streams of bubbles issuing from his mouth into the cool water. Slowly, he rose to the surface once more as he tried to reason to himself that he was worrying too much; that he was thinking too far ahead.
One thing at a time, Spyro. First things first, we have to get back to the temple, to Ignitus and the others. Then I can worry about the Dark Master.
He looked over at his friends once more and felt a small stab of jealousy at them; they had all endured many hardships over their lives, yet none of them had the fate of the entire world resting on their shoulders. Cynder was struggling with the things she had been forced to do, haunted by her past, but she could also choose her future, unburdened by duty or destiny. Hunter was only escorting them to the Dragon Temple; once that task was complete he would be free to go back to his home, untroubled by the struggles of two warring races. And as for Sparx…
Spyro started. The cheetah and black dragoness were both sleeping peacefully, but the golden dragonfly was nowhere to be seen. Spyro gazed at their campsite, trying to see if he could catch so much as a flicker of light from his friend, but to no avail. He was just beginning to wonder whether he should wake the others to help look for him when a voice spoke from behind him.
"Looking for someone?"
Spyro yelped in surprise, and turned around to find himself face-to-face with Sparx.
"Sparx!" Spyro exclaimed, taken aback by the dragonfly's sudden appearance. "Don't do that! You startled me!"
"Sorry, Spyro," the dragonfly replied, grinning mischievously. "But it's just too fun messing with you like that. So," His expression became more serious. "What's on your mind?"
"Who said I had anything on my mind?" Spyro replied indignantly.
"Hmm. Let's see…" Sparx said in mock-thought. "You're awake when by all rights you should be asleep, you're swimming in the river like you used to when we were younger, and you've got that pouty 'I'm-a-hero-and-I-have-to-save-the-world' look on your face. I know you too well."
"…And I know you too well to hope you're going to stop bothering me about this." Spyro muttered.
"Oh, come on, Spyro!" Sparx groaned. "When are you going to stop shutting me out like this? I'm your brother, you can tell me!"
He's right. Spyro thought. I am shutting him out. Him and everyone else.
"To tell you the truth, Sparx, I'm…" Spyro stopped: it made him feel weak, childish, even, to voice what he was thinking, but then Sparx did seem genuinely concerned, and Spyro knew that, despite his sarcastic nature, the little dragonfly usually meant well.
Usually.
"The truth is, I'm afraid." Spyro finished.
"In your position? I'm not surprised." Sparx said. "I mean, it's not like single-handedly defeating an ancient dragon of limitless power and no conscience is going to be easy, is it?"
"No, it isn't."
"But then again, you are full of surprises." The dragonfly continued. "I mean, in the span of a few weeks you went from being Spyro the Fat Dragonfly to defeating a dragoness that made pretty much every other dragon run from her like babies. You're a tough kid, Spyro, and I know you can do this."
Spyro was at a loss for words; to hear how much his brother believed in him, how certain he sounded, meant a lot to him. After several awkward moments, Spyro let out a choked, "Thank you."
"No problem, little brother." Sparx replied.
"'Little brother'?" Spyro repeated, laughing in spite of the uncertainty of his future, and he felt as if a great weight upon his chest had lessened. "Whatever happened to constantly making cracks about my weight?"
"I meant little brother in terms of age. Everyone knows I'm the more mature of the two of us."
The two brothers struggled to keep a straight face, before they both erupted in gales of laughter, and Spyro found that once they had started it seemed difficult to stop. Spyro wasn't even sure if he wanted to; it felt like forever since he had enjoyed a laugh with his brother.
Their merriment was cut short, however, when the air was rent with a chilling, ethereal shriek, which echoed around the mountains behind them. Spyro turned to face the mountains and saw that the sky above them had been tainted red. Before he could ponder on this, it faded to grey once more, and he could see several winged shapes rising from the mountains. Spyro recognised the creatures even from a distance, and with a mounting sense of dread knew he that they were neither draconic nor friendly.
"We've got to go, now!" He exclaimed to Sparx, and together the two of them left the river and returned to their camp, where Hunter was just beginning to rise, no doubt having been woken by the strange shriek.
"Spyro, Sparx, what's going on?" The cheetah asked blearily.
"Hunter, we've got to get out of here! A hoard of Dreadwings are coming this way!" Spyro said in a rush.
Hunter was instantly on the alert, all grogginess forgotten as he packed away the few supplies they had used for the night and slung the bag over his shoulder.
Spyro looked over to Cynder, and was dismayed to see that she was still asleep. He ran over to her prone form, silently berating her for her inaction; how could she sleep at a time like this?
"Cynder, we've got to go!" Spyro nearly shouted, shaking her roughly by the shoulder. "We're about to be attacked!"
But the dragoness did not stir.
"I can't wake her up!" Spyro cried desperately, and the next thing he knew Hunter had ran over and lifted Cynder up, slinging her over his shoulder after repositioning his bag. The cheetah drew a knife from his belt and said, "Let's go."
The group ran frantically through the forest for some time, using the river to guide their way. Panting heavily, Spyro wondered how the Dark Master's forces had found them, wen Hunter had been so sure that they wouldn't be troubled. He was about to voice his concerns when a deep boom resounded from somewhere behind them, and they turned around to see large clouds of smoke billowing in the distance, along with the unmistakeable glow of flames.
"They're bombing the forest!" Hunter exclaimed. "At this rate, we won't be able to outrun them for much longer!"
Spyro struggled to think of a way out of their predicament, and after a few moments found an answer, albeit a temporary one.
"I have an idea," he said. "Get as close to me as you can, now!"
Once they were near enough to him, Sparx hovering close to his right horn and Hunter by his left flank, Spyro closed his eyes in concentration.
The Chronicler had told him to use this power sparingly, only if circumstances demanded its use. Well, circumstances seemed to be demanding it now. Spyro focused his power, and he immediately felt the world slow down around him. He opened his eyes and couldn't help but grin at Hunter's awed expression as he beheld this phenomenon.
"How did you…" He started, but the purple dragon merely shook his head.
"It doesn't matter right now." Spyro said firmly. "We need to hurry; I usually only had to do this for Sparx and myself: I don't know how long I can keep this up for all of us."
They set off once more, accompanied by the strange sights of leaves suspended in mid-fall and the river flowing so slowly it might have stopped completely. Any sounds they heard were oddly muffled, as if they were underwater. Spyro could feel the strain of magical energy throughout his body as he maintained his grip on time, yet knew that he must persist, that this was the only way they could outrun their foe.
The group made good progress for the next couple of minutes, but Spyro was struggling to go on. Eventually, his control of time gave out, and he collapsed in exhaustion as time resumed its normal course.
"Are you alright?" Hunter inquired, bending down and lowering Cynder to the ground.
"Yeah… I'm fine…" Spyro panted, shakily rising to his feet. "But I don't think I'll be able to do that again anytime soon. I guess it's only a matter of time before they catch us. When that happens, then we'll need to fight our way out."
"If that is the case, then I have something that may help." The cheetah reached into his pocket and withdrew something that Spyro did not expect to find in there: a green magic gem.
"How did you come by this?" Spyro asked in awe.
"I found it on the day you woke from the crystal. I figured it would be useful to keep in case either you or Cynder needed it." He held the gem towards Spyro. "Take it!" He urged.
Spyro reached out with his paw and took hold of the gem. Almost immediately he felt a rush of energy surge from the gem and into his body, leaving him feeling completely rejuvenated. Once he was done, he let the gem fall to the ground, dull and lifeless.
"There. Now I can fight if I have to. Let's keep moving."
Hunter picked up Cynder once more, and together the group continued on their way.
The resounding booms of the Dreadwings' bombs slowly got louder, and Spyro thought he could hear the sounds of howling and barking, getting closer and closer by the minute. Spyro glanced over his shoulder quickly and caught a glimpse of several dark shapes of varying sizes running towards them, silhouetted against the roaring flames of the burning forest. The closest of their pursuers would be on them in a few minutes.
"We've got company!" Spyro shouted to the others. "We'll need to stop if we want to defend ourselves properly!"
The group ground to a halt at the top of a small incline, hoping that higher ground would make their position more defensible. Hunter lowered Cynder against the trunk of a tree, out of harm's way, before unslinging his bow and nocking and drawing his first arrow. Sparx took cover next to the black dragoness, and Spyro stood poised in the direction of their foes, ready to draw upon the vast well of magic he possessed at a moment's notice.
Now that they were getting closer, Spyro could just about discern their pursuers: a pack of wolves charged at the front of the host, followed by several of the mangy, canine-reptile hybrids the Apes called "Death Hounds". Behind them marched almost three-dozen apes, some wielding swords, others axes, the smaller ones only armed with their claws, but all clad in silver armour that shone like the sun in the light of the towering flames behind them.
Spyro heard a thrum from beside him, and he knew that Hunter had fired a shot at their foe, for one of the wolves had fallen and did not get up again. Several more fell as Hunter fired arrow after arrow, even managing to hit one of the ape soldiers in the head, but Spyro knew that he was only delaying the inevitable: they would have to engage the enemy in direct combat. Hoping to slow them down for a few moments longer, Spyro drew a deep breath before launching a ball of ice into the midst of the ape's forces. The Polar Bomb exploded in a hail of icy shards as it impacted the ground, releasing an arctic fog that froze several of the apes in place. The apes were fearless in their advance, however, and before Spyro could launch another projectile, the wolves and hounds were upon them.
Spyro released the electrical energy he had been charging in his mouth at the nearest wolf, which spasmed and died as the current tore through its body. Before it had even hit the ground, Spyro unleashed a flurry of ice shards, killing two hounds and injuring a third, which Spyro finished off with a quick blast of fire. As the hound yelped as it was set alight, two more wolves rushed at Spyro. One fell from a well-placed shot from Hunter, but the other still charged, jaw open in bloodlust as it lunged for the purple dragon.
Spyro barely had a chance to react; he leapt up and hovered in the air, staring down at the wolf that was now clawing at the ground where he had been a second ago. Seizing his chance, Spyro curled up and dove straight down, slamming into the wolf and driving it into the ground with a sickening crunch.
He rose from his kill only to be greeted by a pair of Death Hounds snarling inches from his face. Reacting instinctively, Spyro blasted the creatures away with an eruption of earth energy from his maw, flinging them several feet through the air and into a large tree, where they crumpled to the ground, motionless.
The wolves and hounds had all been defeated, having either been felled by one of Hunter's arrows or falling victim to Spyro's magical onslaught, but the apes were getting dangerously close, and Spyro knew they would be quickly overwhelmed.
So, yeah. That was a pretty long chapter, and it was nowhere close to being completed. It probably would have been as long as the other chapters put together.
But yes, I am afraid that this is the end of this little story. I covered that in the last chapter, but I felt as if I needed to clarify a bit more. I just... don't really know where I was going with this, and to be honest, I'm not even sure if it was necessary to begin with.
If I do ever go back to writing TLoS stories, then I will most likely continue my future story and just rework it a bit so it ties in with DotD.
Speaking of that story, I have another chapter of it written down, so I will most likely post that sometime soon, too. After that, I'm not going to touch it for a long time.
Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and followed this story. You guys have been great. Also, a HUGE thank you to Fire Shallows for being a great beta reader, creative consultant and friend.
Now, for that other project I mentioned last time...
I have already written a few chapters for my Super Smash Bros. story, but I don't think it is quite ready yet. I still have a bit of planning to do, and I'd rather have a full plan BEFORE I start it.
I'm also working on a short Fire Emblem story that ties in slightly with it, and provides a bit more backstory for the characters from Awakening at the start of the Smash story.
If you are interested in either of these, then hopefully they shall be uploaded soon. If not, then this is where we part ways, and thank you once more for being supportive of this story.
If you have anything you want to ask, be it about this story or any future stories I have, feel free to PM me, and I will try to answer to the best of my ability.
Once again, thank you everyone for reading this, and I wish you all the best.
-Telekinetic Moose.