Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait as usual, but here's hoping I don't disappoint with another chapter! We introduce another character and watch as the tension builds even further.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Spyro characters or games. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the characters Matt and Selema. Saffron belongs to Riverstyxx while Dax and Nightshade belong to Alec the Dark Angel.
After their joyful reunion, Selema invited Matt inside her home to catch up. Selema was slightly ashamed over her living arrangements, having not really purchased better furniture in her short time there.
"It's not much," the pink dragoness said. "…but it gets the job done."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Matt replied. "This place is great compared to my ship. It can get pretty cramped in there sometimes." The young human then sat down on one of Selema's cushions while she layed down on another. The two were silent for a few moments, unable to think of something to say to the other.
"So…," Matt then exclaimed. "How have things been since I left?"
"Oh, it's been ok," Selema replied. "I've been going to the new school in the city in order to catch up on some things I didn't know before."
Matt nodded. "That's right. You were on your own for some time before you got here."
"Yeah, and I've also made some new friends here too. They've really helped me get adjusted."
Matt smiled. "Glad to hear it."
"What about you?" she asked. The pink dragoness was curious to know what Matt had been doing as well. "Have you had any trouble lately in any of the…other worlds?"
Matt paused a moment. "To be honest, it's been really quiet. I usually just drop by to visit certain places for a day or two before I leave." He noticed a look of worry on Selema's face, giving her a look of reassurance. "I wasn't planning on doing that here, you know?"
Selema's face brightened up again. "Oh, right. Please continue."
"Well, anyway. Lately these days I've been just hanging out at Disney Castle or training with Neo in the Matrix." Selema kept her smile, thought she was a little disappointed, hoping to hear more of Matt's exciting adventures.
Matt then spoke again. "Uh…what about your powers? Have you been using them much lately?"
Selema lowered her head a little, a frown upon her face. "Well…you see…after you left…the Guardians told me not to use them too much if not at all."
Matt raised a brow. "What…why not? You've used them for good, so I don't see what's wrong with mastering them."
Selema sighed. "I don't know for sure. Terrador mentioned something about 'gathering too much attention'. He said that I should just focus on doing regular things instead of using my Dragon Time."
Matt crossed his arms. "Well, that's just not fair."
Selema then looked up and grinned. "I guess it's a good thing that Spyro and I practiced a few times since then without them knowing, huh?"
The young human chuckled. "I guess I owe him for that. After all, aren't I supposed to be your teacher after all?"
Selema giggled. "Come on, Matt. If it weren't for you teaching me…I don't know where I'd be right now."
"I know…I know."
"Still…," Selema said as she got up to her feet. "I wouldn't mind brushing up on things with you if you want."
Matt smiled, rising back to his feet as well. "I'd be glad to, Selema. Lead the way."
Selema then led Matt out the back door once again, only this time they walked several yards away before turning to face each other.
The two gazed at each other for a few moments, analyzing their opponent. Matt was a little hesitant to say the least, not wanting to hurt Selema. However, he still wasn't going to be a pushover.
Let's see how far she's really come… Matt thought. He then extended his hand and summoned his blue Keyblade with a flash of light before extending his other hand and motioning her to come for him. "Ladies first…"
Selema stared at Matt a few more moments before she grinned and crouched into her own battling stance. "Gladly…" She then lowered herself far to the ground before charging forwards, raising a paw to strike. Matt quickly put up his blade to block her attack, grunting in the process from the force.
"Not bad…," Matt exclaimed as he held his ground. "Not bad…at…all…"
Selema grunted as well. "You haven't seen anything yet." The pink dragoness then jumped backwards, flipping off and onto her feet. Before Matt could blink, she disappeared with a flash. One moment later, the teen felt his feet swept from under him, causing him to yelp out in surprise before landing with a thud on the ground. Matt looked back up and found Selema standing over him with a big smile on her face, her tail whipping through the air after taking out his legs.
"Wow…," Matt said before quickly getting back to his feet and jumping a few feet away. "Remember this?" He asked before pointing his blade at the pink dragoness. "Blizzaga!" Several shards of ice burst from his blade, rocketing towards Selema. Before his eyes, the pink dragoness tapped into her power again, this time managing to dodge all of them.
"Nice one!" Matt exclaimed. "You haven't missed a beat." He then noticed that Selema was panting a little harder than before now. "Are you OK?"
"I…I'm fine…," the pink dragoness replied. "I just…I'm just a little tired. Using the Dragon Time takes a lot out of me."
Matt nodded and desummoned his blade. "That's enough for now. I've seen all I need to see."
Selema smiled. "Really? Thanks, Matt! That means a lot coming from you."
"I mean it, Selema. You could probably give me a run for my money if you really wanted to. You may not know it, but you're one tough dragoness deep down."
Selema beamed at her friend, touched by his words. "Thank you…"
Matt walked up and kneeled down next to her, staring her in the eye. "Anytime…" The two stared at each other for a few moments before a loud voice suddenly broke the silence.
"HEYYYY GUYYYSSS!" Matt and Selema looked up to see a golden flash whiz in front of their eyes before it materialized into a certain golden dragonfly. "Great to see you again, kid! You gained weight since we last met, cuz you sure lookin heavy!"
Matt rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Nice to see you too, Sparx. What are you doing here?"
"Glad you asked," Sparx replied. "Spyro sent me to tell you that he and Cynder wanted you two to come up and eat with the three of us tonight if you're interested."
Matt grinned and turned to his dragoness friend. "You want to go, Selema?"
Selema nodded eagerly. "Of course I do. What kind of question is that?"
"Then it's settled. Sparx, tell them we'll be there."
"Will do, kid! Now if you excuse me, I've got to go make sure that Spyro doesn't eat all the food before you even get there! Catch you later!" Sparx then zoomed back into the sky and out of sight.
"Well…guess we'd better go get ready then," Matt suggested.
"Sure thing," Selema replied.
About an hour later, Matt and Selema found themselves sitting in the dining area of the Dragon Temple once more. The duo were on one side of the table with Spyro and Cynder on the other, with Sparx of course floating in his place.
As Matt expected, the two heroes wanted to know more about what he'd been doing in the outside world, which he was more than happy to tell. Including all he told about Selema, Matt even added in about what some of his other companions were up to. Stitch was still hanging out with Lilo of course back on their islands. Pikachu on the other hand, was busy traveling with Ash throughout a region he'd never heard of before…
"It's a shame those two couldn't come back more often too," Spyro said. "We haven't seen them in ages."
Matt, in the middle of a bite, nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean, and I'm sure they both miss you guys too. Don't worry though, I'm sure we can work something out in the near future."
"I sure hope so," Selema spoke up. "I haven't even met them yet after all you've told me about those two."
Cynder chuckled. "Oh, you're going to love them, Selema. Don't get me wrong, they're both powerful. Still…they are kind of cute to look at."
"So I've heard…," Selema added giving Matt a funny look, to which he returned with a nervous chuckle.
So the meal continued on, the topic eventually landing on that of the festival. "So…?" Matt asked. "Anything exciting going on that we should see?"
Spyro nodded eagerly. "Of course they'll be plenty of shows and booths set up all over town. However…it wasn't my idea…but…"
Cynder finished for him. "There's going to be a battle tournament on the second day." Matt's brow raised in curiosity. "For dragons only…" The Keyblader sighed in relief at the comment. "What? You didn't think we'd ask you to fight, did we?"
"No…of course not…," Matt replied, taking a quick sip of water.
Spyro sighed. "It was the Guardians' idea to hold the tournament as sort of a main event. I didn't like it…but I suppose it's for the best. You're still gonna come with us to watch, right?"
Matt nodded again. "Sure, I'd like that."
Spyro wasn't finished yet though. "There is one more thing…as sort of a way to end the celebration on a positive note."
Out of the corner of Matt's eye, he noticed Selema began to look down and fidget with her food as soon as Spyro had mentioned the event in question. He wondered what could it be that would make her like that.
"Which is…?"
Spyro opened his maw to answer, but Cynder beat him to it. "It's a dance."
Matt was silent for a few moments, taking it all in. "Oh…," he replied somewhat solemnly. "That's cool…I guess."
Cynder then leaned in to Spyro, giving him a small lick on the side of his face, which was more than enough to cause the purple dragon to blush. It was pretty obvious to Matt who those two would go with.
Matt's eyes then shot over to Selema, who remained silent. He couldn't help but wonder if she already had a date or not. The warrior's heart skipped a beat. Still, he shook off the idea quickly in his mind.
When their meal was finished, the three dragons and human walked towards the main lounge in order to relax. Cynder, however, asked Selema to go with her to the latrines with her, leaving the two males alone.
Matt sighed. "I'm guessing that this dance is the main reason you want me here, huh?"
Spyro looked at the Keyblader and nodded. "I just want everything to go perfectly that's all…especially for Cynder. She's really been looking forward to it ever since the dance was announced."
Matt smiled at the thought. "I'm sure she is…" The young human was happy for the black dragoness to say the least, but he found himself thinking otherwise at that moment. There was a question on his mind that he wanted more than anything to ask Spyro at that very moment, but there was something inside that just refused to do it.
Luckily, Spyro asked Matt a question of his own. "Matt…I know I've already asked too much…but can do you me a small favor?"
"Sure…go ahead."
Spyro's eyes then narrowed slightly, hinting that he was serious. "Listen…I meant what I said that you deserve recognition for all you've done. I'm just asking you not to draw too much attention to yourself. I tried my best not to illiterate too much on you and your friends' presence in your world like you asked…but I just don't want to get bombarded with questions about you. For all these dragons know, you're just some human that showed up out of nowhere. I'm still not sure how well they'll react to you."
Matt in all honesty was a little annoyed at the request, but he was also relieved that Spyro was worried for his self being as well. "Again, don't worry about it, Spyro. I don't ever intend to make trouble whenever I visit a world, and this is no exception."
Spyro nodded in agreement and understanding. "Thanks, Matt."
"Anytime."
After the two dragonesses had returned, they all settled into the lounge to discuss more about every which topic. After about an hour, everyone felt tired enough to go home. Matt was tired especially seeing as how he'd just arrived that day. As usual, the time just seemed to fly by past his eyes.
Matt decided to go with Selema back to her home, to which she didn't object. The two walked quietly through the streets, enjoying each other's company.
Selema gave a loud yawn on the way back. "Oh great…I have school tomorrow. Oh well, at least once it's over the festival will start."
Matt nodded in agreement. "That's a good way to look at it."
"Um…what will you do in the meantime?"
Matt looked up with a crossed face. "Mm…I don't really know yet. It's funny…I kind of wish I could go with you."
Selema giggled to herself. "I'd like that too. Not that my teachers are bad, but I still feel like I can learn more from you sometimes. I mean, how many dragons can say that?"
Matt grinned. "Not a whole lot…though I gotta admit…you're pretty good enough already. I can hardly think of anything else to teach you."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something…" she replied with a wink.
"I always like a challenge." The two exchanged a laugh at the comment.
When they finally reached Selema's home, the pink dragoness slipped inside with Matt standing out near the doorway. He looked down and shuffled his feet slightly before looking back up.
"I…uh…I guess I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?" Matt asked.
Selema smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, there's someone I'd like you to meet too, so don't be late."
"I won't…I promise."
Matt and Selema looked into each other's eyes for several more moments before the former decided to speak first.
"Well….good night, Selema," he exclaimed.
Selema closed the door softly behind her, but not before she replied, "Good night, Matt." Soon, the door separated the two once more.
"Sweet dreams…," Matt whispered before he finally turned and started to walk back towards his ship to turn in for the night. It took him several minutes to exit the city beyond the gates, leaving nothing but him and the forest itself.
Matt sighed as he looked towards the moon above. He wondered what layed ahead of him in this visit. Was there really a danger bad enough for him to be there? If so, what could it be? Still, Matt knew his dragon friends had a point. It was nice to come back and see everybody again…especially Selema.
Selema…Matt couldn't help but smile as he thought about her. A part of him wondered if she was still that same dragoness he'd left all those months ago. She seemed so much more confident in herself now, which was a major step in the right direction after all she'd gone through.
I couldn't be more proud of her… Matt thought happily.
A small breeze rustled the leaves and trees around him, causing Matt to shiver a little. He strode extra quickly before a louder than usual noise caught him off guard, causing him to whirl around.
"Who's there?" Matt asked. He suddenly sensed a pair of eyes upon him, making him uncomfortable. The young human growled and summoned his Keyblade. "Alright, enough playing around! Come out and show yourself to me!"
Suddenly, Matt heard the thud of something hitting the ground to his right, causing him to whirl on the spot. With the moon shining down, Matt was able to gaze upon the figure half buried in the shadows.
It was hard to make out completely, but Matt guessed the figure in front of him was a dragon. From what he could tell, it had somewhat dullish grey scales, with it's underbelly another color he couldn't make out. It had two sets of white horns which curved both ways. However, the one thing Matt noticed about the dragon was it's pale blue eyes, which seemed to stare into his soul…sending a shiver down his very spine.
"Please, lower your blade," the dragon spoke with a sort of eerie tone. "I mean you no harm."
"I'll be the judge of that," Matt replied, his hands still gripped tight to his blade.
"You are wise to trust your instincts," the white dragon spoke again. "However, believe me when I do say I didn't come here to fight you tonight. I would clearly be no match for you."
Matt lowered his blade slightly. "Then why are you here? Who are you and why were you following me?"
The dragon was silent for a few moments, choosing his words carefully. "Very well. You could say I'm a…special dragon. Like your friend Selema with the power of Dragon Time, I too have a unique power all my own."
"Oh really? And what might that be?"
"Like I said, I am a unique dragon. I can…see events before they come to pass. I can see…the future."
Matt raised his brow again. "Really…a fortune teller?"
The dragon narrowed his brow, having taken slight offense at the comment. "I would prefer to be called an oracle dragon. And it is thanks to my sight that I know many things about you…Matt."
Matt's eyes widened. "How…how do you know my name?" He hadn't been in the world too long, so he assumed not many people knew his identity.
"I know many things about you, Matt. I know you've saved countless worlds from being swallowed by darkness, including this one on more than one occasion. I know it was you who saved Selema from her terrible fate and that Spyro was the one to bring her here." The dragon then smiled even further. "I even know you were the one to heal Selema's wings from their supposed irreversible state."
Matt gasped. He hadn't even told Spyro about that, only Selema herself. He's good…ok I'll bite…
"Ok," Matt said, lowering his blade completely. "You've got my attention. What is it you want?"
The dragon was silent for a few moments. "I have come before you tonight to issue…a warning."
Matt's brows narrowed. "A warning? What are you talking about?"
"Spyro was right to follow his instinct and call you back to the Dragon Realms. There is still a powerful darkness within this world, one that still threatens all that would make peace."
Matt's jaw dropped. "A threat? What kind of threat? How is that possible? Malefor is gone, Malchoir was destroyed, and their forces have dwindled to nothing! It's not possible!"
The dragon then gave Matt a chilling glance. "This is but the calm before the storm, human warrior. I have forseen danger ahead…and you must be the one to stop it."
Matt was about to object, but not before the dragon put up his paw again. "There is more for you to hear, Matt, especially if you want to save her…"
"Her?" Matt asked. His eyes then widened. "You mean…Selema?"
"Correct," the dragon replied. "Selema's future is far more grave."
Matt teeth grit together hard, a band of sweat dripping down his forehead. "Well then…how do I protect her? Tell me! What am I supposed to do?"
The dragon shook his head. "Everything must come to pass as is meant to be…there is little I can tell you that can change that. However, what I can tell you is relevant enough, so I'd pay attention if I were you."
"Ok, fine! Just tell me!"
The white dragon stared into Matt with his pale eyes. The young human could've sworn they flashed for a just a moment. "All I can tell you is that there will come a point where Selema's fate will lie in your hands, Matt. However, her fate could change the outlook of this world completely."
Matt's heart stopped. "What…what do you mean? Are…are you saying I might have to…?" Alta's face continued to remain firm, but the human had a feeling about what this 'oracle' was talking about.
Matt growled. "NO! NO WAY! That will never happen! I would never…I couldn't…"
"I'm not finished," the dragon said, causing Matt to silence. "I leave you one last piece of advice. When you find yourself in greatest need, the answer you seek lies deep within you…farther than you 'd ever dare to dwelve."
Matt stayed still, processing the information that this 'oracle' dragon had given him. "Why should I trust you?" he asked. "For all I know, you could be just trying to mess with my head!"
The dragon turned his back to Matt. "Whether or not you believe my words is up to you, but in the end all shall come to pass." He then began to lurk back into the shadows.
"Wait a minute!" Matt called. "Where do you think you're going? You never even told me your name!"
The dragon stopped for a moment, chuckling softly before turning around one last time. "Very well. You may know me as…Alta. Good luck, Keyblader…" He then disappeared into the night in a flash, leaving the stunned warrior in his wake.
Matt let out a deep sigh, staring back at the moon once more.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
Whoa! Talk about a wake-up call! First of all, thanks to Riverstyxx again for letting me use her main character, Alta, in this story. I hope you like the role I've given him (No, he's not the main antagonist ;).
Anyway, what can Matt do now? Will what Alta spoke come to pass? Find out...next time!
Peace out,
Biz