AN: I don't own Spyro or his series, I only created Smog.

Spyro flew in a vain attempt to catch the rapidly ascending object, refusing to give up. Finally it arched and began to fall towards Warfang and Spyro knew he couldn't catch it. He followed the cylinder's flight path with eyes and spat a fireball on an intercept course.

For a brief second Spyro wondered if he had miscalculated, but then the fireball hit the weapon. With a great burst of light and a vibrating concussion wave it exploded causing several of the still standing buildings in Warfang to collapse. Spyro was knocked form the air and he hurtled toward the ground.

He landed hard, but immediately jumped to his feet and stopped in surprise. The entire line of attackers was retreating through a large portal that glowed with blue light. Terrador flew over the surviving moles and cheetah yelling for them to regroup. By the time they had organized all the creatures were gone and the portal shut behind them with a short flash.

Terrador, Volteer, and Cyril landed next to Spyro as they stared at the spot where the portal had opened. Cyril spoke, "How odd, they were winning and yet they fell back." Terrador nodded, "Yes it was almost if this battle was a distraction, but what were they after if that is so?"

Spyro closed his eyes hoping something would come to him, but when it did he wished it hadn't. It came as a whisper upon the wind, "...Spyro." With a sudden rush he jumped into the air yelling, "Cyyyyyndeeeeer!"

Terrador's eyes widened as it dawned on him. He followed Spyro's example yelling, "Everyone back to the Temple now!! Move!" The group rapidly sped back towards the Temple, Spyro in the lead...

*Dragon Temple, egg chamber*

One surveyed his team as they strapped Cynder to dragon sized stretcher and wheeled it outside to await there exit portal. One looked over as one of his team swore, "Four, what the hell was that?!?" Four looked at him, "I think this one is rotten or something, it's black."

One walked over and looked at the egg. He picked it up and stared at it for a long time, "hmmmm." he hummed. He put it back in the basket and told Four to take it outside.

Soon the team, Cynder, and the eggs were outside. One looked at the device on his wrist and quickly tapped several buttons. A shimmering blue portal popped into existence just in front of them.

Cynder slowly came awake, but continued playing dead as Four approached. As soon as he was in range she struck out and bit deep into his arm. Four cried out in pain as One jumped forward and smacked Cynder in the head. She let go and everyone backed up a ways.

Four growled at her and she merely hissed back. Extremely pissed off, Four reached over and grabbed the black egg and made to throw it. Cynder yelped in fear and Four chuckled, "Maybe next time you'll think bef-" A single shot rang out and blood poured out of Four's head as he fell.

One put the smoking weapon back in his cloths. He watched as the egg rolled out of Four's hand, safe. He looked at another one of his team, "Six, secure that egg NOW!" Six snapped a salute and ran over to the egg. Without one look at Four he reached for the egg.

An arrow caught him in the lung and he gasped for breath. A line of cheetah burst from the nearby woods screaming their war cry, "AVALAAAAAR!" One swore, "God damn it, move we're leaving now! Go, GO!"

One guy grabbed the basket of eggs and ran through the portal while One and the others grabbed the stretcher and yanked it toward the portal. They entered the portal and disappeared while the front of the stretcher hung out. Spyro dove from the sky with a mighty roar and grabbed the stretcher.

From there ensued a tug-of-war match over the stretcher. Inch by painful inch Spyro dragged it back. As the back wheels appeared, One reached out and slapped Spyro's paw with his baton. Spyro screamed in agony as the shock coursed through him, but he didn't let go.

One continued to smack Spyro. Finally Spyro couldn't hold on and the stretcher slipped through his claws as he collapsed. The stretcher disappeared and the portal closed as the cheetah reached it. Spyro raised a foreleg weakly, "Cyn...der..."

Cyril walked up to him and bent his head down, "Easy now, old chap, you need your rest." Spyro shook his head, tears forming in his eyes, "No, I've got to find them, I have to find Cynder." Cyril sighed, "Spyro, the portal's gone, you can't follow them," he pushed Spyro to the ground as he tried to rise, "now rest." he commanded.

Hunter was busy looking at the corpse of Six. He pulled the mask off Six's head and revealed a man in his early thirties with short, brown hair. Hunter examined the body and found a strange silver icon on a necklace around the man's neck.

He held it up and saw inscribed on it was : Maj. Walters, Phillip and under the name a series of numbers. A squeak registered in his ears and he called a group of moles who had shown up to deal with the body and dove into the forest. He followed the sound of whimpering and found the remaining shards of the black egg.

He bent down and looked over the ground carefully. The egg had hatched, he knew that, but what had the hatchling done? Soon he found several footprints that walked in a circle and then haphazardly stumbled off. A strangled yelp caught his attention and he dashed in its direction.

He ran straight into a clearing and saw a group of scavenger birds pecking at something on the ground. He ran up and the birds scattered with caws of discontent. Hunter looked at their would-be meal and gasped. He had found the hatchling

The hatchling was pure black with no other color present. It had a muscular body for a hatchling, but the muscles were slender at the same time. Its tail was long for its body and ended in a double edged blade. The horns on its slender head curved back gracefully and the snout ended in the same fashion as Spyro's. The hatchling had its eyes squeezed closed.

It whimpered quietly and curled into a ball where it lay shivering. Hunter pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around the scared dragon, gently picking it up. It squeaked in protest, but didn't fight him. Hunter began running back to the Temple.

When he arrived the bodies had been removed, but Spyro still lay in the same spot. Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer were around him all of them with concerned looks on their faces. Cyril spoke and Spyro snapped, "I failed her, don't you understand, I wasn't strong enough and now she's gone, there's nothing else for me to live for. Or do you know something I don't?"

Hunter walked in front of Spyro, "I think I know something for you to live for: your son." he said putting the hatchling down. Spyro's eyes opened in surprise, "He-he hatched." he leaned forward to get a better look at the hatchling. The hatchling felt Spyro's warm breath and crawled closer to his father's face.

"Smog..." Spyro said. The hatchling opened his eyes at the name and everyone gasped. His eyes shone brighter than fire, pure white with no irises or pupils. Spyro repeated the name and the hatchling purred happily and snuggled close to his father.

Terrador spoke, "My guess is he likes that name."

**several years later**

Spyro sat in the clearing, eyes closed. The sun shone brilliantly, but no sound echoed in this part of the forest. Spyro's eye twitched as humming drifted across the clearing. He opened his eyes and saw his adopted brother Sparx the dragonfly flying toward him.

"Good morning, Sparx." Spyro greeted him. Sparx huffed, "Yeah, good for you maybe. I swear your son is harder to keep track of than you were." Spyro chuckled, "Sparx, you worry too much, besides I know right where he is." Sparx looked surprised, "You do?" Spyro nodded and stood.

With a wild cry Smog jumped from a nearby tree at Spyro. He looked mostly the same just older and with dark crystal formations on his shoulder blades now. Spyro lifted his tail and took the attack with it. Smog grinned and gripped his father's tail while pushing electrical energy to his paws which Spyro countered by covering his tail with earth.

Smog spun around his father's tail to dodge an ice blast and unleashed a line of fire. Spyro unleashed his own fire and the two fires burned evenly between them. Both of them stopped panting slightly. Spyro grinned, "You're getting better, but I still taught you all you know."

Smog grinned back and spoke with an arrogant, medium-pitched voice, "You think so? Well you didn't teach me this." He dove into his shadow and disappeared. Spyro blinked in surprise, He's learned how to do that?

He shook his head and waited. From the ground between Spyro's paws Smog erupted out of his shadow and jumped at his father's head, trying to head butt him. Spyro leaned his head back and as Smog passed him grabbed his tail and brought him to the ground, putting a paw on his struggling form.

Smog stopped and whined, "Aw man, I thought I had you that time, I even went through Terrador's lecture to learn that new technique and you still beat me!" Spyro chuckled, "Well a deal's a deal, so now we're going fishing," he looked back over his shoulder, "Sparx you can come out now."

Sparx poked his head from behind a rock, "You sure, last time you said that he tried to surprise you and almost roasted me." Smog sighed, "I said I was sorry..."

*later at a nearby river*

Smog tried again to snatch a fish, only to succeed in falling in. He surfaced to Sparx's laughter, "Listen kid, I may not be a fisherman, but I think that falling in three times means your doing it the hard way." Smog climbed out and looked around. Spyro was still off looking for something.

Smog walked over to Sparx, "Uncle Sparx," Sparx looked at him, "I just wanted to ask you if you could tell me about my mother, Dad won't tell me anything." Sparx became nervous, "Look Smog, I'm really not the best person to ask that, after your parents beat Malefor I don't really know what happened until they returned to the Temple years later with your mom...well...err." Smog stared at him, "Expecting, maybe?" Sparx nodded.

Smog looked disappointed, "So there's nothing you can tell me?" Sparx pointed at him, "Whoa now I didn't say there was nothing I could tell you, there's just not much I can. But it's like I said, It's not my place to tell you, but I'll talk to Spyro about it."

Smog thanked him as he flew off, then returned to fishing. Sparx found Spyro a little ways away, "Hey Spyro, we need to have a brother to brother chat." Spyro sighed, "What did you do this time that I need to help you out of?" Sparx stared at him and Spyro focused, "What's wrong Sparx?"

"The problem is you won't talk to him. He's starting to ask me about Cynder and," he pointed a finger at Spyro, "that's something you should tell him about. You can't hide the fact that the powers he got from his mom are awakening and if he finds out from someone other than you he might get the wrong idea."

Spyro stared at the ground, "But what do I say Sparx, do I just tell him I couldn't save her, that if I had only been faster she might still be here? He'd never forgive me and I can't bear to lose him too." Sparx flew close to his face, "Whoa now big guy, he's not asking what happened to her, he just wants to know more about her."

Spyro sighed, "I guess you're right... I'll talk to him." Spyro walked toward the river. When he arrived Smog was still trying desperately to catch a fish. Spyro walked up behind him, "Smog," Smog turned, "We need to talk... about your mother."

Interested Smog followed Spyro into the woods, fishing forgotten...

AN: yayz another chapter finished.