Reticence Saga
Wings of Change
Chapter 3: Kala's Expectation
"I understand that my creations worry both the humans and dragons among you. It's true they could easily replace us all...but I thought of that. Shar-Khan cannot breed without approval, I made sure. We will never ever be in danger of them spreading..."
(Alashaya announcing the Shar-Khan supersoldier program to the Atlantean and Avalarian governments.)
Life on Avalar was strange at the best of times, be it old Atlantean toys, or Moneybags trying to buy Old Warfang again. But robberies were not part of the problems surprisingly...until now...
"They took what?" asked Matt.
An earth dragoness snapped, "My entire stock of gemstones..."
"Any gemstones in particular?" asked Matt.
"Diamonds mostly," said the dragoness before snapping, "They bit chunks out of my door."
"That's...rather unusual," said Matt, "I'll be sure to look into that."
The dragoness snorted and flew off, Matt left thoughtful. This was the third such robbery in as many days. Whoever was doing it was doing hit and runs. The first had been one of the main meat warehouses, the second and third, today's, being jewelery stores.
Matt sighed, shifting to dragon form and taking off. He would think of that tomorrow. He and Kala had moved to one of the larger empty homes in the city at Spyro's recommendation. Avalarians sometimes wanted to build nests and liked the space, which was why such big buildings were set aside.
It was still puzzling to everyone how Kala was having this 'miracle baby', namely because she had her fertility locked when she became a Shar-Ekta. Still, it hasn't seemed to change her appetite much.
He landed, deciding to stay in dragon form. Given the size of their current quarters, it made things easier. "Honey, I'm hooooome…" he called jokingly, walking in.
Matt felt something crunch under his feet. He looked down with a feeling of dread. What he saw was a small scene of carnage. Dozens of takeout boxes lying empty on the floor. He picked one up and looked at it. "When has Avalar had a chinese takeaway?" he muttered, sniffing it before he called, "Kala? Honey?"
He heard a sound up ahead that was either a snore or gas escaping. The sound's owner was indeed Kala, though she seemed...off. Had her scales always been that shade? "Honey?" he asked carefully.
Kala stirred and mumbled, "2 more minutes..."
"Um, Kala, it's past noon," said Matt.
Kala yawned, before she opened her eyes. "Matt? How was work?" she yawned.
"Uh, there seems to have been a few robberies in town," said Matt.
"Another one?" sighed Kala.
Matt laid down next to her, "Yeah...gemstone store this time."
"I wonder who'd want all those gems," said Kala.
"Yeah...it's not like they're eating them," said Matt with a grin. Kala laughed too before burping. "You feel ok?" asked Matt.
"Mostly bloated," said Kala, "I could use a few tubs of ice cream."
"Dairy again? I would have thought you'd avoid that after the milk spillage," said Matt.
Kala snapped "ICE CREAM!" her jaw snapping shut an inch from Matt's snout.
Matt said "Strawberry or chocolate?" without missing a beat.
"Peanut butter!" snapped Kala.
"I don't think they do that flavor," said Matt, something he'd later agree had been the wrong response...
A fireball rose above the city in the distance, Cynder and Spyro looking over at it. "I think Matt said he couldn't find peanut butter flavor again," said Spyro sagely.
"Spyro, was I that crazy when I was carrying Lumina's egg?" asked Cynder.
Spyro didn't speak for a few moments, carefully choosing his next words. "Well...you didn't take very long to lay the egg," he said.
Cynder just facepalmed, groaning, before Matt, smoking and in dragon form, came through the roof, specifically through a piece of roof that seemed to have been repaired recently. "Peanut butter?" said Cynder.
Matt groaned, "Peanut butter. I'll give her this, she's got unerring aim."
"I'm just wondering, shouldn't she have laid that egg by now?" asked Spyro.
"That's what her doctor said before Kala tossed him out. Whenever I ask, she says it's not safe yet," said Matt.
"And whenever you ask what you mean by safe..." started Cynder.
"She throws me out," finished Matt.
"I'll go talk to her," said Cynder, standing up, Matt and Spyro blocking her.
"Not as a half-dragon. That's another thing. She's growing," said Matt.
"Well, considering the amount of food she's eating-" started Cynder.
"I mean in all dimensions," said Matt, "She's taller than me now."
The two anthro dragons gave him a skeptical look. Matt's eyes glowed ominously as he growled, "I'm not kidding."
"Ok, ok, I get it," said Cynder quickly, "Maybe you should move her to somewhere with more space?"
"We're already in one of the nesting quarters," said Matt
"Perhaps we should see how she is," said Spyro.
"Ok, but first, you guys know where I can find an ice cream churn?" asked Matt.
The trio landed, all three in dragon form at the large nesting quarters. "Honey? I couldn't find any peanut butter, turns out it doesn't exist here," called Matt cautiously before going bug-eyed and charging ahead.
Spyro and Cynder followed in to see what had caused him to run ahead.
The door to Kala's nesting room was demolished and judging from the cracking noises, Matt was going terran dragon. "Matt, Matt, don't lose your temper," said Cynder quickly, "I'm sure there's a good explanation."
As Cynder ran in, Spyro looked around. No sign of forced entry, the door was also smashed outward, but it was designed to take anything. He leaned on a wall as he thought and yelped as the wall fell outwards. To be precise, a large solid piece of the wall fell out. And now that Spyro took a good look at it, he could see clawmark at the edges, a sign that someone's handled it often.
"Guys?" he called. Cynder ran out before Matt followed, his dragon form still looking...passable as Avalarian, though his scales were midnight black and there were bone spurs at his elbows and running down his spine, as well as that nasty tail weapon.
There was that glint in his eyes though that Spyro remembered. "Where...is my mate?" said 'Matt' coldly.
"Er, I think she stepped out," said Spyro, pointing at the large hole in the wall. An explosion was heard in the city at that, followed by an angry roar.
"And I don't think she's trying to be sneaky this time," said Cynder.
The trio landed to see a smashed up shop front, Matt sniffing around with a mad grin.
Spyro looked at the sign shop. "Another jewelry store? She's not actually hoarding treasure, is she?" he asked.
Matt was heard laughing at that, the two walking forward to see a large crimson dragon, bone spines across its back and its saurian head taking bites out of a diamond, Matt looking proud before he saw them. "What? She needs a healthy diet to keep her scales strong," said Matt.
The crimson dragoness had noticed them at that, snarling and the spines on its tail quivering, Matt stepping in front of her. "I would stay back, purple one. My beloved is feeling...territorial."
"You realize that she can't just eat these gems without paying for them first," said Spyro.
"She needs them more than some merchant," said Matt loftily
"Then as her mate, it's your responsibility to-" started Spyro.
"Uh, Spyro, a word?" asked Cynder before pulling him aside, "This version of Matt is not an Avalarian dragon and doesn't hold Avalarian principles. And apparently it's spread to Kala."
"If I remember, I almost crushed you the first time," said Matt darkly, his eyes glowing, Kala snarling and the temperature at their feet warming.
"Perhaps we should take this elsewhere," said Cynder.
The sound of landing was heard, several dragon guards landing. "Those are the ones!" snapped a wind dragon, clearly the owner. The guards readied elemental attacks.
"Excuse me, we're trying to resolve this peacefully," said Spyro.
"Out of the way!" snapped one of the guards, clearly new, the earth dragon causing the group to tip the two out the way.
"This won't end well for you, cousin," said Matt calmly.
"All I know is that there's a throwback that needs to be thrown out," said the guard.
"Funny. I was going to say the same," said Matt, his spines lighting up.
Spyro managed a "NO!" before that multicolored breath blast engulfed the guards leaving smoke. Spyro's reaction was to blast Matt in the side, pinning him. "You murdered them!" he roared. Matt laughed before Spyro heard wails, turning and staring, seeing several barely hatched dragonlings in piles of armor or robes.
"Uh, remind me, was Matt's cosmic radiation associated with life or time?" asked Cynder.
"Life...alot of life," said Spyro weakly, before yelping as Matt pushed him off.
"Beloved. We're leaving," Matt said to Kala, who didn't respond. "I said, we're leaving," said Matt. Kala just growled at him.
There was a cracking noise at that, Kala getting bigger all over, her back spines growing longer before she flicked her tail, Matt barely dodging as a row of spines hit the wall behind him, said wall then melting before she flew up and out the roof.
"Well...crap," muttered Matt
"I don't think we'll be able to hide this from the rest of Avalar," said Spyro.
"This is too far. Two of New Warfang's finest are barely out of the shell again and now you're telling me Kala's turned into another of these Terran dragons?" snapped Zara, Spyro and Cynder wincing.
"So, what other secrets have you been keeping that could tear apart Avalar?" asked Zara, "It's not as if our world isn't fragile enough as it is."
"The ways of the great dragons are none of your business," said Matt, who hadn't transformed back.
"Great dragons? From what I heard, the dragons of your planet were little more than greedy beasts who needed to be slain by knights," said Zara.
"Zara, for elements sake, don't antagonize him," snapped Spyro.
"You're the Purple Dragon, you're supposed to be protecting our world from threats like him," snapped Zara.
"Oh, this is rich. You caused your own set of troubles. It's amazing you still have your job," sneered Matt, backhanding a guard who tried to grab him and sending the dazed dragon across the room.
"And you just let your bloated behemoth of a mate rob hard-working dragons," snapped Zara.
Matt's smile faded and he growled deeply. "So easy..." he muttered.
Zara asked, "What's so easy?"
Matt said, "Destroying this building."
Spyro snapped, "Zara, will you shut up? This...this...hate against Matt isn't helping anyone."
"And you think just ignoring the problem will make it go away?" snapped Zara.
"Isn't that what governments usually do?" asked Matt.
A few glares were aimed at him before Spyro continued. "Matt didn't ask for this and neither did Kala. Prosecuting them will just make things worse," he snapped, glowering at Zara.
"And what's your alternative? Give her all of our jewels and meat?" asked Zara.
"Jewels we can do without," said Cynder.
"You're throwing away the wealth of our city," snapped Zara.
Matt began to laugh at that, a deep dark laughter that reminded Spyro a little too much of Malefor before he said, "There's nothing you can do. My beloved is preparing to lay. She will continue to eat and grow till she is sure the egg will be defended and all you idiots have shown is how dangerous this city is. She will continue till she has the strength she thinks she needs and all you can do is get out of the way."
"Have you considered that she is the danger to this city?" snapped Zara.
"Of course she is, she's a red dragon. She's perfectly capable of flattening this city if she thinks this place is a danger to our egg," laughed Matt.
"You are not helping your case," said Cynder.
"What case? All you can do is get out of her way," sneered Matt, making a keening noise.
"I can see that manners aren't a thing for Terran dragons either," said Zara dryly.
"Oh I wasn't laughing that time," said Matt, before the lights above flickered with a cracking noise before the roof was lifted up by two huge clawed draconic hands.
"You have got to be kidding," said Zara flatly.
Matt grinned, taking off, growing to match her size. "As my weaker side would say, 'Don't call us, we'll call you,'" he sneered, the two flying off.
"Terran dragons don't make very good neighbors, do they?" asked Spyro.
"Not from the example I'm seeing," said Cynder.
"So now Kala's turned into one of those Old Earth dragons? What next?" snapped Chloe, Spyro and Cynder having explained the situation.
"Apparently she's going to set up her nest," said Spyro.
"So?" said Chris, Chloe glaring and dragging Chris over to a window.
Of course, Matt and Kala didn't settle for a cave at the top of a mountain. They wanted someplace comfortable. In this case, the central district of New Warfang. It had been easy enough to chase the Atlantean forces out. The Atlantean Empire had barely defeated the original dragons of their own world. Matt could be seen circling a mini volcano that had formed.
"Well...smeg," said Chris weakly.
"Yeah, that's sure to drive property values down," said Chloe dryly.
"I'm gonna guess Zara wants us to fix it," said NegaMorph in a bored tone.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Spyro.
"Ok, we're dealing with an old-world dragon, so we need to think old-world," said NegaMorph, "So we'll probably need to chain a princess to a rock for them to come to. I volunteer Chloe." The lightning bolt was impressive, NegaMorph rasping, "Ok...anyone else?"
"Maybe things will get back to normal once Kala lays her egg," said Cynder.
"Oh, I get what you're saying, "said Chip, "We need to induce her into labor."
"Yeah, anyone know how that works for Planet Earth dragons?" said NegaMorph sarcastically, before there was a flash of light and all of them were in university student outfits.
"You've gotta be kidding," said everyone flatly.
Betrayl appeared at that, "Oh please, like you know anyone else who knows what you want."
Cynder growled. "Didn't we tell you to leave and not come back?" asked Spyro.
"Oh, I knew you didn't really mean it," said Betrayl.
"Now then, you got a Dragon problem," said Betrayl. Spyro and Cynder looking offended, more so when Betrayl said, "I don't mean you guys. Compared to Matt and Kala at the moment, you're geckos with zippo lighters. Terran dragons could flatten this entire continent single handed...and you got one feeling all maternal."
"And what are we supposed to do? Make them drink a lake full of wine?" asked Draco.
"Nope," said Betrayl before, with a flash of light, everyone was in an open field, a shadow falling across them before they looked up to see Betrayl in the form of a rainbow-scaled Terran dragon. "Here's the problem; Terran dragons can choose when to lay...and they only do it when they're sure the hatchling's not in danger," she said, several cartoon pictures showing her comments.
"Kala musta had whoopie with Matt's terran form. The eggs decided her Avalarian form was too weak...and Kala's Terran form thinks the egg's not safe," said Betrayl, teleporting them back to the room.
"So she's stuck like this until she thinks it safe to lay?" asked Cynder.
"Yup and good luck harming them unless you got some nukes or a reality warper," said Betrayl cheerfully before noticing their looks and sudden grins. "Hey...now hold on there," she said sternly.
"On the other hand, Betrayl is completely unreliable," said Chloe, "How can we expect her to help?"
"Yeah...hey!" snapped Betrayl.
"Oh, I can think of one reason," said Chip, "This Terran Matt probably looks down on all other species outside of his kind, right?"
"Well, yeah. Most of them do," said Betrayl.
Chloe said, "Yeah...no chance of him letting a patchwork noodle be anywhere near his hatchling."
"But...we're family," said Betrayl.
"I doubt Terran Matt will see it that way," said Chloe.
Betrayl's eyes teared up cartoonlike, Chip having the sense to ready an umbrella.
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" cried Betrayl, gushers of salty water spraying out of her eyes.
"I think we got through to her. So...you in?" asked Draxo, before yelping as he was zapped.
Betrayl was dressed up as a knight in shining armor now. "We shall lay low this miserable wyrm!" she declared.
"Can't be more miserable than I am right now," said Draco, who...seemed to be a winged horse. Actually, he looked more like someone stuffed a winged horse into him. "I do not like this plan," muttered Draco gloomily, before whinnying before Betrayl looked at Chloe.
"But first..." she said, aiming a glowing hand
Matt had landed at the mouth to his mate's new cave. This city would be a useful little domain. The hatchling would need to be weaned onto meat as fast as possible. He had heard that milk was also to help make hatchlings grow, but where was he going to find that much milk?
He paused at that, an usually ignored instinct kicking in, before he looked around at a cry that went all the way to his brain.
"Help, help, won't anyone help me! I need a brave knight to save me from the terrible- This is the stupidest thing I've ever had to say!" snapped a female voice from far away.
The last part had been off the ancient script but it was close enough, Matt shrugging and taking flight towards the sound.
"You know, I'm pretty sure the maiden sacrifice also has to be a virgin," snapped Chloe who was pulling at the chain that went from the shackle on her ankle to the boulder it was anchored to. And the shackle was the least embarrassing thing she was wearing right now.
"Actually that part was just something some duke made up. The dragon lords of 001 were really annoyed over it," said Betrayl, wearing a passable Solid Snake outfit as she stuck her head out of a bush before yelping and ducking back down.
Chloe glowered to herself as she heard something huge crash down behind her. "If this gets me eaten, I am so haunting you," said Chloe.
She froze up before looking up to see her draconic brother looking down at her before he actually sighed. "Is this someone's idea of a joke?" asked the dragon.
"Not mine, I can assure you," said Chloe, "They forced me into this dress."
"No, I mean...the 'dragon kidnaps the damsel' stereotype. It's ridiculous. As if a dragon would stoop so low," said Matt loftily, shrinking down to her size. Betrayl peeking out behind him and tip toeing towards him with a mallet in hand.
"I can think of one dragon who might stoop that low, but he's also a vampire," said Chloe.
"Hardly a real dragon," snorted Matt.
"Dammit...why do they always talk about me when I'm trying to sleep?" muttered Ghoulwyrm, a candle flame on the tip of both his ears.
"I dunno...I mean, why do dragons carry off damsels if not to ransom them off?" asked Chloe.
Matt getting a grin that seemed...shark-like. "Maybe we just use them as bait to lure in knights. They're far meatier and they ride horses," said Matt.
Chloe paused before she asked "Really?"
Matt smirked."No...I'm most likely going to feed you piecemeal to the hatchling." He reached for her before there was a noise like someone hitting a gong and his eyes crossed.
Chloe gave her doppelganger an annoyed look, "That's what you hit him with? A mallet?"
"Should I have used a frying pan?" asked Betrayl.
Matt's eyes uncrossed and he said, "Was that all? Some baby djinn?" before he swiped at Betrayl.
"You better have a Plan B!" snapped Chloe.
Matt began taking a deep breath before Betrayl said, "Erm...run?"
"I'M CHAINED TO THE ROCK!" snapped Chloe, pulling on her chain.
"That's why I'll roast you last," said Matt, charging at Betrayl and running face first into a brick wall that appeared with a flash of light.
"My life is in the hands of a Tex Avery reject," said Chloe with chagrin before she started pulling madly at her chain.
"How do you think it's going?" asked Spyro, before Betrayl shot past, screaming, followed by Matt, who was snarling.
"Let's just say it's a good thing our plan hinges more on Betrayl being a nuisance to him than a threat," said Cynder.
Kala felt...wrong, at least according to a small part of her, but the majority of her mind was consumed by the need for safety for her egg. While she could tell it was ready to be laid, her instincts told her it was not yet safe. Her nest was not secure enough.
Her mate had flown off earlier and judging from the screaming, he was hunting for her. This wasn't him returning, Kala looking up to see another dragoness coming in cautiously, one of the mongrel dragons from the city below.
Kala growled deeply at her. "I'm not here to fight," said the smaller dragoness, "I just want to talk."
Kala's eyes narrowed at that before she said, "Speak then."
"Kala, you know this isn't who you really are. You're a better person than this," said Cynder.
"This is the best I could be. I'm a goddess compared to you weaklings," sneered Kala.
"Is it what you want or what he wants?" asked Cynder.
Kala tilted her head at that, confused. "What are you blabbering about?" she snapped.
"From what I hear, a mate who forces you to change is not a mate worth having," said Cynder, "If that Terran drake loved you, he would have accepted you for who you are. Not remold you to his tastes."
"He did nothing to me. My mate has all the magical skills of a block of hardwood," said Kala.
Cynder narrowed her eyes in puzzlement and said, "This transformation didn't come out of nowhere."
"My egg needs to be safe," snarled Kala, her eyes glowing orange
"How much safer does it need to be than this?" asked Cynder, "Unless you're wanting to pad this nest up."
"He's MINE!" snarled Kala.
Cynder paused, saying, "The egg...the hatchling did this."
"He'll be much like his father," said Kala proudly.
"Kala, this isn't natural," snapped Cynder.
"You're just jealous!" snapped Kala.
Cynder glared. "Yes...yes I am a bit. My hatchling's been brainwashed to lead one of the most evil forces in the multiverse...but I'm not trying to take yours," she finally said.
Kala growled at her. "You and Matt aren't supposed to be like this. You're heroes here. Is this how you should be acting?" asked Cynder.
Kala paused at that, blinking in confusion, Cynder seeing her chance. "Kala, something's wrong. You need to have the egg. I think it's making you and Matt do this."
"But...my hatchling..." said Kala.
"Are you his mother or his servant?" snapped Cynder, "Are you going to let him boss you around before he's even born?"
Kala winced, before she managed, "I...will...NOT!" the ground rumbling a little.
Cynder added, "As calmly as possible." Kala roared loudly as her sides spasmed. Cynder started to worry if she should get a midwife.
An explosion outside also made her worry for Spyro and the others
Betrayl screamed as Matt tore a wall aside to try and grab her before a fireball from a swooping Spyro hit him. "Starting to get annoyed here," snarled Matt.
"Spyro, fire doesn't work on him!" yelled Betrayl.
"It's distracting him from eating you,"Sspyro yelled back angrily, rolling to avoid a blast from Matt.
"So how is the other part of this going?" asked Betrayl.
"Cynder said she could talk Kala down," said Spyro.
Betrayl nodded "Good idea...Terran dragonesses tended to get along." before opening a cartoon hole in her chest to avoid a blast. "Males however," she added.
"Yes, I'm hoping she won't have to talk long," said Spyro.
"That won't affect Matt...guess dad nerves got to him," said Betrayl nervously, the two ducking to let Matt fly past for a second.
"Well if something's not done soon, all of Warfang may be-" started Spyro before a loud roar rent the air, and it didn't come from Matt.
Matt paused in the air, turning to look before roaring angrily and flying towards it. "Game's up!" yelped Betrayl, shooting at Matt and twisting round him.
Spyro got on his communicator and said, "Cynder, I think you better leave now."
"Er, Kala's kinda in a delicate state right now," came Cynder's reply.
"Betrayl, we gotta hold him here," called Spyro.
Betrayl looked thoughtful before zapping herself, turning into a rainbow-coloured Godzilla. "No giant monster can resist the challenge of Godzilla," she called triumphantly before getting tackled by Matt.
There was a loud wheezing sound as Betrayl started deflating. "A parade float? Seriously?" asked Spyro.
"I guess I went over-budget," said Betrayl. Matt sneered before trying to take off, only to find himself tangled up. "Yeah, not so easy to get out of these things, is it?" asked Betrayl before she managed to flop over onto Matt. Matt roared angrily till Betrayl gagged him somehow. "Yeah, we don't need you blasting or anything," she said.
There was another roar from Kala, sounding higher-pitched than before.
This just caused Matt to struggle more, trying to break free.
"Sorry, you have to stay in the waiting room like everyone else," said Betrayl.
"Let...me...go!" roared Matt, thrashing around.
"No can do," said Betrayl.
Spyro headed forward carefully. "Matt, if you're in there. Look, I know what you're going through. I was clawing at the waiting room walls when Lumina's egg was laid. Kala'll be ok..." he said carefully keeping out of claw range.
A third roar was heard, though it sounded less like a dragon and more like a woman.
Matt paused, looking up at the cave.
Kala looked down at the egg, somehow getting the feeling it was staring back. Her mind had cleared, though she hadn't turned back yet. "I laid THAT?" she snapped at Cynder in disbelief.
"It's a pretty big one," said Cynder, "But you're bigger than other dragonesses right now." In honesty, the egg wasn't much bigger than an Avalarian one, but Cynder wasn't going to set off Kala again.
"And...all I've been doing..." said Kala.
"That was the pregnancy hormones," said Cynder, though she was pretty sure that was a lie.
"Oh...the elbow spikes are weird..." said Kala, a little dizzily.
"I'm sure you can get used to them," said Cynder. Just then, there was a cracking sound as one fell off. "Or better yet..." said Cynder.
"Thank heavens..." muttered Kala, before looking at the obsidian egg. "Our son," she said happily, before a voice said "Enjoy it for now." Kala and Cynder turning...
Fortunately, once Matt had sensed the egg was laid, he started reverting to his usual dragon form. "I didn't get too carried away, did I?" asked Matt.
"That depends on who you ask," said Spyro, carefully not looking at the parts of Warfang that had been damaged during the fight.
Matt noticed the look before sighing, "How bad?"
"Let's just say you're lucky you don't pay property tax," said Betrayl.
A keening noise was heard at that, Matt turning his head. "Is that who I think it is?" he asked. He took off without a word, Spyro and Betrayl following.
The two arrived just in time to see a guard fly into view, Spyro running in to see guards dogpiling Matt, Kala wailing as she was similarly restrained and Cynder yelling at Zara who looked surprisingly smug.
"What is going on here?" snapped Spyro.
"Ah, Councillor Spyro, this has nothing to do with you." said Zara.
Kala wailed, "Give me back my egg!"
"You're taking a mother's egg?" snapped Spyro.
"This isn't just an egg," said Zara, "This is a potential threat against Warfang."
"It's an egg, Zara," said Cynder flatly.
"And look at what created it," said Zara, pointing towards Matt.
"And look at what else he and his mate have created," she added, pointing out towards the damage Matt and Kala had done to the city, let alone the volcano that had been built up in the center of it.
"YOU'RE DEAD, ZARA!" screamed Matt, trying to throw off the guards.
"Zara, this is low, even for you," said Spyro, "You can't just unilaterally take an egg from its mother."
"This isn't unilateral," said Zara, "The majority of the Council agrees with me." She held up a document as proof.
Spyro snatched and read it, his gaze getting angrier as he reas, though relieved when he saw Terrador, Cyril and Volteer's names were not on it.
"But honestly, Spyro, put your emotional ties aside for one minute and consider. Look what just carrying this egg has done to Kala. Aren't you the slightest bit concerned about what will come out of that egg?" asked Zara.
Spyro noticed the wording there...she said 'will' not 'might'. "You can't keep them apart forever," said Spyro, "In fact, unless you can convince them, you won't be able to keep them apart for five more minutes."
Zara smirked at that.
"Spyro, perhaps that needs to be rephrased," said Cynder.
She turned and grabbed Zara by the neck, "For starters, this egg will not be going into your custody," she growled, "You clearly can't be trusted with an egg." Zara gagged as Cynder snarled. "The egg will be taken to a respected institute where it will be studied and returned to its parents when we are all ready for it to be hatched," said Cynder.
"Just give it back!" snarled Matt.
"Matt, as much as I want to, she does have a bit of a point," said Cynder, "The two of you are adults who have learned restraint. What do you think will happen when a hatchling with your powers is let loose before we know how to contain his tantrums?"
"He'd just be a fucking kid!" snapped Matt.
Just then, the egg started to vibrate. Then the ground around it started shaking. First a little, but then enough to knock everyone off their feet and rattle them around.
"See?" snapped Zara
"Ouch, Kala, you alright?" asked Matt, not quite sure where she was at the moment. Matt glared, snapping "Get off Kala, NOW!" The guards looked at one another before getting off her. Matt hurried to her and asked, "Kala, are ok?"
"I wanted my milkshake stirred, not shaken..." said Kala dizzily.
Matt glared at the guards. "Is there a reason my mate doesn't know what day it is?" he growled.
"Maybe it had something to do with the earthquake that just hit us," said one of them dryly.
Matt glared before looking at Spyro. "You swear you'll guard our egg," he said. It wasn't a question...it was a statement with the promise of violence should this mission be failed.
"Of course," said Spyro, "And once you two are ready to be parents, you will get it back."
"We are ready!" snapped Matt.
"No, you're not," said Spyro, Cynder, Zara, even the guards.
Matt and Kala looked hurt at that.
"I mean, you're a good couple, but I don't think you can handle the responsibility of parenthood right now," said Cynder.
"Particularly since you're still technically considered criminals...by the people you're having a civil war with," said Spyro.
Matt paused before looking at Kala, "Er...he's got a point, honey."
"But he's our baby," said Kala tearfully.
"And he still is...and we know he'll hatch, remember?" said Matt softly to her.
Kala took a deep breath and asked, "He won't be our only child, will he?"
"No...we've met them, remember?" said Matt.
"You met them," said Kala in an annoyed tone.
"Well, the way our lives go, they'll probably end up going back through time and-"
"Matt, I think I should stop you there," said Spyro, "It sounds like you're setting yourself up for something."
"Yeah...let's not," said one of the guards innocently.
"Ok, but next time, I want to have our kid the mammalian way," said Kala, "No more egg-laying."
"Agreed," said Matt, before glaring at the group and saying in an echoing voice, "Are you still here?"
Zara just glared and said, "I want to see that egg in a stasis spell within the hour."
The Atlantean facility inside Avalar's moon had some heavy security since Chloe's close call, and now the first egg ever born from a Terran Shar was coming.
"Careful with that thing," said the security chief, "If it breaks-"
"I know, I know, I'll be eating the world's biggest omelet," said one of the guards.
"The only way you'd be eating omelets is through a dripline, assuming there's enough left of you to feed," said the security chief.
"Oh yeah," gulped the guard.
The egg was being kept in a sealed container. The stasis spell should make sure it didn't need oxygen, but there was going to be more airflow in the vault where it was going.
The guards would remain on guard for a week before transferring, swearing that they had the feeling they were being eavesdropped on.
Of course, that would be nonsense. The egg was frozen in time, kept dormant until it is ready to hatch. Or more accurately, the world is ready for it to hatch. The fact that the second shift of guards would report the same thing was pure coincidence.
Of course, when the third shift reported the same thing, that's when they got a little worried. Surely some automated guards would be more suitable, right?
There's another chapter and one that shows that at least one of Matt and Kala's future kids will still exist. In case you haven't figured it out or haven't read The Aliens Within, this is Erasmus's egg that's featured here. Which would explain everything about him. Keep an eye out for the next chapter tomorrow and please review.