"Spyro? Are you awake?"

"C-Cynder?"

Spyro slowly opened his eyes, his head pounding as he sat up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. His eyes felt as if they'd been glued shut and it took a lot of effort to open them. He looked around the room and, through his blurred vision, saw Cynder sitting next to him, looking concerned.

"Cynder! You're cured!"

"Huh? Oh, Cynder. Well, I'm not Cynder; I'm Solaris, Cynder's mother. Cynder's on the other bed." A warm, comforting voice replied.

As Spyro's vision cleared, he saw that the dragoness sitting next to him looked a lot like Cynder except for her wings, which did not have metal tips and her scales seemed slightly darker than Cynder's. He tried to sit up but was gently held down by the dragoness.

"You're still recuperating, just rest for a while."

"But Cynder…"

"Will be fine. She's also resting just over there." Solaris pointed to the next bed.

Cynder lay there and, while she did look better, still looked extremely pale. She didn't seem in pain but the sight of Cynder lying there brought tears to his eyes. At that moment, Ignitus entered the room with a grey dragon that looked a lot like Spyro. Ignitus and the dragon brightened when they saw Spyro sitting up on the bed. The grey dragon strode over and gave Spyro a big hug.

"I'm glad you're all right, son."

Spyro was taken aback when he heard the word "son" came out of the dragon's mouth.

"Wait, I haven't met you before, have I? You look awfully familiar. And what's with calling me "son"?" Spyro said as the dragon released his embrace.

"Oh, my apologies, Spyro, we haven't been formally introduced now, have we?" The grey dragon replied.

"This is Baero, the Wind Guardian. He's your father, Spyro, and it was him who entrusted your egg to me during the raids on the Dragon cities." Ignitus explained as Baero turned to check on Cynder.

"But you didn't tell me anything about my father, Ignitus." Spyro said, extremely confused.

"That's because I thought he was dead. We lost contact after the raids and I naturally assumed that he was dead. I, myself, did not know he was alive until last night when I carried you and Cynder to Lazarus. You passed out when we were approaching the city due to the sudden upsurge of Earth energy when we neared Lazarus."

"Okay. So, can Cynder be cured here?" Spyro asked, his mind starting to comprehend what Ignitus was telling him.

"Yes. Unfortunately, the king of Lazarus, Eratos, forbade us to do so."

Earlier, Eratos called all the Guardians to his throne room. There, he forbade all of them from assisting Spyro. The consequences included being banished from Lazarus and being forced into exile. Naturally, the Guardians were enraged and protested to Eratos.

"What he said after that stunned all of us…" Ignitus said, scowling. Baero looked down solemnly and Solaris held her head in her paws.

Eratos then told all four Guardians that his Master, Malefor, would be resurrected soon and that he would stop at nothing to see his rebirth. He also told them that Spyro would also play a part in Malefor's resurrection and that he wanted Spyro as emotionally scarred as possible to let the darkness flow out of him and that even the Guardians would not be able to stop him and Malefor from bringing about a new world.

"He told us that he knew we were keeping you upstairs, apparently Malefor told him this piece of news."

"We should have known this since that day 15 years ago, during the raids." Baero said solemnly, paws clenched.

During the chaos of the raids, Baero's wife and Spyro's mother was killed in cold blood and when Baero returned to Chrisil's room, it was already too late. Chrisil lay before him in a pool of blood. The entire room was more or less destroyed during the fight and Spyro's egg was still in her embrace, completely intact. Looking around the room, Baero found a claw fragment amongst the carnage and kept it, hoping it would lead him to the culprit. Shortly after, he heard news that Hrunting and the King were also dead.

"We originally thought that it was Malefor's doing but, after what Eratos told us, we were positive that it was him that killed Chrisil, Hrunting and the original king. The Eratos now is actually Eratos the 2nd. He had wanted the throne for years and he took advantage of the raid to assassinate his own father as well as 2 of the Guardians; your mother and Cynder's father." Baero explained to Spyro in a low, solemn voice.

"I kept the claw fragment I found in your mother's room and I examined it closely after what Eratos told us. There was no doubt that it was his claw." A stray tear slid down Baero's face and Spyro knew that Baero was in pain from recalling that memory.

Spyro's head was spinning from the amount of information being relayed to his young mind but the main piece of that stuck in his mind was that Cynder could not be cured without Ignitus, Baero or Solaris from being banished. He no longer doubted that Baero was his father, the resemblance was uncanny and, frankly, he was glad for a shoulder to cry on. He burst into tears and hugged Baero tightly, sobbing loudly.

"D-Dad…Cynder…W-What should I…"

"Shh, it's alright, let it all out."

The sight of this made Ignitus and Solaris teary. This was a lot of responsibility to put on the shoulders of such a young dragon. Solaris sobbed quietly, her head resting on Cynder's while Ignitus stood there quietly.

They were so caught up in their emotions that they failed to take notice of Bolzan who was slowly making his way to Baero and Spyro. He tapped Baero lightly on his shoulder and when he turned around, Bolzan delivered a blow across Baero's face that sent him reeling in shock and pain.

"What the hell are you doing, Bolzan?" Baero roared as he glared angrily at Bolzan, intending to return the blow. He was about to strike when he saw tears in Bolzan's eyes as well. He slowly lowered his paw, waiting to see what Bolzan would do.

"Spyro, pull yourself together!"

"B-but…what should I do…" Spyro blubbered, barely coherent.

Bolzan gave Spyro a stinging slap across his muzzle before shaking some sense into Spyro.

"Listen to me! I know this is a tough choice to make and I'm not going to lie, no one should be subject to this stress but trust me, I know how it feels to be helpless and crying isn't going to accomplish anything."

Spyro nodded slightly, surprised at the maturity of the words coming from a dragon of the same age as he was.

"We've been discussing after Eratos' ranting and I've chosen to help you, no matter the cost. First, tell me, are you willing to risk your life for Cynder's?"

"Of course…" Spyro muttered.

"Good. Now, get some rest. You're going to have to be healthy to carry out this job."

Baero, Ignitus and Solaris had left the room, leaving Spyro, Bolzan and Cynder in the room.

Bolzan was about to leave when Spyro stopped him.

"I'm guessing you're the 4th Guardian they were talking about, right? After all, Cyril is back at Warfang while Terrador and Volteer are out on some errands."

Bolzan laughed bitterly.

"Yes, you're right, Spyro, I'm the Twilight Guardian, Bolzan. You really are Baero's son, after all. His instincts were top-notch."

Spyro smiled slightly, his head turning to face Cynder.

"I guess it runs in the family. Are you sure you want to help me? I don't want to be the reason behind your exile. Also, are you really as old as you seem?"

"Yes and yes. I'm the same age as you and Cynder. I also won't let another family be broken up while I'm around. I've already let my own family down years ago; I won't let it happen again…"

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you some other time. All I can say is, it wasn't pretty."

"All right, I respect that. You know, I think we'll be great friends."

"I feel that way as well. This will cure Cynder, without doubt, but there's the slight chance that you won't make it beyond the first stage. After all, it requires a lot of risky procedures. The chances of success are slim to none. Are you sure you want to do this, Spyro?"

"As long as there's a chance, I'll take it, no matter how slim it is. I love Cynder with all my heart; I just want her to get better…"

Just then, Cynder stirred. She turned her head towards Spyro and opened her eyes slightly. Spyro noticed this and jumped out of bed, crouching beside her, taking her paw in his.

"Spyro, you don't have to do this. Just let me go…" Cynder whispered.

"No, I won't let you leave like this. I'll help you and so will my friend, Bolzan."

Bolzan nodded solemnly.

"Nice to meet you, Cynder." Bolzan said, stepping over to Cynder's bedside.

"Bolzan, thank you for helping Spyro. I overheard what were the consequences of your actions. I'm not forcing you…" Cynder said quietly.

"I'm doing this of my own accord. Not because of the fact that Spyro is the "Savior of the Realm" or anything like that. I'm helping because it's the right thing to do."

Cynder nodded as Bolzan turned and left the room.

"So, what do you think of him, Cynder?" Spyro asked, caressing Cynder's paw.

"He's all right by me. He's really putting a lot on the line…"

"Yeah, I know. But he said that he let down his family years ago and that he wouldn't let it happen to anyone else's family."

"He's the same age as us, right?"

"That's right. He's also a Guardian."

Cynder giggled softly.

"Wow, that's really something I wasn't expecting."

"Yeah, I was shocked when he told me that as well."

"I heard you met your dad, how is he?"

"He's nice. I also met your mother; she really looks a lot like you. I think she spent the entire night by your bedside since she looked really tired."

"I felt her presence next to me. You just know you're related somehow, am I right?"

Spyro laughed, happy that Cynder was evidently feeling better.

"Yeah. I hope he can really help you. I don't want to see you in pain again."

Cynder smiled, a tear escaping her eye. Spyro kissed her gently on her forehead as Cynder closed her eyes, resuming her battle with Malefor's dark spirit. Spyro also went back to bed and, even though it was only midday, he felt particularly sleepy. He yawned and closed his eyes, lapsing effortlessly into a restful sleep.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a strange crystal chamber with no visible entrances or exits. In front of him, a dragon with deep maroon scales sat regally on a throne in front of Spyro. Spyro felt a sudden urge to bow out of respect for the dragon.

"Hello, Spyro, I've been waiting for you."

"Uh, who are you, sir?" Spyro asked respectfully, performing a little bow out of respect.

"My name is Lazarus." The dragon replied in a deep bass voice.

"I've been waiting for you, Spyro."