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Chapter 3

Chance Encounter

"Oh great…not again…" The cheetah sighed. "MEADOW! Are you okay!"

"I'm fine! I just grazed my knee!" Meadow replied.

He shook of some dirt and checked his knee. It wasn't bleeding; there weren't any traces of blood on his fir—that he was grateful for—but he found that it stung a little. He tried to stand up, but found himself on rather shaky supports. Grunting in pain, he sat back down the ground, and waited for his companion.

"Be careful Kane, the rocks aren't stable in this area!" he shouted above.

He had fallen rather deep. Luckily he didn't injure himself like last time. He momentarily chuckled; one of these days, his herb gathering activities are going to get himself killed. It was a good idea he brought Kane along. He wouldn't know what to do if he didn't. Besides, the adolescent needed it. He'd been looking for an excuse to give him an application test. And now he had it. Shaking his head, Meadow looked up, and found Kane grabbing the vines at the cliff edge, checking if it were safe to hang onto. He smiled. He taught the young cheetah well.

"Be careful! Your robe might snag!" he shouted, making him remember the pointers.

"I will!" Kane grunted, careful to not let his brown robe get snagged on the intertwining vines. He carefully began scaling the cliff edge, going down to his fallen friend.

"You know, you should have been careful!" Meadow chuckled to himself, nursing his injured knee.

"I know! I'm old enough to know that. The last thing I want is you nagging me for being irresponsible," he said jokingly. It was rather hard to hear each other, so they had to shout; because of the waterfall, turning into a river, was raging next to them.

Kane made his way down, grabbing at the vines one after the other, before reaching a safe height. He jumped down, grunting as he landed. Meadow smirked as he saw the young one approach him, a smug smile on his face.

"Took you long enough," he said as Kane knelt.

"And you tell me I'm the one nagging you?" he asked rhetorically. Meadow just turned his head and let Kane check on his injuries.

"Okay, let's see how much you learned. How bad is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm…" Kane gently held his knee and scrutinized it. "You're not screaming in pain, so that means it's not broken." Meadow just quietly listened as he judged Kane, holding off on the comments.

"I saw you try to stand up earlier, but falter. It's sprained then. You won't be able to walk, unless you have crutch." Kane then prodded it gently.

"Ow…" Meadow grimaced. Kane nodded.

"It's a sprain then. How'd I do?" he asked, helping his teacher up.

"Good. Great even. Now come on, help me up."

Kane placed his equipment down and knelt. Grunting, he hefted Meadow up careful to not aggravate his injury.

"Give me your sword; I'll use it as a makeshift cane." Kane nodded, and grabbed his belongings back. Carrying his knapsack again, he handed his sword to Meadow, who leaned on it. The sheath strained a little, but held. It was strong enough to support his weight.

"Let's head back." Meadow limped, but was able to walk. Kane carefully walked beside him, wary if his teacher may fall.

It was a good thing they were out of the woods when Meadow's accident came. He had fallen at the cliff edge near the waterfall, not far from their Village. He was trying to reach a flower that could be used as a medicine that grew at a tree branch, precariously leaning on the edge of the cliff. Neither knew that it would easily give under his weight.

"Thank you," said Meadow out of the blue.

"For what?" Kane asked.

"For being here with me; I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here. Remember last time?" Kane chuckled.

"Everyone knows that. It was Spyro and Cynder right? Who came to get you?" Meadow nodded.

"Yeah, it was them." Meadow turned to look at the sky, examining the wispy clouds that lazily hung at the air. "They saved my lif—"

He was cut off as both of them felt a sudden shaking at the earth. Kane tipped slightly, feeling the ground rumble underneath his paws.

"What in the—"

Kane couldn't finish his sentence as he was surprised at the sight before him. The ground began to crack, a few feet ahead of them. A loud roar came from it as the crack grew wider. The two cheetahs looked in terror as a large mass began to climb out, and turned to face them. Kane's jaw gaped as he realized what it was. Covered in fur, sharp claws and fangs, a stupid looking grin plastered across its face; it only registered to him as one thing.

But Kane didn't have enough time to think, as it charged at them.

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"AHHH!"

"There it is again! Come on!"

Spyro and Cynder ran as fast as they could. That sounded like a cry for help. Someone was in deep trouble. Spyro felt himself get rejuvenated as the feeling of the sudden rush came to him. He felt his strength coming back to him, making him feel stronger and powerful. His heartbeat climbed higher as the sense of urgency registered in his mind. He was ready for whatever the challenge may be this time.

He looked up ahead and saw a break in the trees; he managed to get a glimpse of what was going on. It was a cheetah. A cheetah in a blue vest with brown robes stood warily, holding his sword tightly in his hands. He was up against…something…big. Spyro wondered what it was as they ran toward it. He had never seen an animal THAT BIG in these parts of Avalar. It must have been a bear; a big one. They managed to reach the cheetah, just in time as he was smacked to the side with a heavy paw. His body went like a ragdoll, and landed in a heap, no longer moving.

"KANE!" exclaimed another voice.

"Is that—Meadow?" Cynder asked, turning her head to the sound of the voice.

"Spyro! Cynder! What are you two—BEHIND YOU!"

The moment's distraction proved to be rather dangerous for the duo. Spyro ducked reflexively, the claws of their enemy grazing his scales. He grimaced in pain, running behind him, giving them a wide berth. Cynder however was rather too late, and got smacked; hard. Her sides were sliced; earning her a fresh wound and was now openly bleeding. She skidded to the side, a wing covering her wound instinctively, her face contorting to show pain.

"Cynder! You okay?" shouted Spyro.

"I'm fine!" she replied, biting her lips.

Warily turning his head, he faced his enemy and managed to get a good look this time. His eyes grew wide as the sudden realization hit him.

His enemy…how was this possible?

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Izrayl panted as his running slowly turned into jogging.

He had been running as fast as he could for the past minute, and exhaustion was now coming to get him. His muscles ached, his lungs burned and the desire for water suddenly came. A realization came to his mind that made him chuckle at himself.

"I am so out of shape…"

Though, how exhausted he was. He didn't falter. Stopping only to catch his breath, he pressed on, eager to help those who were in need. A few moments later, he broke into a clearing in the trees. He was standing atop a cliff edge, a waterfall to his left side. From his vantage point, he could clearly see what was amiss.

Two cheetahs were on the ground at the clearing. One seemed to be wounded as he did not move, while the other tended to his injuries. A few feet away from them, a heated battle seemed to be happening. Two dragons were busy fighting…a…he couldn't clearly identify what it was, but it seemed like a large bear. It was furry and was definitely larger than him in terms of size. But descriptions aside, he could clearly tell the two dragons were loosing.

The dark purple dragon was bleeding. Specks of red flew through the air as he moved, and it was growing in volume. The other, a purple dragon, was having a hard time trying to attack. Each time he tried to take a swipe at the enemy, he just kept on getting deflected, forced to back down and try again when the opportunity rose.

One thing that struck him odd was that, why weren't they using their elements?

Shaking his head, he threw the thought away. Now was not the time to try and understand the situation. But the colors…something about the colors of the dragons caught his attention. Izrayl felt dizzy as a headache presented itself. Along with this…two words came into his mind.

Spyro and Cynder.

"Spyro…? Cynder…?" he asked himself, before grimacing. He bit his lip. His head throbbed painfully, the headache making him feel numb. Grunting, he shook his head, trying to control the pain. Luckily, it eased off. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tension on his head loosen. He was in no shape to fight, but now he was.

Now he was ready to help them. This…Spyro and Cynder, as it would seem.

Opening his wings, he jumped off the cliff, gliding towards the fight that was happening.

0 0 0 0 0

"Cynder! How are you holding up!" shouted Spyro, backing away from the monster they were trying to take down.

"Do I have to answer!" she shouted back frustrated.

Her sides were stinging with pain, making her eyes water slightly. She was cut deep, and she needed red gems. And she needed them badly. If this went on any longer, she was afraid she might pass out from all the blood loss. She was already feeling weaker and had to lie down for a moment. This was a losing fight, and the only option they had now was to run. If only they could use their elements. It was a fatal oversight. It would seem they were too weak to utilize them. Now the only option left was to run. But how were they to run, if they had two cheetahs injured as well. They couldn't leave them behind; it would kill both of their conscience.

They just couldn't get a break from all the action.

"CYNDER! Watch out!"

Cynder's thoughts were derailed as Spyro's voice pierced the air. He was lying next to a tree, coughing up blood. She turned her head just in time to see the monster of an enemy they faced approach her. She needed to get a move on. But unfortunately, she couldn't. Her paws gave on her when she tried to stand up. She was too weak to even move now. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers when the shadow of her enemy covered her. Its paws were raised up in a shape of clenched fists, going to come down to her in a strong brute force. This was it. Fatality was soon going to follow.

"CYNDER!" Spyro shouted frantically. He hastily stood up and charged at the enemy, horns pointed. If he didn't get there in time…she'd…she'd…

A loud whistling sound came to his right, making him glance toward that direction. Just in time to see a blue flash zip by. If he had blinked, he'd miss it. A gurgling sound soon followed, as it was actually a…icicle.

Cynder blinked in surprise as the ape they were fighting had an icicle stabbed through it, piercing it right at the chest. Its face contorted in pain as it fell over, to its side. She was saved. If it was a moment too late, she would have died. She looked at the side, to see Spyro look equally surprised. That made her realized that it wasn't him that launched that icicle.

Then…who was it?

"Hey! Are you okay!" came a different voice.

"Is that…another dragon?" asked Kane, now awake. He had passed out due to the ape earlier, but he was revived by Meadow who was equally surprised as well. Everyone gawked at the blue dragon that had now landed and was making his way over to Cynder. Spyro was the one that was most shocked; another dragon? Where'd he come from? Who was he? What was he doing here?

Questions buzzed across his mind as he slowly stood up, tipping slightly. He had never seen another dragon before that was the same age as him, aside from Cynder, so he was really curious as to whom this dragon was.

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