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Exclaimer: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

Chapter 6

Uncomfortable

"So Sparx…can I ask you something?" asked Spyro as they made there way down the hall.

"What is it bro?" asked Sparx. The golden dragonfly was resting on Spyro's shoulder, stretching his arms lazily.

"H-how are…mom and dad?" he asked.

Spyro was a bit reluctant to ask this question. Throughout the entire time they were journeying towards Malefor's lair, it had never occurred to him about the safety of his parents. The Burned Lands, now that he had thought of it, were originally the Swamps. That was the place where he grew up; the place where Flash and Nina raised him. Even though they were his foster parents, they were the only family he had left. They mattered to him a lot, and he felt a bit selfish forgetting about them. He only hoped that they weren't there when the Swamps got burnt.

"Mom and Dad?" Sparx sighed. "They're fine Spyro."

Spyro's shoulders relaxed his fear now behind him. He even let out a relieved sigh, hearing the words from Sparx.

"Where are they now?"

"Somewhere up north; I think it was somewhat near the Enchanted Forest. They came by to say goodbye a few days earlier. They were proud of us bro and didn't give up hope on you being alive." Spyro's brows furrowed.

"The Enchanted Forest? That place is dangerous. Didn't you warn them?" asked Spyro, worried.

"I did. And I also said NEAR. They know the dangers Spyro, don't worry. They wouldn't go there unless they didn't have any other choice," said Sparx.

"I see…"

A few moments later, they arrived at the familiar looking doors of the Library. The Temple Library hosted all sorts of books, usually under the categories of history and elementals. Rows upon rows of books were laid everywhere, filled to the brim with dusty old looking books that only dragons like Volteer would probably read. At the corner, Spyro heard the distinct sounds of paper rustling and shuffling, and the sounds of a dragon frustrated.

That was probably Volteer.

As they approached, some of the dust shifted, going towards them. Sparx sneezed as some of the dust trailed into his nostrils. Spyro just snickered in amusement.

Making his way to the side, Spyro peered at the corner to find the Electric Guardian scrutinizing what seemed like a scroll. A hard expression was on his face as his eyes moved left and right. Spyro, trying not to surprise him, cleared his throat.

"Ahem, Volteer?"

Volteer looked up and turned his head. He smiled as he saw Spyro approach him. Sparx on the other hand flew up to the scroll he was reading and examined it.

"Spyro, what brings you here?" asked Volteer.

"I came to ask about the place where we should go?" asked Spyro. Volteer thought for a moment, and then understood what he was trying to say.

"Oh! Oh that, wait, I found a map that can help me explain," he said, before walking over to the side.

"Hey Volteer, what are you reading?" asked Sparx.

"It's the scroll that I mentioned earlier, that mentions the Purple Light we saw," he replied.

"Wow…It's…so old," said Sparx.

"This probably is the oldest scroll here," added Spyro, taking a glance at it.

"It is," said Volteer. He now held a scroll on his paws that he placed at the side.

"That scroll has come from a long ways before. From my understanding, it might have come from the time of our ancestors; the Artisans."

"Oh," replied Sparx. He was silent for a moment, as if reluctant to say something.

"Who are the Artisans Volteer?" Spyro asked.

"You do not know?" Spyro shook his head.

"In case you didn't notice, we weren't exactly as learned as you Volt," said Sparx. Volteer chuckled.

"I am sorry."

"No offense taken," replied Spyro. Volteer nodded.

"Spyro, Sparx, the Artisans are our dragon ancestors. They are the sole reasons why the Moles revere us. Though, they may be our ancestors, we are however, not as literate as they were." Spyro's brows furrowed.

"You mean we're not as smart as they are? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? As time passes, more and more knowledge is added?"

"Unfortunately, in our case it isn't."

"Why is that?" Sparx asked, resting on Spyro's shoulder.

"For you to easily understand, the elements we use, such as your fire element, ice and whatnot. Those are just one of the few things that make up their legacy."

"You mean they were more powerful than us?" asked Spyro.

"Yes, in more ways than one. One perfect example is the Purple Light we saw. They were the ones that…created, for a better word, the crystal that that light came from. And as you can see, seeing as it was deemed to dangerous to be kept, we can hypothesize that all records of it were destroyed, and all we have now is this scroll as proof of its existence."

"Hmm…I guess not all it was destroyed though." Volteer cocked his head.

"I mean, whoever found out about the crystal must have read it from ANOTHER scroll right? Or else, how could he have known about it?" Sparx reasoning did have a point.

"I…see. I did not think of that." Sparx smiled smugly, as he achieved to out think Volteer for once.

"In any case, our ancestors are learned and powerful than most of us think. It is sad to see that most of their legacy was lost to the winds of time."

Spyro nodded. He couldn't believe he had a history lesson. However, that was a nice bit of information to know about.

"Uh…Thanks for the history lesson Volteer; now about that map?" Volteer smiled.

"Come over here. I'll show you your itinerary."

0 0 0 0 0

"Cynder…are you blushing?"

Izrayl was staring curiously at Cynder. Her cheeks were rosy red, a striking contrast against her dark purple scales. It seemed that his statement had evoked feelings inside her. She tried to regain her composure, but her body language had spoken for her. Naturally, Izrayl continued down the path of questioning.

"Wait…do you have FEELINGS for Spyro?"

That was the question Cynder had been avoiding to answer.

"Keep your voice down!" she asked, shushing him. She looked around nervously. Luckily, they were the only ones at the hallway, and no one heard him.

"Well?" he whispered. "Do you?"

"Does it matter?"

"What do you think?"

"Why are you so curious?"

"I don't know, can you blame me?"

"Can you stop it with the questions please?"

"If I do, you promise you answer my question?"

"And that question is?"

"Do you have feelings for him?"
"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

"Spyro?"
"Duh; well do you then? You promised you'll answer."

Cynder was cornered now.

She didn't know what to think. How could she answer the question if she herself couldn't decide what the answer was? She mentally kicked herself. It was a simple yes or no. Yet, she had trouble deciding which. It was basically her mind fighting against her heart, in other words. One was telling her to say yes, since she loved him; truly, deeply, madly even. She'd risk her life for him. He was her knight and shining armor. He was always there for her every step of the way. Comforted her when she was down; protected her when she was injured. The other on the other hand told her to say no. He was a friend. What if he rejected? She couldn't face rejection. She didn't know what she'd do if she was rejected. And the fallout on their friendship would be catastrophic. A rift would form and then what?

The debate in her mind was tearing her apart. She couldn't take it anymore. And Izrayl's question just gave her one massive headache. She needed to let it all out.

"AHH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "I DON'T KNOW!"

She panted, feeling her head come back down to her as she got a grip back on reality. Izrayl was staring flabbergasted at her, his two paws covering his ears instinctively. Slowly, he let them go, before looking at her oddly.

"Okay…I get it. You didn't have to scream it," he said, half joking, half serious.

"I-I'm sorry…" she said. She acted so rashly. It was so unlike her to lose control like that.

"There's nothing to apologize. You're confused about your feelings huh?"

Cynder stared at him. Well…at least she had SOMEONE to confide her secret with. And besides, she didn't exactly have much of a choice. He pressed her, and got her to spill the beans. She sighed deeply, feeling a huge weight come off her chest. It felt good to her. At least she could talk to someone about this. She was grateful that it was someone from her age group. It would have been awkward talking about it with the Guardians; which was her last resort.

"…yes. Listen, Izzy. Please can you keep this—"

"A secret? Don't worry. My lips are sealed." Izzy smiled her warmly. "In any case, don't worry."

Cynder's brows rose into a straight line. "When the time comes, and I happen to ask you the same question again, you'll know the answer. Just give it time. Things like these take time Cynder."

She sighed again.

"I guess you're right. Thanks Izzy." She gave him a gentle nuzzle. "Now come on, let's get some sleep. We have an adventure for tomorrow."

0 0 0 0 0

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Since we don't exactly know where it landed, we'll just head off to the Tall Plains and ask Kane if they happen to see it?" asked Sparx.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Volteer. "That's the only lead we have. If that goes cold…"

"It won't," said Spyro confidently. "I'm pretty sure they would have seen it."

Volteer nodded. "From that point on, just follow the lead to where it goes. And hopefully, we get to the crystal first before our enemy does."

"I guess that's everything then," said Sparx. "When are we leaving?"

"Later tomorrow afternoon. We have to greet the new coming dragons," said Spyro. "I have to say, I'm excited."

"I'm sure you are," said Volteer. "Now you two, get some rest. You'll have a long day tomorrow."

"We will," replied the two in unison. As if to emphasize, Sparx even yawned.

A few minutes later, the two brothers were idly walking down the halls of the Temple, when they heard voices coming down from one direction. Spyro and Sparx ignored it, thinking it was just the Guardians or probably the Moles.

"AHH!" Someone screamed at the top of their lungs. "I DON'T KNOW!"

That sounded like Cynder. Now this peaked Spyro's interest.

"What was that all about?" asked Sparx, looking towards the direction of the voice.

"I don't know. Let's go check it out," he said.

Sparx shrugged and idly flew closer to his brother as they walked down the dimly lit hall. As they rounded near a corner, the voices became recognizable. It would seem that it was Cynder and Izrayl, talking.

"When the time comes, and I happen to ask you the same question again, you'll know the answer. Just give it time. Things like these take time Cynder," said Izrayl.

Sparx shrugged. Why they were eavesdropping, he didn't know. But what happened next was something that caught him off guard.

Cynder sighed. "I guess you're right. Thanks Izzy." She gave him a gentle nuzzle. "Now come on, let's get some sleep. We have an adventure for tomorrow."

Sparx couldn't believe his eyes. Did the evil-she dragon…did she just…? Sparx brain nearly keeled over at the mere thought of the evil-she dragon becoming affectionate. He thought she was never capable of doing so. She was always so cold…to him, most of the time. Nonetheless, he just shivered it off as they both watched the two walk away, heading to the direction of their room. He yawned. He needed to get some sleep.

"Come on…Spyro? Bro? You okay?"

Spyro's expression seemed rather…unfathomable. Whatever he was thinking, it seemed that it had bothered him.

"Dude? Hello?" However, Sparx's voice cut through him, brining him back.

"I-I'm fine," he replied, a certain tone in his voice. "Let's get some sleep."

Not much was said after that.

Sparx did notice though, that Spyro seemed…uncomfortable.

Please take some time to R&R.

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