Chapter 1: The Investigation
It's the day after Flare disappeared, and of course her friends are worried out of their minds. Ignitus, the Headmaster of the Dragon Academy, is worried as well.
"Hmmm… Something is definitely wrong. Flare's been missing for 24 hours and she's never missed a class before" Ignitus says to himself, noting what he had to do. "I know just who to call in." Ignitus reaches for a Red Phone on his desk and dials a number.
We're then shown another office, which is mostly decorated with battle relics and pieces of Grublin Armor on the walls. This is Spyro and Cynder's office, yes they teach here too. A red phone similar to the one in Ignitus' office is on the desk closest to the door.
After about two seconds of waiting, Spyro and Cynder enter their shared office as they always do at this time when the red phone starts ringing. Spyro picks it up and answers it.
"Hello?" He says into it.
"Spyro, I'm glad I reached you, I'm sure you've noticed that Flare has gone missing." says Ignitus over the phone
"Yeah, that's not like her at all" Cynder says hearing everything Ignitus is saying to Spyro via the red phone on her desk. "What's going on?"
"All we know is she left her dorm last night at about 8:30 p.m., as she said she was going to a party with friends, and she hasn't been seen since." he said as he relays all the information of the case.
"Okay, what're we supposed to do?" Spyro asks Ignitus over the phone.
"We need you to investigate Flare's disappearance and hopefully prevent others from meeting the same fate" he says
"We're on it." Both Spyro and Cynder say in unison over their respective red phones before rushing off to Ignitus' office to get the full case file.
As they rush off, the scene fades to a small warehouse filled with shelves lined with vintage toys and novelty items. In front of one of the shelves is what looks like a mannequin in the form of a red dragoness. The "mannequin" is wearing a red silken dress with yellow and black accents. There's a red bow attached to the dragoness' horn, making her look like a doll. But however, this is not a doll, as the face looks too familiar. For as no-one knows yet, except you loyal reader, this "mannequin" is FLARE!
And in the background, we see the same figure from the previous night, along with his mystery powder horn looking at a mirror, and in the mirror is a wall of flames with what looks like a face made of smoke in it.
"Faust! Why do you linger there?!" the mysterious figure says as the mysterious dragon removes his hat, revealing a coat of dark blue and purplish scales.
"Have patience, my lord, your wait will soon be over. Thanks to this powder horn you gave me, I've managed to gather the souls of five dragonesses already." Faust responds as he flicks on a light revealing the four other dragonesses who suffered Flare's fate.
"Do not forget, I cannot be released until you have gathered the souls of 15 dragonesses." The figure tells Faust.
"Do not worry, I'll have the last 10 souls as soon as I find them and reduce them to my soulless dolls, then soon, Lord Malefor, the world will be yours" says Faust to the figure in the mirror as he kneels in respect
"Indeed it will, Faust, indeed it will." Malefor tells his apparent servant as the scene fades to black.
Creepy! Now you know why I titled this story The Doll Collector! But nobody saw it coming that he'd be working for MALEFOR! Isn't he supposed to be dead?! You'll have to tune in to the next chapter to find out!