Another spyro chapter, about damn time. I know I have not been on top of things recently but with work and two other stories that need to be updated, I am juggling quite a lot, in case you guys do not know I work from Monday to Friday for 7 hours a day right now. As well as during the weekend I like to try to relax. So writing (after making me feel like I was working 7 days a week) was put off for a while so I am just starting to get a good view on the bigger picture and I'm going to try and finish the story that is most wanted by fans first. Therefore, a poll will be up on my profile about it and you can answer it. If you do not have, an account leave a review after checking it out. Even if it is in the first chapter.

My eyes hardened at her, I responded. "What does he really mean to you?" I asked. Seeing her slowly raise her head to look at me, a defeated look on her face with despair in her eyes; "He was a very dear friend of mine; some even thought we were closer than that. When I saw him, it made me feel like we were family. He was the only one that would not laugh at any embarrassing moments while he always had the right advice for every situation. And unlike most of the male dragons he wasn't trying to get my attention, he only wanted to keep his friend happy, if hurting himself would do that then I have no doubt that he would do that." She responded making me sigh in defeat.

"Inferno," I began, dropping the act, continuing. "I would come back with you, but look at how they reacted to me. I wish that you could just forget about me but hearing that, I know you will not. You are a guardian Inferno; you cannot have a deep connection with anyone who is not of a higher member of society. I only want you to be safe, and if me being away from Warfang will do that. Then so be it." I said. Her face showed hurt as she turned away. "I know that you want me to be safe, but in the ten years you were away I learnt to cope with stress adequately enough. However you telling me to leave you be and forget about you, do you have any idea how hard it will be?"

I stood shocked at her sudden outburst. I then saw the grass under Inferno start moving as if it was raining. I felt my heart ache as I saw that. "Inferno, if I come back with you. That puts a target on my back, maybe on yours as well. With that in mind I cannot put you at risk." I said while trying to make her understand my reasoning as her head turned around to stare at me. Her eyes slowly leaking tears as she slowly nodded. "I can take care of myself Leo. I have had to deal with people upset that I was nominated to be a guardian and not either Spyro or themselves." She said making me chuckle as I saw her eyes harden at my response. "Sounds like Warfang. Though it does actually beg the question as to why Spyro was not chosen, then again, someone has to save the realms."

Inferno merely nodded at this and turned around, now facing me. "You don't have to do this Leo. I can make them see you like someone they can trust. In time you will be freely welcome in Warfang." Inferno pleaded, her body beginning to shake. Sighing, I walked towards her. "And if that time does not happen?" I asked her, slowly draping a wing over her back to try to comfort her. "Then it is not the Warfang that we both grew up in." She responded as my face changed into a small smile. "Inferno, if you did get me into the city and if by some miracle the others accept me, what will happen afterwards, there are many more factors that need to be considered."

She chuckled at this. "If you're worried about living space you have two choices, sleep in the temple or you could rest in your home in Warfang. However, it will have to be cleaned of dust since I kept it paid in your absence. To make sure no one used it or saw the letters." She stated making me sigh half-heartedly with a small smile on my face. "You really want me to come back, with only hope that it will be different." I began, before stopping. "Hang on; if I'm a dark dragon now, I could take some of the focus off of Cynder and onto me." I muttered, unfortunately Inferno heard me. She placed her head under my own with a threatening growl leaving her.

"Don't go there with me. I won't let that happen to you," Inferno stated angrily. My face hardening as I shot her a quick glare. "It will happen no matter what you try to do. The dragons of Warfang only truly care about what they were told as kids for generations. It will take Cynder and I being dead for thousands of years before they realise that not all dark dragons are evil." I stated with a sake like smile on my face as Inferno sighed, taking off in the direction of Warfang. I followed when I could just keep her in eyesight, when she disappeared I sped up, realizing the third time she disappeared she had changed course to circle around Warfang. With that thought in my head I landed, cursing my luck. However, I was quickly reminded of the fact that I taught her when we were younger to defend herself.

Flashback sequence.

"Alright Inferno, now bring your tail around to guard yourself." I spoke, authority in my tone as Inferno did as I asked. Her spear like tail slowly gliding across her small form, her eyes looked at me, almost anticipating my next command. "Alright Inferno, I'll not ask you to repeat it because you'll do it at the same speed. However, no enemy will wait for you to get you to raise your guard." I spoke with minor encouragement. Seeing her nod her head she still kept her eyes trained on me, more specifically, my eyes. "Very good, you have learned to resist most of the temptation to brake the gaze of your opponent by looking away, looking into the eyes of your opponent can be the difference in a fight."

I saw her hang off my words as I continued. "The eyes are windows to the dragon's very core, its soul. If you can understand the soul of a dragon, you can begin to predict or guess their next attack. Of course, if the dragon breaks contact with you and then attacks you will have a harder time predicting his movements. I can say that this takes very little effort but it takes months if not years of training. So tell me Inferno, what does my soul tell you about me?" I asked her seeing her gaze intensify as she stared into my eyes, focusing intently on trying to read my soul. Eventually she sighed and shook her head. "I can't understand it Leo. It's to blank."

Her response made me sigh as I walked forward. "Inferno, you focus too much on trying to force the answer, let it come naturally. Just look into my eyes, you may not even realise you have read the attack pattern until the blows begin. Just let your sub conscious do all the work. Let thoughts and guesses override solid thought if you begin doubting it." I instructed as I slowly began to easy towards her. My tail snapping into a guard position in front of me, the action made Inferno step back in instinct. My eyes stared coldly into her own; I saw her reluctance to attack a close friend, her fear of hurting me as well as her overwhelming doubt that I should be taking time out of the day to train her.

With her eyes giving that away, I shook my head lightly. "There will come a time when I may be an obstacle you need to overcome. If that time were now I would have finished you and done what I was supposed to do. You need to face this fear head on, if you do not want to attack a friend, see them as your enemy. If you have doubt then rid yourself of it. Focus, there is only one enemy and one of you, so what is there to be afraid of? Abandon your fear, do not give an inch, advance and never stop. Retreat and you will age, fear and you will die. Face them with a high head and a steady stance. Show them no mercy." I instructed; my words seeming to calm her as a fire began to form in her eyes.

Her breathing had calmed, her stance tensed, her eyes narrowed and her tail finally began to move to the proper guard. It stretched across her front and left side, making her neck and wings harder targets to get at. (Harder, but not impossible.) I thought to myself as I steadied my stance, my experience in the situation coming into to play as I shrunk my body, my legs tensing like springs. The sparring started with Inferno lashing her tail out, my tail easily caught the blow, the whip like crack that sounded at the collision made me realise she had finally hit with a full intention of causing harm. "That's more like it. Let's have some fun with this new side of you."

My words were followed up by laughter on her part. She laughed slowly, her tail coiling back into the guard position. "I guess that means I don't have to hold back any more. I was getting tired of doing this." She said, though her voice was gruffer, almost masculine. My eyes widened as a second, much more powerful blow, was launched at me. My eyes focused as I leapt back to dodge the attack. "Too slow." Inferno said from behind me. (What? I never took my eyes off her; she could not be able to pull off illusions, and her speed is not that fast. So what happened?) I thought before her tail slammed into my back, my eyes widening at the power in the blow.

I landed to the cold floor with pain flaring through my underside. "What happened to you?" I asked as I struggled to stand through the pain. "I simply stopped holding back." Inferno retorted; her eyes closed. "We both know that's bullshit. So just admit what happened, and tell me your real name, stop posing as someone who I know." I commanded, some of the pain fading as I stood tall, my eyes hardening as her eyes opened. Pure white irises stared back. "You want to know who I am." She stated rhetorically with a chuckle while still using that deeper voice. "I go by many different names, but here's one that will stick with you. Lemuel is one of my names." Inferno stated; my eyes widened as the surroundings became white.

End Flashback sequence.

My eyes remained wide as the name rang through my head. A sudden realisation hit me as I thought. (She never remembered that day, when I thought about telling her I would hold off. She is like me; I need to find out what she knows while trying to help her. Any wrong move and this thing, Lemuel, comes to the forefront of her being and lashes out. Just like my own.) I thought; my eyes calmed as a dragon I remembered landed across from me. "Greetings." I said in a peaceful manner, using a deeper voice again. "Inferno wanted to meet with me here. I have no idea why." Cynder stated. "Probably nothing to serious." I said with a small smile. Cynder eyed me carefully.

"Another dark dragon; I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I did let some live." Cynder stated making my body tense automatically. "Casually talking about your kills, I would expect nothing less." I stated casually while I paid attention to the way her metal claws were beginning to scrape the ground. "What about you? How do you talk about your kills?" Cynder asked me, her eyes finally looking into my own as I laughed. "My kills were nothing to spectacular, just ripping wings off at a fatal height and watching them fall, screaming in agony back down to the earth." I responded seeing Cynder nod her head as her eyes darkened. "A bit of over confidence in your voice could get you killed."

Her words brought a small smile to my face as I nodded. "I guess so, but if you've lived with this burden, I believe it gives you a little leeway in how you can act. Given that we both know what we are and I know you it would be respectful to say my own name." I saw Cynder's gaze harden, my words having an effect on her. However, before I could think of a name I saw Inferno land in between us. "Cynder, I need to ask something of you." She stated, her voice now carrying authority, as if she was a completely different being. "What is it Inferno?" Cynder asked; glancing between Inferno and I, I began to tense my body on instinct. "I need you to help him understand his abilities; he's been using close combat for the most part of his life. Therefore, he needs some help understanding his elemental capabilities. You're the only one I trust with this Cynder."

Cynder looked shocked at me; I merely shrugged. "So why has he been holding off on his abilities?" Cynder asked making me sigh as I spoke up. "Because in Warfang I was treated like a freak; so I fled and have changed over my ten year absence." I answered, using my normal voice. Cynder immediately recognised the voice. "Leo?" Cynder asked. A clear sign of confusion on her face as I chuckled. "Yeah, it's me." I replied, seeing Cynder look at me with slight fear. "Don't worry Cynder, nothing bad is happening, I just had to get away for a while. As far as I know everything that is dead is staying that way." I said. However, my surroundings quickly darkened until all I could see is myself, everything else was shrouded in the darkness.

I saw my whole body contort until I was the bipedal creature once again. "Why do I keep seeing myself like this?" I asked, before I saw myself in a home, however the home was not empty. What looked like a couple walked through the front door, both of their faces were darkened so I could not see their facial expressions. Though I could tell, they were clearly distraught. "How long until we find him David?" A female voice asked, the voice striking me with the familiarity of it. "We'll find him, even if it means going to the moon to get him back. I promise you Maria." A male voice said, sounding like he was on the verge of breaking down. Looking over my shoulder however, I saw Tenebris standing next to a doorway.

"These are your birth parents Leo. I'm not the enemy here, I just want you to be on top of your game, if hurting you or those closest to you does that, then so be it." He stated, his eyes softening. "Hold on," I began. "If those are my birth parents, why do I have no memories of them?" I asked him. His next few words shocked me. "Because Ignitus took you to the dragon realms." He stated. My eyes widened at his words. "So what am I seeing?" I asked him. Seeing him crack a small, friendly smile; "You're seeing them in real time; this is the present day, every year you spend in the dragon realms another year passes here. Time has been synced by Ignitus' orders. So when you had done your time here you could go back with no memory of anything and just be a broken human."

I could not believe it, but a question was still on my mind. "I need to know one thing, what about Inferno? She has a being like you in her mind." As those words were out of my mouth, he froze stiff. His eyes once again became the menacing glare. "Did you get its name?" he demanded with a sense of urgency in his voice and, after telling him the flashback I had seen, he stood there, unmoving. "She is like you; she is probably going through the same sort of thing right now, however, you cannot bring this up to her. Ignitus made her the fire guardian to keep her in the dragon realms. I wouldn't be surprised if he is still alive." He stated before I was returned to the clearing.

Inferno was lying down, her closed eyes leaking tears; I stood up and advanced towards her. "Inferno?" I asked her, seeing her head shake rapidly. "Don't call me that. That is not my name." She stated in clear hysterics. "Cynder, I need you to get Spyro, tell him it's urgent." I stated urgently seeing her nod and take off. "Leo?" Inferno asked, her state calming down slowly. "I'm here, don't worry." I said reassuringly. "What happened?" She asked me. Thinking quickly I replied worriedly. "You started to speak as if in a conversation, then collapsed and didn't move. When you woke up, I did not know what to do, so I sent Cynder to get Spyro, so just rest. You need your strength."

As we waited, I knew Inferno was staring at me with uncertainty as I sat like a sentry with my head checking the surroundings constantly. "Leo, what happened to you when I collapsed?" Inferno asked. "When you collapsed I ran to check your pulse, thinking you had been attacked and I didn't catch it. When I knew that you had a strong pulse I relaxed, so I walked back to where I as when you collapsed so as not to scare you when you woke up. I have only been awake a couple of hours myself and I don't want myself being roasted until I have had a few years go by." I joked seeing inferno nod her head before she walked over to me. Resting her head on my shoulder, she began to doze off.

I shook my head with a light chuckle, my nose picked up two different scents nearby. I quickly got up, Inferno catching herself and staying silent at the look on my face. I raised a talon to tell her to wait as I stealthily tried to locate the source of these new scents. When I found them, I was surprised; I couldn't identify them, they stood in front of a portal, its dark, almost void like appearance seeming menacing at first glance. Until the sound of a struggle was made evident as a being came through the portal dragging something behind it. The being that as being dragged as quickly silenced by the second figure jabbing something into its neck. The figure struggled for a short time before lying still.

I watched the being then begin to take a new form, the sounds of bones snapping and skin tearing reached my ears. The body on the floor writhing uncontrollably as wings sprouted from the back and a tail from the rear. "That is it. The final one." The figure that dragged the being through the portal spoke, the voice sounding both familiar and unknown. "Good, now the final one needs to be left to fend for herself, let the other two find her and let her real name stick with her, in fact keep all her memories there. We need to move on with this plan already as finding this one took way to long." The second voice spoke. The voice being completely unfamiliar.

So Ignitus is the bad guy, or is Tenebris playing Leo? To be honest I know how I want this story to go but I will not spoil it for you guys, but you have to admit I got you with that little twist. I doubt anyone saw that coming, however, if by some miracle you did see it coming then we need to talk and share ideas. Because you may be my doppelganger. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter and this is one of the easier stories to write at this current point in time. In addition, given that my area might be getting floods I might not be updating for a while. Service being down and all that really fun stuff. Anyway, I hope that you guys and girls keep reading this and until next time, I am out to get some sleep.