Chapter 8

A Torn Battered Soul

The morning was spry with activity inside a certain fire station located in the town of Garipton. A blissful dragoness looked through the window of her room, humming a familiar tune to herself as she observed several dragons pass by. They mostly didn't pay her any attention, but the ones who did gave her a friendly wave. It seemed like just another ordinary day for her.

Yet, for some reason, this dragoness had a strange urge deep in her belly as she hummed to herself. It felt odd, but she decided to follow through with it anyways. She decided to quietly sing.

"Let's make this fleeting moment last forever . . . so tell me what you're waiting for. I'm gonna keep it frozen here forever . . . there's no regretting anymore."

She smiled to herself finding this rather enjoyable. She began to get louder.

"It's worth the wait even so far away, I'm making the night mine until the day I die. No lights to brake when you're hanging by fate. You know what it feels like when you're dancing blind."

Unintentionally she began to grow even louder, not even noticing the door to her room had opened.

"All alone, just the beat inside my soul! Take me home, where my dreams are made of gold. In the zone where my beat is uncontrolled. I know what it feels like, come on make me feel alive!"

Suddenly she heard a round of applause from behind her. Turning around, she grew embarrassed and felt her cheeks begin to flush. Apparently, and against her will, some of her colleagues had been listening in on her performance.

"Wow," a male red dragon in front began. "Yin you have some talent!"

Yin's face was more red than her firefighter hard hat. "It was just a spur of the moment. I didn't know I was being watched."

"Still, you should consider putting that talent to some use someday. I've only heard a voice like that once in my entire life and that was in Warfang half a year ago."

Yin turned back toward the window, too shy to even reply. She didn't know the reason she decided to sing. The dragoness didn't even recognize the song she sung. It just somehow came to her.

"We'll see you later Yin. Thanks for spicing up our mornings."

Her colleagues dispersed, going back about whatever business they were doing beforehand. Yin shut the door behind her and looked back out through the window in thought. She never recalled singing anything before. Yin sat down on her bed, taking her thoughts back in time. No matter how long she tried, her memory wouldn't let her relive her childhood. All she could do was remember vague pictures that wouldn't be of any use to what she wanted to know. She sighed in annoyance.

"Should I really have so much trouble remember my own childhood? I never stopped to think about it before."

Deciding it was time to start her day, she promptly left her room hoping breakfast was ready. She had just hoped the others wouldn't harass her of what they witnessed. They all had jobs to do after all.

Meanwhile

A small cabin in the woods sat alone, secluded away from the wrong eyes. A light blanket of snow covered the angled roof as a cool breeze blew through the treetops. There wasn't much for scenery except for a frozen lake a little ways behind the log built building. However the building wasn't always safe to live in. Recently it gone under some renovations, just enough to make it liveable. It wasn't easy to sleep in sometimes due to the cold and lack of a fireplace, but it's residents made due with what they had. Everest was normally the one to decorate the inside with a sofa, chairs, beds, whatever they needed.

The familiar duo known as Archie and Everest made themselves at home here. Originally the cabin was abandoned, but due to desperation Archie made it into a home. Unable to live in any city for obvious reasons, he was forced to take residence here. With the amount of trouble he went through in the past, he gladly done so. He had to have been one of the most unwanted humans in the world right now. Dragon nor human couldn't have cared less to see him. With dragons hating all humans and his colleagues being former with good reason, he was forced to find his own path in the dragon world.

Archie had his reasons for staying in the dragon realm. For one, someone had to stop those power hungry maniacs. Magic was something humans of his realm didn't have or even understood. Which was why these stone fragments were so valuable to them. Secondly . . . it was because of her. That snow white dragoness known as Everest. No matter what happens, he swore to himself to take care of her. Not that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself. It was just something he needed to do to ease his mind to forget the past.

At the moment, the two of them were inside the cabin. Everest was still sleeping in her bed in the only other room there was as Archie looked out the cabin's front aged window. His mind wandered, but his thoughts were mostly of the two dragons he met the night prior. Cosmo and Isis.

Everest filled him in on the details of how those two were famous. The fights and battles they went through along with the other four dragons that stood with them. From what he was told, those six dragons or reborn spirit guardians vanished off the face of the planet after Ismeral Nexis was banished to the void. Nobody knew what happened to them. Now two of the guardians just show up out of nowhere. This was no coincidence. Archie knew something bad was going to happen.

His mind wandered more to the stone fragments the UCA was after. What purpose did these fragments serve? Why do they exist? What did the UCA want them for?

Archie had no trouble with that last question. Obviously the UCA wanted the fragments to study and research in hopes to use the fragments magic to further their own progression of weapons or even mankind. Honestly, furthering the advancement of technology on earth by using the fragments intrigued Archie. At first it didn't seem so bad. But eventually . . . it took an ugly turn.

Shaking his head, Archie turned his attention to Everest who emerged from the cabin's other room.

Everest showed him a morning smile. "Thanks for the breakfast."

Earlier Archie took the opportunity to cook his dragon friend some deer meat outside and managed to get it to her before she even awoke. He didn't wake her though. Normally he would just leave it beside her bed.

"Think nothing of it my dear Everest," Archie replied. "Just doing my duty."

"Is that all it is? A duty?"

Archie huffed. "Come now, you know what I mean. It's much more than that."

"How about elaborating?"

He wasn't excepting that question.

"I like to think of us as inseparable partners and friends."

"Is that it?"

"What you want me to say I love you or some mushy bologna?"

Everest showed a slight grin, amused by that question.

"I'm just having fun," she replied simply.

"If you want to have fun get a boyfriend. Cosmo seemed to be single why don't you go ask him? He sure wasn't into Isis that's for sure."

"Oh tais-toi Archie," Everest quickly replied, seemingly untouched by Archie's remark. "If I wanted to settle down I would have to get rid of you first. Besides . . . someone like that I'm sure has no time for a simplicity like me."

Now Archie showed a grin. "Oh so you do like him."

Everest felt a bit embarrassed as she just now realized what she said. "That's just the fan girl in me talking. I don't even know him."

"Uh-huh."

"Wipe that dumb grin. It makes you look stupid."

"Is that the fan girl in you talking?"

"Tais-toi. Je ne peux pas vous croire en ce moment."

"I'm just playing. You know how much I enjoy seeing you flustered to the point where you speak gibberish."

"It's not gibberish!"

"Right it's just Everestian or whatever."

Archie was a man of many personalities. He rarely showed it, but he loved taking pleasure in the embarrassment of others. Everest knew this, but she didn't have to deal with this part of Archie very often. She guessed it was one of the few things Archie found enjoyment in. In the end, if it made him smile, it made her happy as well.

"Anything you want to do today?" Archie asked as he turned back toward the window. "Foil some evil monster's plans? Eat until you puke? Find my sunglasses?"

"You'll never find those things," Everest replied, used to the nonsense that would come out Archie's mouth.

"They're always in the last place you look," he retorted.

"What if we go visit Cosmo and Isis? I'm sure they wouldn't mind company."

"We? You know those dragons would hate me and make me feel even more guilty than I already do."

It was true. Everest knew that. Every dragon would give Archie a dirty look and probably tell him to leave or even attack him.

"But," Archie continued. "I have no problems with you going if you want."

"What if you need me?"

Archie answered by pulling out his pistol from his coat. "I think I'll be fine. My other friend will show anyone the way out should they be a bother."

It wasn't often Everest would leave this human's side. What he said, however, she had no trouble believing. Those guards at the gate looked as if they would have attacked Archie if it wasn't for the company he was with. Who is to say the citizens inside would be any different.

"Alright," the dragoness finally said. "But don't do anything . . . you would normally do."

"Loosen up my dear Everest. I promise I'll be here when you get back," Archie replied. "Assuming I don't get bored."

"I choose to ignore that," Everest replied simply.

Making her way outside, a cool breeze greeted her as she took her first few steps onto the slushy ground. Whatever snow the remained seemed to be melting as the morning sun cast its rays through the treetops, giving Everest some content of warmth. The cold didn't bother her too much though. She had grown to be used to this kind of weather in the past, especially during the winter.

While she didn't exactly live a stone throw's away from Warfang, she quickly arrived at the city with no trouble at all. Making her way through the nearest gate, she came upon the familiar sight of roads and dragons going on about their morning business. Not many were up and about but it was enough to make Everest think of her old home.

Her mind wandered as she walked, ignoring dragons that watched her pass by without so much as a friendly greeting. There was so much she enjoyed doing during that time of her life. Everything was normal and she was content of the way her life was going. All it took to change it forever was one man. Who would have guessed?

Eventually she arrived at the local hospital Cosmo and Isis were supposed to be inside. It wasn't too busy inside, making the process of entering and getting a pass from the receptionist that much easier. Deciding to use the name 'Melody' that Isis used the night prior she had no trouble getting permission to enter the hospital's hall. Everest was quickly able to find the room the duo was inside, and decided to enter, forgetting to knock. Inside, Cosmo and Isis seemed to still be asleep in the bed. Or so it seemed.

When the door clicked shut Cosmo raised his head to see Everest standing near the door. He wasn't expecting a visit from her so soon.

"Everest?" Cosmo began, a bit surprised.

Everest bowed her head for a moment out of respect.

"I'm sorry to bother you but I was just checking up on you two to see how you were doing."

"I believe we're fine," Cosmo replied, a smile on his face. "We haven't had any visits from any doctors but Isis seems to be doing okay for the moment."

"That's good. I was afraid that bullet wound would have done more damage. None of these dragons ever seen an actual gunshot wound before so I was worried a bit."

A silent moment passed as Everest looked Isis over. She was covered in blankets but looked content as she slept.

"I guess Archie decided to stay behind?"

"He was afraid the dragons here would jump to conclusions."

"I understand, I would have done the same."

Before Everest could reply, she noticed movement from Isis as she moved the covers off herself with a yawn escaping her. The first thing she noticed when she turned her head was Cosmo.

"Morning honey."

Then the unthinkable happened. Isis leaned over and planted her lips on Cosmo's. Suddenly shocked, it took the yellow dragon a full four seconds to even realize what was actually happening. Isis was kissing him!

"Isis!" Cosmo managed.

Pulling back Isis looked at Cosmo with a questionable look on her face. "Yes? Is something wrong?"

Everest was a bit taken aback herself. According to what she learned, these two weren't a couple but just friends. Cosmo said it himself. Scratching her head, she continued to watch, unsure of what to do.

"You kissed me! Why did you do that?"

Isis frowned. "What are you talking about? We do it every morning. It's routine!"

"We have never done that before!"

Then Isis looked around herself. For some reason, Cosmo could easily tell she was confused.

"What's going on? Why are we in a hospital? And why is my leg wrapped up?" A few moments passed before she looked back at Cosmo. "Wait a second . . . you're not my mate! What is going on!?"

Cosmo had no idea what to say at this point. Something was definitely wrong with Isis. The black fur dragon had never even thought about kissing him before. Or so he thought.

"Where is my mate!"

The shouting was beginning to draw attention from outside. A gray scaled doctor, twice as large as Cosmo, burst through the doorway without a second thought.

"What's going on!" the doctor commanded, quickly making his way to Isis's side.

Isis looked over toward him, immediate worry in her emotion. "Why am I in the hospital?"

"Ma'am! Please calm down!" the dragon ordered. "You were hurt and taken here for healing."

"W-what? How come I don't remember?"

"It's possible it was shock," the doctor explained. Although he didn't exactly know what had happened to this particular patient, it was his job to help them in any way he could. "I'm sure in due time you will remember. But you must remain calm. You're safe here."

Slowly the fur dragon's breathing slowed. The doctor, now satisfied, began to look her over. He noticed her leg was in a bandage and had a slight tint of red to it. Perhaps it was time for them to be changed.

"I need to get your bandaged changed to clean ones. Are you alright?"

Isis did nothing but nod.

Slowly removing her bandages the official looked her wound over. It seemed to be healing, but wouldn't hurt if the area was cleaned. The area was small enough for it to be done quickly, but not without Isis cringing the entire time. Wrapping a clean bandage around her leg, the doctor finished rather quickly.

"Will you be alright?" the doctor asked. "I'm afraid I have other patients to attend to."

Isis only nodded once again.

"Don't hesitant to ask if you need help. It's what we're here for."

As the doctor left the room, Everest looked toward Cosmo in confusion. What happened to Isis? Why was she acting like she had a mate?

"Isis are you alright?" Cosmo asked as the room's door was shut, leaving the three of them alone once again.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "I would just like to know who you are and why my mate isn't where you are right now."

Cosmo was quiet for a moment. Isis really believed she had a mate. He didn't know what to think, not to mention his mind was still back on what she did to him earlier. It was something he did not expect, especially from her.

Everest looked toward Isis, wondering the same exact thing Cosmo was. "Isis," she began. "From what I've been told, you don't have a mate."

"What are you talking about? Of course I . . . do."

Suddenly Isis was quiet. She placed her good paw on her head and she cringed in thought. Then that thought turned into a slight pain. She moaned in discomfort. Cosmo sat upright beside her, attempting to do his best to console her the best he could. He wondered if he should call the doctor back in. It seemed like Isis was in pain.

Just as quick as the pain came, it left her body. Isis relaxed a little as she exhaled in relief. Looking over toward Cosmo, she noticed he was looking straight at her.

"What?" Isis began. "Why are you staring?"

"Isis?"

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course. My leg still aches a bit from that gunshot but I'm fine."

Now she remembers how she got hurt. Something strange was going on.

"Isis," Everest began. "Are you aware that you kissed Cosmo earlier?"

Isis's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Umm . . . what?"

Cosmo felt his cheeks flush. "It's true. You called me your mate."

He didn't know what to think. No idea what was going to come next. Knowing Isis, he was about to get knocked out with a swift kick to his head for even saying such a thing out loud.

But Isis only giggled. Soon enough, the giggle turned into a full out laughter. "Yeah! You probably wish Cosmo! You shouldn't joke around like that."

However her laughter soon died down as Everest and Cosmo's expressions remained the same. They didn't seem to be amused by the situation at all.

"You were kidding right?"

Neither had anything to say.

"Tell me what you said isn't what actually happened."

Everest nodded. "Oh it happened. I watched the entire thing. It was like you were a completely different dragon."

"What?!" Isis exclaimed, obvious shock in her tone. "No it couldn't have happened. I don't remember a thing."

"I'm sorry," Cosmo said. "But it's true. I wish it were different."

"So I really kissed you?! I really did that?"

"You sure did," Everest quickly answered.

No one had any idea what happened. For Isis, it seemed like this wasn't even a memory. But to Cosmo and Everest, it literally just happened. It was almost like someone or something took over Isis's body for but a few minutes. But how and what purpose?

"I'm sorry," Isis apologized. "I don't mean to ruin our friendship and make things weird between us Cosmo. But I honestly don't remember doing that at all."

"I'm more worried about you Isis," Cosmo replied. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Other than the leg I feel normal right now."

Nothing came to mind of the situation. Cosmo doubted this wouldn't just resolve itself either. Isis never acted like this before. The yellow reptile's mind wandered for a few minutes as everything was quiet in the room.

Then Cosmo realized something.

"Orion?" Cosmo called.

But there was no answer.

"Great. Now there's a missing fox to find."

"If he can polymorph I'm sure he just went out for some fresh air. I can check around the hospital if you would rather have him around," Everest offered.

"No," Cosmo began with sigh. "It's fine. He'll come back soon I'm sure. Right now I think Isis needs some rest and I need time to think."

The snow white dragoness nodded, understanding what he meant. Never before had she or Cosmo seen such behavior that Isis showed before in the past. She could tell Cosmo was worried by the expression on his face. She regrettably seen that look far too many times to know exactly what it meant.

It was obvious what the cause of this was. Cosmo didn't need to be a scientist to figure that one out. That machine was related to Isis's actions from earlier. From what he was told, the machine was used to absorb a dragon's soul. But Isis was no ordinary dragon. She was previous spirit guardian and human transformed into the shape of a dragon. That meant one thing.

How would this machine react if a dragon didn't have the soul of one?

Meanwhile

The streets of Warfang was clean from snow. Only the smallest amounts took refuge from the sun's warm rays by hiding in whatever shadow it could find. A familiar dragoness opened the door to the small building she called home and peeked her head out into the chilly streets. There wasn't much to see. Other dragon's homes along the stone road sat with barely any dragons walking along them. It wasn't unusual though.

Kali yawned. Lately she had been doing that a lot lately. It was almost routine now for her to just look out her door. Something about it made her feel at ease. While she tried to be more social for what few friends she had left, her mind always wandered whenever they got together. Spyro, Cynder, Star, and her. While she knew Spyro and Cynder would be rather busy considering they're notoriety and humility, Star was sometimes nowhere to be found. It was obvious that he was an energetic dragon, she always figured he was out exploring on his own. Then there was her.

She would always knock on Kali's door everyday to check on her and see how she was coping. It was the same. Everything was fine, she was getting along and improving. Ever so slightly but improving nonetheless. She had accepted Cosmo was gone a long time ago, but it was still tough to get over that fact. Kali didn't know exactly how she and Isis became such good friends, but she was thankful for company she provided. Occasionally Star would also drop by from time to time as well.

Closing her door, Kali retreated back into the safety of her home. There wasn't much to see inside. A small sofa, a fireplace for cold nights, a kitchen for cooking in the other room, her bed in another.

However there was one more dragon that she would always talk to, perhaps even more than her friends combined. Looking atop a small table beside her sofa, she looked upon a small decorated music box. It looked as if it had been through a lot. Scratches could clearly be seen upon its surface. However this particular music box wasn't an ordinary one. It was enchanted. Playing the music box would allow her to talk with Kaida, her deceased sister. While it could be used to talk to any of her ancestors, she only used it to talk with Kaida. The two shared a close connection when they were young, Kali felt as if she was the only one who could possibly understand what she was going through.

She had already bothered her today though. Kali was sure that, even though Kaida didn't mind talking with her, overusing the music box would be a bother to her silver scaled sister. She was aware of how Kaida herself helped Cosmo in the battle against Ismeral Nexis. When she died, she attached her spirit to Cosmo, and in the end, helped him achieve victory against the evil wizard and destroy the dark planet that threatened to doom them all.

Sighing, Kali walked into her room. Inside was a medium sized bed, storage closet, and a few paintings of her family hanging on the walls. What interested her though was a small dark blue egg sitting atop spanish moss in the corner of the room. It looked as if it hadn't moved since the night before, but it was expected. She was informed that it wouldn't hatch until the remainder of winter was over. Even then it could quite possibly take a few days or even weeks. Honestly, Kali wasn't confident she was ready for him or her quite yet.

Making her way back into her kitchen, she decided to get some fresh air. Opening her back doorway, she made her way outside into the chilly back alleyway. Almost immediately she heard a noise coming from her right.

Kali's head snapped toward the noises direction and was surprised at what she saw. A small light blue dragoness was rummaging through some garbage that was laid out on the ground down the alley. She almost looked like a child. What was she up to?

Deciding to advance, Kali slowly made her way toward the dragoness, who was unaware that she was being approached from behind. As she drew closer, Kali began to get an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. This child, it felt like she had seen her somewhere before. Light blue scales, tan belly, dark blue spines, tan horns, Kali's mind wandered for a moment as she studied this child for a moment.

Then she grew wide-eyed in realization. As soon as she did, the child turned only to see she was being watched. Her response was to flee.

Taking off down the alley, Kali did the same. However, it didn't take much effort to catch up to the child. Biting her cone spined tail, Kali forcefully pulled, stopping both of them in their tracks.

"Let me go!"

"Stop!" Kali muffled, keeping the child from running off. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"I'm sorry for what I did! Just leave me alone!"

The small dragoness struggled in Kali's grip, getting forcefully pulled back by her assailant in the process. It was growing more tough by the second to keep the small dragoness down. Before she could do anything, she was kicked in the side of her head. Kali recoiled in pain, but let the dragoness loose in the process. Kali growled under her breath.

"Ceri!"

Then she stopped. The light blue dragoness exhaled as she slowly turned around toward Kali, who seemed more worried than anything else right now. She only watched as Kali slowly approached her, but sat still.

She was tired of running. Tired of being chased. Tired of the world treating her so badly. Ceri knew who this was. Maybe it was time to end it.

"Kali . . .," Ceri began.

As Kali stopped in front of Ceri, she examined her over. Ceri had already came to the conclusion that Kali was about to give her an earful. She already came to the conclusion of what was about to happen. Ceri increasingly cringed with each silent second that passed.

"How have you been?"

Her voice was gentle. Ceri creaked her eyes open to see, not an angry dragon demanding to get out of his way, but a simple caring soul. She was couldn't believe it. After all this time, she still cared.

Tears began to stream down her face as she said nothing, but wrapped two limbs around Kali's neck. The dragoness didn't resist. In fact, she returned the gesture. It had been so long since either dragon had felt something like this in months. Kali welcomed it.

"It's okay Cerulean," Kali cooed. "I'm here . . . and I'm not going anywhere."

Finally. Her struggles were over.

Meanwhile

The Elder Hall wasn't too spry with activity. Except for one dragon. The energetic bundle of hyperactivity known as Star hopped around inside with nothing to do. Having too much energy and nothing to do with it. It was quite the curse sometimes.

Peeking into one particular room in the large marbled hallway, Star noticed that three familiar dragons were speaking to one another inside. Relic, who was sitting at his desk, and Spyro and Cynder, who were standing in front of him.

"Hello Star," Relic greeted, instantly recognizing him.

Star smiled toward the oversized dragon. "How do you always know it's me?"

"You always choose orange and purple," he said simply.

Looking at himself, Star noticed his colors were indeed, orange scales and purple wings. Bouncing into the room, he took his place beside Spyro with that same grin on his face.

"But orange and purple are the best colors."

"Tell me about it," Spyro added, agreeing to the statement.

Cynder simply quipped toward his remark. "Says the purple dragon with orange wings."

"Alright," Relic interrupted, at least finding some amusement in the bicker. "So you were saying Spyro, the fire station in Garipton is getting along nicely?"

Spyro nodded. "They were all eager and well trained for fires. It seemed to me like a good idea to have one here in Warfang."

"Excellent."

"No offense," Cynder began. "But why not have built one here first?"

"Well," Relic began. "That was the original intended plan, but when Ismeral invaded the building that was going to be used was destroyed. As it went under repairs we decided it would be best at the time to have a fire station built in Garipton to test out it's potential."

"So Warfang has it's own fire station?"

"As of this moment it's still in the works. We still need to find dragons appropriate for the open positions." A silent moment passed before he changed the subject, disregarding Star's bouncing in place. "So the human near Garipton, you found nothing?"

Spyro shook his head. "I'm sorry. None of the post guards saw him. But we think he moved passed the city and into the forests beyond."

"Can't be nothing good," Cynder added. "He's intentionally avoiding cities and the sight of other dragons."

"And what of Archie? Any news from him?"

"Nothing," Spyro quickly answered. He sighed then continued. "I really don't think he's bad news though. He seemed to have good intentions."

"Maybe this other human was part of that agency Archie mentioned," Cynder suggested.

"Quite possible," Relic answered simply as he stroked his chin in thought. "Archie informed us that this Ubiquitous Collection Agency was after the relic fragments. Perhaps he was looking for one."

"I have no trouble believe that," Spyro responded. "If that's the case though, shouldn't we looked for these fragments ourselves to protect them?"

That wasn't a bad idea. Relic stood to his feet in agreement. "Yes, perhaps this way we would be able to catch one of these humans by surprise. If we're lucky, maybe we can get more answers."

"And destroy the gate the humans are using," Cynder added.

"Maybe Archie can assist us?"

Relic looked toward Star in concern. He had been quiet the entire time they were discussing. It didn't surprise him that he wanted to go though. Star was an odd dragon, but never the less powerful. He might not have had as much experience as Spyro, but was sure he would be able to hold out on his own should it come right down to it.

"Alright," Relic began in acknowledgment. "But Archie did not disclose any information of where we could find him. How do you suggest we find him? I doubt he'll be in the city itself. Even then it's a big city."

"There's Everest as well," Cynder said. "With her being a baron dragon she should stick out in a crowd."

"Assuming she's even around," Spyro added in. "It wouldn't hurt to look in the more populated areas though." A silent moment passed. Spyro looked back toward Relic and continued. "So the plan is to find Everest or Archie. If we can't find them, we'll search around the nearby forests for a relic fragment to guard."

"Correct," Relic replied in agreement. "I'm hoping we can get this matter settled. Warfang needs a break from disaster."

Spyro grinned. "I couldn't agree more."

Meanwhile

The hospital was quiet for the time being. Isis was still laid up in bed. Awake, but choosing to take it easy. Her mind wandered as she looked toward both Cosmo and Everest, who decided to stick around for some reason. Curiosity was the most probable cause. From what she was told, she wasn't in her right mind earlier. Which worried her. What caused it?

Isis was deep in thought. So much so she didn't even notice another dragon made his way into her room.

Cosmo nudged the fur dragons shoulder, bringing her back to the land of the living. "Melody, there's a doctor here to check up on you."

Looking toward the door, Isis saw a larger dark red scaled dragon looking down at her. He seemed to do nothing at first, aside from just staring at her. It was honestly beginning to annoy her.

"A fur dragon," was the dragon's response. "You have a strange resemblance to some other dragon I was told about in the past. Isis I believe her name was. I can't honestly say I've ever seen one though."

"It's hard being one too," Isis replied simply.

The doctor simply chuckled. "I see. Well let's have a look at the damage shall we?"

Letting the doctor work, Isis only watched as her bandage was once again removed. The familiar feeling of fresh air on her wound stung as the red reptile tossed the used bandage in the nearest bucket. The doctor looked her over.

"Such a strange wound. Do you know how this happened?"

"My mind is fuzzy," Isis lied, knowing good and well this dragon would have no idea what she would be talking about if she actually told him the truth.

"I see. Well then I'll do my best regardless."

A few long minutes passed as the dragon did his work. Isis's wound was cleaned once again, even though she felt it as unnecessary. A fresh bandage was applied and the doctor quickly left the room. She knew he had other patients to attend to, which didn't bother her. She was just glad to not have strange dragons looking closely at her. Despite her and Cosmo being famous heroes, everyone assumed they were dead.

It was for the best. Isis often wondered if the other four were here as well. Yin, Blaze, Myrianda, and Clover. She had to admit though, the Yin they found in Garipton was quite the coincidence.

"I need to go home. My family is probably worried sick."

Isis shook her head. "Wait, I don't have a family here."

A silent moment passed. She exhaled in relief as she leaned back on her bed. Cosmo still as quiet as before. Everest still laying down in an oversized chair nearby. Isis wondered about her past in particular. Her and Archie seemed to have been through a few ordeals together. Enough for her to have full trust in him at least.

But for some odd reason, she felt as if someone else was here. Looking around the room, she only spotted Cosmo and Everest. Perhaps it was just her imagination wandering.

Yes . . . that's all it had to be.

A/N: Hurricane Matthew hit us and we were without power for four days. I'm fine but some others had their homes destroyed. I personally helped with a family who had a tree fall into their home. Keep us in your thoughts. We're trying to get along and back to normality. I have work so I'll be writing on the next bit at a slow pace. Sorry about that.

Hoping these chapters are good for you all. I don't mind sharing my imagination with others. If you have questions or comments . . . well it's obvious. Post a review or send a pm, whichever works for you.