Author's Note:

From this point forward, Aimless will no longer progress linearly. Multiple plot threads will run simultaneously, and chapters may switch between ongoing threads without warning or continuation. And yes, this means that I can follow up a high-octane, battle-oriented chapter and its cliffhanger with a completely unrelated, romantic SpyCy chapter. Long story short, expect time skips, flashbacks, and flash forwards. Hell, this chapter comes with a time skip already! :)

Rather than posting a compilation of snips as was done in Toko's Spyro Loops, I will be putting tags prior to the chapter title. This should be easier for the reader to follow the progression of specific threads.

Oh, and happy Fourth of July, everybody! :D

Timestamp key: "D" for days, "W" for weeks, "M" for months, "Y" for years, "EM" for early morning, "LM" for late morning, "EA" for early afternoon, "LA" for late afternoon, "EE" for early evening, "LN" for late night, and "AD" for all day. Note that the Realms follows the sexagesimal system for keeping time, just like Earth. (In other words, 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.)

Snip category key: There are four categories of snips. "Settling In", "City Life", "Beyond the Wall", and "The Journey Home". All four represent parallel storylines that take place within Aimless, and other than "Settling In", each snip category has at least two subtypes. Those subtypes aren't listed due to potential spoilers.

Enjoy!

City Life – Employment

Chapter 20: Glorified Peon [1]

"You reach a point where you don't work for money."

- Walt Disney

[7D/LM]

Hands settled on the concrete railing, Joshua Renalia marveled at the sight. With the Temple standing on a hill that dwarfed Minas Tirith, the City of Dragons spread out far beneath his gaze. Joshua raised his hand and counted the finger widths encompassing the great walls.

Two.

Warfang was huge. No doubt about that.

The real Warfang had architecture that combined magical ores with the Moles' proprietary mixtures of metal and stone. In the illustrations he made for the Dawn of the Dragon team, Thomas Girard might have been able to capture the number of dome towers rising from the ground, but he was so far off the mark with its true aesthetics. Grandiose decoration and a painstaking sense for detail more characterized the pre-Modernist structures the closer they were to the Warfang Temple. The chief architect who designed the city leaned towards smooth curves and a variety of motifs that, if Joshua stretched his imagination a little, would resemble parts of a dragon. Some buildings even incorporated Spirit Gems into their design. Amazing!

From his vantage point, Joshua admired the intricate slopes of an unusually large structure in the center of Northeastern Warfang. He smirked, perceiving the colored glass lining its windows and its impressive beauty under the light of the morning sun. Thank God for his augmented vision.

For a moment, Joshua's thoughts returned to the days he would sit down and play Dawn of the Dragon in front of a television. Somehow, his brain dredged photorealistic memories of the PS2 game and its environment. Yet the magnificence of the true Warfang outclassed even those, and by a wide margin. Truly, Cyril Aymard's graphic engine utterly paled in comparison. There was no contest.

A calm, peaceful breeze gently brushed the human's hair. He shut his eyes. If he thought real hard, the oily heat of the sun felt more like the torrid warmth of the equator. The wind brought back memories of standing atop the rooftop of a high school building. He gripped the railing and blocked out the world. He envisioned his home, its gates beckoning him inside. Now if he could only just reach for the white handle, pull it open, and truly open his eyes…

"Back again, Joshua?"

The City of Dragons denied Joshua his serenity. He sighed. "Good morning, Volteer," he greeted as he turned around and faced the Electric Guardian under the stone archway.

"A good morning to you, too," Volteer replied. The adult dragon plodded next to him. He, too, cast a fascinated gaze at the city below.

Joshua felt a slight thrum in his life signature. "And where else do you expect me to be?" he answered the unspoken question. "I like it up here. Nobody bothers me. I'm alone. Away from people."

Away from Spyro.

"They won't believe that."

The teenager groaned. "Ughhh, I get it. But come, on! It's been ten freaking days since you set me loose, and nothing f*cking happened! Are those idiots seriously that unreasonable?"

"I don't have to answer that, do I?

Scowling, Joshua tried to cross his arms. Tried to; his left arm barely moved.

True Warfang was a bitch. Every other dragon who weren't Cynder, Volteer, Terrador, or Kilat growled threateningly at him whenever they crossed paths. The atlawas and cheetahs hated him equally, and he knew there was no love lost between them. Not when it was so easy to see in the barely-edible gruel they fed him with every day. Even the four guards assigned to him murmured their fantasies to flat-out murder him or poison his food. He couldn't relax. He had to stay on guard, lest the fragile peace shatter and catch him unprepared. The incident at the Gates demonstrated the shortcomings of relying on the Unknown Element and the boosts it blessed his senses with.

Looking back at it now, maybe he should've negotiated something, other than that f*cking procession. A clandestine flight to the Temple might have spared him from Warfang's hate for a few days. But what else could he do now? What's done was done. He didn't have some magical blue box of wonders to get him through that wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff. If life gave him lemons, Joshua had no choice but to make lemonade with it. It's not like he had some engineers to invent a combustible lemon.

"So where is my wonderful, my brilliant prodigy?" Volteer asked. "It's somewhat disconcerting seeing you all alone."

His prodigy, he said. Joshua almost laughed out loud there. Volteer had the audacity to eschew every known social norm in the Temple and offer the child Guardian Candidacy on a silver platter the day after they threw Joshua into the slammer. No strings attached. Every level in the program skipped. The offer even had the grumbling, jealous, high-ranking dragons show off their Element as much as they could. Volteer knew how to put on a good show. If only he'd seen it for himself.

"Didn't you see her on your way in?" he replied. Joshua used his lips to point at the pillar next to the archway. Underneath the shade and beside a potted plant laid Kilat, curled up and snoring. "She's right over there. She wanted to sleep in after giving me my bath for the morning." A one-hour bath, too, goddammit. Joshua shuddered. He could still feel all the gooey spit clinging to his entire body. Multiple times he swore to Jesus Christ, the instant the Guardians returned his freedom, a real bathtub and its soapy goodness was priority numero uno. "But she refused to let me go anywhere out of my 'room' without her."

His room. The empty, white-washed, mind-numbing prison cell they threw him in after putting him through that mother*cking procession through the city. If they had a blond wig, a bell-ringer, and the "furless ape" in his birthday suit, that grueling march could have totally passed for an excellent reenactment of Cersei Lannister's walk of shame.

"Never leaves you alone, doesn't she?"

"Never." He shook her head. "And I don't understand why."

"Elaborate for me?"

"Kilat's actually pissed off at me right now. Like, she's really, f*cking pissed."

"What does 'pissed off' mean?"

Joshua resisted the urge to facepalm. Damn it, he forgot about the linguistic differences in their cultures. The temptation to create Warfang's very first Urban Dictionary surged. "It means she's very angry with me."

"Oh," Volteer nodded. "So she's breathing hellfire."

Jesus-Mary-Joseph! Why do these people just…. Argh!

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that's right."

The Guardian took a shot, "Is this about Cynder again?"

Joshua stammered, "Not exactly—wait, no, I, I-I mean, Cynder always slips into the conversation whenever Kilat and I argue, but no. Last night, I told her to stop, you know, doing what she usually does with me—

"Actually I don't know."

"Shadowing me! Okay? I asked her to give me some f*cking space and told her to think more about what she wants to do with her life. I know the other day you offered Kilat something no sane dragon would ever refuse and Jesus Christ, I was speechless when I learned she told me she rejected it and everything it stood for on the spot. If you ask me, that was balls f*cking retarded! And of course I told her exactly what I thought of it. You can guess what happened next."

"She lost her scales."

At least he knew what that one meant. "Yes, she did. But despite it all, she still woke me up in the morning, still gave me a bath, and still clings to me like I'll die the moment I'm out of sight." Joshua walked away from the railing and the beautiful sight of the great City of Dragons. He squatted besides the slumbering child and ran his hand along her beautiful, golden scales. The devotion—the love Kilat had for him was so touching, so ineffably endearing, that Joshua Renalia felt he didn't deserve any of it. "I just wish she'd think about herself a little more."

Volteer the most talkative of the Guardians, didn't say a word in reply. Joshua felt his heart drop at the implication. Unconsciously, he began rubbing his thumb on Kilat's snout and playing with her lips. He did not stop until the adult dragon shattered the silence. "Let me offer my thoughts."

"Shoot me."

Joshua almost bowled over laughing at Volteer's wide eyes and baffled expression. Aww man, if only he had his smartphone! It was too hilarious not to preserve it on camera.

"It means 'go ahead', dude. Just say it."

Volteer shook his head with an impressively familiar exasperation. "Kilat fears for you. Everywhere she looks, she only meets those who dread your freedom, who would faint at the sight of you walking our halls. Some tried to kill you the other day, despite the protection we've given you. Even Spyro despises you, least of all for getting between him and Cynder—

"Of course, of course!" Joshua snapped. He pressed his lips together. "Blame me for throwing a wrench at SpyCy when all I did was hide behind her tail since—

"Did you just say 'spicy'?" The dragon ventured. "And what is a—

"Goddammit, dude. Like, no! I meant Spyro and Cynder, and their whole, f*cking lovey-dovey relationship!"

The correction left the loquacious Guardian silent. "…I don't think I'll ever understand the way you talk, Joshua." He hung his head and shut his eyes for a moment. "But my observation holds true. Other than Cynder, Sparx, and myself, you have no allies here. No friends, no associates, no supporters. Not in the slightest. The little girl knows this as much as you and I do; perhaps even more so, as she is free to meander around Warfang as she sees fit."

Volteer lowered his gaze and ogled the sleeping dragon, his gaze impregnated with something Joshua interpreted as poignancy. He was just in time to see the child take Joshua's right hand in her mouth and gnaw on it like a teething puppy playing with its chew toy. So much for his human dignity.

"She will never rest until she knows you are truly and honestly safe," he concluded.

Joshua, facing away from Volteer, rolled his eyes without fear of disrespecting him. If it came from anyone else, it might have passed for a well-developed speech with much thought and effort put into it. The Guardian almost sounded dramatic when he said it. The fake kind of dramatic, like a menopausal grandmother yakking on and on about the latest 'family secret'.

"No shit, Sherlock. Tell me something I don't already know," Joshua replied. He saw Volteer's confusion present itself, but before the old dragon could open his mouth the gamer headed him off. "Look, I don't want this situation to remain this way forever. Sure, I'd like the opportunity to go around the city, settle down for a bit, and make some friends while we're studying the Unknown Element." He pulled Kilat's tongue a little and traced circles on its surface. (What else was he going to do? It's trapped in there!) "I'd love it even more if Kilat makes a life for herself here, before I go home. It's the only thing I want for her." He focused on her, watched her sleep. "But how can that happen when there is absolutely no f*cking way in hell Warfang will give me a chance?"

.

.

.

An agony Joshua was suppressing struck him with the force of a truck. His heart lurched. His hands trembled. His breaths were heavy. He barely kept himself together after throwing his complaints, his grievances at one of the few people in this f*cked-up city willing to listen to his tirade.

Damn it. The urge to pick Kilat up and wrap the child in his arms—like a pet dog—almost overwhelmed Joshua. It didn't matter if he could only move his right arm or if she woke up grumpy and irritated. He found it almost impossible to resist the feeling, to stop himself from weeping again. It was a week—a mere week since he arrived in Warfang, and already he felt the hate, the terror this city felt for him. The pressure was crushing him, and Volteer only served as painful reminders. As harsh reality checks, dragging the gamer down every time he felt even remotely hopeful of the future ahead.

"That is true," the Guardian acknowledged. "Without intervention, you will only live a miserable life within our walls. The City of Dragons will never give you, the furless ape, any opportunity to prove yourself an obedient, respectful, law-abiding foreigner in our lands." He plodded closer to Joshua, and before he knew it, he felt the aged reptile place a comforting paw on his back. Steadfast and immovable. He felt its firm padding through the oversized, woven tunics they gave him. "Fortunately, luckily, miraculously, and fortuitously for you, I do have a solution for your problem."

Joshua shot an incredulous look at him. "You do?"

"Affirmative," Volteer replied. "After, much observation and analysis, I tendered a proposition to my fellow Guardians, councilors, and other esteemed personalities in the Temple. It was a motion intended to free you from room arrest, to give you more space to move around in, and ultimately, to prove you are the good person Cynder, Sparx, that child, and myself all believe you to be. But make no mistake, Joshua; I was transparent, candid, direct, and truthful with my disclosures. It is only fair."

Touched as he was, that last bit drove the nail deep into the hope ballooning in his heart. Goddammit all, the old dragon would never make a shrewd politician. Had he held a position of power in his homeland, he would've been outvoted by his more scrupulous opponents in election season. "Your timing couldn't be any more perfect, Volteer," Joshua facepalmed, "especially after the shitstorm that went down the last time you acted on your own."

"A 'shitstorm'?"

Joshua misinterpreted the confused reply and went on. "Hell yeah, dude!" He gestured at the open archway leading into the balcony, to the heavily-armored security detail standing just out of sight, at full attention. "Seriously, I had to beg Cynder to help me out, just so I can admire this view! I thought she was going to tell me to go f*ck myself after what happened when Spyro woke up from his three-day coma, but instead I get a free hour every day plus a bunch of guards to make sure I don't do shady shit. Rhynoc guards! And Jesus f*cking Christ, they looked badass.

"An arrangement like that must've been a hard sell, even for her. Then—Jesus, Mary, Joseph!—here you are whipping out a proposal out of your ass that makes Cynder's thing look like a cake walk! I don't think they liked that. I'm very, very sure you pissed off Cyril and Spyro with that one. Immensely! And I'm willing to bet my left nut on it!"

Volteer sat on his haunches. "While I make no claim to understand what you mean by your 'left nut' and what must surely be profanity in your culture, I can certainly, definitely, commiserate with your misgivings. Terrador and Cyril may have lost the majority vote when we took you in, but I assumed they would have more sense to show indomitable unity when it comes to you, especially in front of the Councilors, all of whom called for your execution." He ogled Joshua, giving the human a warm smile. "At least they agreed with me in the end, and it is all thanks to your exceptionally good behavior that the motion was even passed. Truly, Joshua, I admire your tenacity. Most people in your place would have already lashed out."

He bowed his head, curling his muzzle into a grimace. "But I can't say the same for our Saviors." The Guardian heaved a weary sigh. Joshua didn't understand too much of the politics here, but from what little the gamer had gathered here and there, from Volteer, from Cynder, and from anyone else willing to briefly engage in small talk—albeit with much reluctance—Warfang's affairs resembled much like Konoha, with the Guardians replacing the Hokage and the Council increasingly militant against them.

"They are completely divided," Volteer continued. "Spyro is constantly clawing at Cynder andSparx over anything related to you. He was incredibly vocal with his opposition to my motion, too, to put it lightly." He craned his neck down the balcony. "After he and the Councilors lost, Spyro has become increasingly absent from Warfang airspace. He is always out somewhere, and it is stoking more conflict in his personal life."

Joshua knew what he was looking at. From that particular angle, one could see the Temple's botanic garden down at the very bottom of the hill. Sometime during these past four years, Warfang erected a monument of the late Fire Guardian Ignitus in the very center of the garden to commemorate his peerless wisdom and sacrifice. Even from this distance, Joshua knew the structure was an architectural marvel. A life-sized statue of the old dragon himself stood atop a pedestal that rose in the center of a latticework pavilion. He already saw the colorful array of flowers and vines enveloping the monument, and it wasn't at all hard to notice the gigantic blue Spirit Gem growing out of the pedestal's base. Joshua swore he would visit the monument once he regained some semblance of freedom in the Warfang Temple.

Volteer must be that worried about Spyro, if he had to be staring at the monument so intensely. He must be thinking, 'What would Ignitus do?'

"Volteer," Joshua asked. "Why is Spyro, so hostile towards me? He knows I'm not out to hurt him or his loved ones. He knows I'm not here to cause trouble or go on some mad killing spree. He knows what happened at the Gates was just a freak series of accidents. So, why is he acting like, like, uhhh…"

"Like you are the Dark Master himself?" the old dragon offered.

"Saying it like that is just overkill, dude. But I, I—okay." Joshua acquiesced, "Yeah, that's a good way of putting it, I guess."

The Guardian heaved another sigh, gaping at the monument down below. The human felt uncomfortable with the silence. He did not know what Volteer thought about all this. Joshua's gaze fell on Kilat again. He felt empty. There were no words to describe the defeat and melancholy that came from being absolutely rejected and abhorred by your childhood hero.

"…I do not know," Volteer finally answered. "Until now the Guardians could not arrive at a reasonable conjecture. Cynder, his mate, cannot postulate why he detests you, let alone explain the sheer intensity of his aversion. Even if I were to account for the impossibly severe breach of privacy that your entire species have done with their long-distance scrying glasses, there shouldn't be any compelling reason to warrant such violent and hateful reactions to a good-natured individual like yourself."

"Sooooooo, you all have absolutely no idea." He moaned, "Just f*cking great…"

"We are baffled as much as you are, Joshua. I am sorry for disappointing you."

Calling this a disappointment understated the gamer's confusion and grief. Ever since he marched into the city in chains, the thought of genuinely befriending the heroes he had come to admire helped him endure the humiliation and mental suffering. He believed he had a real chance at becoming a trusted member of Spyro and Cynder's circle, at fulfilling a dream every Spyro the Dragon fanboy like him had, despite everything that's happened at the Gates.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't a genius smart aleck with a two-way portal, a world-traveling spellblade with a magic key-shaped sword, a hardened super soldier, or God forbid, one of those stupid human-turned-dragons. But he still wanted to believe he had this chance. After all, Cynder was quite civil to him, plus Sparx seemed to enjoy having another snarker among them. A few more weeks or months of work, and maybe, just maybe, he'd have their respect and friendship. Having those would make his life here as memorable as possible before he left the Dragon Realms for good, aside from helping Kilat make a home for herself here.

Although judging by Volteer's statements, something like that would never happen for so long as Spyro despises him to the point a deep and black chasm was beginning to appear and break his own relationships apart. Fanfiction writers may give their protagonists enough time to fix things like this, but in real life, every actor moved simultaneously, waiting for nobody.

"Christ have mercy on me," he muttered. "All right, Volteer. I guess that problem's something that we'll have to address when we get more information."

"Indeed."

Joshua wanted to clap his hands together. It would've been a perfect time for it. Too bad his left arm was still disabled and Kilat was busy leaving teeth marks on his other hand. "Okay! Then, let's talk about this 'solution' you got for me. What's this 'proposition' you worked so hard to get approved?"

As soon as the question left his mouth, he braced for something difficult. Something humiliating. Something that meant subjecting his poor, still-developing muscles to the universal curse of hard labor. It wouldn't surprise him if he became some Apprentice's rag doll or a Guardian Candidate's personal slave.

"The Temple has an opening for a manual scavenger, and you're cleared to take it if you're interested."

Manual scavenger, huh? That didn't sound too terrible.

"The work is physically laborious and holds little glamour," Volteer explained, "with minimal contribution to society at best. It's an occupation usually reserved for the Moles, I'm told. Nevertheless it is an opportunity for you to gain mild exposure to our resident community, a little bit of moving space within the Temple grounds, and some fair economic compensation, which you can retrieve from the Keeper of Coins once you are declared completely free, independent, autonomous, self-sufficient, liberated—

"Okay, okay! I get it, man. I get what you're saying. No need to throw the whole thesaurus at me!"

"Very well. I regret not securing anything better for you, but at least with this you won't have to stay in one or two places all day, with literally nothing to do." To think that was the only thing I wanted when I was a kid. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"I do, but it's not about the position."

"Oh?"

A job, however insignificant or low-key, represented a momentous leap forward towards a decent, possibly happy life in Warfang. Even a fool would realize how much it influenced one's living standards, quality of life, and (on occasion) social status. Something in the City of Dragons passed for currency, and if this world was anything like his homeland on Earth, then money would be something he'll need eventually.

Yet as nice and as pleasant and as just plain f*cking awesome it was to learn about this, any form of employment would deter his research into his strange power. His journey home. Joshua Renalia had no plans of settling down in the Dragon Realms. Not now, not ever. Other Spyro fans would probably shit themselves and chastise him for even thinking of leaving. Because he was in a video game world. Because he got to meet their beloved characters. Because he was in a furry's paradise or something. Whatever.

In his opinion, those people could all go f*ck themselves.

"Aren't we already busy with the Unknown Element? I know y'all are in it for the knowledge and all, but I want to get it under f*cking control fast, by myself, or I'll always be a danger to everyone around me. If I start working as some scavenger thingy, I don't know if I'll have time for the things really important to me right now."

"Joshua, we can't continue our research until you make some progress with your hypotheses of the Unknown Element and its nature. I can't help you without that analysis. None of the Guardians can. I told you before, all the Elements have at least one thing in common with each other. Any expert at Elemental Manipulation are acutely aware of such commonalities, and it is through these that they are capable of teaching novices proficient with other Elements."

"But I feel nothing, Volteer. I feel nothing! The stuff just comes out of somewhere and does whatever it does!" Joshua flailed his arms ostentatiously. "I don't feel any energy flowing through my arms. It ain't hot, it ain't cold, it ain't whatever the f*ck you're all telling me to look for!"

The Guardian sighed. "You just need to ruminate, cogitate, reflect, and think on it some more, little one. That's all." He shook his great big head, and shut his eyes, the skin crumpled in one exasperated furrow. "Besides, Cynder will not let me continue this until we're sure yesterday's incident in the Arena doesn't happen again."

Thinking about it turned Joshua's cheeks red. He remembered Spyro laughing especially hard after he almost died fighting the dummy golems everyone uses for training. THE DUMMY GOLEMS! The gamer had a feeling the Purple Dragon spread the news of his humiliating near-death experience throughout the Temple. A laughing stock for any and all to jeer and ridicule behind his back.

"Fine. Fine! I'll go with it. You have your human scavenger. Much better than staring at the walls every day and letting Kilat chew on me all the time. I'll take any work over none at all." He hoped that came out right. If he was in Volteer's place, he might have thought he was being desperate. Last thing he wanted was to find himself in deep shit because of piss-poor decision-making.

The Electric Guardian beamed. "Great! Wonderful to hear your reply." Jesus, that grin would be so creepy if the old dragon had a pair of half-moon glasses balanced on his muzzle right about now.

"So when does it start?"

"You can start right now, actually. I'll bring you to the mole in charge, fetch you some work tunics, and you can go straight to work." His snout dropped, eyes ogling the child turning his hand into a drooling mess. "But you can't bring Kilat along, I'm afraid. The job is inappropriate for a dragoness of her ability and character."

And now his true intentions came to light. "Dude, did you just get rid of me so you can have her all to yourself?"

He denied it with one of the biggest grins he ever saw on his muzzle. "I don't know what you're talking about, dude."

Joshua rolled his eyes. Whatever. He glanced down one last time, and found Kilat sucking on his fingers. She curled up even closer on his right arm, using it as a mattress. A soft snore or two came out of her mouth. What the hell. She's sound asleep! He stared at Volteer. "Do we have to do this now? I don't want to wake her up yet. She gets all cranky if she doesn't get enough sleep."

The Guardian blanched. "I, uh, uhhhh…"

He smirked.

"…I surmise we can let the girl sleep a little longer. Don't you agree?"

.

"Uh huh. Thought so. And after all that scheming..."

Author's Note:

*whistles* Aahhhh it feels soooooo good to put this chapter up. I've been wanting to start churning out crap like this since way back in Chapter 10.

I'd also like to thank those who sent PMs regarding OC submissions. I've got three new ones in the lineup, and going back and forth with their creators on what they have, what I want, and the impact they'll have on certain plot threads is something I am looking forward to! As stated a few times before, approved OCs will appear when appropriate. Credit will be given when it is due. Those who are interested may PM me for the template to fill up. But just remember: I will not necessarily make them a supporting or recurring character. Oh, and they don't have to be protagonists!

Okay soo… replies to reviews:

Zero: …thank you for the feedback.

Zach: I'm not going to deny that I enjoy "excruciating attention to detail", provided there is actual progression in either the storyline or character development. That's something I've learned from the first few chapters in my Digimon story. However, you are correct in that I need to balance this out so my pacing does not suffer. Not everyone enjoys extensive detail, after all. But I have to be honest, those are eight chapters with lengths varying between 8,000 and 15,000 words. That is much better than what I've done with that other fic… which is sorely in need of an update. *sigh* Still missing that inspiration. Anyway! Relatively speaking, that's a great improvement, and hopefully it'll get shorter when I get to another big arc.

JOOP-ROLL: Me too! I'm really glad! Well, things will be… mixed, I guess. Who knows? Depends on what feels best. XD Being unbound from the linear structure is liberating.

Server Lock: That Element's good for messing with you guys! Anyway, I disagree with you on the SYOC bit. It's a matter of knowing what you want, identifying characters of opportunity, and working with their owners/creators to finetune their profiles to what works best for the world you created.

Djax80: And we meet again! XD Thanks again for the feedback. And technically, dude, we did not end with a cliffhanger in this chapter.

V-SxC: Hi and thanks for the review. :D Not sure about kids at the moment, but it's a very strong possibility that they'll eventually make attempts. These will be unseen of course. Aimless won't become an M-rated story with blatantly lemony scenes in the foreseeable future. And normal life? Of course! There'll be plenty of this.

TheKingofGames1001: I'm glad it's finally done. Thank you for the glowing feedback. Being called "one of the most talented writer[s]" is flattering and laden with expectations. I hope my future output will not disappoint you. And there's no loophole, by the way. That loophole cannot exist so long as I'm the only person who does the plot design, world-building, and submission approval for Aimless canon.

This is where my story differs from the Innortal-style Time Loops (better known as "The Infinite Loops" genre) pervasive in other fandoms, and in my opinion, what makes it more manageable and consistent. Look for the discussion threads on .com, and you'll find that it has devolved into a chaotic mess where many writers have and continue to contest what's canon and what isn't and in the process duking it out to enforce their own brand of canon to one another—much to the moderators' chagrin—instead of simply writing snips and good reads. (You've got fics of your own correct? Imagine multiple people going after you for whatever you put into your Spyro/Minecraft story because of something another writer wrote in a Legend of Zelda fic.)

Koal: Hey Koal! Glad to hear from you again. Joshua's incarceration was the intention from Day 1, but I needed to throw out as many seeds as possible for future snips and mega arcs, to refer to "Loops" terminology. I'm not as attached to Joshua as you though, I gotta be honest. Still, glad you like 'im. Yeah, he'll be carrying that trauma for a long time…

Cutie Kyuubi: The review is motivating, and I thank you for it. I have great distaste for those kinds of stories myself, which explains the enormous detail I put into my chapters. Glad you liked my portrayal of Volteer. I had a very hard time with him and the other Guardians.

Folwod: Thanks again, dude! You won't have to wait as long for the chapters now that the story structure has changed. Writing Aimless has become much easier. Finding time to write though? Well… that's another story altogether.

Draykat: LOL! I didn't give you an explanation for Joshua's Element! It's merely an approximation, but it's much more than that! And no, Kilat isn't a reanimated corpse.

Bizzleb: Whoa, that is one of the longest and most well-written reviews I've ever gotten for Aimless. I don't normally see stuff like that coming my way for this story. XD Anyway, I'm ecstatic that you've taken the time to read the fic and made sure your feedback was fair and thorough. Really appreciate it. Thank you very much! :D

Keeping Joshua's experience realistic and limiting his abilities while throwing out nice little Easter Eggs and references all at the same time isn't easy and you know it, especially with Unknown Element being potentially OP as it is. You aren't the first one to point out the concessions I've had to take with the second story arc, though, but as I've said it to others, while I was uncomfortable with those decisions I at least know I have set down the foundations for multiple plot threads ahead.

Joshua of course will continue to pay a steep price for his life in the TLoS universe, fight scene or not. The internal struggle that he will go through defines Aimless. The story would have never existed without it.

Oh, and good job for figuring out Spyro's motivations, even though I didn't go into his POV at all. As for Cynder… I've covered the causal basis for the persistent hate she gets from the people despite her accomplishments as a Savior. Its resolution though… well, I'm still working on that. ^^;

Regarding the story threads, to keep things simple I'm going to jot down the list of main categories. Can't give out the subgroups because of spoilers or something. OH well. :P

1. Settling In. Covers the aftermath of the second story arc.

2. City Life. Covers Joshua's life in Warfang.

3. Beyond the Wall. Covers events outside Warfang's borders or involving foreigners (particularly Skylands and Aldozira).

4. The Journey Home. Covers Joshua's personal storyline.