Aimless

by The Silent Insomniac

Joshua Renalia finds himself lost in the Dragon Realms with nothing but his sleeping clothes, his knowledge of Spyro lore, and a power beyond his understanding. Cut off from all he knows, the human discovers Spyro's world is alien, unforgiving, brutally shattering his naive expectations. How long can he live here before going insane? Is there a way back home? Why is he even here?

26. (TJH) (3D) Field Demonstration 1

Author's Notes:

Four scenes in this one. Also longer than usual. Honestly, I wanted to shorten this. The first 2000 words and the last 2000 were totally unnecessary; they didn't exist in my outline to begin with. But for some reason the chapter just doesn't feel complete without them. *sigh* I'll have to make sure I design chapter outlines that fit an 8,000-word limit next time.

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.

The OC Getsuga belongs to Keyblader Zen.

Enjoy!

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The Journey Home – For Science!

Chapter 26: Field Demonstration 1

"The true method of knowledge is experiment."

- William Blake

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[3D/LA]

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Joshua sniffed his tunic. He blanched at the faint scent of dragon urine. How in God's name did the smell stick to it? He aired it out all f*cking night and he spent all morning wearing it. He expected Kilat's smell to permeate the shirt instead, considering how much she clung to him since bath time, but that tactic failed. He didn't know how Warfang people did the laundry, but goddammit, whatever they did really left a mark.

"Joshua," Volteer's voice cut into his thoughts. "Time is of utmost importance! I have other obligations waiting for me after our scheduled activity. If you don't hurry up, I'll make sure you, uhhh, I will employ—A-ancestors, I'll h-h-have, I'll… I'll throw you in a vat of fertilizer!"

That comment instantly brought the gamer backed to reality. He yelped. Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope! Noooooooooope. Not happening, ever.

He walked faster. With his quickened pace he easily caught up to Volteer. Despite his long strides, the Guardian was a slow walker. It was not so much the size of Warfang Temple's corridors (they were enormous) as it was his personal preference. Considering all the boundless hyperactivity the games associated Volteer with, this would have been out of character.

At first glance.

Surely his mind was hard at work, drilling its attention onto other matters. Like the electric dragoness by his feet. Joshua could see Kilat bouncing around them with much energy and threw question after question at him.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

"This is kiiiiinda far from the living quarters. So many doors!"

"Where we going, Mister Volty? I wanna know, I wanna know!"

Volteer laughed. "Aahhh, the enthusiasm of youth!" He lowered his neck and performed some gesture Joshua couldn't see from behind. Kilat trilled happily and immediately leaped on top of his head. The Guardian lifted her high up. He stretched his neck, tilted his chin, and down she went, sliding on the scales. It wasn't very hard to replace the two with Fred Flintstone and a brontosaurus.

"Weeeeeee!" All curled up into a ball of golden scales, Kilat giggled like the little girl she was until she reached the floor. Joshua locked eyes with her. She sent a smile towards him before getting on her feet and rushing back to Volteer's front. "Again! Again! That was fun! Do it again!"

"Very well, Tiny Wing. We can have another go." He spoke while giving the dragoness another run at the makeshift slide. Joshua felt a little jealous. He had to admit, it looked pretty fun.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Joshua decided it was a good time to ask Volteer the question that was on his and Kilat's minds. "So, remind me again, Volteer, where we're going?"

A thick tail slapped his foot. "Dude, what the f*ck!"

A Dragon Knight Joshua didn't quite recognize glared at him. He was a young adult, clad in the same armor as all the others who guarded him. About a couple heads taller than Spyro and Cynder. "That's Master Volteer to you, furless ape," he scolded. Flames flared out of his nostrils. "Show the Electric Guardian more respect! If it weren't for him or Lady Cynder, you—

"Flaraxas," Volteer placated, evoking the calmness and grace of a wizened scholar, "It's all right. It's all right! No need for formalities here. They belong in court and official affairs. Despite all appearances and, other, extenuating factors, Joshua is my guest for the moment. And someday, I hope," he leveled his head with the gamer's. Volteer's gaze felt… hopeful. His sphere of life showed that as much. "A good friend."

Joshua's anger subsided with that remark. A dumbstruck expression appeared on his face, the Guardian's kindness catching him by surprise.

The f*cking jarhead wannabe backed off. He bowed in acquiescence. "If you say so, your guardianship," he said.

If the Guardian found offense in Flaraxas' apparent disregard for his request, it did not show on his muzzle. He faced Joshua. "Now to answer your question, we're heading to Proudtail Hall."

He chucked his chin up and let Kilat fall again. "Weeeeee!"

Joshua scratched his head. Volteer said the name like it's supposed to mean something to him. "Uhhh, I don't really know what that is," he said. The place sounded a little too prim, seriously.

"Oops," he chuckled. "For a brief moment, I forgot you aren't exactly a normal resident here." It was hard to focus on Volteer. Kilat was still treating the old dragon's neck like a large slide, and her laughter made it obvious just how much she was enjoying it. Yet the Electric Guardian himself didn't bat an eye. "We hold training courses and learning sessions for young students in Proudtail Hall. Basic elementary education, designed to provide beginner-level instruction with the Elements, lessons on history and our ancestry, and a few useful skills for life in general."

"School," Joshua muttered. "And I was hoping the concept never existed here." He started to see flashes of a life he's read about many times. How often has he encountered the High School AU online? There were hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of them scattered across the Internet, retelling the same story, using the same tropes, repeating the same clichés, over and over and over again. A student himself, Joshua could easily imagine adolescent dragons dealing with homework and raging hormones while bullying each other over petty things that shouldn't matter. A wonderfully constant juggling of social life, academic work, and self-realization. He cringed at the idea of living that life. He wouldn't want to go through any of that, fictional world or no.

"It isn't quite like that," Volteer corrected him. "Parents are free to raise their hatchlings and whelps however they want, so our sessions are not at all mandatory. To tell you the truth, these courses only serve as an entry point for dragons aspiring for the path of Guardianship or Knighthood. Otherwise, they have no real bearing on whatever life awaits them outside the Temple. It will most certainly, assuredly enrich their lives, of course, but by no means does that mean their opportunities are less in absentia."

Jesus. That sounded more like a… like a Kumon for dragons with possible advancement into a government job. Not exactly like a school, just as the dragon said. "Oooookay," Joshua left it at that. "So why are you bringing me there? What's going on?"

"Nothing really," Volteer evaded. "But, I reserved the room for just us."

"Mmmhmmmm. And that's because…?"

"The pursuit of curiosity!" Volteer exclaimed. Kilat once again slid down the back of his body. It was hard to ignore her squeals of happiness. They were making him smile. "When we encountered your, unique gift, the other day, Joshua, it altered, modified, reworked, refashioned the way I understood the Realms. I have seen—I have experienced nothing like it my entire life."

He caught on. "So you'll be studying me?"

"And more, little 'hoo-man'." Ugh. He'd been listening to Kilat too much. "So much more. I wish to see, to understand, to comprehend the Unknown Element. I have so many questions for you, but alas, the Ancestors have hidden the answers so deep within you my analyses will require no less than your mastery over it."

Volteer's intentions gnawed at him. Something about this was wrong. Shouldn't they not train him at all? Wouldn't he become a bigger threat if he became better at invoking the Unknown Element and controlling it? Spyro would be totally against this. God Almighty, the entire city would be against this. He couldn't forget how virtually every man, woman, and child clamored for his bloody death when he enacted Cersei Lannister's walk of shame the other day.

Joshua Renalia voiced his doubts.

Hearing his inquiry made Volteer's sphere of life shine brighter. The dragon's knowing smile made Joshua realize he wasn't one of the Guardians for nothing. "The fact you asked me that question," said Volteer, "confirms some of my personal conjectures about you. All the more is it urgent for you to control that power. Contrary to public opinion, I believe a lot of good can be done with the Unknown Element when appropriately utilized, employed, applied, extended..."

"Jesus-Mary-Joseph, Volteer, you're making it sound like I have Convexity or something," the gamer chuckled nervously.

Volteer did not answer immediately. Was he really thinking of Spyro? Did he see the Purple Dragon in his prepubescence whenever Joshua entered his gaze? Did he remember someone who was nervous, afraid, but willing to take that step forward and do the world a lot of good? The thought of being compared with his greatest childhood hero made Joshua smile. A feeling of warmth ran throughout his veins.

"…Volteer?"

"Perhaps," the Guardian finally replied. "But you are not Spyro. You are an aberration. An unprecedented irregularity. I've had my Guardian Candidates delve into Warfang's historical records for anything about your species and your Element. Unfortunately, our preliminary research produced no results."

A chill went up his spine. Welp. So much for those happy thoughts.

He went on, "Thus, if, through meticulous experimentation, we confirm you are an existential threat to the Realms as we know it, then…"

The pause that followed was pregnant with such an awkward atmosphere both dragon and human were at a complete loss for words. Volteer had been speaking in a detached tone all this time. Rational, akin to the position of a scientist who sought the truth. But he stumbled when he mentioned this worst-case scenario, and now he was fumbling for words.

"Uhmmmm, then we'll… resort to, err, certain remedies appropriate for the circumstances as we discover them." It was charming, in his own weird way. Like one of those antisocial nerds who realized they screwed up, made the person feel bad, and was now making attempts to cheer him up. "We won't do anything extreme from the start," the Guardian reassured him. "I at least promise you that, on the Ancestors. But Joshua, if it... if it does come to that—those extreme but regretful, truly and truly regretful, measures—the fact you are a good person greatly multiplies the tragedy. The, possible and currently completely, utterly, and absolutely hypothetical tragedy, I mean."

"Thanks a lot, dude," Joshua said, hoping it did not come across as sarcastic. But words of encouragement won't change the fact this "thesis project" can ultimately f*ck me dead, Guardian or no.

Getting killed by a state-assisted lynching or the Unknown Element itself frightened Joshua so much he'd shiver from all the imaginary chills the thought would slather all over his body. Honestly, if he didn't have to find a way back home and make a life for himself here in the process, he wouldn't have agreed to study his one and only power to begin with. He'd rather do the sensible thing and keep a low profile.

Volteer spoke, "That would be a terrible waste." Goddammit, did he just think out his thoughts again? F*ck, he had to stop doing that! "Going by prior postulations, you are most likely, most probably the only existence with an Element like yours at this moment in time. What if you hoo-mans—

"Can you stop that, please? It's, uhh, not cute coming from you."

The Guardian laughed. "Very well. My utmost apologies; I suppose your sister has rubbed off on me a bit." He massaged Kilat, who rested on his head, by running his paw over her back. She purred, not saying a word while she watched and listened to her adoptive brother and the only adult dragon she trusted. "As I was saying, if you are an unprecedented existence among humanity—or perhaps someone that's born with the Unknown Element every thousand generations or so—then that would change dragonkind's entire worldview."

"You have a point. Maybe I am something like that." Being a real-life Avatar Aang or Avatar Korra sounded cool as f*ck.

Volteer kept going as though he did not hear a single word, "It might become our responsibility to study it and ensure it is used only for the greater good. We may even have to expend exorbitant amounts of resources over the next millennia just to make contact with your species and coordinate with them to a degree that vastly exceeds our current accord with Skylands. Telling you to never nurture your power is no different from commanding a Purple Dragon to 'stick to one'. It would be so irresponsible, I fear the Ancestors would curse the dragonkind to death and beyond."

Joshua couldn't help but imagine a scene of the first Purple Dragon in existence meeting the Guardians of that era. The thought of that dragon being told to pick an Element was so hilarious he almost sniggered before remembering the aged reptile was still talking to him.

"I-I get it. I get it. With great power comes great responsibility."

"Precisely! It is absolutely a moral obligation for anyone possessing the power to shape and fashion the world around them to actually utilize and apply that power according to the prevailing circumstances." Volteer peered down at him, with a grin on his muzzle. "You're more mature than I give you credit for, young man."

"Uhhhhhhh…" All he did was quote Uncle Ben from Spiderman. "Thanks?"

Volteer had already turned the next corner by the time Joshua expressed his thanks. "And here we are!" he proclaimed. "Proudtail Hall."

Being ignored like this annoyed Joshua. Sometimes his attention span's just as bad as Kilat's. Do all Electric Dragons have this? He shook his head in dismay, but stayed silent. Tolerated it just as much as he did with his little dragon sister.

"Huh," Volteer said. His face grew pensive. "That's odd." Joshua (and the guards trailing behind him) caught up in a couple of seconds. The human saw a stone arch ahead, flanked by four columns and a doorway underneath. The sliding door was open. "Someone's already inside."

Joshua looked up at the Guardian. "Is someone waiting for us inside?"

"No." Volteer gestured with his wing, glancing at the eyes of his guards. Without even calling out their names, two of Joshua's security detail broke off from the group and stepped a few paces ahead of the dragon, leaving Joshua behind with Flaraxas and an Earth Dragon of the same age and build as him, who had been ignoring Joshua for the longest time as though he was an ant.

Left behind with another bigot and someone giving him the silent treatment. Juuuuuust great.

"Come," Volteer said, ambling ahead. "Let's see who this person is, shall we? A swift discussion and emphasis on my identity and a vague description of our purpose should be sufficient for them to vacate the premises."

Joshua made to follow his guide. He stopped when he felt a wing nudge him and Flaraxas muttered from behind, "Don't think you're safe just because the Guardians are friendly with you now, filthy ape. When they finally realize your true nature, they will put you to death like they should have three days ago. When they do, I'll gladly volunteer for the job. Nothing would smell better than your smoldering corpse."

The Fire dragon's attempt at intimidation reignited his anger. He already knew the long-term risk in assisting Volteer with his research was substantial. But did he have to be a dick and rub it in? Flaraxas' words shook him to the core, and he hated this f*cking lizard even more for this. "And I will make you eat those words in public the second they set me free," Joshua replied. It was a promise of humiliation. "F*ck you."

Then he walked away, jogging to keep up with Volteer before he disappeared beneath the sliding door.

"You arrogant, little monkey!" his ears heard Flaraxas snap. His sphere of life contracted and quivered, with spikes of rage jutting out intermittently. Joshua sensed his movement along with the activation of his mana. The gamer thought he'd have to make an active dodge and call for help, but he detected a wave of energy shake the ground underneath the bigot, stopping the f*cker in his tracks.

Why the Earth dragon helped him, he wouldn't find out until months later, long after Seriphos started opening up to him. They were apparently good friends.

Joshua caught up to Volteer easily. Feeling Kilat's gaze and detecting faint rippling in her life signature, he figured she had already started looking for him. Thank God for that. She trusted nobody when it came to his safety. Joshua smiled and waved up at her, and the dragoness responded in kind with her sole wing. Seeing her gesture invoked a desire to just hug the little girl. So cute! He thought. Man, he really missed having his iPhone on him. That would've been a Kodak moment for sure.

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They entered Proudtail Hall without much noise. Joshua had expected Volteer to raise his voice and call for the person using the place, but instead the Guardian stayed quiet and let their entry do the talking. The "doorway" was huge. A yawning gap in the bedrock, big enough to fit two adult dragons side to side. It made Joshua feel so tiny.

The gigantic hole in the wall led to an even larger cave chamber. To his amazement, it looked like an underground stadium! Rows of elevated platforms were carved right of the rock. They rose from the floor, their height increasing the farther they were until it connected with the wall. The architect had put shallow, square-shaped indentations in all of them, more or less the length and width of the younger dragons in Joshua's guard detail. The platforms in the first few rows were half as tall as Joshua, and had much larger indents on them. Roughly Volteer's size, it appears…

Anyone who went up there had a clear view of the center: a walled arena in which several golems meandered. A black-and-gray dragon darted between those golems, tail whipping them powerfully into the sides. It looked as old as Spyro and Cynder, or so Joshua guessed—he knew jackshit about a dragon's life cycle!

"Pardon me," clamored Volteer. "Excuse me! Proudtail Hall is closed today." He rushed ahead, having determined the dragon wasn't a threat to either him or his guest. Joshua saw Kilat slide down his back—he'd be stupid not to notice her, even if she wasn't squealing in joy this time around. Joshua's cherished sister joined him the moment she landed on the rock. Her claws clacked on the floor as she ran. Cobalt eyes peered at each of the four guards surrounding them. All but Flaraxas had spread out into the room. The Earth dragon sat down on one of the higher platforms like a cat, with his forelegs facing forward and his hind legs tucked underneath his body. The other two, being humanoid, knelt or sat cross-legged on the indentations in the first couple rows. Wow, those are huuuuge seats!

Kilat stopped in front of Joshua and looked at him expectantly. She didn't need to say anything. In one automatic movement, he bent down and picked her up. "You really had fun with him, huh?"

The child nuzzled his cheek. "Yeah! Sliding down Mister Volty's back is sooo fun. The air whooshes around my ears and there's this weird feeling in my stomach that felt really good." She smirked. "How are you? You looked jealous."

"…I was," he admitted. "I wanted to join you."

"You should've asked Mister Volty!" Kilat clung to his arms and rubbed her body on his chest. She felt at home with Joshua more than anyone else. It melted his heart.

"Can't do that," he said. "This is sort of official for me." And it'd be so embarrassing. I'm not a kid like you.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with pity. "Awwwwwww! You know what, decades or centuries from now when I'm as big as him, I'll let you slide down my back."

He'd only have to wait thirty or forty years and he'd be able to fulfill this nostalgic 90s cartoon fantasy in a fantasy, video-game world. The circular logic behind that thought was absolutely hilarious, and it really appealed to him. Until the other implications of an adult Kilat obliterated it completely.

"That, sounds fun!" he said. "I'll, I-I'll look forward to it."

"Promise?"

"…Promise."

For f*ck's sake, he might not even be here by the time she reached adulthood. God only knew how long that would take in human years. He would either be back home on Earth or dead! Damn it, he loved this girl too damn much. What had he just done? Dragons don't forget!

Joshua shook his head. He didn't need to worry about that right now. He would… he would cross that bridge when he got there. Yes. By then he should've already found a solution. He was sure of it. He'd just have to leave it to God. The Heavenly Father would find a way. He would solve things for him. What kind of devout Catholic would he be if his faith wasn't that strong to begin with?

In three automatic movements, he brought the little girl close to his chest in a one-armed hug, held her paws, and kissed the tip of her nose. Though she had no outward reaction, happiness surged from her sphere of life. Joshua returned his attention to the scene in the walled arena. The golems had vanished and left nothing behind. He wouldn't have known they'd been there if he hadn't seen them earlier. His viridian gaze found Volteer towering over the other dragon. His voice was impassionate, laser-focused on censuring the hapless reptile, "—with the Temple Allocator. While I comprehend the rigors of your kata and am most impressed by your discipline in keeping your reflexes as sharpened and polished as they can possibly be, you should've still checked the bulletin!"

The dragon bowed his head. "My apologies, Master Volteer." Her head. The voice was female. "I am accustomed to training in Proudtail Hall at this time every Valorem. It didn't occur to me to verify if it was available as usual."

"Apologies won't protect you from consequences this time," the Guardian admonished. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave as soon as possible. I have a most important—most critical—most urgent experiment to conduct. One that could alter the philosophies of dragonkind forever!"

"That sounds incredible for an experiment," the dragoness remarked. "Shouldn't you be in a laboratory for that? With plenty of moles to assist you?"

"Not this time. I require Proudtail Hall's arena for my experiment. With Egeria's blessing, it shall bear fruit."

"Twin Moons!" she groaned. "Just what kind of experiment requires an arena for"—Getsuga locked eyes with Joshua and stopped.—"…Oh."

"Hmm?" Volteer turned to follow her gaze. "Joshua! I didn't see you there." He waved his paw dismissively at him. "Don't worry. This is none of your concern. Go and play with your little sister for a bit, would you kindly?" Joshua stared at him, almost dumbfounded. Those three words were the last thing he expected to hear in this place. It wasn't like he'd been transported to Rapture with plasmids in his arms and a wrench in hand. Volteer, again, didn't seem to mind his stunned expression. Perhaps he assumed the other dragoness caused it. "I must escort our unexpected guest and see her out."

Before either of them did anything, the onyx dragoness suddenly approached him on her own. "Ah, I recognize you. The infamous servant of the Dark Master, as I recall. Or was it Lord Caesar's spy?"

"I don't serve anyone," Joshua stood his ground. He glared at her. "I'm just me."

Kilat growled, "Yeah! What he said!"

"That is contrary to what the city says about you," the stranger rebutted. He felt her appraising gaze. A pair of silver spheres, staring right at him. Joshua locked eyes with her. Hopefully meeting the dragoness' line of sight head-on would make her back off.

It had the opposite effect. She leaned in, close enough to notice that her gray scales were just another shade of black. Joshua resisted every urge to flinch. Even when she stood on all fours the stranger was taller than him by at least seven inches. He tightened his grip on Kilat, who grew tenser the more this stranger drew closer.

Volteer's voice sliced through the tension. "Getsuga," it trailed warningly. The Guardian made his threat known, life signature contracted into a frigid ball. Prepared to spring forward in defense of the gamer, his muscles were taut. Volteer's ominous posturing surprised Joshua so much more than a coincidental word-for-word quotation from a first-person shooter published in 2007.

Proudtail Hall was suddenly filled with tension. Everyone glowered at this dragoness. Kilat, Volteer, and Joshua's security detail would intervene in a split-second if it went down to it.

Then the dragoness broke out in condescending laughter. She turned to the Guardian, inadvertently showing off the strip of gold lining her back. "You shall grow senile faster if you lose your scales like this more often, Master Volteer." Her wing moved in a casual, dismissive gesture that could've been easily been interpreted as an offensive display of disrespect. "I promise your pet ape shall remain unharmed. I merely wish to take a look."

The first thing Joshua thought was how weird this Getsuga spoke. Her manner of speech invoked images of those old movies and TV shows set in the Middle Ages, which depicted everyone speaking funny.

Any further ruminations were cut off. Getsuga inspected the human closely, her muzzle almost touching his skin. She sniffed him. Sniffed him everywhere, taking deep breaths while running her snout all over his body. None of the four curved horns protruding from her cheeks and her jaw made skin contact, a feat that would have piqued Joshua's curiosity. Could she feel him with them? Were they sort of like a cat's whiskers? Still, the dragoness took such a long time and scrutinized him with such apparent intent the gamer felt self-conscious he couldn't really think.

"Uhhh…"

Getsuga stopped. She spoke her thoughts aloud. "You are soft," she concluded. "Fragile. Not at all like what the airstreams have suggested."

Joshua felt indignant. "I am not weak," he said. The adolescent drew much of his strength from Kilat. Otherwise, he might have pissed his pants just standing up to this tough-looking Getsuga. Her scarred muzzle alone intimidated the shit out of him.

Getsuga rolled her eyes. She appeared annoyed, but her sphere of life remained calm, unagitated, even as she stepped back. "You misunderstand, furless ape. That is not what I implied."

"I don't see how 'soft' and 'fragile' could possibly mean anything else."

Getsuga briefly glanced down at the child nestled in Joshua's arms. She ignored her glare. "Then why are you embracing her as though I might maul you at any moment? Are you fearful of me?"

Joshua tuned her out and focused on her life signature again. Studying it left him baffled. Everyone he's encountered in Warfang so far either hated or feared him. Everyone, without exception. So why wasn't this dragon hostile? "Aren't you?"

Getsuga huffed, "I am unlike those mindless sheep in the city. Do not group with them." She wore a look of pride on her muzzle. "I surmised that your abilities, at the very least, appear to coincide with intense emotions. I will not make the foolish mistake of drawing out the Unknown Element."

Joshua gave her a sheepish smile. "That's, err, good? I... I guess?" Kilat relaxed when he did.

"However," Getsuga said, "A word of advice for you." She sneered, "You should work on the frailties of your mind. It may assist you from murdering the sheep by mistake."

"Excuse me!" An insulted Joshua retorted. "I never wanted to—

Kilat interrupted him. "They tried to kill him. Ancestors, they nearly did!" She defended her brother, "It's not his fault they died. They should've left him alone! I don't like the way they're treating Joshua now. He's not a monster. He's not a monster!"

"I believe you," Getsuga said. She smirked. "That is why I refer to them as sheep. Always scrambling in panic, incapable of reason like a common animal. I am far from such a thing."

The strange dragoness bent down and, in a fluid move, licked Joshua's face. He recoiled at the sudden sweep of the tongue. Astonishment wrote itself all over his face, and the teenager was so stunned he did not even think to wipe the saliva off.

"You intrigue me. I can only imagine what lies beneath the surface. I wish to see what you are capable of when you finally access your hidden potential." Getsuga's tail swayed left and right at the same time her head invaded his personal space.

The stranger's voice became a hushed whisper. "Look for me when you can. And in my quarters, if I may add. I have a personal interest in new experiences." She verbalized her last words with a long, extended drawl.

Joshua Renalia's face drowned in stupor for a bit until a dumbfounded expression struck him hard. Then he backpedaled as if the dragoness had shoved him back. "Eeeeewwwww! OH MY F*CKING GOD, EEW!"

Kilat looked between them, wide-eyed. "Huh? Huuuuuhh? What's going on? Joshua?"

"No way in hell!" Joshua blurted, completely ignoring the confused little girl. "NO F*CKING WAY! Jesus Christ, that is so f*cking gross! Eew! Count me out. O-W-T, OUT!"

He didn't expect Getsuga to break out in laughter. "You poor, naive boy," she derided. The dragoness pointed to a metal contraption on her rear-end. "So quick to presume. Tell me, did you ever see my belt?" It was made even more obvious by her prehensile tail waving about. Joshua frowned from the embarrassment. How couldn't he have caught that? So f*cking obvious. Good Lord, he was murdering his dignity here all on his f*cking own. "Or are you the kind of male that yields to seduction, eager to please the loins?"

Kilat still wore her puzzled expression. However, Getsuga's gaze sharpened. Her sphere of life contracted, moving in tandem with her paw, which Joshua suddenly found on his shoulder right before it gave him a forceful shove. It was enough to make him step back. He would've fallen on his ass (and humiliated himself more) if he reacted a half-second later. "The f*ck!"

The child growled. "Don't do that to my brother!"

Getsuga acknowledged the kid, "My apologies, Tiny Wing. But your beloved ape requires this." She then glowered at Joshua, silencing any reply he might have had. "Your innocence will be the death of you. If you wish to survive here, you must be more discerning than this pathetic showing. The people on this world can be crafty and ruthless. They will take whatever they desire from you if you give them the opportunity."

Joshua had no idea what to say to this. Was she... concerned about him? He spluttered, "Are, a-are you helping me?"

Volteer approached them. He looked relieved. "Getsuga, could you go look for the Saviors? I'm sure they'll be interested in our work here."

Joshua knew a graceful request to leave when he heard it, and apparently, so did she. "Certainly, Master Volteer, but please, a few more moments." She brought her muzzle closer to him, cognizant of Kilat and her impatience. Joshua felt Kilat's mana thrumming in tune with her emotions. The little girl grew more irritated the more Getsuga spoke with him. He couldn't blame her. She probably thought the older dragoness was playing with him, deriding him rather than providing any genuine help. "I do not fear you. Like many others, I can see, untapped potential. And given the peculiar, traits, of your Element, I am especially curious of what might transpire. I suppose it would be very interesting to train you and"—her eyes shifted down to Kilat, muzzle breaking into a knowing grin.—"your future partner in my personal approach to things."

He gritted his teeth. Getsuga's jab at a potential future for his relationship with the Electric dragon in his arms infuriated him. What was he, some jailwaiting creep? The nerve! Joshua wasn't an immoral son-of-a-bitch. He was born and raised Catholic. The scenario she implied contradicted everything he believed in, the person he believed he was. But he didn't explode from indignation. He resisted every urge to. This stranger held a neutral position towards him, the first since Cynder and Volteer. He couldn't blow her off. He could not afford it. "Aren't, you, worried? What, what other people will think?"

He received a mischievous smirk in reply. "My cloaca doesn't care for the thoughts of sheep and their dead Ancestors. Besides, it would be amusing to see their reactions to a dragoness like myself coaching the 'Dark Servant', 'Ape Spy', or whatever they believe you to be."

"Ooooookay," Joshua trailed. "I guess that's... good?" he said, awkwardly. He still didn't know what to say to this, not at all.

Getsuga slowly licked Joshua's cheek one more time before she stepped back and raised her snout. An unsettled Joshua recoiled from the gross feeling. Shivering, he recovered quickly and wiped off the slime, before his thoughts had a chance to linger. He was starting to hate that smug look on her muzzle. "Then I suppose this is goodbye, furless ape. It was a pleasure to meet you. But don't forget, my offer still remains." She ignored Joshua's cringing and walked to Proudtail Hall's door, chuckling to herself.

Joshua Renalia and Kilat watched the strange dragoness exit the cavernous chamber, who strolled with no concern for the many pairs of eyes observing her departure. A full minute passed before Kilat's youthful voice echoed in the room. "Who was she?"

Volteer sighed. Joshua could sense his exasperation. "Her name is Getsuga, as you already know. We all find her somewhat unconventional, perhaps eccentric. Nonetheless, she is someone who provides a, err, uniquely individual touch to the small community permanently residing in the Temple."

Recalling the way she threw herself at the golems earlier, the gamer asked, "She was training when we came in. Is she a Dragon Knight? A Guardian Candidate?"

"No. She is a refugee of the Allied Territories."

"A refugee?" But the War was done. Malefor was gone. Sealed forever. King Gaul, also dead. Why—

"She is living in political asylum," Volteer said. Was he that easy to read? "Warfang is the safest place for her."

"But, why?" Joshua asked. "And her name sounds weird." It sounded like something from Bleach. "Where is she from?"

"Because she cannot use the Elements. I cannot say anything more than that. It would disrespect her privacy."

He lied. Volteer's sphere did not show the telltale signs of deceit, but Joshua Renalia knew he lied straight to his and Kilat's faces. His consciousness had already combed through Getsuga's life signature multiple times during their conversation. He saw—he felt the mana within. She had an Element. What the hell was Volteer saying?

Joshua Renalia didn't push on this. Getsuga's affairs were none of his business. He had more important things to worry about anyway. "That sucks. But, okay..."

"Very well. Let us proceed, shall we?" Volteer gestured ahead. "We've wasted enough time already."

"I agree," Joshua replied. He followed the old dragon, right up until they stopped at one of the two openings that led into the walled arena.

Kilat's voice fluttered up his ears while he ambled. "Joshua?" Kilat asked.

"What is it, Kilat?" The adolescent said. He tightened his one-armed hug, locking eyes with her when she shifted around to face him. He thought she would give him some touching words of encouragement or support. Or maybe she'd lick him affectionately like she usually did whenever she sensed something troubling him.

"What does 'political asylum' mean?"

...Goddammit.

.

.

---

.

.

Joshua and Kilat stood before Volteer. The open part of the arena was right behind the Guardian, beckoning them all inside. The old dragon stood next to a large dodecahedron crystal embedded in the opening. It didn't look like something dragonkind would be able to absorb and turn into dust. It had no life.

Joshua rubbed his hands together. "All right, all right, all right! We're gonna study my Element, right? Soooooo, how're we doing this?"

"That's all up to you," Volteer said. "I am merely here to push you along."

"Meaning...?"

"Truthfully, beyond the data I gathered, I know nothing about your Element. There is so much to confirm, so much to investigate. Until now I cannot decide where to begin."

Joshua frowned. "So you're just winging it."

"'Winging'?" Volteer and Kilat asked simultaneously.

Blargh, I did it again. The notion of looking for whatever passed for in the Library was becoming more attractive the longer he stayed here. "Oh, sorry. Where I come from, 'winging' something means working without a plan. You know, uhm, improvising whatever it is you gotta do without really knowing what you're doing while hoping it'll all work out for the best."

"Interesting!" the Guardian remarked. "We dragons call that 'flying blind'. But to clarify, yes, that is exactly what I'm doing." Joshua did not like this answer. "The fact of the matter is, I require more sample data to arrive at a definitive profile of the Unknown Element."

"This is where I come in, huh?"

"Correct, young man. To study the Unknown Element—to intimately know its strengths and weaknesses, its practical applications, and of course, the potential opportunities or threats its very existence presents to the Realms—we must first find a way to consistently invoke it. After all, dragonkind would not have evolved the way it did if our esteemed Ancestors were too lazy to study their own powers and harness their full potential."

"Can't you," Joshua groaned, "I don't know, errr, just read reports or something? I'm not sure if I could even do this."

"I've done all the preliminary research. Eyewitness accounts of the incident, direct interviews with Kilat and Cynder, and reports from your guards. I've pored through them all."

"And nothing?"

"All point to the Unknown Element being constantly active in some form or shape. Interestingly, its most confounding, most amazing manifestations occurred mainly in combat. My Candidates will say it is highly correlated with your emotional state, an attribute that would lessen its value to our civilization, but personally, I refuse to make that judgment until I have put your Element through rigorous, methodical, objective scrutiny."

"Why?" Joshua questioned. "You know what happened last week. A lot of people died..." And I'm the one who killed them.

"I have my convictions." Volteer's response confused him. The Guardian didn't give him time to digest this further, gesturing to the empty arena. "Whenever you're ready, Joshua."

Joshua couldn't describe his feelings the moment he stepped out onto the arena. His heart raced in excitement. This was it, he thought. This was one of the moments he'd been waiting for forever since his arrival. Every single fanfiction he's read that's ever bothered to depict a human in the Legend trilogy's version of the Dragon Realms all tackled this event at one point or another.

Whether the human had transformed into a dragon, whether the human brought a unique, never-before-seen technology or power with them, or whether they were just as normal and useless as Joshua considered himself to be, every Spyro fanfic of this genre dealt with this scene at some point. Even the well-written ones, like that one piece of work that followed a frail, powerless girl from Earth who lived with the Guardians and eventually found kinship with a group of outcasts.

Joshua looked forward to facing the golems. He was a little nervous about this still, but with Warfang's greatest nerd behind his back, he'd finally understand what his Element did and how it worked.

"Are you still with us, Joshua?" Volteer's voice cut into his thoughts.

The gamer jolted. His awareness swept over the spheres of life in Proudtail Hall. He sensed Kilat moving to the walled arena. "He's spacing out, Volty! I'm gonna go boop him."

Oohhhh no no no no no. That wasn't happening. Those were f*cking painful. "I'm fine!" he turned to the little dragoness before she could charge at him. "I'm totally fine. I was just, uh, soaking in the atmosphere!"

She frowned; the little girl didn't quite believe him. "Joshua..."

"Leave him be, Tiny Wing," Volteer called her back. "I postulate Joshua is rather apprehensive about the whole thing. The incident happened just this Torsha, after all."

"Even more," she fought. "I gotta be with him!"

Volteer looked at her with an endearing smile. "I am aware you love him," he said, "and we're both glad you do—he requires many friends right now—but this is something Joshua must do alone."

Her muzzle curled. Her tail stiffened. She hesitated. "But, b-but..."

"I explained this to the both of you several times on the way here, dear child. Do not worry. We'll both be right here in the arena, just in case."

Good Lord, who knew Volteer had a way with kids? He won her over quick. Joshua normally had to put in more work than that, and she'd throw in some unnecessary physical contact he didn't want. It's funny how real life differed from the games. Volteer had never been depicted with a very fatherly kind of character.

Watching Kilat reluctantly place herself next to the old dragon, Joshua asked the question that had been on his mind for the past few minutes. "What now? Are we waiting for SpyCy?"

Volteer asked, "Uh, 'SpyCy'?"

Goddammit. People really didn't do name combinations in this place. "Spyro and Cynder," Joshua deadpanned. "Remember?"

A look of clarity appeared on his snout. He finally remembered. "They're not needed here," he said. "But they said they'll follow, so I expect the Saviors will come in after the tests." Joshua had this feeling that Getsuga being sent out to fetch them would mean they'd arrive sooner rather than later.

He prayed to Jesus Christ that he wouldn't make an utter fool of himself many times over by the time this shit was done.

"Gotcha." Joshua stretched and cracked his knuckles. "Sooooo, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Simple." Volteer placed his hand on the crystal next to the arena walls, and with thought alone, he caused the entirety of Proudtail Hall to thrum and vibrate. Joshua detected a flow of something streaming out and into the world. It etched itself into the very walls, until it produced a stone figure twice Joshua's height right in the middle of the empty arena. "Attack that."

"With what?" Joshua joked. "My fists? Dude, I don't have any weapons on me! I'd break my hand if I punched that thing."

This situation was resolved quickly. Volteer glanced at Joshua's four guards lounging in the seats, said a couple of their names, and before he knew it, Joshua had a stick appropriate for a teenager his size lying on the floor in front of him, broken off from the handle of a longer weapon.

A spear, it looked like, judging by the large blade being carried around by an atlawa with a dissatisfied look on his face.

"Any more concerns, young man?"

"No, sir."

Joshua noticed Kilat snickering beside Volteer. Christ, always with that girl... he'd have to teach her how to show other people more respect later. Somehow. Raising a kid had its benefits, but doing it on his own really sucked balls.

"Good." Volteer dipped his wing, gesturing at the one and only stone golem in the arena. It had not moved at all since its appearance. "Now attack the golem."

"That's it? I just whack it with this stick?"

"Yes. And do it while you're channeling the Unknown Element."

"Uhhhhhhhh... what do you mean by, err, 'channeling'?

Dude, how the hell did Volteer stay so patient with him? The dragon hadn't made any visible or audible sign of exasperation all this time. It's practically amazing, considering how often he and Cyril went at each other's throats for trivial things.

"Channeling, Joshua, is invoking the power of your Element and infusing its strength in each and every one of your movements, your actions."

"Sort of like how Electric dragons have glowing claws when they attack and leave yellow trails when they move?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Channeling is the most basic method of harnessing your Element. It requires virtually no mana expenditure, yet it immerses you in the 'unique' trait of your Element enough to make use of its higher functions."

"What is it supposed to feel like?"

A grin broke on Volteer's snout. The kind of grin that could only be found on someone driven by a powerful curiosity. "That depends entirely on the dragon! Fire Dragons feel scorching lava coursing through their veins. Electric Dragons like Kilat and myself experience something akin to lightning reverberating and echoing constantly throughout our entire bodies.

"While it is obvious to anybody you're not a dragon of any sort," Volteer chuckled, "It is an established fact that your body is acting just like one and you need help making sense of your Element, hence my presence here. So pick up your weapon, do whatever is required to activate the Unknown Element, and hit, strike, pummel, clout, thump, bash, assai—Ancestors, just attack that blasted dummy already like I've been telling you to!" Whoa, he must've wanted to see the Unknown Element in a controlled environment for days.

"Okay already, I got it the first time!" Joshua grumbled. He picked up the stick and turned to the stationary golem. "I'll get right to it then." The gamer tightened his grip on the makeshift weapon and faced his enemy.

He stared at the thing and its tall, imposing figure. He analyzed its shape, its potential weak spots. Joshua Renalia expanded his ego boundaries, his very self reaching out beyond the limitations of his own skin. Volteer's and Kilat's spheres of life appeared in his senses, like radiant suns in a cloud of shadows. The four guards appeared a little farther off, somewhat dimmer but nonetheless bright, shining, and obviously so. It swept over his view of the golem...

.

.

.

And nothing.

.

.

.

The golem just didn't exist.

How could that be? Joshua could plainly see the earthen golem standing there. If he squinted, he would see it slightly moving, swaying in spite of its own idleness. Jesus Christ, now that he got a good look at it, Joshua swore it looked just like an ape. An Ape Commander, in fact, complete with a giant sword that was shaped no more differently than the one that severed Kilat's left wing and crippled her for life.

Yet, according to his unique, one-of-a-kind sixth sense, it, did, not, exist.

"Anytime now," said Volteer. His life signature bubbled a little, the bright sphere pulsing and frothing every second or so.

What's going on? He knew he could sense magic as easily as he could sense mana. Joshua would even see it in his actual vision as a superimposed image if he chose it.

His consciousness reached out into the golem, sought out the magic within, and still came up empty-handed. What the f*cking hell? Why wasn't his Element working?

.

.

.

.

.

.

F*ck it. Maybe he could get it working if he went after the damn thing.

"AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" Joshua shouted the most intimidating battle cry he ever mustered in his life. He rushed the ape-shaped statue of rock, clay, and earth, and smashed it several times with his stick. An equally desire to see the thing crushed to bits matched his frenzy, with Joshua envisioning its complete and utter obliteration.

Half a minute elapsed before Joshua began to slow down, and another fifteen seconds more until he was so damn exhausted he had to drop the stick—it was undamaged—and stop, hands on his knees and panting no less hard than a dog.

"Haa, haa," Joshua heaved. He faced the two observing him. "Well? What'cha think?"

The gamer could've predicted Kilat's reaction. "Oooohhh that looks fun too!" She jumped and pranced, glancing at Joshua and Volteer with a forepaw raised up. "I wanna go next. I wanna go!"

The reptile scientist, on the other hand, bore an unamused expression. A kind, gentle smile replaced this briefly when he told the little girl to wait until Joshua was done. So when it returned, it returned with a vengeance. "It was a very energetic demonstration, for sure, but I told you to channel, invoke, summon, wield, brandish, and otherwise call upon the Unknown Element." He shook his head impatiently, his glower reproachful. "Not expend your energy on something useless!"

Joshua Renalia gaped. "What do you mean 'useless'? I was trying to do just that, dammit!"

"And nothing appeared."

Uh oh.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." His wing flared a bit. "Try again."

"Come on, dude! I'm tired as f*ck!"

"That was your choice. Please, Joshua, pick up the weapon and give it another try."

Christ's salty balls, he had put everything into that battery of attacks. He was pretty sure he channeled his power, but, to hear it amounted to nothing? Nothing? Joshua was dumbfounded. His Element just wasn't making any f*cking sense.

What was the trick to getting it to work? The Fear Element? That worked well in making it more responsive. Too well, actually. Should he ask Volteer to wait for Cynder then? It would—arrrgh no. No! F*ck, no! He didn't want to be dependent on someone else. He was already hiding behind Kilat's tail whenever shit hit the fan. For Christ's sake, yesterday Corvold called him out on it! It's humiliating!

He had to stand up on his own. If he couldn't, how could he even think of looking for a way home?

Joshua didn't respond to Volteer's encouragement. Silent, he bent over and picked up the stick. The gamer took a deep breath and, sharpening his focus, assaulted the lifeless golem. He struck thrice in one moment, and thrice again in another. He struck the head, the arms, the legs, even the f*cking stone balls. Joshua didn't feel anything whenever his Element manifested in its raw, malleable form, so it was difficult to confirm its appearance.

In that time, he'd been sending fleeting glances in Volteer's direction. The old dragon puckered his lips; his sphere of life shrunk from disappointment, even as it spun and spun as he contemplated what happened in front of him.

"I'm sorry, dude, but, I can't get it out. Something's not right." F*ck why did he say that? OF COURSE VOLTEER KNEW! Well, whatever. Hopefully he had a solution or something, because if he didn't, Joshua didn't have a lot of options for the rest of his life if this fell through right out the gate.

"That, is quite… apparent," the Guardian started slowly, "In hindsight, I made a mistake setting your parameters." A short pause. "I presumed you could channel the Unknown Element from instinct, the same way young dragons do. And as observed, you cannot."

Oh yes, Professor, that approach was definitely the way to go! Comparing him to dragons who knew how to "dragon up!" from the day they hatched was sure to work. Oh hey, wait a minute…

"Wasn't Spyro just like me?" Joshua questioned him. "I mean, dragonflies raised him. That doesn't sound like something that would make him a master of all four Elements at twelve years."

Kilat dropped her jaw at the reveal. "The Purple Dragon was raised by insects? Ancestors! Is that for real?"

Joshua laughed at her scandalized look. "Yeah, totally is!"

She turned to Volteer. "Is he telling the truth, Mister Volty? Is he?"

The fact he didn't reply and instead gave her a strained, gentle smile worsened her shock. The legendary hero who saved the Realms had grown up without ever knowing who or what he was. He didn't know what made his purple scales so special, or who the Ancestors were. He didn't know their traditions, customs, and figures of speech. He didn't even know how to use an Element. Kilat looked like she couldn't process this new information, and she struggled to accept the reality that the most influential person in her generation was still most likely learning how to BE a dragon.

Welcome to my world, little girl. He'd been dealing with that shit nonstop from Day 1. "Kilat, let's talk later, okay? I'll tell you all about it." Maybe he should give her a back and tail massage later, while he's at it? She always loved that.

"Joshua, you are surprisingly well-informed," Volteer commented, sounding intrigued. "Few Markazian citizens are aware of this."

His eyes dilated. "Oh! Was that supposed to be a secret?"

"Oh Ancestors' rumps, no!" Volteer laughed. "That's easily found by anyone who'd bother going through some dusty history tomes in Hookfang Library. But most dragons here prefer to frolic in the Botanic Gardens, meander the city, or cultivate their Elements, while the people who do know this infinitesimal piece of trivia would prefer it buried forever. After all, it's not something most of my species take pride in."

"I, I, umm, I see?" Joshua pondered. The thought of an old Dave Chappelle episode came to mind. "Guess it's like everyone's favorite white person revealing to the entire world he's black."

Anyone among Joshua's friends from home could have told the gamer that wasn't the best analogy to use. Volteer couldn't make sense of his words. Still, the Guardian opted for what was best: agreement. "Errrrr, you can put it that way, yes," he concurred. Then he shelved the matter as quickly as possible, so the gaucherie wouldn't be more obvious than it already was. "Without a doubt, you and Spyro are comparable in this aspect. Be that as it may, I believe starting you at his level is too much."

"What do you mean?"

"I conjecture the active nature of your Element requires some external stimulation."

"Who's coming in the arena then?" Joshua asked. "You? Kilat?" He trained his gaze on the arena seats, panning his security detail, all of whom observed them from various positions. "One of my guards?"

"No one," he said. Another touch on the crystal, and once again Proudtail Hall came to life in his sixth sense. Energy whined and thrummed, the telltale glow of magic coursing through conduits leading into the arena again. A pair of yellow, pupil-less eyes appeared on the ape golem. Joshua Renalia heard it creak and groan. On cue, the gamer picked up his stick and backed away. He watched the lifeless object stand on its two feet, animated by magic. Its primate-shaped head faced him. It registered his presence in the arena and, in reaction, brought out a hammer appropriate for its size.

"Dude!" He yelled at Volteer. "That hammer's f*cking huge! Do you want me to die here?"

He responded with a dismissive gesture from his wing. "Not at all, Joshua, not at all. Rest assured, you are completely safe. While it is true that you've only had three days to heal from your wounds—far less time than either of us would've liked—you should have recovered enough to where spirit crystals can protect you from serious injury. We are prepared to administer first aid for you at the first sign of trouble." Volteer let out a gasp. "And will you look at that! By the Ancestors' blessing, a fresh supply of the gems are materializing as we speak!" A crown of red gems suddenly sprouted up next to Volteer and Kilat's corner, as though the Ancestors themselves were mocking him. "See? What did I tell you?"

You and your f*cking gods are a bunch of dicks! Joshua swallowed the insult that had been forming on his tongue. "And if"—he gestured at the stone ape—"that thing somehow smashes my head with that hammer? There won't be anything to heal!"

Kilat's jaw went slack. Her muzzle scandalous, she looked up at Volteer, "Hey! You told me this was safe. I don't want anything to happen to my brother!"

"It shall be fine, you two!" the Guardian placated. "No need to worry so much. I shall intervene personally the moment I believe Joshua is in serious danger. Besides, you are grossly underestimating his bone mass."

"No, we're not! I am absolutely, positively sure that that hammer will turn my skull into paste—

"In spite of the indisputable fact an accidental charge into solid rock did not? Powered by an Element? Head first?"

He wasn't talking about that accident this morning, was he? When Kilat introduced him to the children's game of boop? Oh God, he was. He's totally using that! Why? That didn't prove shit! How could he—

"That accident put a crack on the wall." Volteer had taken his silence as a cue to continue. "You realize defensive enchantments cover the Temple walls, don't you? Yet you are right here, standing in Proudtail Hall as if nothing happened."

Since it just happened today, it took seconds for Joshua to dredge up the memory. Cogitating on it now, a normal human wouldn't have just gotten a terrible headache from that. They would have died. Their brains, smooshed in the skull itself! His brain would've turned to mush, and Kilat would've been crying over his corpse wondering how she killed him when all she did was play a children's game with her adoptive brother.

Jesus-Mary-Joseph, he's right.

Volteer mused, "Egeria! I cannot decide which is more amazing: the fact you damaged enchanted rock, or the fact you merely have a bruise to show for it." The words unsettled him. Was Volteer awestruck by the feat or was he, reproaching his behavior? Joshua wanted to choose the latter; the old dragon sounded exasperated to his ears. The Guardian didn't help him, of course. Naturally, he slipped back into his detached, clinical tone. "Either way," he said, "it is ostensible—at least to me—that you are not as fragile as you think. Perhaps it is true that your species is naturally disadvantaged, to compensate for intelligence that far surpasses the moles. However, it may also be true that merely possessing the Unknown Element converted your constitution from a human baseline to that of a dragon."

Volteer's eyes burned into his own. For the first time, Joshua Renalia could decipher neither his gaze nor his sphere of life. "Have you ever considered that, Joshua? At all? It would explain many things."

Joshua stared. He had no response for any of that. What did he mean? That he wasn't human anymore? That his power was, for lack of a better term, mutating him? Making him some sort of supermutant? He didn't understand what Volteer meant by that whole "constitution" bullshit. He wasn't turning into a dragon anytime soon. He didn't have wings, horns, or a tail. Joshua was sure of it. He would know otherwise. He just would. And if he did, he might as well kill himself. There was no way, nooooo way in hell he'd give up his humanity. Never! He'd rather die.

The gamer turned to Kilat, hoping she had a quick response herself. But to his dismay, the child was as silent as he. The two locked eyes together. They stared at each other, their astonished expressions betraying the hope either of them would have a rebuttal ready for use.

"I'm sorry," Kilat mouthed wordlessly.

Joshua could only give a sympathetic nod in return. You tried, he hoped it conveyed.

Volteer tittered. A light snicker, to signal his victor. "Now that we've settled your concerns, let's proceed." Another surge of mana spread throughout the arena. Joshua grimaced at the sight of the golem pulling its legs from the floor. It lumbered towards him. An ominous, menacing sight. "Nothing like the good, ol' rush of battle to jumpstart your Element," the Electric dragon's words floated listlessly in the air. "Why, if memory serves me right, Spyro first channeled Fire in a moment of desperation, helpless but unwilling to give up his older brother to the apes…"

Goddammit, was he reminiscing? He really didn't give a shit about the stress that f*cking hammer was doing to his nerves, huh? Joshua growled. F*ck Volteer. F*CK THAT STUPID, OLD COOT—

A thick, thunderous step.

Creaking noises next to his ears.

Joshua only had an instant to react the second he turned around. His mind went blank. Fortunately, after all the abuse he's endured at the hands of Warfang's border patrols, the teenager automatically dropped to the floor from reflex.

Wind brushed the hairs on his neck. That was a close one! Joshua shoved himself off to the left and narrowly avoided the dummy's stomping finisher. With his momentum, he easily got back on his feet. His knuckles hurt. His ears were still ringing; the crushing echo of rock against rock echoing in his imagination.

Converted his constitution, he said.

Not fragile, he said.

This shit was safe? SAFE? Jesus f*cking Christ, if this examination passed for safe, he wouldn't want to know what Volteer thought was dangerous! That the floor withstood the dummy's stomp without a scratch or dent at the very least gave Joshua a little comfort, having proved the ape golem wasn't as strong as he thought.

"Come on, boy!" Volteer encouraged from the sides. "Strike! Attack! Assail it! Floor that dummy to the ground like you've done our guards. Feel your Element; set it loose!"

Easy for him to say! He wasn't the one doing the feeling. He wouldn't know—f*ck, he wouldn't even understand the Unknown Element was giving out jackshit!

Joshua backpedaled from an upward swipe, having timed the golem's strike. His makeshift staff went out, a counterattack aimed at its exposed elbow.

To his surprise, it hit.

To his bigger surprise, the stone skin behaved just like an organic, flesh body. The stone hairs crumpled inward. The skin creased. Hell, the golem's arm flew outward and revealed an even more vulnerable position. It had none of the resilience, the sturdiness of a true, flesh-and-blood Ape Commander. That much was true.

It also had none of the predictable reactions of an actual living being. Joshua didn't realize he was flying until a second after the golem recovered at an ungodly rate, twisted its body, and delivered a kick straight into his abdomen. He crashed into the arena walls then fell on his knees, coughing, whining from the pain on his back and stomach. He retched, nearly vomiting.

"Hmmm... no outward effect on the elbow or the weapon," Volteer intoned, his life signature as cool as ever. "No involuntary reactions upon hit."

Kilat said nothing, but her sphere of life was agitated. It shook. It shuddered. It spun. It rippled. The dragoness was restraining every desire to jump in and protect her brother.

Joshua was clueless. He had long overlaid his ego boundaries on the golem, and still, he received zero input apart from a vague "fuzziness" he could neither touch nor comprehend. He had also visualized the blasted thing down on the floor and that didn't work either! Just how the hell would he channel his Element?

"Maybe a kneejerk reaction would suffice?"

Proudtail Hall thrummed. Volteer's unintentional warning did nothing to prepare Joshua for what came next. The golem suddenly went Sonic the Hedgehog on him, closing the gap instantly and thrusting its hammer right at his face. Joshua froze.

It was a killshot.

.

.

.

…or rather, it would have been, had the ape golem followed through with it. The human's viridian eyes beheld the block of rock millimeters from his face, unblinking and quite literally staring right at what could have been his cause of death.

Joshua's legs gave out. He collapsed. Tears streamed unconsciously from his eyes. "F*ck," the gamer cried. "F-f*ck!" That could have killed him. That totally could have killed him! And all he did was stand there like deer in the headlights! His heart palpitated, memories of that moment flashing in his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He, h-he just froze, unable to process the whole thing fast enough…

Joshua's neck tingled from electricity as a bright flash of light heralded Kilat's arrival beside him. Without pausing for a second she addressed the immediate danger and slammed her head into the golem, not realizing—or caring—it was now insensate and no longer emitted the vague, nebulous feeling Joshua's senses detected while it was mobile. Her horns, her momentum, and the surging power of her Element overwhelmed the enchanted resilience of stone, easily obliterating the dummy as though it was made from papier-mâché.

Crying his name, she hurled herself at the human and clung to him. Joshua only registered the warm body suddenly appearing in his arms. He reacted instantly. He hugged the little girl for dear life, and wept. All his excitement, all his confidence had shattered. He couldn't do this. He'd never be able to do this. Goddammit, why did he agree to all this testing? How could he have been so stupid, letting Volteer's grandiloquent rambling sway him? There was no way—no f*cking way—he'd ever channel the Unknown Element, not on his own!

How did he manifest the White Cloak to protect Cynder in the first place? He couldn't recall anymore. It might have been only—what, three days?—since then, but at this point Joshua Renalia couldn't remember his state of mind, his feelings at the time, or his own thoughts. He would have dismissed the whole thing as a dream if he didn't have his nonfunctioning left arm as a f*cking reminder.

Master the Unknown Element, uncover its mysteries, and tap into its capabilities to find his way home. It all sounded so simple in his head, and it really was his only lead at the moment. Even if it didn't turn out to be the case, the mere fact he nearly died during his first week on this planet showed how vulnerable he was without it. And as long as he couldn't protect himself, there would absolutely be no expedition beyond Warfang for him.

His journey home was over long before it begun. What the f*ck was this? What did he do to offend the Almighty Father so much that He gave him this shitty power to begin with? Why didn't He just turn him into a dragon? Couldn't He have given him any of the other Elements? Everything—no, ANYTHING would have been better than this!

.

.

.

Joshua pulled himself back to the present. All he wanted to do was go back to his room. He was done. He was totally done. His trousers felt wet. He grimaced at the thought of having wet himself in public. The gamer then wiped his sweaty face, and felt a gooey fluid coat his fingertips. He recognized the familiar odor of saliva. Kilat must've been licking him all this time. He expanded his ego boundaries. Where was—

"—us!" her voice thundered behind him. "Don't come any closer."

"Do not fret, Tiny Wing." Volteer. "Joshua shall suffer no more for the time being. You have my—

Kilat roared, "BULLSHIT!" Joshua could feel another headache coming along. Why, God Almighty why, did she have to imitate the way he spoke? "That's what you said last time, and I'm not falling for that again. I trusted you, Mister Volty. I trusted you!"

"And that trust was well-placed. I simply didn't anticipate, expect, forecast, predict, envisage, foretell, calculate—

"Shut the f*ck up!" Joshua turned the instant he felt Kilat's sphere of life radiate an enormous amount of energy. His eyes dilated at the sight of an Electric Orb—one of the biggest he's ever seen—leaving her snout…

…headed right for Volteer.

Holy shit! Joshua scrambled to his knees in alarm. Thoughts of failure and the consequences of Volteer getting hurt swirled in his head. "Kilat, no!"

The child turned with a gasp. She ventured uncertainly, "Joshua?"

Ignoring the little girl, Joshua stretched his arm, pointed his palm at the gigantic yellow sphere. He needed to move it, to redirect it. Joshua opened his mind and let his ego boundaries run free.

But the glowing, yellow orb moved too fast. He only had a split second before it struck and doomed them both. If Volteer was injured, if Kilat's adorably stupid overprotectiveness drove away one of his only allies in this messed-up city of dragons, what would happen to him? If he thought going home was impossible now, it would become incontrovertibly hopeless later!

F*CK! He couldn't enter the Electric Orb. No… no! Damn it, he couldn't send his ego boundaries inside. His greatest asset refused to budge, even as everyone else's spheres of life radiated brightly like blinding supernovas in the sky, ready to welcome his mind—his consciousness at a single command. But not the Electric Orb.

He panicked. He forced his way in, forced the ego boundaries to encapsulate the entire ball of lightning…

"Shit!"

Joshua Renalia failed. The Electric Orb struck its mark and erupted into visible, jagged strands of lightning, discharging God knew how much electricity over Volteer's spot. The teenager smelled the telltale odor of lightning permeating the Guardian's corner. As for the old dragon himself…

Joshua didn't even realize Volteer had moved until he sought for him, for his life signature. The Electric Guardian had deftly evaded the child prodigy's attack. Joshua could tell, somehow, from his swirling unfathomable sphere that he would have attempted to immobilize and incapacitate her if the human hadn't recovered from his stupor. The information freaked him out. Where the hell did it come from? That's some scary shit!

Joshua shook the thought off. Just a fluke, probably just his addled mind second-guessing itself. He crawled over to the dragoness. "Stop, Kilat. Stop it!"

She snapped, "But he nearly killed you! He told us it'll all be fine, he told us he'll abort when it got dangerous."

"Yes, and—

"He didn't do that. Mister Volty didn't do any of that! He kept telling me to wait, let you do your thing, b-but I couldn't just stand and watch. You, you got hurt, and-and-and-and, a-and…"

"Don't blame him. Please, don't. He was just trying to help me."

"No! He's just using you! Why are you defending him? I'm only trying to help you!" Her muzzle contorted, and she started crying. "You're, y-you're doing this again, Joshua. Why? WHY? You're always, y-you're always fighting me on this. First with Cynder, then the Guardians, and then, th-then that red cheetah, a-a-a-a-and, and now, Mister Volty! Ancestors, why? I'm your sister!" Her wobbling sphere changed colors frequently, brightening and dimming unpredictably.

The sensations it exuded were so disturbing, Joshua decided to lunge at Kilat before she did something stupid. He grabbed her, wrapped his only functioning arm around her body, and pinned the kid down with his own.

She panicked. "What're you doing?" Kilat exclaimed, squirming, horns striking his eye. Oh great, now he'd get a black eye to remember this day. "Get off!"

"Making sure you don't do anything dumb," Joshua hissed.

Kilat smashed her paws on his chin. "Joshua! Get off of me. Let go! LET ME GO!"

"No! Not until you calm the f*ck down."

Kilat didn't answer him. Her muzzle found his nose and the dragoness bit down, almost hard enough to draw blood. She kept clawing at him, each talon leaving behind crimson trails on his chest. Joshua suppressed his screams. "I love you," he forced himself to mutter in her ears. "I love you, Kilat. I, love, you. Calm down, I'm begging you. I need you to understand."

The dragoness continued her struggles. She screeched as though she wanted to drown out Joshua's words of devotion. Neither Volteer nor the four guards observing them did anything. They were as bystanders in the supermarket, observing the spectacle that is an unruly child overwhelming an inexperienced parent.

It took another long minute before the little girl lapsed into silence. A bright red stain marred the tunic Corvold gave him yesterday, his wounds bleeding right through onto Kilat's golden scales. He was thankful none of the wounds she gave him were deep enough to be a real problem. But she was a sniveling mess when she finally calmed down. God, the dragoness tended to act so maturely that Joshua sometimes forgot she was still a child untouched by puberty and all the drama attached to it.

"Listen," he cooed. "Listen, I would never, ever do anything to hurt you."

"…But you did," she whined. "You, you never side with me. You're always letting them take advantage of you! But you deserve better than this. I know you do, but you"—she sniffled—"always throw me aside, like, like… l-like…"

Joshua, recognizing the signs of relapse, kissed her snout before she broke into tears again. "Not because I want to. I had to. You never consider my situation. You know I want to go home, or at least, out of that f*cking room. I know I got hurt, but don't just blame Volteer. I'm also responsible—

"Nuh uh." She shook her head. "Nuh uh! You're the victim. He's the one who—

"Look at me," Joshua said, meeting her cobalt eyes. "Kilat, look at me." The human nuzzled her. It hurt to see her tears. "I understand you think Volteer hurt me, and you think he's just using me, but remember, he's one of the few people here who's on my side. He and Cynder are the only reason we're still together, understand?"

She broke eye contact and said nothing.

"Understand?"

"…I understand," she said, pouting. "But he still hurt you. That stone ape almost squashed your head…"

"He could've misjudged it for real," Joshua shot back. "You didn't give him a chance to explain."

The little child stared at him for a moment. But he couldn't read her gaze, even though he recognized her sphere of life contracting in sadness. Joshua wished that he could genuinely read her thoughts. When she finally replied, the teenager felt his heart deflate from guilt. "Was I wrong? Did I do the right thing, going in there?"

Joshua couldn't tell her she would've been too late if the golem had followed through with that last attack. "Jumping in to help me was the right call. I'm really happy you were there. Nothing wrong making sure I was safe. I'd have done the same thing in your place."

"You, you promise?"

"Promise."

Kilat licked his face, content at his answer. Right then and there, Joshua prayed very hard to God that he would never be tested on this. The human honestly and truly didn't know if he had the balls to follow through on it. He changed the subject before the guilt ate at him. "Now, will you let Volteer come closer? He still needs to tell us what the f*ck happened back there."

"As long as you're not gonna have any more tests today!" she demanded. "I wanna go back to our room. I don't wanna be here anymore."

"And that's exactly what'll happen. I'm done with these tests."

"Good."

.

.

---

.

.

Most of the injuries that Joshua suffered at Kilat's and the golem's paws were easily taken care of by the healing crystals the Ancestors so helpfully put in the corner. The rest, just like his left arm, would have to heal on their own. Volteer? The reptile was completely useless. He was beside himself, utterly perplexed.

With Kilat sending hostile, accusatory glares in his direction, the Guardian kept his distance when he delivered the conclusion Joshua was waiting for.

"I don't know what to tell you."

Oh jeez, what a wonderful surprise that was. Joshua would have facepalmed if he hadn't kept his right arm wrapped around the yellow dragoness. Couldn't risk the chance she decided to assault the old dragon after all. "Please expound."

"It appears the Unknown Element is in a category of its own. It cannot be channeled instinctively like the others." Volteer sat on his haunches, his back straight and proud. His voice was no different from that of a commissioned scientist reporting his findings to a paying client. "Normal children younger than Kilat would have manifested theirs as slight wisps, obscure flashes, or other subtle changes to the environment in reaction to the frustrations of accomplishing nothing, the acute pain suffered upon failure, a sudden onset of panic, or extreme emotional distress." He paused, deciding on whether he should continue.

He eventually did. "Joshua, those are tried-and-tested methods. Whether they were experienced on the field or in a controlled environment, all four of them without exception drew out the Elements from our whelps where repetitive practice could not."

"Until today," Joshua added.

Volteer sighed. "Yes, until today. I cannot fathom why none of my tests worked. You were clearly in a state of extreme distress last Torsha, yet now you cannot even reproduce the most basic, the most rudimentary forms of your Element. It is confounding considering its passive benefits are readily available at your whim."

"Passive benefits?"

He looked at Joshua as though he'd just asked a stupid question. "Your detection abilities. I know you are capable of sensing life or magic within a range of several wingspans. It is painfully obvious after a bit of observation."

"Oh." Joshua didn't know what else to say. Volteer likely thought life and magic detection held very limited value, useful only in a few scenarios. "What happens now?"

The Guardian's sphere of life shifted. Joshua swore his overflowing disappointment was almost tangible. "We have no other recourse but to redraft the flight plan," Volteer groused. "This endeavor cannot proceed until you can employ the Unknown Element at will."

So he was more defenseless than a toddler dragon. Just f*cking great. Joshua could already envision Spyro's reaction to this news. He would be laughing like the asshole he's always been around him, mocking the human for his pathetic showing today. Thank God he wasn't here yet.

"What a shame. Isn't there anything you can do to help me with that?"

"I can clear Proudtail Hall for you on certain days of the week. It shouldn't be that difficult given the support I'll get from Cynder and Sparx. Aside from that, you are on your own."

Well, f*ck.

---

Author's Notes:

FINALLY got the first of these through. Anything that's tagged The Journey Home is actually very major as far as the story is concerned. After all, Joshua is indisputably the main character of this fic so it's natural that any progress he makes towards his objective would get some screentime.

I gotta be honest with y'all. That last scene, where Joshua falls on his knees and all? The chapter was supposed to end right there. Joshua was supposed to get hit in the face and black out just as he was hearing Spyro's laughter from the arena and Kilat "saved the day", then you'd read about the aftermath in a separate chapter. But I allowed the characters to write that part, and before I knew it, I had this second ending, where SpyCy couldn't make it on time and Volteer had the golem pull back at the last second. Both seemed good to me, so I was stumped. I spent three days wondering if I should force the original plan, but in the end, I decided to flip a coin. Heads for the original ending. Tails for the new one. Obviously it landed tails, otherwise this chapter would've been 2,000 words shorter. :P

Anyway, there you have it. More information about Joshua's Element! XDDD And it popped open quite a few questions...

7/7/2021 EDIT: minor fixes made.

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Here're the replies to y'all's recent feedback:

Lonewolf (Guest): Hope you like what happened this chapter then. :)

InfamousVenous: Thanks. We just passed our first three months, and we're looking forward to keeping it going for much, much, much longer than that. 😀

Timestamp keys... I guess I should start putting them on every chapter, then. But for your reference: D-W-M-Y = days-weeks-months-years. EM-LM-EA-LA-EE-LN = early morning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, early evening, late night. If snip covers multiple parts of day, there will be no "time of day" timestamp.

And thanks again for the feedback. As usual, I always go for quality. Joshua being a dick... well, it's only the first couple of weeks. He's still acclimating to life here at this point. He won't exactly... adapt until reality sets in. Til then, he's in denial. XD I should know; I'm in a similar position myself.

bizzleb: Nice seeing you again bizzleb! True, I wrote it like that but still... it just doesn't stop 'em from trying. :P As for Corvold, he's intended to be a recurring character, so I hope I get more opportunities to use him in the future, after all he provides an alternate (and local) viewpoint to Warfang's culture and some of their quirks, customs, and other peculiars. Now there are a lot of subtle things going on in the background, and I feel like Corvold's assessment of Joshua at the very end of the previous chapter was quite revealing, if a bit too much in my opinion, but hopefully things will turn out well.

There are a lot of things we do take for granted in the modern era. Now, I don't know what country you live in, but if you're in North America or Western Europe, then you probably aren't aware just how much many citizens there are taking for granted. It's hilarious how we romanticize the Middle Ages in pop culture, when in reality it's disgusting, it's brutish, and it's not very civilized compared to modern standards.

Thanks again for the review. See you soon!

TheKingofGames1001: Thanks for the review. I don't know that scene you're referencing... sorry. ^^;

somas35: Thanks again for the congratulations. I'm really optimistic towards our future together. And... really, you think this is short? 8K to 10K is my normal length for Aimless chapters, and I'm always looking for ways to shorten it. If I could churn out 5K or less chapters without skimping on the quality and immersiveness, I totally would.

Yep, some people ship 'em. I'm not surprised anymore... the craziness of the digimon shipping wars back in the day has made me completely jaded towards what people would tend to ship. It just happens. :P

Vulpix's flame: Thanks for the best wishes. Hopefully we'll stick together for years and years. 😀 And thanks for the review. As for the research I did... well, don't be surprised by that. I normally put in this level of effort at the very least. You want to see effort in research/world-building? Go check out my digimon fic, The Interloper. If you can stomach the extremely sluggish pacing (600K words and only 25% through the planned storyline), the frequent navel-gazing, and the uncontrolled foreshadowing (all of which I've learned to manage properly while writing Aimless), you'll find out that the level of realism achieved by the thought process I've put into it would be impressive and immersive. (Man, I really should update that monster...)

Hope to see you in the next chapter.

Guest 26 (Guest): Nope, nothing like that. There aren't any other humans in the Dragon Realms, so none of that's happening. No comment regarding Lord Caesar and the Ape City.

Folwod: I intend to use Corvold more often so hopefully I'll get that chance. It'll be hard though; Mudline District is all the way up at Warfang Northeast, right next to the walls. He might not show up until after Joshua fights for his rights to move freely within the city.

Oh, and you just got your wish. We now have a chapter of Joshua outside the room. But what did you expect, man? He IS under room arrest.

Zero Fullbuster (guest): Good to see you again dude. Hope you like what's going on here.

djax80: Thanks again for the review. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the previous one; Joshua's just so pathetic sometimes, but hey, you gotta give the kid credit for trying.

Glad you like Corvold's portrayal. I hope I'll come up with more ways to use him in the future. And disregard many Earth standards. The Dragon Realms is a completely different planet. The gravity is obviously similar to Earth, but the weather system, the wildlife, and the timekeeping are vastly different due to differences in axial tilt, orbiting satellites, and other variable factors. Fully-grown dragons should also be big enough that they can devour adults of other species whole (albeit with some effort), but not so big that they could chow them down like medicine pills.

DOTA was once a Warcraft 3 mod, you know...

Thanks for the congrats, though. :)

BronzeHeart92: At least I got another one down! And this one too! Aimless reaching completion? Oooooh, I dunno. I sure hope so. :D Hopefully I won't get shot or something. My girlfriend lives in a dangerous place, sadly.

Benjamin Weir: Thanks a lot for your feedback. Yeah, this should definitely be one of the more believable reactions. Also, go check out SnickerToodles' The Impossible Sky if you have a chance. It's also worth reading. ^_^

Spyro's thoughts about Joshua? He used to hate his guts and he still kinda does, but because that predisposition is caused by something he can't control, Spyro's all confused and bothered by him... and not in that way. XDDDD

V-SxC: Dragonberry Cove... it's a vacation getaway in the coastline, outside the city walls. Famous among Dragons the way Dragon Shores is in the Classic trilogy. I don't expect we'll see it unless I decide to write a SxC fluff.

Some Random Guy (guest; all three of you): Didn't I answer this before? Just imagine being told that there is a civilization never-before-seen in the world that is extremely powerful and so technologically advanced that they can spy on their worlds, and apparently with nation-destroying level of detail. They'd be scared shitless. I can picture it now. He would have ended up telling them about bombs that can devastate entire landscapes, render nations incapable of supporting life, and change the weather for a time. Bombs that can be launched millions upon millions of wingspans away. He would have told them about airplanes so fast they can outfly any dragon guarding the sky and surgically strike mission-critical locations way before anyone would know they were hit, or the mobile deployable weapons that can penetrate the thickest of scales and boil someone alive or punch them full of holes. Chemical weapons that utilize disease and cripple a population. Or a communication network in the sky, beyond the reaches of even Skyland Dragons. I won't even be surprised if Joshua embellished the ingenuity of humanity; he'd have tendered a scenario where humans learned to weaponize magic into a beam that can be shot down from satellites orbiting the planet. XD

While they would be lucky that Joshua is in absolutely no position to make said all-powerful civilization do anything, unlike him, they are. Because of the sheer urgency of the situation, they would've forgone all hate/dislike for Skylands and cooperate with them. They would conduct expeditions using a combination of dragon flight and Portal Magic. Spyro would take the lead role in the expeditions, and Joshua under his custody. Kilat would be separated from him. Cynder, Sparx, and Volteer would have to stay behind, so none of them would be able to protect Joshua from any abuse he'd suffer.

The ending of that storyline is grim. Assuming Joshua doesn't die to the wilderness, then he would be mentally broken by all the things that would be done to him and the story would most likely end with Joshua committing suicide. Well... you had to ask. XD

draykat the half-dragon mage: Thanks again for your feedback, Draykat! Joshua, for all his faults and quirks, is actually quite the thinker when you give him a lot of time and restrict his freedom. He really has nothing to do but sit around, unfortunately. Also pay close attention to the timestamp. So far I'm only focusing on the first week. If I was in his place, I'd do a lot of thinking too.

da Thinker: LOL all I did was the research. Free time? Uhm, I am a working adult so I do that sort of thing in my spare time while I'm writing. Thanks for the review, though. :)

jonathanseo10: Sorry, but between work, my girlfriend, and other things (such as other video games like Tree of Savior hehehe), real life is giving me a lot of shit to deal with. Sooo I got slow writing. Thanks for your review though. :)

Aguywhogames: I'm sure you'll get a timely notification once I upload the next chapter. Medieval life is really disgusting, I agree. Hope you like the chapter I just put up though! Thanks for your review.

Plauge Dog UnleasheD: He's thoughtless, and a terrible liar. Some people are like that, y'know. And using the Chronicler as an excuse? Terrible idea. He'd have to make up MORE LIES. Joshua not only has to wear pissed-on clothes, but he has to live with spit baths and strange-looking foreign food, not to mention the whole alienation thing that'll come sooner or later. Poor Joshua... but oh well.., he's giving us lots of entertainment value lol

Liningcorn9: Thanks for the feedback! This "hold of realism" you mention is something I do my utmost to uphold. Many so-called human fics venture real quick into wish-fulfillment territory, and I am not having any of that. Try reading "The Impossible Sky" if you haven't already. It's really good, too. Thanks for the review!

MatrixMash: Ohoho you caught me! Yes... Copeland's name is a direct reference to our man, Stewart. Classic Spyro wouldn't have been as memorable without his music. Thanks for your review, though. I hope you liked this one; this focused on Joshua for a change.