Far to the frigid north, past even Dantes Freezer, a lone bipedal figure stood. They vigilantly watched the rolling snowy tundra, their furred blue robes insulating them from the biting cold. Suddenly rising out of the shadows of a nearby mound of snow, another robed figure materialized.
Their attire differed from the blue watchman. The newcomers robe was red, and of a thinner make. Pieces of golden armor were worn over their robe, covering their shoulders, chest, and forearms. The red robed figure approached the blue one and spoke.
"Dante reporting in from watch point bravo." They said, their voice distorted and echoing.
"Welcome back sir." The watcher said as they waved their arms in a sweeping motion, causing the ice beneath them to melt and reveal a hatch underfoot. With a nod, the now identified Dante opened the hatch and entered. What greeted them was a large underground complex of winding, twisting, and intrinsically designed corridors and hallways.
Making their way through the complex with practiced ease, they passed by several other beings in attire similar to theirs. Robed figures of various colors littered the hallways, some clumping together in groups, and some standing alone. Most of them wore robes of blue, red, yellow, or green coloration. With the occasional black, and white scattered about.
"Are you certain about this information?" A voice sounded off as he came into a large elegant throne room. At the center of the room was the throne itself, a silver robed figure sitting on it, their sides flanked by two heavily armored guards. A black robed figure kneeled before them, their head bowed in respect.
"Yes my lord, I watched the meeting myself. The Guardians are sending an elite team of scouts, led by Cynder herself." The black robed figure reported. The silver one sighed as they cupped their chin in contemplation, their sleeve rolling down to reveal the shadowy smoke like arm underneath.
"Things are moving faster than I first anticipated… no matter." The lord said as they lowered their arm and gave their kneeling subordinate their full attention. "Cynders absence from the city is a golden opportunity. Mundus! You are to take a squad, and begin project exodus immediately."
"Yes lord Virgil." The now identified Mundus said as they rose to leave.
"And Mundus…" Virgil called out, halting the black robed figure in their tracks. "Do not fail me."
"Y-Yes lord Virgil." And with that Mundus left the throne room, intent on completing his task. Seeing that their lord was no longer preoccupied, Dante casually strolled up the base of the throne.
"Virgil! I'm back brother!" Dante announced himself with jubilation.
"Dante…" Virgil all but groaned out as the red robed figure approached. "What are you doing back brother?"
"Well now, you sound like you aren't happy to see me!" Said Dante.
"I'm not." Virgils blunt response had Dante dramatically clutching his chest.
"Oh come now brother, you're breaking my heart."
"We don't have hearts." Virgil harshly said. "Now are you here to report something? Or are you just here to waist my time?"
"Somebody's grumpy today." Dante joked before his demeanor shifted. "In all seriousness though, I do have something to report." Virgil wave his hand to continue. "Big guys condition is getting worse. The herbs are loosing their potency."
"Unfortunate, but not unexpected." Virgil said as he leaned his shadowy chin on his fist. "It is of little importance now. Spyro was always just a backup plan. You are to stop delivering him scrolls and supplies. No point if he's just going to be irrelevant soon anyways."
"Yeah… so I heard." Dante said, a somber tone in his voice as he looked back towards the direction Mundus left in moments ago. "Project Exodus… Are you sure it's time? I mean… maybe we shouldn't be throwing big purple away just yet. Maybe we can-
"No Dante… I am aware that you've… grown fond of Spyro and that pink hatchling he's raising. Which by the way, you should've killed her long ago." Dantes body went rigid at that. "But our resources will be better spent elsewhere. You are to go back to the island, and continue monitoring the situation. Once Cynder arrives, I have no doubt she'll be able to deal with the leviathan on her own. Once she and Spyro are off the island, you are to return here for a new assignment."
Dantes fists silently shook under the sleeves of his robe before he let out a resigned sigh. "I… understand brother." With that he turned around and left, not even bothering to wait to be dismissed..
Virgil silently watched him leave. "Your kind heart is a weakness brother." He said, stopping Dante midstride. "That is why I'm the one, father chose to succeed him." Dante didn't say a word, he just resumed walking away.
With heated strides he marched through the compound, completely ignoring or brushing off any of the other figures that either greeted him or tried to get his attention. As he returned to the surface he wasted no time getting to the nearest shadow before sinking into it. With what could be compared to a blink of the eye, Dantes view drastically changed. Gone was the icy tundra he was just in, and now before him was the tropical climate of the island he's spent the better part of a decade on.
He arrived right at the mouth of Spyro and Embers den, but sensed it was empty. Closing his eyes Dante reaches out with his senses, looking for the purple dragon and their daughter. Sensing a surge of elemental magic, he immediately teleported to the area via the shadows. When he arrived he half expected to find Spyro battling with the grublins that infested the island, but what he found was a more… heartwarming sight.
Earlier
Spryo casually strolled through the forest, keeping a close eye on the pink youngling excitedly prancing before him. Why was she so excited? Because today was the day she'd finally learn to use her elemental breath, or rather learn to properly wield it.
As they entered a small clearing, Spyro spoke up. "Okay Ember settle down a bit, we're here." The little dragoness came up to Spyro and sat at attention before him, her eyes shining with an eager gleam.
"What are we doing first papa? Are you going to teach me your fire tornado? Or what about you scatter flame attack?! Oh maybe we can start with your comet dash!" Ember chirped excitedly, eager to imitate some of the fancy tricks that she'd seen her papa could do.
"First… we meditate." Embers enthusiasm deflated like a balloon.
"Meditate? But that's so boring! All you do is sit around and be still." Ember whined as she dreaded the idea of just doing nothing.
"You only have to do this once Ember. It's to connect you with the pool of magic within you. Once a connection is made, meditation is… optional, but I still recommend. Does a being a world of good."
Ember let out another whine, but eventually relented. Adopting a pose she'd seen Spyro take many times before she closed her eyes and… "Uh… what do I do now?"
"First off, your too stiff. Relax yourself Ember, you don't have to copy how I meditate. You just have to relax and clear your mind. Let go of all the needless stray thoughts." Spyro said as he sat and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh as his tension seemingly melted away before her eyes.
"Okay papa, I'll try." With that Ember layed herself down, breathing in deep and letting her thoughts go. It was… harder than it looked, but at the same time it was incredibly easy. Stray thoughts would drift in and out of her mind, and she would just ignore them. She stayed like this for a good ten minutes before she felt herself relax.
Seeing this by cracking his eye open slightly Spyro spoke up. "You're doing good Ember. Now do as I say." Ember lazily nodded, affirming her compliance. "I want you to picture in you mind a large roaring fire. Feel the heat, smell the smoke, the crackling of burning kindling. Do you see it?"
Ember silently nodded. "Good, now I want you to reach out, touch the flame. Show no fear, no hesitation." Ember did as he said, her mind conjuring a limb to do just that. When her mental limb touched the flicking flame, she felt no pain, no searing heat just a gentle warmth.
"Good now grab it gently. Try to pull the fire towards you, but do not force it. One thing you need to remember about fire is that it's alive. And if it's mishandled, it will burn you." Ember did as instructed, actually grabbing the flames like one would a cloth flowing in the wind.
She pulled her limb back, drawing the fire with it. It resisted slightly, and she stopped. She tried again and got the flame even closer before having to pause her progress. This repeated a few more times until finally the flame was right in front of her, close enough to feel the heat on her snout.
Spyro smiled as he noticed the small billows of smoke coming out of her nostrils. "Good Ember very good. Now I want you to breath in deeply, taking the fire into your lungs." Ember did as instructed, inhaling the fire and holding the heat in her lungs, he physical body mirroring her mental one. "Now… exhale."
Ember did as instructed, breathing out and unleashing a large stream of fire from her maw, her eyes widening as she realized that she was actually doing it rather than imagining it. As the flames died in her mouth, a broad smile met her lips as he excitedly stood up and began jumping around happily. "I did it! I breathed fire! Papa did you see it!"
Spyro nodded, a quickly replacing a shocked expression on his face with one of pride and joy. "Yes Ember, you did very good." Spyro said as his happy daughter hugged him excitedly. Spyro looked down at her fondly, before looking back up with a curious expression before looking over to his shadow that just shrugged at him, obviously as surprised as him. But all three of their attentions were captured by the rustling of leaves as a figure stepped out of the nearby foliage.
'Blue flames?!' Dante thought as he watched the little pink dragon spew their first elemental attack. 'Virgil is not going to like this when he finds out… if he finds out." Dante paused as that last stray though entered his mind. Dante and Virgil definitely had their problems, but Dante never would've withheld information like this from his brother. The very notion was foreign to him.
'You should've killed her long ago.' Virgils words echoed in his mind. Dante would never have done that. Sure he was willing to do a lot to achieve his goals, but murdering a child… 'Your kind heart is a weakness brother.' Brother… Virgil had said the world with such a detached tone. That is why I'm the one, father chose to succeed him.'
Dante body trembled as anger and hurt filled him. If he could cry, he probably would. What Dante did next surprised even himself, as he stepped out of his hiding place and approached the purple dragon.