"This is not good captain." Ignile's voice sounded out around the empty streets of Warfang. They had flown straight back since they left Spyro's island, not even stopping to rest their tired wings. Now here they stood, on the ramparts, overlooking an empty city. No cheetahs, no moles, no dragons… They were all gone…
"We need to look around… maybe someone is still here." Cynder said, trying to keep hope. "Spread out everyone, search everywhere, Leave no stone unturned." She ordered, her squad wasting no time in taking off into the quiet city. Cynder herself went down from the wall, stalking the streets and searching every nook and cranny for any signs of life.
"Captain, Over here!" Ash's voice called out after a few minutes passed, drawing her attention to a large hole in the wall of a bakery. Looking closer, she spotted what had caught his attention.
"Is that… blood?" She asked, seeing the dark stains on some of the rubble.
"Yes ma'am. At least a couple days old by my guess." Ash replied, his gaze moving over the rest of the nearby street. "It doesn't look like a fight happened here."
"There wasn't…" A young voice sounded out from behind them, causing them to jump and turn around, spotting the speaker. It was a young male fire dragon, no older than Ember's age by the look of him. He had fiery orange scales, a golden chest with equally golden horns, curving backwards in a way the remarkably resembled Spyro's horns.
"Flame? Thank the ancestors you're okay!" Ash stated happily, pulling the young fire drake into an affectionate embrace.
"Ash… I… the bad robed people… they took my mom…" Flame sobbed out, clinging to the older fire dragons leg.
"Hey now… it's okay little one… I got you." Ash said, rubbing the child's back soothingly. Cynder watched the scene, her eyes saddened at the sight of the distraught child. She looked around, hoping to spot anyone else, but found no one.
"Flame was it?" She asked in a soothing voice, lowering herself down to be at his level. "What happened here? Are you alone?"
"N-no ma'am, I… the others are in the tower with miss Lisa." He answered, rubbing tears out if his eyes pointing to the imposing tower in the center of the city. "Mister Vincent is probably around looking for food and medicine."
"Who are Lisa and Vincent?" Cynder asked.
"They are robed people, but not like the ones that took mom and the others!" He blurted out the last bit quickly, afraid that the two adults might get the wrong idea.
"More Revenants?" Ash questioned his captain.
"Sounds like it." Cynder replied.
"They're not like the others. They're nice. They feed us, protect us, play with us, and miss Lisa makes the hurts go away."
"Hurts?" Ash asked, his voice concerned.
"A lot of us were hurt. Some of us tried fighting when the robed people came to take our parents away… the robed people… they…" Flame's words trailed off as he began to whimper, his paw subconsciously clutching at his right side. It was only then that Cynder and Ash saw the bandages he was sporting.
"Ancestors… they tried to… to kids?!" Ash asked, his disbelief turning to rage.
"Mister Vincent found me, chased the bad robed people away… he and some other good robed people brought me and the others to the tower with the rest, where miss Lisa was already treating the others."
"Other good robed people?" Cynder asked.
"Yes, two others… I haven't seen them since that night. I asked mister Vincent, but he just got sad and said they were In a better place."
"Sounds like Dante isn't the only deserter ma'am."
"So it seems… Ash, go get the others. Have them meet us in the tower." Cynder ordered. Ash nodded, reluctantly letting Flame go, reassuring him that he'll be right back, before taking off to find the rest of the squad. "Flame, do you mind taking me to meet these… good robed people?"
"I… don't know where mister Vincent is, but miss Lisa never leaves the tower. To busy looking after us and the sleepers." Flame said, drawing Cynder's confusion.
"Sleepers?" She asked as they began walking, her remaining right behind him to keep him in her sight.
"The bad robed people… Mister Vincent said they only wanted dragons… the cheetahs, the moles, and anyone else… they were just left there, laying on the ground."
This got Cynder worried, her thoughts immediately going to Hunter. Even Sparx, if Hunter's bird delivered the message to him in time, might have been in the city also... Her thoughts were broken however as the came to the grand double doors of the tower, spotting a yellow robed Revenant holding a large bag standing right besides it.
"So you're back, huh?" His echoing voice reverberated out as he looked the black dragoness before him over. "You must be Cynder."
"And you must be Vincent." She replied, her eyes hard and distrusting as she peered directly into his shadowy visage under the hood. She had questions. Questions she wanted answered sooner rather than later.
"Hey Flame." He spoke out, kneeling to be eye level with the young dragon. "What are you doing out here? You know you shouldn't be out alone."
"I know, but I saw dragons flying in from the balcony. I… thought mom came back…" He said dejectedly, causing both adult dragon and Revenant to look at him sadly.
"Don't worry little guy, your mom and the others are fine. I can promise you that." His gaze shifted to Cynder, signaling he was addressing her as well as Flame. "I don't know where they are, but we will get them back." Flame nodded, his mood slightly lifted due to Vincent's words. "Here kiddo, do me a favor and take this food inside for me? I have a feeling me and miss Cynder here are going to be a minute." He asked, handing Flame the bag of scavenged food he had found. Said young drake accepted the task and quickly dragged the bag inside, leaving the two dark beings alone. "So… what do you want to know first?"
"You said that last time…" Those five words echoed throughout the darkness. "You said that last time…" The voice, so beautiful… so enchanting… so familiar.
"Don't wait for me!" His own voice shouted. "I'll be right behind you! I promise!" He sounded so… young, so desperate, but also… so resigned… A feeling of guilt twisted his gut. He was lying, he knew he was lying… he wasn't going to make it… he wasn't going to see her again… he wasted his last moments with her… telling her a lie…
"I'm sorry Cynder… I should've told you…" He was sad… desperate… alone… "I love you too…" He felt rumbling cracks began to form in the darkness, letting light bleed through. The desperation turned to hope, the sadness to happiness… only for the cracks to quickly seal shut, and all he felt was pain… all he saw… was red…
"-pa… wa- up!" Another voice shouted through the haze. Familiar, calming, important. "-p papa!" A blue fire appeared before him, radiating a calming pink light, chasing away the red haze. "Papa! Wake up!"
Spyro jolted awake with a gasp, his chest heaving and sweat dripping down his face… no… not sweat… tears… A sudden weight, attached itself to his side. Looking at his assailant, he saw a familiar shade of pink scales. "Ember…"
"You were shouting papa… crying in your sleep…" She said, pulling her head back to look at him with her wide blue eyes.
"I… It was just a bad dream Ember… they happen…"
"Sounded like more than a bad dream big guy." The echoing voice of Dante reached his ears, thinly veiled concern at the edge of his voice.
"It was… intense…" Spyro replied, not at all eager to talk about it. He paused to take a look around, noting they weren't in the den. It took him a minute more to remember they weren't even on the island anymore. They had stopped in a field to rest after hours of flying.
The feeling of flight was… liberating. It was like all his earthly worries no longer concerned him. He could still feel the rushing wind on his scales, the shouts of Ember, held firmly in his grasp shouting to go faster, his own heart and soul echoing her words, he wouldn't have ever touched the ground again if he could. But ten years of being grounded had taken it's toll on him. His wings ached, his energy drained, and his speed was far from ideal… he had to land eventually.
"You good big guy?" Dante's voice drew his attention once more. Said revenant sitting next to the smoldering ashes of a campfire, his shadowy figure barely visible in the darkness of night.
"Yeah… just a bit shaken…" Spyro answered, his heart returning to its usual rhythm. His hand gently rubbing the scales on Ember's back, calming the both if them down. "Has anything happened since I went to sleep?"
"Not a peep big guy… though I did do some scouting. There's a small village a bit south of here, just over that hill." Dante said, pointing his shadowy finger in the general direction.
"A village? That means people, right?" Ember chirped, her tone excited about meeting new people and making friends.
"Fauns, and Atlawas." The two dragons gave him confused looks. "Goat and Llama people."
"Oh! Can we go see them? Please, please, please!" Ember shouted out excitedly, eager to see the people of the world.
"I don't know… are they friendly?" Spyro asked, reluctant to go into a village of potential threats.
"Both species are allies to dragons." That got a loud 'YES' from Ember. "However I don't think we should go see them."
"What? Why not?" Ember asked, almost whining.
"Until we reach Warfang, it's best we keep a low profile. If news spread about the purple dragon coming back, we'd never get a moments piece."
"I-" Spyro started, only for a loud scream to reach his ears, with several dozen others following suit.
"That's coming from the village." Dante said as he stood up and began running up the hill, Spyro and Ember right behind him. What greeted them at the top was a bone chilling sight. "Walking skeletons!" Dante shouted, stunned to see them. They were rampaging across the open fields, their shambling forms heading straight to the village where large fires could already be seen and alarm bells could be heard.
"There must be hundreds of them!" Spyro voiced, his expression grim.
"We have to help!" Ember stated, as she suddenly ran forward.
"Ember wait!"
"Damn it kid! Didn't we just have a talk about doing shit like this!"
Both Spyro and Dante shouted out to the small pink dragon, chasing after her as they charged right on into danger after her.
"And today started out so well…" A young faun girl thought to herself. Her chestnut brown fur frayed and singed and her leaf patterned corset and skirt stained by falling ash and soot. She strained herself as she pulled and dragged an old atlawa away from a burning building.
"Elora… leave me…" The old atlawa croaked out, blood dribbling down his chin.
"No way! I'm not just going to abandon you to die!" She shouted, straining to pull the large Llama to the safety tunnels beneath the town hall.
"It's… already to late for me child…" He spat out a glob of blood. "My lungs… Elora… just go…"
"No I-" Elora's sentence was cut off as she heard the hollow groaning of her villages attackers. A gaggle of walking bones limped and shambled towards them. Dogs, cheetahs, moles, even fellow fauns and atlawa's moved towards them with uneven steps. Their eyes were empty save for small red pinpricks of light, and a blue wisp like flame trapped in amber like crystal filled their cracked and broken ribcages, animating them and making them move.
"Sp-spirits preserve us…" The old atlawa swore, his eyes falling on the rusty decayed weapons in their possessions, many of which were dripping with the fresh blood of their neighbors. "Elora… run."
"But-"
"RUN CHILD!" He shouted, using what strength he had left. Elora, reluctantly did as told, leaving them behind and fleeing as fast as her hooves could carry her. She didn't make it far before the wall of a nearby hut burst outward, another faun flying out hitting the ground with a hard thud, their scimitar clattering on the ground beside them.
"Tomas!" Elora shouted as she moved to check on her fellow faun, finding him barely alive. It was then that heavy thuds reached her ears. Turning to the destroyed building her kinsman flew out of, she spotted the hulking visage of a giant ape skeleton, rusty twin blades in both their boney hands.
"St-stay back!" She shouted, quickly grabbing the discarded Scimitar and holding it out in front of her with trembling hands. "I mean it! Stay back!" The massive brute seemed to vibrate, almost as if it was laughing at her. As it began approaching her, Elora's knees began to tremble as her life began flashing before her eyes. She was going to die here… die before she even got a chance to truly live... "Please… someone… help…"
It seemed her pleas would go unanswered as the massive skeleton raised its blade, ready to strike her down. But suddenly, as the skeleton moved to finish its strike, a ball of blue fire struck it in it's skull. The undead beast reared it's head back, a roar akin to a pained cry echoing out as the blue flames spread rapidly, consuming and reducing its head to ashes in mere moments.
"Are you alright?!" A young high pitched voice sounded out over the din of battle. Elora's eyes widened in surprise to see that her savior was a young pink dragoness.
"Wha- a dragon?" She asked in shock as the young reptile ran up to her.
"Hey! Uh… miss! Are you okay?" The dragon asked again.
"Uh… yeah… Who…" She was still in shock from having almost died and the dragon's sudden appearance.
"Oh! Right, my names Ember! What's yours?"
"Elora… my name is Elora." She answered as she started to calm down a bit, her shaking legs regaining some of their lost strength.
"It's nice to meet you Elora." Ember said with a bright smile, almost like they weren't in the middle of a burning village being attacked by a horde of walking bones. Ember then tilted her head down, looking at her hooves questionably. "What are you supposed to be? Some kind of goat?"
Elora's cheeks heated and her fur bristled. "I'm a faun you dork!" She shouted out.
"Oh… sorry, I didn't- Look out!" Ember cried out as the hulking skeleton rose once more without it's head. It's two rusty blades poised to strike down the faun and young dragon both. Only for a sudden flash of blue light and crackle of thunder to sound off as another dragon appeared. A much bigger dragon, arcs of electric energy crackling around his form as he held the wisp filled amber in his clawed hand.
"To truly kill these things…" He crushed the core, the shards falling to the ground as the wisp of energy dissipated. "You need to destroy it's heart." Elora was stunned, thinking she must already be dead. Not because she was saved by another dragon, but because of who that dragon was.
"Y-Y-You're, you're-"
"Papa! That was so cool!" Ember cried out as she ran up to the legend brought back from the great beyond.
"P-papa!" So Ember was Spyro's kid? Not only was lord Spyro alive, but he had a daughter?
"You were like, Flash! And the big bone man was all Roar! And then you were like…" Ember continued on excitedly. Spyro meanwhile stared down at her, his gaze stern.
"Ember…" Yep, that was the tone of an unhappy father. Ember, in her defense, had the common sense to give a sheepish smile as she realized what she just did.
"Now papa… I know I shouldn't have just run on in… but…"
"Oh, so you do know? THEN WHY DID YOU?!" Spyro shouted, grasping Ember's right horn, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to be uncomfortable.
"Papa, not the horn!" Ember pleaded, struggling slightly against her father's grasp. "We couldn't just leave them! They were going to die!"
"I know that Ember, but we need to deal with this situation tactfully. We can't just rush in! Did you already forget what happened with the grublins?!" He let go of her horn, allowing her to rub it tenderly.
"But you and mister Dante were talking about low profiles, and I thought-"
"Kid, did you honestly think your old man and I would just sit back and let this happen?" An echoing, warping voice sounded off to Elora's left. She jumped back in fright as she saw the living shadow that was Dante. He was leaning over Tomas, wrapping his torso up in bandages.
"No! I just…"
Spyro let out a long sigh. "Ember, your heart is in the right place. And if you hadn't rushed in like that then…" He trailed off looking to the trembling faun that his daughter just saved.
"E-Elora sir." She stumbled out.
"Elora." He nodded before returning his attention to Ember. "If you hadn't run off like that, then Elora wouldn't still be alive, so… I really can't punish you for that. You did good." Ember smiled, happy that her father praised her. "However!" And there's the rub. "You are not to engage in anymore fighting tonight, are we clear?"
"But papa?!"
"Are. We. Clear?"
"… Yes papa…" Ember conceded with a pout. Spyro than turned to Elora.
"Does this village have any shelters? Safe places for storms or disasters?" He asked.
"Yes, there are tunnels under town hall that lead out to the mountains." She answered.
"Good, grab your friend and head there. Ember will go with you." He looked to his daughter, his gaze giving no room for argument.
"Yeah, I- EEP!" She jumped as a shadowy hand grasped the hilt of the scimitar she was holding.
"I'll be borrowing this." Dante said as he took the blade, giving it a few well practiced experimental swings. He nodded, finding the blade satisfactory.
"You all should go. We'll head out to join the fighting." Spyro said as he watched Elora hoist the injured faun up. He was just conscious enough to lean on her.
"Right, we'll go. Good luck." Elora said as she and the wounded Tomas hobbled away, Ember dragging her tail behind them.
"They'll be fine big guy." Dante said reassuringly as they watch the three round a corner. "They're heading away from the main bulk of the fighting, and they know these things weakness now. Ember should be able to keep them safe until they get to shelter."
"I hope you're right…" The purple dragon said as the two of them turned and headed towards the sounds of conflict. "I'll take to the skies, you okay on land?"
"Against skeletons? No problem." Dante said with full confidence as he gripped his borrowed sword in his right hand, and a ball of fire came to life in his left. "We'll compare scores when the sun rises."
"Deal." Spyro said with a light chuckle. "Stay safe." With that he took off to the skies, roaring his arrival to the fight.
A.N. I've been getting messages about having art done for my story, and I know that they're scams. Please stop! I'll happily accept criticism and reviews about my stories, but please stop sending me fake offers for artwork. It's getting annoying now and sapping my motivation to write away. I just came back after nearly a decade away and don't want to leave again. So please, just stop.