Chapter 15: Nothing but the Truth
As the three dragonets look up at Elderes in disbelief, the ancient dragon sighed.
"This was not the way I wanted to reveal the truth to you all, but I see now that was
never my choice to make." Sisu shook her head, still frozen in shock by what she
had heard. "Wait, wait, wait a minute," she protested. "What do you mean the
prophecy is fake? It can't be!" Before Elderess could respond, Glory spoke up.
"Listen kid, I spent most of my life trapped underneath a mountain for a prophecy
that also ended up fake. You probably shouldn't go around blindly believing
everything you're told." Sisu turned towards Glory with a defiant look. "First of all, I'm
more than 500 years older than you." glory rolled her eyes, as Spyro muttered
'technically.' "Secondly, this isn't just some scrolls accompanied by smoke and
mirrors! This is actual fate, brought about by the original guardians!" Elderess hung
his head. "My dear, as much as I too hate to admit it, the guardians are nothing more
than titles." Sisu turned towards elderess in disbelief, eyes full with denial, while
Glory and Spyro simply looked at her with pity. Elderess rose his head.
"Hundreds of years ago, towards the end of the war, our worlds were on the brink of
destruction, with our allies being overmatched by the Dark Master and his forces.
However, there was something he had that we had lost for a long time; unity.
Through a combination of sabotage and inner distrust, our tribes and factions had
long since split, long before the war had become as catastrophic as it did. Many lives
were lost as a result, all because of our own personal interests and agendas.
However, our king at the time realised that division was the culprit of our destruction,
so he, myself, Sisu's brother, and dragons from across the realms came together,
branding ourselves as the guardians."
Now all three dragonets were turning between one another, either in disbelief,
disappointment or plain confusion. "So, that's it then?" Spyro questioned. "All of this
was for nothing? Everything was just one big fat lie?" Glory shook her head. "I'm
always one who enjoys saying 'I told you so', but here, it just feels wrong to do so."
Sisu didn't comment, as she felt as if her whole world was crumbling around her. Not
only were her friends and family gone, but it turned out that the stories her brother
and others had shared were nothing more than just that. Stories.
Elderess could see the defeated look on Sisu's face, and his sadness turned to
defiance. "No choice is made without a purpose." The three dragonets all turned
towards Elderess in confusion. The ancient dragon walked slowly around the cavern,
reaching for the crystal covered walls. "When we came together all those years ago,
we did so on the belief that every dragon, no matter their shape or ability held the
potential to be a protector for all that is good. We wanted to prove that to your
worlds, by showing dragons that were completely different from one another could
come together as one." Elderess then turned towards Sisu and the others. "That
choice is what allowed us to win the war, and to stop the Dark Master."
Each dragon could see Elderess truly believed that based on the look he conveyed,
yet Sisu still remained defeated, looking towards the ground. "Elderess, we're not as
strong as you or my brother or any of the guardians were." Glory didn't speak, as
despite her sassy nature, she knew Sisu was right. "Reluctantly agreed," Spyro
commented, speaking for himself. Elderess looked down at Sisu, bending down to
meet the dragoness' level, who looked up as he did so. "What defines a dragon is
not how strong they are, young Sisu, but the spirit they possess." As the Elderess
stood up, looked between the three dragons, imagining Toothless and Charizard
were there too. "That spirit is what we saw in each other all those years ago, and
now, I see that same spirit in all of you." turning around, the ancient dragon walked
over and placed a paw on the Elder Crystal. "We should never have lied to you
young dragons," he started, before adding, "I should never have lied to you, but to let
the mistakes of our past live, is to allow the darkness to reign supreme."
Sisu looked at elderess in wonder before turning back to face the others. They both
looked at each other, clearly affected by Elderess' words. Prophecy or no prophecy,
they knew they couldn't just stand by and do nothing. However, they certainly
couldn't do anything without the dragon who got them this far. Before Sisu could
speak, Spyro said the obvious part out loud. "We've gotta save that Night Fury."
…
As Toothless regained consciousness, the world slowly came into focus as he
opened his eyes, revealing the shape of Kandkikis and Sentinel facing away from
him. Although he was too weak to move, he wouldn't be able to fight back, as two
gargoyles had his wings and claws pinned to the floor. Clouds of Drunn were circling
the crowd of stone dragons, as its master and his right hand contemplated
something out of Toothless' sight. Finally though, Kandikis uttered something
inaudible, before two strands of red electricity emerged in front of him, forming a
circle. As soon as Toothless got a better view of the gateway, the Night Fury's eyes
shot open, as he realised where they were going. Sure enough, as the two gargoyles
pulled him to his feet, the crystal covered walls of the temple of Dilation became
clear.
…
The Elder crystal began flashing violently, catching the attention of every dragon in
the room. As Sisu, Spyro and Glory covered their eyes, Elderess waved his hand
over the jewel, showing him the incursion within the temple. Gasping, he turned
towards the three dragonets. "Kandikis is here. I don't know how, but he must have
found a way to find us!" Looking between each other in panic, a thought hit Spyro. "It
has to be Toothless right?" he asked. "I mean, he and hot-head were the only ones
who knew where this place was located, so that has to be how they found this place,
right?" Glory shook her head, as she clenched her talons to her forehead. "That
doesn't make sense! Toothless almost blew us up just so those stoned creeps
wouldn't see any parts of the temple." She shot her arms and wings open. "Why
would he just give up our location?" Looking towards the ground, a horrid thought
sank into Sisu's mind. "Maybe he didn't," She ushered, causing Spyro and Glory to
stare at her. A temour caused the hall to shake violently, causing Elderss to wave his
talons. "There's no time to argue! You must go, escape this place before Kandikis
arrives." He pointed to a section of the wall to his left. "There's a secret tunnel
passageway that takes you throughout the entire temple. Use it to rescue your
friend, and then head to the crystal inventory. You will need as many crystals as you
can take." As Spyro and Glory nodded, they made their way to the wall, feeling
around as Sisu looked back at Elderess in confusion. "Wait, what about you?"
Elderess looked away. "I must stay, you buy you enough time." Spyro and Glory
looked back. Despite just meeting the guy, it still didn't sit right that he was sacrificing
himself for them.
"Are you serious?" Sisu yelled, her upbeat demeanour completely gone. "Look, I'm
pretty mad at you right now, but that is not a good reason to leave you behind!" The
others nodded in agreement, to which Elderess chuckled softly, before placing his
talons on Sisu's back. "Young one, you're nobility and devotion to others are factors I
have only seen rivaled by your brother. Some may call that a weakness, but only the
wisest will see that as a sign of strength. "Sisu's agitated expression gave way to
one of helpless sorrow, as Spyro and glory watched on.
"However, there are some battles many must face on their own, and this, is my battle
to face." Elderess then raised his talon, and ushered the dragonets away. "Now go!
Save your friend." Reluctantly, Sisu nodded, running over to the others as Spyro
finally found the way to open the cave entrance. Pulling down on an orange gem, the
wall suddenly gave way, revealing the caves, and as Glory and Spyro entered, Sisu
couldn't help but look back. Elderess turned around, before turning his head to face
Sisu. "If you find Charizard, tell him I wasn't the father he needed." Sisu nodded,
disappearing into the cave as the hatch closed, and as Elderess turned around, a
mass of Drunn best through one of the caves, surrounding Elderess while blocking
any potential escape routes. The ancient titan didn't care though, as he looked
forward with a battle ready look. Shortly, a shadowy figure materialised within the
Drunn, and as the dragon emerged, Elderess' brows lowered.
…
"Well well well," Kandikis mused, stalking closer like a lion to its prey. "It has been a
while, hasn't it Elderess?" Elderess eyed Kandikis. Despite him being much larger,
the fallen dragon was still a formidable size. "Indeed. I don't suppose you've turned
over a new leaf since we last met?" Kandikis stopped, stroking his chin theatrically.
"Well that depends. If you ignore the fact I've been trapped within a volcano for the
last 500 years, then maybe that idea would be more likely." Elderess looked at
Kandikis pitifully. "I didn't put you there Kandikis. No one did. You have only yourself
to blame for your fate." Kandikis growled in response, materialising a Drunn blade in
his talon, pointing it at Elderess. "Enough stalling, old fool! You have something I
want, as well as a bunch of dragons I want to gut like fish." A fierce look of
protectiveness washed over the titanwing's face. "The guardians are long gone by
now Kandikis. They left as soon as they unlocked their powers." Kandikis stared at
him for a moment, before bursting out into a fit of laughter. "Don't make me cry
Elderess. We both know those so-called powers are nothing but fish stench.
"Looking down at his Drunn blade, he stroked it with his talons. "Besides, if those
dragonets are long gone, then there wouldn't be a need to discourage me from
seeking them. Elderess didn't respond, keeping up his stoic face, which Kandkiks
saw through immediately. "No, they're still here, likely hiding." He shook his talons
away at the thought. "No matter, as entertaining as it would be, their deaths aren't
urgent." He pointed towards the Elder Crystal. "Collecting that crystal on the other
hand, is." Elderess stepped between the two, baring his teeth. "The only way you're
leaving with the Elder Crystal is over my charred corpse." Kandikis grinned, his eyes
glowing with a dark energy as his talons surged with Drunn. "I thought you'd never
ask." Without warning, he lunged at Elderess, blades pointed as Elderess dodged,
whacking Kandikis to the side with his tail, who recovered quickly.
…
As Sisu, Spyro and Glory made their way through the caves, they heard the battle
between the two dragons commencing. "We have to hurry," Glory urged. "That
fossilised dragon can only hold those freak shows for so long." Making her way to
the front, Sisu navigated her way through the tunnels. "Kandikis didn't know the
location of the temple before he captured Toothless. Whatever he did to that poor
Night Fury, he still has to be alive." Spyro looked at Sisu doubtfully. "How can you be
certain?" the purple dragon questioned. "What makes you think Kandikis wouldn't
just kill him after he got what he wanted?" Sisu stopped, causing Glory to stagger,
shooting an annoyed look as Sisu faced Spyro. "Because I can feel it," she declared
confidently. Glory saw Spyro's unconvinced look, and decided to add on. "Plus,
Kandikis had other priorities." Spyro nodded in response. "That makes more sense."
Navigating their way through the tunnels, Spyro noticed glimpses of light peeking
through the caves, investigating them. "Guys, check this out!" Spyro called, causing
Sisu and Glory to turn around. Upon looking through the holes, the three could see
the cave they had arrived in, now filled with Kandikis' minions. "That's a lot of
gargoyles," Glory whispered unconfidently.
"And look!" Sisu added, pointing towards a dragon amongst the crowd. "There's
Toothless. Told ya he was still alive." Spyro chuckled, whereas Glory simply rolled
her eyes. "Act now, celebrate later. How do you plan on getting him out of there?"
Sisu thought for a moment, before a lightbulb stuck, and she turned back grinning.
"I've got a plan."
As Toothless heard the battle happening in the cavern ahead, he could only hang his
head and ponder. Ponder how Kandikis managed to find this place, despite
Toothless destroying all the places he had seen. His thought process would be
interrupted however, as the Night Fury noticed a cloud of fog roll in throughout the
crowd. Looking around in confusion, Toothless could barely see the outlines of the
others gargyoles that surrounded him and the ones keeping him hostage. However,
he could still make out some silhouettes, yet every time he looked back, they
seemed to be disappearing, or faltering. Eventually, he managed to catch onto one
silhouette tackle another to the ground, and as they disappeared, Toothless grinned,
catching on as to what was happening.
The Fury's captors seemed to have also caught on, as they scanned the area
around them like hawks. Realizing the others needed help, Toothless attempted the
one trick he had up his wing. "So, you guys were once dragons too right? Any idea of
what you once were?" The gargoyles didn't respond, to which Toothless just grunted
displeased. "No, well based on that guy's tail, you look very similar to a Monsterous
Nightmare, and given that guy doesn't have any wings, I would say he's from
Kumundra? His captors still didn't show him any attention, yet Toothless could see
by the looks on their faces he was getting under their scales. "Wow, you really don't
have any idea do ya?" The Night Fury chuckled. "Well then, how about we try
something else? How about I spy, with my little eye…OOF". A sudden slam of stone
against Toothless' rib cage caused him to shut up, as a gargoyle looked him down.
"Keep talking, and I'll make sure that tail isn't the only thing needing replacement."
Fighting the pain, Toothless looked up, glancing around and seeing that every three
silhouettes remained. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."
The gargoyle looked at Toothless in confusion, but as soon as he looked up, the
figure of Spyro jumped through the haze, ramming against the brute with his horns.
As the two fell back, the other gargoyles aimed his spear at the dragonet, before
Toothless blasted his captor in the face, causing him to let go. Swinging his spear
towards the Fury, his arm was quickly immobilised by Sisu's tail, allowing Toothless
to blast the creature once more, knocking him out cold. As Spyro wrestled with the
other gargoyle, the stone warrior managed to gain the upper hand, whacking the
purple dragon off with his tail, before revealing his claws. However, his talons were
suddenly stopped mid air by an invisible figure, and as he turned in shock, the figure
of Glory materialised, before spraying his face with venom. The troop screeched in
pain, before Toothless covered his face with his tail, and whacked him with his claws,
also out cold.
Once the commotion had ceased, Toothless turned towards the others, only to find
the blue silhouette of Sisu grab ahold of his wings. "Toothless! Are you okay?" the
water dragon cried, as the Night fury only looked in shock. "Sisu? Spyro? Glory?"
"What are you doing here?" Spyro looked at the Night Fury as if he was joking.
"Rescuing you idiot!" Spyro yelled. "Unless you'd prefer being an abused prisoner!"
Toothless shook his head "No, I mean how did you find me? This place is crawling
with gargoyles." Glory pointed her wings to the part of the wall where the cave
entrance was. "Secret passageway. No time to explain, we need to get to the crystal
chamber." As the others made their way back to the passage, Toothless stood in
confusion. "The Crystal Chamber?" He then grabbed onto Sisu's tail, gaining her
attention. "Wait, what about Elderess? What about your powers?" Sisu looked back
at Spyro and Glory, who nodded in response. "Toothless, the prophecy is fake," Sisu
responded, before Glory added, "Elderess is probably dead at this point." The Night
Fury felt a hundred questions buzzing around his head. "What? What are you say-"
The Night Fury was suddenly cut off by Spyro. "Guys! They're coming back!" Looking
to see shadows emerging from the distance, the four quickly dove into the
passageway, as the wall slammed closed behind them.
…
Back in the centre hall, Elderess was fighting a battle he could not hope to win. Sure
he had managed to hold his own due to the effect of the crystals around him, but his
elemental breath and combat could only prolong Kandikis' victory for so long.
"You've grown weak, old man," the Fallen snickered, as he locked claws with
Elderess."The crystals have absorbed your strength like leeches, leaving you as an
empty husk of a dragon." As he spoke, Kandikis conjured a ball of Drunn at his tail's
end, before pushing away from Elderess, and slamming him in his underbelly,
knocking him into the wall. As Elderess sputtered, he pulled himself to his feet.
"I would rather be old but weak than be powerful but corrupted like you." Elderess'
remark received a hiss from Kandikis. "Like me? He growled, before summoning two
blades and swinging them at Elderess, who just managed to dodge. "Have you ever
thought about why I became this way?" Kandikis taunted, as he continued his strikes
at Elderess. "Is it because my brothers and sisters bullied me day and night? Or that
I was outcasted for my lack of powers?" As elderess strained, becoming more and
more winded, Kandikis smirked. "Too hard? Well here's the answer." Kandikis then
slashed his claws across Elderess' face, drawing blood."Because unlike you, I was
strong, and seized my destiny on my own. And now, there is only one thing left to
do!" As Elderess staggered back, Kandikis swung his tail into Elderess once more,
knocking him into the wall. Weakly, Elderess attempted to get up, but was stopped
by Kandikis Drunn blade pressing against his neck.
"So, any last words?" Kandikis mockingly requested. Elderess didn't respond,
looking weakly at him. After a moment though, he shut his eyes, and sighed. "Yes.
You were right." Kandikis' grin lowered as the Fallen became confused. "You never
should have been left alone," Elderess continued, as he reopened his eyes. "But
after the death of your mother, I became lost. I thought fighting the Dark Master
would protect you and your siblings, that hopefully, I could protect you." Elderess
now looked fully into the rageful yet confused eyes of the dragon whose mercy he
was at. "But now, I see that only pushed you away. And, I'm sorry."
Kandikis looked blankly for a moment, before his brows lowered and he growled,
baring his teeth. "You think I want an apology? That I did all of this because I want
you to admit the obvious truth?" He pressed his neck closer to Elderess." He pressed
his blade further into Elderess' neck, turning it slowly to stone. "There's only one
thing I want, and that's you dead!" Elderess looked his son in the eyes, staring
stoically, even in the face of death. "Then do it. End me. I will no longer manipulate
the lives of other dragons." Elderess looked dead into Kandikis' eyes, causing the
Fallen to unease slightly. "But do know, no matter what happens, you are, and
always will be, my son." Kandikis hesitated for a moment, before growling, and
raising his blade in the air. With a blood curdling roar, he swung the blade to the
ground, separating Elderess' head from his body, as the two turned to stone.
…
Toothless was in shock. Outside of his legs, which allowed him to keep up with the
others, it felt as if his whole body had shut down from shock. "So, it was all made
up," Toothless finally accepted. Sis hung her head in response. "I know. I still can't
believe it either." Glory, who led the group with Spyro, turned her head. "I can!" she
yelled, while her scales shifted red. "Literally tons of red flags painted all over the
walls, and yet no one listens to Rainwing, do they?" Spyro growled at Glory. "Keep it
down! I'm not sure how soundproof these caves are." Although glory bared her teeth,
clearly not appreciating being talked down to, the four continued on without causing
more commotion. Eventually, they came to some more holes of light in the walls,
which Spyro had correctly guessed led to the passage exits. As Spyro peard
through, so too did Toothless, seeing an entire room filled with shelves and little
caves of crystals. "This must be it," Toothless declared, pushing the doorway open
slightly. After checking to ensure there weren't any gargoyles around, the Night Fury
gave the all clear, exiting the passage with the others following behind. "So what do
we grab?" Sisu asked, slightly in shock by the amount of crystals Elderess had
stored over the years. Although Toothless had been told the purposes of each of the
present crystals, he knew they didn't have the resources to take them all. "Blue
crystals can open gateways, so grab as many of them as you can!" As glory and sisu
nodded and reached for the piles, Spyro looked around in confusion. "What about all
the others?" Toothless looked back down the hall, before grabbing his own crystals
from the shelves. "We blow them up." Sisu stopped abruptly, looking at Toothless
shocked. "What? But-" Sisu's protests were cut off by Toothless' stern yet persuasive
tone. "We can't take all of them, but we can't leave them within Kandikis' grasp." As
Toothless continued, Sisu thought about what Toothless was saying. Before she
could respond though, a roar from behind stopped the four in the trucks. Toothless
spun around first, finding a dozen gargoyles running in their direction.
As the gargoyles charged, Glory faded into the background as Toothless tackled one
to the ground. Pinning its talons down so it was immobilized, Toothless went to blast
the other, before Sisu wrapped around it like a snake, also preventing it from moving
it's arms. Another two attempted to draw their spears, only for one to scream as its
face melted from venom, with glory appearing behind the other one and slamming it
with her tail. "Spyro!" Toothless yelled at the dragonet left with the crystals. "Get a
gateway open now." The purple dragon nodded, turning around to grab the right
amount of crystals. The gargoyle Glory was fighting lunged at the Rainwing, who
managed to dodge by turning invisible. However, before she could strike him with
venom, the gargoyle heard her talonsteps, and moved out of her firing range,
tackling the invisible dragon to the wall. Grunting, Glory reappeared as her captor
extended his talons, before a plasma blast disintegrated them.
Meanwhile, Spyro was desperately trying to open a gateway, but due to the hard
surface of the cave's grounds, the crystals weren't shattering when thrown against
the ground. "Spyro!" Toothless yelled in frustration, as he helped Glory fend off two
gargoyles. "Any day now!" The purple dragon glanced back quickly, his face bisably
flustered and annoyed. "Stop rushing me!" Just as Spyro managed to slam a crystal
hard enough against the ground, more gargoyles suddenly appeared behind the
ones the others were fending off. Overwhelmed and outmatched, the four were
pinned against the wall, as the voice of Kandikis emitted from the one staring
Toothless down. "Say goodnight Night Fury!" he growled, as all the gargoyles raised
their talons to strike. Before Toothless could shut his eyes, a sudden roar bellowed
from down the tunnel, causing the gargoyles to to stop and turn. As they did so, a
massive ball of fire surged into the cave like a tsunami, engulfing everything and
everyone within. However, much to the shock of Toothless and the others, none of
them were on fire. Rather, as their captors released them, screaming as their bodies
were engulfed in flames, the four dragonets noticed not a single strand of the blaze
touched their scales. Soon the gargoyles were reduced to nothing but ash, and as
the four looked at each other in shock, the sound of talons behind the four caught
their attention.
Sisu was the first to turn around, and upon seeing who was there, she gasped in joy.
As the others faced their saviour, their eyes widened as the figure of an orange
dragon stood before them, with his tail flame shrinking. "Charizard?" Toothless
gasped. Before the others could react, the fire dragon passed 5 transport crystals to
Toothless, as he went to grab a pile more. "Open that portal," he instructed. "NOW!"
Although still shellshocked, Toothless nodded, smashing the crystals hard against
the ground, producing a gateway that could accommodate five dragons. Sisu was
the first to run through, with Glory following close behind. Spyro was handed a pile of
crystals by Charizard, before running through the gateway himself, and as Toothless
began to follow, Charizard lifted his wing stopping. "See that red crystal on the wall?"
Charizard asked, pointing to a fat glowing diamond lodged in the ceiling. Toothless
nodded as he spotted it. "Blast that as we leave. Got it?" Toothless was still
confused, yet compiled, blasting the crystal as he and Charizard ran into through the
gateway. As the portal closed, the structure holding the temple together gave in, and
the entire tunnel and cavern collapsed, sending a huge cloud of despris surging into
the main hall.
