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.