Days of Indecision - A Spyro Fanfiction

Considering how I'm such a huge fan of the next-gen Spyro games, and that I want this Fanfic to be read by more people, I'll bring it over here.

Disclaimer
Spyro, Cynder, Ignitus, Terrador, Volteer, Cyril and any other TLoS character belong to Sierra
My characters obviously belong to me.

Author's Notes
Not much to say, just that this'll start it out with a bit of mystery...

---

Prologue - Predestined

18 years ago...

A lone figure ran through the hallways of the Dragon Temple, dodging explosions and going unnoticed by anyone he came across. As the Dark Army assaulted the Dragon Temple and the Temple Keepers struggled desperately to repel them, this figure used the turmoil to its advantage.

The figure kept to the shadows, disguising itself in the darkness and avoiding detection by both the marauders and the guardians. Each time it came across a group of apes from the Dark Army, it either crept past them undetected or - if he was seen - eliminated them quickly and quietly.

The figure eventually came to an ornate carved door. Two torches were standing to the side of the door, both extinguished. The figure motion slightly with a hand and the two torches were lit, the light from the fires illuminating the figure. A man in a long orange-red cloak stood at the door. His face was covered by a hood, and all one could see of his face were his glowing golden eyes. The robe was trimmed with gold at the end of the sleeves and the bottom of the robe itself. He wore thick black boots that were higher than the end of the robe, and his hands were covered in clinging black gloves. The man put both hands on the door and shoved it to the side, sliding it open. The man gazed at the room for a single moment, before leaping up suddenly and hanging from the ceiling by his bare hands as a massive red dragon ran through the space he had just occupied, coming out from the room he had just opened. The man cursed himself for being so careless.

When the dragon disappeared down the hallway, the man leapt down from the ceiling and walked through the door, noticing the purple pedestal against one side of the room. The pedestal had a small cushion at the top, but nothing was resting on it. The man stared at it, seemingly thinking.

"...a pity I couldn't have gotten the purple dragon egg...it would have made this much easier," the man said. His voice was that of a man in his mid-thirties. He stood there for a moment longer, before turning and running through the door again, muttering to himself:

"I can only hope that I'm not too late for the other eggs..."

---

The man came across another door, this one not as detailed as the previous. Again, two torches stood at the side, although these two were light. The man pushed against the door and it slid open, revealing the room. Three eggs were piled against each other in a small nest in the centre of the room, on top of a small, circular pyramid. Torches circled the pyramid, and the man lit them all with a flick of his wrist.

"Perfect," the man said. "Three dragon eggs, all open for the taking." He strode up to the pyramid and climbed it, kneeling near the nest and examining the eggs. One was black with dark purple striations. Another was midnight blue with black striations. The last one was pale blue with yellow striations.

The man went to gather them all up in his arms, when an explosion rocked the temple. He staggered and almost fell down the pyramid. The pale blue egg rolled out of the nest and down the pyramid, landing near one of the torches. As soon as the tremor stopped, the man went to gather the fallen egg, when he heard footsteps behind him. He twirled around, and stared in horror at the open door.

I forgot to lock it! he thought. He knew that someone was close, very close. If he was seen now it would be ruinous. He snatched the closest egg from the nest and leapt up into a corner of the ceiling, where the light from the torches didn't reach, and quickly disappeared into the shadows. He wasn't a moment too soon, for at that moment a troop of apes marched through the open door. They brandished there weapons, only to lower them when they saw no one in the room.

"We've made it," one said. "Gnarletooth, see to the eggs. Gaul wants the black one only. Destroy the rest."

A smaller ape with dark purple fur ran up to the nest and, noticing there was only one, cried out "Sir, there's only one left, the one we were commanded to retrieve. Shouldn't there be others?"

Another ape, one with maroon fur, stepped forward and pointed to one of the torches, the one that the pale blue egg was resting against. "There!" he said. "It must have rolled out during the fighting."

"See to it Bloodmaw," the one who ordered Gnarletooth said - he was obviously the leader. "Gnarletooth, bring the other egg here. I've got a satchel we can carry it in."

As the maroon-furred walked towards the pale blue egg. another explosion sounded from outside, only this one was very close. Suddenly, a section of the roof above the egg and Bloodmaw cracked, and huge pieces or mortar and stone fell from the ceiling. Bloodmaw shrieked, and tried to get away, but he was too slow and his leg was trapped under a large block of stone. The rest of the stone fell on top of where the egg rested, crushing the torch and covering the egg. As the dust cleared, it was revealed that a quarter of the roof had collapsed. Bloodmaw shrieked to his leader.

"Willownail, help! I can't move!"

Willownail made no move that he had heard. "Gnarletooth, get the egg. The other one couldn't have survived with all that rubble. Let's move out!"

As he gave his orders, the apes began streaming through the door, not even glancing at Bloodmaw as he pleaded with Willownail to help him. As Gnarletooth left the room with the black egg in his arms the doors closed, and Bloodmaw shrieked so loudly, the man - who had been watching from the corner of the ceiling the whole time, winced as the shriek hurt his hearing. He leapt from the roof and landed next to the ape. Bloodmaw fell silent as he stared at the robed figure.

"W-who are you?" he asked, his voice quivering.

"Someone of little consequence to you," he replied. Without hesitation, the man knelt down, grasped the ape around and neck and squeezed. There was a terrible squelching sound like wet wood breaking, and the ape's body relaxed as his neck broke, killing him. The man stood and looked at the rubble, then to the empty nest.

"Bad luck may seem to follow me, as I've only managed to pilfer one egg today..." he said. "But one egg is better than none." He looked down at the midnight blue egg he held, checking for cracks or scratches. Luckily, he found none.

He looked up, noticing the huge hole in the roof that the explosion had left. He climbed the rubble with incredible speed and dexterity, before leaping out of the hole and onto the roof of the temple. He looked around, noticing the apes patrolling the perimeter of the temple. They were unorganized however, and there were large, un-patrolled patches that would be easy to sneak out of.

"This will be easy work."

---

Later that night, the man sat with his back to the wall in a small cave in the face of a cliff in a mountain range near the forest where the Temple was located. A storm raged outside, rain falling in sheets. The small fire the man had lit flickered slowly, protected from the wind by the mouth of the cave. The man didn't need the fire for warmth, but for light. He held the egg he had pilfered up and examined it again.

The storm raged on, thunder and lightning making the few residents of the mountains restless. But the man merely watched, and planned.

Disclaimer
Spyro, Cynder, Ignitus, Terrador, Cyril and the Dragon Realms belong to Sierra
My characters belong to me.

Author's Notes
Spyro, Cynder and the three guardians make their first appearance. Gotta start familiar don't I? And I am such a Cynder fanboy

---

Chapter 1 - Memories Unpleasant

Present Day...

Spyro stood upon the rocky, barren outcrop, looking down upon the city. The Dragon City of Warfang sprawled out before him, and for a moment he lost his breath as he gazed upon the majestic sight. The stone towers stood above the block-like houses that dotted the intertwining streets, and great, tall buildings made up most of the archaic skyline. Spyro gazed upon the city, recalling memories about defending it.

Did he really want to go back to it?

Spyro heard the padding of feet behind him, and he turned to see Cynder walking up towards him. She gazed into his eyes happily, but he could see the nervousness on her face. As she came up next to him, he kissed her forehead and returned his gaze to the city.

"How do you think we're going to be received?" Spyro asked.

"I'm not sure," Cynder replied. "Probably with huge crowds and celebrating people."

"You think you can handle it?"

"Dunno."

Spyro sighed. On their way back from the Burned Lands after Malefor's defeat, Spyro and Cynder had decided to keep their engagement a secret. The reception they would receive upon returning to WarFang would be hard enough to handle, let alone everyone's surprise at their engagement. Spyro didn't do well with crowds, and from what he could tell Cynder didn't either.

"Well," he said plainly. "We might as well get this over with." Cynder's response was a nervous sigh.

They walked down from the outcrop and along the main road towards the city. Normally, the road at this time of day would be packed with commuters heading to the city, but due to Malefor's actions everyone had gone underground for safety, and only now were they resurfacing. WarFang was one of the few active cities. The road was dusty, and the rocks hurt their paws, but they trudged on. As they neared the great city, WarFang's great gates stood over them. No one manned the sentry towers, no one walked the battlements, and no one stood beside the gates. Spyro stood there, looking up.

"Should we fly over?" he asked Cynder.

"Well it doesn't look like anyone is home to open the gate for us, so yeah," she replied. She opened her wings, and without waiting for Spyro leapt into the air and soared towards the top of the gates. Spyro followed suit, leaping into the air and flapping his wings to gain altitude. It took a good several minutes to get to the top of WarFang's huge gates, and once they did they looked down to the main street to see what was happening. A great crowd was flocked down there, seemingly going about their daily business, but many of the inhabitants - the moles - were carrying masonry tools and carriages pulled blocks of stone and logs of timber to be used for reconstruction. One mole caught sight of the two dragons standing on the battlements of the great wall, and as he told his neighbours each one looked up to see the two dragons, before passing the word along. Soon enough, every creature in the street was looking up at the two dragons in silence.

Spyro shifted uneasily. He didn't like all this attention. He made a weak smile, but when no one reacted his smile disappeared. He could tell Cynder was feeling uneasy as well.

Suddenly the crown erupted into cheers, everyone going crazy at the sight of the two dragons. Spyro felt even worse at the sight of this, but held his head high so he wouldn't cause disrespect. Both he and Cynder leapt off the battlements and glided down to the street, where the crowd parted to allow the two heroes to walk unhindered. Both Spyro and Cynder were uneasy with this much attention, so they walked through the crowds quickly, towards the centre of WarFang, where Terrador, Cyril and Volteer should be.

As they came upon the main square, Spyro's nervous face changed into one of relief as he saw the three remaining guardians waiting for him. As each one turned, relief broke on their faces as Spyro and Cynder approched. The two young dragons smiled back.

"Spyro, Cynder, it is so good to see you back," Terrador remarked. He suddenly looked puzzled. "But where is Ignitus?"

Spyro's eyes darkened for a moment, and everyone could see the look on his eyes as he remembered what happened. That look alone was enough to tell the elders what had befallen Ignitus.

"SPYRO! You're back!"

A familiar voice rang out, and suddenly Spyro felt a pressure on his neck as Sparx the dragonfly hugged him tight.

"Hey Sparx!" Spyro said cheerfully, glad to see his foster brother safe and sound. "You ok?"

"I am perfectly fine," Sparx replied, equally as cheery. "The question is, are YOU ok? You're the one who has been tramping around after Malefor this whole time."

"I'm fine Sparx. Not a scratch on me."

Sparx turned to Cynder. "I see you kept your promise. Thank for that."

"My pleasure," Cynder replied, smiling.

"Why don't we head inside and talk?" Terrador suggested, gesturing towards a building close by. "We have much to talk about, and it is obvious you're not comfortable with all this attention."

---

"So, that is that eh?" Cyril commented.

"Aye," Spyro replied, sitting on the ground in a circle with the other dragons. The room which they were in was large enough to hold all five of them comfortably. "I used my power to repair the world as best I could after we defeated Malefor, but I'm not sure how well I did it."

"Well no one has noticed an abundance of unusual alterations in the geography of the planet," Volteer reported. "If I were to say my own intellectual opinions upon the matter, I would say you did a smashing job of it young dragon." Spyro nodded his head in Volteer's direction as thanks, but his face remained solemn.

"And so the Dragon Temple was destroyed in the fight?" Terrador asked, but it was more of a statement. "A pity."

"Mmm," Spyro agreed. "I had hoped that maybe we could have broken Malefor's spell that was holding it up, so we could salvage it somehow, but I guess we can't now..."

"Only one thing to do then," Terrador stated. "We'll just have to rebuild it. If we all pitch in, it shouldn't take too long."

"Where will the building site be?"

"Where it was before. I see no reason not to rebuild it where it once stood."

"Cynder, you don't mind helping?" Spyro asked.

Cynder, who had kept silent the whole talk, nodded in response. She felt no inclination to speak at the moment.

"Volteer? Cyril?"

"This seems like fair plan," Cyril responded simply. Volteer, as usual, was a bit more literate.

"A marvellous idea Terrador! I'm sure the Temple will be far more ostentatious than it ever was!"

Cyril sighed slightly, releasing a short bark of laughter from both Cynder and Spyro. Even Sparx, who had for once remained silent, laughed at this display of disdain.

"You know, its good to have you two back," he said. "And yes, I'm including Cynder to!"

The company exploded into waves of laughter, merriment apparent on everyone's faces.

---

Spyro and Cynder stood on the balcony of a tower in the downtown district of WarFang. The denizens of the city had graciously given the two young heroes the best they could offer even if it was only for one night, and Spyro and Cynder had a luxurious pillowed nest each to sleep in, running water, and the best room service. Cynder growled irritably as the two dragons surveyed the city, watching the sun edge below the horizon.

"Tired of all this finery?" Spyro asked.

"Yep," Cynder replied. She walked inside and promptly lay on her soft bed. To her, the bed was TOO soft. She sunk right into it. Cynder fidgeted and twitched until she got into a comfortable spot, and curled her tail around her black and pink frame. Spyro smiled as he watched her lay there, simply happy to be in her presence. He walked up to her, kissed her on the cheek, before walking over to his bed and curling up. Having a larger body, Spyro found it easier to get comfortable, but he still disliked this luxury.

"At least we'll be away from WarFang and on the road tomorrow," Spyro said, trying to reassure Cynder. All he got was an insecure groan which got him worried, and he raised his head from the pillow.

"What is it Cynder?" he asked, the anxiety plain in his voice.

"Oh, I don't know Spyro," Cynder sniffed sadly. "He's dead, yet I still feel something in me. I know he's not gonna come back this time, I know that, but I still feel this...darkness inside me, like its gonna burst from me at any moment. This dread I feel...all the attention we've gotten lately has only made me feel worse." She sobbed, and tears glistened in her eyes.

Spyro frowned sadly and got to his feet, walking over to Cynder and lying down, curling himself around her. "It's ok..." He said softly, calming her as she continued to sob. "It's ok...I'm here...Nothing bad is going to happen to you...I promise..."

Spyro kept his tail around Cynder as her sobbing subsided, determined not to let her stay in doubt or misery. As Cynder's tears dried and she controlled her fear and sorrow, she turned to Spyro and passionately kissed him, holding her mouth against his. Spyro didn't complain, holding the kiss until Cynder broke it, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Cynder apologized, staring into space. "I shouldn't burden you with all my problems. You have enough to carry without mine."

Spyro put a wing around Cynder's body. "You know I would gladly carry all of your burdens if it meant you were happy," he said. "But I do have to admit. After Ignitus died I...I didn't know what I would do without him. He was like a father to me, someone I could look to instead of my real father. Now..."

Cynder snuggled closer to Spyro, feeling the warmth his body radiated. As always a feeling of bubbling happiness welled up within her whenever she was around Spyro. "Oh Spyro..." she said, letting her sentence trail away.

The two dragons lay there for a while, happily enjoying their love for one another while each of them pondered their own personal and emotional dilemma's, their minds finding no sanctuary except when they were together. When Cynder looked outside and saw the moon high in the sky she sighed sadly.

"We'd better get to sleep..."

"Yeah..."

"Good night my purple knight."

"Good night my black maiden."

Disclaimer
Spyro, Cynder, Ignitus, Terrador, Cyril and the Dragon Realms belong to Sierra
My characters belong to me.

Author's Notes
I'm quite happy with how this chapter turned out. Longer than the last two, and I know that quality over quantity but I still don't want my chapters TOO short you know?

---

Chapter 2 - Mothers, Fathers and Children

A midnight-blue dragon lay on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking a large ravine, watching the sun rise over the horizon in the distance. He was of a medium build, muscled and with a thick chest. His long, black horns pointed backwards and curled inward very slightly, and his underbelly was a light blue. Clear blue eyes shone from his skill, and his black-jointed wings held an orange membrane. He had the appearance of a normal, 18 year old dragon, except for one oddity - the many red-orange markings that criss-crossed his legs, tail and waist. They seemed to emanate a very faint, but still audible glow which caught the eye. It made the young dragon appear ethereal.

Apparently he wasn't in a good mood, for he sighed and his eyelids drifted shut slightly, not really looking at anything. A sight common for anyone who interacts with teenagers - mood swings. This child was no different.

Staring out into the dawn sky, he rolled over onto his side, lazily flicking his tail back and forth.

"Another boring day ahead I guess." he muttered to himself. "Unless of course I can convince him to play with me. But even those games are getting boring and childish now. There is nothing to do..."

"Irres!" a voice cried out. "Irres! Where are you boy? You've still got practice to do!"

The dragon named Irres grunted and pulled himself to his feet, before walking back through a pass where he was surrounded on both sides by walls of rock.

"Good morning to you too father!" he cried out half-heartedly. His face still displayed signs of boredom, and he made no attempt to hide it. As he turned a corner, the walls of stone widened and he entered a small little opening in the mountains, beholding a cave in the side of the rock face opening up to a large clearing. Patches or grass grew here and there but the sight was mainly dominated by stone and dirt. A man in an orange cloak stood in the middle of the clearing, arms folded and tapping the ground with his foot impatiently.

"Where have you been boy?" he asked in mock-disappointed tone. "I thought you'd slept in until I realised you weren't in the cave. Have you been out wasting time playing?"

"There is nothing to play father," Irres stated. "It is fairly boring by myself. All I want is someone to hang out with and-"

The figure put up a hand to stop Irres. "You know how dangerous other dragons can be Irres," he said. "I've told you time and time again, other dragons and creatures will kill you on sight. You were raised to not adore violence and cruelty like them, and as such-"

"And as such I am safer and better off than if I had been raised to embrace their morals, I know, I know," Irres repeated. "But still, I've nothing to do...How can I keep myself occupied after I've practiced father? I need something entertain myself."

The figure sighed. He hadn't foreseen something like this, and even though Irres had been restless and uncomfortable for a while now, he hadn't planned ahead for it.

"Oh Dyan, you were a fool," he muttered, berating himself quietly. "Alright then Irres, I'll make you a deal. After we've gone through those new techniques I've taught you, I'll ponder a way to entertain you, sound fair?"

Irres, although still uninterested and unbelieving, nodded. "Alright father. Shall we get it over with then?"

Dyan chuckled. "Alright, get into your stance."

Irres set his feet apart, stiffening his body and spreading his wings slightly. He bent his head slightly, staring out ahead of him. His tail twitched every now and then.

"Good, good," Dyan commented. "Now, go through your forms."

Irres moved his body fluidly and smoothly, moving from one pose to the next with grace and speed. He crouched with his upper body down on the ground and his behind in the air, in a pre-pouncing position, before moving to a position where he spun around and, standing on his two hind feet, struck out with his paw. Irres quickly flicked his wing-spine in front of him in a quick jab after withdrawing his paw, before bending over backwards in a flip to gain ground, landing on all four feet and paused for a moment. He spun halfway around and flicked the air in front of him with his tail, before crouching low and breathing a small burst of fire from his maw and jumping back.

Irres continued like this for quite some time, showing phenomenal dexterity and agility as well as power and strength. Finally, Dyan clapped his hands, signalling Irres to stop.

"Well done Irres. You know your forms well," he stated. "But now show me how long you can keep your shadow energy going."

Irres suddenly disappeared inside a burst of black smoke, and when the smoke cleared Irres couldn't be seen. It appeared he had vanished into thin air. But Dyan knew exactly what was going on, for he could still see a faint shadow on the ground where Irres was hiding.

Dyan smiled. He was proud of what Irres was able to do with his shadow abilities, having greater control over it than most other dragons at his age, but Irres' strong point was his fire abilities. He could keep a tongue of fire burning from his maw for over 4 hours straight, and he had wonderful mastery over it, bending, shaping and controlling fire easily. He still had trouble controlling enormous amounts of fire, but overall, his abilities were well-honed.

After several hours of waiting, Irres finally appeared in another burst of shadow energy, gasping and falling to the ground, panting. Keeping up the illusion that he had disappeared for that long really drained a person. Dyan stood up calmly and walked into the cave.

"I expect you to be up and ready by the time I'm back out," he stated. Irres moaned in response.

Dyan walked through the stone cavern, heading deeper into the rocky walls. Once he got deep enough that he couldn't see, he held up his palm and a small flame appeared, lighting up his surroundings. The grey cavern walls pressed in on Dyan, and as he continued he often had to crawl to get further in. Finally, the rock receded and an open space appeared. The small flame in Dyan's palm didn't light up the entire space however, but Dyan merely clicked his fingers and several torch posts along the walls were lit, bathing the area in a flickering orange glow. The area was empty - just a barren stone floor surrounded by torches and grey rock walls.

Dyan walked into the centre of this space and sat down cross-legged. He sighed quietly and held a hand in the air, and a strange, transparent image appeared in the air in front of him. It showed a birds-eye view of a city, giant towers appearing left and right and intricately decorated buildings down below - houses, halls and mansions a plenty. The view zoomed in on an opening in the buildings - a crossroads of some sort - where three large dragons and two smaller ones were conversing. Dyan couldn't hear what they were saying, but the image did mean that the two smaller dragons had survived.

"Ah well, can't have everything," Dyan muttered to himself. "Still, they may represent a problem if they find out...however, if I lay low, Irres and I may yet avoid detection. I just have to make sure he stays away from others...but he still needs something to do...I can't have him bored out of his mind, he'll grow to rebellious."

"Maybe if I let him roam the nearby forest...the Dragon Temple is no more, and the risk of meeting civilized people is low. I just have to hope that if he sees someone by chance, he'll either flee quietly or kill on sight."

Dyan banished the image with a wave of his hand and walked back out of the opening, dousing the torches with another click of his fingers and again summoning the small flame upon the palm of his hand. He crawled back out of the cave depths and into the opening passage of the cave, walking out through the mouth and into the sunlight to see Irres slumped against a rock, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling peacefully. Dyan chuckled slightly.

"Alright boy enough rest!" he yelled, clapping his hands and causing Irres to jump. "Come on, give me your best shot!"

Irres groggily got to his feet and, planting his feet firmly on the ground, unleashed an onslaught of fire from his maw upon Dyan. The raging torrent of incandescent flames blinded Irres, and he couldn't see if he had hit Dyan or not. As he cancelled the plume, a charred area on the ground was revealed, but Dyan was no where in sight.

A laugh came out from behind Irres, and he spun around to see Dyan leaning against a rock.

"You think that was going to hit me?" he asked. "Even a tree frog could've avoided that with ease!"

Irres snarled and launched a ball of shadow energy from his mouth, but Dyan swayed to the side and avoided it again. Growling, Irres leapt at Dyan, intending to strike him with his talons, but Dyan disappeared suddenly and Irres fell face first on the ground, skidding several feet in the dirt. Muttering curses to himself Irres got to his feet and turned to see Dyan clapping behind him.

"Please, this is getting tiresome. Can't you even-"

Dyan was forced to block a sudden tackle by Irres, grappling with him and throwing him to the side. Irres rolled in the dirt but quickly leapt to his feet and prepared for another attack.

"Aha! That's more like it!" Dyan exclaimed. "A bit more aggression, a bit more haste, and then you hit your opponents! Having a powerful attack means nothing if you cannot hit your opponents. Of course it works both ways, because-"

"Because nothing will happen if you have no power behind an accurate shot," Irres finished for him. He smiled. "But don't worry, I have both."

"Would you like to prove that?" Dyan asked slyly.

Irres leapt at Dyan again, catching him in another struggle. This time Irres managed to knock him to the ground and pin him down, but Dyan kicked with his feet and launched Irres into the air, before quickly leaping up, catching him by the neck, and slamming him onto the ground in a cloud of dust.

Once the dust cleared, Dyan was sitting simply on top of a nearby rock, whereas Irres was curled up in a ball on the ground, clutching his arm and growling softly. Dyan chuckled.

"Well fought Irres. But maybe next time focus on what you're enemy is going to do before you attack. It is vital you know what your foe is planning before you make a move yourself, or you may be the victim of a counter-attack."

Irres didn't meet Dyan's gaze, maintaining a dignified silence.

Dyan laughed again. "Come on Irres, let's go inside. It's late already- the sun is already beginning to set. We'll eat and then we'll head to bed."

"Father, may I ask a question?"

Dyan looked at Irres peculiarly. "Of course. You can ask me anything."

Irres gulped nervously and licked his lips. He lifted his head from the ground and turned to look at Dyan. "This is a question that has been on my mind for a while...who...who was my mother?"

At this question Dyan seemed to stiffen, but the effect was so quick that Irres couldn't be sure he did. After a silence of several minutes, Dyan got to his feet and turned towards the cave entrance.

"Some things are better left un-asked...and unanswered."

Irres was left to ponder Dyan's vague response as he walked into the cave mouth, disappearing into it's darkness. Not for the first time, Irres was baffled at Dyan's odd behaviour.

---

Irres lie huddled up next to Dyan inside the cave mouth. He was closest to the entrance, and he lie there, just staring out into the open. He sighed quietly to himself.

Dyan in the meantime, was staring at the rock wall on the other side of the cave, looking but not seeing. In truth he was thinking over the dilemma that Irres has pushed upon him that morning.

"I think letting him roam the forest is the safest choice for now," he thought. "Yes...we'll go on a hunting trip in a few days and we'll see how he enjoys it."

"Alright Irres," he said, tapping Irres on the back. "Time for rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright father," Irres replied, closing his eyes and getting into a more comfortable position - curled up in a ball with his back resting against the wall and his tail against Dyan's leg. The soft darkness played inside Irres' eyelids, and soon enough, he found himself fast asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly in rhythm with his breathing.

Dyan looked at him for quite some time. Over the past few months it was a habit he had fallen into the gaze at the young dragon after he had fallen asleep, examining him.

"What a creature I have raised..." he thought. "He fights well, he talks well, he moves well, he is fiercely loyal to me, yet he still retains independence."

Dyan eventually decided he should rest as well, and closed his eyes, leaning against the cave wall, and fell into the same, soft expanses that Irres was currently wandering.

---

"It's ok...It's ok...I'm here...Nothing bad is going to happen to you...I promise..."

Black scales. Purple scales. Fire, darkness, lightning and life, the essences of each of these floated through the sky. Black and purple intertwined, pale blue and midnight blue separate, but together. Golden eyes glowing from behind a curtain of black and orange, black blades slicing through flesh.

Hope. White, luminous hope shining through a tangled mess of black, orange and brown threads.

"It's ok...It's ok...I'm here...Nothing bad is going to happen to you...I promise..."

A clear picture. A purple dragon and a black dragon lying curled up together. They were kissing, there lips locked together. An aura seemed to radiate out from them, affecting everyone, filling everyone with quiet happiness.

The black dragon broke the kiss, and the purple dragon put a yellow and orange wing around the black dragon, drawing it into a soft embrace.

"I would gladly carry all of your burdens if it meant you were happy..."

The image disappeared to reveal a massive purple crystal, residing in a space surrounded by rock walls and lava. It appeared to be cracking and splitting apart. A brilliant purple and white glow originated from it's peak. The light spread throughout the cavern, engulfing everything in a luminous glow.

"I love you..."

---

Irres awoke with a choked cry, lifting his head from the floor with a start. He felt something wet on hit cheeks, and when he lifted his paw to move it away he realised tears were streaming down his face. He was sobbing uncontrollably, and he had great difficulty keeping quiet, so as not to wake Dyan, who was still sleeping next to him. Irres didn't want to be faced with the question of why he was crying. He himself didn't know.

He lifted himself off the floor quietly, controlling his sobs by sheer willpower, and walked out of the cave and into the soft moonlight. It was a clear night, and the moon was full. Irres placed himself atop a rock, staring quietly into the sky. He murmured to himself.

"Love...."

FANTASTIC!

Why thank you Jimbster ^^;

I haven't been able to write the next chapter due to schoolwork and IRL things, but I'll try and get it up soon.

Disclaimer
Spyro, Cynder, Terrador, Cyril, Ignitus, Volteer and the Dragon Realms (c) Sierra
Lia (c) me.

Author's Notes
I am SO sorry for not updating this at all. I actually finished this chapter a few weeks ago and forgot to upload it here ._. sorry.

---

Chapter 3 - New Faces, New Questions

"Hold it! A little to the left...that's it, now drop it!"

Spyro let go of the large, rectangular stone block he had held and watched it fall between the gap in the wall with a dull thud. Flapping his wings furiously to stay in the air he hovered over to the pile of bricks and grasped one from the top of the pile, grunting as he lifted it into the air.

"Hold on Spyro!" a Cheetah dressed in white and blue clothes said. "You've done well for your shift, you can have a quick rest now. Cynder has already been relieved of her duties as well."

Spyro let go of the brick with a sigh of relief. His muscles were burning and the burning sun made his throat parched, so he was grateful when the Cheetah held a flask to his mouth and let him drink deeply.

"Thank you Stalker," Spyro panted once the flask had been taken from his lips. "Who is working next?"

"Cyril is. Now go on, you need a rest."

Spyro walked around the half-made stone wall and made his way to a cluster of maroon-coloured tents on the other side of the clearing, where the construction site had been set up. Building work on the Temple had been going on for three days already, but little progress had been made as only the foundations and half of a wall had been set. Terrador had just chuckled when he pointed it out.

"Building takes a long time Spyro," he had said. "You just have to be patient."

The forest surrounding them was just as dense as Spyro had remembered; as he noted that it had been three years since he had last set foot among these trees. The gnarled trees seemed a bit smoother however, and everything seemed more vivid. He didn't know if the forest had changed, or if he had.

Coming up to the tent he had been designated, he walked inside and saw Cynder lying on a mat made up of several small, worn rugs in the corner of a tent. He smiled as he remembered Volteer claiming that due to the shortage of supplies Cynder and himself would have to share a tent. Spyro suspected that the Elders knew of him and Cynder, but he wasn't sure. He made his way to another mat of rugs next to his little black dragon, and lied down with a slight sigh of exhaustion.

---

A few hours later, when the sun was low in the sky, Spyro and Cynder both walked out of the tent together, squinting as their eyes adjusted to the light. Looking around, Cynder caught sight of Stalker, the cheetah from before.

"My shift now Spyro," she said. "I'm doing the night shift. Volteer said he wanted you to train with him, right?"

"Yeah," Spyro replied half-heartedly. He was still worn out from earlier. "I'm going to meet him in the forest. You sure you'll be fine?"

Cynder laughed, flicking her tail from side to side. "I'll be fine Spyro. You go and train."

"Can't you give her a break Spyro? She ain't bad anymore, so there's no need to check up on her every few minutes."

Spyro jumped when he heard a voice beside his ear, but breathed a sigh of relief when he realised it was just Sparx. He was glowing as bright and gold as ever, bobbing up and down in midair as usual. "Maybe, but who says I can't check up on my friend? Maybe I should be checking up on you seeing as you haven't done a thing these past three days!"

Sparx looked indignant. "Yes I have! I've just been doing things...more related to my size, that's all. I've been doing errands, delivering messages to people around the camp, checking that everything is ship-shape, stuff like that."

"Right..." Cynder said mockingly. "Anyway, I ought to go. You should too Spyro, see you tonight." With that Cynder walked off towards Stalker, her tail flicking from side to side still.

Spyro sighed as he watched her walk away, just gazing at her. Sparx raised an eyebrow at this. "Hey man, you ok?" he asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Spyro replied, turning around in the direction to the forest. "Just thinking."

"About what then?" Sparx persisted, smiling and giving Spyro a teasing look.

"None of your business," Spyro replied, frowning. "Now if you'll stop staring at me like I've just made a fool of myself, you'd better go run your 'errands'. I need to see Volteer." With that Spyro walked off, quickly vanishing into the foliage. Sparx just smiled as he flew away, as bright as always.

---

Night. The stars twinkled as Cynder looked at them, admiring the summer sky. It was a warm night, and Cynder shivered as a gust of wind blew through the trees. That small patch of sky through the trees - it just gave the night an ethereal feel to it, only seeing a small amount of sky.

Cynder turned as she heard footsteps, and smiled as Spyro walked through the trees. Spyro returned the smile, and nuzzled Cynder. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Spyro," Cynder replied, nuzzling him back. "You sure we can do this?"

"I'm sure. No one knows we're here."

Cynder grinned and pressed her mouth the Spyro’s, drawing the two of them into a passion-filled kiss. Spyro happily returned the display of affection, playing with their tongues in his mouth. After a few moments, he drew away and nuzzled Cynder with his snout.

“If only we could do this all the time without fearing the others reaction,” Cynder sighed. “That would make me happy.”

“It would make me happy too,” Spyro replied. “Although, I think the elders know of us already.”

“I think so too.”

“Sparx caught me looking at you, so I think he suspects us as well.”

“Oh really? Well, I’m not sure of his reaction, but I don’t think it’ll be bad.”

Spyro chose a quiet spot in the moonlight and the two dragons sat down together, cuddling up close to one another and just enjoying their time together. They both knew they had work tomorrow, but they both wanted to spend some intimate time together.

“Cynder,” Spyro began. His voice sounded oddly nervous, and Cynder wondered why. “I…I have a question I need to ask you.”

“Yes?” Cynder asked. Something about what Spyro was about to say filled her with anticipation, making her heart beat faster and her tail start twitching.

Suddenly, the bushes behind Spyro and Cynder began to rustle, startling both dragons. They both climbed to their feet and stood to face the certain bush where the sound had come from.

“Whose there?” Spyro asked with a slightly threatening tone of voice. “Show yourself!”

A twig cracked, and a low, pained moan emanated from the foliage. Both Spyro and Cynder exchanged surprised glances as a pale blue figure emerged from the forest, yellow wings crumpled by its side and limp tail dragging behind it.

It was a young, female dragon. And she was wounded.

‘Hey, are you alright?” Spyro asked anxiously. “What happened to you?” Similar worry reflected on Cynder’s face. Both dragons cried out in shock as the female collapsed with a pain cry. Cynder put her paws on her neck, checking for a pulse, which she found, but was weak.

“She’s just unconscious but…wow, she must have been through one heck of a fight,” Cynder noted. “These claw wounds are really deep. She’s got a lot of bruises and minor cuts as well.”

“We’d better get the elders,” Spyro announced. “I’ll get them and be right back.”

Cynder nodded in Spyro’s direction but otherwise kept her attention on the female. Frowning, she examined the worst of the wounds and attempted to numb them with her shadow breath, relieving some of the pain. “I’d love to hear your story once you wake up,” Cynder said to herself. “By the looks of it you’ve been through some serious pounding.”

“Uh…huh?”

“Oh! Are you awake?” Cynder exclaimed upon hearing the dragon moan. “Are you in pain?”

“What? Where…where am I?” the female muttered, before crying out as the pain from her wounds became apparent. “Agh! It…hurts…”

“It’s alright, help will be here in a moment,” Cynder reassured her. “Just hold on, you’re not alone.”

The female gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain, but she soon slipped back into unconsciousness. Cynder sighed.

“They’d better get here soon,” she said.

---

Darkness…

Darkness…

And even more darkness…

Endless expanses of – yep, you guessed it – darkness…

Did this ever end? How long had she been sitting here, lost in her own unconsciousness?

Speaking of which, she shouldn’t even be thinking if she was unconscious.

So what had happened to her?

Wait…were those shapes in front of her? Yes, they were. They looked like dragons, but she couldn’t be sure. They were all fuzzy and blurry. What was that dragon doing? It was over her…she felt something grasping her arms…

Memories came back to her as she thought what the dragon could be doing. She began thrashing wildly about, trying to get the figure off of her.

“Get off me!” she cried. “Get away from me!”

“H-hey! Calm down!” another, masculine voice said. “You’re gonna hurt yourself. Guys! She’s waking up! Come help me!”

“What!?” she said, and she opened her eyes. She was lying in a circular room…no, not a room, but a tent. A soft blanket was underneath her, offering some comfort, and another was draped over her. Someone had bandaged her wounds while she was unconscious. Fearful, the female looked around desperately, and caught sight of the purple male dragon standing near the entrance of the tent, looking at her with something akin to worry on his face. She immediately scurried away from him, backing up against the tent wall.

“Get away from me!” she cried. “Don’t touch me- Ack!" she yelped out as her wounds started to hurt again.

“Hey, calm down,” the purple male said calmly. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“Bulls***!” she cried angrily. “Just…stay away from me!”

Suddenly, a black dragoness with a red underbelly and wings entered through the tent flap with a look or anxiety about her. "Spyro what is it? Is she-" the dragoness stopped as she saw the other female backed up against the wall. She looked at the purple male. "What happened?"

"I've no idea," the male replied. "She began thrashing around in her sleep, so I tried holding her down, but she just pushed me off and ran to the side of the tent. I don't know why she's so afraid...or angry."

The black dragoness sighed wearily. "Alright. I'll speak to her. This is a job for a woman, not a man."

The male smirked. "Oh Cynder, are you saying I'm not good enough?" he complained in mock hurt.

Well, that answered the question about her name, the blue female thought.

"Precisely," Cynder replied, grinning. "Now get."

The purple male exited the tent, causing morning light to shine through and light up the tent for a split second, all the while still grinning. Cynder sighed and walked up to the other female, who shrank back more.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," Cynder said reassuringly. "I'm sure you heard already, but my name is Cynder. Are you alright? You're not in pain?"

The female wasn't as scared as she would have been if it were a male, and she looked at Cynder curiously.

"No, I'm alright," the female responded. She WAS in pain, but she wasn't going to admit it. "Thank you...Cynder."

Cynder smiled. "My pleasure. Now what would your name be?"

"Lia," the female replied, standing up straighter and trying not to wince at the pain. "My name is Lia Staccatos."

"So Lia, would you mind telling me what happened to get you into this state?"

Lia didn't know whether Cynder meant her reaction to Spyro, or her more obvious physical wounds. By the look in her eyes, Lia began thinking it was a test, to see whether she would speak of her feelings or not.

"I was attacked," Lia said, addressing her wounds. "I don't exactly know by what. They were odd. They looked like skeletons of apes but, they had an ominous green glow about them. A whole group of them attacked me and...I managed to fend them off, but as you can see I got a parting gift. Several, in fact."

"Mmm," Cynder contemplated. Lia didn't know whether she's passed her 'test' or not. "Well, we've dressed the worst of your wounds and healed the others with red crystal, so you should be fine. Do you want to come out and meet the others?"

Lia stiffened at the thought of meeting that purple dragon again. "But then," she thought. "If Cynder trusts him and is safe with him, why wouldn't I be?" She relaxed and nodded, following Cynder outside the tent. As she brushed the tent flap out of the way, she winced as the sunlight blinded her for a moment.

The sight Lia saw astonished her. A group of about four dragons stood in front of her, three of them elderly dragons and the other one the purple male she'd seen before. By the looks of it, the elderly dragons were also male. Looking around, she saw an assortment of Cheetahs and Moles, moving around hastily as they struggled with stone blocks or wooden beams. Apparently, Cynder and herself where the only females around here.

Ho hum, let the rush begin.

"Lia, this is Spyro," Cynder said, gesturing to the purple male. "Spyro is a very good friend of mine. Spyro, this is Lia."

"Nice to meet you Spyro," Lia said. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Nice to meet you too Lia, and it's alright," Spyro responded. "Why did you react that way though?"

Cynder groaned inwardly at this question and Lia remained silent. Spyro got the hint and quickly resolved to say nothing more.

"Lia, these are the Guardians Terrador, Volteer, and Cyril."

Lia's eyes widened as she heard those names. "The Guardians," she said in awe. "I've heard of you before. You have my humble obedience." Lia bowed slightly towards the three elders, resulting in a laugh from Terrador.

"No need to give us formalities Lia," he said, amused. "Just call us by name. We're all equal here."

"Now Lia," Cynder said, addressing Lia directly. "You'd better go inside and rest. Don't argue, you're still tired from your wounds."

Lia growled slightly and made her way back to the tent, slightly happy to be away from all that attention. She collapsed on her bed and grunted, finally expressing the pain she had been hiding.

"Lia?"

Lia almost yelped in surprise at the unexpected voice coming from the entrance. Swivelling around to face it, she saw the purple male, Spyro, standing there looking at her. Immediately Lia stood back up, ignoring the ache in her limbs and the pain from her wounds as she eyed the dragon warily. She's thought she'd assured herself he wouldn't do anything, but you never know...

"What is it?" Lia asked threateningly.

For a moment Spyro was silent, just looking at her curiously. Lia was getting uncomfortable, but she held her gaze.

"It's just," Spyro began. "I have a proposition for you, from both Cynder and I. You see, here we're rebuilding the Dragon Temple, after it was destroyed during the war with Malefor...I assume you're acquainted with that. Afterwards, Cynder, the three guardians and I are going to live here again, just like before the war."

"We just wanted to ask, if you've nowhere else to go back too, would you like to live here with us? Although Cynder is my friend, and so are the Elders, it might get a bit lonely out here, without other people to see. So...yeah, its open. I'm not saying its a yes or no answer, but you're welcome to stay if you want to."

Spyro stood there for a while, awaiting Lia's response. When one didn't come, he sighed and shook his head. "Still not talking to me? Alright then. Just know, that you're welcome to stay as long as you like. You might even like to help out with the reconstruction." With that, he turned to walk outside.

"Spyro?"

Spyro turned to face Lia again. "Yes?"

"Um..." Lia bit her lip and looked slightly embarrassed. She still didn't know if she was doing to the right thing. "I...I'd like to stay. I've nowhere else to go."

Spyro smiled. "As I said, you're welcome to stay as long as you want Lia. It'd be nice, to have another friend here. The only other dragon my age that I've known is Cynder."

Spyro, still smiling, walked out of the tent. Lia just stood there a while, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"What had he wanted?" she thought. "What did he want? Was he being genuine, or was it just some trick to gain my trust?"

Lia yawned and rubbed her eye. She was tired, despite it only being the morning. Her wounds really fatigued her.

"Oh well, I'll sort everything out tomorrow..."