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Chapter Text

The Chronicler looked up, his perception expanding, as he examined the small purple dragon who had just entered the realm connected to dreams, the mind, and to Aether itself.

"Spyro?" he asked, exerting his mind to speak to the destined dragon. "Is something wrong? I had not expected you to-"

"Okay, what is up, exactly?" Spyro interrupted, jumping up and down on one of the floating rocks that were common in this shadow of Convexity.

"...what is up?" the Chronicler repeated. "I fail to grasp your meaning, Spyro."

"I mean, what happened?" Spyro asked. "What changed? It's a nightmare out there!"

The Chronicler was silent for a moment, as he tried to process what that meant.

"...you mean… when you are not sleeping?" he asked. "Because normally nightmares take place when you are asleep-"

"I know what I mean and so should you!" Spyro declared, tail lashing. "Fighting my way through the ape armies to rescue the Guardians was – okay, it was difficult, and a struggle, but by the end of it I'd got the hang of it! And I spent all the time between then and now training with Ignitus and Cynder and the others, and – and now the apes are repeatedly kicking my ass!"

He shook his head, subsiding, and sighed. "I don't get it, but I can tell something has changed."

"Are you sure, Spyro?" the Chronicler said, frowning, not that Spyro could see that because this was a sort of astral-projection mental-voice kind of deal.

He wasn't even clear on if Spyro knew that he was a fellow dragon.

"About as sure as I can be," Spyro replied. "It's… several times now I've been set on by apes and beaten up relentlessly until I'm about to pass out, and Sparx has to drag me out of danger until I recover, but by the time I've recovered so have the apes and I feel like sooner or later that's just not going to work!"

The Chronicler tilted his head slightly.

"Give me a minute, Spyro," he said. "I will examine the Books of Time. They may hold the answer."

Spyro was in the middle of trying to work out if his dreamscape had recognizable constellations, or if it was all in his head, when the Chronicler spoke again.

"Spyro, I believe I have the answer," he said. "It is an aspect of your power over time. You will need to use your ability to rewind time and try the same battle multiple times until you get it exactly right."

"...you're sure?" Spyro asked. "Because it sounds like that's going to hurt. And I don't know if I can even do that."

"According to this, you should be able to," the Chronicler frowned. "Hmm. Apparently it involves the use of something called a save state…"

There was the sound of turning pages.

"Ah, this might help," the Chronicler said. "Spyro – as a dragon with the ability to control time, I require you to tell me that you wish to look into the future."

"...all right," Spyro decided. "Ignitus trusts you, so… I wish to look into the future."

Another page turned.

"Here is my solution for you," the Storyteller said. "First, stand very still, as if you were about to contemplate your magic."

"Got it," Spyro said, his paws in a neat rectangle.

"Now, I will need you to do the following things even if you do not feel capable of them," the Chronicler went on. "Success is not required, merely attempting it. But you must follow the instructions exactly."

Spyro was ready to try anything at this point, and nodded slightly.

"Ask me to get on with it," the Chronicler said.

"...get on with it," Spyro repeated.

"Activate your Fury," the Chronicler said next. "Twice."

Spyro didn't have a Fury ready, but he twitched the part of his mind that would let him do it anyway. His muscles tingled with the hot energy of fire, but it didn't activate the surging explosion that came with the full expression of his powers.

"Now, tell me to get on with it again," the Chronicler requested.

"Get on with it!" Spyro said, a little more forcefully this time.

"Switch to your earth powers," the Chronicler told him, and Spyro did just as he was asked. "Electricity. Electricity again. Earth. Now use your Fury. Now tell me to get on with it. Now charge. Use Dragon Time. And focus as if meditating… and you should be done."

Spyro had nearly fallen off the platform, and he shook himself.

"So… what did all that do?" he asked. "It seemed like nonsense."

"In my research, I found that your adventure began too early, before it was properly finished," the Chronicler told him.

"You mean… before I was ready?" Spyro asked, confused.

"No," the Chronicler told him. "So I read ahead by a page and read off all the things that I asked you to do. And now I'm reading this conversation off the page as well… anyway, according to this, it should have made you unable to be physically injured."

Spyro blinked.

"Seriously?" he asked. "That sounds… incredibly useful. If… tedious to do."

He frowned. "Does Malefor know about this?"

"No," the Chronicler replied. "Though he may have something similar. Good luck, Spyro."

Spyro was about to leave, by waking himself up, then paused.

"...can you do the same thing to my breath?" he asked. "I keep running out really easily."

"I suspect I'm going to get in trouble for this, but… apparently yes," the Chronicler replied.

Chapter Text

"In order to stop Malefor, we'll need to hurry," Ignitus said, solemnly. "The Destroyer is on the march – if it completes the ring it traces across the world, then it will permit Malefor to begin the destruction of everything."

"Wait," Spyro requested. "I just… I need a moment to think."

"He said hurry, Spyro," Sparx said, then coughed to try and sort his voice out. "I, uh, I don't mean to make you sound like an idiot, buddy, but normally when we need to hurry that means moving fast."

"I understand that, Sparx," Spyro replied. "I just… I think we must be missing something. Ignitus, I'm – you're expecting me to know what to do, how to solve this, but I don't know how any of this works. Not properly."

His tail lashed. "I – Cynder and I have been frozen in crystal since we fought Gaul! I haven't had any time to get training from any of you, not really… I just…"

Then he sighed. "I feel like… there's got to be something we can do."

"The stories say that purple dragons came into their powers by instinct, more than training," Ignitus said.

"Um…" Cynder began. "I… have a question?"

She waved her tail. "How do you tell if a dragon is a purple dragon?"

"...ooh, I know this," Sparx said. "It's the colour, right?"

"The colour is one part of it, yes," Ignitus agreed. "But there are also other signs… a purple dragon can master many elements, rather than just one, and ultimately they have not merely a place in destiny but also the ability to access the most primordial element of all. Aether."

"Aether," Spyro repeated. "Like – like how I defeated Cynder?"

"Yes," Ignitus confirmed. "It is… the element from which all other elements come, and it is what a purple dragon is said to be able to use to control the nature of elements themselves. Indeed, it is why the truest sign of a purple dragon is to wield Aether, because a purple dragon can actually grant another element to a dragon – or take it away."

"So, not that I'm complaining about the history lesson," Sparx lied. "But why aren't we trying to get this door open so we can take the underground path and stop the Destroyer? Because I sort of like the idea of being on a world that hasn't been – what was it – oh yeah, ended."

"No, I… think I understand," Spyro admitted. "I know what you're trying to say, Cynder."

He glanced at her, smiling, then closed his eyes. Cynder did the same, and a brilliant purple light flashed around both of them – then, with a whoosh, they were surrounded by a kind of mist of light.

Then Spyro breathed out a jet of intense white light that blew open the door to the underground caverns.

"...well, that's saved us some time," Sparx admitted.

"Spyro," Ignitus gasped. "I didn't know you could…"

Cynder blew open another hole, next to the first one, with a jet of intense purple-black light.

"This is Aether, isn't it?" Spyro asked. "I realized – it feels the same as when I rescued Cynder. And Cynder can use it too."

"I think Malefor made me into a purple dragon," Cynder added, shaking her head. "I don't know if he knew he was doing it, even, but… I think he did."

"So," Spyro said, firmly, as the glow faded. "Ignitus – if you know anything about how purple dragons did that, with powers, then – I think we need to know. Both of us."

"I…" Ignitus began, then shook his head. "I apologize, Spyro. I simply do not have the knowledge you seek. I don't think any dragon left does, outside of Malefor."

"...no," Spyro realized. "There is a dragon who might know, or who knows – more things than he should know. And I think we should ask him. But we… are probably going to need you to give us both a lift down the underground passage, Ignitus."

The Elemental Master of Fire looked quite confused.

"We're going to need to be asleep," Spyro explained. "Chronicler? Now's the time."

Then he fell asleep.

Cynder blinked.

"I… didn't know he was going to do that," she admitted, looking between Ignitus and Sparx. "Did you know he was going to do that?"

"Not at all," Ignitus replied.

"Seen it a few times," Sparx shrugged. "Yeah, this happens. At least this time he wasn't flying."

A moment later, Cynder passed out as well.

Ignitus looked at them, then shrugged, and picked both dragons up to transfer to his back.

"It seems we have some catching up to do, Sparx," he said, as he set off down the tunnel.

In the heart of his volcano lair, Malefor scowled down at the viewing crystal.

His Destroyer had been halted by a dam, of all things!

This was… honestly rather humiliating, as far as setbacks went, though then again he was familiar with setbacks, and-

-between one moment and the next, Spyro and Cynder appeared in front of him.

Their wings were spread to hover, and they were still chained by the serpent necklaces, but that didn't seem to stop their determination.

"What the-" Malefor began, startled, then shook his head. "Cynder… so good of you to return. I take it you're eager to become my servant once more?"

"Not at all," Cynder said.

"You still have a chance to stop, Malefor," Spyro added. "You don't have to do this."

"Have to?" Malefor asked, then snorted. "No, but… I want to. And so will you, in the end. Purple dragons are more powerful than anything else there is on this world… you will learn that too, if you haven't already."

"You're right," Spyro said, but he was shaking his head. "And, at the same time, you're wrong."

"...no, that doesn't make sense," Malefor protested. "This is just like one of those ridiculous riddles the elemental masters like. How can I be right and wrong at the same time?"

"You're right, that purple dragons are powerful," Spyro conceded. "But you're wrong, that that means that I'll end up like you. Because if I had the power to do whatever I wanted, I'd use it to help my friends. That's what makes me happy."

Malefor snorted.

"You're foolish," he said. "You'll learn… or, if you don't, then I'll simply destroy you."

He exhaled a blast of Aether, but Spyro and Cynder vanished moments before he did.

Then they hit him from behind with jets of plasma and gravity, and Malefor abruptly found himself in the fight of his life against two small but apparently uncatchable dragons who began pelting him with every element he could think of and a few it seemed like they'd made up on the spot.

"...phew," Cynder exhaled, ten crowded minutes later, and rubbed her throat with a paw. "I didn't think… I don't think I believed we could really do it."

She looked worried. "Do you think we did it?"

"I'm not sure," Spyro said, frowning. "But the fact he got dragged into the planet by a hundred spirit dragons while screaming seems like a good hint that it worked."

He yawned. "I… aah. Thanks so much for your help, Cynder, I couldn't have done that alone."

"Don't say that, Spyro," Cynder protested.

"No, I mean it," Spyro told her. "We both had to break twice during that fight for a nap, and you had to keep time stopped for me while I was asleep."

He shook his head. "I'm just glad Malefor didn't realize we were using the time element to move around, as well as fit in all that training… if he'd known that, he might have worked out how to use it himself, and it would have been much more difficult. And it was difficult enough."

Cynder couldn't really come up with a response to that, and just nodded.

Then they sort of looked around, awkwardly.

"We should probably get out of the crater at some point," Cynder added. "And let everyone know we're alive."

"Yeah, good point," Spyro said, spreading his wings. "...by the way… I have no idea if there's anywhere in Warfang to get lunch, but… want to go find out together? I'm kind of hoping I've got money so it can be my treat…"

Chapter Text

"Yess…" Malefor chuckled, placing his paws on the ground around the Well of Souls.

At last, he had returned. His spirit had been trapped within Convexity, his body turned to a wisp – but the Ancestors had not been able to stomach truly killing him, and now on the darkest night of all he had returned.

"Good work… Cynder," he added, turning to the small form of his young servant. "You have done well."

"Dark Master," Cynder bowed.

"We worked hard to bring you back," Gaul said. "I worked hard to bring you back. I managed to overcome Cynder's… reluctance."

"Oh, I am quite aware of Cynder's reluctance," Malefor said, with a dark chuckle. "But there was nothing she could do about it, after all. She was fated to be my servant… while you, Gaul, have a different fate."

Gaul frowned, and Malefor turned – his expression sly.

"Yes," he said. "You have a different fate before you, Gaul, and there is nothing much else that needs to be said about it. Your goal is to rule the world, is it not?"

"Yes," Gaul echoed. "Yes! That is the promise that you gave to the Apes!"

"Indeed it was," Malefor said. "But, of course… that means that your fate is to challenge me, and your fate is thus to be defeated."

His wings glowed as he summoned his power – the true, terrible energy of a Purple Dragon, the might that could remake the world, destroy destiny itself, make elements all anew.

The power that had scared the Ancestors so.

"Wait – I don't-" Gaul began, backing away in sudden apprehension, then Malefor unleashed a burst of power, of an element that no other dragon had ever possessed.

The element of decay.

It struck Gaul, and burned him up, turning him into a skeleton animated only by shadows of ambition forever unsatisfied. And, through him, all the Apes. Every last one of Gaul's minions, from the greatest to the least.

They would know fear, and pain, and they would remain in shadow, forever denied the light of the day.

Malefor was… harsh, but not cruel. He would not deny them continued existence, to accept the eternal night that they had always wanted.

"What now?" Cynder asked, as Gaul fled, to hide forever in the shadows and darkness.

"Now… we have a world to destroy," Malefor replied. "But first… we have a purple dragon to deal with. Spyro has shown himself a coward… or merely incapable… by not coming here, and trying to stop Gaul himself. But we will have to stop him soon enough, regardless of where he hides."

"We will?" Cynder said.

"Yes," Malefor confirmed. "Because… the whelp is dangerous, if he ever gets time to get his paws under him, to get control of his powers. A purple dragon's power is versatile, we can create whatever elements we wish – even grant them to others, or pull them out of a dragon who does not deserve them, though I don't believe such a thing would be permanent… but perhaps it would be. For a purple dragon's power is also immense."

He chuckled. "Perhaps even – limitless, though who can truly say? Those old fools who used to teach me said that purple dragons could do anything, and then they fought so hard against me when I tried to do something. Something worthy of the awesome import of a purple dragon, breaker of destinies, master of elements, shatterer of worlds."

Then Malefor paused, raising a claw to his chin. "Now, there's an idea…"

"Purple dragons can do all that?" Cynder asked. "I didn't realize…"

Her tail waved slightly from side to side.

"You see why it is so important to stop Spyro – or, if possible, get him to understand the truth," Malefor replied. "But – come, Cynder. There are armies to be mustered – lands to be overrun. I must control much of the world, and I will require months of effort to ready my plan. This phase of the world will be brought to destruction, and I will shape the new form it will have."

He raised an eyebrow. "You see? Gaul could never understand such complete domination over all that exists. Not merely to conquer, but to remake."

"I understand," Cynder told him, though much of her attention seemed to be on her paw.

"Fret not," Malefor said. "I will return you to being the Terror of the Skies in a moment, Cynder. After all… it is your destiny to serve me."

Cynder nodded, then closed her eyes.

She was saying something too quietly to hear, and Malefor leaned closer.

"...breaker of destinies," she was whispering. "Master of elements. Pull them out of a dragon."

"Yes, that is what I said," Malefor agreed, slightly puzzled.

"Purple dragons can do anything," Cynder went on, speaking a little more loudly now.

Then she planted her paw on the ground, and took a deep breath.

"Is it okay for me to say that I hate pirates?" Sparx asked. "Because I really hate pirates. And I've gotta say, man, I don't like your habit of passing out all the time, either. It gets on my nerves."

"The Chronicler had important things to tell me, Sparx," Spyro replied.

"Oh, yeah, I've got to say I don't think much of that guy either," Sparx provided, helpfully. "Destiny this and elements that – you don't think he could have maybe hurried it up a bit? Or not lived in such an out of the way place?"

"I have to admit, I'm worried," Spyro admitted. "It took us so long to get there…"

He looked up at the Mountain of Malefor. "By now, the Dark Master might have returned. I just hope we're not too-"

There was an incomprehensibly vast explosion of violent purple light, one which blew out the entire side of the mountain, and Spyro stared before yelping and ducking to the side.

Most of the explosion had been pointed about a quarter of the way around the mountain from them, but enough had come their way that he really needed to dodge – then, as the debris faded, Spyro stared.

There was – a giant purple dragon, with huge wings and horns, fighting in the ruins, lashing out with fire and ice and a kind of screaming reddish blast that was like a sonic attack from the Earth element but also not. And it – he, that was Malefor – was fighting a tiny spark that blazed with white-purple light so bright that it hurt Spyro's eyes-

"-wait," he and Sparx said at the same time.

"Is that Cynder!?" Sparx added. "What exactly is going on?"

"I don't know," Spyro replied, then he winced as Malefor scored a hit with a shard of ice the size of a building. Cynder hurtled towards them, then her wings flared and a swirl of wind exploded around her as she halted just short of crashing into them.

"-Spyro?" she said, incredulously, then Malefor hurled a chunk of rock at them that looked like it was almost as big as the Dragon Temple.

"Look out!" Spyro warned, and Cynder cut it in half with another of those incredible bursts of white-purple light.

"How did you do that?" Sparx demanded.

"I think Malefor made me a purple dragon by mistake," Cynder said, very quickly. "Spyro – purple dragons can do anything, that means you can do this too – he wants to kill you – we need to stop him!"

Spyro looked at her, then at Malefor as the Dark Master approached them rapidly, then nodded.

"All right," he said, and opened up with a burst of dozens of homing fireballs which hit Malefor in an overlapping cascade of explosions. Then he and Cynder had to dodge out of the way, in different directions, as Malefor countered with a wave of water like a tsunami.

"I'm… just going to hide over here," Sparx provided, helpfully. "Behind the mountain. In case it helps."

Chapter Text

Bilbo opened the door, and broke into a broad grin.

"Gandalf!" he said. "Oh, how wonderful it is to see you! It's been years!"

"So it has," Gandalf agreed. "Many more than I would like, but less than I could fear. Bilbo, it is good to see you so well."

"Come in, come in," Bilbo requested, stepping back. "I'll be sure to get you something… what would you like?"

"Just tea, thank you," Gandalf requested.

"Of course, of course," Bilbo agreed. "And something to eat? There's a rather fine loaf on the go, or I have some smoked bacon-"

"Just tea, thank you," Gandalf reiterated, with a smile.

Bilbo nodded. "Yes, well then – that will be just fine. Capital, in fact. I do apologize, Gandalf, but it's so rare that we meet and it seems a shame to have nothing more than tea to celebrate."

Gandalf smiled.

"You are a thoughtful man, Bilbo Baggins," he said. "Despite your… Tookish ways, of course."

Bilbo chuckled.

"You don't think I'd have come along with you on such an adventure as that without a little in the way of Tookishness, do you?" he pointed out, sitting down in an armchair in the front room, and Gandalf folded himself into the much bigger, overstuffed armchair on the other side of the room.

"I suppose not," Gandalf mused, looking around, and frowned slightly. "I realize it has been a while, Bilbo, but… something seems different about your house."

"Yes!" Bilbo agreed. "There's someone else living here now, you know. I have an heir."

"An heir," Gandalf repeated, interested. "And how might such a thing have come about? What lady of Hobbiton caught the eye of Bilbo Baggins, I wonder?"

He smiled, amused. "And was it that I was not invited to the wedding?"

"Oh, no fear, no fear," Bilbo replied, hastily. "No, he's not my son in body, though certainly he is my heir legally… you see, I adopted him, four years ago now. The orphaned son of relatives from east of here, Brandy Hall way – it was that or end up leaving Bag End to the Sackville-Bagginses, and that was something I could not tolerate."

"I suppose such would be a consideration," Gandalf nodded, contemplatively. "You are getting on in years, old friend."

Though Bilbo didn't look it, it had to be said. Ninety-four years old, and it was as if he hadn't aged a day since they had gone on the quest to the Lonely Mountain over four decades before. Years lay more lightly on the Halflings than on Men, but even so, that was a little ridiculous.

"Uncle Bilbo?" a slightly hesitant and muffled voice said. "I've brought the tea."

"Excellent – thank you," Bilbo said. "With the large teacup?"

"Yes, Uncle," the same young voice agreed, and Gandalf leaned out of his chair to see the young Hobbit who Bilbo had taken as his heir.

Which was… not exactly what he saw.

Instead, there was what Gandalf could only, unmistakeably, describe as a dragon coming in through the door, purple-scaled and orange-bellied… balancing on three legs, holding a tea tray in one paw and his mouth, wings out slightly for balance. He reached the table and rose smoothly to his hind legs, using his other foreleg for support, and deposited it neatly on the table.

"It's just lightly brewed, right now, Mr. Gandalf," the dragon added, helpfully. "I don't know quite how you take it, so you'll need to leave it another few minutes to steep if you want it strong."

"I see," Gandalf said, with a nod. "Thank you… alas, I'm afraid I don't have your name."

"Spyro, sir," the dragon introduced himself. "Spyro Baggins, at your service."

He bowed slightly.

"Gandalf, at yours," Gandalf replied. "Though… I'm terribly sorry, Spyro, but would it be possible to get a little milk for the tea? I'm afraid I sometimes take mine with milk."

"Could you, Spyro?" Bilbo asked. "I do apologize, I should have mentioned."

"It's no trouble at all," Spyro replied, and was back out of the room in moments – heading, Gandalf was sure, to the cold room.

"Well, now," Gandalf said, smiling, and turned his attention to Bilbo. "The orphaned son of relatives from east of here?"

"Yes," Bilbo concurred, nodding. "My second cousin and his wife. Alas, they drowned in a boating accident… I assume, at least, for he was found on the riverbank. So I took him in."

"I see," Gandalf mused. "And I'm sure that if I asked anyone in Hobbiton, they'd tell me the same thing."

"Of course," Bilbo confirmed. "I do pay attention to what they say about me, you know – and about my young nephew. If you'll believe it, they say he's been quite good for me. Old Mr. Gamgee told me once that Tolman Cotton declared – in the way of someone who wishes that declaring to be heard quite far and wide – that he knew the lad was more purple than some others, but had a good head on his shoulders, and that he was doing a good job of keeping me from my more fanciful notions. Which is entirely too unkind to me, I'd say, but generous to Spyro, so I find it hard to complain."

Gandalf nodded, slowly.

"How curious," he said. "How very curious."

Then he turned, at the sound of paws on the floor, and took the milk from Spyro.

"Thank you, young Master Baggins," he said, and Spyro looked quite pleased at both the thanks and the title. "I think your coming to Hobbiton will do Bilbo a great deal of good, and others besides."

"I say!" Bilbo protested, with a laugh. "Have a care, Gandalf – you're not telling me that even you, who recruited me for that adventure, find my Tookishness tiresome?"

"I find your hiding behind it amusing," Gandalf replied.

Privately, he had to wonder whether Bilbo's second cousin and his wife had actually existed – though, whether they had or not, it made little difference to the situation.

And, right now, that situation was that there was a youngster, anxious to please and feeling nervous around a tall outsider… and there was tea to be poured.

So Gandalf decided to solve both at once, as best he could.

"Would you like me to pour you some as well?" he asked Spyro, already pouring some of the steeped tea into the large teacup himself, judging the strength, then added a little milk. "Or do your tastes run elsewhere."

"I'd prefer mine without milk, Mr. Gandalf," Spyro requested. "Are you really a wizard?"

"Indeed I am, though you'll find that wizardry is less about flashy spells than many think about it," Gandalf said, pouring some more tea for Spyro and finishing off with a third cup for Bilbo – just the way he remembered his old friend liked it. "It's far more about how things are, and recognizing the difference between that and how things seem…"

Several decades later, and hundreds of miles away, the Council of Elrond stared at the simple golden ring on the table between them.

"The Ring is the very essence of Sauron," Elrond of Rivendell stated. "It would corrupt, and ultimately destroy, whoever tried to use it."

"I would not throw off such a weapon if it came into our keeping," Boromir of Gondor replied.

"The Ring is a weapon, but not to be turned against its master," Gandalf warned. "It is more in the nature of an army, or a skilled armsman, or a traitor in a castle – though none of those capture its true nature. It is a fragment of Sauron, and even if you could use it against him and achieve a seeming of success – it would all come to ill, in the end."

"It's part of Sauron," Spyro voiced. "So it is how things are that it will not oppose Sauron, even if it seems that it does. Any attempt to use it will come to a bad end, unless it is for Sauron's aims."

"That is a fine way of saying it," Gandalf said.

"So it must be destroyed, then," the dwarf Gimli declared. "If it cannot be turned to good ends, then it must be put to an end for the good of all."

"Alas, but it can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom," Elrond said, as Spyro tilted his head slightly and moved across in front of Sam and Merry. "That is where it was created. Otherwise it would-"

Elrond was interrupted by a sudden blaze of intense blue light, as Spyro exhaled something that was to dragon-fire as the most mighty dragon-fire was to a match. All the Elves present, and Gandalf, flinched back in shock, then Elrond shook his head and blinked twice before looking at his table.

Which wasn't there any more… and nor was the One Ring.

"I was thinking," Spyro explained. "About why it is that it can't be destroyed… it's because it has to be destroyed in the world that is unseen, not the world that is seen. And I'm quite sure that my bright fire can do that."

Gandalf raised an eyebrow.

"I did wonder why only six of the Nine Black Riders reached the Ford of Brunien," he said, nodding slightly.

"I fear I should have asked more questions about the fighting before I arrived," Aragorn admitted.

Elrond was looking at his hand.

"...ah," he said. "Vilya appears to be losing strength, slowly but steadily… it would seem that it worked."

"Nobody told me it had to be destroyed, before," Spyro added. "I'm sorry about your table, Mr. Elrond, but I did want to hurry."

"Well, that was easy," Legolas of Mirkwood observed. "Should we continue with the meeting?"

Chapter Text

"Good luck, Mole-Yair," Spyro said, as the mole-like Manweersmall and half-a-dozen of his friends set sail on one of the flying longboats.

"Great," Sparx declared. "So, now what?"

He stroked his chin. "Let me guess… we fly off, you pass out on the way, and… I don't know, we end up wherever the voices in your head lead us next."

Spyro blinked.

"That… actually does make a lot more sense," he admitted. "I was planning on hunting down those pirate leaders, but… we could just fly away."

"See, this is what you need me for," Sparx said, with a shrug. "You're not used to being able to fly anywhere, buddy."

"You're right," Spyro said. "All right… let's go… that way."

He pointed.

"Voices in your head?" Sparx asked.

"Actually it's just the first direction I saw," Spyro replied. "...on second thought, let's steal one of those flying longboats, too. That way if I pass out then we won't end up in the water."

"Hey, man, I'm not complaining," Sparx said. "You could just call it wages, it's not like they paid us for being the star attraction!"

"Twenty more minutes," Gaul said, pacing back and forth. "You are sure?"

"It's basic astronomy," the ape astronomer replied. "It is literally predictable years in advance."

"Twenty more minutes will do," Gaul decided, turning to Cynder. "Then, traitor, you will be punished at the behest of our Dark Master, and the Apes will rule over all the world… it's a shame, in a way, that you will not be doing it alongside us. But you made your own decision."

"I never had a chance to make my own decision before," Cynder said, tail lashing. "You made me a weapon, from birth… the first chance I had to escape, I took it."

"And that is why our Dark Master will punish you for your betrayal," Gaul retorted. "But perhaps I am wrong… perhaps our Dark Master will take you back, and return you once more to being the Terror of the Skies."

"I'd rather die," Cynder replied.

"That can be arranged," Gaul chuckled. "But it is our Dark Master's decision to make."

"Why are you doing this?" Spyro called.

Gaul looked around, then up, and saw the purple dragon – right at the top of the room, on a ledge.

He immediately levelled his staff, and Spyro ducked back out of sight. The bolt of element-stripping magic crashed into the ceiling, then dissipated in a fizz of light, and Gaul snarled.

"Why are you doing this!" Spyro shouted, from behind cover. "Do you think the Dark Master is going to reward you?"

"Of course!" Gaul replied. "I have been his general from his first attack! He has given me power, magical arts – he has made me into a scourge to destroy the dragons!"

"Why?" Spyro demanded. "Why do you want the dragons destroyed?"

"You claim you don't know?" Gaul asked, laughing.

"I grew up in a swamp," Spyro replied. "After your attack on the dragon temple. My first experience with Apes was some of them trying to kill my brother. I had no idea about the war about three weeks ago… so please, tell me, why you want the dragons destroyed?"

"Dragons have always subjugated the Apes," Gaul said, firmly. "We were pushed to the fringes of the world, forced to subsist away from the good lands by the dragons! Then our Dark Master granted us magical powers, and now we will take what is ours!"

"But before I was born, Malefor was either the only purple dragon or your leader for ten generations," Spyro countered, his voice moving around. "I had a chance to think about it on the way here – how do you know he's not just… telling you what would make you the best servants to him?"

Cynder blinked several times.

Was Spyro trying to… debate with Gaul?

"Foolish dragon!" Gaul said. "You think you can just speak to me and break my will? Our Dark Master offers us strength, and we will take what we want with that strength – we need no other answer, we need nothing else but victory, and we will take that victory!"

"So you should probably be really quiet right now," a voice whispered, and Cynder tried not to twitch.

"Sparx?" she whispered back, moving her head lazily to the side, and saw that the dragonfly was hovering behind her – staying as out of view of Gaul and the other Ape leaders as possible, as Spyro said that Malefor had betrayed the dragons and they'd eventually cast him out while Gaul retorted that they had only seen the extent to which he was willing to break with their foolish philosophies.

"I don't suppose you've got any way to get out of this chain?" Sparx checked. "Because it would be really convenient."

"I think…" Cynder began. "If they're distracted… yes. But what do we do then?"

"Get the hell away from here," Sparx replied.

"That won't…" Cynder said. "It's… after what I did, he's going to be able to make himself a body again. He's going to be back… I never wanted to be here."

"Jeez louise," Sparx sighed. "Okay, so how do we stop it?"

"It's the planetary alignment," Cynder replied. "I… hold on. I think… I might have an idea."

She glanced at Sparx. "I saw that Spyro was doing… something, in the arena. Making himself move faster… that sounds like time control. Is it?"

"I guess, yeah," Sparx whispered back.

"I think that's part of what Malefor had Gaul do to me," Cynder said. "But… Spyro is a purple dragon, too."

Sparx blinked.

"Okay, I guess that's a thing," he said. "So, are you going to get out now?"

"If you can distract Gaul," Cynder replied.

"I don't know, they look pretty distracted now," Sparx pointed out.

Cynder glanced up, nodded, then closed her eyes.

And reached for the shadow.

"Are you sure?" Spyro asked, some minutes later, as two floors below them Gaul raged and smashed the surroundings – and Apes – for their failure in keeping Cynder contained.

"I don't know that's what he did," Cynder replied. "I'm just guessing. But… we know it's something Malefor could do… it's something he could make Gaul able to do, anyway."

She shook her head. "I don't know what else – I can't think of anything else."

"We could do what that Chronicler guy suggested," Sparx volunteered. "Which is, you know, hide and come back later. Fight another day."

"Maybe," Spyro said. "But… if we don't stop him now, we'll need to stop him some time. When are we going to do it, if not now?"

"Maybe, I don't know, with the help of all those Elemental Masters?" Sparx asked. "Ignitus, Volteer, Terrador… Cyril… how come his name isn't themed, anyway?"

He scratched his head. "I never really thought about it before. It's like how Mom's name is just… Nina."

"We need to focus," Cynder said. "I…"

She swallowed.

"I hate the Dark Master," she said. "I hate Malefor. I… don't know if I'd still think that way if he was here, but… I want to get away from my past. I just don't think I can, because he's always there."

"Cynder," Spyro said, reaching out and putting his paw over hers. "If you don't want to say anything, then… don't. But if you do, then… please, just tell me. What was the change like?"

Cynder frowned.

"It was… like every part of me was burning," she said, her voice catching slightly. "Like everything was growing, all at once. The worst growing pains you could ever imagine. It didn't last long, but… it felt like agony."

Then she winced. "Ah! I think-"

"I can feel it too," Spyro agreed. "The Night of Eternal Darkness is about to start… if we're going to do anything, it has to be now!"

"It does not," Sparx said. "Don't you have time powers, anyway?"

"...yeah," Spyro agreed, suddenly thoughtful. "Hold on, guys, this might be a bit loud…"

Bluish energy began to swirl around his wings, forming a whirling hourglass-shape, and he rose into the air. Then he folded them, and a moment later time burst out around him-

"At last," Malefor said, his spiritual form already beginning to coalesce.

As the planetary alignment came into focus, he would be but a spirit – but he had planned for this for many long years, to be freed by Cynder and then brought into a coalesced form at his fortress, on the Night of Eternal Darkness – when he could create for himself a new body. He would be real enough to use his magic, living enough to break the bounds of life and death, and then the world would burn-

-then the heavens seemed to stutter, and suddenly the planetary alignment was gone. The planets had swapped their positions, and were drifting apart, as if the whole of the time of the cosmic alignment had passed in a fraction of a second.

The coalescence of his power instantly dissipated once more, and Malefor stared at the heavens.

Then he howled his impotent rage and fury into the heavens.

"...screw destiny, huh?" Sparx asked. "Yeah, I guess it kinda makes sense that you purple guys could break things like that, otherwise the old dragons would have been real morons to not realize that Malefor baddie was going to overthrow them."

Spyro nodded, slightly, then nearly fell over, and Cynder caught him before he did.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"My wings ache," Spyro replied. "I think I need a chat with the Chronicler…"

He slumped against her, yawned, and fell asleep.

"...well, I guess we're waiting until he wakes up," Sparx said, thoughtfully. "So… any idea what we should talk about?"

Cynder frowned, brushing a wing against Spyro.

"Who's the Chronicler?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, you weren't there for that bit," Sparx realized. "Okay, I'll give you the basics…"

Chapter Text

"Okay, this is weird," Spyro mumbled.

"Weird," Trigger Happy repeated. "Yeah, that's really helpful."

"Hey, shut up!" Spyro replied, sticking out his tongue. "I'd say something that made more sense if I knew something that made more sense, golden-glo."

The gremlin snorted.

"Yeah, you wouldn't," he replied. "But, okay. What does weird mean?"

"Weird means weird," Spyro answered, sitting back. "Like… something happened, and now everything is wrong."

He held up a paw. "See, I was really cool before I met you guys. That's how come I got invited to be a Skylander."

"Here we go again," Trigger Happy said, sniggering. "This is just a chance for you to boast about the cool stuff you did before becoming a Skylander, right?"

Spyro shook his head. "That's just it!"

He thumped his tail on the ground. "Because I can't."

Trigger Happy blinked a few times, then inspected Spyro's head from the side.

"What are you doing?" Spyro asked.

"Trying to see if I can see light through from the other side, scalybrain," the gremlin replied.

"Hey!" Spyro protested, bristling and flaring his wings. "Knock it off, okay!"

He shook his head. "I'm being serious. I did all kinds of cool stuff before I became a Skylander but I can't think of what any of those things were. I was…"

Then the purple dragon coughed.

"I was going to talk to Cynder about it, okay?" he asked, looking embarrassed.

"Oooh," Trigger Happy said, giggling. "Trying to impress a girl?"

"Hey!" Spyro protested. "I helped free her, you know! And I was trying to say how helping her out was nothing special, because I'd done all kinds of cool stuff, and I completely blanked on what."

Now Trigger Happy was looking a bit worried.

"...none of them?" he asked. "Not at all?"

"Nope," Spyro agreed. "I know I did cool stuff, just, not what, and I was left standing there looking like an idiot until Cynder flew off!"

He shook his head. "So, come up with an answer to that one."

"Yeah, I'm stumped," Trigger Happy said, immediately. "I can't shoot the problem, I am out of ideas."

"Yeah, I guessed," Spyro muttered. "Okay, uh…"

He frowned, head tilting.

"The weird thing is, I think Cynder was involved?" he said.

"Sure this isn't a daydream now?" Trigger Happy asked.

"Shut up," Spyro grumbled.

"Well, if you do think she was involved, why not ask her about it?" the gremlin suggested.

"I thought you were out of ideas," Spyro pointed out.

Trigger Happy shrugged.

Spyro shook his head, frowning.

"...you… what?" Cynder said.

"I can say it again, if you want," Spyro replied. "Did I at some weird time in the past do something to help you before I was a Skylander?"

"You realize how weird a question that is, right?" Cynder countered. "You don't have to hold over my head how you saved me, I'm grateful but it doesn't mean-"

"I don't mean that time!" Spyro replied, wings flaring. "I mean before then. Pay attention, eesh."

Cynder shot a black look at him.

"What kind of thing are you thinking you would have done to help me, anyway?" she asked. "Apart from breaking me out of Malefor's control?"

Spyro frowned.

"...uh," he said. "Can't think of anything, sorry."

"Are we done?" Cynder asked.

"Wait," Spyro said.

Cynder spread her wings to fly off.

"...hey!" Spyro protested, then frowned. "How come you never use your wind element, anyway?"

Cynder was halfway through taking off, flubbed her wingbeat, and tripped over forwards. She rolled over twice, picked herself up, and glowered for a moment as Spyro sniggered at her.

Then she shook her head, and her expression changed.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"How did I know… what?" Spyro replied.

"Wind," Cynder answered. "I don't have wind, Spyro. My element is Undead. But… I've dreamed of having wind, and I never said anything about it to anyone. Ever."

Spyro frowned.

"...so what does that mean?" he asked. "Because my element is Magic, not… dreams, or whatever it would have to be to find that out."

"I don't know," Cynder admitted. "But… all right, something weird is going on here, you've convinced me of that much."

"So what now?" Spyro asked.

"Now…" Cynder replied, thinking. "I guess we try and find someone who might know about it. It's something to do with you, and with me, maybe…"

She exhaled. "Okay… I know a few people. Maybe we can work something out."

Weeks later, far away from the Skylands, a portal opened.

Malefor, who was still chained to a very large anchor and the ruins of the ship it had been attached to when he was pushed off the Skylands, looked up – then growled slightly as Spyro and Cynder came through the portal.

"I assume you're here for a reason," the dark dragon said.

"We want to find out what the heck is wrong with me!" Spyro said.

Cynder coughed.

"I have a few ideas about that," she said. "I think everyone does."

"That came out wrong," Spyro muttered. "But – you know something, Malefor, so out with it! What's going on and how come I don't know anything about my past?"

Malefor chuckled.

"Okay, yeah, he knows," Cynder declared. "That's the I-know-something-you-don't chuckle. I'd recognize it anywhere."

Malefor shook his head, still smirking.

"And why should I tell you, exactly?" he asked.

"I can think of a few reasons!" Spyro replied. "You did some kind of spell on me, didn't you? To make me forget my past!"

Malefor chuckled again.

"It's not just you," Cynder said, head cocked slightly. "It's… everyone? No, it's about… he changed things and he's laughing about how much we don't know about it."

"Wow, you're good at that," Spyro admitted, legitimately impressed.

"He did raise me," Cynder replied.

Malefor's chuckle had ended, and he shook his head.

"You are dangerous, my dark daughter," he said. "Very dangerous."

"...hang on," Spyro muttered. "Hey, Cynder, go over there a sec, okay?"

Cynder frowned, then paced over to where Spyro was pointing.

"Great!" Spyro said. "Now, is it me or do we kinda look alike?"

"Trying to measure yourself against greatness?" Malefor asked.

"You think you're great?" Spyro retorted, laughing. "No way! We'll beat you again if-"

"He's trying to distract you from how you said something meaningful," Cynder interrupted. "I think you might actually be right about that, Spyro."

"Hey, don't sound so surprised," Spyro muttered. "So, what, am I his kid or something?"

"No, but… similar in another way," Cynder said. "I think…"

She closed her eyes, shaking her head and frowning as her tail lashed from side to side.

"I almost had it there," she said.

"What a shame," Malefor said, snidely.

"Is the background noise bothering you?" Spyro asked. "Because I think I can stop it."

Cynder's wings twitched, then relaxed, and she approached Spyro.

"I think… there was something," she said. "I really hope this is right, Spyro."

"What is?" Spyro asked, mystified now.

Cynder leaned in.

"I love you," she whispered.

Spyro's eyes snapped open, then he gasped.

"...huh," he said, before rounding on Malefor. "Okay, what did you do?"

"Oh, fine," Malefor muttered. "I may as well get in one good gloat… I told you purple dragons could master any element, and I told you that purple dragons could remake the world. Did you think that was an idle boast?"

"You used an element," Spyro said. "To… turn the world into a new version of itself."

"Exactly," Malefor replied, with a chuckle. "Everyone thinks of elements in such pedestrian terms. They didn't recognize that I had created the element of fear… that anything, truly anything, could be an element. Like decay… like technology... like rebooting the whole universe, if I so chose! And-"

Spyro spread his wings, light crackling around them in a peculiar, pixelated sort of way.

"-and you made a mistake," he replied. "You told me what you did!"

Wild light surrounded them, and then the whole world shone around them-

Up in the hills over Midday Gardens, Spyro rolled on his back and sighed.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"You could have had better aim," Cynder replied, shaking her head. "And you could have made Trigger Happy into just about anything other than a gnorc running a beach resort."

"I didn't have much time to aim," Spyro pointed out. "At least my face looks better now."

Cynder chuckled.

"I wasn't going to say anything," she replied, lying down next to him.

She yawned.

"Still not sure you did enough to stop Malefor," she mumbled.

"I turned him red," Spyro pointed out. "That was the only thing I could think of. So he's not a purple dragon any more."

"I suppose that'll have to do," Cynder sighed.

Chapter Text

After she'd finished singing, Elsa exhaled in a kind of mingled satisfaction and relief.

Letting it all out like that had been… a real relief, really. To finally, after so long, announce who she really was.

To declare it – loudly, and proudly! To the world, or… at least, to the mountainside, and to herself. That she was herself, and that she didn't need anyone else.

That the expectations of others were not what she needed.

"Yes, yes, very good," a voice said, calm and collected and utterly surprising, and Elsa whirled to look towards the voice.

And… stared.

Because there was a very large, blue, reptilian head examining her through one of the windows of her new ice castle, bobbing up and down slightly, regarding her with intelligent eyes.

"Though I have to ask," the reptile went on, in the same voice. "I do assume you've thought all this through? I'm only saying, you do sound like this whole thing is new to you, and there's certain pitfalls that can strike the unwary-"

"What are you?" Elsa asked, still staring.

"I'm a dragon, of course," the dragon told her, now sounding slightly confused and more than a little sardonic. "Surely that much should be obvious, I'd have thought? Come on, now. A far better question is who I am, and that would be Cyril. Charmed, I'm sure."

"Cyril?" Elsa repeated, dumbfounded.

"No, that's my name," Cyril said. "And I can say without fear of contradiction that I was using it first. I do advise you get your own."

"I mean – you're a dragon called Cyril?" Elsa demanded. "How can – how is it that a dragon is called Cyril?"

"Well, what happened is that a dragon egg hatched, and the other dragons who brought the dragon up decided that Cyril sounded like a fine name," Cyril informed her. "It's a royal name, actually, there were a couple of Cyrils back in the old family tree, Cyril the Second and Cyril the Third and so on, and after that it's become something of a tradition. Of course, it's also tradition that a Guardian has a name related to their element, but pish tosh to that, I'm not renaming myself Glacious when I could keep up the family heritage, you know. Now, what is your name? It's only polite to introduce oneself to the new neighbours."

Elsa blinked several times.

"...Elsa," she said. "That's… a royal name, as well."

"Oh, how marvellous," Cyril said. "Now, to return to my previous topic, I appreciate your mastery of the ice element, very impressive for a notice, assuming you are in fact a novice, but have you considered subsistence up on a mountain like this?"

Elsa frowned, then worked out what Cyril was actually asking.

She was fairly sure he was asking what she would eat.

"...I don't know, actually," she admitted. "I don't think I ever thought about it."

"Ah," Cyril said, nodding sagely. "Well, in that case, I think you and I should have a conversation about nutrition! I know what I can eat, but I'm not really an expert on what your kind can eat… I don't suppose you have a door big enough to let you entertain a dragon?"

Elsa waved at one of the walls, dissolving it into snow, then reshaped it so that it had a much larger opening.

"Capital," Cyril said, vanishing from the window he was using to speak to her, and she saw a blue-and-purple shape flying around the outside of her castle before Cyril came in through the door she'd opened.

He was quite big, and took up a sizeable portion of the room.

"Oh, very impressive," the dragon said, sounding entirely sincere. "And I didn't notice before, but you've created a dress out of your ice element – take it from an expert, Elsa, that's truly spectacular. Though I think it might be a good idea to include a few more internal partitions?"

He waved his tail. "You can always remove them again if you don't like them – our element is quite malleable and versatile, as I'm sure you agree!"

Elsa looked down at her hands, then up at Cyril.

"It is, yes," she agreed. "I… haven't really had a chance to do much of anything with it before now."

She frowned. "...you said something about being a neighbour?"

"Yes, I live a mile or two over that way," Cyril agreed, with a vague sort of wave of his paw. "That's close enough to be neighbours up here. I've got a cave with all sorts… did you say you haven't had much of a chance to do anything?"

Elsa nodded.

"I had to hide it away," she said. "So people wouldn't know."

"Then people are fools," Cyril declared, as if it needed no further explanation. "Now, as for internal partitions, I've found that what tends to work is to divide up rooms based on what you plan to do in them. Start out with, oh, a bedroom, somewhere to keep your things, a dining area… not to forget the entertaining room… and then, if you find yourself wishing for another room, or thinking that two would be better of as one, just change it! It's not as if ice elementalists like you or I are ever stuck with a decision that's been made once, now, is it?"

That made a great deal of sense to Elsa, when he put it that way.

Hans waved the soldiers forward.

"No harm is to come to the Queen," he said, as a reminder.

"You can avoid harming me by allowing me to stay here," Elsa replied, from the balcony of her ice castle.

"I wish that were possible," Hans said, shaking his head. "But – this is more than a matter of what you want, Queen Elsa. It is a matter of the survival of your kingdom."

"You know," a voice observed, thoughtfully. "It rather seems to me that someone here is labouring under a misconception."

"What kind of misconception?" Elsa asked, glancing back behind her.

"Well, firstly, the idea that your magic will continue to freeze the whole kingdom," the voice answered, and Hans frowned.

He wasn't sure who was speaking, but it sounded like Elsa had found herself some sort of ally. Perhaps a wizard of the mountains, something along those lines.

No matter.

He needed Elsa back down by the castle, if possible – if he was to become the hero, by being reluctantly forced to kill her as her powers ran wild after several attempts to subdue her… well, then it would hardly work without an audience.

But it sounded like this strange wizard knew what he was talking about… or was guessing, anyway.

"It's a matter of ambient temperature," the voice continued. "You see, you did freeze the area around the capital, that much is obvious, but it's simply that ice takes a great deal of heat to unfreeze it. That means that as a matter of course it takes a few days for a good freeze to wear off. But, no, your powers don't have nearly the range to freeze the harbour – they might make it a little colder, but hardly anything to worry about."

"We can't take your word for it, you realize?" Hans said. "I apologize, old man, but this is a situation that's bigger than you."

Elsa giggled.

"I doubt that," she said. "Please, understand me on this – I don't want to go back. Not to any duties of mine. The stress was liable to kill me. Anna… I don't know. We can work something out once everyone has calmed down, maybe."

Wesselton's men began advancing up the steps, crossbows spanned, and Elsa held up her hands.

"Cyril," she said. "What should I do if I'm about to be attacked?"

"Why, ask for help, of course!" the old man said, then Cyril… emerged.

He walked straight through the wall of the castle, and he was a dragon, ice parting to let him past and then refreezing behind him, and he was a dragon. Hans tried to think of what to do, and Cyril was a dragon and it was difficult to get past that.

"Hmm," Cyril added. "You know, I rather get the impression that none of you are here with anything other than ulterior motives… it's rather difficult to capture someone with a crossbow, don't you know."

His wings crackled with latent ice magic, and Hans took an involuntary step back.

"I advise you leave the lady alone," Cyril added. "We were in the middle of a conversation when you arrived, it's very rude of you to interrupt."

Hans swallowed.

He was… suddenly very inclined to take the dragon's advice.

Chapter Text

"Okay, what do we do?" Hunter asked, once Crush, Gulp and especially Ripto had vanished into the portal. "Without the dragonflies… well, we've still got Sparx, but without the other dragonflies… what do we do to stop Ripto?"

"I think I can help," Bianca said. "There's a spell I can cast, it will make it easier for Spyro to catch the dragonflies, if he can find them, and their magic will help him out… but there's only so much that I can do. Ripto sealed the portal and it's going to take a lot of magic to open it again."

"Hmm…" Spyro muttered. "Well, I've got a few ideas…"

"So have I," Tomas declared, walking over. "Spyro, I've been discussing things with Cosmo and the others… we were planning on unveiling it to you later, but it seems that it will be useful now. You see, we made a statue to commemorate all you have done for the world – especially to the Dragon Realms – and between us we built a statue that would give you real, tangible benefits."

"Tangible… that sounds good," Spyro nodded. "What kind of benefits? And did you all help out?"

"All of us, yes," Tomas confirmed. "We Artisans helped to sculpt it, the Peace Keepers consulted on what would help you out, the Dream Weavers brought it from potential to reality, and the Beast Makers and Magic Crafters collaborated to make spells that would enhance you. Unfortunately, it's not quite finished…"

"I can use that!" Bianca said, brightly. "I think… yes, if I get this right then I'll be able to add to Spyro's breaths rather than replace them."

"You were going to replace my fire breath?" Spyro objected. "But I need that to torch Ripto!"

"He deserves a good torching," Hunter said, helpfully. "I'm pretty sure I can help distract him with arrows, Spyro – just give me the word."

"Just give me a few minutes with the statue," Bianca requested. "I should be able to get the magic of Bubble Breath worked out for you, Spyro – without making you lose your old breath, of course!"

"That would be helpful," Spyro said. "Let me know when you're done!"

A couple of minutes later, Bianca was leafing through her spellbook, then glanced at Cosmo.

"Do you think this would work?" she asked, showing him. "I realize it's a trapping spell designed for dragons, but if I weaken it like this by combining it with that other cosmetic spell, that should give the right enchantment on the bubbles."

"I think that might work," Cosmo mused. "It's hard to be certain, though. You should probably accompany Spyro on the first test of the trapping spell – I can see a dragonfly right over there to test it on."

Bianca looked up, spotting the dragonfly, then a purple shape caught her attention as her friend kept himself busy.

He and Sparx had looted every available gem in the immediate area, and now he was jumping up and down experimentally on the space where Ripto's portal had appeared.

Then he spat out some flame, before looking around extravagantly.

"...what's going on?" Bianca asked.

"Oh, yeah, they do this," Hunter replied. "At the start of a new adventure, Spyro and Sparx like to make sure they know everything they can do. Everything from a dodge roll to a glide to a headbash. Look, here they go."

Spyro jumped into the air, then did an extravagant triple flip, and finished with a horn-dive straight down.

And right through the grass.

"...uhm?" Bianca said, confused. "Does that normally happen?"

Hunter shook his head.

"New one on me," he said. "I think the last time that happened to me I got stepped on. We were following you, actually…"

"Should we be worried?" Bianca asked.

Hunter shrugged.

"Spyro's quite tough," he replied.

Bianca frowned, trying to go back to her work, but thirty seconds later Ripto's portal opened and Spyro and Sparx came out.

"So!" Spyro said. "Have you got that bubble breath sorted out yet? Ripto's toast, by the way."

"That was fast," Tomas noted.

Spyro shrugged, badly looking modest. "I aim to please!"

Chapter Text

Spyro's wings ached as he flew, weaving in and out of the internals of Munition Forge, but he could see already that there wasn't much left… that if he kept going much further, he'd be out in the open.

And he didn't know if he had the advantage, out in the open.

He could dodge through narrow gaps underground, because Cynder was so much bigger than him – but he couldn't do that in open air, and he didn't know if Cynder was faster than him.

And it very much looked like he was about to find out.

The cavern mouth whipped past, and Spyro weaved slightly left – then right – trying to get some idea of where Cynder was.

"Sparx!" he called. "Let me know when she's about to reach me!"

"Sure thing, man," Sparx agreed, his own wings buzzing overtime as he pushed hard to keep up with his brother. "Okay, uh, just remember, objects in terror may be closer than they appear… go right!"

Spyro banked to the side, whipping around in a tight turn, and Cynder overshot him by inches. She turned, clearly seeking him directly, and Spyro rolled before diving down towards the sea.

"We need to lose her, somehow!" he said, dropping lower and lower until he was at wavetop height.

If he got this just right, then maybe he could get her to overcommit – they were right down by the sea and if she overreached then she'd hit the water, which would have to slow her down…

"She's coming!" Sparx warned, then Spyro caught the sound of flames behind him and darted to the side. A gout of shadow crashed into the sea, then there was a whoosh and crash as ice and lightning exploded overhead.

Cynder roared as Cyril and Volteer attacked her from two directions at once, snapping and whirling, and Spyro pulled up.

"Volteer!" he called. "Cyril-"

"Get out of here!" Cyril told him. "If you have any sense, you'd realize what we're doing!"

"She can't chase you closely with us around!" Volteer added. "You should certainly abscond rapidly!"

Spyro wasn't sure, but he guessed that meant run for it.

Later that evening, at the temple, he looked up at Ignitus.

"Any sign of them?" he asked.

"Not as yet," Ignitus replied. "Though I suspect I know where Cynder will have taken them… to her dread lair itself."

"They're sure to be a kind of trap, for you," Terrador supplied. "Or for Ignitus. I think she could use either you or him to create the last crystal she needs… you're a purple dragon, and your first element is Fire, while Ignitus is a master of Fire."

"Then… we need to rescue them," Spyro said. "But… we can't just go into the trap, that would be exactly what she wants."

He looked between the two masters. "What do we do?"

"The only thing we can do, Spyro," Ignitus replied. "Make sure that you are ready for the coming battle. Already you have shown that you can use Earth, as well as Fire, Ice and Lightning, but… it may be that another element will be your salvation."

The big dragon shook his head. "And we must respect the decision that both Cyril and Volteer made… I feel torn, as I do not know if I should have accepted it."

"I think I missed this bit," Sparx admitted. "What happened?"

"The others… they're still weak, aren't they?" Spyro asked. "Cynder drained them of their power…"

"Correct," Ignitus agreed. "I was going to come and rescue you myself, because I am the only one of us who could fight Cynder on even terms… but Cyril told me that that would make me a nincompoop, and Volteer concurred – though not in quite the same language. They both saw what I did not, which is that for the Dark Master to return would be almost as much a catastrophe as losing you, Spyro."

Spyro nodded, slowly.

"So… it was you, or Volteer and Cyril," he said. "And Cynder could beat them both, but if she beat you then she'd be able to bring back the Dark Master."

"Exactly," Terrador confirmed. "But we still need to hurry… Cyril and Volteer both know we're in hiding here at the Temple, and sooner or later Cynder will attack it. Even if they don't give us up, this is about the only place we could be this side of Warfang – and we'd be obvious in Warfang."

"Obvious, and yet well protected," Ignitus said. "It is a difficult choice to consider, and I do not know what our best course of action is."

Spyro was frowning.

"...tell me more about Cynder," he asked. "Why is she doing this?"

"She is a servant of the Dark Master," Ignitus said. "But… you're right, Spyro, there is something I failed to tell you. You see, after I rescued your egg, when I returned to the grotto, I found all the other eggs that would hatch on the Year of the Dragon had been smashed… except for one."

That made Spyro swallow, thinking about the horrible sight Ignitus must have seen – then he frowned.

"Except one… Cynder?" he asked. "But she's… huge."

"I'd have said monstrous," Sparx contributed.

"Only a dragon born in the Year of the Dragon could unlock the prison in which the Dark Master is kept," Ignitus explained. "I am not certain, but I can only assume that for that reason the other missing egg is hers, and that she was corrupted by the Dark Master… twisted, by his evil ways."

Spyro closed his eyes, thinking.

"What about the Dark Master?" he said. "Who is the Dark Master?"

"We don't know much," Terrador provided. "The Apes have worshipped him for a long time, and he's been able to give them powers, despite being in prison… we can only hope that he won't escape."

Spyro nodded.

There was something there… some connection he hadn't yet made…

"You said another element, Ignitus," he said. "That makes it sound like you expect I'll have more."

"It's possible," Terrador told him. "The stories are that purple dragons aren't restricted in what elements they can use… I'm an Earth dragon, Ignitus is a Fire dragon, but purple dragons can use any element. Even create new ones, in some of the legends."

Spyro began to pace back and forth, opening his eyes again.

"Can you give me space in the training room?" he asked. "I need to think…"

"Whose statue is that, anyway?" Sparx asked. "He looks… kind of like an older Spyro, now I think about it."

"I believe the statue is that of a legendary purple dragon, from the past," Ignitus said. "Though that is only speculation, for it has been many generations since then – if the tale is true at all."

The statue sank into the ground, with a grinding motion, and Spyro slowly stepped out into the middle of the training room.

"Do you want one of us to provide you with some training dummies?" Terrador asked.

"No," Spyro answered, shaking his head. "I don't think they'd help for this."

He closed his eyes, thinking…

"Well, this is a rather unfortunate predicament we've found ourselves in, and no mistake!" Volteer said, cheerfully enough. "It seems that our involuntary host has decided that we would serve best as bait, a lure, indeed, the very nicety in the trap for-"

"Unfortunate, yes," Cyril interrupted, as the two Elemental Masters swung by their tails from a makeshift contraption. "I wonder if I could ask us to be hung from separate bars?"

Volteer looked, momentarily, slightly hurt, then an Ape ran in.

"Cynder!" he said, and the black dragoness rose to her paws from where she'd been contemplating her prisoners.

"Report," she said.

"There's a purple dragon coming," he said.

"Exactly as I anticipated," Cynder smirked. "Then we'll-"

The purple dragon arrived, swooping in through the window and landing with a screech of claws on metal and stone.

"...Spyro?" Cyril asked, astonished. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Spyro replied, his voice a touch deeper – because he was now slightly bigger than Cynder. "I worked out what the Dark Master did, to Cynder."

He fixed her with a look that was… determined, but compassionate.

"And I'm going to rescue her," he added. "She's as much a victim as you are."

Cynder snarled, then shot a jet of black-tinged flame at Spyro, and Spyro retaliated with a wave of ice that froze into a shielding wall between them. Then he charged, headbutting the ice and showering Cynder with it, and Cynder lashed out with her tail – an attack which Spyro blocked, before counterattacking with a fireball.

"Well," Cyril said, as the explosions buffeted him and he began to sway back and forth. "This would be a very interesting fight to watch, if I could see it right-side up…"

Chapter Text

"Oh, boy, what am I going to tell them?" Sparx asked, flying down the Silver River from the Dragon Temple. "I really hope that Mom and Dad are going to be understanding about the whole… all of this…"

He looked around. "I guess none of it's on fire which is a good thing… but still… yeah, sorry, guys, I know we didn't call in three years, and also I kind of lost my brother… but at least the planet's still in one piece?"

The dragonfly grinned, making a gesture with his fingers, then sighed and put his palm on his forehead. "This is not going to go well…"

"Sparx!" Flash said. "My word – Sparx, it's been so long!"

"It's been years!" Nina agreed. "We're glad to see you, but – what happened?"

"Oh, wow, do I have a story to tell you," Sparx replied. "A really, really long story… so, uh, firstly, fun coincidence, but it turns out that what Spyro is is called a dragon, which is sort of an odd coincidence if you ask me-"

There was a sudden flash of purple and blue light, and between one moment and the next Spyro and Cynder appeared in mid-air, fell three feet to the ground, and landed with a sort of splat.

"...huh," Sparx said. "That's convenient."

"Spyro?" Flash asked. "How did you do that? Who's this?"

"Dad!" Spyro replied, delighted. "Mom! I – Sparx, you're here too! How much have you explained?"

"I got as far as that you're a dragon," Sparx said, holding up his hands. "I wash my hands of any of the rest of this."

"And who's this?" Nina added.

"Cynder," Cynder said, nervously. "I'm… it's, complicated."

"Everything about this is complicated, man," Sparx said. "Honestly I lost track about the time you started regularly falling asleep and I still haven't caught up."

"...what?" Flash said.

"Okay, I'm… going to try and go through this as quickly as possible?" Spyro said. "Then we can kind of go back and handle the other things."

He swallowed.

"So… I went upriver," he began. "I found the Dragon Temple and a bigger dragon called Ignitus…"

"Ignitus," Flash repeated, clearly committing the name to memory. "Can we meet him?"

"No," Spyro answered, shaking his head. "I… no, he's… not around any more."

The purple dragon closed his eyes, and Cynder put her paw on his neck. Spyro reached up, taking it and squeezing it, and after a long moment he pushed it away again.

"I think I'm okay," he said. "So… I found out that an evil dragon called the Dark Master was behind all the attacks, and-"

"-and he'd forced me to do his dirty work," Cynder said. "I – want to make sure you know that, because I'm ashamed of it, but, it happened and I can't deny that it did."

"The Dark Master – Malefor – was locked away in Convexity, but he was forcing Cynder to make the keys to the lock to release his spirit," Spyro resumed. "And I rescued Ignitus's friends, then Ignitus himself, but – but I had to fight Cynder to try to stop her, and I couldn't quite do it in time. I managed to break her free of Malefor's control, though, and that's when she got turned back to being a young dragon like me."

"...right," Nina said, clearly with no idea what Spyro meant.

"Yeah, it was as much of a ride when we were going through it, believe you me," Sparx provided.

"Then… I tried to stop Malefor from turning his spirit back into being a real body," Spyro went on. "That was after… I think it was a few weeks at the temple, learning how to fight and what it means to be a dragon. I never meant to just… vanish, and never come home, but I had to stop Malefor."

"So Spyro fought a big tree guy," Sparx piped up. "Then we got captured by pirates who ran some kind of betting ring or whatever it was, and then Spyro fell in the ocean. From a long way up because they were sky pirates."

"What's a pirate?" Flash asked.

"...huh, wow, I must have read a lot more of the library back at the temple than I realized," Sparx muttered to himself. "It'd take too long to explain, I guess."

"You fell in the ocean?" Nina said. "Did you slip?"

"I passed out," Spyro replied. "The Chronicler was reaching out to me, and the only way he could give me knowledge about my elements was in my dreams… he also taught me how to slow down time."

"Incidentally, turns out, lizard whale things are very accommodating," Sparx provided, helpfully. "One gave us a lift to the Chronicler. Didn't even ask for anything in return, which is good because Spyro was out cold for the whole trip."

"I didn't know any of this was going on," Cynder said. "I was a prisoner for this bit, I… think?"

"Yeah, it's… a lot," Spyro admitted. "Then I went to Mount Malefor to rescue Cynder and try and stop Malefor, but I failed to stop him, and he brought himself back to life. That's also the first time my evil side took over."

"First time?" Sparx said. "It's been only four hours since last time I saw you, how did-?"

"Ignitus," Spyro answered, then indicated Sparx, Cynder and himself. "But… the mountain was collapsing, so I froze the three of us in time. We were stuck in there until the day before yesterday, I think – we were underground."

"...wait, so you were… frozen in time?" Flash asked. "But you're older."

"I don't know how it works, I just did it," Spyro admitted. "Then we got chained together by Malefor's minions and rescued by a cheetah, reached the city of Warfang, met some moles, and after that we had to stop the Destroyer from destroying the world."

"We flooded a canyon," Cynder contributed. "It didn't work but that was my idea and I'm still proud of it, because it nearly worked."

"Yeah, that was impressive," Spyro told her, and Cynder ducked her head in embarrassment.

"I helped too," Sparx said. "...sometimes."

"You're not so bad as all that," Cynder told him.

"Sorry, destroying the world?" Nina repeated. "You tried to stop it and it didn't work?"

"That way of stopping it didn't work," Spyro corrected. "So we tried something else… that's when we had to leave Sparx behind. Ignitus did his best to keep us safe, but… he could only do it by sacrificing himself."

"Oh," Sparx said, wincing. "That… really sucks. He was a cool guy."

"We went to fight Malefor," Cynder said. "And… it was a struggle. He tried to turn me against Spyro, it… it nearly worked, but it didn't."

"And we won," Spyro agreed. "We ended up at the core of the broken planet, and Malefor got dragged into the crystal core, and then… I fixed it. I put the planet back together."

Sparx whistled.

"Damn," he said. "And then you just… appeared here?"

"Yeah," Spyro agreed. "It took us a couple of hours to work out how to do it, which is the first chance we've had to relax since… since leaving the dragon temple, either a week or three years ago, but… we did."

He glanced at Cynder, then met the gaze of his parents.

"And… Cynder and I love each other," he added. "I hope that's… I hope you like her."

Cynder managed a wave.

Flash and Nina exchanged glances, and Spyro's expression became anxious.

"...Spyro?" Flash began. "This isn't about anything in particular. And Cynder… I hope to get to know her better. But… what the fuck does any of what you said mean?"

Chapter Text

"Phew!" Flame said, glancing back and flaring his wings, then flapping them and making a sort of whimpering noise. "...ow…"

"What did you do that for?" Roxy demanded. "You know Boldar told us that after a whole hour of intensive flight training we need to relax for a bit."

"That's easy for some," Darius muttered. "But yeah, why did you do that, Flame?"

"For emphasis," the red-yellow fire dragon answered. "Because that was really tiring and painful!"

"Yeah, and look at you now," Roxy said. "Really tiring and in pain."

There were scattered chuckles from the other dragons as they trooped out of the doors to the flight training arena, and Flame shook his head.

"Well… I whimper corrected," he said. "Still, at least that's over and we can relax for the rest of the day."

"Until we have our lesson with Ignitus," Ember pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's after lunch," Flame replied.

He stretched, carefully not flapping his wings this time. "And, sure, Tuesday sucks because of how early we do flight training, but at least it's the only thing in the day apart from elemental training, right?"

"That's easy for you to say," Spyro put in.

"...yeah, because it's true," Flame replied. "What's the big deal? And how come you never join us between lessons on a day like this, anyway?"

Cynder groaned.

"You're an idiot, Flame," she said.

"What?" Flame asked. "How come I'm an idiot?"

"You haven't noticed?" Jet asked. "Spyro doesn't get much of a break on Tuesdays."

Flame still looked perplexed.

"What, how?" he asked.

"Okay, let me lay it out for you," Cosmos suggested.

The dull-green shadow dragon flicked his tail. "So – you're a fire dragon, and you have lessons with Ignitus. So is Ember. Cynder and Jet are wind dragons and they have lessons with Mistral. I'm a shadow dragon, and I have lessons with Umbrus. Right?"

"Yeah?" Flame replied, frowning. "How come you didn't list Spyro? He's a fire dragon too."

Spyro shook his head, trying not to snigger, then they all looked up at the sound of a crash. A rounded stone flew overhead, striking one of the towers and knocking free some stones, then there was a repeated bang of cannons from the walls as mole artillery returned fire on the besieging ape trebuchets.

"Third one today, it's worse than normal," Cynder frowned. "I hope that's not a bad sign."

"Master Cyril says that the Apes are stepping up their efforts to attack," Sadiki provided, flicking her tail. "Something about the Night of Eternal Darkness… it's a celestial conjunction, and it's going to happen sometime soon, but he didn't say what that means."

"Look, can we get back to why I'm an idiot?" Flame asked, as they moved on into a protected arcade – somewhere reinforced enough that the trebuchets couldn't threaten them. "You were just explaining the whole thing about how elements work, I'm not that dumb."

"I'm not a fire dragon, Flame," Spyro explained. "I'm… something else."

"...you know, I actually didn't know this either," Darius admitted. "I always thought Spyro was just another water dragon, like me."

"Huh?" Flame asked. "Wait, that means – you can breathe water? But you can breathe fire, I've seen you do it-"

That led to a round of sniggers from most of the other dragons.

"Yeah, yeah, Spyro can use our element," Zap said. "We've all seen it."

"Which means I have seven more lessons today," Spyro added.

Flame winced.

"...ouch," he conceded. "Yeah, I did not know that bit either. Commiserations, man."

"Thanks," Spyro said. "It's just normal for me, but… it's kind of a pity when everyone else is talking about how much they're enjoying having most of the day off."

Their meander had taken them to the training area where Spyro and Darius would get their lessons on the use of the Water element, and Darius frowned.

"...isn't the door usually open by now?" he asked, then flew up to look in through the window. "Spyro, Master Laqueous isn't in there."

"She's probably in the hospital, then," Spyro decided. "I'll go and get her… someone come and find me if she turns up without me, okay?"

"...an offensive along the Silver River," Terrador was saying.

Spyro halted, cocking his head to the side, and listened to the two older dragons talking in the courtyard outside Warfang's main hospital.

"That's going to be a problem," Laqueous sighed. "You think they're aiming for the temple?"

"There's not much else they could be aiming for," Terrador replied. "Ignitus is torn on it… you know how important the temple is to him."

"It's more than just it being important to him, Terrador," Laqueous replied. "The Pool of Visions in the temple can't be moved – and to destroy it would be difficult. I'm not sure it could be done, even if it was a good idea."

Terrador was silent for a moment.

"You think the Apes could use it?" he asked.

"I think it's possible," Laqueous answered. "The Night of Eternal Darkness is getting closer… if they want to free the Dark Master, they need to find some way to do it. Maybe there's a way they can steal Spyro away from us."

Spyro tried not to twitch at the mention of his name.

Was he important in all of this?

"What Gaul could do with a purple dragon…" Terrador muttered. "We don't know the limits of his powers. I wish we did… and I'm more glad than ever that the eggs were moved to Warfang."

Spyro heard a sigh.

"Is there anything you can do?" Terrador asked. "I know it's a long shot, but the Silver River is a river…"

"I'll have to think about it," Laqueous replied, sounding concerned.

Spyro loped around the corner.

"Master Laqueous!" he said. "You're late for our lesson – I came to get you, I guessed you might be here."

Laqueous glanced up at the nearest clock tower, then winced.

"You're right, Spyro," she said. "I'm sorry about that – you'd better come back with me. This is right after your flying lessons, isn't it?"

"That's right," Spyro nodded.

"Then I'd better give you a lift," the Water Guardian said. "That should make sure we get to your lesson without wasting any more time."

"Right!" Spyro said. "See you later, Master Terrador!"

As the Earth Guardian nodded in reply, though, Spyro was wondering about what they'd said.

Several hours later, at the end of the last lesson in a very long day, Ignitus smiled down at his students.

"Well done, all of you," he said. "Thank you for your effort – and your company. I'm sure you want to go and play with your friends."

Ember and Flame were out of the door in moments, laughing together, and Spyro almost followed – he had plans with Cosmos and Cynder – but hesitated.

"Ignitus?" he asked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Spyro," Ignitus replied, with a smile. "I don't want any of you to feel you can't come to one of us with questions."

Spyro nodded, swallowing slightly.

"I overheard something, earlier today," he said. "Why would it be so bad if Gaul got hold of a purple dragon?"

Ignitus tensed, then let himself relax.

"I believe I understand," he said. "I won't tell you off, Spyro, because you haven't made any mistakes beyond the curiosity of the young. I had hoped…"

The Fire Guardian shook his head, sighing, and Spyro looked back at the scorched training room.

They'd wrecked dozens of conjured dummies over the course of the hour – working to understand fire, not merely to use it under controlled conditions but to let it simmer and burn inside them, mastering it rather than letting it master them.

Fire could burn the user up, and Water could wash them away. Earth could bury them, Lightning could race ahead of them and leave them catching up, Shadow could hide the truth and Wind could force them into a tailspin while Ice froze them from inside.

Every element was different, and yet… they were all, in some ways, the same.

"It's something to do with why I have so many elements, isn't it?" he asked.

"You have a fine mind, Spyro," Ignitus declared. "It is… there are prophecies, and some of those prophecies are about a purple dragon. And the Dark Master and his servants, the Apes, are seeking to break some of them, while bringing others about… you see, prophecies are never entirely clear, but purple dragons interact with them far more strongly than others."

He shook his head.

"We do not know as much about purple dragons as we should," he said. "So much has been lost… we know that they could use many elements, as indeed you can, Spyro. And we know that they are able to change destiny. It was the news of a purple dragon egg that nearly led to the destruction of the Temple by the Apes, along with all of your classmates… it was only advice from my fellow Guardians that led me to realize we should relocate the eggs to Warfang, where they would be safe."

"Then…" Spyro began.

"My dear hope was that you would not have to learn this until you were older, Spyro," Ignitus told him. "It is far too great a burden, to place on the shoulders of a child. But… I will not lie to you about it, now that you have found out another way. I hope you can forgive me."

"I understand," Spyro assured him.

Because… he did.

It was so much to think about – but how could he complain to Ignitus about that? How could he complain about something Ignitus hadn't caused, and had only tried to cope with?

"Then… I need to be ready," Spyro added. "I won't tell the others, if you think I shouldn't – but I'm going to make sure I'm ready."

"And there, I cannot stop you," Ignitus replied. "Nor do I think it is a bad idea… but you should take care, Spyro. You would not want to be so ready for war that you forget what there is to enjoy."

That made Spyro stop, and think about it for a long time.

"...yeah," he agreed. "That – yeah. Thanks, Ignitus."

He still wanted to be ready… but that, perhaps, could wait.

Because, right now, there were friends who were expecting him. And that mattered.

Chapter Text

"And I think Moneybags has something to give you," Elora added, looking over at the bear.

"Hmph!" Moneybags sniffed. "I most certainly do not!"

"Hunter?" Elora requested.

Spyro winced at the resultant short but evocative carnage.

"Sparx, can you go get 'em, buddy?" he asked, and Sparx zipped over to collect up all the gems.

"And I've got the Super-Portal ready to send you to Dragon Shores, like you wanted," the Professor said.

"That would be-" Spyro began, then stopped and frowned. "Actually…"

"Is something wrong?" Hunter asked.

"I'm curious," Spyro admitted. "Where is Ripto from? Because… you said he was from somewhere with dragons."

"That is a good question," the Professor admitted. "We never sent anyone through to check."

"Spyro, we'd be all right without finding out," Elora told him. "Don't feel you have to. You've earned your vacation to Dragon Shores."

"Yeah, but… I actually do want to find out," Spyro replied. "It's not like it would take very long, right?"

"Well, it's just a matter of programming in the coordinates," the Professor supplied. "What were they, again?"

"2-2-4-7-5," Hunter answered, standing up and letting Moneybags retire with what remained of his ursine dignity. "It's my birthday."

"Two, two, four, seven, five," the Professor repeated.

"I hope this works," Zoe admitted. "But at least we've got Spyro here now."

"Yeah, if this does turn into a big thing… at least I asked for it, right?" Spyro said, then watched as the portal flashed and opened. "What do you say, Sparx? Let's go exploring!"

Sparx zipped in a circle, then he and Spyro jumped through.

"I wonder how long he's going to be," Hunter said, thoughtfully.

"Huh," Spyro said, looking around. "Well, uh… swamp, I guess. Maybe there's some locals?"

Sparx buzzed. "Or we could be in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, could be," Spyro agreed, then looked back at the Super Portal exit shimmering helpfully behind them. "I guess when the Professor said it could go anywhere, I was expecting it to be… less anywhere."

He shrugged. "See anything?"

Sparx flew up in the air, doing a wide circuit, then came down again. As he did, though, there was a sudden crash, and a shout from up ahead.

"Sounds like trouble," Spyro decided. "Let's go and help out, Sparx!"

Four minutes later, Spyro had beaten up several dozen weird annoying creatures, gotten quite lost inside a really very big structure, and found a room full of eggs.

"...weird," he said, glancing at Sparx. "They're all different colours."

Sparx shrugged.

Then a door opened, and a big orange-red dragon came through at a lope. He caught sight of Spyro and immediately stopped dead, absolutely frozen in place.

"Hi!" Spyro waved. "So, uh, any idea why a short dinosaur from somewhere around here might have been terrified of you guys? And where is this place, anyway?"

"I only sent your egg off thirty seconds ago," the red dragon said. "What the…?"

"My egg?" Spyro repeated. "Because I'm pretty sure I hatched about twelve years ago, maybe a bit less… I think that's how long ago the last Year of the Dragon was, anyway. I didn't really pay attention to a lot of that stuff."

He tilted his head, curious. "Who are these ape guys, anyway? Do they have something to do with the guy I mentioned? His name's Ripto, if that helps…"

Chapter Text

"It's fitting that you should be here tonight," Gaul chuckled, stood on a dais glowing with green energy and flanked by his strongest armoured apes, and Spyro noticed that Cynder was present as well – up on a ledge, out of the way. "As we bear witness to the dawn of a new age, and the failure of your pathetic race of dragons."

"I wouldn't miss it, Gaul," Spyro retorted.

"Then please," Gaul requested. "Have a seat."

He raised his staff, and struck Spyro with a bolt of green energy. It came too fast for Spyro to dodge away from, and he flinched back before almost collapsing.

"Hahaha!" Gaul laughed. "Foolish dragon. You are no match for me."

"We've made it this far, haven't we?" Spyro asked, lifting himself back upright with a wince.

"Yes, you have been quite elusive," Gaul said, menacingly. "Had I but known that all it would take would be your miserable amity for Cynder."

"So, uh," Sparx asked, clearing his throat, and flew up towards Gaul. "So, I've got a question? Well, more of several questions, but… first, what's amity?"

Gaul frowned, focusing on the dragonfly, and snorted.

"What are you even doing here, weakling?" he asked.

"Oh, you know," Sparx replied, with a shrug. "Helping."

That made all the Apes, and even Cynder, look at him with disbelief.

"You?" Gaul demanded. "Helping? Don't make me laugh."

"If I wanted to make you laugh I'd do a comedy routine," Sparx promised. "You know, a bit of observational comedy… a few puns… you know, something relatable!"

He brushed his hands off. "No, I'm talking about helping."

"What nonsense," Gaul dismissed. "Talk, talk, talk… no, your pathetic brother is going to die here, destroyed by Cynder, and you're going to watch."

Sparx frowned.

"You know, you guys should really not judge a book by its cover," he said. "For example, there's a really good book on this guy called Malefor out there."

"You will call him the Dark Master," Gaul snapped. "Your mouth is too unclean to speak it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, but the point is, it included a how-to guide," Sparx went on. "What do you think, bro?"

"I think you should stop winding him up," Spyro said, shaking his head.

"Right, right," Sparx said, then made a pair of finger-guns at Gaul and pointed two tiny purple crystal wands at him. "Skidoosh."

Gaul had, approximately, an eighth of a second to realize what was about to happen before a jet of pure Fire elemental energy obliterated him.

"Huh, would you look at that," Sparx added. "Looks like it worked! Man, that would have been really embarrassing if it didn't work…"

He scratched his head, then blew up some of the remaining Apes with another fire jet as they panicked. "So, uh… we're getting out of here, now, right?"

"Cynder, come with me!" Spyro called, trying to take off, then winced as the remaining damage from Gaul's spell drained his strength. "Ah!"

"All right!" Cynder replied, flying down and picking him up before taking off with her wings beating overtime. "Sparx – which way is the exit?"

"I'm guessing here, but… whichever way you came in!" Sparx replied.

"It'll have to do," Cynder declared. "Sparx – I can't fight while I'm carrying Spyro. Can you get us out of here?"

"I guess we're going to find out how much charge these things have," Sparx said, following Cynder, then zipped ahead once he saw the door. "Here goes!"

Chapter Text

"Producing a creature both rare and powerful," Scratch declared, the piratical parrot sweeping his wing out dramatically. "A creature of might, and magic! Prepare yourselves, and feast your eyes… on Spyro! The! Dragon!"

Spyro paced out of the arena gate, Sparx by his side, and the crowds cheered and jeered.

"Wow," Sparx said, looking around Fellmuth Arena and at Skabb the pirate, sitting on a throne with his two thinking-brain parrots on his hat. "If we weren't about to die, I'd say this is pretty neat!"

"I've got an idea," Spyro said, quietly.

"Well, I hope it's better than one of mine," Sparx replied, with a shrug. "Trust me, I tend to think most of them come from lunch. And butterflies do not have good ideas… which is before considering I didn't have any lunch yesterday. So no butterflies, no ideas, no luck."

"And his opponent," Scratch went on, the parrot raising his other wing. "You've seen them before, and loved them! We offer you none other than the twins of terror themselves, the Blundertails!"

The crowd reacted with rapture, cheering and stamping their feet and jumping up and down, and Spyro closed his eyes.

"Hold onto my tail," he said, offering it, and Sparx took it.

"Ready?" Sniff said. "Let's bring on the pain!"

Spyro promptly activated Dragon Time and flew upwards, and Sparx was jolted and yanked up by his brother as Spyro suddenly took off at what to everyone else was several hundred miles an hour.

"...huh," Sparx said, as they cleared the lip of Fellmuth Arena and Spyro slowed a little once more. "I actually sort of forgot you could fly. I don't know how I did that… I mean, I can fly! So, where now?"

"Now we rescue Mole-Yair," Spyro answered.

"...no, no, I was hoping for a different answer," Sparx protested. "You know they're going to notice we've left? We can't fight all of them ourselves!"

He coughed. "I mean, yourselves."

"This ship's full of prisoners," Spyro replied. "We just need to…"

He looked around as angry roaring came from inside the arena, then flew towards one of the nearby ships. "Come on, Sparx!"

"Oh, how do I get myself into these situations?" Sparx demanded, following his brother once more.

Cynder paced back and forth, waiting.

She wasn't sure what was going on on this Skavenger ship, but… there had to be something that was-

-then there was a rending kerrash as something massive hit the ship, punching through the wall of her cell, and Cynder jumped back in shock before standing ready to fight – and paused to stare, as she realized that the thing that had hit the ship was another ship.

"I think you missed," she heard Sparx say.

"I couldn't see where we were going, Sparx," Spyro replied.

"Spyro!" Cynder said. "What's-"

"Cynder?!" Spyro called. "We were coming to rescue you – can you help us rescue the other prisoners? We need to be quick."

"I have no idea," Cynder admitted. "But there's a cheetah in the next cell who might be able to help…"

Chapter Text

"...if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and crawl back into that hole you came through," the purple-cloaked mage told Spyro. "Those Eggs belong to us now, and I've hidden them in places you'll never find in a thousand years! Besides-"

"So, uh," Spyro began, tilting his head. "First question. How?"

The mage blinked, thrown off her patter.

"...what?" she asked. "How… what?"

"How did you hide them in places we'd never find in a thousand years?" Spyro asked. "Because, uh… I'm pretty sure you're not a thousand years old, and also you don't have wings. So how did you find the places you're hiding the eggs, anyway?"

He sat on his haunches with his tail coiled around, looking attentive, and the mage frowned.

"I mean…" she began. "I hid them in… really good places."

"So you're just saying that you hid them wherever you could think of," Spyro said, nodding. "And one of them was literally over there, so I've already found one. Great work by the way."

"Listen here, dragon-" the mage began, and Spyro shook his head.

"Nope, not done," he told her. "I've got other things. Second, why?"

"To make sure you don't get them back!" the mage declared.

Spyro shook his head. "I don't mean that, I mean why take the eggs at all! See, so far I've dealt with Gnasty Gnorc and Ripto, and a whole mess of jerks of various kinds in Avalar, but the two big ones are Gnasty and Ripto. And Gnasty froze all the dragons because he wanted to get back at them, that's, well, us mostly, for stuff we said about him on TV."

"What's TV?" the mage asked, confused.

"Not important," Spyro said. "Also he turned our gems into gnorc warriors, it's kind of a good thing they were incredibly dim honestly… but that was mostly to steal it. And then Ripto wanted to get the orbs mostly so he could conquer Avalar and use the super portal to move in. So… why do you want the dragon eggs?"

He shrugged. "I'd kinda understand it if you wanted to steal them to do something evil, at least, but I actually don't know what your plan is beyond 'steal nearly a hundred and fifty dragon eggs'. So… what is it?"

"We need them," the mage insisted. "Or our magic will run dry. It's… it's a problem, it's been a problem that's got worse over time."

"Hey, are you fellas talking about the way the magic stopped working?" a kangaroo in a cage asked, and Spyro looked past the mage with surprise.

"Huh, that's Moneybags," he said. "I wonder why he's got a kangaroo in a cage… anyway, yeah, we are!"

He jumped up past the nearby portal, and past the mage. "You have any idea why it's stopped working?"

"Well, yeah!" the kangaroo replied. "I've got a bloody good idea, anyway, dragons used to run this whole place, then they left, they say it was over a thousand years ago. And the funny thing is, when they did, all the magic sorta went with 'em."

"That explains why Argus called this place the Forgotten Realms," Spyro frowned. "What do you think, Sparx? It sounds like it makes sense to me, the dragons left and then all the magic went with them, so that's why she's trying to bring dragons back? Only…"

He turned, looking at the mage. "How come you didn't just ask, anyway?"

"Is that Bianca?" the kangaroo asked. "She's the student of the Sorceress! That's why she didn't just ask, mate, the Sorceress never asks when she can take!"

"You should really be a bit more circumspect about what you say, you know," Moneybags chided. "After all, she's the one paying to keep you locked up and I doubt she'd-"

"Oh, piss off, you absolute wombat," the kangaroo told him. "You're a drongo and no mistake, so you can get stuffed and mounted if you want my opinion. And if you don't, you're a big fat-"

Spyro winced as the kangaroo unleashed a further torrent of invective, then glanced at Bianca.

"...the Sorceress?" he asked, thinking. "So, uh… wait, if dragons used to live here a thousand years ago and then they left… I guess there must be a reason we didn't move back in, and I know some of the older dragons back home have artificial wings…"

Bianca looked troubled, then teleported away.

"...and whistle for a baboon!" the kangaroo finished. "Anyway, mate, any chance you could let me out?"

"Yeah, I think I know exactly what to do," Spyro replied. "Hey, Moneybags? How much?"

The bear looked a little dazed due to exposure to his captive and her weapons-grade vocabulary, then rallied with a shake of his head.

"...three hundred?" he said, speculatively.

"All right, Sparx, let's go!" Spyro decided.

Chapter Text

"You're a dragon?" the cheetah asked.

"...yes?" Spyro replied. "I'm fairly sure I'm a dragon. Don't you know what they look like?"

A moment later, a fireball hit the portal they'd come through, blowing it to bits and sending everyone sprawling.

"Well, well…" a smug voice said. "Someone forgot to invite me to the party!"

Spyro picked himself up, having ended up halfway behind the cheetah and the mole, then glanced at them.

"So, uh…" he began, quietly. "What's going on?"

"That's Ripto," the cheetah replied. "He's trying to take over Avalar!"

"Did you say Avalar?" Spyro repeated.

"Were you trying to keep something from me?" Ripto asked, then his tone changed. "A dragon? You brought a dragon to Avalar?"

The little horned creature on his much bigger horned mount waved a magic sceptre for emphasis. "I. HATE. DRAGONS!"

Magic began to glow around the sceptre, and Spyro considered all the possibilities.

Then lit up with brilliant purple light, and disintegrated the sceptre with a jet of purple-white energy.

"What the-?" Ripto demanded. "Crush! Kill it!"

Spyro sighed, then disintegrated Ripto as well.

The green and blue monster exchanged glances, then ran off.

"...okay, is that over?" Spyro asked. "Please tell me it's over. Because I'd kind of like you to rebuild that portal, Cynder's back in the core of the planet and I only came through without her to check if it's safe…"

"I… think I can do that," the mole frowned. "I'll need… hmm… at least two orbs and a purple amplification crystal."

"Zoe?" the goat-girl asked.

"There's three orbs here in Glimmer," Zoe replied. "That bit's easy, and the gemcutters should have a purple amplification crystal too…"

Chapter Text

Slowly, almost reverently, Rey climbed the stairs on Atch-To. One at a time, looking around curiously to see what the home of the original Jedi was like.

It was… hallowed ground. Ground that sent a thrill through her with every step, because this was where the Jedi Order had begun.

Where the Force had first been harnessed, or… maybe even that wasn't the right way to word it.

Where mortals… where beings had first learned to listen to the Force.

And she was here to make contact with Luke Skywalker.

Then she came over the lip of the island's peak, and… stopped.

"Um," she began.

Because she hadn't really known exactly what to expect, but what she was faced with was not it. She'd… sort of anticipated a human.

Instead, the… person?… she'd found was a kind of reptilian creature, maybe ten metres long and festooned with spikes, with a yellow belly and purple body half-covered by furled purple-black wings. And it – he? - had three reddish horns, rising up from a very unhuman head.

"Well?" asked the being, and the voice sounded about right, at least. There were stranger harmonics to it, but it certainly sounded like the few recordings Chewbacca had had lying around of Master Luke's voice.

...or, close, anyway.

But that would mean…

"Are you… Master Luke?" she asked. "Because… based on his sister, I was expecting a human?"

"Oh, this," the creature replied. "That's a vision quest gone wrong. Or, well, a vision quest can't go wrong. It's a vision quest that didn't quite go like I was expecting. And to answer your question… no, I'm not. Not any more."

Rey's confusion must have been plain on her face, because Luke (?) sighed, shaking his head.

"A Jedi," he said, slowly and carefully. "Is in tune with the Light Side of the Force, and in a state of inner peace. A Jedi Master has a duty and responsibility to pass on their understanding of the Force to the others, and after the absolute pile of bantha leavings that I made out of my attempt I am quite clear that I am no good at it."

He extended a wing, examining it. "And when I tried to get back my mojo, well… vision quest. I ended up looking like this, and quite honestly I don't think the Force could have given me a better signal that I was urgently required to retire very quickly before something got even worse."

Rey's mind ground away at that for several seconds.

"...the Force turned you into this?" she asked.

"Did Leia teach you anything?" Luke demanded. "The Force is the energy of the entire universe. It is more powerful than the destruction of stars. It is the workings of fate and what holds all of reality together, and a mere infant who has the slightest connection to the Force can outmuscle the combined gravity of a planet simply by desiring that it be done. The Force is capable of all things, and all things are possible through the Force. So yes, the Force turned me into this."

He chuckled. "The Force is mighty and powerful and strong. It is not tame. It is never tame. Do not make that mistake…"

Then Luke shook his head.

"And now I'm teaching again… I should really make sure to not do that."

"But-" Rey began, then stopped and tried again. "We need your help!"

"To do what, exactly?" Luke asked.

Rey held out the lightsaber, then stopped, because she'd belatedly realized that Luke didn't really have a way to use it.

"To stop the First Order," she said, instead.

Luke chuckled.

"You don't want that," he said. "You might think you do, but you don't."

"Don't tell me what I want," Rey said, stung.

"I don't mean you," Luke countered. "I mean the galaxy. Because – if you look to a single person to save you, then you're demanding that they solve all the problems that come along. That means asking them to rule the galaxy, in the end… the New Republic had a chance to create a durable institution that didn't need anyone to save it. And what's happened to it now?"

Rey shook her head.

"I don't know," she replied. "I literally don't know. About two days ago I'd never set foot on a spaceship and I'd never left Jakku."

"Jakku?" Luke repeated. "Wow. And I thought I was from a dump."

Rey felt very slightly offended on behalf of her homeworld, but that was entirely swamped by the much stronger sensation of agreeing with Luke in every particular about that selfsame homeworld.

Luke chuckled, seeing her expression.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"...can you teach me how to use the Force?" Rey asked. "If you're not going to help. Maybe I can."

"I said, the Force sent me a message that I should not do any more teaching," Luke retorted.

"Was it a message not to teach, or a message not to interfere?" Rey challenged. "Or was it just that you ended up turned into a ten metre flying purple lizard, and you interpreted the rest of it the way you wanted?"

Luke laid his head on his paws, inspecting her.

"...interesting," he said. "All right. Tell me why I should help you."

"Because Kylo Ren and Snoke are both on the side of the First Order," Rey replied. "If there are Jedi and no Dark Jedi, then that leads to peace – but if there are Dark Jedi and nobody on the side of the light?"

Luke blew air out of his muzzle.

"...hmm," he mused. "All right, we may as well see what happens."

"We've secured the escape pod," one of the stormtroopers reported, standing to attention, and Kylo Ren nodded approvingly.

"Good," he said. "It is just as Supreme Leader Snoke foresaw. The scavenger girl has turned herself in. It is her destiny."

He reached up, and opened the pod door.

Then stared.

"...er," he began.

"I know," said Rey's voice, coming out of a kind of sleek black-purple winged lizard about two metres long, with her staff held poised in a wickedly curled tail tipped by a sharp blade. "Vision quest. Don't ask. Where's Snoke?"

Kylo pointed, more or less because he couldn't think what not to do, and Rey-the-lizard breathed out a jet of pure obliteration that punched a hole in the Supremacy ten metres wide and that went perfectly straight right through to the far side of the ship.

There was a sort of muted explosion, possibly from Snoke exploding, but Kylo wasn't willing to place any bets on that.

"Thanks," Rey added, as air started to flow out of the hole, and closed the escape pod door again.

Chapter Text

"Spyro!" Ignitus said, pleased and surprised. "And – Cynder, as well!"

"What am I, fried chicken?" Sparx grumbled.

"Less visible, I think," Volteer replied, helpfully. "Your glow was rather well hidden behind the alar membranes of your brother, and of course-"

Cyril rolled his eyes, and Volteer seemed to get the message.

"Ignitus – it's… there's been a disaster," Spyro said. "The Dark Master is back… I don't think we could have stopped him, but… if we could, we failed."

All four of the Guardians lowered their heads.

"That is bad news indeed," Ignitus said.

"How did you escape?" Terrador asked. "The Dark Master and his armies would have been powerful."

"I used my time power," Spyro replied. "I… also think I broke my time power… the whole mountain was collapsing around us, but I froze it for… a minute, maybe? It hurt, badly."

He coughed, and Cynder moved to support him.

"I can't use time any more," Spyro added. "And everything else feels weak… Gaul pulled them out of me and I don't think they've recovered."

"And let me tell you, it was weird flying through a place that was halfway through collapsing," Sparx provided.

"How did he come back, exactly?" Cyril asked. "We know he was released from Convexity, but beyond that… only that the Night of Eternal Darkness allowed the rise of a great evil."

Spyro took a breath.

"He's a purple dragon, like me," he said. "Called Malefor. The Chronicler told me… and I guess he must have… the ancients had such high hopes for him, and now…"

"Now we must be ready," Terrador declared. "Malefor will be rallying his armies… we must be ready to stop whatever plan he has."

Ignitus sighed. "If we can determine what it is," he said.

Then he turned his attention to Spyro.

"Spyro," he began. "I know you may simply have meant it in a different way, but… the Dark Master, Malefor, is not like you. He is a purple dragon, yes – for if the Chronicler has told you so then I would not dispute him – but aside from that all we know about him is as unlike you as it is possible to be."

Spyro shook his head.

"You don't know that," he replied. "Because… at the mountain, when the moment the moons lined up happened, I was… I was surrounded by darkness. I was just so angry, and… I wanted to destroy everything I could see, all I wanted was power and to win and…"

He stopped, swallowing, and Cynder nudged him.

"Do you think I'm an evil dragon, Spyro?" she asked.

"Can I answer that question?" Sparx inquired, quickly.

"No," Terrador replied, interposing his wing between Sparx and the two young dragons.

"...no," Spyro said. "But… you were being controlled. You were corrupted by Gaul, you weren't who you really are."

"And you weren't either," Cynder countered. "It was the power of the Night of Eternal Darkness. And – you fought it off. Much faster than I did. So… don't call yourself evil, Spyro."

"There is a difference, I think, between being forced to do something and choosing to do it," Ignitus said, carefully. "And you, children, were both forced. I won't say I am proud of you, as if you should have had to face such burdens for me to be proud of you… but I am glad to see you back, and I have no reservations in saying it."

A kind of indefinable tension drained out of Spyro, and he nodded.

"I get what you mean, Ignitus," he said. "So… what do we do now?"

"Now…" Ignitus replied, slowly and thoughtfully. "Now, I think… you all need something to eat."

Several butterflies later, Spyro was feeling a little better… though by the time he'd finished Ignitus had a report about what seemed to be going on around the collapsed mountain, where the Apes had been replaced by strange constructs made directly out of the elements associated with the Earth.

"He's punishing them for failing him," Cynder said. "He… he must have known that they wanted more than he was willing to give them."

Spyro reached over, giving Cynder a hug to try and comfort her, but his thoughts were racing.

"Cyril, what do you think?" he asked, looking up from the table. "What can we do to stop… Malefor?"

"Many things, I would expect," the ice dragon replied. "Some of them even helpful!"

"Cyril," Terrador chided. "Spyro's got a lot to deal with right now."

"I don't doubt he does," Cyril said, shaking his head. "I don't doubt he does. But I have had less time to think about this than he has, so you will please forgive me for being a little vague on the details."

"If Malefor is a purple dragon, doesn't that mean that he has the same powers as you, Spyro?" Sparx asked.

"That's what the Chronicler was saying," Spyro agreed. "Why?"

"Well, then, flip it around," Sparx replied, shrugging. "If Malefor can do anything you do, can't you do anything Malefor can do?"

Spyro blinked.

"Oh!" Volteer said. "The commutative property! A representation of the applicability of equations, if A equals B then B must equal A! Very mathematical and quite appreciated, I dare say it's a breakthrough!"

"I don't know how," Spyro warned, then hopped down off his chair. "But… I think maybe I can try."

Hunter of Avalar looked through his telescope, paused, tilted his head, and looked again.

"...hmm," he said, then began writing a message to Ignitus.

That done, he whistled, and one of his falcons flew down to land on his arm.

"This goes directly to Ignitus," he told the intelligent bird. "If he asks – yes, it's true."

The falcon made a quizzical noise, and Hunter pointed with his free paw. His avian companion looked, blinked, looked again, then gave Hunter a very confused stare.

"I don't know why a two hundred foot fire and rock golem is repeatedly suplexing the Dark Master either," Hunter said. "But it's clearly happening and Ignitus should probably know…"

Chapter Text

"...it worked," Spyro said, exhaling. "It… actually worked."

"What do we do now, Spyro?" Cynder asked. "Where even are we?"

"I think…" Spyro began, paused, then squinted up at the night sky. "I think… hang on, that's Zella, and that's Adrano… they're at… and…"

He tilted his head. "We're probably somewhere on the equator. I think."

"You can tell that?" Cynder asked. "I'm impressed."

"Cyril taught me astronomy, I think I'm remembering it right," Spyro said, sounding slightly dubious. "But… anyway, we're on what looks like an island. And… what do we do…"

He rolled the words around in his muzzle.

"I… legitimately do not know," he admitted. "Malefor's gone, his army was all grublins and other things he created so they're all gone, the Apes… might be gone? I don't know, but they were unable to do much of anything-"

Spyro shook his head, interrupting himself.

"I don't know," he repeated. "And I think… right now, we should rest."

"Rest sounds… nice," Cynder said, quietly. "But I don't think I know how to rest for long."

"Maybe I don't, either," Spyro conceded. "Let's give it a week, maybe? And decide at the end of that what to do next. Maybe find somewhere I recognize from the charts those pirates had. And until then, let's just think about… how to find food, how to build a shelter, things like that."

"Food might be difficult," Cynder said, thinking.

"No, that's actually all right, I saw some moths," Spyro replied.

Cynder blinked.

"...what?" she asked.

"Butterflies," Spyro repeated. "You know. They're actually quite tasty if you try them."

"...right," Cynder said, stifling a giggle. "I forgot how you were brought up…"

She stifled a yawn. "But… let's maybe get some sleep first…"

Spyro nuzzled her, smiling, and she returned the gesture.

For once, there were no troubles for them. Not really.

For once, they could rest.

"...actually sort of impressed with how it built new challenges for you," Spyro said, a few weeks later.

"You didn't have those?" Cynder replied. "I'd never have guessed."

Spyro sniggered.

"No, they were Fire, Ice, Electricity and Earth challenges," he answered. "The Poison one was sort of interesting. Lots of backflips."

Cynder nodded.

"You liked them?" she asked.

"You're always impressive to watch, Cynder," Spyro answered.

"I'm not a fan of the bit where my worst fear appeared, though," Cynder said, frowning slightly. "Seeing Malefor appear nearly scared me out of my scales."

Spyro nudged her. "You didn't even need my help, though," he said. "You just blew him up with Aether."

"And that was cathartic," Cynder conceded.

They walked through the door, and Spyro gestured around – to the shelves lining the room around the giant hourglass. "This is… when Sparx and I were here last time, I wanted to just stop and read the books. It's the whole history of the dragon race, or… most of it, the Chronicler said. Going back nearly to the beginning of time."

"I wonder how much detail there is," Cynder said, glancing at Spyro with a smirk.

Spyro giggled, then the door at the far end of the room opened.

Both of them stared.

"...I… Ignitus?" Spyro asked, in a brittle voice. "Is… how can that…"

"Is it really…?" Cynder said. "But we…"

She swallowed. "We watched you-"

"I did," Ignitus replied. "And… it is. I do not fully understand it myself… the mystery is probably written in one of these books, but there are a lot of them and I have been the Chronicler myself for twenty-two days and fourteen hours. I have not had the time to read most of them."

He smiled, his voice husky. "Spyro, Cynder, it is… a gift beyond measure that I can see you again."

Spyro was crying, and he took a hesitant step forwards.

"I didn't… I thought…" he said, then his claws scraped on the surface and he sprang forwards. His wings opened, carrying him in a leap, and he hugged Ignitus as best he could, with Cynder just a second behind him.

For a timeless minute, or for eternity, the three dragons just luxuriated in the fact of their meeting.

Then, reluctantly, stepped back.

"I do have one question, though," Ignitus said. "Mostly because I'm curious… when did Cynder become a purple dragon?"

"I don't know," Cynder replied. "I think I realized I could use Aether when we were fighting in Warfang, but it might have been a long time before then."

Ignitus looked at her, picked up a book to check something, then frowned.

"...well," he said. "I appear to have been something of an idiot, because I didn't remember quite what colour your scales were before you went missing… in my defence, it was around three very busy years…"

Chapter Text

"Ignitus, we don't have a choice," Terrador said, shaking his head. "We need to consolidate our forces. The Apes are pushing through the mountains."

"I know, Terrador," Ignitus agreed. "But – there must be some other way. Some way we can defend the fertile land this side of the passes, without giving up our attempts to attack the Mountain of Malefor."

"Ignitus…" Terrador began, his tone considerate. "I know why you want to attack the Mountain. I've heard the rumours of a dragon held prisoner there, the same as you."

"If there is one that survives, then they are… they are the last," Ignitus said, looking around the dragon temple and shaking his head. "Terrador, we failed so thoroughly… how can I give up an attempt to rescue any of the dragons that still live?"

Terrador was silent for a long time, almost a minute.

"I understand your regret, Ignitus," he reminded the other dragon. "I know what you mean. But… we have an obligation. It's the right thing to do to make sure the Apes don't push down into the plains."

Ignitus sighed.

"You may be right, old friend," he said. "It is a shame that we do not only have the easy decisions. Or perhaps this is an easy decision, and it is only my own regrets that prevent me from seeing it."

Terrador kept his peace, not offering comment on that.

He knew how deeply Ignitus regretted his decisions, and the failure to protect the Temple.

"Sir! Sir!" a younger voice called, and both dragons tensed and looked up as Pyra came hurrying into the temple before skidding to a halt. "Sirs! Uh…"

"Please, be calm, if you can manage it," Ignitus said, not unkindly. "Is there a problem, Pyra?"

"There's…" Pyra began, then another dragon came scampering in.

She was, it was immediately obvious, even younger than Pyra. Pyra was a teenaged battle squire, a messenger and banner bearer with some military roles whose primary task was to watch and learn, and as a dragon he was more dangerous than his age would suggest for any other race… but this new dragon was not more than a third Pyra's size at the most.

The newcomer's gender was obvious, because she was very lithely built – even more so than most female dragons, with a long whip tail and a pair of filmy wings constructed in an almost insectile manner – like those of a dragonfly, in some respects, though still with a dragon's-wing shape.

"Found you!" she said, brightly, then sat on her haunches and looked up at the two much bigger dragons she'd just laid eyes on. "Oooh… you're very big. Um, are you old? And does that mean you're boring?"

"You're purple," Terrador breathed, his voice absolutely shocked.

"...yes?" the dragoness replied, looking down at her paw in case it had changed. "I'm also Aivu, and Five, and A Bit Hungry, and Interested In Cookies. Do you have any cookies?"

"Ignitus, how is this possible?" Terrador said. "It… there was an egg. Did you…?"

"I sent the egg away," Ignitus confirmed, shaking himself. "But I had resigned myself to the expectation that I would never know what happened to…"

He paused, and reconsidered.

"Pyra, do we have anything of use in the stores?" he asked.

"I'll go and have a look," the young fire dragon said, immediately rushing off.

Aivu watched him go, her head tilting slightly, then she turned back to Ignitus and Terrador.

"So… what's so special about being purple?" she asked. "Because you sounded like it was a super big surprise! And normally people are surprised about different things. Usually something that Teena does!"

The dragons exchanged glances.

"...who is Teena?" Ignitus said, after a few seconds.

"Oh, she's my Mom!" Aivu explained. "She's a hyena! She's great at telling jokes!"

Aivu lowered her voice ever-so-slightly to speak in a conspiratorial sort of way. "You have to be when you're a hyena, you know! Otherwise you're just laughing at what other people say and it's not fair."

She blinked. "Hey! I had a question, so can you answer it now?"

"Purple dragons are very rare, and very powerful," Ignitus answered.

"Oh!" Aivu said, sounding as if everything had just explained itself. "So that's how I can do a fire breath thing and also a sound breath thing, and how I can make it so I can hum music while I speak, like this!"

She demonstrated, producing a cheerful musical accompaniment to her own voice. "I've tried to work out how to breathe icing, but so far all I can do is flour. Maybe I've got something wrong about that?"

Ignitus and Terrador exchanged glances.

Again.

"...yes," Ignitus said, after a long moment. "Yes, that is how you can do things like that. Though I must warn you, there are some out there who would try to harm you. Maybe even destroy you. And you are too young to be drawn into a fight like that…"

"But what if I want to be?" Aivu asked, flaring her wings. "If people want to harm me then can't I harm them right back? If they're trying to pick on a little girl like me then I bet I can pick on them right back and it'd be way more fair – and I don't want them to hurt my Mom, either!"

She tilted her head. "...say, is there anything I can't do?"

Ignitus felt a great deal of worry about any possible answer he could give to that question.

"I don't know what a purple dragon is truly capable of," he said. "Though… I would be delighted to allow you and your mother to stay here as long as you might wish it, and perhaps to give you the chance to learn to understand how your powers work."

Aivu nodded. "Sure!" she said. "I'll have to ask Mom though. And see what she thinks."

She nodded, half to herself. "So you can't think of anything I can't do… this has so much, uhm, what's the word… potential! This has so much potential!"

"I wonder if the temple will still be standing next year," Terrador murmured.