FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 9

It turned out only two Guardians arrived.

No official explanation was heard, but it was quite obvious for everyone who paid even a little attention to the relations on the line Cyril-Brill to come up with an accurate conclusion why the Ice Guardian stayed behind.

Volteer had to come, after hearing about Spyro's time travel adventure he couldn't pass up the opportunity to study the Veil further and expand his, in all honesty, still very limited knowledge about the portals.

Terrador came too, with Cyril in Warfang he was the only one who wielded any authoritative force that people would consider true leadership, a voice of guidance. Volteer might be a Guardian too, but when the Guardian himself doesn't consider himself a true leader, you can't expect people to have a different opinion.

This was however a perfect deal for both parties, Volteer craved knowledge and information, when people sought those two things, there was no one better to ask than the Electric Guardian.

The meeting was to be held in the ruins, whether in front of the Veil or not it was still to be decided.

Spyro swallowed.

It was obvious whose decision people will act, there weren't many of them here, besides the group of scouts and Guardians there were also those curious inhabitants of the village that offered them a place to stay in.

Nobody stopped them, knowing all too well that secrecy wouldn't be helpful here. The news would spread nevertheless, if not by the citizens, then definitely by the scouts who were less than friendly towards them.

It wasn't a big crowd, which ideally represented the weight of the decision he was about to make, it was up to him to tell if they can approach the portal or not, a simple matter of yes or no, with a very minimal risk of something going wrong.

Of course the worm in Munitions Forge broke through the Veil, how, he has no idea, even if this was a thing to consider, he was pretty certain that he had this Veil under control. Whatever the Constructor did to him was still a mystery, but nevertheless he felt that it was safe.

At least for now.

Still, no matter the weight it was still an important moment in his life, especially that of a leader, today people will act based on his words.

He-

"Hey!" a familiar voice yelped

Spyro grunted, train of thought interrupted by something small smacking into his neck, the walk to the meeting, peaceful and silent previously was interrupted. He threw a glance to the side, immediately recognizing the glowing ball that had currently its back turned towards him.

There was only one dragonfly around that looked like this.

"Watch where you're going dude!" Sparx blurted out nervously, with one swift motion spinning around to make sure the guy who got in his way gets a proper thrashing

The figure of the one and only purple dragon grew before his eyes.

He grinned, folding his arms.

"Would you look at that, the prince finally decided to end his beauty sleep" he looked him over, shaking his head in disapproval "Nothing changed tho, it's still easier to walk over you than around you"

"Hey Sparx" Spyro rolled his eyes "Good thing you came, I missed your compliments"

"Hey" the dragonfly shrugged innocently "Not my fault you're fat, how many times I've told you to grab a salad, huh?" he poked his temple "Get it inside your thick skull finally, look at me, I'm special and still hit you in an open space no less! So either the world is getting smaller or your belly bigger, which of the two is more probable?"

"This talk is getting old Sparx, seriously"

"Maybe, but it doesn't make it untrue, man look around" Sparx raised, spreading his arms wide he took the world within his embrace "Of all the people walking here I smashed into you, all this people and yet you are the cause for this accident"

"Yeah right" Cynder snorted, all this time keeping her partner's company "Accident"

Sparx looked around in confusion, squinting eyes and frowning.

"Did a fly just farted?"

"I expected this kind of thing to happen, but I didn't really think about you taking it literally"

"What are you blabbering about?"

"There is nothing wrong in showing feelings. Try it out every once in a while, aren't you a bit too old for all this games? Great things happen when you open up a little"

"Okay" Sparx raised his hands in the air defensively, a tired exhale wafting from his nostrils.

"Remind me again, who of you two had the lights out?"

Cynder rolled her eyes.

"You're hopeless"

"I'm pretty sure it was Spyro, I kinda was prepared for him spitting more nonsense than usual, didn't think about you reaching that finish line first" he darted towards his brother, nudging him with his elbow.

"Psst, bro" he whispered, yet his voice was clearly audible "Next time let Cyn get a punch to the head" he twirled his finger near his temple "Maybe a little blackout will set her marbles in the right places"

Spyro sighed.

"Cynder is perfectly fine, and she's right by the way" a mischievous grinned stretched his lips, single eye glared at his brother, twinkle of teasing energy inside it "You could say that you love me once in a while"

"Hey!" Sparx exclaimed, recoiling back, shooting into the air so swiftly as if a dynamite had just exploded "No gay stuff alright?!"

"We're brothers"

"We could be a pair of testicles for all I care and it still wouldn't change anything"

Cynder sneered, her mind already picturing both brothers in the mentioned scenario.

"You're terrible"

"Me?" gold hand smacked into a glowing chest, empowering the disdain in the voice "I'm always annoying and I'm honest about it" a single finger pointed at the dragons, jumping between them "It's you two that behave like picky brats, it happens whenever you two all left alone. Why are you so mushy all of a sudden? What did you do in that room?"

Cynder immediately licked her lips, the question, probably innocent and spat out in spite, threw her off guard. She didn't rearrange her defenses after Amela caught them, she really didn't want to spread the news like wildfire. Sparx may know about them, but that doesn't mean he must know about every detail of their relationship, like for example that they are mates.

Not right now at least.

Ancestors please, not now, enough embarrassment for one day.

"If you would be mushy as us you would know" Spyro replied, proudly snarled even

She was surprised to hear such confidence in his voice, especially in the moment of dodging an uncomfortable question. Encounter with Amela earlier quite clearly exposed his flaws in this department, ironically they were as big as hers, maybe a little smaller, she was the one who knew how to lie after all.

Seems like brotherly relations are different, developed to the level that lying comes as easy as telling the truth and both feel extremely natural.

"Ugh" Sparx retched "Shoving a hand up Creep's ass is better than touching either of you. Did you know that you pass germs when hugging all the time like you do?"

"You're a germ" Spyro retorted

"If I'm a germ, you are too. Same blood dude, besides I'm the lighter kind while you are the fat one that doesn't even fit on a butt cheek"

The drake frowned in irritation.

"Oh yeah? At least I'm big enough to be seen, there's no way getting rid of your lighter annoyance without burning alive the carriers"

Sparx scowled, fingers on his folded arms drumming against the chest.

"Those guys jump into the pyre willingly, better to burn than live with your ugly mug as a butt crack"

A short laugh burst from Cynder's throat, she didn't really knew why it happened, this argument was childish and pointless, but there was that specific charm in it. Brotherly relations, siblings, she just found it adorably funny, even despite the idiotic insults, or perhaps they were the reason for the allure in the first place.

Both brothers glared at her as if she would kick their mother.

Green eyes widened, she felt like a stranger all of a sudden, it was like listening to a group of talking people, hearing one stupid joke and laughing because of it, while not being invited to the conversation, precisely in the moment when the group fell silent for a second.

She swallowed, the cheerful expression vanishing in awkward lick of the lips.

"I'm...ummmm...a virus?"

"Too little, too late" Sparx scolded, voice stern and commanding as if he would be ordering simple mercenaries

Spyro chuckled, the surprised look turned into dumbfounded glee.

"What was that?"

"I don't know!" Cynder shrugged fervently "You looked at me like I was some outsider, I just wanted to buy myself into the disease gang"

Sparx approached the black dragonesses, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Dear, dear Cyn, you are a special kind of microbe. We are people's bugs, you only can be found in a sewer, keeping the rats company"

She forced her tail to wag, whole body tensed in fake excitement.

"I have company? Wow! A very nice compliment, thank you!"

Spyro grinned.

"Silver lining"

"Yeah" Sparx' arms slumped along his flanks in defeat "I'm loosing my touch. Damn Coriza grew on me"

"Yay!" Cynder blurted out, her squeaky voice making her tail flick in happiness, this time it was honest "You just gave a second thing to thank her for"

"Second?" Spyro inquired curiously "What's the first one?"

She merely looked at him.

Telepathy didn't exist, at least he didn't believe in that type of magic, childhood showed him however that souls bond sometimes in certain way, an occurrence prominent in siblings. No matter how many times they said it in truth he wasn't related by blood with Sparx, it's naturally impossible. Still they grew a special bond, one that sometimes in their childhood years made them think alike, or even sometimes read the other's mind and know exactly what was going on.

It was normal, probably even an developed habit, when you get to know someone so well as siblings growing up together, you just learn the behavioral patterns of your brother or sister.

As it turned out such bond is not family exclusive.

His relationship with Cynder was more than just normal mateship, it was like finding your other half of the heart, it was a bond on a far more deeper level than mere attraction and respect.

Soulmates.

This is the word that is just so natural that he forgets about its existence.

That is why one look into her knowing, green orbs was enough for him to connect with her mind from which he could clearly read one thought, over and over again.

You are.

He gulped, remembering the night that changed their lives, how she appeared from behind the rocks with those glistening scales and that sweet smell of mandarins. There was only one other dragoness he knew that used cosmetics in similar fashion.

Turns out he also has to thank Coriza for something.

He averted his gaze with a blush, clearing his throat.

"I'm going to throw up" Sparx commented, shaking his head in disdain

"Maybe later" Cynder nodded, pointing with her nose at the group that consisted the two Guardians waiting on the border of the village, from the small numbers it was clear that most of the people already marched towards the Veil "We have company"

*

They arrived on site very quickly, surprisingly it wasn't Terrador that led the group as custom dictated, but Volteer. The amber dragon's steps were lively as if he would be a dragon in his prime prancing about. The group followed him stride after stride, not even the smaller races complained, the excited energy wafting from the Guardian was addicting beyond means.

Even if they were walking towards potential danger, or at least a very serious matter of security and shared scales that didn't particularly fit into everyone's tolerance level, in this moment everyone was equal and all worries were nothing.

The whole group was devoured by Volteer's cheerfulness.

They reached the ruins, the group of scouts kept an eye on the portal by the huge hole in the wall, siting in their small encampment nearby. Amela was already here, tending to them, making sure that the cheetahs didn't suffer any minor or otherwise discomforts by being exposed to unknown magic for so long.

While the healer wasn't particularly interested in the arrival of the group of the famous dragons, entirely focused on her patients, the scouts basically glared at them, murdering them with their stares. The hooded leader was hard to read due to the cloth on his head, yet even he probably paid attention to them, minus the overall ferocious hostility.

"This is exhilarating!" Volteer rumbled, excited like a hatchling that just hunted down his first prey

It is very common for a dragon to emphasize his emotions by the movement of the tail, this instinct however was becoming less prominent to the point of no existence the older the dragons gets. In the Guardians case, where each of them was quite old even by dragon standards the tail was mostly still, jerking slightly only in moments of agitation and coming truly alive when being ready for a fight.

Seeing Volteer's tail making swings as wide as a Death Hound's parting maw put a smile on everyone's mouths, even those that radiated hostility.

The group that followed the amber dragon couldn't hold back their giggles, even Sparx who is the last one in the line when it comes to showing uncontrollable emotion chuckled softly.

"May we procure the rights of ingress to venture inside?" Volteer spun around, his eyes bulging with pleading enthusiasm

They buried into Spyro.

If there was any danger, if he had any doubt and notions to play it safe in the end, forbidding entrance as a result, all that planned argument would be thrown away the moment Volteer looked at him. The plea in his voice was heartwarming, he could feel his request wrapping powerful strings around his heart, strings that would tore it apart the moment he would say no.

The Guardians never shared stories from their youth, probably because after thousands of years of life many details of it were forgotten. Even if he never heard Volteer describing his past self, he could clearly see with the eye of imagination his Guardian friend during his youth.

A little, frail, with eyes bigger than the head electric dragon that couldn't stay in one place for too long, all the time jumping around and examining everything that caught his Interest. Constantly squeaking to himself as if he was making audible, mental notes about every part that had any scientific value for the curious, developing mind.

Which was basically everything.

Spyro could only grin, knowing very well that the answer he will give will turn the Guardian's world around.

"We can"

"Confounding formal notice!" Volteer practically squealed, before anyone could react the Guardian disappeared inside the ruins with the speed of the element he wielded

"Spyro?" Terrador's baritone voice rumbled with modest admonishment

All he heard however was the question, he turned his head as politeness dictated, broad, beaming smile stretching the lips. It felt good to make someone happy as a little hatchling.

"Is it safe?" the earth dragon's tongue intoned

It was a simple question, a matter of yes or no, all this time he went here knowing, or presuming that everything is safe, he based his assumption on feeling alone.

The question however was simple and straightforward.

Tingles of terror began dancing on his spine when an answer to the question he never wanted to say forced itself on his tongue.

"I don't know"

He felt his paws losing balance, numbness overtaking the muscles, he was slowly crumbling under the hard as rock stare of the Guardian.

"Focus" Terrador ordered, he was perfectly still and calm all the time

It was intimidating.

It was like the Guardian whipped his concentration into submission, it momentarily sought the Veil and the magic in his veins that the Constructor stirred to life. It was a swift scan, like rummaging through a chest of clothes to reach the jewelry that you knew exactly where you hid

He sensed the Veil, no tingling or itching accompanied the discovery this time, that doesn't mean that he wasn't shaking though. The Veil was singing, he could hear its soft tune from within the ruins, it roused his magical energy, or as Ignitus used to call his extraordinary tendency to learn, the essence of the purple dragon.

Whatever the name for this energy was he knew one thing for certain, the Veil sent exactly the same pulses like elemental magic. There was something else in there too, something elusive, something-

"Spyro" the voice was louder this time, more rough

"I think so" he replied with all honesty, startled by the Guardian's voice, the connection with the energy of the portal faded away

Terrador nodded.

"You don't make decisions on presumptions, but I'm willing to trust you on this, experience on battlefield helped me to develop specific perception, judging from your reaction I can tell that you were at least aware of the situation and are confident enough to handle the threat if necessary. I would intervene otherwise, do you know why?"

He swallowed, immediately sitting down and folding his tail in front of his forelegs, a position that was rooted deep inside his conscience. When he finally get rid of his youthful arrogance he began valuing the lessons Ignitus passed onto him, he always listened intently, in the meek position of complete attention like now he displayed before Terrador.

"I wrongly assessed the danger" he mumbled, dropping his head in shame

Both Sparx and Cynder cocked their heads, both surprised by Spyro's submissive reaction.

"Get up Spyro" Terrador stomped his paw

Even if he wouldn't want to push himself up, the tremors and something sharp growing from the ground that poked at his butt made him get up in a single jump. He gritted his teeth to quench the girly squeak that shot from his throat.

"I'm not Ignitus, I won't even dare to treat you as a pupil, after that speech you gave time for patience is over, you are a leader and you must learn to act like one. Quickly"

Terrador looked up at the group that surrounded them, maroon eyes spreading an aura of dominance.

"Lesson one. Friends and family are important, but they are your companions and subordinates as well like every other stranger in your command. They need to see their leader confident and determined, knowing exactly what to do. The doubt, pain and other feelings we leave in our private chambers or tent, in army we call that stage planning. Only leaders are allowed"

He nodded sharply in a crosswise fashion, giving a clear signal to the rest of the group that it was their time to continue forward.

Without question people started to leave the two dragons alone, Sparx and Cynder observed the moving group with dumbfounded fascination until eventually the latter began following suit slowly.

The moving past by him black body of his friend woke him up from the trance.

Sparx shook his head fiercely.

"Wait a second mister!" he darted towards the green snout, pointing a finger at the nose "I'm the star of this show as well! We're a team with my bro, without me he would be rotting in a gutter by now!"

Terrador nodded politely, completely unmoved by the outburst.

"I'm aware of your involvement Sparx in Spyro's development as a dragon, still, it changes nothing I'm afraid"

"It changes everything! If he's a boss I should be one too!"

"There are leaders whose powers come from those that surround them, for instance the cheetahs like Hunter, there was once a feline general who drew strength from the falcon on his shoulder, he kept saying it talked with him, whether it's the truth or not is not important. Having two leaders in one is nothing strange, if there was a cheetah leading with a bird, there can be also a dragon leading with a dragonfly"

Sparx clapped his hands triumphantly.

"See? Easy-peasy. I can share the throne, no problem, I kinda got used to my fat bro anyway" Sparx tapped his forehead "Great minds think alike, well done old man. Well done"

"This is however only temporary I'm afraid"

The dragonfly's aura dimmed visibly.

"What do you mean temporary?"

Terrador looked himself over, examining his ruined with age wings for the longest part of this evaluation. He sighed sadly.

"Spyro needs to learn how to lead alone, we dragons live for a very long time, you will be gone while Spyro will be in the prime of his life. The depressing fate of every dragon is that he outlives his non draconic friends. Spyro won't have your support for his entire life, it is essential for him to learn how to make decisions on his own, the sooner Spyro becomes independent, the better for all of us"

"Might we skip the depressing, dying part?" the purple dragon begged, just thinking about outliving Sparx was devastating, two brothers hatched in the same day, decided by fate already that one of them dies earlier, it was a discouraging thought.

"We cannot young dragon" the Guardian noted, his posture leaving no room for argument "If battle doesn't take us earlier, seeing our close ones hearts stop is our unavoidable fate"

Sparx snorted.

"Whatever. Chin up bro, I'll be nagging your butt for years to come, you're not getting rid of me so easily. I'm not letting you hog all that fame for yourself"

Spyro thanked his brother with a weak, grateful smile.

Terrador smiled, it was sorrowful to put reality in such a way, but it was also inspiring to see family staying family even despite the grim facts.

"Can I ask you to leave us alone Sparx? I can promise that at least today the separation will be temporary"

"Come on Sparx" Cynder nodded her head "You can always nag my butt"

"Fiiiiiine" the dragonfly whined into the sky, throwing his arms up in regret, he followed the dragoness with an irritated frown "Just so you know, I'm staying away from your smelly butt, I'm not as stupid as Spyro"

"I will have to live with that somehow"

Terrador observed the leaving duo with a dreamy smile on his snout, paw scratching the spot on the chest under which the heart hid.

"Sometimes I regret I never made the same commitment as you did Spyro. There is power in such a bond"

"What about Volteer and Cyril?"

"We are friends, true, but our bond isn't even close to the level of brotherly relations. We might say that we're like brothers, but in truth we are close to far relatives on a family tree. Ignitus died, it is tragic and sad, a blow to our city no doubt, but as a sentient dragon? I don't feel different. Can you say the same?"

Did he feel Ignitus absence?

Spyro's sight fell down upon the earth dragon's legs, but they didn't see them, they stared into distance instead. He stopped thinking about Ignitus lately, he didn't feel guilty about that, when he confessed his feelings towards Cynder that one fateful night, it was the memory of his foster father that gave meaning to this relationship.

Ignitus knew.

He knew that Cynder will be the one that fills the void he'll leave when he passes away.

He didn't think about him because he didn't have to, he felt it was as it supposed to be, as Ignitus wished.

But now being reminded that the fire dragon is no longer with them on this world, it didn't come indifferent to him, it hurt. It wasn't the pain he felt when he saw him die, but it was still enough to make his soul bleed. Images momentarily flashed before his eyes, one after the other, he especially remembered when-

"Spyro?"

He shook his head.

Later.

"I miss him" he said from the bottom of his heart

Terrador bowed in respect.

"This is what I was talking about. I was always afraid of commitment, I didn't want to attach because as a warrior I became familiar with death and I didn't want to see the people I care about fall. Looking at you, I realize now that it might have been a mistake, you feel Ignitus loss and yet you are still strong, maybe you lost a part of your power with his passing, but it didn't make you weak, at worst it made you more resilient. I envy you, you are meant for greatness"

"I-"

"Lesson two" the Guardian extended his paw, two claws standing higher than the rest "A leader must be sagacious, sensitivity is only allowed in the bedroom, private time and daily life, when you are on a task, you display confidence, you walk proud and are aware of your value. You don't sit meekly in front of someone like me, you look me directly into the eyes, there is nothing more depressing for a solider than seeing their leader falter. Having the generals visible, banners of your army flapping high in the air, this is strength, every soldier seeing that fights for two, morale is key and the biggest chunk of it lies on your shoulders, you are responsible for it.

Spyro nodded.

Third claw extended up.

"Lesson three. Your task is to assure safety, not happiness. It is wonderful to make other's smile and believe me I know how Volteer's juvenile energy can be addicting, but you are not allowed to give in to temptation. You are entitled to say no, no matter how harsh it may seem, safety is the most important treasure, be it the world or your companions. This is the most difficult lesson, but at the same time very crucial one, people might dislike you for that, but you will have to live with it. Better for them to live with a grudge than not live at all. This is the destiny of a leader, you will be loved by some and hated by others, middle ground means confusion and disaster"

Spyro licked his lips apprehensively, the perspective of leading the people towards peace wasn't so enticing anymore, all that excitement for it he gained from the meeting in the Plaza was gone. Those were only three rules, who knows how many more of them are out there, and he needs to follow all of them.

"I'll try not to disappoint"

"You will not disappoint" Terrador assured "You may not have the experience, but you have something else" he flicked his tail, gesturing at the leaving duo "Something that is special and invaluable, something more than unquestionable loyalty. Are you aware that Cynder and Sparx would jump into the fire for you?"

Spyro balked in shock.

"I would never suggest something like that!"

"This is the whole point!" the green dragon chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief "You wouldn't even have to ask, they would do it out of their own free will without second thoughts. This is not loyalty, this is devotion and you have it without preaching about darkness and light and the end of the world. You have magnificent charisma Spyro, Cynder and Sparx are just a start. Threats are brewing, I can feel it in my old bones, you need to be the leader, you need more loyal soldiers, let's see what the Veil brings and the story you share about your adventure, from there I will act and make sure you get the opportunity to expand your circle of faithful companions. Your power lies in the people who you can trust, the three of you won't be able to do everything"

If he didn't know what pressure of expectations was before, he surely did that now. It was all shocking, but the speech he gave at the City Hall prepared him for something like that a little, it didn't strike him as odd as Terrador's sudden resoluteness about this particular matter. The surprise, thanks the Ancestors, managed to quench the feeling of dread about people willingly throwing their lives for him.

"I understand, I think" he scratched his purple head "What I don't understand is your unexpected determination about all of this. It really caught me unaware, is something going on Terrador?"

The Earth Guardian smiled, his beard giving the stretch of the lips a warm aura.

"Nothing that you should be concerned with, hopefully it stays that way. Leadership is tiring Spyro, especially that where you try to benefit your subjects more than yourself. It's always about plans and strategies, everyone wants to get a piece of the power cake, you must be really careful not to lose yours from your grip. The perspectives are so much more appealing when we all would be united, only then we can have true peace"

The big dragon sighed deeply, his wings heaving like a tired chest.

"Otherwise we must always be on alert and constantly think" he flexed his muscles, gentle ripples ran through the ground, he nodded towards the ruins "Don't let me depress you, we have more important matters on our heads right now. I will carry this hardship for as long as I can. Come"

They entered the ruins, every single soul that was present on site got inside the destroyed building. Spyro sighed in relief when he spotted Volteer, he was unhurt, prancing all around the portal, examining it from every side and peering through it.

The Veil was nothing more than a dancing, magical string hovering in the air. Swiveling in the sky as if tugged by an invisible hand of a puppeteer.

"Is it in the state of congesting entry?" the electric dragon inquired, his eyes never leaving the portal

Spyro felt as every eye that didn't belong to the Guardians or his friends buried holes in his body, some were merely poking him, others for instance tried to open it up and spit at him. There weren't many like those, he knew who was responsible, their mocking, sorrowful stares empowered by their knowledge.

They knew that the portal was opened.

They knew they weren't successful.

More arrows for their hateful feelings.

"No Volteer" he said, there was no point of wrapping the truth in honeyed words "The portal is working"

A snort of disdain echoed in the ruins.

Muffled, nervous coughs followed soon after, there were only few folks that were comfortable with mockery directed at the dragon who literally put the world back together.

Terrador frowned, his deep, displeased gaze ran across the room, giving a clear signal to anyone who plans on overstepping their bounds, that such arrogance won't be tolerated.

For the first time since their journey here, Volteer lost his spark of cheerfulness, he is a geek with a big heart, when his wisdom doesn't help people, he basically cries.

"The diaphanous inorganic constituent resembling ice that I offered was of no furtherance?"

"It was very helpful!" Spyro blurted out encouragingly, he felt a warm touch of relief on his heart when he saw the Electric Guardian smile again "The gem connected me somehow with the magic of the Veils, thanks to it we managed to get on the other side"

"You got through the portal?" someone from the handful of people gasped.

Excited murmurs filled the ruins.

"Yeah, we got to the other side"

"Your job was to close the damn thing!" one of the scout growled in anger

"I won't be tolerating dispute here" Terrador glared at the people "I demand civility and expect to see it, if someone has troubles with it, leave now. If you are content let Spyro finish"

"Hell yeah!" Sparx exclaimed, raising high in the air and pointing at the crowd "You think you can do better? Go ahead! The way to the slit to another world is open, we saw it so many times already after all, clearly we messed up, should have taken notes from the last time traveling we did, which was hmmm, let me think" he tapped a finger against his chin in fake contemplation "NEVER!" he blared

"The same rule applies to Spyro's companions, no exceptions" the Guardian's voice was as hard and rough as rock

"Sparx" Cynder mumbled, tail flapping about nervously "Get over here" she whispered through clenched teeth

When the anxious scene was over, Spyro cleared his throat.

"We tried to close the portal, but it is different than the one we saw in Munitions Forge, not to mention that I was unprepared for the magic the Veil is built from, its power is immense. Our intention was to lock it, but the moment I messed with it things got out of control and it sucked us in"

Volteer's eyes widened, expression a mix of fear and depression, he began backing away from the portal.

Spyro noticed it immediately, momentarily noting that talking about uncontrollable, dangerous things when people are literally gathered around the thing he talks about isn't the best course of action to ensure the population that everything is under control.

"That was then though!" he exclaimed defensively, freezing Volteer in place "I can control the portal now, it won't do anything until I tell it to. We are safe, after our adventure on the other side I gained control of it"

The Electric Guardian looked at him with unbridled fascination kindling in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Terrador inquired cautiously "What was on the other side?"

Murmurs filled the room again.

Spyro licked his lips, thinking if he should tell the whole truth, he really doubted that mentioning a whole colony of purple dragons and a creature similar to the Destroyer that infused his power was a safe thing to do. He was a strict believer that people should know the whole truth, only then they can prepare themselves for what's to come, right now however he realized that too much shocking information instead of rational preparation of defenses might stir a panicked revolt.

Especially if they had to deal with the Destroyer not so long ago in this very timeline.

A Veil was a mysterious, exciting anomaly, trying to calm the people down by saying there was nothing on the other side, that the golems that poured through was a coincidence would never be believed. People expect to hear shocking news, that's why they came here, they have to hear shocking news.

Not earthshaking however.

They need to have their world turned upside down, but not shattered.

This is why he decided to mention only one thing.

Out of the two he chose the purple dragons. They have their breaking news in the form of creatures that don't precisely follow the good and peaceful example from the prophecy while being at the same time believable because there were rumors already, sowed by Malefor no doubt, about other purple dragons, there was of course also the Dark Master himself.

"A citadel, fortress or prison of sorts" Spyro stated, the figure of the Veil dancing in his eyes "Led by purple dragons, a whole city of them, they are also the ones who control the Keepers, the golems are their automated guardians and probably their weapons"

"Purple dragons?!" the crowd exclaimed, Volteer was among the ones who wailed in surprise "Flare openly enunciated the conformity with tangibility!"

"Yep" Spyro nodded "He spoke the truth"

The murmurs reached a boiling point.

"How's that even possible?" Amela asked, fondling her earring in between the thumb and index finger "Aren't purple dragons supposed to be a rare breed?"

This was the question, he didn't knew the answer for that, he impulsively looked for any help in Volteer, the Guardian always had a theory to share. Volteer however was unnaturally silent, expression apologetic.

He immediately realized why is that. He started to feel the same thing.

The prophecy.

Ignitus was a strong believer, on every occasion reminding him just how special he is, even if he himself didn't believe the prophecy, life showed him that his mentor might be right and had every reason to believe. There were only two purple dragons on this world, to make things easier one of them was evil.

Now, behind that hole in the fabric of the world lies a whole world of purple dragons. If there are so many, where is that divine spark?

What if there is none?

Didn't Flare quote Malefor's words without even being familiar with him, or even the prophecy?

Some wanted to save the world, others wanted to destroy it.

Wasn't this what Flare said?

He didn't give it much thought before, Flare is known for speaking nonsense and exaggerating things, but now, when all of what Flare spoke of was proven to be true he second guessed his choice. This meant that something didn't add up with all this prophecy stuff, why right now purple dragons are so rare when some years ago they were a normal dragon specie like any other?

Is it possible what everything Ignitus believed in was a lie?

That he is simply one of the many that pulled the doing good straw?

"I...don't know" he muttered

He was always a curious boy, for the first time however in his short life he wasn't sure if he wants to find out the answer for this particular mystery.

"Let's bring them over!" one of the cheetah's scout roared "They will for sure sort this whole mess out, they must be better than what we h-" the feline's shout ended was cut off abruptly when his eyes landed on the Earth Guardian, the dragon had his back facing him, but his tail was moving, the spiked ball on the tip flying before his eyes

As a scout the cheetah was sensitive to danger and a huge, spiked ball taunting you is definitely a sign of one.

Cynder growled, burying her claws into the floor, she remained still, controlling her temper and staying out of it. Her feminine instinct warned her that the moment she interferes, reminds the people, especially the scouts, of her existence, everything will go to shit and instead of somewhat working this out with the rest of the population, they will be left to plot on their own. Which in truth wasn't in anyone's interest, even Brill's, adamant in his task, it was doubtful that the mole wanted the leaders of the Realms openly hostile.

"Weren't you listening man?" Sparx shouted, gesturing at the twirling, magical string in the air "Those dudes inside that crack are controlling the rocks!"

"Automations stringently regulated by direct with unequivocal authority of another act efficaciously in calculable combinations of proclivities forming a consistent sequence. When the conjunction with the Master failed inadvertently the automated workforce perdures in the afresh given tack until progression in a perspicuous direction is revamped. Moles operate their apparatus inhering of interrelated parts with apportioned functions in similar consonant. The Keepers we had encountered supervened that type of behavior"

"Seeing as those golem were set to kill people it doesn't bode well for any peaceful resolution" Terrador noted

"I think there's still a glimmer of hope" Spyro added "Following Volteer's logic these golems were functioning according to their last given order, without guidance though they took it to the extreme. Keepers are guardians and peacekeepers, they probably got confused when they were thrown into a completely different world"

"Precisely!" the electric dragon cheered, nodding his head fervently

"Over there, Cynder and Sparx were rare and interesting, they were the points of attention. Let's say it's a prison, dominated by purple dragons, nobody was surprised by seeing me, actually I think they were bored. We didn't see much, but creatures of non draconic origins and dragons of different scale color than purple are the prisoners more likely. They call them Sources, what it means I don't know, but we can take a wild guess judging from the Keeper's reactions that they are meant to obey and follow a strict code, like a prisoner. No wonder the golems went rampart when they had one task coded in their heads and landed in a world where every creature that's not a purple dragon is free"

Spyro licked his lips, patting himself on the back inside his head.

There was no point in mentioning that there are different types of golems, from what Diazen told them every golem that got through belonged to him, seeing as he is a betraying sort, his golems might have follow nothing else, but a kill command, especially if he called those rocks his guards.

He decided it would best if people didn't know about Diazen and especially about the fact that all those golems they had to deal with belonged to only one dragon.

He believed there are good dragons somewhere in there, they simply didn't know of any other way to live their life, land of opportunity as Diazen said, no place for the weak. He believed though, he would never meet true Cynder if he judged easily.

"All I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't discard the possibility of establishing diplomatic contact based on one tragic experience. There might be someone there who would see the benefit of cooperation"

"Just close the fucking thing instead of crying" another one of the scouts with hostile attitude spoke up, his voice as callous as his expression behind the hood "Or are you only comfortable with killing innocent people?"

The group of people momentarily began shouting, it was like a dynamite have just exploded.

"Shut up and get out of here" the commanding voice of the scouts leader echoed loudly from the commotion, the cheetah grabbed his subordinate by the cloak he was wearing and tugged roughly

The scout didn't budge, thrusting all of his energy into the ground.

"Betterer listen to your friend" Terrador snarled, glaring at the cheetah

People gasped.

Seeing the teeth of a beast the size of a tall temple was intimidating beyond belief, the hungry, irritated frown the green dragon was giving only emphasized the awe.

Fangs the size of adult moles. All directed at you.

The scout was a brave sort, the cheetah caring less about being branded as a disgrace by the people, however even the most boldest and reckless of creatures has an instinct. Instinct that was far more sensitive in scouts, their very life depends on picking up fights that they can win.

A big, angry dragon didn't fall in that category.

He spat on the ground, signaling clearly what he thinks about all of this while giving in to his leader's shove. His reaction only stirring the yelling of the people even more, branding him as a disgrace.

"Holy crap" Sparx whistled, humming a tune of surprise "I never been disliked like this before, strange feeling" he scratched his chest uneasily "I don't like it very much"

"Welcome to the hate club" Cynder announced "Where everything is against you and your feelings don't matter"

"Damn girl" he shook his head "You must really have some thick skin, I'm here for a second and I'm already pissed off. How did you deal with it?"

"I didn't. I was dying and if not for you guys being there for me I probably would be a wreck now"

"Oh come on!" Sparx cried out in annoyance "I asked for your opinion, don't give me this drama queen stuff, didn't you hear me talking about being pissed off?"

Cynder shook her head with a disappointed frown on her snout.

"Worthwhile bonding moment, I forgot just how big of a charmer you are. My bad"

He grinned.

"That's my girl"

She smiled.

"Dick"

"I can't close the portal" Spyro announced, dragging the attention back at himself "I can open it and pass through, but I can't close it. This Veil is different, I don't know how, I just know"

"Key. Pass. Access" Volteer stated in his usual sizzling manner of speech

Spyro cocked his head, looking in surprise behind his shoulder, the Guardian always was one step ahead of everyone when it came to thinking. This case was no different, life showed him that he would do best to catch up quickly.

The amber dragon reached to his neck, claws slid gently under the scales where he had one of his marks. From the slit in between the scales he removed a little object, about the size of a single draconic scale. It had a very dull color.

He recognized it instantly.

This was the crystal Hunter brought back with himself after one of his missions, he completely forgot about it. It wasn't really surprising since the gem was useless and judging from its dull hue nothing changed in this case.

Without hesitation Volteer reached towards the flailing magical string, to everyone's surprise something happened.

Spyro was the one who felt it the most.

He hissed, gentle pain stabbed his soul, he wasn't prepared for the sudden influx of magic, all the pulses he felt were coming from the Veil, which from the looks of it wasn't expecting to be poked either.

The pain intensified.

This wasn't a simple spike in the flow of magical energy, it was the portal radiating the pain, or perhaps even the world itself. The Veil was closing and whatever magic was responsible for keeping it here was screaming in agony, it was an operation like in a hospital, whether the Veil is a tumor or a helpful implant didn't matter, removing both without anesthesia hurts.

And the Veil, or the world was hurting.

The magical string started glowing, blinding, white tendrils devouring the colors nearby, a screech filled his head, as if someone would be running a fork across a plate. People might have gasped, someone might even shout, he didn't hear it, gritting his teeth and groaning he fought through the painful ringing echo in his head.

It grew stronger.

The dull gem took on colors, it began to glow with a green light.

Another spike, with a groan he dropped on the ground, upper body smashing into the floor while both paws slammed into the head, claws digging gently into the scales, wanting to scrape the brain out.

Another cascade of screeches.

The portal disappeared under the thick layer of white light.

Then there was a snap so loud that blood gushed from Spyro's nose.

It was like he literally sneezed the pain on the ground, everything returned to normal in an instant. The Veil was still there, string flailing about like nothing happened, the gem however had a visible crack on it, it split in half right before his eyes.

If it wasn't useless before, it surely was now.

Only the screeching remained, it was fading away, the echo reminding him of a mocking laughter.

"Spyro!"

"Bro!"

He felt the touch and worry of both his closest companions, he was grateful for the attention but right now their shouts were like a thunder to his still sensitive hearing sense.

Both faces of his loved ones appeared right in front of his eyes, they were sweating with worry.

He smiled at them.

"I'm okay"

"Make room!" Cynder and Sparx were shoved away from his sight, only one face filled his vision, it was the concentrated furry face of Amela

The cheetah cupped his snout immediately, rising it, one hand pulled back at the corner of his vision, index finger extended into the air.

"Follow my finger" she ordered, hand moved slowly in a straight line to the opposite side of his snout

"I'm fine Amela" he assured the healer, following the finger perfectly

"Do you have a headache?" hand moved back the same path

"Nope. No pain, nothing hurts"

Hand dived, only to return back with a tissue in its grasp, she tenderly wiped off the blood from his snout.

People started to scream, literally a panic broke out.

While Spyro was deafened by pain, Terrador was making sure that things wouldn't get out of control. They arrived with few warriors, just in case, seems the preserving instinct paid off.

He immediately ordered to take all these people out of here, citizens were already being escorted, even before Spyro reached the peak of agony.

"We will inform you of everything, right now we need peace. Please wait outside" Terrador announced through the screams as the last of the inhabitants were being escorted away

"Commander please seal off the entrance and don't let anyone in. Put guards on this opening and the staircase on the other side. We are not to be interrupted"

"Yes, Sir" a draconic guard acknowledged the command

"I hate magic" Amela cursed under her breath, examining her purple patient closely, seeing nothing wrong with him, despite the fact that just a moment ago he writhed in pain

"How is he Healer?" Terrador asked strictly, all the time keeping the mask of leadership steady

"Everything seems to be in perfect order"

"Wonderful" maroon eyes landed on the electric dragon "With that out of the way can you explain Volteer what the hell just happened?"

The amber Guardian was utterly shocked and guilty, he looked like a child that was about to burst in hysteric tears.

"Volteer! Spyro is fine, tell us what happened. You are a Guardian, do your job"

The wise drake snapped from his trance.

"Yes, naturally" he reached towards his eyes wiping off a small tear at the corner of his right eye. He looked down at the shattered gem, poking the shards with his claws. They were nothing more than junk right now

"I cannot fathom, perceive the connotation why Spyro was influenced, inveigled in this manner. The polished, inestimable stone was a key, it still housed scintilla of omnipotence, however the intrinsic instance of privy encounter inaugurated the genuineness of the Veil being the erroneous portal to put in a locus to obstruct entrance. There is also the feasibility that it was vincible to yield under exigency to accomplish the task, a depleted battery"

"Wasn't that damn thing the crystal Hunter brought back with himself?" Cynder added her own thoughts to the debate "The one the Dark Army cut from some poor sod? We don't know what the orcs did exactly, but what if they did the same like we just a moment? For me it had nothing to do with closing a door, more like smashing into a gate with a battering ram"

"You may be correct" Volteer responded almost immediately, the rest of the group didn't even start processing Cynder's words and the Guardian had a response prepared already "This seemed like a coercive reaction to an inadmissible, forced vicissitude"

"A backlash?" Terrador cocked his head "Something like this only means one thing, we did something wrong. I've seen enough magical shields in my life to know if you struck one in the wrong way, you're going to feel it for the next couple of days"

"That's cool and all" Sparx shrugged, pointing at his fallen brother "But it doesn't explain why it nearly turned my bro's brain into a pulp"

"The Veils are a part of me now" Spyro said

Everyone focused on the purple drake.

"What do you mean?" the Earth Guardian inquired

He scratched his horn nervously.

"This might sound weird, when I learnt an element, dunno if it's just me or other purple dragons felt the same thing, I hear a sound, music. It's like the energy of the magic is a cord, I know how to play it, it's the matter of experimenting to create new tunes. The crystal I absorbed allowed me to tune the instrument just enough to pass through, inside I was taught the cords. When this thing nearly exploded I felt every bit of it, I think I was simply too close to the main event"

He looked around, making sure there is no one here besides them.

"There weren't only purple dragons there, there was also the Destroyer or at least a creature very similar to it"

"By the Ancestors" Amela gasped, pressing both hands to her mouth

"You traveled that world when the Belt of Fire was being formed?" Terrador shook his head "Terrifying, but it means that we won't have to worry about this portal for long"

"That's the whole point, there was no Belt. I tell you the details later, but it was the Destroyer, or the Constructor as it is called in that world, that awakened my Time powers so I can interact with the Veils"

"Not the Destroyer Spyro" Volteer corrected the young drake "A golem is an ersatz creation substituting for connatural soldiers, whoever utilized direction over it coveted you to have that power. The query is why"

Spyro tapped his claws lively against the floor.

"That's the whole point Volteer. The Constructor is a sentient being, it did it out of its own free will"

The Guardian balked, deep frown wrinkling his snout, Volteer was rarely ever confused by news.

"That's undividedly contrary to ratiocination"

"It's true" Sparx added, gesturing at his two draconic companions "We all saw it, that thing is scary as Cynder's smile"

Volteer shook his head.

"Preposterous. The lore-"

"Doesn't matter if this shakes the foundations of our knowledge about the Belt" Terrador interjected "You can explore that later Volteer, the important news is that there is a sentient creature on the other side with the powers of a Destroyer" he looked at the portal, eyeing it carefully "How come Danox never mentioned it? A creature like that shouldn't go unnoticed"

"In his defense I can say that there's a chance he might have not known about it" Cynder explained, paw scratching at the choker, she couldn't really comprehend why she sprang to the black dragon's defense so quickly, it felt just so natural to do so "Without a guide who lead us to the Constructor I doubt we would find it"

Terrador scratched his beard, eyes never leaving the portal.

"Perhaps, but it still doesn't make any sense from a military point of view. From Danox' tales purple dragons poured into our world, why would they keep a power capable of destroying worlds at bay? Especially if they faced defeat. War has no rules"

The Guardian snorted, ideas started to scrape at his brain that he just didn't want to listen to right now.

"Doesn't matter. Nothing of it will matter when we close this portal. Any ideas how we can do this?"

"But, Terr-"

"Drifters" Volteer announced "Flare portages the key to this Veil"

Everyone gasped, enlightenment struck all of them at the same time, it was so obvious that they could no longer understand how such obvious truth eluded their perceptions.

"Flare, Iris, Danox, they are the keys" the electric dragon finished his trail of thought

"It's settled then. We know what we need to do" Terrador licked his lips

"No, Terrador" Spyro got up, for a second struggling to keep balance

Furry hands steadied him.

"Easy, darling" Amela pleaded kindly

He turned towards the earth dragon, putting as confident stance as he could.

"We can't close this portal, the Constructor might be dangerous, but it asked us to return to it. If it wanted us dead it could kill us already. There's something to that creature, I don't know what, but I feel we might need it on our side"

Terrador couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You can't be serious Spyro. Do you know what will happen if people find out about the Destroyer on the other side and our reluctance to kill it? Besides, didn't you hear Danox? Purple dragons will flood us if we ignore the danger"

"The risk is worth the reward, even if they pour through, which I think won't happen anytime soon, the dragons there wield only fire and are only limited to one or two techniques and they don't work together, that place runs on survival of the fittest rule. We can take them if we play it smart and avoid surges of other elements than fire to prevent them from picking new tricks. From what I saw, unison is not in their blood, even if they join forces at some point, it won't be a lasting truce, there will be someone who would want a bigger piece of the spoils for himself, frustrating his companions as a result. I would worry more about the Keepers, golems don't have ego issues and they are made from a piece of the Constructor"

"Spyro" Cynder nudged him shyly "Creep warned us about the Constructor"

"Creep?"

He shook his head.

"Just another reason to not close the Veil"

"Also, Flare is demurred to return. Fright is a voracious monster" Volteer noted

"If Crouton won't stick his neck out, then we don't have any chance of getting the Ice Queen or the creepy, black guy to work with us either" Sparx tapped his chin, voicing his thoughts out loud

"Why not Danox?" Terrador asked

The dragonfly balked.

"Huh?"

"I understand Flare and Iris, but why Danox wouldn't help us? Didn't he say he was from the future and was sent back to prevent our world from succumbing to genocide? If he is the key to lock the portals, how come he didn't mention it?"

"Remember that the crystals they have are the consequence of them moving through the portal. Future Danox was hatched in the same timeline as the rest of us. He didn't have the gem there" Cynder explained, the toe that held the claw that scratched the choker fervently started to hurt

This made perfect sense and if there was a tome depicting examples of reason then those words would fit there adequately.

So why did it irritate him so?

"Very well, fair point" Terrador acknowledged the situation, swallowing several times yet unable to get rid of the sour taste from his mouth

"We leave the portal for now, forcing our new guests into doing something we only speculate about is a bad idea. We still don't know what effects the portal would have on a dragon with a crystal in his body. Unwillingness in this manner might lead to disaster"

Everyone present nodded.

"This makes the situation perfect for you Spyro to reach the potential we talked about earlier" the Guardian stomped his paw on the ground firmly, like a judge making the final verdict "We need to act, here's what I propose we do"

He swallowed.

"I will order more guards and patrols to observe the ruins, if this portal cracks we need to know when. Volteer you in the meantime gather more information about the Veils and revise the lore about the Destroyer. Find anything about the creature, most preferably information on how to slow it down, we can reach to the farthest times in the past now, there has to be something out there that will at least give our non draconic fighters a chance against the constructs"

"Amela, you get the hospital and all other smaller outposts prepared for receiving the wounded. Stock them up on medical supplies"

"You three, I need you to reach the other portal Danox talked about, not everything he said about this one found its reflection in reality. The next mission will test his honesty. I don't want only you three to go there however, take the Drifters with you, we need their help and you Spyro need a group you can trust, a capable group, every single one of this dragons is exceptional"

"I don't want to work with Iris" Cynder whined "She tried to kill me!"

"That and I don't think our Queen knows what trust means" Sparx noted mockingly

Terrador nodded gloomily.

"I know it's not ideal, but if she won't cooperate and try something like that again you are more than capable of dealing with one rabid dragonesses. If it comes to tragedy, take her body with you, we might need it. I'll speak with Ignus and tell him to ready Iris for the journey and warn her of the consequences if she won't behave. We can't play it safe any longer, we can't allow unnecessary delays, such danger hides behind one portal, who knows how many of them are out there and what disasters they hide"

"With the gem dragons gone it will let us investigate another matter, people started to vanish, Cyril suspects Brill of course, I'm willing to believe him, but I would like to test every possibility before judging. I will take care of this, at the same time making sure our army is ready to fight"

"This is the plan, any questions?"

"I have one" Spyro raised his paw in the air, talking about all of this made one particular detail nag him constantly

"Yes?"

"What's a Phoenix?