FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 3

A roar filled the room, it wasn't a roar of a self- confident creature which intimidates its prey or attackers but a roar filled with uncertainty, fear and barely noticeable hint of bravery. It was the sound of a cornered creature which perfectly understands that it won't see another day but it won't be forced to leave this world without putting up a fight, a final desperate cling to life.

" You'll pay for everything!" the male emitted a wavering growl. The three of them could finally take a good glimpse at the frightened figure.

It was a young male, maybe two or three years younger than them, his build was draconic, he looked like a dragon but at the same time wasn't one, they have never seen a creature like him. First thing that their eyes caught were the colors of his scales, they were mostly fiery red covering the top and sides of his body and tail, his neck, underbelly and bottom side of his tail consisted of orange scales. Streaks of yellow could be visible in the places where his red scales connected with the orange ones.

Patterns of three yellow scales which were positioned one below the other in a diagonal fashion embellished his shoulders. Several small yellow spines protruded from the top side of his tail, the tail itself was ended with the most peculiar tip, it looked like a smaller version of a bird's tail and it was burning with a bright flame. Something was attached to both his elbows and hocks, something which no dragon they ever knew had. Those attachments had the form of a feather and they were burning in the same way like the tip on the dragon's tail.

The young dragon's eyes were also strange, they were yellow but instead of round pupils just like any other drake had his pupils were narrowed to slits resembling the eyes of a cat or a bird. Two yellow horns protruded from the top of his head. Between them was a blazing mane which started from the top of his head and ended on the nape of his neck. He was an odd dragon but two things in particular drawn the group's attention, one of this things were his wings. They were no ordinary wings, no bones, no membranes or leathery armor typical for the dragon kind was seen.

His big wings were burning like a fire, they were formed mostly from a reddish flame, but as the flame got closer to the edge it adopted a more yellowish hue just to finally end on an orange color. How the blazing wings could hold him in the air was a mystery, if they could at all. The second thing that caught their interest was a gem, a reddish beautiful crystal was inserted into his chest, just like it was a part of his body. Red and yellow entwined and swirled inside the gem, illuminating the whole structure of the crystal with a delicately bright light.

The dragon stood there, slightly bent on his paws, it looked like he was ready for anything, ready to commit one last act of bravery, no matter what happens. However his eyes, his strange looking eyes betrayed his tenacity, as much as he tried to sound confident his orbs were full of fear. Judging from the delicate wriggling of his pupils they could tell that he was scared and started to become even more terrified with each passing second, if the uneasy swings of his fiery tail are any clue. He desperately tried to put on a brave face but failed miserably, they could smell terror on him.

The male roared once again.

Spyro observed the young dragon, he didn't understand why he is the reason behind his aggression and not Cynder, but that was not important right now, what really mattered to him was to avoid a fight, there is no need for blood to be spilled.

He raised his paw defensively " Listen we-"

" I won't listen to your lies!" the drake emitted a wavering growl cutting the purple dragon off

" I don't want to fight you" Spyro replied calmly with a skill worthy of a negotiator. " We come in peace" he took a step forward

" Stand back!" the dragon roared and made a single step backwards, his voice becoming more and more nervous

He took another step " Let's just talk ok?"

The drake once again retreated " Stand back!" his roar was filled with terror and desperation

Spyro stopped " I won't harm you" he pronounced those words slowly allowing sincerity to be clearly heard in his voice

The drake started to shake, nervousness and fear overwhelming him " L-l-l-liar!" he stuttered

" It's true" Cynder interjected when she finally managed to shake of the surprise, it felt wrong but also oddly pleasant to see that for the first time she wasn't a target " Spyro won't attack you, he is the good guy here"

The yellow eyes of the dragon shifted towards her, absorbing her form just like they noticed her for the first time. After a moment of silent staring his pupils once again returned to the purple dragon " R-r-r- release h-h- her! She h-h-has n-n-n-nothing to d-d-do with it!"

She jerked back furrowing her brow " I'm not his prisoner"

" S-s-s- stop ma-ma-ma- manipulating h-her! G-g-g- get your p-p-p- paws dirty at l-l-l- least o-once y-y-you b-b-b- bastards!"

" A stammerer, seriously?" Sparx whispered incredulously

" She speaks the truth" Spyro confirmed and pointed at her with his claw " This is Cynder, we are friends"

" O-o-o-of c-c-course you a-a-a-are" the oddly looking dragon replied sarcastically

" Spyro is the good guy here, he would never hurt anyone. He is here to help" Cynder interjected with a soft tone

" N-n-n-no!" the male shouted as loudly as his stammer allowed him " T-t-t-they n-n-n-never help! W-w-w-wake up p-p-p-please!"

" Listen to me" Spyro whispered almost pleadingly " We are not going to harm you. I'M not going to harm you"

" S-s-s-shut up!" the drake roared

" Ok listen dude" Sparx made his way in front of Spyro " You've got the wrong guy here, he wouldn't hurt a fly. But her..." he pointed at Cynder" oooooh now that's a different story"

" Sparx..." Spyro hissed his brother's name through clenched teeth

The dragonfly ignored the purple dragon " She insulted...taunted...kidnapped..."

" Sparx..."

"...stole...maimed...desecrated..."

" Sparx..." Spyro hissed again, this time more irritated

Sparx remained unmoved "...destroyed... murdered ...dismembered..."

" Sparx that's enough!" the purple dragon growled angrily before taking a deep breath to calm himself " You are not helping"

Sparx raised his arms defensively "Dude chill, it's not like I'm lying"

" Thanks for sorting things out" Cynder commented sarcastically

" You're welcome" he bowed mockingly

The young red drake however seemed to ignore the dragonflie's word's or didn't hear them at all. He was staring at the glowing yellow shape with wide eyes trembling uncontrollably, he seemed to be paralyzed from fear " W-w-w-what k-k-k-kind of b-b-b-bug is t-t-t-this?" the dragon's slammer could barely be heard thanks to the ringing terror in his voice

Sparx pointed an angry finger at the odd drake " Hey I'm not a bug!" his chest swelled " I'm a dragonfly" he stated proudly

" A d-d-d-dragonfly?"

" Yeah! One of a kind really, you won't find a more powerful and good looking dragonfly than me anywhere else"

The dragon gulped as if swallowing a portion of his fear " H-h-h-how p-p-p-powerful?"

" Dude, they call me the King of the World" Sparx responded without a second thought, just to keep talking, making sense didn't matter

" Y-y-y-you rule t-t-t-the whole w-w-w-world?"

The dragonfly frowned " What portion of the King of the World you didn't understand? Of course I do, everyone bows to me!"

" E-e-e-even the p-p-p-purple d-d-d-dragons?"

Sparx furrowed his brow, he was uncertain if the dragon is being serious and is actually buying his made up story or is making fun of him. He made his way between his friends and covered his mouth with his hand " Am I crazy or is he actually believing in my fake story?"

Spyro shrugged " Seems like it"

" Just keep playing along" Cynder urged the dragonfly

Sparx once again made his way in front of his friends and cleared his throat " Everyone"

The dragon jerked back, surprised and somewhat calmer " Really?"

" Really, they both won't dare to hurt me. Look" he began circling his two friends " See?" Sparx covered his mouth " I've got a plan" he whispered

Cynder shook her head quickly in disbelief " Wait, wait, wait. YOU'VE got a plan?"

" Either that Smartass or you will have to fight"

" What's your plan?" Spyro asked curiously

" I'm going to act as I'm the ruler and you two are my slaves or something. I'm just going to fool the guy"

" Ok he might be not the brightest sort , just look at the guy he's clearly strange but that doesn't mean he won't figure things out" Cynder said cautiously " How can you know that he won't snap at some point?"

Sparx looked behind his shoulder, watching the young drake " He reminds me of someone" he whispered almost longingly

" You sure about that? I don't know if someone can be that naive" Spyro pulled the teeth of his brother, judging if he really knows what he is doing

" Bro trust me" the dragonfly eyed his brother from claw to horn " I know the type" he once again darted forward while throwing them a quick glance " Chill guys, I've got it covered" with that he turned towards the red dragon

" Oh no" Spyro whispered with a hint of fear in his voice

" What is it?" Cynder asked concerned

" Whenever Sparx says those words bad things happen and I'm sure one of us will find out what it is the hard way soon enough"

" You're exaggerating"

He sighed " Don't say that I didn't warn you"

Sparx spread his arms to both sides " Cool isn't it?" he addressed the young red drake

" How did you do that?" the male asked full of awe

" Natural talent dude. I command every creature, they follow my every whim, I can do whatever I want and nobody can stop me"

" You must be really powerful to become a king of the purple dragons"

" Dude duh. They know that they don't have any chance against me, people start to run whenever they hear my name. They call me..." Sparx made a pause for a dramatic effect " The Puppeteer" he said with the most manly and menacing voice he could muster

" The Puppeteer?" the dragon mumbled intimidated

" Yes and you know why? Because those who stand against me become my puppets, I pull the strings and they dance as I see fit"

" It must have been really tough to achieve so much"

" It was I don't deny it" Sparx replied dramatically " But a true hero knows the meaning of bravery, cunning and wisdom. These traits are not unfamiliar to me" a female cough could be heard after his words but he decided to ignore it

" I still don't understand how you managed to defeat the purple dragons, you are rather um... frail looking" the male stated bashfully

The dragonfly nodded " True but what I lack in raw strength I make up in brain. Every dragonfly and me in particular is born with tremendous intelligence" another cough could be heard but this time he threw Cynder an angry glance

She rubbed her neck " Something got stuck in my throat" she smirked

The young dragon observed the two drakes " They don't look like slaves"

" Because they aren't slaves. I allowed them to keep their free will, but that doesn't mean they won't follow my orders, I can do whatever I want with them." Sparx clapped his hands " A little demonstration maybe?" he pointed at Cynder " Take her for example"

She balked at the unexpected attention

" That's Cynder, I don't really know why I keep her around she's practically useless" he placed his palm on his chin " I should really consider changing her for something way cooler, some kind of shambling mound would be great. Stronger and waaaaay prettier"

Spyro began to whistle and look around the room " Here it comes"

" He wouldn't dare" Cynder hissed threateningly while narrowing her eyes on the dragonfly

" Been there done that"

Sparx shook his head " But look at me I digress. As I said I don't have a better model yet so I'm forced to be stuck with her. At least she's good arrow bait."

The male observed Cynder and saw her angry expression " She doesn't seem to like her role" he whispered

The dragonfly waved his hand " Nah, I'm just joking she has her uses. I must say that she is full of grace just like a gazelle, you never seen anything like that before I tell you" he turned to face the black dragoness " Cynder dance for us" he said with wavering lips, as if trying to hold back his laughter

" What?" she blurt out in disbelief

" Come on I know you like it" Sparx urged her like a little shy kid

" He can't possibly be serious" she looked at Spyro for advice but instead of finding help she saw him suppressing a giggle. Her eyes flared up at the sight

Spyro cleared his throat and removed his paw from his mouth " Sorry" he said with a wavering voice

Sparx covered his mouth " Public performances make her nervous" he whispered to the red drake before focusing on the black dragoness again " Cynder you can do it!" he shouted excitedly

" I'm not going to dance" she stated firmly

" Come on Cynder we don't have any choice, besides..." Spyro's mouth twitched into a teasing smile " I've never seen you dance before"

" Don't push me Spyro" she growled

" Don't be shy!" Sparx urged her once more

" Cynder this may be our only chance to avoid fighting" Spyro said with a serious tone but his voice wavered with anticipation and amusement

She looked at her purple friend, just to look at the dragonfly next, anger was rousing within her, she never danced before and forcing her to do so made her only mad. If she knew how the plan would turn out she would never agree to this, she had a hard time keeping her temper in check. But then she looked at the odd drake, he was like nothing she ever seen before not to mention he got here through one of the Veils. He seemed a bit naïve but he might be the only chance to learn about the portals or everything that was related to the time from which he came from. If somebody gave her the choice dance or battle she would go for battle, but to lose the one dragon who could shed some light on the whole situation... it was not worth it.

Cynder sighed in defeat " Fine" she turned towards the red drake and the dragonfly and froze, she bit her lip and nervously scratched the floor with her claw " Now how do I start?" she mused to herself

" Spyro give her a hand will you?" Sparx shouted and folded his arms watching the black dragoness with a grin on his face

Spyro smiled as he saw her confused expression, he will make her life easier. He grew up in a Swamp amongst friendly dragonflies, he knew what music is, his parents took him to parties so he wouldn't feel different and alone, he didn't knew it back then but he was the only dragon in the Swamp even if he had no idea about his heritage. Spyro knew that there are some slower and some faster songs, she is clearly a novice so a slow song would allow her to feel at least a bit more comfortable, the rhythm would carry her after that.

Spyro tapped his paw against the floor, his claws created an echoing click, a short pause and once again a tap, soon he repeated the same move creating a slow rhythm just like a slow beat from a speaker. She turned her head to look at him, he was watching her with a smile on his snout, his purple head was slowly bobbing to the sound of his clicks. Cynder averted her gaze and sighed " This is going to be embarrassing" she muttered under her breath.

Instinctively she began tapping her paw to the slow rhythm Spyro's claws created. Click, pause, click, pause, click. It was a stupid thing but this so called dance made her nervous and she was grateful that Spyro noticed it and was trying to make it easier for her. She kept repeating the same move but then suddenly the tempo has changed, instead of a single tap there were now two clicks which delicately quickened the music. Perhaps it wasn't much of a change but it still surprised her.

Cynder threw a startled glance at her accompanist, Spyro chuckled when he saw her troubled expression. With the same smile remaining on his snout he concentrated on the rhythm, two clicks and he sidestepped with a delicate yet fluent swing of his body, a single click followed soon after accenting the change of position. He repeated the same move but this time making his way to the other side, two click and he returned to the starting position, a single tap followed acknowledging the change. From this position Spyro repeated everything from the beginning.

Cynder watched him closely completely ignoring the fact that she stood still while she observed the new move. The moment Spyro once again returned to his starting position Cynder took a breath. He moved to the side she sidestepped right behind him, tap and return, another round soon followed and then another one. She was so focused on the steps that she didn't even realize that she was doing it on stiff legs, in her case that wasn't a dance but a simple sidestepping from side to side.

It was then when she heard a murmur, she looked at the direction from which the sound was coming from and saw Spyro trying to tell her something. He kept saying something but she couldn't make out the words, Cynder just shook her head in annoyance " I can't hear you" she hissed

" Swing" Spyro whispered

She didn't hear him again, but she couldn't leave it like that. Cynder focused on her friend, she might not hear him but that doesn't mean she can't understand him, the dragoness decided to read from Spyro's lips. He seemed to be repeating the word Swing whenever he sidestepped with a sway of his body. That was when realization struck her, Cynder completely forgot about the thing she was forced to do, namely- dance. It made her even more irritated and nervous.

She followed in his wake but was so much worse in it, her legs were stiff, they just didn't want to bend. Every muscle on her body was tense that the swing she tried to do didn't look like a sway at all but a chaotic wriggle, judging from the two stifled chuckles that burst out after her move she had to be looking quite silly. Once more the tempo increased slightly, a step forward a step backwards was added to the choreography a simple change but it still put her off her stride. In her focus to learn the two new steps she forgot how the previous two went, in all this nervousness she couldn't remember some simple steps not to mention that every time she made a move she forgot to sway.

" Swing" Spyro pronounced again between a chuckle

Cynder exhaled irritated, there were too many eyes watching her, there were to many pointers saying what she should do, basically everything started to annoy her. Swing and swing and swing that's all she can hear " I'm trying!" her own scream echoed inside her head. They want her to swing she will swing, two clicks- step- sway, two clicks-step-sway, step forward- sway step backwards-sway, she's doing it right what the hell they want from her?!

She couldn't be more wrong, Cynder thought she was doing everything correctly but in truth she wasn't. Instead of moving fluently between the moves with a delicate sway of her body she made a step on stiff legs froze for a second and wriggled chaotically in place just like she would be shaking not dancing. She kept repeating the same pattern on every step she tried to follow. The growing annoyance made her clumsy moves even more worse looking than before, as she once again started her _swing_on some next step a burst of laughter echoed throughout the room, the happy laugh coming from the two brothers drawn her attention instantly.

Cynder shot Spyro a furious glance, the moment he saw her stare he ceased his laughter. His mouth kept twitching as he tried to hold back his spurt of happiness, he kept dancing and bobbing his head slightly as if saying " You are doing great". A smile never disappearing from his snout as he urged her friendly to continue the dance. Spyro increased the tempo and with a clap of his wings he spun around to look at her again while tapping a slower rhythm, the one she was familiar with.

With an irritated exhale of air Cynder continued this charade this time not even looking at her friend, allowing the rhythm to carry her. Two clicks, step with a sway- done, return in the same fashion-done, she heard the chuckles so it had to look hilarious but she no longer cared, she just wanted this to end. She forgot how to proceed after that so she started to improvise creating her own moves. There was no smoothness nor grace in it, a surprise really since in the air or during a fight she moved like no one else.

On stiff legs and not really fluent sways accompanied by the occasional laughs she continued her so called dance, a step here, a step there, a tap here, a click there. After a while the rhythm Spyro created intensified, with a corner of her eye she noticed that he was no longer dancing, he was intently focused on creating the music. She had no idea what she was doing but the tempo somehow urged her to do something else than just sidestep from side to side. She saw Spyro spinning once, and the rhythm somehow urged her to do the same. "What the hell" Cynder thought to herself, it can't get any worse than it already is, besides it's just a simple spin.

She kept dancing, waiting for the right moment to introduce her new move. The rhythm had that one peculiar little pause, ideal for a spin. She began to listen intently not even noticing that she practically stopped dancing as her every muscle tensed in anticipation of that moment. Finally it came and Cynder with great determination spun around, but sometimes things don't work out the way you planned.

Instead of an effortless swift spin she found herself tripping over something, a feminine faint yelp could be heard before a thud echoed throughout the room. Merry laughing burst out the moment she collapsed on the floor, Cynder quickly pulled herself together and wriggled, like nothing ever happened.

" Dear Ancestors" Sparx muttered chuckling while looking at her through the fingers of his hand plastered on his face.

The rhythm somewhat wavered as Spyro continued to laugh, not that it bothered her, she was annoyed already as it is. Cynder began her own dance moving to an unheard music of her own creation, some stiff steps here, some chaotic and ungraceful sways there, every now and then a very slow spin and not even knowing when she created a choreography of her own. Laughs continued to echo throughout the room as she danced, but she didn't care anymore.

Cynder impulsively added some extra moves just to speed things up so this farce could finally be over. A jump, a wing of her tail or a flap of her wings, all these things made her clumsy choreography even more clumsy but every new move brought her closer to the end and towards her purple friend.

" When this is over I'm going to kill him" Cynder spun around noticing Spyro's broad smile when she stopped " And if you won't wipe that grin off your snout you'll be next" she hissed threateningly.

Cynder voiced her threat in such an intimidating manner that his smile vanished instantly with a gulp. After voicing her threat that sounded more like a promise Cynder pushed her dance into the final stage. Every part of her body was moving in her typical clumsy fashion, the tempo was quick forecasting the final moments of practically every song.

Step, sway, step, a swing of the tail, a flap of the wings, additional steps with the use of the previously mentioned moves and finally the last spin. As she completed the circle Cynder tapped her front paw on the floor sending a clear signal that the dance is over.

" That was...that was..." Sparx muttered lost for words yet with ringing amusement in his voice "...something I've never seen before" he grinned " This image will be stuck in our heads forever"

" Wow! That was nice!" the red drake emitted an excited and sincere shout

" What?" the dragoness and the dragonfly blurt out shocked

" I've never seen anyone dance before, it was so cool!"

" Dude you blind?" Sparx shook his head when he realized that he needs to continue playing the all- knowing boss. He cleared his throat " I mean...of course it was good! Only a complete dupe would think that it was a disaster! It pleases me to see that the tricks I've taught her aren't wasted"

" What else you have taught her?" the drake asked curiously

The question caught Sparx by surprise he planned to tease her with that little innocent dance but... an opportunity presented itself and his name wouldn't be Sparx if he wouldn't take advantage of it to annoy the black dragoness a bit more.

He grinned evilly " You have to hear her sing" with a corner of his eye he noticed Cynder balking " It will be something to remember I tell you! She has a voice of an angel"

" You must be kidding me" she retorted incredulously

The dragonfly frowned " What did you say?" Sparx replied with a faked anger, an anger suitable for a bossy thug

" I've said-"

He dashed towards the dragoness " Did I hear you whine?!" he blurt out like a drill sergeant

Cynder stared at him in complete silence

" Answer me Puppet!" he shouted furiously " DID YOU WHINE?"

Cynder narrowed her eyes on the dragonfly, her orbs blazing with rage. She began to like his plan less and less, he is putting her patience to a test, one prank ok but two...now that was exaggeration in her eyes. She really wanted to end this farce right here and now but she also knew that she is against a wall and Sparx is taking advantage of it, as sucky as this whole plan is she didn't want to risk it falling flat.

" No" she replied coldly, a delicate puff of green mist leaving her nostrils

Sparx furrowed a brow " No?"

" No"

" So you want to tell me that you didn't complain?"

She exhaled angrily " Yes"

" Then what you were trying to tell me?"

" Nothing, I've misspoke"

" Mhm" Sparx nodded " Misspoke you say" he leaned closer " What did I tell you about wasting my time hmm? I think I've told you that I hate when it happens is it correct? I think I've told you that this make me very unhappy, and we don't want to make me unhappy don't we now?" he baby talked her but tried to preserve the tone of voice typical for the bad crazy characters

The dragonfly annoyed her beyond imagination, Cynder had troubles keeping her maw at bay " I'm sorry" she mumbled

Sparx put his hand to the side of his head " What was that?"

" I'm sorry" she repeated in the same manner

He leaned even more closer still remaining in the same posture " I didn't get that, louder"

" I'm sorry" Cynder hissed

" "I'm sorry what?" he waved his other palm in circular motion, urging her to continue with a simple gesture

" I'm sorry..." she was lost for words

" Ma...." He kept waving his hand

" I'm sorry Ma....Master" she hissed

" Almost" Sparx stated before continuing the previous gesture " I'm sorry gre....."

" I'm sorry gre......great Master" she finally finished the sentence with a little pause

" So how it goes?"

" I'm sorry great Master" Cynder hissed through clenched teeth

" Good girl" Sparx squeezed and wriggled her cheek, congratulating her on a job well done

Her eyes flared up with murder, if looks could kill the dragonfly would be dead on the spot. Not to mention that the green puffs wafting from her nose betrayed how exactly she felt right now. It didn't escape Sparx' notice, he quickly dashed into the air just to as far away from the dragoness as possible

" Begin..." his voice was wavering and lacked the previous bossy tone. Sparx quickly cleared his throat as he realized that not everything is as it used to be " Begin and don't disappoint me" he stated manly

Cynder exhaled letting go some of the anger, confusion however took its place momentarily , she doesn't know any song, she only knew that songs have some verses and a chorus, that's what she could tell from people she heard singing. However she was certain that she is no singer, her voice is far from being angelic. Cynder looked around the room for inspiration but found none, with no better option presenting itself she decided to improvise

" I see..." her voice was a whisper as she looked for words

"...I see a crumbled ceiling like the signs of disease spreading within my head, I see the blue sky like rays of sanity soothing...um...my sick mind" she mumbled with a shrug, it made no sense but who cares

" I see the debris reminding me of the state I'm in, I see the havoc telling me how I fare. All these things together make a picture of me that is made up and completely unreal"

Her singing voice couldn't be compared to angelic, it wasn't rich nor thin, it wasn't even rugged or choppy, truthfully it didn't sound like she was singing at all. She sounded like she was talking.

" I stand here not knowing what to do, Only thinking that the ending is long overdue, Since I'm doing things not meant for me, Singing words with which I disagree, While sounding worse than a banshee"

Time for a chorus, Cynder took a breath thinking what words to use but she was out of ideas but then a thought crossed her mind that she doesn't need to form verses, some immaterial words will be enough, the gaps she will fill with some ooo-ing

" Oooooooo..." the hum sounded just like that, she didn't articulate the vowel coming out from her mouth. The hum sounded more like a moan of a long dead zombie, a moan that forced a chuckle from the two brothers

" I'm lost for words.... Ooooooo... It makes no sense Ooooooo... I hope it ends Oooooo... O-o-o"

The last stammered vowels triggered a heartily laugh from both brothers, she could only imagine how silly her moaning had to sound. Cynder had enough, she won't make a fool of herself any longer.

" I'm done" she hissed angrily

Sparx wiped a tear from his eye " I'll never forget this moment" he turned to face the red drake " Didn't I tell you she's not from this planet?" he smirked

The young dragon was looking at Cynder completely engrossed in her " That was great"

Cynder jerked back " Really?"

" Yeah you wish" Sparx retorted before focusing on the red drake again " One question dude, are you deaf?"

" I've never heard anyone sing before"

" You didn't?" the dragonfly asked surprised " One question man, you lived in a cave or something all your life?"

The dragon looked troubled as if recalling a recent bad memory " No, not in a cave, close, but..." he narrowed his eyes on Spyro " Ask your puppet, he will tell you everything, Suffice it is to say, that I was assured a different kind of entertainment"

Spyro just stared at the drake with wide eyes, he never hurt anybody out of pure malice, whatever the drake is talking about he has to be wrong or confuse him with someone else, but who? He refers to purple dragons as the bad guys but there is no other dragon like him alive, only one of their kind is born every ten generations so how it is possible?

Sparx clapped his hand to brake the awkward moment " So how about something else? Our jester here will think of something won't she?" he threw a scornful glare at the black dragoness

" Over my dead body" Cynder mused to herself, enough is enough, she will make sure that he will understand clearly that her patience has run but she will announce it in such a way that the red dragon will still think that she is the dragonflies' toy.

She smiled cheerfully " Of course my great Master I'm here to please but I have a one request if I may. You are known from your power but also from your generosity, will you allow this humble dragoness to share with you a lesson that she was taught while she was still a hatchling?"

Sparx furrowed a brow, he didn't expect her to react in such a way, it smells fishy but she has him against the wall, he is the powerful and generous Master after all.

" What...what you have in mind?" he asked with a wavering voice

" It's a little story passed in my family from generation to generation"

" A...a story?'

" Cynder nodded excitedly like a child who couldn't wait to start reciting a poem in front of her class " Yes, it's about two creatures who knew each other for a very long time. The story tell us that there are even boundaries in such long relationships, that we need to be very careful not to cross it or else we might regret it. May I start?" she smiled innocently

Sparx stared at her completely dumbfounded by her sudden enthusiasm " Of...course" he muttered

She bowed " Thank you Master, you are truly great" with that she cleared her throat and took a deep breath

" There were two creatures once, a lizard and a bug, one was yellow the other black, for jokes they had a knack"

" They always hanged out together, be it in good or bad weather, always finding time for a prank, that is both funny and somewhat frank"

" One day Will, that's the bug, played a trick on his buddy, which was incredibly cruddy"

" Because of that, on a darkest night, one could hear a bite, that sounded like a smite"

" After that the lizard Keith, picked something from his teeth, wondering what it could be, causing him a tickle and a sting"

" Oh, it's a wing!"

There was something in the way she pronounced the last sentence, she sounded like one of those crazy bad characters, her voice was cheerful but one could tell that her tone was ringing with malice. Not to mention that the way she narrowed her eyes on the dragonfly could send a shiver down the spine. Spyro looked at this brother and couldn't help himself but to burst out laughing when he took a glimpse of his face, he was staring at the dragoness with wide terrified eyes and gulping, he clearly understood the meaning behind her made up poem.

"Wow!" the red drake huffed with sincere awe " That was nice, she's good" he frowned thoughtfully " There is something about these two characters, I don't know why but I have a feeling that I know them from somewhere which is odd since I've never heard the story"

" It's a fake!" Sparx exclaimed loudly with horror filled voice " Don't bother yourself with it"

The drake tilted his head in confusion " I don't know... it sounds familiar but I can't really remember..."

" FORGET ABOUT IT!" the dragonfly shouted making the dragon balk " Focus on something else, like I don't know, how about you tell us how you got through that portal, or something more interesting"

" A portal?" the young drake asked confused

" Don't tell me you never saw a portal"

" That depends"

" On what?"

" How does a portal look like?" the dragon asked candidly

" You don't know what a portal is?" Spyro interjected before the dragonfly could respond

The dragon looked at him, instantly Spyro noticed fear in his yellow eyes. The drake stared at him as if looking for a correct answer " I do?" he mumbled tentatively

The purple dragon frowned " I don't know you tell me"

" What sort of test is this?"

" Test?"

" How I'm supposed to pass it when I don't even know what a portal is!" the drake exclaimed but then his eyes went wide and he hunkered down just like a dog realizing that it did something terribly wrong

The dragon was acting really weird, he became more nervous the moment he focused his attention on him, Spyro didn't know what to make out of it but it has to wait. First things first, they've been sent here to investigate a disturbance regarding the Veils, questions for the dragon can wait.

" You don't remember anything strange? Like an odd feeling crossing through your body, or a visible anomaly in the air, anything?"

" I d-d-d-don't know, m-m-m-maybe..." the drake stammered nervously

" Dude relax" Sparx calmed the dragon " He is under my control. You are safe"

The young dragon took a deep breath " No, I didn't see or feel anything like that"

Spyro frowned thoughtfully, either the portal wasn't created by the drake or he is a very good actor, but judging from his look Spyro can exclude the second option. That would agree with Brill's story regarding the portals but that raises some questions, if these Veils are created as a result of the usage of tremendous magical powers at once as Volteer thinks then is it possible to prevent that from happening?. If that won't work, then is it possible to close those Veils before they pull out things from the time's clutches? They wouldn't want an army of golems like the one they recently fought on their heads after all.

Spyro made his way to the place where the golem appeared, he couldn't feel anything, there was no itching or tingling. He swung his foreleg from side to side but as previously there was nothing, no ripples in the air or anything like that.

" And?" Cynder approached him

" Nothing" Spyro sighed " There is nothing here, like the portal never existed. It had to collapse after dragging the whole building and all of its inhabitants with it"

She shrugged " Who wouldn't? A huge structure, a hulking golem and an odd looking dragon. My back hurts just when I think about it"

Spyro offered her a weak smile " If I only knew how to control them, the things we could find out..."

" Does it matter? The thing is gone and I say good riddance , no risk of another stone man appearing

" Maybe you are right..." Spyro sighed

" Of course I'm right" Cynder admitted " Who knows what could happen when they would turn out to be beyond your control"

" Yeah I guess, better to leave it this way"

" Besides there are more important things to focus on right now. I would like to know what the hell was that thing we just fought for example, why that golem was immune to practically our every attack. Secondly our naïve friend, I'm very interested to hear his story, I would really like to know what kind of dragon he is, his eyes, his wings, his whole form, now that's something you don't see every day, and most importantly I would really like to know why he hates you so much when I'm standing right beside you"

Spyro kept staring at the place where the portal was once " You and me both" he huffed thoughtfully " He seems to be afraid of me, why I have no idea, he acts like he knows me but how is that possible when I've never seen him in my life?"

Cynder scratched her choker " There is only one way to find out. Let's just ask him"

" He won't talk to me"

" No he won't but your good for nothing brother might pull some things out of him"

" Hey, I've heard that!" Sparx appeared out of nowhere in front of the dragoness pointing a finger on her accusingly

" Good" she replied bluntly

The dragonfly snorted

" Sparx" Spyro addressed his brother " You think that you could ask the new guy some questions?"

" That depends"

" Huh?"

" What's in it for me?"

Spyro furrowed a brow " What?"

Sparx waved his hand " Bro chill I was kidding, boy you are stiff. Make Second Tail dance for you or something, I'm sure that would cheer you up"

" After that the lizard Keith Picked something from his teeth..."

" Ok, ok I get it!" Sparx interrupted Cynder's recitation " What you wanna know?"

" Start with the normal thing" Spyro answered " What is his name, what kind of dragon is he, you know, the basic stuff"

" Sparx is here to save the day" the dragonfly announced proudly and clapped his hands " All right dude we need to ta..." his voice trailed off when he turned around and noticed that the young dragon is no longer there " Where did he go?"

Both dragons spun around at the sound of his voice, they began to look around the room wondering what could happen with the young dragon. As he observed the ruined scenery Spyro noticed a tip of a flaming tail disappearing up the staircase from which they arrived here

" Hey! Wait!" Spyro shouted after the dragon

Immediately the three friends dashed after the red dragon, he was lost and they don't want to let a strange looking dragon wander around, people might take him for something he isn't. They made their way up the stairs, the young drake had a bit of advantage but that only gave them more motivation to catch up with him. Step after step and soon first glimpses of light could be seen in the corridor, it was now only a matter of time.

As they finally left the room behind them they couldn't help it but to be struck but a slight dose of surprise, the dragon they've chased was right in front of them, his blazing tail waggling slowly. The drake stood in place, frozen, his back was facing them but even from here they could see his head moving slowly from side to side, up and down. It had to be quite a shock for the young dragon to see that the world he knew had changed dramatically, his past life, family and everything dear to him was now burrowed under the sands of time, the only thing that remained of his previous life was this crumbling structure.

The group slowly approached him, they knew he wasn't running anywhere now. The drake didn't even budge, he was standing in the same position. " What is going on?" the drake muttered as he heard their steps, not even turning to face them

" Welcome to the Dragon Realms" Spyro greeted him calmly yet sarcastically

The dragon seemed to not care who was addressing him right now, since he didn't even budge at the sound of Spyro's voice, as he was completely engrossed by the surroundings " This wasn't here before..." he muttered sounding almost delirious

" That portal we were talking about earlier? It creates a loop between the past and the present as if linking two realities together"

" I don't understand"

" Bro you spend too much time with Volteer, seriously" Sparx admonished his brother before concentrating on the red drake " Long story short- you jumped in time, don't ask why or how because we don't know"

There was a moment of silence " I still don't understand" the drake responded after a while

The dragonfly sighed " Who cares, dude you are free you can do whatever you want, everyone who gave you trouble are stuck from wherever you came from. Enjoy life"

The young drake balked and quickly spun around " What did you say?" he asked excitedly

Sparx frowned " Umm...enjoy life?"

The red dragon leaned closer " You said I'm free?"

The dragonfly threw confused glances at both his draconic friends but they had no answer to give him " Yeah... you are free" he shrugged

" I'm free...I'm free...I'm free" with each word the dragon's head was getting lower until his nose almost touched the ground. It was then when he quickly rose his head " I'M FREE!" the dragon roared happily. He began to run in circles and jump around constantly repeating the same words over and over again. After a while of displayed happiness the dragon stopped and frowned thoughtfully " But why?" he mumbled

Sparx shook his head as if snapping from confusion " What was that?"

The drake adopted a grim expression as he looked at the dragonfly " Why are you letting me go?"

" What?"

" Why would you grant me my freedom? You have no reason to...unless this is some kind of a trick, you want me to believe that I'm free so you can laugh at my stupidity. That's it isn't it?"

" No" Sparx said firmly " You never were my slave or anything, dude you are truly free"

" Why should I believe you?" the drake snapped " You are The Puppeteer, you could be controlling me right now"

" If I was controlling you, you would know that. A simple test if you don't believe me. Jump!" the dragonfly exclaimed like a drill sergeant

The red dragon remained still

" See? Now watch this" he pointed at the purple dragon " Jump!"

Spyro rolled his eyes and reluctantly leapt up

The dragonfly spread his arms " I'm not the bad guy here"

" Then why do you keep her as a slave? She doesn't deserve it" the red drake asked

It didn't escape Sparx' notice how the drake purposely didn't mention Spyro but he decided to leave the matter alone " They are not my slaves, I've told you already that they have their own free will but I command them because they are idiots! Without me they would go into a monster den to check what's inside. It's for their own good!" he nodded towards the red drake " Tell him guys"

Both dragons looked at each other for a brief moment before focusing their attention on their new guest " The Master is right" they both sighed

" Dude you are free, do whatever you want, go whenever you want, visit places you always wanted to see. Do... I don't know, anything!"

" Yay!" as the drake exclaimed his grim expression vanished only to be replaced by that of tremendous joy. He once again began to pounce around " That's right! There is no one who tells me what to do! I can laugh, I can talk freely, I can fly, I can visit places I always wanted to see, I can finally go to...go to..." as his voice trailed off so did his happiness

" ...I don't know where" he muttered with dread " I don't recognize this place! I don't where I am! I don't know what to do! I don't...I don't..." he babbled hysterically

Sparx threw his hands in the air " Whoa dude chill, you can always come with us"

" i..." the dragon's voice trailed off as he threw a surprised look at the dragonfly " What?"

" Come with us" Sparx bit his lip, the dragon might take it as another order " Only if you want to of course" he quickly added

The red drake stared at the ground for a while but after a moment he launched his head upward and his eyes sparkled with glee " Sure!" he exclaimed and after that presentation of joy the dragon quickly made his way towards the dragonfly " So where are we going?" he asked eagerly

" Wherever our legs will take us friend" Sparx responded poetically

" Sparx ask him for his name" Spyro whispered

The dragonfly snapped his fingers " One thing before we go. What's your name dude?"

The dragon balked while he looked at the dragonfly, confusion plastered on his snout " Umm...Dude? he responded tentatively

" That's not a name d..." Sparx took a breath " Your parents, what name they have given you?"

" My parents..." the dragon mumbled and stared at the ground " I...don't know" he embarrassingly shuffled his paw along the floor " I...I... don't have a name"

" You don't have a name?" Spyro blurt out shocked

" No" the drake whispered sadly

The three friends looked at each other, how is it possible that someone has no name was beyond them. One thing was for certain, they can't leave it this way, it was then when Sparx snapped his fingers

" So pick a name" he said

The red dragon stared at him with confusion filled eyes

" You are free, how you want us to call you?"

The red drake looked around somewhat dumbfounded as if not knowing that to look for " The Red Dragon" he finally replied shyly

Sparx jerked back " No, that's-"

" Hero?" the drake interjected cutting him off, but seeing as the dragonfly shook his head he knew that it was a wrong answer " Fire element?" another shake " Kid? Freak? Slave? Bird eye?" every single time the dragonfly shook his head

" What's wrong?" the drake snapped " You said that I can call myself however I want!" he blurt out irritated

" Yeah but the things you've said...these are not names" Sparx responded abashed

" Then I don't know!"

The dragonfly raised one of his fingers " give me a sec" with that he flew between his two friends and mentioned for them to lean closer " You sure you want to bring him along? There is something very wrong with this guy, didn't we deal with enough craziness already?"

" Where is the problem? You are tagging along with us all the time, craziness is our day-to-day basis" Cynder responded with a smirk

Sparx just snorted

" We can't just leave him here" Spyro added " He is clearly lost, we gotta help him"

" Bro he doesn't even know his name" Sparx retorted

" So what? Let's think of something" he turned to look at the oddly looking drake " What name would be good for a creature that is an exception to every known rule, special and nobody thought existed?" he wondered

There was a moment of silence as the three friends were concentrating, after a while the eyes of the two brothers shot wide open as revelation struck them

" Flare!" they looked at each other and exclaimed simultaneously as their eyes met

Sparx turned towards the red drake " And?" he asked excitedly and impatiently

The young dragon frowned thoughtfully " Flare...I like it"