FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 12

Tireless labor of the two brothers granted the many inhabitants of the Dragon Realms the opportunity to carry on with their more or less mundane lives. Between the constant changes of vigil of the sun and moon a caravan was slowly rolling down through one of the trade routes connecting Warfang and the moles' capital city the Munitions Forge. Fours oxen were pushing the caravan forward, with a single mole directing the animals.

The caravan consisted of two long wagons which were filled with all kinds of different metals from the rich mine depths of the Munitions Forge to be traded for food and medicine, resources that the mole's barren land couldn't produce. Now the two wagons were being also occupied by four other creatures that joined the mole in his way back to the capital city. One wagon consisted of packed food and a purple and black dragon, the other one filled with medicine housed an oddly looking fire drake and a glowing dragonfly.

As the caravan slowly rolled onwards the hatch on the second wagon's upper part opened and a dragonfly emerged through it.

" I'M BORED!" Sparx exclaimed, his shout had a whiny tone to it

The mole leading the caravan and the two dragons in the first wagon rolled their eyes, when the two males looked only tired as if they heard the same thing over and over again, the female black dragon on the other hand had a mixture of tiredness and irritation plastered on her snout. With a soft growl she pushed the hatch open and climbed on top of the wagon

" Will you shut up already?" Cynder growled at the dragonfly " You are giving us a headache!"

" But that's the truth!" Sparx whined " Why can't we just fly there?"

" Now you are so eager to do something all of a sudden?"

The dragonfly yawned " Whatever think what you want, now crawl back into the wagon Naughty, you are ruining my fresh air"

Cynder snarled " Say it again"

A fiery drake burst through the hatch but the dragonfly didn't budge, he was entirely concentrated on the dragoness ahead " Crawl back into your hole Naughty" he pronounced each word slowly in a provoking manner

Her claws delicately scratched the wooden surface of the wagon " I'm warning you" she hissed threateningly

Sparx raised his hand and mimicked her mouth yapping " Blah, blah, blah"

" That's it!" she roared and wanted to pounce at the dragonfly but her attempt was stopped by someone pulling her tail

" Cynder just leave him alone" Spyro said as he emerged through the recently used opening

The dragoness growled " Let me go and I'll make life easier for both of us"

" Just ignore him and he will stop"

After a moment of silent staring at her prey she finally snorted " Fine" her posture relaxed a bit

He let go off her tail seeing her reaction " You will see, it will work"

Sparx smirked and took a deep breath " I'M BORED!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs

" You are dead!" Cynder roared and pounced at the dragonfly

Spyro sighed

" You've gathered an interesting team my friend" the mole's voice caught his attention

Spyro sat next to the caravan master " A team like any other, if you can even call us like that. We are just bunch of friends, nothing special"

The mole laughed " Please, modesty doesn't fit here. A dragonfly, you as a Savior, the odd drake and Shadow herself, and you want to tell me there is nothing special about you?"

" We just do what we need to do"

The mole shook his head " No, that is my job, you do something far more greater and I have a feeling that you'll do even more in the days to come"

" You are mine now!" both Spyro and the mole ducked when they heard the female shout, momentarily Sparx darted above their heads with Cynder right behind him.

Both the dragon and the mole straightened up casually like nothing ever happened, just like they've done this countless times before

" But honestly I have no idea how can you stand those two" the caravan master continued

Spyro chuckled " After a while you get used to it"

The mole laughed " I see"

" They usually just keep to snide remarks, this trip is weary on all of us"

The rodent nodded " Can't argue with that" he motioned with his head towards the oxen " At least one of us is having fun"

Spyro followed the mole's direction and smiled when he spotted Flare walking next to the animals clumsily mimicking their moves " Yeah"

" Forgive my inquisitiveness but what kind of creature is he exactly?"

Spyro observed his new companion carefully " He is a dragon, there is no doubt about that, he just looks different"

" If he is a dragon then what has happened to him? I've never seen such a dragon before"

" You and me both, honestly I have no idea why he looks like that, I doubt he does either. Maybe he was born that way"

The mole raised an eyebrow " A half-breed? Is that even possible?"

Spyro shrugged " I dunno, Volteer firstly thought that he has an avian lineage but this is a very unlikely scenario, his second guess was that Flare's appearance is a result of an evolution or something"

" A bird? He has lizard eyes if you ask me"

Spyro frowned, the mole might be right, just like Volteer. Wherever the truth may lay one thing was certain, both their theories were just a tiny drop in a river full of possibilities

" Your guess is as good as mine" the dragon commented somewhat sadly, yet not without his natural curiosity hiding somewhere in his tone

" Whatever his heritage is he still is an unique creature, one can only wonder why is he basically burning"

Spyro observed his fiery companion, there was definitely a story behind his naivety and odd reactions. Impulsively his mind raced through every troubling event, starting with Cynder's strange behavior, then the veil near Boven with the golem just to stop on the bug-like creature of Munitions Forge.

" One problem at a time" Spyro muttered thoughtfully

" I pity you, there seems to be a lot on your shoulders" the mole looked at the fiery dragon and the two figures flying above " Perhaps to solve such strange riddles special measures are required"

The purple dragon sighed, the rodent most likely was right, yet no matter how big his group may become he really wished they wouldn't have any role to play in the future events. There was only one way to find out

" How long till we get to Munitions Forge?"

" A few more days" the caravan master grinned as if trying to lighten the mood " Just enjoy the ride"

Spyro chuckled " We will do just that"

There was a sudden yelp behind them, they turned around just to see the dragonfly spinning wildly down from the air towards the ground just like a gust of wind blown him from the sky, a black dragoness was speeding after him. Instead of hitting the ground Sparx fell through the hatch of the second wagon, there was a rumbling sound when he collided with its wooden surface.

Cynder landed on top of the wagon and peered inside with an evil grin " We will see how will you like this" she began preparing a delicate wind breath

Her attempt was interrupted by a brown powder bursting through the hatch that Cynder involuntary inhaled. Her eyes watered instantly as the powder began tickling her nose intensely, she couldn't control her reaction. The powder caused her to sneeze while accidently powering her elemental attack, she accidently released the gust of wind straight into the opened hatch.

The power of the breath caused the wagon to jump and emit a loud howl and rumble. The oxen after hearing the noise cried startled and darted forward dragging the caravan behind them, for such typical slow creatures thy still managed to speed up the caravan thanks to their strength.

" What are you doing? What have I done wrong?" Flare exclaimed shocked after the scuttling animals

" Easy now! Easy!" the mole yelled trying to calm the rushing animals while batting the reins

The oxen didn't listen, they tossed the caravan from side to side. The moment the animals made a sharp turn the whole caravan was forcefully yanked to one side. Cynder couldn't keep her balance, the strong shake of the wagon threw her off her paws and with a yelp she rolled right into the opened hatch.

Spyro wasn't lucky either, with a similar startled yelp he was thrown from the caravan, only his reflex saved him from being shot completely off the wagon. The moment he rolled from its wooden surface he latched onto its wooden edge with his claws. The dragon's hind paws were thrashing desperately looking for a foothold while his tail kept swinging wildly, its uncontrolled moves were a clear signal just how fast the caravan raced through the road.

" Easy! Easy!" the mole kept repeating the same words yet to no avail, the animals just didn't listen.

Spyro grunting began to pull himself up but then the caravan made another sharp turn, not only did he slid back down but also the turn pulled his body away from the surface of the wagon, his sunken claws into the boards kept him from falling, for a brief moment he fluttered just like a flag. Everything returned back to normal when the animals began to pull the caravan in a straight line again. The change of direction slammed his body into the wagon's wooden surface, with a groan Spyro realized that he just returned to the starting position.

The mole tired his best to calm the animals but they just didn't want to stop. When the rodent thought that they have to brace themselves for another sharp turn a fireball exploded just right before the racing oxen.

The animals cried, their hooves sank into the ground making dust shoot in the air as the creatures slowed down dragging their hooves across the ground. Yet it was still enough to swing the caravan like it weighted nothing, the oxen prepared to renew their run but were unable to since one of the wheels of the caravan got buried in the earth. The oxen pulled and pulled but were unable to move the caravan, after a while the animals lost much of their strength and calmed on their own.

" You guys are ok?" Flare shouted when he began to descend from the sky

The mole exhaled a breath of relief and wiped his forehead " Nice job kid, finally it's over"

" What happened?"

The caravan master looked behind himself with an angry frown where two heads belonging to a black dragoness and a dragonfly could be seen " I don't even have the patience to explain this" he hissed

Cynder and Sparx turned to face the mole when they heard his voice, the moment they saw his furious stare both of them averted their gaze and lowered their head in shame.

Spyro with a grunt pulled himself up so just his head protruded from the cover, when he noticed the mole's meaningful stare he cackled nervously " Sorry"

The caravan master snorted " There was a reason I signed to be a merchant, I hope this is the first and last such action"

The purple dragon nodded confidently " Nothing like that will happen again. Promise"

" WHAT ON EVERYTHING THAT'S HOLY IS THIS?!" the mole screamed furiously when he looked inside the second wagon

The inside of the wagon didn't resemble the interior he once knew, the walls, floor, basically every wooden surface was covered with all kinds of herbs, ointments and who know what else. The grimace on his snout deepened when he spotted that some of the bags of medicine were torn apart, some flasks were empty with their contents spilled all over the place.

" WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TOUCHING THE MERCHANDISE?!" the rodent screamed again

In the middle of the chaos stood a sole fire dragon with his body, paws and claws covered in the same kind of odd mix like the whole wagon was. Flare bent on his paws, lowered his head just like a guilty dog and looked at the mole with puppy eyes

" Don't give me that look!" the rodent snarled before the dragon could utter a single word

" What is going on here?" a male shout echoed from behind the mole

Momentarily two dragons appeared behind the mole, their eyes widened when they noticed the havoc inside

Cynder put her head inside the wagon " Flare what did you do?" she muttered while looking around the interior surprised

" I-"

" This is not what I've expected when I took you with me!" the mole snapped

" What's this noise all about?" another male shout reached the group, soon the hatch opened and a dragonfly peered inside the wagon " Whoa" Sparx eyes widened " Dude I didn't know you had a knack for painting" he flew inside

" But-"

" This is medicine, you weren't supposed to touch it. Didn't I make myself clear when I took you with me?" the mole almost growled

" Yes, but-"

" These are TRADING GOODS!" the rodent snapped furiously making the dragons behind him jump startled " I was supposed to bring them intact!"

" Sorry I-"

" This is my job! Every delay, every mistake cost me!"

" You missed a spot here" Sparx announced casually while pointing at a place where a tiny bit of wood was spared the gruesome fate.

The mole clenched his fists and gave the dragonfly a murderous stare

" Not now Sparx" Spyro muttered through clenched teeth

The dragonfly shook his head " No appreciation for art"

" Sparx!" the purple dragon admonished his brother when he noticed the mole turn red from anger

" Flare you have to explain yourself" Cynder interjected seeing as the situation was slowly getting out of paws

The fiery drake bent on his legs even further under the weight of so many eyes on him " I t-t-t-though that t-t-t-this-"

" Are you kidding me?" the mole exclaimed in disbelief interrupting the dragon's barely coherent stutter

" Flare stammers when he is nervous" Cynder explained the situation

" I can't believe this" the rodent muttered while turning to the fiery drake " This doesn't change anything, I still want to know why you did this kid" the caravan master addressed the dragon in a more calmer tone as if in understanding

The red drake swallowed " After t-t-t-that situation with your a-a-animals I wanted to c-c-cheer you up"

" And to do this you ruined my merchandise along with my wagon?!"

" Don't bright colors make people happy?"

The mole stared at the dragon as he processed the unexpected revelation" Maybe... they do, I don't know, what does that have to do with you ruining my stuff anyway?"

" Laughter is the best medicine right?" Flare nodded towards one of the destroyed bags with the herbs " This is medicine so together with bright colors-"

"WHAT?" the rodent exclaimed " You want to tell me that you thought that by covering my wagon with all this stuff you are going to make me laugh? You took the idiom literally? Are you INSANE?"

Flare's eyes widened after the mole's outburst, he lowered his head intimidated "B-b-b-but I've h-h-h-heard-"

" This kind of medicine doesn't make you laugh! Where do you get your ideas?"

Flare bashfully pointed a claw at the dragonfly

Cynder rolled her eyes " Figures"

Sparx threw his arms aside as if in confusion " What? I've only said that laughter and bright colors make people happy. I'm not responsible for the rest"

" You are!" the dragoness snarled " You exactly know how Flare misinterprets idioms and the like!"

The dragonfly shrugged " Not my fault"

" Don't you have a brain kid?" the mole blurt out

" He is not stupid, it's just that..." Cynder's voice trailed off as she looked for proper words " It's hard to explain" she sighed " One thing is for certain, Sparx took advantage of it"

" Hey, hey, hey!" the dragonfly protested " Don't you put it all on me!"

" Enough!" the mole exclaimed " You two" he pointed at the dragonfly and the red dragon " Get out of here and get inside the first wagon! I don't want you around the medicine. Spyro and his friend will take this one" the mole turned towards the exit, as he was leaving he threw the purple dragon a meaningful look

Spyro scratched the back of his head with a bashful smile " Sorry"

" It's awfully quiet in there" the caravan master muttered interrupting the sound of clicking hooves.

Spyro impulsively looked behind his shoulder, besides Cynder sprawled on top of the second wagon bathing in the sunlight there was no one else here. He turned towards the road with a sour expression, he had a bad feeling about this

" They are sleeping probably" he lied to the mole

The rodent frowned " I think it was a bad idea to move them to a wagon full of food. Was it a bad idea?" he voiced the question quickly, as if thinking loudly

" Yes" Spyro mused " No" he presented the mole another lie

" What if they are ruining my second wagon as well?"

" I'm sure they've learnt their lesson" he felt terrible lying to the person who in all his kindness spared them the strenuous flight but it was the only way to give the mole some comfort

The caravan master went silent for a while " I don't like this" he stated after moments of wordless contemplation.

" Everything is all right"

Again silence, then suddenly the mole stopped the caravan " I'll better check it out" he made his way towards the hatch

Spyro despite his better judgment followed the mole. The hatch opened and both of them peeked inside. Exactly in the middle of the wagon on his back lied Flare, snoring, the dragonfly was nowhere to be seen.

The sun rays penetrated the wagon and shone on the red dragon's snout interrupting his peaceful slumber. Clicking his tongue Flare opened his eyes and smiled when he spotted two of his companions up above

" Thanks for the gift" he yawned while stretching " That was very nice of you"

" Gift?" the mole repeated the single word surprised and somewhat scared " What kind of gift?"

" Oh no" Spyro muttered under his breath

Flare sat up with a grin " Oh no, no, no, you aren't going to trick me, I know what a BOG is-"

" What is he talking about?" the mole whispered to the purple dragon next to him, looking for some kind of answer

Spyro only shrugged

"...that's a very nice tradition, I like it" Flare finished his sentence preserving the same cheerful tone

The rodent entered the wagon tired of this game " Show me this BOG or whatever, I have no idea what it is"

The red dragon chuckled " Ok, I'll play along, Bog stands for bag of redemption-"

" Oh no" Spyro muttered once again, he exactly knew where this is going, he knew only one person who could think of such a stupid name and that means the caravan master won't like the final outcome.

" Bag of redemption?" the mole repeated after the dragon somewhat terrified

" The bag with all the food as a sign of letting bygones be bygones?" Flare replied with a chuckle " The bag of redemption?"

The mole only gave him a confused stare

The fiery drake laughed " Stop acting I've seen through your plan"

Moments later the rodent shook off his confusion, anxiousness and anger taking control " Enough of this game! Tell me what's going on"

Flare jerked back when he heard the mole's outburst " All right, relax" he made his way towards all kind of containers packed with food, he shuffled through some of them until he dragged an empty large bag, crumbs and all other remains of once appetizing looking food fell from it.

The mole's eyes widened at the sight " What have you done?" his lower lip twitched

Flare cocked his head " Come again?"

The rodent bit his finger " Where is the food from the bag?"

The fiery dragon threw a surprised brief glance at the empty bag before he focused on the mole again " I ate it" he announced bluntly

" YOU WHAT?!" the rodent roared furiously

Flare jumped backwards startled " I a-a-a-ate it" he stammered

The mole began to pace around while pulling the fur on his head " Why would you do THAT?! Ruining the medicine wasn't good enough for you?"

" I t-t-t-thought y-y-y-you were t-t-t-trying to a-a-a-apologize"

" ME?!" the rodent blurt out with a cackle, he almost sounded like a madman " It was you who destroyed my wagon!"

Flare swallowed " B-b-b-but the b-b-b-bog?"

" it was a bag filled with trading goods!" he kept roaring at the drake

The red dragon's head fell down in shame " T-t-t-then you w-w-w-weren't t-t-t-trying to r-r-r-redeem y-y-y-yourself?" he stuttered an question yet he already knew the answer

" Redeem myself? For what?"

" For y-y-y-your o-o-o-outburst?'

The mole poked his forehead " Are you hearing yourself kid? You were the one who ruined my wagon! Why on hell would I-" he froze for a while just like a lightning bolt would struck him " Wait. Gift, bag... you thought that I left it here for you? Bag of redemption..." he pointed his finger at the dragon " Yes you did!" he burst out laughing through tears "I can't believe this!"

Flare remained speechless, a blush covering his snout precisely showed how he felt right now.

" A guy ruins my wagon together with my merchandise and I'm the one who should apologize" he emitted a chilling cackle " Dear Ancestors I wouldn't believe this if I heard it from someone else. This is so stupid that I can't even be angry anymore"

" I o-o-o-only w-w-w-wanted to-"

The mole raised his hand stopping the drake's stutter " I don't care, start using your brain kid. I'm done here it's a waste of time anyway" he left the wagon, the moment he climbed onto his driving seat he turned towards the purple dragon " The moment we arrive in Munitions Forge I want you out of my sight, get that dragonfly and the dragon together and tell them they will follow the caravan from now on" he rubbed his forehead " You should really surround yourself with normal people"

" We will pay you for your losses" Spyro tried to soften the atmosphere

" I don't want to hear this" the mole interjected firmly

The purple dragon sighed " Sorry"

As he sat on top of the wagon he could feel it bouncing slightly as its wheels rolled on the uneven road, the landscape was moving past by his eyes as he stared at the horizon. It didn't really matter that the trip is taking so long, it was peaceful here without any bloodthirsty beasts after his hide but even with this usual serenity the trip on the caravan still had its downsides.

" Not really the most enjoyable travel you imagined it to be huh?" a cheerful female voice he was so accustomed with reached him

Spyro chuckled as he threw a quick glance at the black dragoness sitting right next to him " You could say that"

" It really bothers you doesn't it?"

He sighed " Yeah" he felt guilty about everything that happened recently, the mole took them out of his good will only and they've repaid him like that " I should have done something, this is so wrong"

Cynder snorted " This is your idiot brother we are talking about, nobody can predict what he's up to, not even you"

Spyro eyed his female companion " You seem to be in a good mood"

" That I am" she beamed

" Really? From a completely casual atmosphere the whole trip turned into an extremely tense journey"

Cynder shrugged " Feels like home"

" It's not so bad in Warfang"

She gave him a meaningful look and smiled " You are a terrible liar. Anyway who would have thought that being Malefor's sidekick will pay off eventually? Now not even a single tension bothers me"

He smiled " I need somehow learn this resilience"

" Easy, we just need to find you an evil guy to follow around" she winked

They both laughed

" What's so funny?" Sparx asked appearing before their eyes

Cynder waved her paw " Oh nothing, we were just discussing your intellect"

" Hilarious" the dragonfly stated bluntly

She laughed

Spyro looked to the side where Flare was following the caravan slowly while looking around his surroundings " You better try to not get spotted by our kind driver might not like it"

Sparx snorted " Like I care, I'm innocent"

" Of course you are" both dragons replied in unison, seconds later they looked at each other and smiled

He shook his head " Damn bro, she put a spell on you, you better wake up or you will turn crazy" he gave the dragoness a blunt stare " and ugly"

Cynder shrugged " There's a nut for every bolt"

Sparx looked her over " it has to be one hell of a nut"

She followed his gaze and looked at her magenta chest " These are muscles" she smiled

" Of course they are"

Both her and the dragonfly chuckled

" Hey Sparx we are not allowed to do that!" Flare's shout reached the three of them

Not only the three friends heard the red dragon, the mole also turned around and gave the dragonfly an angry stare

Sparx rolled his eyes " Great The All Seeing Eye is staring at me, should have expected that Flare would give me away"

" You wouldn't have to hide if you only behaved" Spyro admonished his brother

The dragonfly threw his arms aside " Hey man it wasn't me!" he pointed at the fiery drake " That guy did it!"

" Yeah, like I don't know you"

" Why did you do it anyway?" Cynder asked

Sparx shrugged " For fun and..." he threw his brother a challenging look "...to prove that I still got the touch"

" No way" Spyro blurt out " You were taking revenge for that failed prank with the cook?"

He nodded

" That's just stupid" Cynder commented

" No it isn't"

" Yes it is" Spyro agreed with his female friend

Sparx sighed " Dude, you are no fun"

" There is no fun in ruining someone else's property"

" Firstly it isn't ruined, secondly I did it for pure teaching reasons"

" it's still stupid" Cynder once again stated

Sparz waved his hand " Ok I'm tired of you two, no appreciation for art. I'm going back to my favorite dragon, see ya" he flew away towards the fiery dragon

The dragoness watched him talking with their new red companion " Whatever stupid reasons Sparx has for doing the stuff he does it seems he really took a liking to Flare"

Spyro followed her gaze " Looks like it, who would have thought right?"

" The mole is right you know"

" About what?"

" About Flare, I myself don't get how can you not see if you are doing the right thing or wrong, even if you've been trapped your whole life you should be able to see the difference"

" I'm not so sure about that, he doesn't know about the outside world much, he spent his entire life in a single room"

" I don't know, you should at least stop and think for a while. I would, you would"

Spyro averted his gaze " I...I agree"

" I mean, how naïve can you be?"

" Yeah..."

" We did it bro!" a dragonfly exclaimed while he was making cheerful flips in the air " WE DID IT!"

A young purple dragon pounced on the ground in joy " It's great!" he shouted

Both children were flying just above the swampy ground, the rain was pouring wildly onto the landscape below but it didn't bother the two of them. It was their free time, it was their first time on the rain, their organisms were finally capable of resisting the toxic fumes of their homeland. When the rain started they just couldn't miss such an opportunity and barged into the open from the safety of their home, they remained outside since then, playing in the rainy weather.

" I feel just awesome!" Spyro roared happily " No headache, no dizziness, I should be laying sick in the bed by now!"

Sparx beamed with pride " Didn't I tell you? Rain is just that awesome!"

" Dad said that it has nothing to do with rain, it feels so good because our bodies are now able to defend themselves against the fumes"

" Blah, blah, blah" the dragonfly rolled his eyes " What can grown-ups know? I tell you it's the rain, have you seen any grown-up happy in the rain?"

Spyro stopped in his tracks, he thought about it and came to a conclusion that his brother is right, most of the grown-ups he met complained about the rain " Hey you may be right, even our parents sometimes whine about the rain"

" Of course I'm right bro, seriously, when I was wrong the last time?"

" When we first got out in the rain you said that the fumes won't harm us"

Sparx waved his hand " Not my fault that the elixir didn't work on you"

Spyro snorted " Potion?" It was still juice"

" Hey! When I said that I wanted to give you a special brew I really meant it. It was a honest mistake, I took the wrong bottle" Don't look at me like that! I never lie!"

" Yeah? Then why did you say that you talked with our Mom back then when in truth you didn't?"

" I did! She just had to forget it, she was in a rush that day"

His purple brother nodded " Yeah right" he replied sarcastically

" Don't believe me? Then look around" Sparx waved his hand across their surroundings " Didn't I tell you that rain also changes the landscape completely?"

Spyro looked around, his brother was actually right, the landscape did change, everything was covered in a wet coat, not to mention that the swampy ground obscured parts of the local fauna. He had second thoughts about his brother's words, the landscape had really changed, maybe he wasn't lying just as he says so, maybe everything that they went through earlier was just a consequence of a simple mistake

" What now?" Spyro asked excited, finally making his mind

Sparx grinned " Now bro we will show people what the rain does, they will look at us from a different perspective after that" he waved his arm in a wide arc " Follow me!"

Both foster brothers pranced through their home village, their youthful energy was unending, everything was strange and exciting for them. However even that becomes boring after a while when you don't recharge your power with some playing. The grown-ups mostly didn't understand them, some even dared to scold them for their innocent pranks, yet it didn't bother the two kids, it was their moment of glory.

Suddenly as they've been making their way through the village Sparx shoved his brother to the side

" What are you doing?!" Spyro gasped

The dragonfly covered his brother's snout " Shhh!" they hid behind some wet bushes. He pointed his finger ahead " Look"

Spyro looked in the way his brother pointed, through the pouring rain he could make out the form of an ordinary house. He threw his brother a confused glance.

Sparx leaned closer to the purple snout, his yellow hand still covered it's maw " You know what that is? He whispered in a dramatic tone

Spyro shook his head

" This is the home of the...PLANETAR"

The purple dragon furrowed his brow and emitted a muffled sound

Sparx with a disgusted groan removed his hand from the dragon's snout and wiped it on his purple scales ' What were you saying?"

Spyor licked his mouth " I've asked what is a planetar"

The dragonfly placed his palm on his forehead with an audible slap " Dude please" he whined

The purple dragon jerked his head back " What?"

He shook his head" How long have you been living here? How can you not know what a planetar is?"

" Then tell me!" Spyro growled impatiently

" Be quiet!" Sparx admonished him with a firm whisper before leaning even more closer : Planetar is a guy who can jump between worlds using some sort of portals"

His purple brother stared at him for a while, then out of a sudden he burst out laughing " I'm not falling for that!" This is probably the most stupid thing you had made up ever! Portals!" he snorted " Portals to another worlds don't exist"

Sparx frowned indigenously " You would be surprised" he hissed angrily

" Let's get out of here" Spyro turned around

The dragonfly grabbed his brother's horn " You know the guy who wears all those funny hats?" he pointed at the house " He lives there!"

The dragon shrugged " So what?"

" Remember when you asked him from where he gets his stuff? What did he tell you?"

Spyro opened his mouth to voice some sort of a snide remark but then suddenly realization struck him and his expression turned more serious when he remembered the odd dragonflies' words " From places you will never reach" he quoted

Sparx pointed his finger at him " Exactly!"

" Then, then if he is a planetar how does he travel between worlds?" Spyro blurt out with an excited and hectic voice

" Dude slow down, I saw once how he did it"

" How?" he once again blurt out in the same tone

" I'll tell you when we find it. Come on!" he waved for the dragon to follow him

" Find what?" Spyro began to walk after his brother

" Patience bro"

Both of them began to move across the street, it was then when they realized that it stopped raining, it made them wonder just for how long they've been talking that they didn't notice the change of weather. Their interest was soon shifted from the shining sun towards the house they began to approach, whatever the planetar's secret is they will soon discover it.

As they kept sneaking around the house Spyro kept thinking, it all made sense to him now. He knew the dragonfly who lived here, he always wears some strange hats that nobody else does, not to mention that he never saw the inside of his home since the curtains were constantly dragged across the windows. Not to mention that he rarely sees the dragonfly at all, only all the reason to believe that he truly travels between worlds.

The dragons excitement grew even bigger when Sparx motioned for him to stop since he found an open window. Spyro nodded, he knew exactly what to do, he lowered on his paws and moved towards the window while Sparx flew inside through the small crack. The dragon pressed his body to the wall and began to scan the surroundings while waiting impatiently for his brother to give a signal that the house is clear.

Soon the dragonflies' arm emerged through the crack and motioned for Spyro to enter, he did exactly what he was told. When his claws clicked on the floor of the planetar's house Spyro began to look around with wide eyes.

" Look at this" he exhaled a breath of awe " What is this stuff?" the house was filled with strange vases, statues and all other strange stuff that he has never seen before

" Hell if I know"

" Maybe he brought all of this from another world?"

Sparx paid no interest to the things surrounding him " I don't know man" his eyes stopped on a door " But we better find that portal before the guy comes back" he flew towards them

Spyro followed him, the brothers entered a very dark room " I can't see anything" the dragon whispered

" Sec" the glowing shape began to float all around the place, soon a tiny ray of light illuminated the room as one of the curtains was slightly drawn to the side to let the sunlight in.

The room itself wasn't big but it sure was interesting, It was mostly empty, only a single carpet on the ground and some paintings on the walls were comprising on the room's simplicity. It looked like some sort of a presentation room or something like that, a room where people wanted to exhibit some stuff.

The most interesting thing stood in the corner, the thing that was covered behind some white sheets was rather thing and reached almost towards the ceiling. Both brothers looked at each other for a brief moment before Sparx darted forward and pulled down the sheets. The foster brothers gasped when the cover cascaded down onto the floor.

" Here it is" Sparx muttered in awe

They were looking upon a very thing twisted tree, it's small branches curled in every direction, some of them even delicately scratched the ceiling, what really caught their attention was a rather appreciable hollow in the middle of its dark brown trunk.

" How does it work?" Spyro asked intimidated

The dragonfly approached the strange tree and reached inside the hollow " He teleports through here"

The dragon followed in his brothers footsteps " It doesn't seem to work, nothing's there"

" We need to activate it first" Sparx placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully Now I just need to remember..." he began nodding his head the moment his voice trailed off " Yes... a portal appeared when a couple of dragonflies flew inside the hollow at high speed" he mused loudly

" Then what are you waiting for?!" Do it!"

" Dude weren't you listening? I've said CAUPLE, we won't be able to..." his voice trailed off once again when he looked at his purple brother" That's right!" he exclaimed and began circling the dragon while intently examining his body" Yes that would work"

Spyro's head constantly turned as he tried to keep up with the dragonfly " What? What will work?"

" We might not need any more people here, you will be enough I think"

He jerked back " Me?"

" Yeah bro, all those other guys would make quite a mess, besides this place would be crowded. But you...let's face it you are a fat dragonfly, you have a size ten times larger than an normal dragonfly"

Spyro frowned " I'm not fat!"

Sparx rolled his eyes " Whatever, what matters here is that you would be able to open up the portal. How cool is that?"

The dragon's eyes shimmered " Then let's do this!" he exclaimed without hesitation " What do I do?"

He pointed at the trunk " See that hollow? Run into it at full speed"

Spyro looked at the tree " I don't think I'll fit"

" Dude no worries, this thing stretches the moment a portal opens"

" You sure?"

" Don't worry I've got this covered"

With an anxious gulp Spyro made his way to the opposite side of the room. There was a turmoil going on inside his head, as he looked upon the tree precariousness and curiosity fought between each other.

" You sure this is a good idea?" Spyro shuffled his paw along the floor nervously

Sparx gave him a firm nod " Yes bro, just run and jump, the hollow will stretch automatically. There is nothing to worry about"

After a deep breath Spyro has made up his mind, no risk no fun after all. He started to run, just when he was nearing the tree he jumped in the direction of the hollow. However instead of teleporting himself to another dimension the world went dark and on top of that only his upper body fit into the hollow, his rump remained outside. Grunting Spyro kicked with his hind legs, swung his tail and jerked his lower body as sharply as he could, but to no luck.

" Sparx I'm stuck!" he exclaimed in horror, the sound of his shout echoed inside the tree

Sparx covered his mouth with his and began to laugh hysterically

" Sparx!" the dragon kept thrashing

" I hear you dude, chill!" the dragonfly exclaimed breaking his laughter with difficulty

" Help me!"

Sparx chuckled while he began circling the tree " Told you that you are fat"

" And I've told you that I wouldn't fit!" Spyro growled

_ " Yeah, yeah"_

" And why it didn't stretch like you said?"

" How can I know? The magic-" his voice was cut off when a sudden sound reached him, someone just entered the house, and he wasn't alone " Oh shit" Sparx cussed

" What?" Spyro exclaimed horrified ' What's going on?"

The dragonfly hastily began to pull the dragon's tail " Someone's here"

The purple drake wanted to say something but his eyes only widened at the growing sound of people talking.

" Get me out of here!" Spyro yelled

" I'm trying!"

The noise intensified

" Faster!"

" Be quiet!" Sparx pulled the tail with all his strength, but unfortunately with a tired grunt his hand slipped from it " It's not working"

" Try again!" Spyro screamed

The dragonfly looked around the room, his eyes narrowed on the sheets laying on the floor near the tree. He picked them up and covered the tree with the protruding purple rump under them " Be quiet and don't move"

" What are you doing?!"

" Dude be quiet and don't move!" he replied with a hushed tone and left the room through a window

" Sparx! Sparx!" Spyro called after his brother in a muffled whisper, but he didn't return. He wanted to shout again but then he heard the door open.

" This way please" he shivered at the sound of a new male voice

Momentarily the room was filled with the sounds of chatter, many of these voices belonged to children. Spyro could hardly make out any words thanks to the noise but from what he could tell the person to whom the male voice belonged to was giving a tour.

" What is that?" a childish excited voice could be heard

Spyro's blood froze when he felt someone stopping just mere meters from his tail.

" This is my special project" the male voice replied " I don't have a name for it yet since I just recently finished putting it together from the parts I've acquired. You want to see what's behind the sheets?"

The cheerful cry made Spyro cringe

" You will never forget this sight! Hope you aren't frightened easily!" the voice announced with the most creepy voice he could muster and pulled down the sheets

There was a loud gasp of surprise that soon was replaced with a cheerful laughter

" What's so funny I-" the male voice trailed off for a moment " What is this?!" he yelled

" Dear Ancestors! Is that you Spyro?" the dragon's eyes widened at the sound of a familiar female voice, he exactly knew to whom it belonged to

" Mom...?" he muttered

_ _

_ _

_ _

Spyro laughed at the memory, he naively believed in the whole planetar story. In truth, the dragonfly who owned the house they so mercilessly broke into was just a collector of all kinds of weird stuff from all around the world. In a way they were lucky that their Mom was taking care of the children at that time, they managed to avoid more serious consequences thanks to Nina's charming personality. At least Sparx didn't lie about one thing back then, people did really look at him from a different perspective.

" What's so funny?" Cynder asked

" Oh nothing, just remembered an old memory. You wouldn't believe in some of the things I would tell you if I would recall all of my childhood memories. Crazy stuff"

" Oh I don't know, I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to crazy. I mean look, we are now facing portals to another worlds. Nothing is impossible"

Spyro smiled inwardly at the irony, he never thought such things like portals existed and now years later he is dealing with the exact thing he never believed in " I suppose you are right"

" I'll tell you more, I think that's only just the beginning, more crazy stuff awaits us"

Spyro smiled " Everyone tells me the same thing, luckily for us we are specialists when it comes to crazy stuff"

Cynder giggled " Tell me about it we-" her voice was cut off and her mouth left opened when she spotted a shape among the trees in the distance. She narrowed her eyes and the form became more solid, among the trunks stood a purple shape she was so familiar with, the dragon from her dreams was staring at her intently. She blinked, she isn't sleeping there is no way she could see him, yet no matter how many times she fluttered her eyelids the dragon remained stood there.

" Cynder what's wrong?" Spyro's voice brought her back from her trance, she shook her head and looked at him " I..." her gaze returned to the direction where she saw the dragon, however this time he was nowhere to be seen " I..."

" What did you want to say?"

" What? Oh right I..." she smiled weakly " You know I've lost my train of thought, since I've forgot what I wanted to say it had to be unimportant" she chuckled and turned her gaze towards the trees again

Her smile faded instantly, the last time she saw that dragon was when she fell asleep in that lake, she brushed her lips. After that crazy dream the dragon stopped tormenting her, for the past few days she slept like a hatchling, basically she forgot about him. This time however freaked her even more than the dreams, she saw her nightmare while being awake, what does it mean? Why now? And more importantly why he torments her in the first place?

" We are here!" the moles shout caught everyone's attention

As the caravan began to roll down from a small slope, a bridge came into view that connected the island of Munitions Forge to the mainland, the land slowly became more barren, in the distance hot ash and sparks fell from the sky. What really caught everyone's attention was the growing shape of a huge active volcano, Boyzitbig, the home of the moles.

" Boy is it big" Flare mumbled with a voice full of awe the moment he landed near his two companions.