//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Heartfire // by TwiZone //------------------------------// Each day was harder and harder for Spike. Everyday Spike was taught by Spyro how to fight with his claws and tail. As Spyro and Spike trained they would tend to fight to see how his fighting skill has improved. Sadly Spyro was still able to beat Spike without breaking a sweat. So Spikes training added a few cuts from Spyros claws but they drew little drops of blood. “Come on Spike are you even trying?” Spike struggled to talk as Spyro’s tail was wrapped around his neck. It was tightening while Spike used his strength to try and escape but it was useless. Spike tapped his tail to tell Spyro he was done. Soon enough the tail tightly wrapped around his neck was sliding off letting him breathe. “So god--damn--hard” Spike said while struggling to gain his breath. Spike has never so much much workout ever since he asked rainbow how to do push-ups.“Yeah, that's what you think but believe me”. Spyro walked towards a cave while he put his head under a waterfall feeling the cool freshwater hit his scales. “There's gonna be harder opponents,” Spyro gives Spike a glance smirking. “since your gonna try and ask Ember to be your mate, every dragon is gonna do as much damage as he can on you”. Spikes head jerked up from drinking. “What? What are you talking about? As much as he wanted to deny it in front of Spyro. his heart was beating at Embers mention. “Oh give it Spike I knew since a week ago, it's in your eyes I know that look anywhere since I was exactly in your claws” Spyro leaves the waterfall to see his old scars from the fight with Malefor when it happened years ago. In his reflection of the river. There was no use in denying it now. “Alright yes, I like Ember is that what you'd like to hear?” Spike looked at Spyro as he slightly smiled. “It's not like he cared but I do,” a voice from the bushes said. “Oh no” Spyro brought his head slightly to the ground at the sound of that voice. “Spyro buddy ya miss me?” a yellow dragonfly flew out of the bushes. Spyro only smiled at the face of the dragonfly he knew for to well. “Hello, Sparx” the little dragonfly flew towards Spike. “Who this guy? He’s as fat as you Spyro” Sparx said with a laugh. “I’m not fat,” Spike says as the dragon continues to fly around him. “Yeah right, your all muscle are you,” Sparx says in a mocking tone. Spyro covers Sparx with his wing. “You’ll have to forgive my brother, he can be a bit of a dick” “Wait you guys are brothers?” Spike asks as Sparx head-butted Spyro. Since Sparx was only a small dragonfly Spyro just gave him a gentle tap with his claw. “Yes we are brothers, you see Sparx was just a baby dragonfly when Malefor attacked his village, killing his parents right before my father was able to save them, my father knew a baby dragonfly could not survive on its own so he decided it be best if he took Sparx in” “Yeah Spyro and tell him about the prophe--” Sparxs mouth was shut by Spyros two claws holding his little mouth together. “How about Sparx you go over there and wait until training is done” Spyro released his mouth but was about to protest until he saw a glare in his brother's eye. It made him shut his mouth and fly towards a rock. Spike sees that there's more to Spyro’s past but decided he will talk about it later. “Now attack position” at Spyros order Spike got into a position on his four legs. His head was near the ground and wings ready to fly if need be. There was a burning flame that was slowly rising from Spikes' throat. He held it in until Spyro nodded him to show the wall of a mountain. The explosion left a giant black scorch mark on the as Spyro tells Spike to do it again and think of the one person he hated most. Spike looked at the scorch mark and saw it turn into a hallucination of Garble. The heat in Spikes' throat burned hotter and more powerful. One emotion was toward Garble right now. Anger. Spike used his anger to charge up the fireball he was holding in his mouth. Soon he releases the fireball and its flame bursts right through the rocky mountain. Both Spyro and Sparx are shocked seeing the damage that fire did. A circle was in the middle of the wall with black marks still warm like the sun. Sparx quickly flew towards Spike's face. “I take back everything I said about you” Sparx flew towards Spyro and lands on his head leaning on his horn. “But I'm never going back to what I say about you buddy,” Sparx says when Spyro begins to shake his head. “So who got you that pissed off to blow a hole in a mountain?” Spyro questioned. “Garble,” Spike said with practical poison rolling off his tongue. “So ember told you about what happened with him huh?” Spike just nodded. “Come let’s get some wood for a fire, it’s gonna get dark soon and I’ll explain any questions you have” ———————————————————- The fire crackled as a green flame burned the wood slowly to ash. Sparx fell right asleep on a Little Rock as Spyro put a leaf as a blanket for him. After he made sure his brother was covered he went back to sit across the fire with Spike. “So you got any questions you would like to ask?” Spyro says while Spike puts his claw under his chin to think. “What happened between Ember and Garble?” Spyro took in a breath to explain what had gone down between them. “All the Dragon guards are supposed to be loyal to the Dragon Lord, we are sworn to protect the Dragon Lord when they are at their most vulnerable, there was even some protecting Torch before he gave the title dragon lord to Ember. But there were attempts like this whenever there is a female dragon lord. such as Ember at the Volcanic Springs. It seemed that Garble had bargained with one guard who appears was not loyal and let him into the Springs.” Spike raises his claw high like a filly at school. “Spike you don't need to raise your hand” slowly the claw draws towards the ground. “Oh alright well where do you come in?” “Well i was on my way to meet a old friend, ever since she was freed of the darkness consuming her she has been having nightmares, sometimes they are little but others where they truly can take a toll on her, while I was walking I came across the Springs I see those to struggling, crashing into walls and slamming each other into the ground. I hurried to end it all as I used my ice breath to freeze Garble in his place” “Wow wow wow wait a minute ice breath?” Spike never heard of any dragon use Ice Breath. Not even Twilight's library of books had an answer. “Yes” “But but how?” Now there was not much use hiding it anymore. “Spike, I’m not a normal purple dragon, I come from a rare line of dragons that are born once every ten generations, I am able to harness four elements, Fire, Ice, Electricity, Earth, there was a prophecy that foretold a purple dragon would bring the world to an end, Malefor was a purple dragon before me after I killed him his final breath to me was, “we are eternal”. Spyro gets up on his four legs and walks towards the edge looking at the bright moon and stars in the sky. “Ever since those words I've been questioning my life, am I immortal? Will I live beyond them? Or how will I live my life without..her?”. His voice mutters at the sound of a whisper under the wind. Spyros breathe once more as he continued to talk. “After Malefor told me those words his body disappeared into dust. Like someone one just snapped their claws together and he vanished”. “That's enough about my past. We need to sleep for more training tomorrow Heartfire is in three days” Spyro uses his Ice breath to extinguish the fire. He uses his wing and gently picks up the sleeping dragonfly and carries him towards the cave as Spike followed to get some rest. ———————————————————- Darkness. An endless void of darkness as Cynder was running. However, she could not tell where she was going until images forced their way into her mind. Flashes of memory’s where her claws were full of blood and guts. Body’s were everywhere as she killed without mercy. This is what she was before that purple dragon saved her from the darkness. “You are a monster” children’s voices haunt her as she remembers killing when she was formerly the ‘Terror in the skies’ She was forced to kill everything just for the Dark master. She killed men women and..children. As she runs a face of Malefor shows up giving an evil stare to her. “Wake up wake up” His face began to talk and it sounds familiar? Suddenly a great ball of light appeared. “Cynder wake the hell up,” Ember says rocking the dragon's body while she slept. “Wha Wha Wha?” Cynder says as just wakes up from her nightmare. “You okay? You have one of your nightmares again?” Ember asks setting the blood scepter down on the ground and sitting in Cynders bed. How did you know? Cynder asks. “Spyro told me about them before he left, you know he cares about you right?” Ember says while putting a claw on Cynders shoulder. “He shouldn’t...not after what I have done”. Ember gave Cynder a worried look. Spyro asked Ember to watch out for Cynder while he was gone since she blames herself for everything she did under Malfors control. Lately, Cynder has been cutting her scales with her own claws, it was as punishment for every creature she had killed under the dark master's control. It wasn't until three months ago Spyro found the cuts on her legs as she tried to hide them. Ever since then Spyro has been keeping an eye on Cynder out of care. Or so much more. “Oh, how do I say this like Spyro?” Ember talked to in her mind to try to help her friend. “Cynder what happened wasn't your fault, it was the Malefors. He corrupted you, manipulated you, torn your soul in half until you were nothing but an obedient dragon taking orders, I’m sorry you had to go through all that but please remember”. Ember lifts Cynders black scaled head from looking down. “It was never you who were doing those things”. Ember gets off Cynders bed and grabs her blood scepter off the ground and just before she left her cave. Embers head turns to look back at Cynder. “Spyro cares about you more than you realize Cynder” With that Embers wings flapped as she flew off back to her throne. Cynder laying in bed still feeling the nightmares fresh in her mind. After Ember said about Spyro caring for her there was one question in her mind. “He does?".