Spyro: The Dragon Trio of Avalar

by Blackdrag-rose

Interlude: Fifteenth Birthday

After their expedition to Adrano, and investigating what might be on the moon, Spyro, Cynder, Spike, Ember, and the rest of the group discovered that the Professor and the rest of the scientists spent the next week going over not only the couple of materials that Spike had brought them, as in the ones from the surface of the closest moon, but also the odd deep green cube shaped items that they had found inside the observation facility they had discovered, which meant they were going to be busy for a time and that the group wouldn't be able to talk to them for some time, or at least that applied to the majority of them since the Professor had Spike join them from time to time. The reason behind that was due to the fact that they wanted his input on what they had found inside the facility and what they might be, as the four cube shaped crystals were resting on the table that the scientists were gathered at, in the lab that had been built near the launch site that the Jupiter 2 happened to be located in, where it was refueling and was waiting for something to happen, especially since there was a second moon for them to explore and now that they knew about the facility Hunter had informed them that he would take a different approach to Zella, if they went up to explore it. Spike, the Professor, and the rest of the scientists agreed on one thing as they stared at the cube shaped crystals, that they were some sort of power sources and that, if they could reverse engineer what was in front of them, their world would become significantly more advanced, which all depended on if such a thing was possible given that this was entirely new technology they were dealing with, something that excited them to no end as they spent their time studying the couple of crystals, even though they also spent some time studying the pictures of the facility that had been found on the moon. The Professor and the rest of the scientists agreed with Spike's thoughts on what the oddly shaped and out of place facility had to be, it was an observation facility that seemed like whoever owned it had either been unable to finish setting it up or installing the facility on the moon had been a bad idea and had been forced to abandon it, but due to the nature of the terminals inside the structure it would be hard, if not impossible, for anyone to figure out what had happened to it and why it was in the state the group had found it in.

Of course Spike reminded the others that there was the possibility of another facility being located on Zella, because he felt that it was odd for there to only be one facility between two moons, especially since there was a good distance resting between Adrano and Zella, something that caused the scientists to agree with Spike and was followed by them setting a date for the second launch of the Jupiter 2, which would be two weeks after the first launch, where he gave the news to Spyro and the others, who were interested in what they might find when they visited the second moon. During their time between the first expedition and the upcoming second expedition the group mostly did what they had been doing before the Professor revealed the Jupiter 2 to them, where some of them read books and worked on the spells that Spike had to show them, some spent their time training in the art of fighting, and some just rested so they could watch what the rest of the group was doing, basically repeating everything that they did in the past, whenever an adventure had been completed to be exact, while they waited for the date of the second launch to arrive. While they did that the Professor showed off the new power source to Malefor, Red, and the rest of the more important individuals, who seemed surprised by what they had found on Adrano, which was understandable given that everyone else had been caught off guard as well, and that the knowledge of the observation facility really surprised them, even Malefor for that matter, confirming Spike's thoughts on the matter, that the first purple dragon had no idea that the facility existed in the first place, and before everyone left the Professor revealed that he, the scientists, and Spike had come up with a name for this new power source, as they agreed to call them Ion Crystals, despite their cube shaped appearance, before the Professor revealed that they would be taking their time to reverse engineer the four crystals in an effort to learn how to make them and how to channel the power of the crystals into their own technology. Malefor was impressed by what they just learned, from just studying the crystals, and knew that it would be hard to stop any of the scientists, be they Spike, the ones from the other continents, or even the Professor, from learning how to harness the power of the Ion Crystals and using that power in combination with the level of technology that their planet was currently using, so he nodded his head and waited to see what might happen next, as it did look like they were being careful in their studies of the new type of crystal.

When the date of the second expedition arrived Hunter was more than ready to go as he and the rest of the group, those that had gone to Adrano to be exact, boarded the Jupiter 2 once more, put on their spacesuits once they were aboard the ship, and then took their places according to how he wanted them situated, which was the same as how he had them sit during their previous venture, though once that was done he waited for the scientists to unhook the power pipes from the ship and clear the platform they would be launching from, something that was followed by him checking out the ship on his terminal as the Professor determined that he was okay to launch. Once the Professor was done Hunter flipped a few switches and powered up the engines, where it only took him a few seconds to pull the ship into the air and he flew away from where the ship had been resting a few moments ago, to which the group watched as they flew towards Adrano and the atmosphere that rested between them, even though he was focused on Zella, the smaller moon that had a ghoulish green coloration to it, hence the reason why he moved around Adrano and headed for the second moon. Instead of even landing on the surface and walking, like he had done during their visit to the previous moon, Hunter made sure the group had their helmets on before briefly landing on the surface so Spike could collect some rock samples for the scientists that were observing them at the moment, and once he was back on the ship Hunter sealed the ramp and took off, as this time he figured that slowly flying around the moon would be faster than what they had done during the last expedition, so this was to save time. It took them some time to reach the dark side of Zella, the side that almost never faced the planet that it happened to be orbiting with Adrano, where he smiled for a moment as everyone else, both on the Jupiter 2 and down in the lab that was observing what they were seeing, found a second facility, identical to the first one and in slightly better condition, based on the look of the exterior, resting in the one spot of the moon that no one would be able to see from the planet, even if they gave their all to see the dark sides of the moons, to which he landed near the rectangular opening, just like he had done for the first one, and lowered the ramp as Spike and the others patiently waited for him to do that, and once the ramp was lowered they started to disembark from the ship.

What they discovered was that this facility was basically a copy of the first one, as there was an identical doorway that had to lead to a small storeroom, even though in this structure the first small room had five Ion Crystals inside it, before they found two diagonal walkways that were identical to what they had found inside the first facility, where the one leading to the second floor brought them to a terminal that actually seemed usable, even though the very first terminal in this place had been broken as well, so it would be hard to determine why the makers of these places were observing their planet in the first place, something Spike knew they might never figure out, before finding about ten more Ion Crystals inside the basement of this facility, which would excite the Professor and the other scientists. When Spike tapped the intact terminal, to see if it had any power to it or if they would have to find some way to use an Ion Crystal with it, though somehow it was able to power up, meaning it must have a power source inside it that had been dormant until this point in time, and the screen turned on to reveal whatever it was that the terminal might have to show them, where it didn't take Spike long to smile as he made sure the Professor and the scientists were seeing what he was seeing right now. According to what was on the screen whoever made these facilities had a way of transferring thermal energy into the Ion Crystals they had found inside both facilities, a method that was, interestingly enough, well detailed and even went into how to make a thermal plant that would allow more Ion Crystals to be made, not to mention the fact that there was a 'generator' or something in this structure that wasn't being used, meaning that they could figure out how to reverse engineer the technology of those that built these odd facilities and use them back in their lands. The Ion Generator, a device that could supposedly turn the thermal energy into the more usable Ion Crystals, was located down in the basement of this facility, which was split into two halves, an odd triangular shaped upper half and a more cube shaped bottom half, to which Spike used his magic to carefully remove the fragments and transport them to where the Jupiter 2's storage deck was located, so they could take them down to where the Professor and the rest of the scientists were resting, waiting for them to return with the new Ion Crystals and the brand new piece of technology.

With the fragments of the Ion Generator carefully set inside the ship, and the Ion Crystals were loaded into it as well, the group returned to their seats and Hunter pulled them away from Zella's surface as the ramp sealed the rest of the ship, to which they headed back down to the platform that everyone else was waiting at, something that was swiftly followed by the Professor and the others moving into the ship to claim the Ion Generator, so they could study it and the images of the terminal that Spike had stared at, allowing Spyro and the others to take off their suits, stretch a little, or at least the six dragons did, and then they headed out to rest for a time, mostly to give the Professor and the others some time to go over what they had found, to determine what they could do with the pieces in time.

Once the group returned from Zella they returned to what they normally did, training with their elders and practicing their skills for a time, or just resting and watching depending on what some of them wanted to do, though since they had gone to space the rest of that day was mostly just them relaxing in the Artisans homeworld, since Spyro and the other dragons were bracing themselves for when they reached their fifteenth birthday, which was going to be a major event given what they knew from reading about the event or listening to Spike's explanations on the matter, the latter being for Hunter and those who had no idea what happened when dragons finally reached their fifteenth birthdays. Of course the real pain was that when they reached a month till the big day the dragons would have more creaks in their bones and take some more time to stretch, just to make sure their bodies didn't lock up or anything, but that would be the sign that they would have to slow down what they were doing and prepare themselves for when they reached the day they matured, because it was going to be one of the biggest days of their lives, despite all of the events and adventures that they had experienced since the day they started saving the lands of their world, or at least that was the case for Spyro, Spike, and Ember. Amelia was still worried about them and their bodies, even though that was quickly disappearing as the days went by, which showed that she understood what Spike had told her about this event, which he made sure to tell Hunter and the others as well so they didn't feel left out, though he also didn't blame her for thinking that way, given that sometimes he and the rest of the dragons did seem a little pained whenever they stretched, a common symptom of the maturing process, which would only get worse in the week leading up to their fifteenth birthday. Even Ember, who was used to Titan's training and what all of the Peace Keepers went through to learn the skills they used to defend the Dragon Realms, was like her siblings, showing everyone else that whatever lifestyle they chose to pursue meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, so all dragons pretty much had the same experience at this point in their lives, which interested their friends to a degree and made them a little interested in what might happen when the big day happened, even if the dragons already had an idea of what they would be expecting this time around.

As the days went by, however, Elora and the others discovered that Spyro, Cynder, Spike, Ember, Flame, and Aurora were restricted in what they were able to do, as at the start of the symptoms appearing for each of them, which was when they were exploring Adrano, they were able to pretty much go wherever they wanted and do whatever they wanted, though as they drew closer to their fifteenth birthday they found that the dragons slowed down and could only go a certain distance before everyone needed a break to stretch and rest, and of course there were some signs of pain on their faces, to which Spike reminded them that this was normal, so they didn't need to worry about them too much. During the first week of the last month, leaving three weeks before the big day, the Professor actually came to the house that had been built for Spyro, Cynder, Spike, and Ember, which was where the group was pretty much staying at during this time period, to help the six of them out since Flame and Aurora were there as well, and he revealed that he and the scientists had figured out how to get the Ion Generator working at long last, where they had, with Malefor and Red's help, restored order to the laboratory that was in Volcanic Isle, with Malefor using his Earth Magic to reinforce everything so the area didn't collapse again, or get close to that, and Red used his powers to help move things or just break things so they could be shifted, before they set up the device where the Orrery had once been resting. The reason behind that decision was because Volcanic Isle happened to be one of the greatest locations in their world to harness thermal energy, others being the Isle of Bozibig, the volcano in the middle of Doxantha, and a few other realms that the group had been to in the past, where they learned that the device seemed to need no assistance in being used, as it drew in the vast amounts of thermal energy that was around it and then fired a beam of deep green energy down to the lower half of the device, which seemed to put the energy together in the shape of the Ion Crystals, between three to five at a time, though he admitted that they still had no idea how it did such a thing and that it would be some time before they understood the mechanics, even with the information that had been on the intact terminal Spike had found. By the Professor's estimates, and the estimates of the other scientists, each of the Ion Crystals contained enough power inside them to match the sheer power of the Elementium Bomb spell, or at least they all agreed on that fact based on what their readings were, which surprised the group and that meant the crystals should be able to power all sorts of things and it was only a matter of time until they figured out exactly how to do such a thing, and he knew that Spike would be eager to help them out, once he was no longer going through the maturing process and was able to leave the Artisans homeworld again.

Other than that the group heard nothing about the Ion Crystals, mostly because the Professor had nothing to report while he and the scientists worked to figure out everything there was to learn about the gems in question, though the group was fine with that since it allowed the dragons to rest in the realms of the Artisans homeworld, despite the fact that the areas they were allowed to go to diminished as they drew closer and closer to the big day, so much so that it wasn't long before all six of them were essentially bedridden and were stuck inside the house that was made for the siblings and Cynder, and some beds had been added for Flame and Aurora as well, leaving Elora and the others to visit them and make sure they had everything they needed before this process was over.

---

Eventually the day before Spyro, Cynder, Spike, Ember, Flame, and Aurora's fifteenth birthday arrived and the dragons in question sat around the living room of the house, or rather some tried to sit while the majority of them rested with their heads near the ground since the pain of even trying to sit like that wasn't worth dealing with right now, though the rest of the group were sitting nearby and did everything in their power to make the dragons more comfortable before the big day finally arrived, but as they did that Nestor and Malefor appeared at the house's entrance, which caused the group to stop what they were doing and greet the pair.

"Spyro, how are you and the others doing?" Nestor asked, as while he had a good idea of what the teenage dragons were going through at the moment, due to experiencing this himself in the past when he became an adult and when he and the other dragons of his age watched over the generation that came after him, though at the same time he shifted his stance for a moment and focused on a satchel that he was carrying, while at the same time Malefor walked over to where Cynder was resting to make sure she was fine.

"All things considered, we're doing fine." Spyro replied, though at the same time he groaned for a moment, as at this point the most simple of movements were painful and all of them were going through it, and he found that he just wanted this to be over, as he was tired of being in a state of pain nearly all the time and he was glad that the year leading up to their fifteenth birthday hadn't been like this, meaning he was grateful that it was stuck to the last month before they matured, otherwise he would have asked Spike or someone else to do something to bypass all of the pain, "We're just waiting for this to be over, that's all."

"That's good to hear, and we can take care of the pain as well," Nestor said, where he reached into his satchel for a second and pulled out a few vials that contained a light blue liquid inside them, something that was followed by Malefor pulling a few out as well, even though Spike quickly counted that there were eight of them in total and suspected that he knew what they were supposed to be, given his knowledge of this event and what he had read in the past, "about five to six hundred years ago one of the Beast Makers came up with a tonic that would allow a maturing dragon to sleep through the pain of this process, basically meaning that once someone drinks this they'll fall asleep and won't wake up until after their body, or bodies in your case since there are six of you, has fully matured."

"Um, why are you only bringing this up now, instead of earlier, before they felt all this pain?" Bianca asked, as she realized that there was a reason behind the decision and she was curious as to what it might be, given that neither of the Leaders would do anything to harm Spyro and the others, though at the same time the group raised their eyebrows as they stared at the vials for a few seconds, showing that they were interested in what Nestor was saying and what would happen when someone drank the liquid that was inside the containers.

"Because taking it early can potentially case damage to a dragon's body, so waiting until near the end of the last day is the best course of action," Malefor replied, though it became clear that he and Nestor had split up the vials between them, as he had three and Nestor had the other three, but even as he told them that piece of information the group suspected that those who lead Warfang must have discovered a similar tonic to help the following generations of dragons that called the city home, where he paused for a moment as he glanced at the group, "Don't worry, the dragon who took it early was able to recover without any glaring problems or deformities, so as far as we know there's no serious consequences of doing that, but given that he was stuck in a constant state of pain for half a year, meaning he was stuck feeling the pain that the maturing process inflicts on one's body, we determined that administering the tonic at this point in time was the best thing we could do, and it seems that the Beast Makers of the past did the same thing as well."

"That they did," Nestor said, where he suspected that Spike was following what they had said and already knew what they had told Hunter and the rest of the group, as he could see that some of them were interested in what he was saying and it was easy to see that he didn't have to repeat himself this time around, something that he also suspected was due to Spike and his study habits, which probably rubbed off on his friends, though that was when both he and Malefor focused on why they had come here as they uncorked the first of the vials that they were carrying, "Once you ingest this tonic you'll be knocked out and won't wake up until sometime into tomorrow, as in you'll wake up after the maturing process is done, so none of you will be in pain when you wake up."

Normally this would be when someone would pause and think about what Nestor was saying, though Spyro decided not to do that and drank the tonic that was offered to him, something that Cynder and the others followed suit and drank the tonic as well, where it wasn't long before Spyro shut his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, as it took about ten to fifteen total seconds for that to happen, where Spike, Ember, Cynder, Flame, and Aurora swiftly followed him as they collapsed and fell asleep as well, causing the rest of the group to just sit there since there wasn't much they could do at this point, which was when Nestor and Malefor moved the sleeping dragons into their rooms and placed each of them in their beds, as sleeping in the living area wasn't a good idea and a bed would be best for now. Once that was done, and the pair of adult dragons left the house so they head back to the area they were staying in before the big day hit, Elora, Hunter, Bianca, and Amelia remained sitting in the areas of the living room that both they and their friends had been resting in before Nestor and Malefor arrived with the tonics, leaving the four of them with not much to do since they had been here for their friends and now none of them were really needed for anything since Spyro and the others were fast asleep. Since both Flame and Aurora were resting in the guest room of the house, and it would be a little miserable sleeping in the living room, Bianca headed outside and summoned some camping gear for them to use, a few tents that they could put outside the house and a few other camp related items, like wooden seats or a stone circle for a fire, but for the most part all they did was just head inside the tents she had called to this area and turned in for the night, especially since it would allow them to get to the big day and greet their dragon friends when they emerged from the house, and possibly assist them if such a thing was even necessary. Of course there were three tents, one for Elora, one for Amelia, and the last was for her and Hunter, and the tents came with sleeping bags inside them, even though they weren't as good as beds were and this was the best that she could offer them at this point in time, but that didn't stop the four of them from glancing back at the house for a few moments, to silently wish their friends well as their bodies shifted while they were asleep, before heading into their temporary tents and drifting off to sleep not even a few moments later.

When morning hit Elora, Hunter, Bianca, and Amelia rose to meet it as they left their tents and sat around the campfire, or at least the area that a fire would have been contained in if they decided to light one, though it wasn't long before Nestor and Malefor returned to where the house was located, meaning both of the adult dragons had the same thought as the rest of the group and that they were here to assist the now matured dragons when they emerged from the house, since it was likely that some of them might be disoriented by the sudden changes to their bodies, but that was swiftly followed by something moving near the entrance of the house and caused the group to focus on that area.

The first dragon to emerge from the house was Spyro, and how they knew that was due to his purple scales being joined by his yellow chest scales, instead of seeing Spike's green scaled chest, though it appeared that he was done with the rest of the maturing process and was no longer in any pain, as he was now standing on two feet and stood like the rest of the adult dragons, his wings were now fully grown and matched what an adult dragon had, and he seemed older than he had before taking the tonic last night, though Elora noticed that his body was a mix of Peacekeeper and Artisans, as he was a tad bit buff, displaying his warrior training, while being more lean like Nestor was, possibly detailing his nature as one who was good at flying since that seemed to be his favorite activity, creating new techniques whenever he wanted to. The next one to emerge from the house, and followed after Spyro, who had walked out and was staring down at his body, just so happened to be Cynder, where it was clear that her body was much like Spyro's, save for the fact that she was slimmer, by a tad bit to be exact, meaning that in dragon terms she had to be stunning as she glanced at her adult body and smiled as she did that, showing the group that she was pleased by how things had turned out and that she could get used to this, where Malefor smiled as well, as he was happy that she was fine and that nothing had had happened to her, even though both Cynder and Spyro were getting used to having hands and not the claws they were used to having. What interested the group was that Flame was the next one to emerge from the house, with Aurora standing not to far behind him, where it was easy for everyone to see that Flame's adult body was a tad bit bulkier than Spyro's was, as while Flame didn't want to go on another adventure he had taken to Titan's training and it appeared that his adult body reflected that, though the real odd part was that he seemed to be totally okay with his adult form and didn't seem upset by it, despite the fact that he knew that changing things would be near impossible at this point in time, something that they would have to ask him once he was used to his new body. Aurora, on the other hand, seemed to be slim as well, meaning the dragons of Capora might swarm her at some point when they gazed upon her new body, though she wasn't near Cynder's form, as Aurora had a bit more muscle to her, making her similar to Spyro in that regard when Nestor thought about it, meaning she could pass as a Peacekeeper who used ranged weapons or possibly a Magic Crafter, something that depended on her and what she might want to pursue if she and Flame continued to stay in the Dragon Realms and learned what the Leaders had to offer them about the six clans.

That was when the last two dragons emerged from the house, where they found that Ember was a lot like Cynder, though her muscles seemed to be more defined while not giving her a bulky appearance, which practically screamed that she was a warrior and that she wasn't to be underestimated at all, though the way she walked out of the house made it appear that she was more like a warrior princess, something that Titan and the other Peace Keepers would agree with the moment any of them laid eyes on her, given all the training they had given Ember over the years and how proud they were of her, and Nestor was sure they would be proud of whatever she did next. Spike, on the other hand, had a slim body, more along the lines that he was skinny in comparison to some of the others, though in Nestor's eyes it made sense, as Spike stayed near the back of the group whenever they entered battle and he loosed magical blasts at whoever they were fighting, yet he did have the air of a Magic Crafter around him, confirming his thoughts about what the young dragon would be when he came of age, something that pretty much every dragon in the Dragon Realms knew at this point and would be happy to see once the group started to test our their new forms. Malefor, on the other hand, could tell that each of the dragons were now stronger than they had been yesterday, as the maturing process, once called the Awakening Process by those that came before he and the current generation of dragons, not only allowed a teenage dragon to take on an adult form, but it also awakened the slumbering powers or skills that were inside the dragons in question, hence why it was usually followed by an Artisans dragon fully embracing whatever form of art they had been working towards, like how Nestor was a carpenter, one of the best he had seen in a long time, or how Alvar was one of the greatest chefs in the Dragon Realms. He could only imagine just how much stronger the new adult dragons had become, especially since this would mean that Spyro would be able to tap into the true power of a purple dragon, Cynder would match Spyro since that was what happened in the last version of this world, Flame and Aurora would have rose to new heights in a matter of hours, Ember would have become far stronger than she had been earlier, and Spike, well, he wasn't sure what sort of effect this natural process would have on the young Archmage, as Spike had been incredibly powerful before this point, so there was no telling how much more powerful he would become after this day, especially since he was a purple dragon as well.

One interesting thing that Malefor noticed was that both Spike and Ember did seem like they might have been focused on something else, or maybe they were staring off into space for some reason, but decided that it wasn't important since they had gone through the most painful process a dragon could go through, and if it was important they would say something to him and the others, though before he or Nestor could say anything Titan and the other Leaders, not to mention every Elder from Capora and the Guardians of Warfang, arrived to see how the dragons were doing, not to mention figure out what sort of clothing or armor needed to be made for them, and it was only a matter of time before their friends came to see them, based on what he had seen in the past.

"So, this is what its like being an adult dragon," Spyro commented, though at the same time he and the others moved and had to brace themselves for a moment, as it would take them some time to get used to their new center of gravity, but as that happened he glanced at the rest of the group for a moment and took in what he was seeing, where it looked like they were doing the same thing, even though it might be possible that Spike and Ember had noticed something before coming outside, mostly because Spike seemed more attuned to being able to walk with two legs, "this will take some getting used to, that much I can say right now."

"How are all of you feeling? No pain at all?" Elora asked, because while she and the others could see that the Leaders were in the middle of making measurements of the now adult dragons forms, so they knew what to abide by when they went to make the attire that Spyro and the others would be wearing before getting used to their new professions, she wanted to take a few moments to make sure that none of her friends were still hurting and that they were truly fine, before worrying about what the future held in store for them, due to the fact that if one of them was still in pain she intended on asking the Leaders why such a thing was still happening to whoever it was happening to.

"No, it seems like our bodies are done being in pain," Aurora remarked, where she shifted her stance a few times to see if she could remember what Titan and the other Peace Keepers had shown them after the adventure in the lands of Capora had ended, to make sure they were ready in case another foe tried to attack their home, like the Dark Master had done, before she found that her body was able to use the movements with ease, making her wonder what else she and Flame might learn, especially now that they were adults and that was what Titan was waiting for before he and the others even showed Ember any of the more advanced techniques, to which she returned to standing straight up once more, "I'm glad that we're no longer in pain, as that had gotten old rather quickly."

"Good to hear, which means we can focus on what sort of attire you want," Cosmos stated, though he already had an idea of what Spike was after, given that they had discussed such a thing at one point, but that left five dragons that he and the rest of the older adults had no information on what sort of attire they wanted, something that he and the others would be able to correct in a matter of minutes, and in a day or two they would return with everything they wanted, hence why he had a quill and some paper to write on, "also, we can figure out what sort of professions some of you will be going into in the near future, even if two of you are obvious in what you'll be doing."

"Yeah, Spike will be the greatest Archmage the world has ever seen and I'll be one of the best warriors that Titan will have trained in a long time," Ember said, revealing that she knew who Cosmos was talking about, as she and Spike were set in stone at this point in time, given everything they had been through in the past, though in addition to that the Leaders were in the middle of training Spyro to be a replacement at some point in the future, given his innate power, Conqueror's Spirit, which was one of the rarest powers in their world, with the Aether being right below it, since there were more users of the Aether than there were of those who could use the powerful technique.

"Well, I'd say that I'd like to start with some aviator clothing, sort of like what the Balloonists have," Spyro commented, as he was focusing on what Nestor and the other Leaders had asked him and his fellow newly mature dragons, though that was when Flame and Aurora raised their eyebrows towards him for a few seconds as they tried to imagine him in such a set of clothing, and failing by the looks of things, something that he noticed as he shifted his head to glance at them, even though Spike and everyone else knew what he was going to say next, "What? Back during the break between our first ever adventure and our second adventure, which was in Avalar to be exact, I came up with a new flight technique that I would later teach Spike and Ember, and later show off to Cynder, which was essentially a Hover that allowed us to maneuver with greater accuracy during whatever adventures the world threw at us, a technique that we used quite a lot before we found out we could fly thanks to all the time we spent in the Flight Realms... plus Spike studied the technique and wrote it down for the future generations, crediting me as the creator of the brand new technique. Basically, I love to fly and create tricks and moves in my spare time, when we're not training or saving the world, so I figured that my first set of true attire should be that of an aviator... which, now that I think about it, would actually go well with my scarf."

"If that's how we're doing things, I think a set of armor, for my upper and lower body, would be best," Ember said, where it only took Titan a few seconds to understand exactly what she was talking about, as she had mentioned what sort of attire she'd like to have in the past, though she wasn't covering her arms and legs since the bracers still existed and didn't need to cover them at all, plus her armor was going to be enchanted in a similar manner to the rest of her current attire, but at the same time she was forgoing the helmet, mostly because she felt that such a thing wasn't necessary, "provided its like what the rest of the Peace Keepers have and doesn't get in my way... though now that I think about it, I'll need to practice with this new body before a new adventure finds us."

"Cosmos and I already have a design in mind for me, since I'm an Archmage and all," Spike added, not that the rest of the Leaders were even surprised by that, as they understood that the pair of dragons had been near each other for periods of time in the past, one teaching the other how to wield magic, even if that reversed when they acknowledged Spike as the youngest Archmage in the world, so it made sense for them to have come up with a design ahead of time, given the sheer amount of time Spike sent reading all the books he could get his claws on, before he chuckled for a moment, "at least now you have the exact measurements to make the robes to, so we won't have to worry about wasting material on something that wouldn't have fit in the first place."

"I also won't have to worry about attire too much, given that my father and I were going to make my own set of Guardian attire once I matured," Cynder commented, referring to the attire that Ignitus and the other Guardians of Warfang wore in public, something that had interested Spyro and the others when they met the powerful dragons for the first time, during their adventure to see why there was an Aether icon above the continent she used to call home, which turned into a quest to save the entire world, though she was eager to see what would happen once she had the attire that mimicked what all of the Guardians of Warfang wore all the time, before she glanced over to Flame and Aurora, who seemed lost as to what they wanted to pick for their attire, "What about you guys? What sort of attire have you been thinking about wearing, or have neither of you thought about that yet?"

"Well, um, despite the fact that Aurora and I aren't planning on more adventures, I was thinking maybe a chest piece, some coverings for my arms and legs, and maybe a pair of shoulder pieces," Flame admitted, showing that, while he was trying to stay true to his desire to not go on any more adventures, which he seemed to be failing since he and Aurora were now hanging out with Spyro and the others, something that meant they would be dragged into whatever the next adventure might be, since no one had any idea what the future would throw at them next, before he rubbed the back of his head for a moment, "You know, to have some armor to defend myself in case the islands of Capora find themselves under attack by someone, or if I need to clear out one of the realms of troublemakers."

"And I'm torn between a functional dress and some apprentice mage robes," Aurora stated, as she had been watching all of Spike's lessons and had, in her own time, tried a few of the incredibly minor spells out, where the majority of them had failed in the grand scheme of things and only a select number of them had remotely succeeded, but now, after maturing into an adult at long last, she had to wonder if she might be able to do something with her innate magic and use it to help Flame guard the homeworlds of Capora, before she noticed that a few of the assembled dragons were surprised by what she had just said, "What? I'm willing to see what I'm capable of and figured that, if I do have some magical potential that has just been awakened, that I might as well look the part, especially if Spike's going to be wearing his new Archmage set the next time he goes to teach Bianca a new spell or something... and if that doesn't work, I'll have something to fall back on for when I'm just hanging out with everyone."

Everyone thought about that for a moment before deciding that what Aurora had said made sense, to which the dragons took a moment to make sure the notes on what sort of attire they would be working with were complete before excusing themselves so they could start work on the attire in question, basically leaving the group to do whatever they wanted for a time, even though Spyro and the rest of the now matured dragons were thinking of trying out their bodies, especially with some of them wanting to try out their new powers and skills, something that Malefor noticed and turned towards them for a moment, causing them to focus on him once more.

"How about this, in a week we can have another training session, to give you time to get used to your bodies and the new skills you have access to," Malefor said, revealing that he knew that the group would be far stronger this time around, due to the maturing process that six of them just finished going through, and that he was more than willing to engage them in battle, sort of like a final crash course for Spyro and the others to get used to their new bodies and skills, though since the group had seen him face the Dark Master he expected a few of them to be worried, but instead they seemed eager to face him once more, even Flame and Aurora for that matter, which had to be due to them fighting beside Spyro and the rest of the group, to which he beckoned for them to follow him once more, "but for now, I think its time for breakfast, so let's eat before you start your usual training, with some alterations this time around."

While the majority of the group nodded and headed for the portal that would take them back to the Artisans homeworld, so they could leave Stone Hills and get ready for what the day had for them, Spike and Ember brought up the rear as they kept some distance from everyone else, as there was a little something that they needed to talk about before they spoke up to the rest of the group, since what they had to say would be shocking and rather weird for their brother, which also included their friends for that matter.

"Spike, should we tell them?" Ember inquired, keeping her voice low so no one caught what she was saying, though at the same time she was referring to the fact that she and Spike had gotten far more out of the maturing process than what all of the adult dragons were expecting, which both of them had privately discussed before following the others out of their house so they could show their friends their new form, and she wanted to have his opinion on what to do next, in regards to what both of them had just discovered when they woke up.

"I know we should, but it might be better to wait until after we train with Malefor," Spike replied, as he replicated what his sister was doing, even though he was thinking about what they had discovered and even they needed time to think about what they had found out, given everything that came with the maturing process and everything that surprised them a few minutes ago, when they woke up this morning, but what he thought about was rather interesting, given everything that he recalled, even if it would take some time to understand everything.

Ember said nothing to that for a moment before nodding her head as they silently followed the rest of the group, as there were things that they needed to come to terms with before telling Spyro, Cynder, and everyone else, and Malefor's week would provide them with the time to do just that, even though they were both looking forward to the training session and what might happen when everyone faced Malefor again, before even worrying about what the future held for them and the rest of the group.

Comments

[zachary12]

nice work

[PrismStrike]

holy **** that was definitely beyond my expectations. with you naming the cubes Ion Crystals its all but confirmed as a Suabnuatica's precursor base (as they are the only species i have found in fiction that uses cube shaped Ion Crystals) and then you just straight up gave them an ion generator. if this story lasts another year in universe I could see things like high power, ion based directed energy weapons, flying vehicles that use anti gravity propulsion and basically unlimited energy for all. Honestly for me the rest of the chapter kinda paled in comparison though I will say it seems like Spike and Ember have something to share sometime in the next few chapters. Another absolutely great chapter, am looking forward to seeing more of this. Keep up the great work

[castroedgar316]

I've got a feeling that Spike and Ember's growth has brought more than just increased abilities to them.

[badninja]

So I wonder if Spike rememberers his canon adult form? I was half expecting that to come out and leave all of the adults stunned.

[Comickook]

REALLY good job on this chapter. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Great job on the descriptions of those last couple of exploration missions before the gang started getting sidelined by the pain of their maturing bodies. And, yeah, that IS a excellent explanation of why the gang only got the pain relief potion on the day before their fifteenth birthday. Absolutely adored the descriptions of the gang's more mature bodies as well as the discussions concerning the adult attire (including Flame's reasoning for something armor-related just in case another adventure finds them [and being smart enough to know another adventure PROBABLY WILL find them]).

REALLY looking forward to more of this especially seeing Spike and Ember gaining increased memories of their past lives as well as improved abilities and, in general, the final arc before the gang gets back to Equestria.

Twilight: You spent fifteen years on another world? You've only been gone for five seconds.

Spike: I know it sounds REALLY weird -

Twilight: Hey, considering our past experience with time travel, our friendships with Pinkie Pie AND Discord, Sunset Shimmer's adopted universe AND that mirror Equestria a couple of years back, I can safely say that I've heard and seen weirder.

Rarity: And I must say, Spike, the past fifteen years HAVE been quite kind to you.

Elora: In more ways than one.

[clown2107]

I wonder what will happen to Sparx and the other dragonflies, now that Spyro and the others have matured.