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Here is the second part of the first episode...

**Spyro: Dragon of Destiny: Rising Destiny

Episode One: Part 2 of 2 - Shadows Rising, A Hero's Awakening**

Windy Woods

A gentle breeze blew through the beautiful sunny forest of endless breezes as two young dragons raced toward their destination. Artisan City. The dragon village had once been known as Artisan Home but the name had changed two years earlier as the population had increased slightly. The two young dragons were heading to this loacation because it was where the head Dragon Elder, Nestor lived. It was also the home of their best friend and they wanted to get there before nightfall. The main reason they were in such a big hurry was because they had learned that their best friend was returning home after being gone on a month long vacation at Dragon Shores.

The young one leading the dragon duo was a dark pink dragoness. Her companion was a much heavier bodied male red dragon. Both of them ran on silently with the lighter weight female dragoness widening the gap between the two of them. The red male dragon growled and slowed his run down. "Hey, Ember, would you please slow down!" the red dragon yelled as his run became walking. The 28 year old dragoness looked back at her friend and sighed as she slowed down to let him catch up with her. Walking beside her much larger male friend Ember took a good look at him. Flame was staring at her with a look that made her shiver because she understood that look. Flame liked her but she didn't like him in that same way.

Ember sighed and turned away from him with a frown. Oh Flame, I am sorry but you are not my type. Flame noticed Ember's change in attitude and he sighed. "Let me guess, you do like me as a friend but not a boyfriend." He growled.

Oh boy here we go again! Ember thought as she stopped walking, closed her eyes and shook her head. "Look, Flame, we have been over this so many times that I have lost count." She growled as she looked up at him then with a look that made him backstep away from her. "I only love Spyro. I am sorry but you will have to find someone else to..."

"To what, princess?" Flame yelled as tears started to fall from his eyes. Ember noticed his tears and she placed her right paw on his shoulder to comfort him. Flame growled and stood up on his hind legs knocking her paw off his shoulder as he walked over to a rock and sat down on it dropping his head into his front paws as he did. Ember stood up and walked over to him and started to repeat her earlier attempt at comforting him. "Don't!" he cried out. "I don't want your pity, Ember." He looked up at her and sighed. "I can't stand it! I know I am not as couragous or adventurous as Spyro but would it hurt you to at least give me a chance. Why don't you like me?"

Ember sighed and started to walk away from him. She hated seeing him like this because it made her feel guilty about her feelings toward their friend, Spyro. "I like you, Flame, but in my heart I love Spyro. I am sorry but that is just the way things are. Please respect my wishes. I want you to be my friend."

"Oh, really, Ember!" He yelled as he gave her a very intense look that showed off his deep emotions. "So that is it... huh! I was right when I said that I was only good enough to be your friend but not your boyfriend!" He growled as he felt his heart shatter and anger... pure anger began to rise within him as he jumped to his feet and folded his arms across his slightly muscled chest.

Ember had had enough of Flame's attitude and she was going to put a stop to it. Ember looked at Flame and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "ENOUGH!" She roared. Flame's anger seem to evaporate in the face of Ember's roar. She started slowly walking toward him with smoke rising from her nostrils. Flame frowned as he watched her usual sweet personality quickly vanish into a puff of smoke as her anger come raging to the surface. "This conversation is over, Flame! I told you over and over again that I have already made my choice but you just want to keep pushing it." She walked up to him and gently poked him in the chest with one of her clawed fingers. "Flame, I have always tried to be nice and polite to you but you always ruin my intentions. Do you want to know the truth? I think you are slow and clumsy. You need to get more exercise and stop eating so much. You already have great strength but you are slightly overweight and you know it."

Flame looked at her and sighed as his anger continued to drain away to be replaced by more sadness because she was right and he knew it. "So that is what you think of me. I am unattractive to you and..." Ember put a claw on his lips to silence him.

"Flame, despite what I said I also know that you are very handsome for your age but you are too impatient and want someone to love you. A relationship... a true relationship is never like that." Ember said as her anger vanished and her usual happy personality slowly returned. "A true relationship takes time to develop between two people. Be patient and I have a feeling that in time you will meet the right person. Understand?"

Flame looked at her and smiled. "But Spyro hasn't ever said he loves you. Has he?" Ember sighed and shook her head. Flame nodded and she noticed that a little smoke was rising from his nostrils indicating that he was still very unhappy with the current situation. He understood her advice but that still didn't change the fact that he loved her and she knew it.

Is that so wrong for me to love my best friend? She asked herself. She looked at Flame and noticed that his expression was one of confusion. "What's wrong?"

Flame rolled his eyes and walked past her still standing on his hind legs. "Like you don't know, princess." He whispered as the smoke rising from his nostrils ceased indicating to Ember that he was starting to calm down but he was still upset.

Ember grabbed his arm gently and spun him around to face her. "Wait, Flame!" Flame glared at her and she dropped her head in shame. "I am sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"To what, Ember? To offend me! To be honest!" Flame said as he gently yanked his arm free of her grip. Ember raised her head and looked at him before nodding silently. The last of Flame's anger faded and he patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay. You are right. I need to let my jealousy go and work on improving myself in many ways but I don't think it will be that easy."

"Why do you say that, Flame?" Ember asked. Flame smiled and took a step back away from her to show off his body. Ember finally realized that he hadn't been slowed down by just his increased weight but his total size. He had grown over the last three years like she had. His body had more muscle to it then before and despite his pot belly she was right about him being very handsome. "Nice..." She said. "I never noticed before how much you had buffed up."

Flame sighed and laughed. "Gee, I wonder why. Hmm, I know... I bet it has something to do with a certain purple dragon that calls himself..."

"SPYRO!" Ember screamed and ran to the dragon who had appeared behind Flame. Flame spun around and looked at his buddy. Like I was saying. Flame thought to himself sadly as he laughed a laugh that sounded more bitter then happy.

"Hi, buddy!" Flame said as he looked at his friend. Ember was nearly struggling the purple dragon hero. "Hey, Ember, I think you should let Spyro breath or the Dragon Realms are going to need another dragon to be their guardian."

Ember grinned and let go of Spyro. "Sorry about that, Spyro!"

Spyro coughed and took a deep breath before responding to his friend. "No problem, Ember, just don't do that again because I don't think I'll survive." Spyro said with a laugh. He then pulled himself up into a crossleged sitting postion before looking at both Ember and Flame. "What's wrong, guys? Both of you look like you have been having an argument."

Ember frowned and Flame sighed as Spyro gazed at his friends in concern. "Well... I guess you could say that if you heard us." Ember said as she noticed Spyro's serious expression. If there was one thing about Spyro that both she and Flame had had to start getting use to was the fact that he was more serious now then had been before. His maturing was becoming obvious and he had changed quite a bit from his younger happy go-lucky personality days. Ember had also noticed that he had developed a slightly more arrogant personality since his battle with Red three years ago. This change in her friend worried her because she didn't want him to get careless and do something stupid that could get him hurt. "I guess you heard us arguing."

Spyro nodded his head. "You and I wll talk about this later, Ember." He said in a serious deep tone of voice. Ember nodded and reached out her paw to help Spyro to his feet. After he gotten on his hindfeet he looked over at Flame. "Hey, Flame, you look like you have been putting on a little weight since I have been gone." Spyro said as his serious expression changed to his usually calm and friendly one.

"You do too, buddy. I guess someone has been busy eating too much of Bianca's cooking." Flame said as he returned his older friend's smile as he looked his friend over. Spyro laughed. Spyro, he knew was a year older then he was and two years older then Ember was and it had started to show after Spyro defeated Red three years ago. Spyro had grown slowly after his battle with the banished elder. Then he had gone on a mission to a world outside the Dragon Realms. When he had come back he had started to grow like a weed. His youthful body had filled out with muscle. He had started learning how to walk on his hind legs but he was still unsteady and chose to often walk on all fours. Nestor had made Spyro a staff to help him get use to walking on two legs. Flame smiled and suspected that Nestor had done it mainly as a way to encourage Spyro to start walking around like the adult dragons so that he could strengthen his back leg muscles. Poor Spyro, Nestor always tries to get him to act his age and be the proper role model for the much younger dragons but Spyro has always been hardheaded. Flame thought.

Spyro looked at Flame and sighed. "What are you thinking about, pal, if you don't mind me asking."

Flame continued to smile and started to walk away toward Nestor's home. "It's nothing, Spyro. Nothing at all!"

"Yeah, right, Flame and I am as blind as the professor." Spyro said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Come on, Flame, you can tell me."

Flame stopped walking and turned to look at both Spyro and Ember. He grinned and said as he started to run from Spyro and Ember. "I was thinking about how cute you two look together. You know like boyfriend and girl..."

Spyro took off after Flame leaving Ember standing and watching the resulting outcome of Flame's teasing.

"Take that back, Flame or I'll..."

"You'll do what, Spyro. Kiss me."

"Oh, you just wait until I catch you, wise guy!"

"I would like to see you try, hero!" Flame laughed as he continued to run as Spyro chased after him.

Ember shook her head and smiled as she looked at her two friends. She knew that Spyro could always catch up to Flame quickly if wanted to because he was faster but he didn't want to. Spyro and Flame always made a game out of insulting and competing with each other. Males. She thought to herself. I can't believe that I actually love one of them. She sighed sadly as she remeber the argument between her and Flame. "I just wish Spyro would return the feeling. I know he knows by now how I feel about him but its as if he is afraid to actually tell me how he truly feels about me. I wonder why?" With that said Ember sped up her walk so that she could catch up with her friends.

Unfortunately, the answer to her question was watching from nearby with a very annoyed expression on her face. "Good question, powder puff. I'll be very glad to answer it for you as soon as get the chance." The female growled. "But first I have other business to tend too." A white portal appeared behind the female and she entered it silently. As the portal closed another one opened a few seconds later and a white furred dragon appeared. He flapped his large feathered wings and quietly followed the three young dragons until they exited the forest and entered the dragon village.

The white dragon quietly landed and looked at Spyro and his friends from the cover of the forest. "Is he truly the one that was mentioned in the ancient prophecy?" He asks himself and then his eyes widen as he notices a golden aura that briefly flares up around Spyro causing the young dragon to stop walking and start rubbing his arms as if he was cold. The aura vanishes quickly as it had appeared leaving the young dragon rubbing his head. His friends looked at him with obvious concern written in their facial expressions. Spyro looked at his friends and rubbed their shoulders to show he was okay. Afterward they continued on to their destination.

The white dragon turned with a gentle smile and walked back into the forest. He had seen the confirmation with his own two eyes and he was convinced. "Yes, I believe the search is finally over. Spyro, your true destiny, along with those of your friends, is about to begin. Prepare yourselves young ones because your choices will determine the fate of us all." Waving his right clawed paw in the air, the dragon called upon his magical abilities. A portal suddenly opened in front of him and the white dragon entered it leaving the Artisan realm behind... for now.

"This is only beginning..." Said a sinister voice as the screen goes dark.

TO BE CONTINUED....