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Chapter 13: Ready to Fight

Dragon Realms, Uncharted System

March 6, 2204

1232 Hours

DragonTemple

"So your name's Zephyr?" Karson asked, turning to see the new face.

"That's such a pretty name..." Allison said, which got a smile from Zephyr.

"Thank you." Zephyr said.

"What brings you here?" Aaron asked.

"To see Spyro, of course." He said in reply.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're the only one here named Spyro."

"Why do you want to see me?"

"Well for one, you saved the Atlowa and the region of Tall Plains from Cynder's rule and from the domination of the Apes. I had been watching you and I must say, I am glad to have you on our side."

"Thanks." Spyro said. He had forgotten about Tall Plains. It had been 3 years after all since he had been there and liberated the Atlowa people with the help of Kane and Sparx. Sometimes Sparx was helpful... sometimes...

"I wanted to ask if I..." Zephyr began but was sort of at a loss of words as a look of confusion swept upon his face.

"If you could what?" Spyro asked.

"If I..." Zephyr clenched his eyes shut and looked as if he was going to blurt the whole thing out.

"If I could join you guys on your journey!" He gasped for air after it and they looked at each other. Spyro chuckled.

"Well... we aren't really on a journey..." Spyro said as he looked at Zephyr.

"And anyone willing to fight the Dark Master is with us." Allison said with a smile. Aaron smiled as well.

"More friends!" He exclaimed.

Krypto simply huffed. Spyro smiled.

"Why not?" Spyro said and Zephyr smiled again. The new wolf walked over and sat down near the others, and Spyro looked up to the Frigate.

"If you want to see her so bad then go." Karson suggested. Spyro was about to do so but remembering Wagner's words made his stomach go into a knot. If he saw her, her heart rate might go too high for the doctors to help heal her. But... it wouldn't hurt to just see her from afar... or ask the doctors how she was...

Spyro smiled and took off towards the Frigate. The others just watched and Allison sighed softly.

"That's so cute... he'd do anything to see her..." She said.

"He is in love with her..." It was at that time he noticed he was holding Allison and she was hugging him in return. At once they both recoiled and moved a bit away from each other, blushing. The others laughed at this.

Spyro soared higher and higher, the Frigate coming closer into view. The Frigate's two open Hanger Bays came closer and Spyro flew into one of them. Parked UERNF Raven and Raptors sat in the hanger, as well as Nighthawks and Sparrowhawks sitting in cage like holders off to the side.

As Spyro came to a landing in the hanger, he noticed the Marines and Navy personnel that went this way and that, refueling the vehicles while Marines stood watch. Spyro attracted many stares as a result of landing in the Hanger Bay, primarily from the Navel Personnel. Spyro walked over to the opposite side of the hanger bay in which he entered and noted some doorways that led out of it. He walked to a board that sat on the wall and saw that it gave directions.

He saw 'Medical Deck' labeled on Deck B above the Hanger Bays. He saw a Navy Technician walk nearby and walked over.

"Hey, how do I get to Medical?" He asked. The Navy Tech, who had had his face buried in a notepad, was started by Spyro and took a second to respond.

"Uh... you go down this hallway until you reach the central stairs and go to... uh... B Deck... just follow the signs..."

"Thanks!" Spyro said and dashed over there. Spyro left the Tech standing there, scratching his head.

Spyro walked through the hallways, looking for the stairs. Finally he came to an area where to the left of the hallway there were glass windows that revealed flights of stairs going up and down. Just next to the windows was a doorway that lifted open to show the path directly to the stairs.

Relieved, Spyro walked down the path and took a flight up to B Deck. Once on B Deck, he walked down the halls, going passed Marines and Navy Techs alike, getting a few curious stares from them. Finally he read a sign above a doorway that read 'Medical'. He walked into the area and saw several desks and passage ways leading this way and that, labeled such things as 'Emergency', 'Intensive Care', 'Cryo Storage', 'Regular Care'... and several others. Spyro saw a Human in a white coat and walked over.

"Uh... excuse me, do you know where they are keeping a dragon in here?"

"Yes, I do. You must be Spyro I take it. Cynder was in Emergency but we moved her over to Intensive Care. I would imagine you'd still be out and Wagner would have warned you that it is dangerous for you to see her." The doctor said. Spyro frowned.

"Well... I guess since you're here..." Spyro perked up and the Doctor smiled before motioning for him to follow. He walked over to the wing labeled Intensive Care and opened the door to it. They walked down the halls until they reached a room with two doors, labeled A and B. He lead Spyro into B. They walked into a small room with small monitors and glass windows that overlooked a small room with a few beds. One of the beds contained a black dragoness- Cynder.

"She took a beating back where you were... suffered a few internal injuries and her rib cage was almost shattered."

Spyro cringed at the words.

"Thankfully we managed to temporarily reinforce her rib cage until it can naturally heal; we've even put some reconstructive hormones into her stream to speed up the process. We also sealed her internal wounds, but until they are fully healed, we cannot have excess heart rate or amounts of blood flowing through those regions... so that's why we cannot allow you to see her at this moment."

"Cynder..." Spyro said with a frown. He felt his heart ache as he heard this news... he wanted to see her so badly, but if he did, he'd be endangering her. It felt bittersweet. Spyro's head drooped to the floor and he sighed aloud.

"Thanks..." Spyro softly said and looked at Cynder's sleeping form before leaving the room. The Doctors and other Medics watching sighed sadly at the moment they witnessed.

Spyro trotted slowly back down to the Hanger Bay, seeing Volteer, the electric guardian, talking with Navy Techs about something down the hall. It was basically chatter coming from that machine gun mouth of his. He went into the Hanger Bay and took flight out down to Warfang once more.

As he descended downwards, he flew away from the balcony and flew down to the rear of the temple. He landed in what was an outside garden just to the rear of the temple atop the huge building and cliff that the temple sat atop. Several plants occupied the garden and Spyro walked through it and sat in a bushy area, looking at the Frigate as it hovered in the distance.

The thought of him being so close to Cynder, yet unable to see her struck him at his very core. He wanted to see her so badly... but the reality of the situation was that he couldn't... that it was better for her own well being that he not see her at all...

The Gardens themselves were of several natural and brick walkways that went through several regions of plants, trees, and other things. It was an almost mini-forest with walls that bounded the gardens from the rest of the temple. Spyro walked over and deviated from the path. He entered the bushes and looked around the flower ridden region.

Spyro sat down in the bushes, the sunlight penetrating through the trees nearby and striking his scales. The light coming through created a sort of majestic scene to this temple that the old one didn't have. Well... Spyro was never around the temple long enough to see such a beautiful day. He was only there for a few days before it was destroyed at the hands of Malefor.

As Spyro remembered more about the old temple he looked out and saw birds flying above on the temple roof just beyond, flocks of the creatures landing atop its massive dome. Sunlight was flooding the gardens and it created a surreal scene, however, only sadness sat in Spyro's heart. He tried not to think of Cynder... but the more he did... the more he kept picturing her next to him... It hit him to his very core.

He saw a few female Marines admiring the garden just a bit ahead. They were looking at a few flowers and picking them, shouldering their rifles as they did so. Spyro could hear a giggle or two but they were quickly hushed as they dropped them and pretended to patrol as a Marine Lieutenant walked on by. For a moment, Spyro wondered if it was Wagner, but the Lieutenant was another Marine, looking at a small pad in his hands as he quickly passed up the female Marines.

Once the Officer had past them up, the two returned to their flower picking. They were joined by a small mole girl and a young dragoness who had also wandered up here as well. Together they sniffed and looked at the flowers, assorting them into a variety of different colors in their hands.

Spyro couldn't help but put a smile on his face. He wondered why Marines would act like that. Yeah, granted that they were girl Marines, Marines were the Human's armed forces. Surely they'd act a little more tough. Plus, Spyro was sort of surprised they were even in it. He had never seen a single female fighter in the Dragon Realms. Cynder was the first female he'd ever seen fight. Was Human culture that different? What else did girls do other then fight in their army? If that was the inside of their Frigate Warships, what did their cities look like? Their worlds? Their homes?

As he thought a butterfly flew down and sat atop his muzzle, sunlight reflecting off of its wings and into his eyes. His scales glowed a brilliant white from the intense light and the entire scene reflected the true beauty of the area.

A Nighthawk flew overhead and landed nearby. Spyro didn't really pay too much attention; neither did the two female Marines or their other counterparts picking flowers.

"Where'd Spyro run off to?" Spyro heard a voice and knew who it belonged to- Sparx.

"I saw him fly in this direction from the ship... keep looking I guess." Allison said. Spyro saw Allison, Karson, Sparx and Aaron enter the gardens. Spyro caught a glimpse of Krypto and Zephyr at the opposite ends of the gardens, looking through the foliage.

"Great, first he ditches me at the statue then disappears from his other friends!" Sparx huffed and crossed his arms.

"Dude seriously needs a check over." Sparx said as he buzzed nearby. Aaron opened his mouth to say a comment, but decided not to say it, deciding to instead walk further on into the path.

Spyro was so far from the path that they had to have been in the bushes with him to really catch sight of him, unless they were looking directly at him.

He decided that he didn't want to be with anyone at the moment, so he kept quiet and sat still, closing his eyes and remaining in his spot. He wanted to just be alone... to be with his thoughts and remain in the sun drenched regions that were the gardens. He didn't want Sparx or Karson or Allison... he only wanted to see Cynder... but she wasn't here... of course as was his luck...

Spyro saw that they were still in the area, calling out his name and trying to usher him over. He didn't budge. Instead he sat in silence, letting the harmonic chirping of the birds carry his mind aloft.

Finally, they gave up their search in the gardens and moved out, shouldering past the group of girls picking flowers and to the opposite side of the gardens.

With their departure, Spyro slowly inched over into another natural opening filled with tall grass. It went off into a river that broke off into a waterfall that spilled into another area of the gardens. However this area was isolated from the rest of the gardens. It was a small little outcrop of the gardens placed on a lower level but there was no actual walkway to access it. Spyro stood up and walked to the water's edge, peering his sights down to the area beneath.

Down beneath was what looked like a sort of sanctuary like area. There was no shrine or structure to speak of, but it looked like a nice little get away area where nobody could bother you or come to bring you a sign of disturbance. It was the perfect place for Spyro to be.

Spyro glided down to the area beneath and sat in the grass. He was surrounded by flowers and trees. As Spyro sat, there was a statue of a dragon that sat in the area. It was of a purple dragon. Strange... Spyro hadn't noticed it before, yet it was out near where he was. How could he have missed it?

He kept staring at it, for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly a sweet sound streamed through the calm area and his ears tuned to the sound of a sweet voice.

"Spyro? What is the matter?" the voice asked.

"Nothing..."

"Something must be the matter... you look gravely sad..."

"I'm just... a bit sad I guess..."

_ "You guess?"_

"Yes."

_ "Why do you guess?"_

"I just... do."

"Why?"

"I don't know..."

"Why don't you know?"

"I just don't..."

"Why?"

"I just don't alright!" the voice seemed amused, for it chuckled.

"Young dragon... there is an answer to everything. You just have to know where to look." The feminine voice sounded soothing to him... and very familiar at the same time. He had heard it before... but couldn't quiet place his talon on it. Who was it?

"Is it someone you miss?"

"Yes..." He simply said, trying to figure out who the voice belonged to.

"Is it that young dragoness Cynder?"

"Yes... how do you know?" The voice once again chuckled. Another voice joined in, and suddenly a new statue became noticeable to Spyro, this one being a faded red and on the other side of the area. The statue reminded him of somebody...

"We know many things...young dragon..." The voice was amazingly familiar. It was undeniable. It was Ignitus, the Fire Guardian.

"Ig-Ignitus?"

"Yes young dragon, it is nice to see you as well."

"Ignitus, where are you?"

"I am where I need to be Spyro. But I do not believe you think that you are."

"No... I should be out there... helping to find the Dark Master and stop him once and for all. I am wasting my time resting."

_ "But Spyro, you are still weak."_ The female voice said.

"I am not weak. I am ready to fight! I can fight! I just need to know where to go..."

"Recon has some wounded and needs to get airlifted, you two, your with me!" Spyro heard a voice off in the distance. It belonged to a Marine. He heard the two female Marines snap to attention and run off. After a few silent seconds, the Nighthawk in the distance flared its engines and the drop ship started to ascend.

"Spyro, go where you think you are needed and do what you think is right. Don't do anything less or more." Ignitus's voice sounded true and stern. Spyro nodded, a tear forming in his eyes.

"We have your back, now go." The female voice added. Spyro flexed his wings and leapt into the air, giving chase to the drop ship as it flew off towards the ocean- the south. It was headed to Dante's Freezer.

"He's growing up so fast..." The female voice commented.

"Yes... he is... It's hard to believe he was once and egg..." Ignitus said with a chuckle.

"Well... a lot more rests on his shoulders this time. Do you think he is ready?"

"I think he is... I think he is..." Ignitus said with a stern voice. The statues faded and silence once again claimed the small secret part of the garden.

"Is that Spyro?!" Allison said as she pointed into the sky. Sure enough, a small purple dot chased after a Nighthawk bound for the region recon was sniffing out to the south.

"Damn it all... he's gunna get himself killed."

"I'm going after him." Aaron said and took off after him. Krypto remained silent as he too leapt into the skies. Zephyr shrugged as he joined them in the air and soared onwards in pursuit of the dragon.

Karson sighed and Allison groaned.

"That crazy bastard is going to get himself into some serious trouble..." Karson said, kicking a small rock.

"What's over to the south anyway?"

"I don't know... but he's going after it..."

1322 Hours

Oceans South of Warfang

Spyro flew through the skies, the winds slapping against him as he sailed along. The Nighthawk was just ahead, only visible as a small gray blob moving far ahead of him.

The ocean waters passed beneath him, as well as small islands. The islands were only a few dozen meters across, but had tall mountains that rose high above the waters and trees that sat on the island. Spyro remembered all this. He had been here before, 3 years ago. This was the path he took when he had first learned to fly.

At least this time there weren't cannons launching Apes at him or something like that. It was pretty peaceful to just be flying along. He felt dull aches coming from his neck and stomach, the injuries starting to make themselves noticeable. Spyro ignored them and kept flying along.

The Nighthawk, being faster then Spyro, was starting to slip from view. Spyro flapped his wings to pick up speed and went a bit faster, trying to at least keep the Nighthawk within his view.

The tropical-like islands beneath him were now being replaced with glaciers and ice islands. The waters and landscape beneath were becoming increasingly icy. He was close.

Spyro heard screeching sounds that penetrated his ears and he gritted his teeth. Two Human fighters screeched above him, moving at lightning fast speeds. They dashed faster then anything Spyro had ever seen before. Just as quickly as they had passed overhead, they were out of sight.

Spyro flew along quickly, trying to reach Dante's Freezer to help with whatever was going on with the Marines. Finally the mainland of Dante's Freezer came into full view and Spyro slowed down as he came to a stop in the exact place he'd landed 3 years ago.

This particular place hadn't changed. It was still a path that headed to the right of his landing area and then turned left, heading deeper into the snowy regions. Smoke pillars were seen in the distance and Spyro dashed through the snowy forest-like area, the chilling winds and temperatures slapping against his scales like several knifes. It was bitter cold, no doubt about that. However, he ignored it and applied fire from his elemental abilities to heat his body from within. Still, it didn't change the fact that it was bitter cold outside.

Spyro ran through the snow, passing up broken buildings and forts, frozen ancient soldiers and other things. Dante's Freezer had changed a bit since his last visit 3 years ago. Many paths had been cut off and new ones had been made as a result. The thing that got him running towards the smoke even more was the sight of a few Marines sitting in the snow, their bodies incased in frost and their faces of pain and agony frozen for all of time to see.

After a bit more running, Spyro reached the top of a snowy bank that overlooked a fortress. Spyro sat and recaptured his strength, peering out onto the fortress. There were a few enemy soldiers on guard, curiously, these creatures were Apes! Spyro had thought all Apes had been turned into those skeleton things that he had fought earlier!

Some of the natural soldiers that were native to the region marched upon the fort, issuing a challenge. The Apes did their usual kicking and howling in response. The two sides clashed, swords and arrows flying through the air.

Spyro didn't have time for this. He flapped his wings and flew over the fray, letting them kill each other so he didn't have to. He passed over the fort and onto the next region of frozen canyon like terrain to find a Nighthawk split in half, its nose dug into the dirt and its tail section sticking up in the air. Pieces of twisted and distorted steel lay all about, as well as bodies of Marines. Smoke rose from the destroyed drop ship, originating from the nose. There was a Marine lying atop a box with a flashing light on it. Spyro could hear the sound of a voice, but it was garbled, unlike regular speech.

"This is Recon group 332 broadcasting on all United Earth Radio Frequencies requesting support. I repeat, requesting support. We are pinned down in the southern regions of this area, coordinates unknown. We have wounded and require air lift out of here ASAP. They have unearthed something, I repeat, they have unearthed something and we are trying to-"

The signal cut out.

1354 Hours

Dante's Freezer- Marine LZ

"Oh wow its cold!" Aaron said as he landed, quickly followed by Zephyr and Krypto.

"This is nothing, I've felt worse." Krypto said nonchalantly.

"Well... there's no sign of Spyro." Zephyr stated, seeing that he was nowhere in sight. There was evidence of human presence though, melted snow and boxes a testament to them using this as their Landing Zone.

"Well we're not going to find him standing around, let's go..." Krypto said and started off towards a gateway that lead deeper into the snowy regions. The other two shrugged and followed. Snow hit them, retrieving a groan from Aaron but a smile from Zephyr. Zephyr, being a wolf with wings, was able to endure colder conditions then Aaron. Aaron tried to heat his body up with fire, but while trying to run it was a bit difficult.

They ran down the snowy path, seeing smoke rise off in the far distance.

"Snap, why does it have to be so far?" Aaron asked.

"We could fly there, sure would be faster." Zephyr suggested.

"The winds are picking up. Soon it will be too rough to fly." Krypto said as he walked down in the snow. Aaron shook off some snow that had accumulated on his muzzle as the snowfall started to increase. More and more snow fell down onto the trio, accumulating on their bodies even as they ran in the snow.

As they ran they came to a structure in the snow, a sort of tunnel into the mountain that was constructed. They went into the tunnels, bricks cracking and snow falling onto the already slush covered floors. Tables littered a room with cups turned over, ice crystals hanging from the roof and a portion of the ceiling at collapsed in, frost flowing from it and a beam of light from outside flushing the room in its illuminated glory.

They passed through, narrowly avoiding a tunnel collapse and finding themselves a bridge outside that spanned over an enormous chasm. Across, there was a smoke pillar that was rising off somewhere nearby. Snow smacked their faces and clouds swirled above.

Aaron grunted as they started across the bridge, heavy winds colliding into the bridge from the chasm. Krypto had to even hang on as heavy snow and winds pummeled the bridge.

"Darn it! Couldn't be easy now could it?" Aaron said as he dug his claws into the wooden bridge, Zephyr doing the same.

"It's never easy!" Zephyr said as he used his claws to both fight the winds and walk.

Finally after getting across the trio sat in a courtyard to a building. They had to at least rest from that encounter. Finally after a silent rest, they stood up and began to walk once more, the pillar of smoke getting ever closer.

"Oh boy... that doesn't look good... not good at all..." Zephyr said.

"What do you see?" Krypto asked. Zephyr pointed to the sky and both Aaron and Krypto looked up to see black clouds approaching. Snowfall was increasing, as was wind speed. The black clouds could only mean one thing: a blizzard.

End of Chapter 13

Spyro and Cynder belong to Sierra Entertainment

Krypto belongs to Kryptangel92 of DeviantART

Singe belongs to SexyCynder of DeviantART

Aaron belongs to Dragonfreak1112 of DeviantART

Zephyr belongs to Dragonheart666666 of DeviantART

Everyone else- me