Crash and Spyro, A Friendship Across Lifetimes

Chapter 26: Purple, Black, and Glowing Gold

Author's Note: This chapter, along with chapters 27, 29, 31, 35, 36, 38, and 43, take place as if Crash never accidentally ended up in the past. This story is a continuation of chapters 2, 4, 6, 14, 17, and 20. As mentioned in the intermission, both Crash's solo story and Spyro's solo story will be covered. Chronologically, this takes place a hundred thousand years before the events of Crash in the present. This story will also be told parallel to the events where Crash and Spyro are both in the past. It's a little confusing, but done intentionally.

"Both of you are senile!" Red yelled.

"Red, there is no need for insults." Titan said calmly.

"Well excuse me if I don't take an accusation from one of my fellow Elders that there is a traitor amongst us lightly!" Red replied back furiously.

"No one is being called a traitor, Red, now sit back down." Thomas said to Red.

"I am telling all of you that the barrier our ancestor's made is impenetrable, and therefore the Sorceress cannot be aiding Gnasty in his plans for conquest! Now I make a motion to this board to move forward with a preemptive strike against Gnasty's forces before they are ready to attack." Red yelled flamboyantly to the council.

Spyro and Cynder remained hidden on the wooden support beams towards the roof. Red's anger and passion was a disconcerting. "A preemptive strike against the Gnorks?" Spyro thought to himself. He wasn't sure why Red was acting so ostentatious, though it did sound like the Gnorks were preparing for war, which could make someone like him so cautious. However, the unsureness of the Elders about the Sorceress also made Spyro very nervous. He didn't know why, but every time one of the Elders mentioned her name, be had this feeling inside of him of dread and despair. It was hard to explain, and he felt very uncomfortable.

"I think I have to agree with you, Red" Titan said. "Magnus' inside source has made it very clear of the intent of the Gnorks. Why should we wait for an attack from them if we can neutralize the threat to our home worlds now?"

"I'll repeat myself again so that this gets through your head, Red" Astor interjected before Red could speak. "Magnus is almost sure that the Sorceress has been in the Realm of the Gnorks. Which means if we were to invade their realm, there's a real possibility that she is there waiting."

"I think I need to remind Astor and the rest of this council the reason why the Sorceress wants to invade the Dragon Realms" Red said to the entire council. "She seeks the Power Gems. She wishes to control their full power. But the Power Gems aren't in our possession anymore, isn't that right Thomas?"

Thomas looked away from Red, knowing where he was going with this.

"Your son Malefor stole the five Power Gems of the five Dragon Realms, murdering several Dragons in the process, and fled to Avalar to seek out the sixth. You had the chance to stop him, Thomas, but gave into your compassion, and it resulted in several Dragon's deaths. And now both of your sons are nowhere to be found in possession of the only reasons why the Sorceress is after us in the first place. Those gems were our only real weapon we had against the Sorceress, and despite my constant suggestions to learn how to use them, this council foolishly insisted that the Gems were not to be messed with. However, when Thomas had a purple Dragon for a son, all of a sudden you all put your faith in him to master the Gem's power. And look what happened? We blew our chance to defend ourselves from the Sorceress, and now all you four sit here and do nothing but blow hot air out of your mouths wondering how everything went to hell without doing a damn thing about it! Maybe the Sorceress has already been to the Realm of the Gnorks, and if she has been, we're already dead!"

Red reached for something in a bag he had brought with him and threw the object onto the center table. It was a wood carven neckless that had belonged to Thomas' son, Ignitus. Ignitus' wife had given that to him while she was pregnant with their son.

"You know what that is, right Thomas. It's the neckless Ignitus' wife gave to him while she was pregnant with their son Spyro."

Spyro suddenly inhaled with a pain in his heart and head, he started to remember something, but couldn't quite recall what it was. Cynder looked at Spyro worriedly. No Dragon ever knew who their parents were. The information must have been painful for Spyro to hear, considering what they had both just heard about Ignitus so far.

"Well," Red continued, "I went after Malefor and Ignitus after they left Artisans. And guess what Malefor did to your son, Ignitus? Murdered him in cold blood when he tried to stop him, something you didn't have the courage to do yourself."

Red is lying about Ignitus' death.

"Malefor is trying to do by himself what our ancestor's failed at. He has six Power Gems and at one point must have confronted the Sorceress in the six years since he's had the Power Gems. And that means he was murdered by the Sorceress and she now has all seven Gems. I want you to know Thomas that it is your fault that all Dragons are on the verge of extinction!"

"Red that is enough!" Magnus yelled. "It is not Thomas' fault for the actions of the Sorceress."

"Maybe so, but I reserve the right to blame our ancestors and this council. Both feared the power of the Gems, and instead of using them, did nothing and suffered because of it. Let me ask you something, Titan. You said earlier that the barrier to the Dragon Realms was impenetrable, and that it must have taken an Elder Dragon to drop the barrier into the Gnork's Realm in order for her to get to their Realm. Do you think the Sorceress could just rip through the barrier if she had control of the seven Power Gems delivered to her by Thomas's son?"

Titan couldn't answer the question, even though he knew that the Sorceress most likely could if what Red was proposing was the truth.

"You know what; the Sorceress is probably in the Realm of the Gnorks right now, and is only waiting for the right opportunity to kill us all. Like a meeting of the biggest adversaries to the Sorceress' plans all gathered in one place! Oh look, just in time, too."

Magnus could sense the incoming danger. Outside the sky darkened and the wind had picked up. Magnus put all of his effort to create a shield to protect the Elders from the incoming magical attack. Red watched as Magnus put all of his effort into the spell that sheltered the Senate House from the lightning strikes outside that was converting every Dragon outside into crystalline statues. Red walked out of the building to everyone's surprise and headed towards Artisan's portal towards the front of the building. Magnus collapsed in exhaustion, and Thomas came to his aid, while Titan followed Red outside. Spyro and Cynder were both scared senseless, but fortunately for them, they too were spared the fate of the rest of Artisans. Thomas, Magnus, and Astor followed Titan and Red outside, and Spyro and Cynder followed once the room was clear. What the Dragons saw outside were Crystalline Dragons everywhere, along with an activated portal. The Sorceress appeared from the portal with her grand, golden scepter which contain the purple Power Gems as it's crown jewel. Spyro, upon seeing the Sorceress from a distance, was flooded with the memory of what happened to him when he was four years old. A tear streamed down his face once he remembered what had happened to his role model, who turned out to be his father.

"So this is the Realm of the Dragons?" The Sorceress proclaimed as she walked towards the Council of Elders, who were frozen in fear except for Red. "I've got to say, Red, your plan is working perfectly. I've finally found the Dragons, and have acquired a new Gnork army to finish of the resistance in Avalar. This defiantly is a good day. And the rest of you must be the Council of Elders. I normally reframe from doing my dirty work, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to kill the last remaining Dragons on this earth."

"Red, what does she mean by your plan?" Thomas asked, while staring frightenly at the immortal Sorceress.

"Alright council, I guess I have to come clean. And you can disregard most of what I said earlier, I was primarily stalling for time. For starters, Titan, it was I who dropped the barrier in the Realm of the Gnorks, like you suggested. And as for you Thomas, it was the Sorceress who killed Ignitus, not Malefor. He ran off with his tail in-between his legs once he realized he couldn't defeat the Sorceress six years ago, leaving his brother to die. But what can I say; the power of the Gems is something not to be trifled with. But I did tell one truth in our meeting; it is because of years of this council's ignorance that this moment has come. It could have been avoided, but years of complacency to do nothing have led to this moment, though you could say I was the final push to make it happen."

"You fucking, double crossing bastard!" Thomas shouted as the Sorceress approached him.

"Yep," the Sorceress interrupted, "the irony is quite profound: a Dragon causing the downfall of the Dragons. I believe you're the father of Malefor, am I correct? He's quite the adversary, though too much of a coward to truly wield the power of the six Gems he's currently hiding from me. And then theirs your grandson, who I think I see behind that door over there." Spyro ducked his head behind cover again, but it was too late. "Oh yes, that is little purple Dragon who I saw in that town in Avalar six years ago. Oh his father tried his best to conceal that little Dragon's location from me, even after hours of torture. So noble of his father, too bad I had to stab him right in the chest."

Thomas looked at the Sorceress and Red in abhorrence, while Spyro could only continue to let the tears flow. Cynder was frozen in fear.

"I promised Ignitus before he died that I would tell that young Dragon what happened to his father before I murdered him. Well it looks like the time has come."

Thomas lunged at the Sorceress, but several green lines formed around her, deflecting Thomas's claws and causing sparks to form from the contact. The Sorceress waved her scepter, and dark lightning came out of the Power Gem and struck Thomas, sending him back into the Senate Building, striking the exterior violently. Astor unleashed a torrent of blue flames at the Sorceress, but the attack also had no effect. The Sorceress waved her scepter again, and large blue projectiles flew out towards the rest of the Elder Dragons, causing series pain once the hundreds of projectiles struck each of the Elders trying to flee from the attack. The three remaining Elders collapsed to the Ground, struggling to get back up. Spyro went to help Thomas, who couldn't care why he was here or not crystalized, but instead needed to find a way to save his grandson. Cynder charged at the Sorceress valiantly but was attacked by Red, who sent her careening into the fountain marking the center of town.

"Pathetic. I know you Dragons are old, but is this really all you got! I guess... umm... Spyro's the only one left."

The Sorceress approached the young Purple Dragon, ready to kill the one prophesized to end her reign of terror. Sparks flew to accompany Spyro, and the Sorceress froze. "That golden glow" she thought to herself. She knew what it meant; it was the mark of a creature that could harness the power of the Power Gems in their entirety.

"Listen Spyro, I'm going to activate the portal behind the Sorceress, and when I do, you need to run through it and get out of here. You're... you're our last hope."

Spyro thought back to his memory in Avalar, Ignitus had commanded him to flee as well and the Sorceress had killed him... his best friend... his father. No, he could abandon his family again.

"Hey Sorceress!" Spyro yelled as he walked towards the Sorceress with Sparx following close behind. "You... took my father away from me, and you're going to pay!"

Thomas knew that Spyro now remembered the tragic event that occurred when he followed his father to Avalar six years ago. Both he and Magnus had suppressed the memory from Spyro, to spare him from the trauma that would ensue. He planned on telling Spyro of what happened once he had grown older, or at least what Thomas knew himself. It was hard to tell what had happened to his two sons once they disappeared in Avalar. Though now he knew for sure.

"No Spyro!" Thomas shouted in pain as his grandson confronted the Sorceress. Cynder approached Spyro and stood by his side, ready to confront certain death.

"Sparx!" Thomas shouted as he got to his feet. Sparx was the last dragonfly; the Sorceress had supposedly killed the rest of them. However, this Dragonfly was marked with the energy of the Power Gems once he survived his specie's extinction, though would die if he spent too much of his life energy trying to save Spyro's life. He was prophesized to be the reason why a Dragon could defeat the Sorceress. When Malefor was born, Sparx was supposed to be his guardian, but Sparx never bonded with him. It was only when Spyro was born thirty years later did Sparx become the guardian of a Dragon. He chose Spyro, waited for him, like if he knew a second purple Dragon would be born. "Get my grandson out of here!"

Spyro turned to face his best friend, and suddenly was lifted from his feet. The Sorceress watched what was happening, and panicked. "I destroyed the Dragonflies centuries ago" she muffled to herself. "It was one of the first things my first prophet told me to do". She unleashed a massive energy beam at Sparx and Spyro, but Sparx was able to take Spyro and dodge the attack, the blast destroyed the Senate Building, and Thomas had just barely gotten out of the way. Sparx and a reluctant Spyro then flew through the portal that Thomas had activated from a distance. Cynder followed Spyro once Titan had lunged at the Sorceress and Astor attacked Red, trying to by Sparx and Spyro enough time.

Sparx, Spyro, and Cynder had escaped, and Thomas closed the portal, making sure that the Sorceress couldn't follow. However, this sealed the remaining Elder's... reaming Dragon's fates.