Spyro I: Elements Collide

The Ice Realm

The blue portal appeared once again, and spit the two dragons out of it, then disappearing. Cynder, after suffering from heatstroke, felt much better after landing, as the ground was colder. Much, much colder. What stood in front of them now was not a fiery cave, but a open, barren landscape covered in snow. "Lovely," Spyro said to Cynder, "Instead of extreme heat we now have bitter cold..."
"As if I had a bad enough time in that hellish place," she replied, "Let's get moving." As they began walking, they examined the nearby cliffs. The walls were made of ice, glistening in the light, and reflected the shape of the duo. The landscape had crystals scattered on the ground. These were gifts from the ancestors, as Ignitus had told them, which held the power of a thousand suns. Spyro and Cynder had come into contact with them before, and that is how they grew so powerful so quickly. They were truly remarkable substances.

Silence filled the atmosphere, and Cynder felt strange when it got quiet, so she broke the silence.
"Don't wolves inhabit colder areas, Spyro?" she asked. Spyro seemed happy to answer.
"Yes they do, however not all of them. Some adapt to warmer and less harsh environments, like forests. These two types of wolves have many differences." he explained.
"What kind of differences?"
"Well, the frost wolves eat only meat, so they rely on the survival of other animals. If their food dies out, so do they. Nature wolves, on the other hand learn to eat berries and fruits, so they are less dependent on meat, meaning they're more likely to survive."
"Wow, that makes me feel bad for the frost wolves..." Cynder replied.
"Well, life finds a way." he said encouragingly.
(Another reference, I hope you got it!)

As they continued, Cynder started to shiver, so Spyro held his wing over her, in an attempt to keep her warm. Spyro stopped when he saw a lone wolf ahead, so he hid behind a shard of ice sticking up from the ground. Cynder did the same. The wolf was sniffing, and picked up a scent. It howled loudly, and another five ran up to it.
"What're they doing? Have they picked up tracks?" Cynder asked.
"Maybe, but they are walking right towards us..." The wolves slowly made their way towards the two dragons, with it's head down, and Cynder was shivering more, for two reasons. It was more due to the cold breeze, but also because a pack of wolves were trying to find them. Although Cynder had powerful abilities, wolves were smart, deadly and brutal in their methods of killing. They reached the dragons and looked up. Spyro kept Cynder close and shut his eyes. Instead of ripping them apart, the wolves bowed at their presence. Cynder looked at them, curious.
"They're...bowing!" she said, surprised.
"But why?" Spyro replied.
"Do you remember what Blaze said? Rumours of us have spread across many realms. They know us!" As Cynder finished her sentence, the wolves barked and howled, communicating with each other. Then, a regal looking dragoness appeared, and approached Spyro and Cynder.
"The mighty heroes of Warfang," she said with pride, "Welcome to the Ice Realm!"
"Thank you, ma'am. I assume you are the Queen of the realm." Spyro said.
"Indeed, and it is an honour to stand by you...what's the matter, Cynder?" she said with a worried look. Cynder was still shivering, but now she was stuttering in speech. She looked worse in condition compared to what she looked like in the Fire Realm.
"I'm j-just... not used t-to such...c-c-cold c-conditions..." she replied.
"Not familiar with the element of Ice? You will need to seek out shelter for her, Spyro. There is a cave nearby that would help. You should go there." the Queen suggested.
"Do you know the way?" Spyro asked.
"Yes, it's half a mile to the South East, I hope you get there safely."
"Thank you, your highness." And with that the two dragons headed to where the Queen told them, and on the way they saw a passage leading into a mountain.
"T-that must b-be it." Cynder said.
"Sure is. Let's get you inside." Spyro answered.

The cave was high up, with hundreds of icy spikes hanging from the ceiling. The two walked in and noticed a huge wall of debris was blocking the way. By instinct, Spyro backed up, slid his feet on the floor, and bashed the debris out of the way.
"You always... h-have something t-to break, huh?" Cynder commented.
"What? I didn't have a choice!" But as Spyro finished talking, a rumble came from the ceiling of the cave, and most of the shards up there were moving side to side, as if they were about to fall.
"Bad idea..." Spyro began to run as the shards started falling from the East side of the long cave, but quickly stopped to see Cynder not moving, shivering violently. Spyro ran towards her, put her on his back and ran. The shards were falling a metre behind them, and were only halfway across the cave. Spyro ran faster, and noticed another wall of debris ahead, blocking a small chamber. Spyro once again bashed into it, and got through, just before he was about to be impaled by spiky ice shards.
"That was...too close..." he was out of breath now.

Spyro put Cynder down, and noticed a big problem. Cynder wasn't shivering, but was still ice cold. She was suffering extreme hypothermia. Spyro had to resort to something he'd never tried before. He approached Cynder, and with all his energy, transformed all of his purple scales into inferno. He then held his wing over her. Cynder warmed up fast, and could move properly again. Spyro stopped channeling energy, and nearly passed out. Cynder caught him.
"Thank you so much," said Cynder gracefully, "I owe you another." She smiled. They sat and rested for a while...

Author's note: I just realised that Cynder has nearly died twice in the space of two chapters. I really need to stop doing that...

Nearby the Dragon Temple
"So, Ruby, have you ever met Spyro or Cynder yet? Like, face to face?" Sparx asked.
"No, but I would love to. I've heard so much about them! You know them, could you tell me about them?" she replied back.
"Well, for starters, Spyro and I actually thought we were brothers, as we were raised alongside each other. And as we were young, we never questioned the whole size difference or anything."
"Brothers? Huh, that's not something you would expect."
"What, the fact that we thought we were brothers or the fact we didn't question it?" Sparx asked.
"Both. And what about Cynder? Apart from the 'being controlled' parts." Ruby seemed curious.
"That's...where I would've started, but whatever. Cynder is actually pretty nice when you get to know her, but she can be scary sometimes." Sparx was being honest.
"All dragoness' can be scary at times. Including me." Sparx nodded.

They continued to patrol the outskirts until they saw a blue glow in the distance. "That's a portal! Let's go!" Sparx exclaimed. They ran towards it, and prepared to go through...

Meanwhile, in the Ice Realm
As Spyro awoke from his rest, he noticed Cynder's hand resting on his. He didn't move, and felt almost shocked. Then he remembered what she said before he cast that special spell to fix the World...
"I love you..."
The thought of Cynder saying that to him made him feel awkward. Then, Cynder woke up. She too saw her hands her connected with Spyro's, and she blushed slightly. Spyro saw this and thought it was a good time to ask.
"Hey, Cynder. You remember what you said to me before I fixed the World, after the defeat of Malefor?" She did remember.
"Yes, why?" She began to feel nervous, hoping he wouldn't say anything to hurt her.
"Did you...mean it?" Spyro asked.

For Cynder time had stopped. She couldn't believe he just said that. After all that time, he finally acknowledged it.
"Yes Spyro. I did mean it." she replied, blushing more.
"Well, I...I..."
"I know what you want to say, Spyro. Just say it..." Cynder said
"I love you too." Spyro smiled. Cynder did not expect that to be said.
"R-really? Y-you... really mean it?"
"Of course I do." They stared into each other's eyes. Breaking the silence was a suttle crackling sound. They each knew it was another portal opening up. They headed out to find the Queen waiting for them.
"Spyro, Cynder. It's been a true honour to meet you in person, but I am aware you do not belong here, and need to be elsewhere. So this is farewell." the Queen said.
"Thank you, your highness. We should go." Cynder replied.
"Good luck you two. Farewell!" And with that the two jumped through, and in the Dragon Realm, Sparx and Ruby jumped into the portal shortly after. They were not yet prepared for what lies ahead of them, but they will be when they find the others they'll meet on the other side.

Author's note: I wanted to say before I begin the next chapter that it will start to get brutal, so if you do not like bloody scenes, or your favourite characters from this Fanfiction getting injured, it is recommended you proceed with caution. They will get hurt...a lot.