Reena

"HRRRAWR!"

I jumped up from the floor, being careful not to let the medication slip off of my face. I was getting my scratch from the dragonfly treated while Spyro's mother went to look for the right books. I saw her drop a few tomes as she flinched from the sound. She blanched, trying to keep her composure. "Spyro . . ."

"I'll check on him. You stay here, and I'll tell you if he needs your assistance. With his luck, he probably just slipped off of the top of the bookshelves." She agreed with me reluctantly, and I went off on my own to check on him. I called out for him again. "Spyro, are you okay? Your mom's worried . . . she wanted me to check on you."

Five seconds. No response.

"Spyro? Can you speak?" I called out again. "C'mon, Spyro, just respond . . . Let me know you're alive . . ."

Tap-tap-tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap-Tap-Tap.

I blinked. That pattern of tapping . . . I ran to where I had last left Spyro. Why wasn't Spyro Prime trying to tend to him? Was he knocked out as well? I glanced down the aisle. "Spyro? SPYRO!" I ran to his side, cradling his head in my lap, and taking care not to get burned on his still-smoldering uniform. "Sadiki! Sabri! Come here quickly! He's worse than I thought!"

ShadowSpyro

I may as well have been dead at that moment.

My eyes were burnt, leaving me blind; I could barely move my head, making it hard to breathe. I was lucky that I was able to alert Reena as quickly as I had. Without Sparx to aide me, I couldn't heal my wounds.

I couldn't sense much of anything, except that my head hurt like it was engulfed in lava. I felt a faint sense of comfort as Reena stroked behind my horns and down my spine, playing her fingers over the faint bumps of my hard mane that were just now growing back. I tried to return the favor, but could do no more than place my free hand next to hers.

"Hold still, Spyro." Reena held my head still, as I felt a sting on my left cheek. I tried to jerk away, but Reena held me still. "Quit thrashing! Do you want the burn lotion to help you heal or not? We've got to put some water on that thing to disinfect the wound first."

"Can't . . . he . . . Agh!" I winced again as they rinsed me off, trying not to impale Reena by accident. I keened, only growing silent when the burn cream was applied, numbing my wounds. I tried to remain calm, now that I could speak again, but I was still blinded. Both physically and mentally.

Prime, that bastard . . . just because I start raising my voice at him for being such an idiot, he goes and blasts me in the face! Where's the justice in that?

"What happened?" My father showed up with a small set of flesh-clay creams. Normally, they'd be used for animal-making, but they were also good for healing. Much easier than a transplant or a skin graft. I held still as he applied them over me, trying to restore my sight.

"No good guest of ours . . . we had a bit of a confrontation, so he ends up melting my face and running off like a coward." I grunted out.

"A bit of a confrontation?" Reena remarked, "Is this because of that tongue-lashing you gave him outside, or did you try to do it again?"

"You can't make me answer that que- OW!" I retorted, and quickly got my wing socket whacked. I moaned. "Reena . . . yes, I tried to yell at him again."

"Well, then." Reena sighed, her tone of voice saying more than her statement did. "You can open your eyes now. Sabri and Sadiki will take care of you and make final touch-ups to that face of yours. I'll go find Spyro; he can't have gone far. I'd offer you to join me, but you'd be more likely to rip his head off."

"How can you be so sure?" I growled, as her hands left me and were replaced by those of my mother, Sabri. I opened my eyes to see Reena walking away.

"I'm banking on it. I think I know how to solve this problem . . ."

 Spyro

I rocked back and forth in the wet sand, trying to calm down. I think I did too good of a job, however, because I had fallen asleep by the time Reena arrived, breaking the surface of the water. I reeled back quickly, scooting up against the stone side of the cave.

She glared at me. "So this is where you went off to hide."

"He was yelling at me . . . saying I was an idiot for not knowing a mother . . .." I spoke out.

"For not having one? That doesn't sound right."

"No, no . . . for not knowing what one was. I didn't have a mother either, but that wasn't it." I picked my head up out of my knees, looking over at her. Her expression had changed some. "What?"

"That's what this is all about?" Reena sighed. "Spyro Prime, I don't know what kind of world you live in except for a vague notion or three, but that was nothing for either of you to get so overworked about. As for not having one . . . that's nothing new. Lots of creatures go without knowing one or both of their parents. Faeries... dragonflies . . . other dragons . . . me . . .."

"You?" I sat up now, paying attention as Reena sat in the sand as well.

"Yes." She glanced over at me. "You remember when I was talking with Shadow about the Blue Line Weave?"

"What about it?"

"That particular fabric pattern is a trademark. Does this look familiar in any way to you?" She pulled out a clean but tattered swatch of the cloth - blue with darker blue stripes. "I ripped it out of someone's outfit six years ago, on their last raid here. So if it looks a little old . . .."

"It's fine." I remarked, and then blinked as I remembered. "What the � you mean you've seen them here?"

"Seen who?"

"The thieves! I've had to deal with those louts since my first adventure. They were trying to steal a clutch of dragon eggs and-"

"You've already MET them?" Reena blinked. "Spyro Prime, those weren't thieves."

"They were grabbing stuff that wasn't theirs and trying to run off with it� That's the working definition of a thief, right?"

Reena dug a claw into the sand. "They can be thieves, but that's not what I meant. That fabric is used only in the uniforms of a group known as the Anti-Dragon Coalition, or ADC for short. They're the type of people that would try to steal dragon eggs, sure . . . they can also do that stuff that Shadow was going on about."

"They did it to your parents?"

"Yes." Her voice was barely loud enough for me to hear. "I was only about a year old when it happened. I have almost no memories of them, or that incident . . . A temple worker by the name of Mai'ko managed to save me before the thugs had the chance to take me to wherever they hide themselves. Mai'ko mentioned something about a legal battle over me, but in any case, I've been in her care as a ward of Tahla ever since." She looked up at me. "You?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've been living with my father ever since I can remember, and he's never mentioned anything about a mother... I've seen some of my egg shards that he kept, but whenever I asked how eggs were made, he just said that they were made like any other animal a Beast Maker forms up... never saw him make a dragon when I was watching, though."

"That's something you'll have to work out between you and him later. Getting back to the reason I came looking for you, however . . ." She pulled out two large rings of metal with a chain holding them together. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you for flaming Shadow in the face."

"What?!"

"Did you honestly think you could nearly kill another dragon and get away with it?" She looked over at me, and then sighed. "On second thought . . . I'll give you a choice. You're not going to get away with what you did, but you will get a choice."

"What's the choice? Torture by lava or by spikes?" I grumbled.

"It's not that bad of a choice. I've already picked up the scroll for this area at the Library. I've got it right here, tucked in with all of the others." She pulled it out of her coat and showed it to me, making sure I knew she wasn't lying. "Since we don't have to go searching in this realm anymore for it, here's your choice; the first option is to leave this area as soon as possible, chain you to one of the trees nearby where you first landed, and let you stay there while Shadow and I go off and find the last three scrolls in Draco Reaches. The second option is to go back to the library, get on its rooftop, and let you and Shadow duke it out � with you at some disadvantage, of course."

"So I either sit and mope while being chained up, or I can get my wings whipped by Shadow." I reiterated Reena's 'choice' with a few choice words of my own.

"Either way, you two don't go at each other's throats again once we reach high umbra. And if either one of you tries to hurt the other again, I swear I'll let the faeries deal with you. The faeries aren't exactly as forgiving as I am." Reena put the scroll away, but kept the metal chain and rings in one hand.

"Fine. I'll take the fight." I shrugged. "I could use the practice, in any case."

"Good. Now, hands behind your back, please . . . just to make sure you don't try anything, you still need to be handcuffed." I did as she asked, and soon felt the metal around my wrists. "Calm?"

I tested the metal's strength before I would respond. "A little. Is that what the metal chain and rings are called? Handcuffs?"

"Yes. Your combat and stress-coping skills are exceptional, but I think I'll agree with Shadow about the fact that you need a bigger vocabulary . . .." She spoke just before we dove into the water. After that point, carrying on a conversation was not easy to do.

By the time we surfaced at the library, Dad was standing outside. A quick glance at me, and I immediately wanted to go shrink away and run. With Reena having a firm grip on my restraints, though, trying to escape was no option.

Once inside, I sat down in a small chair at one of the tables. Reena set my arms up so that they were behind the back of the chair, redoing the handcuffs so now I couldn't leave the chair. Trapped and embarrassed, I waited, flicking my tail about to try and pass the time.

Reena began explaining herself while pacing on the table, and finally asked if the fight would be a good idea. I was a little surprised that she had thought of it instead of my dad and Shadow's parents, but I kept quiet.

"Sounds like a good idea." Shadow's dad spoke up. "Let the boy get some revenge� and it might just be the thing he needs to finally prove he's no longer a student . . ."

"What?!" I turned my head quickly to my dad, who had just spoken. "Yes, your son deserves some revenge, and yes, Spyro will have a slight handicap, but I think you underestimate him. He's quite the experienced fighter." I grinned from that slightly, surprised that he still backed me.

"He can't be that experienced� after all, that weakling temple orphan managed to capture him�"

"WEAKLING?!" Reena retorted. "I'm a full-blooded Peace Keeper, and you know it! I didn't have to fight him� I just calmly talked the situation out with him, and he came willingly."

Shadow's Sadiki raised an eyebrow. "So you seduced him?"

"NO!"

"So you deny that you seduced him?"

Reena paced faster. "YES! I mean, NO! I . . . I . . . You're twisting my words!" Her wings flared, trying to think while not losing her temper. I had a feeling this would be a good time to speak up.

"Listen." I tried to speak, my fingers curling around the chain of the handcuffs. "I don't know why you have such a bad temper towards Reena, and I don't know why you think she 'seduced' me � I don't even know what the word means � but she did nothing wrong. We did talk for a few minutes, and I did agree to come back here all handcuffed and such. I agreed to the fight, and I don't care what disadvantage I have in the fight. I thought that it would be better to finish this up now rather than let it boil over. I mean, all of you saw what happened to Shadow after our first . . . clash." I bowed my head. "I don't think either Shadow or I want to see what results from a second clash."

Dad nodded to that. "He has a point."

ShadowSadiki agreed reluctantly. "Fine. But I decide the handicap. I think fighting in his current handcuffed form will do just nicely� after all, this way he won't be able to charge. Agreed?" He turned to me.

"Agreed� but I need to get loose of this chair to even stand up, first." I spoke, trying to stand up to prove my point. Reena quickly came over and fixed my handcuffs so I could now walk around. I watched as the others marched up the stairs to the rooftop, and then Dad nudged me from behind to start marching up as well. I quickly ran up the flight of stairs.

The rooftop gave me a much higher view of Sushi Shores, which I only had a glimpse of for a moment before I looked towards the center of the roof. There was a circular fighting ring formed out of stone on the floor, causing me to worry some. I hadn't seen Shadow since I'd blasted his face. Where was he?

My question was soon answered when I saw Shadow jump down from his hiding spot in his father's left wing. He didn't look that badly hurt, but his outfit was still charred back towards the top. I stepped into the ring, afraid that maybe � just once � I'd gone too far.

ShadowSpyro

I glared at Prime standing there, arms secured behind his back, and looking scared already. This would be TOO easy! If he was anything like me, he wouldn't like having to stay on two legs for the entire fight. I glanced over at Reena for a few seconds, and then began running towards Prime.

I jumped, using my staff to get high enough to charge him in the head� and he ducked! I quickly fell onto the arena floor, horns first. As soon as I stood back up, he dove into me, knocking me down again. He knew enough this time to understand that flaming me wasn't going to be a good idea, or so I hoped. I jumped up again, preparing myself for another charge. 

He plowed into me again, knocking both of us out of the arena. Father quickly kicked both of us back in, leaving my tail stinging for a moment. Prime stood up before I did, my staff near one of his toes. I held still for a few moments, staring up at him to get his attention. He stopped once he realized I was down, stepped a foot closer to me, and looked at my neck. "Done?"

"Almost." I sneered, tightening my grip on my staff slightly. The staff was already between his legs, so if I could just get the leverage...

WHACK!

"HRAH!" Spyro jumped up in surprise, and then walked away a few feet before collapsing to his knees, doubling over and grabbing himself. His eyes were clenched shut, as well as his jaw.

I should've tried that slit hit long before then.

I grinned, now standing up and walking over to my fallen fighter. "Now I'm done." I hissed. He just whimpered, still hurt. I kicked him onto his back, watching his face . . . and then turning away. It was too much like my own face to be able to look at it in pain.

"Reena! Told you that practice paid off . . . where are you?" I looked around. "Reena?"

My father walked up to me. "She ran back downstairs after you put that last blow on our guest. Said she was heading off to get the next scroll while you two beat yourselves up."

"I do not believe this . . . AH!" I pointed as I saw Reena floating up the whirlwind from the platform, which was some distance away. "Okay, so now I do believe it... What happens now?"

"What happens now is that I'm stuck in handcuffs until we find her!" Spyro stood up and ran towards me, just barely stopping before he would've knocked me down again. "She has the keys to these things; I saw her put them in one of the inside pockets."

"Feh. I've got better chances of finding her now than you do of getting those cuffs off." I retorted to him.

"You've got quite a habit for finding her on your own, don't you?" He replied. "Well, you sure scared her off on your own well enough. She probably ran to get away from you."

"What?!" I knocked him down again. "Reena would never do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because FIANC�ES don't run away from each other!" I growled at him, and then realized the full implication of what I said. "Oh . . ."

I could feel father's hot breath on my back. He sneered, "You have a great deal of explaining to do, little Spyro."

Prime jumped up and walked over to his own father. "Same goes for you, Dad. What's the whole deal with females and mothers and so forth? And why didn't you tell me before now?!"

"The boy first!" Father roared, almost sending me reeling. I managed to stay up, however. "Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't complain. After all, you are able to stand up on your legs now; besides, I can't punish you for trying to date while you're still a student. Preparing to marry without my blessing, however . . ..":

Here it comes, I thought to myself, tensing up.

"Reena said that your little group was looking for the scrolls so you could open the temple, correct?" He spoke, and I meekly nodded. "Very well, then. Get the temple opened before sunset tonight and I'll give my blessing for the marriage. But you are no longer my student."

"What?" I turned around. He couldn't abandon me . . . could he?

"Well, if you can stand now, then there's nothing left for me to teach you . . . you're a full warrior now. I'll need the few hours until sunset to find you a new uniform, instead of that burnt one. I suggest you use the time until then wisely."

I sighed in relief. He wasn't mad! He wasn't going to try and turn me into charcoal! I grinned... and then looked over at Prime. He was still staring up at this father, who was still recovering a bit from the shock and listening to my father's near-monologue.

"Listen, Spyro." His father spoke up, looking down at Prime. "I promise you that I'll explain everything� and I mean EVERYTHING� tonight. First, I want you to help your friend find Reena, and then to help the both of them in opening that temple."

"But�" Prime tried to speak, jumping up.

"Time is of the essence! I'll have all the time I need tonight to explain what needs to be� But you need to help him. Besides, you'll want your hands free while I'm speaking. It's hard to get comfortable with handcuffs." Prime nodded to that meekly. "Now, I suggest that if you start helping. I'll be with your friend's father if you need me."

I began running down the stairs, Prime gliding down right behind me and following. He caught up with me, running to my left. "Now what? Where's the whirlwind out?"

"This way!" I dove into the water, charging through. Almost at the same time that I reached the pedestal, Prime was there. I pointed to it. "Just jump on, Prime. All winds lead home . . .."

"Don't I know it." He jumped in, floating upward. I quickly did the same.