ShadowSpyro

I rolled over in the hammock, cradling Reena with one arm. I checked the clock for the time — it was only 0600. I had slept just a few hours.

"Good morning, Peace Maker. Sleep well?" Reena woke up soon after I did, curling up in the quilt.

"Needed a good night's sleep like that for weeks." I bent over and gave her a small kiss on the neck. "I was so worried about my Dad finding out about us, but he didn't snap my wings over it when he finally DID find out."

"As if he would ever want to hurt a sweet little dragon like yourself." She walked out of bed, standing in the middle of the room and slipping her coat on. Then she pulled me out of bed, standing right in front of her, her hands holding my wrists behind my back.

"Wait, didn't we just . . . I mean, it's only been . . . never mind." I looked back at her, grinning. "Say it."

"You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

I blinked. "Huh? What is . . ." I blinked again, looking over at Reena, who was dressed and sitting on the bed, depressed. I took a quick glance behind me to see a male faerie — the one I saw at Golden Rock before, with the feather in his hair. "For the love of Tahla, man, couldn't you have woken me up first before arresting me?"

"I thought I did." He shrugged, slapping a set of handcuffs on me. "Where was I . . . . You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, you will be provided with local counsel. You have the right to one phone call." He pulled out a business card and handed it to Reena. "My sister is a lawyer who may be able to help you. She specializes in violent crimes cases such as yours and has had a very successful track record as a defense attorney."

"'Violent crimes'?" I blinked. "Could you at least tell me what I'm being charged with?"

"You are charged with one count of aggravated assault and battery. Blitz Nimbus just filed the charges a couple of hours ago." The officer spun his pearly orb on his finger for a few moments before a temporary portal opened up. "This will take us directly to the station. Reena, would you like to go there as well?"

Reena stood up and walked over to him. "Damn straight I'm accompanying you!" She ran through the portal ahead of us.

Spyro

I walked over to the courtyard, splashing my face with water from the fountain to help wake me up. Sparx flew over to my side quickly and gave me a shock right to my left temple.

"OW! What's with you?" I rubbed my head to keep the pain down.

Sparx glared at me. "They didn't tell you yet?"

"Who are 'they'? No one's told me anything — I just woke up!"

"Oh." Sparx calmed down a bit. "Fine, then I'll tell you — Shadow got arrested!"

"What?!" I stood straight up, looking at him. 

Reena snarled. "My words exactly!" She jumped me from behind, shoving me down into the grass, her nails digging into my skin. "This is all your fault, you irresponsible little wing-rag!"

I sat up and shielded my chest with my wings, backing up against the wall.  "What did I do?"

"Remember that dragonfly you fought earlier? Blitz? Well, she's pressing charges and since there's only one Spyro Thelonious in the police databanks . . ." Reena hissed, clutching at her coat. 

"Didn't you explain anything to try and stop it?" I stood up, checking where she scratched me. Sparx healed the marks up quickly.

"I tried everything I could — Spyro even explained that you looked a lot like him and that this was a case of mistaken identity!" She walked back over to the temple and picked up a set of pants made out of the same material as her coat.  I followed her.

"And?" I peered around the tree as she slipped the pants on. She eyed me carefully.

"They didn't buy it." She snarled, standing up again. "There's no bail to meet, the trial is in two days . . .  and did I tell you already who Blitz picked up for a lawyer?"

"Who?"

She spat the words out "Cairo." She paced around the temple's pond. "Now, I will admit the officer who arrested Spyro was a rather nice fellow since he informed me exactly what I was up against, but even I have my doubts that his 'sister' is a good enough lawyer to outdo Cairo."

I looked at her oddly, making eye contact. "I thought Cairo was a priestess."

"EX-priestess, as in formerly a priestess. Making the move from priestess to lawyer is a much smaller step than you think — If I didn't need Mai'ko to be a witness, I'd have her take the case instead." Reena hmmphed and crossed her arms. I could see steam rising from her nostrils.

"Speaking of Mai'ko . . ." I looked around the temple. "Where is she?"

"She's finding that lawyer I mentioned earlier. I was escorted back here after I left the police station, and I hardly have the resources needed to find that lawyer myself." Reena bit her lip. "Hope she works cheap."

Reena

"I'm back, and I've got the lawyer!" Mai'ko walked from the whirlwind portal, a second female in blue puffy pants behind her.

I ran over to the two of them as fast as I could. "About time! I've been on spikes and thorns since you left . . ."

"Calm down, Reena!" Mai'ko looked over at me. "I'm as worried about Spyro as you are, but I'm sure we can win this case. Reena, meet Nehi'nihil. She has her own law firm and is rather willing to take this case. I believe you met her brother Nola'nihil earlier this morning?"

"I see the resemblance; she's got longer bangs." I glared at Nehi."She better be damn certain we can win this case — it's her head if -"

"No need for threats; I'm quite certain we have enough evidence to prove him innocent. That is, if you'd be willing to let me speak with your husband about how he wants this case handled." She blinked. "How did he escape from Iron Prisma so quickly?"

I blinked as well. My insides churned in me, giving me further reason to keep my coat shut. "He's escaped?"

"Well, that sure looks like him sitting against the tree over there." She pointed to Spyro Prime.

I stammered, "T - t - That's not my husband, he's a guest. He was with us last night when Blitz attacked him. I don't know if Mai'ko mentioned this already, but he's the one who fought with Blitz, not my husband."

She crossed her arms, glaring at me. "That's one of the oldest excuses in the book!"

"I know it is . . . but it's the truth! I promise!" I pleaded, even though I knew I was on the losing end of the argument. I know what she meant by 'the book', since I'd read it five years ago myself. 

The Origin of Worlds. A 500-year-old book explaining the (mostly-proven) Theory of Alternity. It involved the presence of multiple realms that, while all had differences, were essentially similar in terms of people, events, and physics. The unproven part of the Theory was that all these different worlds originally came from one 'prime' realm — and of course, no one could prove it because no one could ever find it. And for some reason, I thought that was exactly where Spyro Prime had come from . . .

"Nehi'nihil looked over at Spyro Prime again. "I will admit that he does look very similar to the Spyro I saw in that picture of Mai'ko's. But he didn't have any spines in the photo."

Mai'ko pulled the picture out of her wand, magically smoothing the rolled-up photo. "He still doesn't. That picture I showed you was their wedding photo, taken yesterday."

Nehi looked over at the picture again. "Swear to Tahla that was taken yesterday?"

"Who else would I swear to?" Mai'ko spoke, just as a butterfly landed on the photo. A Tahla butterfly, no less.

Nehi was on the verge of screaming. "But if this picture is legit . . . and dragons need six months to fully grow out their spines . .  . he IS an alternate!"

"Oh, sure, just keep talking about me like I'm on the other side of the world!" Spyro Prime snapped, walking over to us. I blushed slightly and adjusted my coat again.

"My apologies." Nehi replied. "Well, so he isn't your husband after all. Very interesting occurrence, indeed. If we can prove that the alternate did it instead of your husband, he'll be a free man . . . er, dragon."

"And what of Spyro Prime?" I asked.

"I recommend that the alternate plead 'guilty' — the justice system knows how to deal with out-of-realmers. He should just end up deported."

Spyro Prime nodded. "I have been trying to get home; don't want to stay here for much longer, especially considering that Blitz said Cairo wanted me as their 'prisoner' or some such nons—."

"Hold it." Nehi'nihil cut me off. "Are you telling me that the two of them were working together to capture you?" She thought for a second. "That's possible, but it is most unusual. On second thought, plead 'not guilty' on account of self-defense. Any witnesses?"

"Just Djari and myself." I shrugged.

"Excellent! Out of all the witnesses we could have, a servant of Tahla and a scioness are as good as we could expect." She grinned. "That should be all the proof we need."

"Not so fast." I snarled, wiping the ecstatic grin off of Nehi's face. "Problem One: If this is an ADC conspiracy, then they may attempt some underhanded tricks from falsified evidence and testimony to 'elimination' of witnesses. I wouldn't be surprised if they plan to go after just Spyro Prime." Nehi bit her lip as I spoke. "Problem Two: There's nothing to say they won't claim that this 'alternate' is simply some kid with a good paint job. Even if they believe he's an alternate, there's no way to prove that he did it and Spyro didn't."

Spyro Prime blinked at me. "Whose side ARE you on?"

I looked back at him. "I just want to make sure we have a watertight case."

Nehi blinked, and waited for a few moments until she responded to my questions. "Djari's and your testimony should be enough to prove who did it. As for the paint . . . before new paint can be applied, the old paint has to be stripped. Therefore, we get the alternate a cheap yet reasonably durable coat of paint and then have the paint stripped during the trial. They'll have to believe our case then. It also keeps your friend protected under a good disguise, which should keep him out of harm's way. Especially if we're right about this conspiracy thing." She looked over at Spyro Prime, and then at me. "The body is strong, yet rather thin; he resembles a Dream Weaver. That would probably be a good choice in paint colors, plus it's the complete opposite of his breed. We also need to include some sculpted secondary horns — his primaries are extremely thick." She picked up one of his hands. "A manicure wouldn't hurt, either."

Spyro Prime blinked, looked at his own hands, and then glared at the three of us. "I REFUSE to do this — I don't need a 'paint job' to ensure that I'll be at the trial. I don't need a coat of paint, I don't need secondary horns, and I don't need — or want — a manicure!"

Scioness Djari

"Let's see . . . a baby blue scale coat with powder blue spine spots, lavender horns and wingbones, and celery spines and belly scales . . . ." I picked out a few colors off of my paint charts, checking to make sure I already had these materials on hand.

"For the love of Tahla, can't you pick colors that are more . . .  masculine?" Spyro whined.

I rolled my eyes. "These are typical Dream Weaver Colors — What, you think purple is more masculine than blue?"

"Compared to those particular tints you selected, YES!"

"Who's the half-Artisan here, you or me?" I looked for something that would look good as wing leather. "Listen: you need new colors to disguise yourself. That's it."

He hissed, "I like my colors . . . "

"Oh, yes, they're wonderful colors, they will look so heavenly when they're held in chains while you're slaving away as Cairo's Tahla-knows-what, won't they?" Reena held up his wing. "Besides, for someone who only learned just yesterday what a female was, you have some curiously old-fashioned ideas about what looks 'masculine' or 'feminine'.

"I've known what a female was— I just didn't know they also applied to dragons!"

 I stood behind him and looked over his shoulder. "Well, now you know. Are you going to let us get the job done or do I need to chain you down to something?"

"I'll shut up as long as you leave out the manicure." He sat on the wrought iron bench, relaxing.

"Does lemon yellow for the wing leather and maroon for the nails sound appropriate, Reena?" I held up the color charts, and she nodded. "Okay. I'll go mix up the paint pot now. Oh, and Reena?" She nodded. "You know what to do."

I mixed up the colors in the paint pot, adding in the sculpting mix for the horns and other various items as needed. Reena quietly set to work on the task I asked her to do — she kept Spyro calm and assured him that having one hand cuffed to the bench was just a precaution to make sure he didn't move out of the way and waste perfectly good paint. 

"Okay, Spyro, ready for a whole new look?" I walked around the bench to face him, holding the thin paint pot in my hands.

"As if I had a choice?" He raised one eyebrow. 

"Good. Now, this might sting a bit where it hits . . ." I pitched the pot as fast as I could at him.

CRACK-CHINK-POOF!

"AAAAAAGH!"

"Uh oh . . ." I whimpered.

Reena ran over to me. "What? Did you get the paint spell wrong?"

"No, he looks exactly as I planned . . . I was aiming for his chest since it would be the least sensitive to the pot explosion."

"Makes sense. So why the 'uh oh'?"

Spyro grabbed himself, curling up into the fetal position. "She missed!"

I blushed, turning away from Spyro. "Now I feel bad that I didn't leave the manicure ingredients out after all. He's going to be doubly angry with me, isn't he?"

"He'll get over it." Reena looked back at Spyro. "He doesn't realize that it's very unusual for Dream Weavers to not have manicures —  it makes the nails stronger for incidental combat. Besides, I think he'll be just as angry with me for chaining him to the bench first."

"And the sooner I'm unchained, the better!" Spyro snarled, and we hurriedly undid the handcuffs and had Sparx heal him. He felt his wrist, looking over his new style. "Anyone have a mirror?"

"Right here." I handed him a small copper mirror. He looked in it for a few minutes and checked his spines, feeling his new secondary horns. "Well? What do you think of my work?"

"Surprisingly, I could get used to this." He looked at his fingernails. "Including the manicure — well, I can tolerate that part for a few days, I guess."

I smiled. "That should be enough for you to pass anyone's inspection. But we can't call you 'Spyro' in public for the next few days . . .  you need a nickname. Something inconspicuous."

He smirked to himself as he looked in the mirror. "Master?"

"Something that we're actually willing to SAY would be preferred . . .." Reena resented. "Look, I already call you 'Prime' anyway . . . how about twisting it a little to 'Prima'? Different from your real name, easy to remember, and still gives you a slight ego boost."

"Prima should do."

I walked over to Reena, nudging her. "Wonderful! Now, if you'll stay here for a moment while I talk to Reena . . . ladies' discussion, you understand . . . ." I walked with Reena until we were out of Spyro's range. "You realize this is only a standby . . . his voice is still the same, as well as his eye color. Anyone who knows how to identify him from those two things will still find him."

"The voice I can deal with. Just looking at him was the part driving me mad." Reena replied. "The paint may be for his protection, but it's also for MY sanity. I couldn't look at him without thinking of your cousin."

"And was that so terrible?"

"YES!" She hissed, looking at me with crazed eyes. She slumped again. "When I came back from the station where they're holding Spyro, I saw Prima standing out in the courtyard. I tried to get angry at him for letting this happen, but the next thing I knew I had pinned him, and stopped myself a few scant moments before I was about to kiss him and —" I clamped her mouth shut.

"That is not a situation I want in detail." I let go of her, allowing her to speak again. "The incident must have embarrassed you — you've been wearing pants and holding your coat shut the entire time you've been here, except for just now. Am I right?" She bit her lip, nodding. "If you're just looking for a way out, this paint job will not help that much. I'd be surprised if it helped any; while it may keep your present behavior in check, there will simply be a buildup of emotions until the paint is stripped off or until you see your husband. The effects could be devastating."

"Should I just stay away from him?" She asked me.

"No. The buildup will happen either way; staying away from him could intensify that. Just accept the situation and quit trying to make it any more complicated than it already is. Please remain on your best behavior — you're still just as much a representative of the temple as I am." I began to walk back to Prima. "I'll make arrangements for the two for the you to leave Golden Rock separately and avoid looking like a pair just yet. No one saw him enter, so no one will see him leave. You two can meet up again and go from there. If anyone asks, he is from Nehi's law firm and is to accompany you until the trial. Understood?" She nodded. "Good. You can leave now— Prima will be in the temple courtyard within the next five minutes."

She nodded and scampered over to the whirlwind, not saying another word.  I sighed — she was going to have a LONG two days . . ..

ShadowSpyro

"Hey, the new kid's a looker, ain't he?"

"C'mon warden, there's plenty of room in MY cell for him!"

"Hey, kid, did Sahkmet say he was busting me out soon?"

The warden snarled. "The whole lot of you can forget it — this is just the shakeup treatment. He doesn't need to be scared any more than he already is."

"Shakeup?!" I gulped.

"It helps move the legal process along — or at least makes for more interesting excuses. The cell you've been assigned to is single-person, near the investigator's offices. Much nicer folk there, to say the least." He looked over my shoulder. "You're put in the dirty cells once you're convicted."

I sighed. This was terrible . . . no one believed I was innocent, and they were toying with me, keeping me on my toes. They also turned Reena away from the station after she had argued with the D.A. over my alibi. If only she could see me now . . . they had confiscated my clothes and given me an inmate dress to wear. I'm more ignorant on fashion sense than Djari is, but even I had to agree it looked bad. The warden led me to an elevator, padded and barred to prevent escape. I stood in a corner, trying to shrink away into the padding.

"Already don't like it here, do you, dragon?" The faerie warden smirked. "I must say you do a good job of acting innocent — You look like you're about to soil that dress."

I squirmed. "A little late for that prediction."

The warden cracked up, chuckling under his breath. The bell dinged, and the elevator door opened to show a set of nice, clean cells, far different from the scene below. The open sides were different, too — clear glass or plastic of some type, charmed and strengthened. It only took me a few minutes to realize these were dragon cells — spacious enough for an adult, designed so that they couldn't incinerate anyone walking up and down the aisles.  True to the warden's word, the investigator's offices were right up against the cells here. The investigators probably made sure the area was kept as clean as it was.

I went to my cell, one that looked identical to all of the other cells in the area, except it was empty. After the warden took my handcuffs off, he locked me inside. I noticed a phone outside the cell on the column next to the door, with a speaker nearby my bed— a sign that the cells were also soundproof. The furnishings, like the cells themselves, were very reasonable and clean. The square mattress was propped up off the ground slightly and had covers; the blankets were clean and smelled lightly of whatever detergent they used in this place.

"Tahla, I lucked out!" I grinned as I remembered the cells from the lower level — these were heaven. I flopped back on the mattress, trying to relax and forget the reason I was in here. As long as I was going to be in here, I might as well enjoy myself. It took a few minutes for me to snap back to reality and realize how serious it all was, despite the furnishings. "I'm innocent, I'm innocent, I'm innocent..."

"Innocent in the legal sense, maybe . . .." A voice boomed on the speaker. I looked up and saw a familiar form standing outside the cell, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans — typical civilian clothes. Ironic considering who was wearing them.

"Cairo!" I sat up straight on the mattress. "What the hell do you want?"

"Not a nice thing to say to a lawyer intent on sending you packing." She cooed. "You did this to yourself, you know."

"You're wrong! I'm innocent! I never hurt Blitz — I barely even knew her!" I shrugged, trying to tell her the truth.

Cairo looked at me, shaking her head. "No, no, no, you silly dragon. I'm not talking about Blitz. I'm talking about that Gnasty Gnorc fellow... you remember what you did, don't you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do . . . half-breeds know everything . You remember what happened six years ago, don't you?" She spoke, standing straight up and looking at me.

"Six years ago . . . Yeah. I remember that." I nodded to her. "I remember everything."

"Do tell."

"Your ADC cronies burned up my father's dojo, turned my cousin's face into a chemistry experiment, and broke both my legs, you motherfucking bitch!" I hissed at her, standing up and running to the locked door. My voice was still as clear as ever through the speakers, or so I hoped. "Wait, that can't be true . . . you can't be a motherfucking bitch because you never had a mother. Closest thing you had was Rashoul, and he-"

"You can stop there." Cairo glared at me. The bridge of her nose wrinkled into an intricate set of folds, snarling with an expression that looked more at home on a shar pei's face. "I've heard quite enough out of you."

"If you intend on being a good lawyer, the questioning doesn't stop there." I looked over at her.

"It does this time. I'm a little too angry to continue this discussion now . . . maybe later. Good afternoon, Spyro." With that, she dropped the phone, not even bothering to slam it in the cradle. It was also the only reason I heard her say anything after that. She leaned up against the other side of the hall, casting a small spell on her wand so that she could use it as a portable phone.

"Naven? Yeah, this is Cairo. Remember how you told me that Spyro had been jailed over here just a few hours ago? Well, guess what." There was a slight pause of silence. "It's. Not. HIM!"