Spyro Prime

I've failed . . .

The thought went through my head several times as the boat flapped onward towards Floating Atoll. Reena tried her best to comfort me (although whether she knew of Moneybags's plans was something I was unsure of), but failed to keep my spirits up. I kneeled inside the small cargo bay, trying to get my arms in front of me so it would be easier to undo them.

Reena for some reason was nuzzling my neck. I squirmed, trying to keep her away from me — I was in no mood for this. She gave me a pleading look, and then tried to nuzzle me there again. I backed into the wall, knocking her muzzle off and down into my lap. I paled, and then glanced down.

Reena wasn't trying to comfort me — well, she might have been doing that, but it wasn't the only reason she was nuzzling me. The friction against my scales was helping her to undo the tape on her muzzle. A mischievous look grew in her eyes, but she sat up again, this time rubbing the tape against her own shoulder in an attempt to undo it further. I tried to do this myself, but eventually I leaned my head over too much, and knocked myself into her. She smirked at me, despite the muzzle.

At this point, the hatch opened, and two characters in white cloaks glared at us. Reena glanced up at them, and I paled again as their hands lunged for me, grabbing at my arms to pull me out of the cargo bay. They tossed me over the edge, landing face-first in front of steel-toed boots. It was the character that South pointed out as we were leaving Cloud Market, and it was painfully easy to see from my point of view that he wasn't wearing anything under that skirt.

"So you delivered him. Good job, Bear." The disciple casually tossed a bag of gems to Moneybags. "Did you bring the 'extra' piece of cargo I requested?"

Moneybags held Nehi up by her ponytail, drawing a sharp cry of pain. "She's right here, Disciple. I also have another dragon that was traveling with them."

"Give me the faerie, and then show me the second dragon." The disciple spoke, taking Nehi and slinging her over his right shoulder.

Nehi hissed at the disciple, kicking her legs in vain. "Let go of me!" The disciple chuckled, but ignored her attempts to wriggle out of his grasp. Meanwhile, The two cloaked assistants who handled me picked Reena up now. She had taken off much more of the tape by now, but still not enough to free her muzzle.

The disciple stared at Reena for a moment. "I have orders from Hyksos not to harm her. And since there's an Icon Shield up, she can't leave. Redo her restraints; let her stand and speak. If she gives us any trouble, she shouldn't be difficult to dispatch."

Reena stretched and relaxed as the rope around her ankles was undone, and the remaining tape on her muzzle removed. She glared at Moneybags. "Traitor!"

"I don't need to give you an explanation, my fair dragon . . .." Moneybags grinned as the disciple tossed him another bag of gems. "Take them away. I'll come by later to watch the execution, after I put these gems in a safe place."

The disciple nodded. "Certainly." He turned his head towards the two assistants. "Take the condemned and our guest to the scaffold and secure them as necessary. I'll be taking this new 'toy' to my quarters."

Nola'Nihil

"This cloak is too confining . . . it's not tripping me up, but I don't like it." I hissed at Lieutenant Teterin. "Do we have to wear these?"

"It's either this or be captured — and that's the last position I want to be in." Naven spoke as we portaled near the slab that could be used to lower the shield. "Hold onto the talisman; you'll need it if we intend to escape. We won't be able to move past this shield again once we cross the first time, so it will probably be our only chance to leave."

I watched Naven as he stepped on the slab, causing the shield to shudder. "We're really going through with this, aren't we?"

"Yes we are. Now hurry up and run through — it won't stay down forever!"

We jumped over the divide, making certain we had our orbs, talisman, and our sanity with us when we were on the other side. We sauntered quickly towards the temple, eyeing the tightly-packed cluster of worshippers. Naven pointed to the throng. "Why don't they space themselves out?"

"They're probably trying to keep warm out here — it's not easy to keep the body heat up in these damn things." I replied, already shivering underneath my cloak. "Try to be careful not to let the uniform show under these cloaks; I doubt any of the other worshippers are military. We'll look suspicious."

Naven nodded, barely perceptible underneath the cloak. "Keep quiet; try to blend in. You'll have an easier job of it than I will. We should try and stay together, considering how difficult it's going to be trying to find each other again in this nuthouse."

A shriek pierced the air. We glanced at each other for a few moments, and then ran towards the source of the noise. That HAD to have been Cairo . . ..

"There she is!" Naven pointed to a hole in the ground just outside the view of the worshippers. "If we can just get that other band of worshippers away from her, we're golden!"

I glanced up at the small band of worshippers standing there. "The cloaks look bloody . . . but don't you suppose she would have screamed earlier if they did that to her?"

"I don't know; maybe they just threw her in. Or they threw something in, at least." Naven watched at the worshippers shut the lid on the pit. "We still have to wait for them to leave before we can try to free her."

The group of worshippers walked towards us, wearing gold pendants of some sort — a sign that these worshippers were apprentices of some order or another. They waved and motioned for us to rejoin the crowd. "Nothing worth worrying about yet, fellas — The sacrifice is happening soon! Come on!"

Naven hesitated before heading back into the crowd. "That's what I was afraid of . . ."

Reena

I snarled as the worshippers pushed me forward. "Take it easy! You don't need to have that pistol right on my neck . . . I'm walking, I'm walking . . .."

"Shut up, demon." One of them hissed at me. "Be thankful we don't have you trussed up like him." He cocked his shoulder back to point at Spyro Prime, who was forcibly being dragged through the snow, struggling incredibly to break free of his captors. It almost made me ashamed that I wasn't resisting the worshippers more.

The crowd parted as we were led forward, towards a platform constructed of lightly tanned brick. It was flat, polished to an almost perfect shine. There didn't even appear to be traces of blood or gore, like I would have expected to find given the circumstances. I glanced up towards the crowd to see a wooden block, with no traces of blood but definite gouges from an axe. Hyksos was still nowhere in sight when the worshippers dropped Spyro onto the platform, undoing his ankle restraints now that they had dragged him THIS far. Two new worshippers of rather sizable bulk held him now, with pendants draped around their necks.

The powder snow around the temple billowed around Hyksos as he pranced forth, a worshipper running beside him brandishing an axe. I glanced at him warily — he had a black bandana trimmed with green over his head, masking him so only his eyes could be seen. He walked up to the block, while Hyksos stood tall on the platform, his tail flicking slightly to signal the pendant-wearing assistants to bring Spyro forth.

I stepped forward quickly to block their path. A few worshippers were ready to leap from the crowd to strike me, but Hyksos stopped them with a piercing stare, and then turned that stare on me.

Who do you think you are to interfere like this?

I turned to face him. "I'm concerned that you're not keeping your word, Hyksos."

Not keep my word? Your dragon friend is to be executed tonight, and as soon as you step out of the way, he will die.

I glanced at Spyro, who had a crazed look of disbelief on his face, and at the executioner, holding his axe. "You said that he would be executed 'by the Disciple of Anubis'. I highly doubt that faerie standing there is the disciple you spoke of." Hyksos bared his horse teeth slightly, displeased that I had quoted him exactly.

So I did.

The executioner put his axe down gently, walked over to me, and yanked the bandana off, revealing that he was quite angry. "Stupid technicality . . . A dragon such as yourself would never have even attempted to challenge him if he hadn't mentioned it." With that, he replaced the bandana on his head and joined the crowd in the front row, his arms crossed. Hyksos looked similarly mad, but his anger wasn't so much directed at myself than it was that he had placed the condition at all.

What are you all waiting for? Somebody get inside that temple and fetch the Disciple of Anubis!

Two worshippers ran forward to go inside the temple, leaving everyone else outside waiting. Spyro stood up, confused, and I just stood there, wondering how I was going to avoid being lynched by the worshippers later. Even Hyksos was probably wishing he hadn't granted me immunity from sacrifice by now.

Naven

The two of us ran down the dimly-lit hall, supposedly following orders to find the disciple. I hoped that the effort would give us a chance to search the temple before things took a turn for the worse. "Where is this guy's quarters, anyway?"

"I'm in no hurry to find him; the longer we take, the longer that poor Dream Weaver gets to live before they try to take his head off again." Nola spoke as we walked through the corridors. "I'd feel sorrier about it if I knew him."

"Same here. I have my suspicions about him-. Nah. Couldn't be." There was no way that 'Dream Weaver' outside was the real Spyro . . . but even if I was right, I couldn't act on that now. It would completely blow my cover. "Isn't that dog head on the wall like the one we saw on those pendants?"

"Technically, that's called 'the icon of Anubis'. Good eye, though. If the disciple's anywhere, it's probably here." I opened the door, revealing two small shrines on either side and long rows of bunk beds on either side.

I walked inside with trepidation. Rebuilding this temple was no small operation by any means — how many years had Hyksos gathered his forces and rebuilt this monstrosity without our knowing? It looked eerily similar to the barracks of the ADC, except for the fact that these people were brought together by something far different than a dislike of dragons. But those barracks took three times as long to reach their present-day form than the Cult of Sakhmet had even existed in this realm . . ..

"This way!" Nola spoke, leading me to a door. "Behind here should be the disciple, I think. It's the only door here that doesn't have 'Toilet' written on it."

"I hate to pull rank given the mission, but mind if I look inside first?" I raised my arm, and opened the door just a crack to look inside.

Nola leaned over to look as well. "What's he doing?"

"It looks like he's either playing with an incredibly interactive inflatable doll, or trying to force himself on a girl. He's trying to get his hand into her pants, I think." I reported.

Nola looked through the crack now. "That's no inflatable doll — that's Nehi! That son of a bitch is going to wish he never-"

"Calm down; he'll hear you." I stood back up, still outside the door. "You go in there and convince him to head outside — do not mention Nehi, and if you do so by accident, don't make a big deal out of it. Just get him OUT. I'll free Nehi once you have him out of the way."

"He'll be suspicious if you lag behind too long." Nola'nihil mentioned.

I nodded, pulling out my orb. "I'm a fast runner. You're not. That's why you're the one luring him out of the room."

He bit his lip, and then walked into the room. "Disciple? Your presence is requested outside."

"Tell him I'm busy." The disciple snapped. Nehi was about to speak, but was silenced with a harsh slap. I winced as I heard it.

"Hyksos requested your presence." Nola snarled. This time the Disciple quickly ran out of the room, Nola right behind him. With them out of the way, I slipped inside the disciple's quarters.

Nehi lied on the bed, curled up into the fetal position and on her side, sobbing. I silently crept up on her and stood at the foot of the bed. "Don't cry, Miss Nihil . . ." 

"GET AWAY!" She sat up and tried to lash out at me, despite the fact her wrists and ankles were still bound, with an ankle chained to the bedpost to boot. She adjusted her clothes slightly to cover up the disciple's handiwork, even though nothing could cover the bruise from his slap. "Nobody is going to lay another hand on me or else I'm going to-"

"Calm down — I'm here to help." I pulled out my orb, showing her my military identification. "I am Lieutenant Naven Teterin on special assignment. Do you want to leave this temple or not?" She cocked her head at me, and nodded slowly. "Good. I'll undo those restraints now; don't try to injure me."

I leaned in to break her chain and undo her ropes. She pulled down on the small eye opening in my cloak. "Hm . . . you're definitely not from around here."

"I've got family all over the place — a line of hybrids so far back in time it dates back to Priestess Xoyto herself." I led Nehi by one hand, getting her to stand up. "Like I said, I'm with the military. Nola's with me too; he led the disciple away so I'd have a chance to free you. Hide with me under this cloak."

She nodded, slipping under the cloak and standing behind me. She promptly jumped onto my back to hang on, despite the fact I hadn't asked or expected her to do that. "Take care not to 'deviate' from your mission." She hissed in my ear as a foot slipped down, the ankle digging in uncomfortably against my groin. 

"I - err, I - eh . . . we're going now." I stammered, beginning to run, despite the fact that each stride caused Nehi to dig her heel in even more. Nola had gone to blend in with the scene, while the disciple was already stepping up to the platform. Nehi and I walked back over to the crowd.

Nehi was shaking on my back, and rightly so — the disciple was very, very mad. He had picked up the axe and was now brandishing it towards anyone who even gave him the wrong look. he pointed the axe at the Dream Weaver. "Exactly WHY hasn't he been executed yet?"

"Hyksos said you would do it. He would have forgotten if I hadn't reminded him." Reena explained to the disciple, and had to duck out of the way quickly to keep from having her own head taken off.

"You?! I can't believe Hyksos would listen to a lowly dragon such as yourself! Such a pathetic creature . . ." He turned to Hyksos. "Look at that crowd . . . your 'generosity' to these demons does nothing to satisfy their bloodlust and give you the extra belief you desire."

"Of course . . . but I still think you have been too kind. I suggest there be an extra execution before the dragon, to make up for the bloodlust and to help ensure that there are no other attempts to delay his dispatchment." Hyksos glanced down at the disciple with distaste, and then unexpectedly smiled.

An excellent idea. Fetch the prisoner. No need to keep her waiting for her fate.

Her? I wondered as a small gaggle of pendant-wearing worshippers walked away from the crowd, which was now buzzing with life at the prospects of this announcement. For an instant, I wondered if he was referring to Nehi; if so, we might be revealed sooner than I expected, which would be disastrous. The two dragons looked equally perplexed.

The worshippers trudged back to the platform with billowing, exaggerated steps, the blood of the prisoner trailing behind them. My eyes widened as she came into view . . . that couldn't have been right. She would have never allowed herself to be treated like this without at least trying to heal some of her wounds. There was no way that could have been Cairo, and yet at the same time my eyes said it had to be her.

A figure leaned over towards me. "Well . . . now we know where Cairo is."

"Nola!" Nehi spoke with glee.

Nola eye-grinned at the both of us. "Glad to see you're safe. We weren't expecting to find you here."

"Neither was I." She remarked as the worshippers dropped Cairo on the stone. "It looks like she's had even worse treatment, surprisingly."

I stared at Cairo as she laid there — her clothing was badly torn and hanging off in places, and she was as expertly bound as Nehi had been when I found her. "That can't be right. She would have healed by now if she wanted to. And even if she didn't, those wounds haven't even begun to heal like they should have."

"You're trying to convince yourself it's not real because you know we can't save her." Nehi hissed in a whisper.

"No, I'm sure it's a trick; I'll prove it, too. If you'll relax your ankle, we can get there much faster . . ." I mentioned to her, feeling another fresh pang of pressure against my crotch. I ran out of the crowd's view, hoping that I could find Cairo's location before Hyksos became bored with that farce or before it was too late for me to save her if I was wrong.

I kept running until I found the hole I spotted before — miraculously unguarded, if only because the thought that it needed to be guarded past the icon shield was inconceivable. I glanced inside the grating. "I knew it!"

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Cairo spoke as she sat up, with the remains of a cloth gag around her neck and only a wound in the thigh instead of the blood that seemed to coat the fake. "A little help, please?"

"Certainly." I leaned down to undo the latch, and Nehi instinctively slipped out from behind to help me. Cairo was surprised to see her, but not by much. "I'm sure the two of you have met before . . ."

Nehi smirked as she helped Cairo out of the pit. "I find it hard to believe that you could be contained so easily."

"I can't 'recall' myself away while I'm injured, and I'm reluctant to heal up my leg as long as this bullet's lodged inside." Cairo explained while I undid her ropes. "Therefore, I'm stuck here as much as you are until the bullet can be removed. I can't cast spells on myself, either."

I slung one of Cairo's arms over my shoulders to help her stand up. Nehi looked at the wound. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here until it's safe?"

"Without my help, this place will never be safe. Help me up on my other side. I can't walk, but I'll give Hyksos trouble unlike anything he's ever known!"

Spyro Prime

"Treacherous bitch!" The disciple howled as the spear on the edge of his axe impaled Cairo's shoulder, spilling more of her blood into the snow. The attacks had been occurring for the last few minutes, and yet they were still as crisp and gruesome as ever . . ..

She howled again, an incoherent voice against the cold steel of his attacks. I jerked against my captors each time he struck at her — maybe I didn't want to believe that she was as evil as Shadow or Reena or Nehi painted her to be, but at the same time I wasn't willing to let her die like this. I tried to flame one of the worshippers, but all that came out was a tiny spark.

The disciple reached down with one hand and lifted Cairo up by her neck. She struggled some, but not enough to break loose. "I'm through toying with you . . . Convert now or freeze in hell, Silver-Dagger!"

"I . . .." She struggled to speak, coughing and bleeding. "I . . .."

The disciple stabbed at her with his axe, shaking her. "Say it!"

She coughed, then screamed. "I renounce! Sakhmet is my rock, my redeemer of shadows . . . Sakhmet is my creator and my destroyer . . . I claim him."

"Now was that so hard?" The Disciple cooed at her, using the axe to lift her onto the block, her body giving no resistance. He removed the axe from her shoulder, cleaning it off a little. The axe swung back, flashing in some dim light.

WHACK!

The body disappeared in clouds of billowing smoke, and with it went any hopes of me escaping this place. I wasn't sure if the smoke was natural for Cairo, or if that was just the way sacrifices worked. My knees buckled all the same, and my wings drooped. Hyksos whinnied.

Excellent! Now to finally sacrifice this dragon.

I felt my captors walk forward, and I moved with them, with only the slight resistance of slow, definite footsteps. They pushed me down in front of the disciple, adjusting me here and there so my head would lay as flat onto the block as they could hope for. I was left looking upward, staring at the sky — which meant I would see the blade coming and be utterly helpless to stop it.

The Disciple felt my neck, checking the bones and the alignment. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "First dragon to be sacrificed since the Arrival . . . and to think I expected you to put up a bigger fight than this."

Didn't have much choice, now did I? I thought to myself, unable to sigh.

He propped one foot onto the edge of the block (well away from my neck) and raised the axe partway. He turned to Hyksos. "Should I undo the muzzle so he can renounce the faith?"

Leave him as he is. I have no fear of Tahla's wrath, and the risk of his fire is too great.

The disciple bit his lip, concerned for a moment. He the shrugged and raised the axe high over his head. One of the worshippers leapt onto the stage, his clothing held back by a few others. "Wait!"

Hyksos jumped onto the platform himself and stared down the worshipper. The worshipper surprisingly stood his ground, eliciting a gasp from several of the others, who backed away from the platform from sheer proximity to the black stallion's hulking form.

No more caveats, no more delays! This will make the third time that miserable little dragon's death has been delayed, and there will be no more of this utter nonsense!

The worshipper pulled his hood down to reveal his face, still defiant. It struck me then that he looked eerily similar to Nehi. "It's not nonsense. If you'll turn your head slightly I think you'll see the problem."

This better be important!

"After 300 years of vowing your destruction, I SHOULD be a lot more than just 'important!'" A voice hissed. "I should be considered downright dangerous!"

Reena nearly jumped at the sight of her. "We've been duped!"

"Kyrmph!" I tired to speak through the muzzle, turning my head to glance at Cairo. She was leaning on Nehi and another worshipper for support, but she looked to be in much better shape than what was just executed. So that show the disciple had put on was just an illusion — a trick!

The disciple snarled at Cairo, putting the axe down for a moment. "So good of you to join us, Silver-Dagger . . . Nehi." He hissed as he noticed her. "You're just in time, too; I'll make sure all three of you will be dealt with swiftly once I dispatch his dragon here." He raised the axe again, only to have it knocked aside by Reena as she charged into him with two legs, knocking him prone. The axe harmlessly twirled away and clattered onto the floor.

The defiant worshipper calmly kneeled and picked it up, getting a good grip onto the axe. He then hacked at the straps holding me onto the block, being careful not to slice me, and glanced at Reena. "Either get ready or get out of the way. We need to hurry before the general shock wears off and these worshippers start rioting."

Cairo was helped onto the platform, while the worshipper who was with Nehi and Cairo lowered his hood as well to reveal a Marian face, although he looked about as tall as Cairo was. Nehi observed the crowd nervously. "Is it just me, or are they standing still on purpose?"

The fervent eyes of Cairo glanced up at Hyksos, who was glaring at all of us. "They're soldiers— and Hyksos hasn't said anything yet. Get the dragons untied. We'll need them."

I rubbed my wrists as someone undid my ropes. It wasn't good odds by a long shot — There had to be at least two hundred worshippers in the crowd, if not more, and they were possibly all armed. That didn't include the Disciple, who would only be dazed for a few more moments, or Hyksos, who could most likely kill us all with one word if he had the chance. And against them . . . two adolescent dragons and four faeries. Hardly good odds for a battle.

Cairo warily turned to face the two men. "I sincerely hope one of you has a plan-"

ATTACK!

"If I Worked for Insomniac...", "Spyro Prime", "Dragon's Jubilee" and all other related works are ™ Rachel 'Jekkal' Keslensky, 2000. "Spyro the Dragon", "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage", and "Spyro: Year of the Dragon" are © Vivendi-Universal, Inc. This site is affiliated with Insomniac Games, Inc.